An Ambush of Tigers by Betsy Rosenthal (Millbrook Press, April 2015) is, as the subtitle describes, a “Wild Gathering of Collective Nouns.” Each of the collective nouns she has chosen has a double meaning and Jago’s delightful illustrations play up the double meaning for some amusing images that are not soon to be forgotten.
Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin (Feiwel & Friends, October 2014) is chocked full of amazing characterization. Rose is a preteen struggling with OCD and difficulties fitting in because she is on the autism spectrum. But Rose is not stupid, and her quick wit and clever ways of dealing with her frustrating life One of
The Princess Problem by Rebecca Hains (Sourcebooks, September 1, 2014) focuses on the issues surrounding the princess culture so rampant in our nation among the youngest of girls. Ms. Hains focuses on the problem with an emphasis on princesses among young girls, the issues of what is portrayed in the popular princess movies, and what
The Fault in Our Stars by John Greene (Dutton Books, 2014) is both an existential novel about the meaningless of life as well as a sensitive exploration of the importance of friendship in the midst of the seemingly meaningless. Hazel is a 16-year-old girl with cancer, miraculously kept alive by a “miracle” drug that could
It’s so much fun to read picture books with my toddler. She simply loves reading, and although here books of choice often revolve around The Berenstain Bears and Clifford or Dora (none of which I enjoy all that much), sometimes I can get in some great books that I love too. As An Oak Tree
It’s so much fun to read picture books with my toddler. She simply loves reading, and although here books of choice often revolve around The Berenstain Bears and Clifford or Dora (none of which I enjoy all that much), sometimes I can get in some great books that I love too. Little Green Peas: A
It’s so much fun to read picture books with my toddler. She simply loves reading, and although here books of choice often revolve around The Berenstain Bears and Clifford or Dora (none of which I enjoy all that much), sometimes I can get in some great books that I love too. Help! We Need a
Two years ago, I wrote about how much I enjoyed the first of the Precious Ramotswe Mysteries, a new series by Alexander McCall-Smith sharing the childhood mysteries featuring Precious Ramotswe, the future Ladies’ Detective. I enjoyed the second and third in the series as well. Simple mysteries give the young children reading a chance to feel
Lost in Translation by Ella Frances Sanders (Ten Speed Press, September 2014) is a delightful dabbling in the untranslatable (into English) words of the world. I’ve always felt that foreign languages are important to learn simply because English cannot always express everything there is to say. Artist Ella Frances Sanders brings some of these words to
Draw-A-Saurus by  James Silvani (Ten Speed Press, September 2014) is the perfect book for a kid who loves two things: Drawing Dinosaurs I know one such kid, so I was delighted to come across this book. With clear step-by-step instructions, the author/illustrator shows the process for drawing realistically proportioned dinosaurs of all kinds. There is
Way back in August and September, Jenny from Reading the End suggested I read Sophie Blackall’s illustrated book based on the personal “missed connections” posts found on Craig’s List. I love her illustration style, as I mentioned when I reviewed her picture book. Missed Connections captures the personal ads just perfectly with Ms Blackall’s style.
What is Poetry? by Trudi Strain Truit (Lerner Publishing, September 2014) is an attractive nonfiction book for young readers or middle grade readers. It teaches common types of figurative language and common formats of poetry (free verse, rhyming, and so forth). Even better, it provides sample poems to demonstrate the concepts. It has large text for
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