Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
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
Dive In: Swim with Sea Creatures at Their Actual Size by Roxie Munro (Holiday House, 2020) is a large nonfiction picture book about the coral reef ecosystem. Munro illustrates the variety of animals to be found there, with the main teaser being that these illustrations are actual sized, from tiny seahorses to reef sharks. With
Middle grade novel Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga (HarperCollins, 2019) captures one teen girl’s perspective as a Syrian refugee to America. Even without using dates within the text, Other Words for Home feels sadly applicable today since the Syrian conflict still rages and refugees flee to America from many different countries. Jude’s life
Hot Dog by Doug Salati (Random House, May 2022) contrasts the oppressive heat of a busy city in summer with the bright freedom and delight of an open beach. The nameless dog obviously swelters in the sun and then delights it in as he leaps across the sand and splashes in cool blue waves. It’s
Everyone except Maddie, and I mean everyone, has been inexplicably evacuated from her town in the middle of the night in the beginning chapters of the free verse novel Alone by Morgan E. Freeman (Aladdin, 2021). Now Maddie has no access to anyone (phones have been abandoned). She is without electricity and running water and
In The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly (Greenwillow Books, March 2024), Michael is a lonely celebrating his 12th birthday in the summer of 1999 when his life is changed by the appearance of strange kid in his apartment complex. Michael is an awkward kid obsessed with Y2K (yes, that moment when computers
The nonfiction picture book My Light by Molly Bang (Blue Sky Press, 2004) is narrated by the sun and covers many topics in elementary science. The influence of the sun is woven into explanations about the power of the great star into the water cycle and so much more. The water’s movement and the warm
Tales from Silver Lands by Charles Finger (originally published 1924) weaves together tales the author collected during travels to Central and South America throughout his life. As with many volumes of stories, they range in interest, plot, and theme. Some stories are directly connected to the previous ones in the volume. Others are separate tales
Lost Kites and Other Treasures by Cathy Carr (Amulet Books, February 2024) addresses anxiety and other mental illness with a middle-school story featuring Franny, who escapes to making creative “found” art when things start to feel overwhelming. Although Franny tries not to think about her absent mother and the traumas of her early life (after
In Skywatcher by Jamie Hogan (published by Tilbury House, 2021), a young boy loves astronomy and lives in a city with lots of light pollution but he longs to see the stars properly. One day his mother takes him to the country to do just that. They see familiar constellations in the starry sky and
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien (Atheneum Books, 1971) is a tale about a strong field mouse mother determined to save her family from the imminent danger that comes from the spring plowing. With the advice of a wise owl, she turns to the rats who live under the rosebush
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