When a magical secret falls off a freight train almost in his backyard in Georgia, adventuresome Owen Jester is ready to make the most of it. And why not? It’s summer, the days are long and lazy, and Owen’s two best friends are ready to help … but are they? How far can lead your friends down… Read more »
Dianne White
Barbara’s Story
I grew up in the South, so my strongest childhood memories revolve around the rich details unique to the people and places of that part of the country. Boiled peanuts. Moonpies. Kudzu vines that grow so thick and fast they gobble up telephone poles and even barns. Steamy summers with asphalt roads that melt and… Read more »
Your Friend, Barbara O’Connor
Dear Reader: I’m glad you’re reading my book THE FANTASTIC SECRET OF OWEN JESTER. When I was your age, one of my favorite things to do was to play in the woods and in creeks. I loved to catch the critters that lived there: salamanders and tadpoles and minnows and crawfish and frogs. One time… Read more »
The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester by Barbara O’Connor
After a month of hard work, Owen Jester has finally caught the “biggest, greenest, slimiest, most beautiful bullfrog ever to be seen in Carter, Georgia.” Owen named his new pet, Tooley Graham. Tooley, after his Alabama cousin and Graham, for the pond behind Owen’s grandfather’s house, where the bullfrog had lived before Owen had snatched… Read more »
The Power of a Name
The term “Old Favorite” is what ReaderKidZ uses to describe a book that’s been around a while. A book that finds its way, year after year, into the collection of those that are read and shared many times over the course of any given year. CHRYSANTHEMUM by Kevin Henkes, is one such book. Not only… Read more »
Rocket Learns to Read, a Lion in the Library, and Book, Book, Books!
HOW ROCKET LEARNED TO READ by Tad Hills Tad Hills (Duck and Goose) is back with another perfect book for beginning-to-read ReaderKidZ (and even for those who are already experts!). Until the little yellow bird comes along, Rocket is perfectly happy chasing leaves, chewing sticks, and lying down under a favorite tree for a nap. … Read more »
School Supplies
SCHOOL SUPPLIES: A BOOK OF POEMS selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins, illustrated by Renee Flower This first in a series of school-based poetry collections includes poems about pencils and erasers (“Pencils” by Carl Sandburg and “The Eraser Poem” by Louis Phillips), paperclips and globes (“Paper Clips” and “Classroom Globe” by Rebecca Kai Dotlich), a rubber… Read more »
