Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
In The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2018), our robotic friend from the first book has been refurbished and sent to work as a “normal” robot on a farm in a futuristic world. With all of her memories and abilities from her wild years, however, Roz is only
In Michael Recycle by Ellie Bethel (illustrated by Alexandra Colombo; IDW Publishing, 2008), the goofy illustrations and the rhyming text make for an amusing read aloud. The picture book gives the reader helpful information on how to recycle when a superhero (the titular “Michael Recycle”) comes to town to help the town learn what it
Buried Beneath Us: Discovering the Ancient Cities of the Americas by Anthony Aveni (illustrated by Katherine Roy; Roaring Brook Press, 2013) covers the basics of four early American civilizations for the middle school and high school reader in less than 100 pages. With emphasis on the Aztec, Maya, Inca, and Cahokian civilizations, Aveni describes the
In Skywatcher by Jamie Hogan (published by Tilbury House, 2021), a young boy loves astronomy and lives in a city with lots of light pollution but he longs to see the stars properly. One day his mother takes him to the country to do just that. They see familiar constellations in the starry sky and
A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat (First Second, February 2023) is a middle grade graphic novel memoir of Dan’s experiences when he was 13 years old and had the opportunity to explore Europe. Set in 1989, a different era for traveling, the novel captures the essence of that time. The story revolves around
My fifth grader came home from school to tell me about an amazing book her teacher was reading. It was based on real situations (from around the world) and was about a person who lived in a busy city and didn’t have any running water. My daughter was awed that this girl went into a
I Love My City by France Desmarais and Richard Adam, illustrated by Yves Dumont (Pajama Press, March 2023) is a nonfiction middle grade explanation and illustration of what makes a city a city. Given the increasing urbanization of the world (apparently 55% of people worldwide live in cities!), this book provides a much needed look
A Bus Called Heaven by Bob Graham (Candlewick Press, 2011) is a story of a community coming together over a junkyard bus, a bus labeled “Heaven” and left on the street. Young Stella, a somewhat mysterious girl whom we don’t know much about, adopts the bus and, with the rest of her community, they make the
Tia Isa Wants a Car by Meg Medina and illustrated by Claude Munoz (Candlewick, 2011) is one I enjoyed but I never expected my 4-year-old son to love it as much as he did. It quickly became a favorite for us. As the title suggests, Tia Isa really wants her own car to be able to go
In honor of my recent trip to New York City, I bring you thoughts on two books about the buildings in the city: Urban Animals and Building Stories, both picture books by Isabel Hill featuring images from the buildings of New York City. Urban Animals By showing the images of animals as carved in and
Subway by Christoph Niemann (Greenwillow, 2010), was on a new bookshelf recently; it caught my eye because my son (age 3) loves trains and has never yet been exposed to what a subway is. He loves this book! The illustrations are on a black background, with white-painted rounded-edged figures of a parent and two kids, taking
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