ZITA the SPACEGIRL by Ben Hatke is a First Second Book and what a book! Pure fun to read the zappy dialogues and to feast on the engaging graphic images. Zita is the kind of curious, courageous kid who sees an odd-looking “thing” and of course, picks it up. ZAAAP! Off she goes to another… Read more »
Nancy Bo Flood
Amazing “Firsts”
It Jes’ Happened: When Bill Traylor Started to Draw by Don Tate, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, shows the life journey from slavery to artistry of Bill Traylor. His story is not always a happy one, but it is full of courage and “making do” when life goes in unexpected directions. Bill Traylor used bits… Read more »
People Who Made a Difference
HIS NAME WAS RAOUL WALLENBERG; COURAGE, RESCUE AND MYSTERY DURING WWII by Louise Borden. (Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2012) This book for older readers presents the true account of how Raoul Wallenberg from Sweden, educated in the US and working in Hungary when World War II broke out, repeatedly risked his own life to… Read more »
Let’s Hear it for Poetry!
COWBOYS by David L. Harrison and illustrated by Dan Burr, give readers a close look at the tough experience of being a cowboy on the long cattle drives from Texas to Kansas. We follow a variety of wranglers from bunk house to “big-city”Abilene. Starting in 1866, over 40,000 cowpunchers signed on to ride cattle-drive trails,… Read more »
IBBY : Hans Christian Anderson Awards
Hans Christian Andersen, yes, we love the stories he gave us. Their universal themes of compassion and tolerance are as relevant today as ever. In his honor, the highest international recognition given to authors and illustrators of children’s books are the Hans Christian Andersen Awards. IBBY presents the Hans Christian Andersen Awards to a living… Read more »
Celebrate Poetry!
Play ball! The short snappy verses in POEM RUNS by Douglas Florian will delight any reader who would prefer to have a baseball bat in his hands hoping to hit a homer. This poetry collection will be a winner with the youngest of baseball fans. The author, Douglas Florian, is a poet and painter, an… Read more »
In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb
IN LIKE A LION, OUT LIKE A LAMB by Marion DaneBauer, illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully, Holiday House, 2011. What a delightful, rhythmic book to read out loud with a child. Where you live, did March come roaring, tumbling in like an exuberant lion? How shall March tip-toe out? With sheepish rhymes filled with sunshine and… Read more »
