Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
The text-heavy picture book The Island that Moved: How Shifting Forces Shape Our Earth by Meredith Hooper (illustrated by Lucia deLeiris; Viking, 2004) may be too wordy for a read-aloud, but it is an illustrated example of the changing geologic earth from era to era, thanks to the many forces at work on the tectonic
Follow the Moon Home: A Tale of One Idea, Twenty Kids, and a Hundred Sea Turtles by Phillippe Cousteau and Deborah Hopkinson (illustrated by Meilo So; Chronicle, 2016). Watercolor illustrations and friendly text with unique typography share the story of a child new to the area that spearheads a class project. The project, “Lights Out
Odder is a curious and spunky sea otter in the ocean, spritely enjoying water play with her more cautious older friend, when she is bitten by a shark. Now Odder is fighting for her life. Thankfully, in the middle grade novel Odder by Katherine Applegate (Feiwel & Friends, September 2022), this memorable otter is rescued
The One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate (HarperCollins, May 2023) is the third in the series that started with The One and Only Ivan (based on a true story) and continue with The One and Only Bob. (My kids and I listened to the audio of Bob last year, fantastically narrated by Danny DeVito,
As a gorgeous oversized watercolor-and-ink illustrated picture book and poetic tributes, The Late, Great Endlings by Deborah Kerbel, illustrated by Aimee van Drimmelen (Orca Book Publishers, 2022) is a visual delight to peruse. Add to that the factual STEM-theme about extinct animals, and it’s also a necessary reminder that humans have a direct impact on
The Penguin of Ilha Grande by Shannon Earle , illustrated by Renato Alarcao (Charlesbridge, 2023), tells the true story of a friendship between an older man and a penguin. The subtitle is “From Animal Rescue to Extraordinary Friendship,” and the story is entertaining to children as well as educational about the difficult changing climate conditions
Did you know that there is a mammal that has scales? I didn’t until I read Operation Pangolin by Suzie Eszterhas (Millbrook, 2023). This book refers to one man’s mission to save the dwindling population of pangolins from human poachers. I hadn’t even heard of this small reptile-looking, ant-eating mammal. Surprisingly, it is more closely
In the Indian Ocean, fishermen discovered a wounded turtle, which they adopted and named her Yoshitaro. In Yoshi’s Big Swim by Mary Wagley Copp, illustrated by Kaja Kajfez (Capstone, December 2022), Yoshi’s story of healing, growing, and her final swim teach young readers not just about one loggerhead sea turtle but also about how we
The Case of the Vanishing Little Brown Bats by Sandra Markle (Millbrook Press, September 2014) is another fascinating scientific mystery. As with The Case of the Vanishing Tree Frogs, which I read and reviewed a few years ago, Little Brown Bats is about a species of animal that is mysteriously disappearing in the world. In
Sometimes a clever and intriguing storyline makes a novel great. Sometimes, it is the interaction of a number of interesting characters. And other times, a novel is great because of the carefully developed setting that gives life to the situations and characters. In One Came Home (January 2013, Knopf Books for Young Readers), Amy Timberlake
Me Want Pet! by Tammi Sauer and illustrated by Bob Shea (Simon and Schuster, 2012) is the story of a cave boy who wants a pet. He tries a wooly mammoth, a saber-toothed tiger, and a dodo bird, and none of them seems right. How will he get a pet?! The humor is obvious, given the
The Case of the Vanishing Golden Frogs: A Scientific Mystery by Sandra Markle (Millbrook Press, 2011) is about a very specific subject: the golden frogs are dying in the rainforests of Panama. In an engaging way, Ms. Markle manages to bring us into the mystery so that we care about these little frogs and hope for a
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