Barbara Bash
Homepage for this author and illustrator of children’s books on plants and animals. I have enjoyed Shadows of Night, a book about bats, and What’s Up, What’s Down, a wonderful look at nature high and low.
Month: December 2003
Lynne Reid Banks
The Official Lynne Reid Banks Website
Homepage for this author of Indian in the Cupboard and many other titles.
Kathi Appelt
Kathi Appelt
Homepage for this author of children’s picture books, including the Bubba and Beau series, and books for older readers.
Storyopolis Store
Storyopolis
What a cool online store! Selling art that appears in children’s books and autographed copies of children’s books, I could blow my entire budget for the year in minutes. Definitely worth a visit to at least drool at the items for sale.
Horn Book Fanfare
Fanfare
Horn Book’s choices for the best books of 2003 in a range of levels.
Via Children’s Books.
Mr. Picassohead
Mr. Picassohead
I love finding things like this online to share with kids and teachers. This site allows users to create a Picasso-like picture by adding eyes, noses, lips, ears, and more.
Swear to Howdy
Swear to Howdy by Wendelin Van Draanen (0-375-82505-3)
Rusty and Joey are best friends getting into all sorts of trouble together, putting frogs in older sister’s underwear drawers, plinking cans, and other stunts. Each time trouble find them, they make a blood pact not to tell. But when does friendship mean breaking a promise?
This is a great book for boys. It is fast paced and kids will relate to the sorts of trouble the boys get into. Some parts will have you laughing outloud while others will have you reacting just like the two friends in the story with your mouth open in amazement. The best part of the writing is that it all reads so true to life.
Give this one to boys who are reluctant readers. They will be immediately hooked by the first chapter and enticed by the short length, and they will have discovered a book that is deeper than they ever expected.
William Durbin Homepage
William Durbin
Homepage for this author of books for young adults. His newest is Blackwater Ben, which is waiting for me to read on my book pile.
Cool Moonlight
A Cool Moonlight by Angela Johnson (0-8037-2846-8)
This short novel for children is about Lila, a girl with a rare sun allergy that prevents her from being exposed to any sunlight at all. Lila lives in darkness ans plays by moonlight, dreaming of being able to dance in the sun someday.
Johnson’s writing is both spare and evocative, capturing the magical quality of playing outside at night. The characterization of Lila is superb, giving readers a true glimpse of someone living in a unique situation.
I would recommend this for children who understand the appeal of exploring a character. I would also use this as a read-aloud in a classroom, because it would lead to interesting discussions on people who are different yet the same as us.
Waking Brain Cells 