A beautiful volume of poems that share the senses of the season combined with a variety of poetic formats. Each season in the volume begins with a welcoming Haiku. That leads into each month of the year having a poem, allowing readers to feel both the deepest winter and also the promise of spring as the poems continue. It’s a volume of poetry that allows the poems to stand on their own while also becoming more while seen as a full year and volume.
The quality of the poems is exquisite, using both the content of the poem and the structure of the poem to share that moment in the season. This is all the more impressive given that the poems are translated from Dutch to English and still maintain rhythm and rhyme. The illustrations in the book are woodcuts, beautifully colored and delicate. They have an organic feel that fits the subjects perfectly and offer a beauty of image that rivals that of the poems.
A superb collection of seasonal poetry for children. Appropriate for ages 6-10.
This picture book biography of Aaron Copland starts in 1900 when Aaron is born to his Russian immigrant parents. He grew up in an apartment above his family’s store in Brooklyn, listening to the horses clomp on the streets. He also listens to music, jazz and piano. Aaron decides to become a musician and heads to Paris where he is taught to take his ideas and turn them into symphonies. Aaron’s music evolves as he tries to capture what is happening in America during the 1930s. He tries to make music that sounds like America. Soon people can hear his music in movie theaters and at the ballet. His music reflects America with its wide melodies and space to dream.
Mang beautifully puts words to what Copland was attempting to create with his music. His focus on access to music and keeping it relevant to the general public can be heard in his symphonies. This picture book is just as relatable, sharing that children can create their own music that reflects them too. The art is celebratory and approachable, often using flowers to show when the music is flowing and being shared.
A celebration of America’s composer. Appropriate for ages 5-8.
Harry Houdini was born Erik Weisz in Hungary, son of a rabbi with a large library of books. The family emigrated to America where they hit hard times after Harry’s father lost his job. Harry had to quit school and start to work. Eventually, the family was so poor they had to sell his father’s books. It was in another book that Harry eventually found magic. He worked hard and studied more books, hoping to make enough money to care for his family. He met his wife, who worked as his assistant, soon adding his famous escape artist routines to his act. As his acts grew more dangerous, his fortunes grew. He built his own personal library that grew so big that he hired his own librarian. Eventually, he was even able to replace his father’s lost books and add them to his collection.
It is a very unique lens to view Houdini’s life through: his love of reading and books. Breaking the idea that Houdini was born in America and found magic easy, adds to his connection with books and shows how even the most famous and gifted magician needs resources and knowledge to continue improving. The text is playful in appropriate spots, serious in others and always leads back to books. The illustrations done in cutouts, layer compellingly and create depth on the page that is used cleverly to show light, height and plenty of books.
A testament to the magic of books. Appropriate for ages 5-8.
Marie learned to make Ukrainian decorated eggs with the Baba in Ukraine. They used beeswax and sketched stories on the eggs which were then painted in colors created from local plants. Marie followed her brothers when they moved to North America. Marie lived in Minneapolis after discovering her favorite uncle was there. When spring came, Marie longed to make pysanky and slowly found a way to create the colors and tools she needed. Marie married and her tools grew better thanks to her husband. Eventually, Marie started to sell tools and teach people how to create this art. Her Ukrainian Gift Shop became the largest supplier of pysanky kits in the world and her eggs were displayed at the White House. All a tribute to her heritage and her Baba.
This dynamic tale mixes tradition with new opportunities. Throughout the book, Marie is shown as a woman with her own ideas, her own way of approaching things and an undying connection to her Ukrainian heritage and culture. The book shares just enough information about creating pysanky to give young readers a sense of the detail and skill that go into each one. The art by Turk is amazing given that it uses resist, just like pysanky does, for the art. The result is an Easter egg of a book that has a rustic and colorful feel.
A bright inspiring look at a female entrepreneur who used her heritage to create a business that speaks on behalf of Ukrainian heritage. Appropriate for ages 5-8.
To raise awareness of the problem of hunger in America, Dick Gregory pledged to run 3,500 miles across the United States from Los Angeles to New York City in two and a half months. At first, there were journalists, famous people and others cheering. But soon there was just the quiet of the road. He ran 50 miles a day, seeing America in a new way. At every stop Gregory spoke about why he was running. Running farther, Gregory was joined by local people who met him to run with him for a bit, supporting his cause, even Muhammad Ali came along. There was pain, so much effort and finally success as he entered New York on the Fourth of July.
Told in second person, this book invites you to experience the decisions that went into Gregory’s run as well as the run itself. The text is near poetry, flowing across the page in stanzas that have rhythm that begs to be read aloud. It shares information clearly and with a particular point of view that insists that you look and think about what was accomplished. The art by Morrison is marvelous, filled with the long legs of runners, the vibrancy of brown and Black skin, and playing with perspectives to make the art sing along with the words.
A thrilling and inspiring look at activism in action. Appropriate for ages 5-8.
Every February, gray whales travel from Baja California to the Arctic. The trip is 6,000 miles and takes them 2 months. In their midst are 12 whales with a different plan. All of them eat almost nothing along the trip and some die along the way. When they reach Washington State, the 12 whales change course and head to the Salish Sea. The whales must wait for the tide to rise so they can reach the mudflat safely. Still, the water is very shallow where they must forage for the ghost shrimp to help them survive their journey. They stay for days, devouring the shrimp and leaving whale-sized divots in the sand. They set out on their trip north again, heading to the rich Arctic waters and then traveling back to California again to have their calves. Perhaps those calves too will take the dangerous detour to the Salish Sea.
Nickum has created a nonfiction picture book that reads beautifully, welcoming children to the story of these brave animals as they find a new way to survive a dangerous migration. The prose is presented almost like poetry on the page, offering beautiful moments of wonder at what the whales can do when they turn off and then eat in such shallow waters. MacKay’s art is incredible. She uses paper, ink, colored filters and light to create images that shine on the page. Each of the images is amazing, but I’ve never seen anything like what she has created to show the whales in shallow water. Incredible.
Breathtaking story and illustrations make this a journey worth taking. Appropriate for ages 4-8.
Louisa May Alcott was born into a family very similar to that of Little Women. She had three sisters and they played with the books in her father’s study. The family was poor and moved often. Louisa loved to write in her Imagination Book but her older sisters were already working as domestic servants. When Louisa was twelve, her mother received an inheritance which allowed the family to purchase a new home in Concord, Massachusetts where she met neighbors like Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. As they continued to move, one of Louisa’s sisters died and Louisa’s dream of writing seemed far away as she was rejected again and again. It was after her time as a nurse during the Civil War that Louisa found her straight-forward writing style that everyone continues to love in her Little Women.
This approachable picture book biography of the famous author focuses on the parallels between her own life and that of the Marches in Little Women, a perspective that pays off at the end when Little Women is finally published. Alcott’s journey is fraught from the beginning due to poverty and yet she continues to dream of writing, showing a real perseverance as she struggles to find her unique voice. The illustrations are done in a mix of paint, pencil and digital, focusing closely when Alcott’s world begins to draw inward and having wide landscapes at the times of expansive thought and opportunity.
A great picture book biography of a big woman in children’s literature. Appropriate for ages 5-8.
A tall tale based on the life of Zora Neale Hurston takes readers into the life of this renowned author as a small child. Zora was a little girl who didn’t play gently with dolls or tea sets. She was always dirty after a day playing outside, climbing trees. But most of all, Zora was a story teller filling the air around her with tales that she made up on the spot. She dreamed of her stories changing the world and then set out to use her tales to end the local drought. Armed with just a watering can and her imagination, she went around town telling stories. But by the end of the day, there was no water in her can. About to give up, she realized that she had watered a garden with her stories and the drought came to an end as everyone started to use their imaginations together.
This second book in the Small-Girl series is a winner. Young Zora is presented with a huge imagination and a mouth willing to share the stories she creates. She shines brightly on the page, her ideas glowing against the grumpy adults she encounters. The illustrations move from huge suns and moons to fancy parlors to the stories that Zora weaves. The result is a book filled with deep color and sprightly tales.
A clever use of tall tales to speak to the power of stories and one amazing author.
Septima Clark was born in 1898 to a father who had been enslaved and a mother who was raised free in Haiti. Her parents firmly believed in education, getting Septima a real education by trading for lessons. Even as a child, Septima loved to teach others. At age 18, she moved to South Carolina and an all-Black school where she was allowed to teach. She taught children during the day and adults at night. In the 1950s, Septima started teaching at an integrated school for adults, helping people learn to read, write and vote. She worked with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and a team of teachers who helped Black people learn enough to pass the existing voting tests. Septima never stopped teaching and never stopped being the change.
There is something so beautiful about a child raised from poverty and following her own dream of teaching all the way through to its most exultant form, community activism and enabling others to follow their dreams too. Throughout this picture book biography, there is a sense of quiet strength in Clark, leading through teaching, creating change through her work. Dynamically written in poetic prose, the book reads aloud beautifully. The illustrations are oil paintings, capturing Clark from childhood through adulthood with grace and poise.
A force for change and good. Appropriate for ages 5-9.
A child discovers frog eggs in a pond. Eggs will become tadpoles and eventually frogs. But where did the very first frog come from? Well, the picture book merrily takes children way back in time to the Big Bang where the first atoms were just forming. Stars formed and exploded, atoms moving across the universe. 8 billion years later, our solar system formed around the sun. Earth was perfectly positioned to create living things, but it took time. Cells formed, became creatures, lived in water and eventually on land. Amphibians rule the land for 100 million years, evolving and eventually frogs started hopping.
This is the third book by this creative pair, offering a book both about frogs and about the universe and life itself. The text is engaging and interesting as it suddenly veers from pond life to all life and then back again to frogs. It’s a journey in time and space that is definitely worth taking as the book explains the process simply for young children to understand. The illustrations also change from watery blues and greens of frogs and ponds to the dynamic colors of the universe as it is born and grows.
A book about frogs that hops in new directions. Appropriate for ages 4-7.
Beginning with a gosling snug in his egg, the book tells it that it is time to hatch! Step one is finding and pricking the air cell in the egg so that the gosling can breathe. Step two is tapping away with its egg tooth to break that shell. Perhaps a quick nap, since that was hard work. Now on to cutting the shell and using wings and legs to exit. Find a warm spot to dry off and then you are set to head out with your mother and siblings.
Alongside the jaunty hatching story that can be shared aloud, there are in-depth facts on each page turn so that readers can learn more. It’s a great way to share information with children who are interested and still have a fast-paced read aloud for a crowd. The facts are written in an engaging style too, full of answers to natural questions. The art in this picture book is a lovely mix of cartoon and science, making for a book that will show well to a group and also read well snuggled close.
Told from the perspective of the Alabama River, this picture book shares the account of Black American history as seen by the river. From the creation of Selma to the Trail of Tears. From enslaved people to battles during the Civil War. From sharecropping to bridges across the river. All is witnessed by the river itself. But nothing was quite like 1965 when resistance flowed across the bridge at Selma and freedom flowed but not without bloodshed and brutality.There were more rivers to cross, more agreements to be made, but history and change were made that day.
The Young People’s Poet Laureate has created a picture book that looks deeply at the dark history of slavery, sharecropping, lynching and more before turning to the hope of change inherent in the protests at Selma. The writing is beautiful, unflinching and honest about the history of racism that our country was built upon. Collier’s illustrations are a rich mix of acrylic, watercolor and collage. They include a gatefold that works to pause the reader, linger at a pivotal moment rather than rushing on past.
Powerful witness to our shared history. Appropriate for ages 8-12.
Though an Englishman is credited with discovering that carbon dioxide traps heat, it was actually an American woman, Eunice Newton Foote, who did it first in 1856. Eunice grew up on her family farm and asked lots of questions. At age 17, she was sent to a girls school where she was taught science and able to use a laboratory. She grew up, married and had children and stayed curious. Never a professional scientist, she did science at home, learning about various gasses and their capabilities. When she wasn’t allowed to present her findings since she was a woman, a friend presented them on her behalf. She was the first to tie carbon dioxide to global warming, a foundational learning for our times.
Offering just the right amount of information for young readers, this nonfiction picture book focuses on Foote’s curious mind and scientific studies. The illustrations are particularly striking with Foote in her wide hoopskirts engaged in long walks, scientific experiments and discoveries. They demonstrate how rarely we see women of this period engaged in scientific work.
Inspiring and engaging. Appropriate for ages 7-10.
Take a walk like Charles Darwin in this nonfiction picture book that reveals both Darwin’s thinking process and also his scientific discoveries. First find a rock or two, then a walking stick and then find a loop to walk. It could be a loop around the block or a loop around the world, like the one Darwin made on his ship. That’s when he discovered the fossil of a giant sloth, the variety of beaks on finches that lived on the Galapagos Islands, and the bones and skin of a rhea, a bird he’s been seeking but had been served for a meal. Then came the thinking. The why of it all. The walking in loops. The stacking of rocks to count the loops. What will you think of when you take your own walk?
The combination of encouragement to get outside, walk and think with the historical and biographical information on Charles Darwin creates an unexpected treat of a book. The book ends with the author explaining that walks that are celebrated tend to be extraordinary, full of vistas and beauty. That is not the sort of walk we are talking about. These are thinking walks, going the same way every time. And just look at the result. The illustrations play with the dichotomy of the book, sharing historical elements with paintings and offering a light-hearted feel.
A real thinker of a book. Appropriate for ages 5-9.
Based on Dr. King’s rare presentation to a group of middle schoolers in South Philadelphia, this book uses erasure poetry to take his speech and turn it into verse. Using short but powerful sentences, the poem focuses on what your life’s blueprint should be. It’s about feeling your worth, knowing you are Black and beautiful. It’s about achieving things with your life and doing your jobs well. It’s about being the best you can be. And the poem shows the incredible people who came before and created the light to follow. Don’t stop in the hard parts and the darkness, keep going!
Duncan removed a large percentage of Dr. King’s original speech to create her poem. Yet the power of his words carries on the page, a clarion call for change and action. Though she erased much, somehow his voice still booms on the page, thanks to her skill with words. The illustrations are wonderfully abstract, supporting the poem and allowing the words to soar.
A tribute to Dr. King and his legacy. Appropriate for ages 8-12.
This graphic work of nonfiction for middle schoolers is superb. It tells the story of Lake Peigneur in Louisiana from the lake’s point of view. The lake tells of the misfortune that happened there when an oil rig accidentally punctured the local salt mine’s tunnels. The result was incredibly dangerous for everyone in the area since the water from the lake drained into the salt mine, forming a water vortex that could swallow barges. Boats on the surface had to fight to get to shore and then contend with the lowering water levels. The shore eroded and trees were sucked down until suddenly a geyser erupted as air escaped the mine shafts. As the disaster unfolded, people stayed calm and followed their training, resulting in no one losing their life.
A remarkable tale that creates a book that is fast moving and incredibly gripping. Few people know of the disaster outside of Louisiana since no one lost their life. It’s a look at nature’s response to a man-made issue and the power of water itself. Brilliantly told, the book sticks with the various people in danger, from the miners to the tug boat to the gardeners on shore. The use of the lake as the narrator is clever since there were so many human perspectives.
A thrilling look at nature and disaster. Appropriate for ages 8-12.
Waking Brain Cells 