Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
TIn Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir by Pedro Martin (Dial Books for Young Readers, 2023), the author shares a pivotal time from his childhood, specifically when he traveled to Mexico to retrieve his ailing grandfather and return with him to the United States. Pedro, who is also called Peter, feels conflicted by his half-American, half-Mexican identity,
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
Courage Like Kate: The True Story of a Girl Lighthouse Keeper by Anna Crowley Redding (illustrated by Emily Sutton; Random House 2022) is based on the true story of Kate Moore, the first official female lighthouse keeper. In order to help her father, young Kate takes care of the lighthouse for him. Illustrations are created
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
With a rhythm and rhyme of just a few syllables per page, Bloom Boom by April Pulley Sayre (Beach Lane Books, 2019) provides not just a simple read-aloud for young children but also a great book of inspiration for finding flowers and other blooming plants that one enjoys. This book of flower photography is a
The Dream Coach by Anne Parrish (illustrated by Dillwyn Parrish; Macmillan, 1924) is a collection of a poem and four stories that are named the dreams of four children around the world. The children include a princess, a boy from Norway, a young Chinese boy “emperor,” and a French boy in the countryside. Each story
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
As the title suggests, Fungi Grow by Maria Gianferrari (illustrated by Diana Sudyka; Beach Lane Books, 2023) is a nonfiction picture book focusing on the growth, spread, and purpose of fungi through the world. With realistic illustrations, a variety of fonts, and both a storyline and sidebar facts, this picture book provides a welcome and
The premise of Nicholas: A Manhattan Christmas Story by Anne Carroll Moore (published 1924) sounds so promising. An eight-inch sprite-elf-boy (not sure exactly what he is) comes to Manhattan from the Netherlands for a Christmas to remember! After doing all sorts of Christmas shopping and visiting, he has a midnight party in the library, where
Because of an Acorn by Lola and Adam Schaefer (Chronicle Books, 2016; illustrated by Fran Preston-Gannon) has pretty pictures and simple text to show the connection between an acorn growing and the other types of life surrounding it. Birds, fruit, deer, chipmunks, and other animals all are able to live. They also contribute to adding
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
Middle grade readers will find themselves in for a fantastic and magical “backyard” adventure when they read Elf Dog and Owl Head by M.T. Anderson (illustrated by Junyi Wu; Candlewick 2023). This novel’s summary threw me off, because it sounded like it would be about a boy dealing with the annoyance of remaining home during
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