Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
The titular young lady in The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer (published 1950; reissued 2009, 2023 by Sourcebooks Casablanca) is a spunky female main character who effortlessly brings life to the dreary Rivenhall home. This is an ideal historical fiction Rom Com put into a book! Note: I read a lightly edited version reissued two
Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (published in 1941) continues the story of the pioneering Ingalls family, now with Laura 14 and a half years old. The book continues immediately after the closing of The Long Winter, and it is now spring 1881. But life will never quite be the same for
Fern is trying to find her way back to the only home she remembers in middle grade novel The Wrong Way Home by Kate O’Shaughnessy (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2024). Fern has lived on the Ranch since she was six, so when her mom sneaks her away, she is shocked and distressed. As she
Life After Whale: The Amazing Ecosystem of a Whale Fall by Lynn Brunelle (illustrated by Jason Chin; Neal Porter Books, 2024) is a nonfiction picture book about the complete ecosystem that forms around a whale carcass on the bottom of the ocean. It begins with an elderly whale and in the first pages, the whale
The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder (published 1940) is a great tale of endurance and survival for the Ingalls family, pioneers in the brand new city of De Smet in the Dakota territory. During this historic winter, frequent blizzards lasting 3 or 4 days crippled towns and halted railway traffic, which means that De
Twelve-year-old Rosie can see color when she hears music and she hears music when she sees colors. Her perfect “echoic” or audio memory mean that she is surrounded by constantly music, including in her thoughts. In the beginning of her story in The Color of Sound by Emily Barth Isler (Carolrhoda Books, 2024), Rosie is
Candace Fleming’s The Enigma Girls: How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets and Helped Win World War II (Scholastic Focus, 2024) is well worth the buzz that has been spreading about it. Although labeled a young adult nonfiction book, The Enigma Girls will interest anyone interested in the intellectual challenges to defeating Germany during World
Grace Goes to Washington by Kelly DiPucchio (illustrated by LeUyen Pham; Little Brown Books for Young Readers, 2019) is a friendly picture book introduction to government. It begins with a school lesson about the branches of government, making correlations between the principal and the president as well as between the student council and the Congress.
What was Anne Frank like before she started her famous diary? How did she get along with her sister, her mother, and the changing world around her? When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary by Alice Hoffman (Scholastic, 2024) is intended to give us a glimpse into this real girl
The Wild Robot Protects by Peter Brown (Little Brown Books for Young Readers, 2023) is the third volume in the story about The Wild Robot. My daughter and I listened to the others in anticipation of seeing the movie (as soon as it’s not $$$ to rent online!). I was excited when I first learned
I was unfortunately a little disappointed with oversized nonfiction picture book I Am Wind: An Autobiography by Rachel Poliquin (illustrated by Rachel Wada; Tundra, 2024). As the title indicates, this book teaches about wind with a first-person narration. Interspersed with the narration are side paragraphs (in a different font) that identify and name specific winds
Life in a Coral Reef by Wendy Pfeffer, illustrated by Steve Jenkins (a Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out, Stage 2, book) has colorful, textured collage illustrations that wonderfully match the child-friendly text. The text is written in present tense, which helps the reader feel present in the setting, among the tentacles of the sea anemone with the clown fish
Page [tcb_pagination_current_page] of [tcb_pagination_total_pages]
