Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
The children’s picture book Grandpa’s Garden by Stella Fry and illustrated by Sheila Moxley (Barefoot Books, 2012) follows a child helping his grandpa in, as the title indicates, caring for his garden. They plant the vegetables and fertilize them with compost. The boy waters the growing plants and waits to see the sprouts. Together, grandpa and
Summer Days and Nights by Wong Herbert Yee (Henry Holt, 2012) is a sweet story of a girl enjoying nature during some bright summer days. The illustrations are done with colored pencils on watercolor paper, and the soft feel adds to the relaxing feel of the girl’s summer day. I especially like the cycle through the
Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (Roaring Brook Press, 2012) is full of lush illustrations celebrating the different colors of green, from forest green to pea green to faded green. Each page has a die-cut portion that looks on to a previous or subsequent page, thus emphasizing how different things (even “lime green” limes) are also
Time Out for Monsters by Jean Reidy and illustrated by Robert Neubecker (Disney Hyperion, 2012) is the story of a boy’s imagination. An unnamed boy is sent to his time-out chair, and he dreams of what would make his otherwise boring corner more exciting. On the top of his list is, of course, a monster, a
The Monsters’ Monster by Patrick McDonnell (Little Brown, 2012) is another book with adorable creatures who want to be monsters. Grouch, Grump, and Gloom ‘n’ Doom can’t decide who is the scariest monster, so they decide to make their own scary monster. But when their Frankenstein-like experiment succeeds, they find their monster is just as adorable
Spike, the Mixed-up Monster by Susan Hood and illustrated by Melissa Sweet (Simon & Schuster, 2012) tells about a monster who wants to be scary. The problem is that Spike is an axolotl, a tiny Mexican salamander that really is not very scary. None of the other pond friends are afraid of him. When a
Before I dove into the history of America with my homeschooling son, we did a general overview of the geography of the country. Although my son loves maps and would have had a great time pouring over maps of the states, I thought it would be more helpful to begin looking at the landforms of
Neville by Norton Juster, illustrated by G. Brian Karas (Schwartz and Wade, 2011) captures the frustration of moving into a new neighborhood as a young child. A new boy wonders about his new neighbors and wanders down his new sidewalk. When he reaches the corner, he starts calling for “Neville.” When other kids join him in
Homer by Elisha Cooper (Greenwillow, 2012) celebrates the peace that comes from the familiar, from home, by focusing on a dog who stays on his porch all day. Other dogs want Homer to come race with them, the children invite him to race on the beach with them, but Homer stays where he is and watches.
Chloe, Instead by Micah Player (Chronicle Books, 2012) is a sibling book: an elder sister in annoyed by young Chloe, who is always making things difficult. When the sisters find a way to work together, with Chloe dancing to her sister’s music, the older sister appreciates her far more and is glad for Chloe. This was
Big Mean Mike by Michelle Knudsen, illustrated by Scott Magoon (Candlewick, 2012) is about a rough-edged dog who learns to have a little bit of a softness to him when fuzzy white bunnies begin following him around. Although Mike doesn’t want to be known as a softy, the fuzzy bunnies begin to grow on him. As
Z is for Moose by Kelley Bingham, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinksy (Greenwillow, 2012) is a creative alphabet book. Zebra is directing an alphabet of friends (including Apple and Ball and others) in a alphabet pageant, and Moose is really excited for his turn. The problem is that when it comes to the letter M, Zebra
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