Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson is a poetic autobiographical reflection on the author’s childhood. The writing is sparse, written in free verse, and yet each poem packs a punch of emotion. Ms Woodson recalls her earliest of memories (fictionalizing events as necessary). Her early childhood is spent with her grandmother and grandfather in South
Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink is a 1930s Newbery Award Winner, based on the experiences of the author’s own grandmother. Caddie is a creative and active 11-year-old, resistant to the demands her nineteenth-century culture demands of her because she is a girl. In this fictionalized volume of adventures, Caddie’s fun occasionally brings her into
I Love You, Blankie! by Sheryl Haft and illustrated by Jane Massey (Little, Brown and Company, April 2015) is an adorable board book about a child imagining with a comfort blanket. I never used a comfort blanket myself, but my daughter loves to have a special blankie to snuggle (although she chooses from among a
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli, the Newbery Award Winner for 1991, is celebrating its 25th anniversary since publication. It’s hard for me to imagine this book being an “old” one, but since I knew I read it as a child, I should not be so surprised. Maniac Magee is the story of a legend, a
Ten Rivers that Shaped the World by Marilee Peters and Kim Rosen (Annick Press, April 2015) is a delightful children’s nonfiction book about the significance of ten rivers on the history of the world. The rivers chosen are not necessarily the most influential or the most interesting, but together the histories provide a well-rounded overview
Walk on the Wild Side by Nicholas Oldland (Kids Can Press, 2014) is a delightful story about three friends (a bear, a moose, and a beaver) who love to have adventures together. The cartoon illustrations show the humor of these particular friends hiking together, but ultimately the message of “enjoying the journey” is a memorable
School Days Around the World by Margriet Ruur and illustrated by Alice Feagan (Kids Can Press, 2015) captures Malala’s vision in the epigram at the beginning: “I don’t mind if I have to sit on the floor at school. All I want is education.” In the cut-paper collage illustrations, the stories of real children around the
In his note following his picture book, The Grasshopper and the Ants (Little, Brown and Company 2015), Caldecott Medalist Jerry Pinkney says the picture book is intended to be an “homage to nature.” The rich details of the summer and autumn turning in to winter certainly provide an appropriate homage. As with his richly illustrated
My son and I enjoyed 999 Tadpoles by Ken Kimura dn Yasunari Murakami (May 2011) when we read it years ago, so I was excited to see the two sequels to it in our local library. 999 Frogs Wake Up (North South, 2013) is a fitting read for the beginning of spring. As the frogs
Secrets of the Apple Tree by Carron Brown and Alyssa Nasser. Secrets explore the various habitats for animals around an apple tree, from the birds in the nest and the worms in the ground, to the squirrels in the hollow space and the fungi growing on a fallen branch. As an educational book, it provides plenty
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse (1998 Newbery Medal Winner) is a young adult novel in poetry about the difficulties of dust bowl living in the 1930s. A changing industry, magnified by severe drought and the Great Depression, meant that farming in rural Oklahoma was more difficult than ever. But Billie’s difficulties are compounded.
Passenger on the Pearl by Winifred Conkling (Algonquin Books, January 13, 2015) is a middle-grade nonfiction story about two young girls who sought to escape slavery in 1840s Washington, D.C. Emily Edmonson was only 13 when she joined siblings and others on the small ship The Pearl in hopes to escape North. It was the
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