Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
Remember the last dream you had that seemed to be completely random? One minute it makes sense: the next minute it doesn’t. Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman is a strange, dream-like story. It is a story told by a father to his children as an explanation of why he took too long to go to
George’s Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl (originally published in 1981) is a book I never got to enjoy as a child, but since I have always loved Roald Dahl ridiculousness, I knew this would be a fun one. In fact, my son was the one who originally checked it out (fresh off of a reread
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. Help! We Need a
When I saw The Thirteen Clocks by James Thurber (originally published 1950; republished New York Review of Books) had an introduction by Neil Gaiman and was a part of The New York Review Children’s Collection, I was intrigued. The Thirteen Clocks is a short and bizarre fairy tale. Or fantasy story. Neil Gaiman describes it as
Railroad Hank by Lisa Moser and illustrated by Benji Davies (Random House, 2012) is a story of a train engineer who wants to help his granny feel better. Hank is rather slow, however: when Missy May suggests making a yummy plate of scramble eggs, Hank takes the chickens with him, and so forth. By the
I read a number of Cybils nominees again this week, but today I bring you just one. It is unlike any other picture book I’ve read this year! In a bizarre twist of storytelling, Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds and illustrated by Peter Brown (Simon and Schuster 2012) is a ridiculous story about carrots who
Stuck by Oliver Jeffers (Philomel Books, 2011) is one silly book. A boy gets his kite stuck in a tree and so he throws his shoe up to knock it loose … which also gets stuck. He tries to think of other things to throw into the tree to get the shoe out, and then of
I have been looking forward to introducing my son to the favorite books of my childhood, and I’m delighted to find he is finally old enough to appreciate them! Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar (originally published 1978) is a perfect chapter book for young readers. The chapters are less than five pages,
The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes by Mark Pett and Gary Rubinstein and illustrated by Mark Pett (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2011) is an exaggerated, silly book. In this book, Beatrice is perfect: she never makes mistakes and so is followed by the paparazzi everywhere she goes. When she performs at the school talent show, however, something different happens.
Samantha really wants to try out her new roller skates in Samantha On a Roll by Linda Ashman and illustrated by Christine Davenier (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011), but her mother can’t help her right now. Samantha can’t wait to play, and as she skates outside, she finds herself in the midst of a series of ridiculous adventures
Animals, whether they are talking animals or pets, are a popular subject in picture books. Below, I mention a few of the many Cybils Fiction Picture Book Nominees on the subject, from zoo animals and farm animals to wild animals, including some animals who don’t quite behave like animals “normally” do. Most animals in picture
It’s fall! Although I’ll be the first to tell you that I love spring, summer, and fall equally well throughout the year (I could do without winter and the month of August), once the leaves start falling and crunching under my feet and the weather gets cool enough to pull out my sweaters, I consider
Page [tcb_pagination_current_page] of [tcb_pagination_total_pages]
