STOLEN WORDS shows how words reconnect us with people, with culture, with our home language, and with our most precious childhood memories. This simple but stunning picture book was written by Melanie Florence, Illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard, and published by…
Category: cultural
HANNAH’S JOURNEY by Carmen Peone
Crazy about horses? How about horse-racing? More specifically, wild racing – cross-country, with few rules and any pushing, shoving or pulling someone off their galloping steed is fair game. HANNAH’S JOURNEY by Carmen Peone is a book any horsewoman of…
WATER’S CHILDREN, Celebrating the Resource that Unites Us All
WATER’S CHILDREN, written by Angele Delaunois, illustrated by Gerard Frischeteau, and translated by Erin Woods, is a luscious picture book that celebrates the many ways water is universal to us all. Water is life – and play – and food…
Shadow Warrior by Tanya Lloyd Kyi
What’s cooler than girl ninjas? An actual historical female ninja and her cohort of female spies…. Shadow Warrior by Tanya Lloyd Kyi and illustrated by Celia Krampien (Annick Press) covers the historical (and possibly mythical) basis for stories about a…
Anna Hibiscus and Amazing Africa!
I’ve always loved the Anna Hibiscus picture books by Nigerian-born Atinuke so when publisher Kane Miller sent me copies of the latest in the Anna Hibiscus chapter book series, I was super excited! My 6 year old and I have…
LION ISLAND: CUBA’S WARRIOR OF WORDS
Guest post by Padma Venkatraman LION ISLAND: CUBA’S WARRIOR OF WORDS By Margarita Engle 2016 Atheneum Books, Simon and Schuster How lucky we are to have a writer like Margarita Engle in our midst, someone who dedicates her time…
PRINCESS SOPHIE AND THE SIX SWANS
PRINCESS SOPHIE AND THE SIX SWANS A fable from the Brothers Grimm, retold and illustrated by Kim Jacobs, is a tale about loyalty and perseverance, an old tale retold with simplicity and beauty. Illustrations are a gentle sweep of color…
“The Sky Throne” by Chris Ledbetter
“The Sky Throne” by Chris Ledbetter Teen-aged Zeus doesn’t care much about becoming a goat herder like his mother, Amalthea, and even less about school on Crete. After two years at the local academy, he is still being treated like an…
Confronting Class and Race in The Education of Margot Sanchez
In the summer between her freshman and sophomore year, Margot was looking forward to carefree days in the Hamptons with her new private-school friends Serena and Camille. But their pressure to look the upper class part led her to charge…
Confronting Patriarchy and Abuse: A Review of Rani Patel in Full Effect
To close out my year, I offer the second of two reviews of William Morris Award finalists. The award is given by the Young Adult Library Services Association of ALA (YALSA) to outstanding debut YA novels, and this deserving finalist…