Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Van Loon (published 1921) was awarded the first Newbery Medal in 1922, an award intended to celebrate the “the most distinguished contributions to American literature for children” that had been published in the previous year. As a volume that hoped to portray history with a conversational style, Van Loon
An Island Grows by Lola Shaefer and illustrated by Cathie Felstead (Greenwillow, 2006) is a nonfiction picture book about a volcano forming in the ocean, written as a story about a single, fictional island. With less than 10 words per page and a natural rhyme, this book tells the story of magma pushing through the
In the picture book The Words We Share by Jack Wong (Annick Press, 2023), the child narrator, Angie, tells how she is the one that helps her father with basics of communication in their Canadian community because he is not comfortable or fluent in English. Angie finds she can help the entire community, and to
The nonfiction picture book 10 Things I Can Do to Help My World by Melanie Walsh (CAndlewick, 2012) uses lots of empty space, along with simple illustrations, to tell how the narrator (assumed to be a child) helps reduce use of lights, water, and paper, as well as unplugging appliances, recycling, and reusing materials. With large
In the picture book Sensitive by Sara Levine and illustrated by Meherdokht Amini (Carlrhoda Books, October 2023), an unnamed girl hears complaints against her about her being too sensitive, “thin skinned,” and over-reactive. In the illustrations, which are done in a variety of media, these words from others slip through her “thin skin” and crowd
Beezus and Ramona is one of my favorite books by Beverly Cleary. First published in 1955, it give the perspective of the the familiar character of Beatrice Quimby (a recurring character in the Henry Huggins books), showing the universal frustrations of having a little sister. Through the course of the book, Beezus comes to understand
Young Alice Atherton has been despondent ever since her mother died. Now, the dreariness of her days in New York in the spring of 1927 are bringing her to the edge of boredom too. In Alice Atherton’s Grand Tour by Lesley M. M. Blume (Knopf Books for Young Readers, October 2023), Alice’s father decides to
I love time travel stories. With a delightful storyline, the middle grade novel 11,000 Years Lost by Peni R. Griffin (Harry Abrams, 2004) tells about an eleven-year-old young girl who travels 11,000 years into the past, weaving true facts about the Clovis civilization (a prehistoric group who lived in the southwestern United States) and archaeological
As the subtitle suggests, an origami firefly narrates Glowing with Electricity: Science Adventures with Glenda the Origami Firefly by Thomas Kingsley Troupe, illustrated by Jamey Christoph (Picture Window Books, 2015). Glenda the origami firefly, hanging outside a home, teaches the real fireflies why and how the backdoor lamp glows. The origami firefly story frame may
It is not often that I hear of a “new” book by a classic author, but Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston never was published during her lifetime due to the subject matter: interviews from the 1920s with one of the last enslaved people from Africa. Finally, it was published in 2018. Now, Ibram X. Kendi
The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles by Padraic Colum (originally published 1921) was a Newbery runner-up (now named a Newbery Honor) in 1922, the first year the Newbery Medal existed. As a children’s volume of Greek myths, it felt familiar. As the title suggests, Colum focuses on telling the story of
Just as I felt after I read Long Way Down, I feel that the middle grade novel-in-verse Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2020) gave me a window into a different world. In this story, ZJ is dealing with his father’s progressive cognitive decline, which comes with nightmarish migraines, mood swings,
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