Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
Dory Fantasmagory by Abby Hanlon (Dial Books, 2014) perfectly captures the thought process and imagination exaggeration of a super creative first grader. With a mix of text and comical illustrations, Hanlon puts together a fantasmagory (“a shifting melody of real or imagined characters”) of any imaginary play time. My very imaginative eight-year-old loved the mix
Bing! Bang! Chugga! Beep! by Bill Martin Jr. and Michael Sampson (illustrated by Nathalie Beauvois; Brown Books Kids, 2023) is a bright and noisy car picture book with a bouncing rhyme scheme following the “This Old Man” tune. The common refrain of “Bing! Bang! Chugga! Beep!” adds to the simple couplets to make it simply
The apartment in the classic Harlem brownstone feels like a part of the family in The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser (Clarion Books, 2017). But this Christmas, the family finds out that their landlord, the grumpy Mr. Beiderman, will not be renewing their lease. Now, with just eleven days before moving day,
In The Night the Lights Went Out On Christmas by Ellis Paul (illustrated by Scott Brundage; Albert Whitman, 2015), a neighborhood of families have a yearly Christmas lights competition, with larger holiday displays each year. One year, however, the surge from the holiday lights causes all the world’s power to go out, and the stars
The Mindy Kim series by Lyla Lee (illustrated by Dung Ho; Aladdin 2020) highlights a Korean-American girl in a new home with her recently widowed father. I never read books about different cultures when I was young, and so I’m delighted that this early chapter book series introduces such an enjoyable character with a unique
Miss Lina’s Ballerinas by Grace Maccarone (illustrated by Christine Davenier; Feiwel and Friends, 2010) is a cute ballerina picture book about a new girl joining a crew of eight dancers, making the “four lines of two” no longer an option for this tight-knit dance group that does everything together. Their steps are all out of
The Caldecott-winning illustrations of The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg (Houghton Mifflin, 1985) are only part of the magic of this Christmas story. One Christmas Eve, a young boy lies awake, listening for Santa’s sleigh bells. But he doesn’t hear bells: he hears a train. And there it is outside the door, waiting to take him
Gooney Bird Greene series by Lois Lowry introduces early chapter book readers to a spunky second-grader that is anything but average. Just like her unique name, Gooney Bird has a unique personalities that helps the kids in her class learn more from their teacher than they otherwise would. Some of the books we read from
From the series title (History Smashers), it was obvious to me that Christopher Columbus and the Taino People by Kate Messner and Jose Barreiro (Random House, August 2023) was going to an accurate and historically based book about Christopher Columbus. Some books for kids glide over the negative aspects of Columbus’ journey to the Americas,
It is quite rare to see a disease like cystic fibrosis depicted in an historical fiction novel, let alone historical fiction that takes place during the middle ages! In Breath (Atheneum, November 2003), creative storyteller Donna Jo Napoli retells the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin with a twelve-year-old boy that has cystic fibrosis
In The 12 Sleighs of Christmas by Sherri Duskey Rinker (illustrated by Jake Parker; Chronicle Books, 2017), the elves take on a design challenge when they discover that Santa’s sleigh needs repairs. The elves scramble to get something made that will work for him on Christmas Eve. In the next few days, the “sleighs” they
The Story of Doctor Doolittle by Hugh Lofting (published 1920) is told with a “once upon a time” feel, with a humorous tale told casually about a doctor who can speak with the animals. What a fun concept, but what a shame this concept was written about in such an era. While the writing is
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