Lynn: I’m not usually one to gush nostalgically, but Emily Jenkins and Paul O. Zelinsky have me doing just that. Their new picture book, All-of-a-Kind Family Hanukkah (2018), is a joyous celebration of both the holiday and one of my all time favorite series. As a child, I adored Sydney Taylor’s original All-of-a-Kind Family books […]
Lynn: “Oh, hi, tiny thing. Welcome to Sleepy Burrows Wombat Sanctuary.” And so Welcome, Wombat (2018) begins: Chance, a two-year-old wombat, greets a tiny “pinkie” whose mother was just tragically killed by a car. Author Kama Einhorn proceeds to introduce readers to the sanctuary; its inspiring wildlife rehabilitators, Donna and Phil; and to the amazing wombat species as a […]
Cindy: Monopoly has an interesting history and Tanya Lee Stone has produced a thought-provoking picture book about it: Pass Go and Collect $200: The Real Story of How Monopoly Was Invented (2018). Originally called The Landlord’s Game, it was created by Lizzie Magie, who was looking for a way to demonstrate the unfair relationship between landlords and tenants […]
Lynn: Married only a year, runners Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes were badly injured in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. Both lost limbs and, in the dark days that followed, Jessica endured many surgeries as doctors fought to save her remaining foot and leg. Then a black lab service dog, Rescue, came into their lives. […]
Lynn and Cindy: Yum! There’s nothing like the wonderful flavors of summer food fresh from the garden or the farmer’s market. We have three new picture books celebrating this seasonal bounty and the fun of markets and gardens. Bon appetit! Summer Supper, by Rubin Pfeffer This joyful farm-to-table story follows the process of creating […]
Lynn: Girls don’t play baseball. It’s impossible to know how often girls yearning to play the national sport have heard that phrase. Well, girls do play baseball, and they have played as far back as the 1890s. Here are two wonderful new books, set in the 1950s, that take on this very subject. In the middle-grade […]
Lynn: Not too many kids (or adult reviewers) can resist the allure of books about elephants. In fact, we have two outstanding books on that large subject. The first is a nonfiction “fact” book, How to Be an Elephant: Growing Up in the African Wild (2017), by Katherine Roy. This is no dry, ordinary, facts-about-animals […]
Lynn: Most of us, if asked to paint a snowman, would start with three circles, then add a few details. But Amy and Greg Newbold ask what a snowman would look like in the hands of famous painters. If Picasso Painted a Snowman (2017) is their delightful answer. A chubby little hamster takes readers through a series […]
Lynn: Opening Patricia McCormick’s first picture book, the reader is blasted with end pages showing headlines from the Korean War. It is a dramatic opening for the dramatic story of the U. S. Marines and a small, hungry horse. Sergeant Reckless: The True Story of the Little Horse Who Became a Hero (2017) is a charming, […]
Lynn: In 2007, the bald eagle was removed from the endangered and threatened species list, but it still faces many serious threats. Deborah Lee Rose and Jane Veltkamp clearly outline the eagle’s precarious position in Beauty and the Beak: The True Story of How Science, Technology, and a 3D-Printed Beak Rescued a Bald Eagle (Aug. […]
Encouraging Middle-Schoolers to Choose Books
There’s been a lot of discussion among the librarians I know about what to do with middle-schoolers: they just don’t seem to read as much as they used to. I know that here in Chicago, we have a unique perspective on this situation, since our schools run K–8. In my former school system in Maryland […]
Getting Started with the Global Read Aloud
The 2017 Global Read Aloud kicked off yesterday, and I’m here to help. Author and educator Pernille Ripp founded the program as a way to connect students and teachers from different locales around the topics of books. (Think One Book One School or One Book One City, but on a global scale.) Each year, Ripp […]
TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE: Practice Recognizing Fake News
Cindy: There have been a number of YA fiction books with the title “Two Truths and a Lie,” but we’ve found a creative, informational book for middle-grade students that reinforces evaluating information for truth. Fake news, anyone? Two Truths and a Lie: It’s Alive (2017) by Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Ann Thompson is the first […]
Encouraging Middle-Schoolers to Choose Books
There’s been a lot of discussion among the librarians I know about what to do with middle-schoolers: they just don’t seem to read as much as they used to. I know that here in Chicago, we have a unique perspective on this situation, since our schools run K–8. In my former school system in Maryland […]
Getting Started with the Global Read Aloud
The 2017 Global Read Aloud kicked off yesterday, and I’m here to help. Author and educator Pernille Ripp founded the program as a way to connect students and teachers from different locales around the topics of books. (Think One Book One School or One Book One City, but on a global scale.) Each year, Ripp […]
TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE: Practice Recognizing Fake News
Cindy: There have been a number of YA fiction books with the title “Two Truths and a Lie,” but we’ve found a creative, informational book for middle-grade students that reinforces evaluating information for truth. Fake news, anyone? Two Truths and a Lie: It’s Alive (2017) by Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Ann Thompson is the first […]
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