“Plant a tree!” Celebrate spring. Share the activity of planting a tree and reading this book: MAMA MITI by Donna Jo Napoli, illustrated by Kadir Nelson. Mama Miti is the beloved name of Wangari Muta Maathai the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize – just one of Mama Miti’s many “firsts.” This… Read more »
Nancy Bo Flood
Mystery Meets Nonfiction
Reading nonfiction (information) books is a different type of mystery and journey of discovery. When I was a child, learning about the world was my favorite type of discovery, especially about animals. Suzi Eszterhas, as both author and photographer, has created a charming set of books – one about gorillas and the other about cheetahs,… Read more »
Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match: Pura Belpré Honor
Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match/Marisol McDonald no combina written by Monica Brown, illustrated by Sara Palacios received a Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor Award given to Latinos whose books portray the Latino cultural experience. Monica was a ReaderKidZ guest author in November. You can read about why and how Monica wrote Marisol McDonald HERE. Congratulations, Sara and… Read more »
A Blue Chimpanzee and a Scrumptious Cake!
Don’t bring your blue chimpanzee to school, even if his name is Dodger, and even if he isn’t entirely real. Dodger is Willie’s best friend. Dodger tags along with Willie wherever he goes. The two of them share trouble, adventures, and baseball. If you don’t believe me, read DODGER AND ME by Jordan Sonnenblick (a… Read more »
The Dragon of Cripple Creek
This is the year of the dragon, more specifically, the water dragon. To continue a fun romp with books that are squirming with a dragon or two, I suggest THE DRAGON OF CRIPPLE CREEK by Troy Howell (Amulet/Abrams 2011, for readers 8 – 12.) . This tall tale takes place in the wild west of… Read more »
Queens and Castles
We can count on Chris Van Allsburg to take us on a strange journey. In QUEEN OF THE FALLS, written and illustrated by Allsburg, published by Houghton Mifflin, 2011, we are not disappointed. This book is based on the true story of a 62-year-old teacher, Annie Taylor, who was the first person to plunge over… Read more »
Flights of Adventure
Tales of fantasy and adventure ignite the imagination. The following books take us from Denmark to India and then on to Russia. We re-see stories through several sets of eyes: illustrations vary but the love of adventure remains universal. THE FLIGHT OF THE MERMAID with art by Bhajju Shyam text by Gita Wolf and Sirish Rao…. Read more »
