Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
The fictionalized nonfiction picture book On Kiki’s Reef by Carol L. Malnor (illustrated by Trina L. Hunner; Dawn Publications, 2014) tells about the life cycle and habitat of a sea turtle named Kiki. Parallel text appears on each page: one provides details about Kiki’s life (in a serif font), and a rhyming couplet summarizes one
Two New Years by Richard Ho (illustrated by Lynn Scurfield; Chronicle Books, 2023) features a child in a unique situation: she celebrates two new years each year. I had thought it would be about the Chinese New Year and the traditional January 1 date, but I was wrong. This child celebrates Jewish New Year (Rosh
Dear Katie, The Volcano is a Girl by Jean Craighead George (illustrated by Daniel Powers; Hyperion, 1998) is the story about a grandmother and a granddaughter on vacation in Hawaii. They tour a volcano, and while Katie insists that the volcano is Pele (a goddess) her grandmother disagrees and explains how volcanoes form because cracks
The Truth About Dragons by Julie Leung (illustrated by Hanna Cha; Henry Holt & Company, 2023) captures two different dragon traditions with rich illustrations depicting each culture’s tradition in a style reminiscent of the culture. Leung picture book is told from the grandmother’s perspectives, as if telling the child the story. The distinct shift between
Spring Walk by Virginia Brimhall Snow (Grimms Smith, 2019) is a refreshing spring book. The book’s focus is two-fold. First there are light, black-and-white line illustrations and a simply rhyming text. In this, the author-illustrator shows children going for a nature walk in a garden with Grammy. Then, in the foreground on each page is
Dear Earth: From Your Friends In Room 5 by Erin Dealy (illustrated Luisa Uribe; Harper Collins, 2020) is an inspiring environmental activism picture book told through a series of letters between the students in room five of a school and the earth (who receives the letters through the wind). The students tell how they have
I’m always excited to find picture books that would work well as writing prompts for elementary school kids, so I was extra excited to find Ten-Word Tiny Tales: To Inspire and Unsettle by Joseph Coelho (Candlewick, 2023). This volume has stories that are each, as the title suggests, just ten-words long. With a variety of
Oscar and the Bird: A Book about Electricity by Geoff Waring (Candlewick Press, 2011) has a fictional frame for an otherwise instructional book about electricity basics. The fictional animal characters makes an otherwise difficult concept easy to approach. When Oscar the cat accidently turns on the windshield wipers on the tractor, a bird explains to
The picture book Scroll by Hui Lu (Christy Ottaviano Books, September 2023) teaches about Chinese characters and calligraphy with an imaginative dialog and dream featuring a grandfather and his granddaughter. This illustrated and imaginative approach to learning about the character-based language is a perfect match for a young child to become engaged and interested in
Hot Dog by Doug Salati (Random House, May 2022) contrasts the oppressive heat of a busy city in summer with the bright freedom and delight of an open beach. The nameless dog obviously swelters in the sun and then delights it in as he leaps across the sand and splashes in cool blue waves. It’s
In Skywatcher by Jamie Hogan (published by Tilbury House, 2021), a young boy loves astronomy and lives in a city with lots of light pollution but he longs to see the stars properly. One day his mother takes him to the country to do just that. They see familiar constellations in the starry sky and
With gorgeous, realistic illustrations, author-illustrator Lynne Cherry takes the reader through the process of starting a garden in the picture book How Groundhog’s Garden Grew (Blue Sky Press, 2003). This time it is a garden planned and planted by Groundhog, with Squirrel’s help. The garden begins with gathering seeds in fall, and then, after hibernating
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