Magdalen and Norah Vanstone’s story (which cannot really be discussed without spoilers, i.e., don’t read the back cover) left me less satisfied than usual with Mr. Wilkie Collins, but there is no denying that No Name (first published 1862) was a page-turning, suspenseful book. As with other Wilkie Collins novels, there are mistaken identities, disguises,
When I was young, I wrote. When we were about 6, my friend and I would sit at my blue Smurf picnic table in the family room of my house, armed with crayons. One of us would write the story and the other would illustrate it. When I was in first grade, my class had
In honor of yesterday’s American Independence Day holiday, I bring you a light-hearted collection of anecdotes and facts about the United States Presidents. At just over 100 pages and geared toward young readers, Lives of the Presidents by Kathleen Krull and Kathryn Hewitt (published by Harcourt Children’s Books, updated 2011) is just the right length
In her memoir The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls tells the story of her neglected childhood, from her father (who is usually drunk) to her mother who is (I believe) mentally ill. With her obvious inner strength and intelligence, Ms Walls rises above poverty and discrimination to become a successful writer. Lily Casey Smith, the protagonist
William Kamkwamba is a bright young man in Malawi. Despite a difficult life helping to run a farm and not having the opportunity to continue his schooling, he determined to figure out how to create electricity for his rural neighborhood. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (co-written with Bryan Mealer) is his memoir of his
It is unfair of me to only allot “brief” afterthoughts for the mega-monster volume that is Gone with the Wind but I do hope to rein in my frustrations. I know Gone with the Wind (1939) is a beloved novel by many. It did little for me. Please note that this is my negative opinion.
Footprints on the Moon by Mark Haddon (illustrated by Christian Birmingham; Candlewick Press, 1996). I have not read many memoir picture books, but this one worked wonderfully. Best-selling author Mark Haddon writes of his own childhood studying the solar system and dreaming about the moon, then shows him tuned in the television, watching the first humans
The best part of The Moon by Seymour Simon (Simon and Schuster, 2003) is the gorgeous NASA photographs on every page. It brings his basic facts to life. I personally loved pouring over the photos. Although the paragraphs are definitely a bit lengthy for a three-year-old, my son and I went through the book a few
Moon by Steve Tomecek (illustrated by Lisa Chauncy Guida; National Geographic Kids, 2005; Jump into Science! series) introduces young readers to basic facts about the moon with cartoon illustrations featuring a fun and friendly cat. It’s an easy to read picture book to read aloud, and not too dense. My three-year-old son and I read the
I’ve mentioned before that I love Gail Gibbons’ nonfiction picture books: she does a great job at capturing a subject with lots of detail, but presenting it in a way that kids can understand. The Moon Book (Holiday House, 1997) is no exception. While it is illustrated, it is not cartoony. Gibbons provides a readable picture book,
In a fantastic dream, a young boy travels to the moon in a plane in the picture book Moon Plane by Peter McCarty (Henry Holt, 2006). Once there, he walks and jumps on the moon, which feels like flying. There is little science in this book, since of course airplanes don’t fly out of the
At first, The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar reminded me of The Help. Obviously, given the very different settings, the book was very different as a whole from The Help. But I loved reading about the friendship and lives of two very different women. The book was beautifully written, and although the realistic issues
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