Make room, Elephant and Piggie. Step aside, Frog and Toad. Picture book pals, Buddy and Earl, have arrived on the scene! When Buddy, an unassuming dog, and Earl, a clever hedgehog, meet in book one of the Buddy and Earl series, all bets are off. The two strike up an unlikely friendship, passing an otherwise… Read more »
February 2017
The blending of fiction and nonfiction
If I were still teaching in the primary grades, students would definitely find FARM FRIENDS ESCAPE! (Animal Planet Adventures#2) by Gail Herman and DOLPHIN RESCUE (Animal Planet Adventures #1) by Catherine Nichols on my bookshelves. Each 10-chapter book introduces readers to a pair of protagonists (cousins Luke and Sarah in Farm Friends Escape, and siblings Maddie and Atticus in Dolphin… Read more »
WE Have a Cybil’s POETRY Winner!!!
THE LAST FIFTH GRADE OF EMERSON ELEMENTARY (Wendy Lamb Books, 2016) What an unusual, delightful, and thoughtful novel-in-verse for middle-grade readers, written by Laura Shovan. Here’s a “taste” of this delightful book: “Eighteen kids, one year of poems, one school set to close. Two yellow bulldozers crouched outside, ready to eat the building in one greedy gulp….”… Read more »
Somebody Loves You…
Valentine’s Day comes once a year, but isn’t every day the perfect day for letting somebody know you care? Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch by Eileen Spinelli, illustrated by Paul Yalowitz (S&S, 1991) is what I like to call an “oldie but goodie.” It’s been shared with children for over 25 years! In a time in our… Read more »
Bears, Bees, and Flamingos
Poetry is perfect for any age, and today’s post introduces readers to a new series of board book poetry perfect for young readers. Flamingos Fly and Bears are Big are just two of the four books in the “Animals Play” series by Douglas Florian (Little Bee Books, 2017). Brightly colored illustrations by Barbara Bakos bring a… Read more »
Stef Soto, Taco Queen
Estefania “Stef” Soto has been trying to get her Papi to stop bringing her family’s taco truck, Tía Perla, to Saint Scholastica School for months. Doesn’t he understand that hardly anyone gets picked up from school by their parents anymore? Stef just wants to be like all the other kids. When Julia, her once-upon-a-time friend, calls… Read more »
