Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
Ice Cycle by Maria Gianferrari, illustrated by Jieting Chen (Millbrook Press, 2022) is subtitled “Poems about the Life of Ice,” and I must say that, just as I had never considered the variety of animals living near icebergs, I had never considered varieties of ice on which those animals live! Yes, as Gianferrari shows in
No Two Alike by Keith Baker (Beach Lane Books, 2011) celebrates the uniqueness of winter with gorgeous digital paintings of two birds enjoying nature. The text is rhythmic and rhyming, and provides a gentle framework for the how nothing is completely alike – snowflakes, fences, trees. The ultimate conclusion is that the birds are similar
Lemonade in Winter by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by G. Brian Karas (Schwartz and Wade, 2012) is a clever story to teach about money. A brother and a sister have decided to have a neighborhood lemonade stand, despite the fact that it is the middle of winter and snow covers the ground. Their parents suggest they won’t have
I certainly hope there is not snow in the coming 48 hours, but in honor of one last crazy storm this winter-ish season, here’s one more “snow day” book that Raisin and I enjoyed. It’s one that would be fun any time of year. Zoo Flakes ABC by Will Howell is a fabulous ABC art
Given the two feet of snow that fell on my community yesterday, I feel it’s appropriate to focus on some of the snowy day books my son and I have enjoyed lately. Raisin loves snow and especially snowmen, so I searched out some potential favorites even before this week’s storm hit. In addition to those
Part ghost story and part mystery, The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (published 2006) captures the power of stories and books in a lonely life. Amateur biographer Margret Lea is invited to write the story of Vita Winter, aging popular writer with more than fifty published works to her name. Although the two women are
I was a bit disappointed by Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome. I’m glad I read it: it gave me a new perspective on Wharton, because it was a different setting, cast of characters, and theme from those I’ve read before. It was wonderfully written, with Wharton’s elaborate and realistic descriptions of the setting and thought processes.
I loved My Antonia by Willa Cather when I read it in high school, and when I went to pick it up, I had some dim memories of characters and setting. I recalled that it was about rural Nebraska. It was about a boy and a girl. They lived on farms and played together. It
In honor of the snow Chicago is “enjoying,” I found some Winter-related Caldecott-winning books this month at my local library.
Anton Chekhov’s “The Student” is the perfect story. Decide for yourself by reading it at Project Gutenberg (1,500 words) or listening to it at LibriVox (10 minutes). Note that I read a new translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. Here are some elements that make it perfect for me.
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