A grandson unwillingly visits his grandfather, who does not speak English. Bored and resentful, the young boy takes out his sketchbook and: Right when I gave up on talking, my grandfather surprised me by revealing a world beyond words. Grandfather and grandson share an ability and love for drawing. They begin to each share their … Continue reading
Yellow Bird brings a button to show Red Bird and Blue Bird. They disagree over what the button can actually do. Yellow Bird argues that it does nothing. Red Bird and Blue Bird discover all kinds of effects when the button is pressed–much to Yellow Bird’s irritation. The third book in the Elephant & Piggie Also Like Reading series, Button … Continue reading
Silent Movie is a picture book meant to be experienced like a silent movie. The story is set in 1909: a young family immigrates from Sweden to America, Papa going first, then sending for Mama and son, Gustave six months later. Mama and Gustave arrive but are unable to find Papa once they arrive in New … Continue reading
Kwame Alexander’s poetic text in How To Read A Book perfectly captures the rush of feelings buoyed by a love of reading and stories! From settling in with a new reading choice, or an old favorite: FIRST, FIND A TREE – A BLACK TUPELO OR DAWN REDWOOD WILL DO – AND PLANT YOURSELF. Alexander evokes the … Continue reading
Rhoda’s Rock Hunt was a delightful surprise for me! Rhoda’s experiences–both her fascination with rocks and her delight in finding them–mirror my own experience as a child on vacation during summers in northern Minnesota. I wish Rhoda’s Rock Hunt had been around eight years ago when my daughter was constantly adding to the LOADS of rocks in … Continue reading
Simply, phenomenal! Hensel & Gretel: Ninja Chicks is my favorite in this picture book series so far! In this version of the Hansel & Gretel fairy tale, Mama has been taken by the evil fox at large in their community. Hensel & Gretel see the sign advertising the Three Pigs Dojo “Get Empowered, Not Devoured” (read … Continue reading
The WEIRD! series relates a common bullying situation from three different perspectives: WEIRD! is from the viewpoint of the bully’s target(Luisa); DARE! is from that of the bystander(Jayla); and TOUGH! is from the perspective of the bully, herself(Sam). The bully situation, itself, is absolutely believable. Sam continually calls Jayla names and puts down how she … Continue reading
Llama Llama, Bully Goat by Anna Dewdney This is an excellent addition to Dewdney’s successful Llama, Llama series. Baby llama has grown up with his readers, make him an excellent character to model successful anti-bully strategies for young readers. This installment of the series is exactly on point for young readers pre-school through 2nd Grade … Continue reading
Zarafa is the fascinating true story of a singular giraffe. In 1827 the King of Egypt, in an effort to improve political relations, sent a giraffe to King Charles X of France as a gift. This is the story of that giraffe’s journey. Zarafa was captured at the age of 2 in North Africa. Too … Continue reading
What originally attracted me to this book in the library was the illustration on the cover. It reminded me of my all-time favorite comic Calvin & Hobbes by Bill Watterson. Wilfred actually has quite a bit in common stylistically with illustrative aspects of Watterson’s work. This is the story of Wilfred–a big, hairy monster– and … Continue reading
