Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
Kid Presidents by David Stabler and illustrated by Doogie Horner (Quirk Books, October 2014) is a delightful picture book with stories of the presidents as kids. But it is not a typical presidential childhood book. Rather than following the presidents in chronological order, Mr Stabler has focused on the presidents’ childhood hobbies, trouble-making, and childhood jobs.
Sometimes we underestimate the attention span of our youngest children. When I saw the first Bird and Squirrel book, I thought of my 7-year-old son, someone who loves reading but may need a nudge to get interested in a new series or even genre. He has not had much experience with graphic novels, so I thought
The Red Bicycle by Jude Isabella and illustrated by Simone Shin (Kids Can Press, March 2015) tells the story of a red bicycle, from the day Leo earns the money to buy it until the day it is taken apart and shipped to Africa, where it changes the life of a poor child. Big Red
Excavate! Dinosaurs by Jon Tennant (Storey Publishing, October 2014) is a crafty book in which the facts of the first half supplement the dinosaur bones cut outs of the second half.Kids read about 12 different kinds of dinosaurs and then must put them together. The catch, however, is that the dinosaur bones are not labeled, so
I love Jane Yolen’s talent for writing extends from children’s picture books and poetry to middle grade and older books! Her books almost always seem to delight or intrigue me, and her recent contribution to the middle grade bookshelf is no exception. Centaur Rising by Jane Yolen (Macmilian Children’s Publishing Group, October 2014) is a fantasy novel
Sometimes we take the most obvious things for granted. Like rocks, for instance.  A Rock Can Be by Laura Purdie Salas and illustrated by Violeta Dabija (Millbrook Press, March 2015) shows all the ways that rocks are an important part of our world.Â
When I was a kid, I always wanted a twin. Someone who would understand me perfectly. An identical twin would be perfect. Then she would completely understand what it is like to be me. So of course, I loved Sweet Valley Twins and The Parent Trap, the latter, of course, because I did not yet
The world is so big, I can understand my son not understanding some concepts. I tried to explain the amount of snow that recently covered Buffalo, New York, and he just shook his head. How can he possibly understand the distance to the moon? The extent of the universe? If by David J. Smith and illustrated
An Ambush of Tigers by Betsy Rosenthal (Millbrook Press, April 2015) is, as the subtitle describes, a “Wild Gathering of Collective Nouns.” Each of the collective nouns she has chosen has a double meaning and Jago’s delightful illustrations play up the double meaning for some amusing images that are not soon to be forgotten.
Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin (Feiwel & Friends, October 2014) is chocked full of amazing characterization. Rose is a preteen struggling with OCD and difficulties fitting in because she is on the autism spectrum. But Rose is not stupid, and her quick wit and clever ways of dealing with her frustrating life One of
The Fault in Our Stars by John Greene (Dutton Books, 2014) is both an existential novel about the meaningless of life as well as a sensitive exploration of the importance of friendship in the midst of the seemingly meaningless. Hazel is a 16-year-old girl with cancer, miraculously kept alive by a “miracle” drug that could
It’s so much fun to read picture books with my toddler. She simply loves reading, and although here books of choice often revolve around The Berenstain Bears and Clifford or Dora (none of which I enjoy all that much), sometimes I can get in some great books that I love too. As An Oak Tree
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