The Incredible Magic of Being by Kathryn Erskine Guest Post by Padma Venkatraman Like her debut novel, Mockingbird, whose title echoes a classic, Kathy Erskine’s latest title, THE INCREDIBLE MAGIC OF BEING, is similar to Milan Kunderra’s brilliant work, The…
Category: Family
Learning to Take a Stand: A Review of My Year in the Middle
In a small town in Alabama in 1970, Lu Olivera sits in the middle of her newly integrated sixth grade class. On one side of the classroom are the Black kids, at Red Grove Middle School for the first time.…
Some Writer, The Story of E. B. White by Melissa Sweet
Some Writer, The Story of E. B. White By Mellissa Sweet On July 11, 1899, Elwyn Brooks White was born in New York City. He grew to love not only words but also turning them into stories typed on his…
For today, a picture book about immigration, separation, longing for one’s mother: Mama’s Nightingale
For one of 2015’s most perfect picture books, our previous reviewer, Terry Farish, picked Mama’s Nightingale by Edwidge Danticat, illustrated by Leslie Staub. Danticat’s novels for adults, such as Claire of the Sea Light, expresses longing, often of a child…
Happy Pride! Celebrate THIS DAY IN JUNE and all year!
Happy Pride! Celebrate this June, and all year! A wonderful parade of books await for you to share with readers of all ages. THIS DAY IN JUNE by Gayle E. Pitman and illustrated by Kristyna Litten is an enthusiastic, full of…
Forest World by Margarita Engle
Guest Post by Padma Venkatraman In Forest World, Young People’s Poet Laureate, Margarita Engle, once again demonstrates her mastery over the verse novel form, wielding it to speak eloquently of the need to protect our environment. Told through the eyes of…
A Child of the Resistance: A Review of The Storks Came Back
Morten Mors is seven years old when the war comes to his small town near Copenhagen, Denmark. His parents worry about the changes the German soldiers will bring to their country, but he’s more concerned about his Great Dane, now…
ART By Patrick McDonnell
ART Written and Illustrated by Patrick McDonnell A little boy named Art loves drawing and painting. Art loves to draw and scribble and paint. He loves lines and colors and experimenting with both; in fact there’s no…
PIE IS FOR SHARING
What a discovery of words and images that inspire! I found in this delightful picture book, PIE IS FOR SHARING, a sense of renewed hope in the basic values of who we are and what we care about as a…
A Dog Named Haku by Margarita Engle
A DOG NAMED HAKU by Margarita Engle, with Amish Karanjit and Nicole Karanjit (illustrated by Ruth Jayaveeran), published by M. Millbrook press, Minneapolis. Guest Post by Padma Venkatraman With her characteristic ability to use spare and beautiful language to convey emotions…