Recently Reviewed Books

The Tree Lady

The Tree Lady – The True Story of How One Tree-Loving Woman Changed a City Forever by H. Joseph Hopkins, illustrated by Jill McElmurry   Kate Sessions grew up in the woods of Northern California in the 1860’s.  Kate loved exploring the woods and didn’t mind getting dirty while playing.  In the 1860’s girls were…

groundhogdaybook

Groundhog Day 2014

Today Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, predicting 6 more weeks of winter. How does Phil know what to do?  How does he gain his weather-predicting skills?  Perhaps he attended Groundhog Weather School as presented by Joan Holub and illustrated by Kristin Sorra. This clever picture book is packed full of interesting facts about groundhogs, weather,…

No

No by Claudia Rueda No is a fun picture book that celebrates a child’s independent spirit.  Of course, in this case, the child is a brown bear cub. “It’s time to go to sleep,” said mother bear. “No,” said little bear.  “I don’t want to go to sleep.” So begins the story….with mother bear telling…

December 21 – The Winter Solstice

The Shortest Day – Celebrating the Winter Solstice by Wendy Pfeffer, illustrated by Jesse Reisch Why does it get dark earlier at night in Winter than in Summer?  What is Solstice?  Pfeffer addresses these questions and others in this colorful book about the Winter Solstice. In the Northern Hemisphere, near December 21, the sun reaches…

Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors?

Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors? The Story of Elizabeth Blackwell by Tanya Lee Stone, illustrated by Marjorie Priceman When Elizabeth Blackwell was a child, in the 1830’s, women were expected to become teachers, seamstresses, or wives and mothers.  They were not supposed to become doctors. As a girl, Elizabeth Blackwell didn’t talk about becoming…

Grandma Drove the Snowplow

Grandma Drove the Snowplow by Katie Clark, illustrated by Amy Huntington Billy and Grandma are baking cookies and listening to the radio in the kitchen on the day of the Carol Sing.  The radio brreeps in with an emergency broadcast warning of blizzard conditions and up to two feet of snow. Grandma runs the snowplow…

Picture Book Month

Picture Book Month Picture Book Month is an international literacy initiative that celebrates the print picture book during the month of November. Every day in November, there is a new post from a picture book champion explaining why he/she thinks picture books are important. Check out the website at:  http://picturebookmonth.com/ They’ve put together tons of activities and a…

Fortunately, The Milk

Fortunately, The Milk by Neil Gaiman The setting of the book is in the main characters’ house, outside on the street, and in a lot of other places, all over. The main characters in this book are:  the children, their father, and Professor Steg.  The backup characters are:  the people in the jungle, the green,…

Flora’s Very Windy Day

Flora’s Very Windy Day by Jeanne Birdsall, illustrated by Matt Phelan Flora got upset when her little brother, Crispin, knocked over her paints, again.  Their mother sent them outside to play. Flora protested, saying that the wind was so strong it would blow her away.  Then Flora said:  “Of course, I could wear my super-special…

The Matchbox Diary

The Matchbox Diary by Paul Fleischman, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline A young girl visits her great-grandfather for the first time ever.  The girl looks around the room – full of books, boxes, collections, photos, antiques.  The great-grandfather says, Pick whatever you like the most.  Then I’ll tell you its story. The girl brings the old…

International Talk Like A Pirate Day

International Talk Like A Pirate Day – September 19 Today is International Talk Like A Pirate Day.  Recent dinner conversations in our home have been peppered with silly pirate talk like, “Avast ye scurvy dogs!” and “Shiver me timbers!”  and “Arrr!” What is International Talk Like A Pirate Day?  and what is the point?  Well. …

International Dot Day

International Dot Day – September 15 Today is International Dot Day, “a global celebration of creativity, courage and collaboration.”  This creative celebration was inspired by the book, The Dot, by Peter H. Reynolds. A teacher’s guide, some videos, Celibri-dots blog (dot images by authors, illustrators, and other famous folks), and a gallery of images of…