Maria Had a Little Llama / Maria Tenia Una Llama Pequena By Angela Dominguez Henry Holt (an imprint of Macmillan) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-8050-9333-9 Ages 4-8 On shelves August 20th Ladies and gentlemen, I stand before you a humbled woman. A woman who “knew” certain facts but, until she saw them working in her own personal [...]
Spirit Seeker: John Coltrane’s Musical Journey By Gary Golio Illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez Clarion Books (an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) $17.99 ISBN: 978-0-547-23994-1 Ages 6 and up On shelves now Is there any complicated hero with a past so full of darkness that their life cannot be recounted to children? This is the conundrum [...]
Me and Momma and Big John By Mara Rockliff Illustrated by William Low Candlewick Press $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-7636-4359-1 Ages 4-8 On shelves August 28th The people of New York City are spoiled beyond belief. Many’s the time I’ve traipsed down the street and glanced at one of the passing skyscrapers or cathedrals thinking “in any [...]
Jimmy the Greatest! By Jairo Buitrago Illustrated by Rafael Yockteng Translated by Elisa Amado Groundwood Books (House of Anansi Press) $18.95 ISBN: 978-1-55498-178-6 Ages 4-8 On shelves now Once in a while I’ll be impressed by a book for kids, pick it up to review it, and in the course of writing the review become [...]
When I first became interested in children’s literature I decided that it would be a good idea to teach myself about all the old greats of the picture book world. A good idea, but self-teaching is inherently limited. As such, I’ve missed a lot of folks. For example, until now “Saul Bass” meant nothing to [...]
Never Forgotten By Patricia C. McKissack Illustrated by Leon and Diane Dillon Schwartz & Wade $18.99 ISBN: 978-0-375-84384-6 Ages 4 and up On shelves October 11, 2011 The more I read children’s literature the more I come to realize that my favorite books for kids are the ones that can take disparate facts, elements, and [...]
Lola’s Fandango By Anna Witte Illustrated by Micha Archer Narrated by The Amador Family Barefoot Books $16.99 ISBN: 978-1-84686-174-1 Ages 4-8 On shelves September 1, 2011 In my children’s room at the library the requests I receive at the reference desk from kids and their parents vary widely. On the subject of dance there’s a [...]
Hot, Hot Rot for Dada-ji By F. Zia Illustrated by Ken Min Lee & Low Books $17.95 ISBN: 978-1-60060-443-0 For ages 4-8 On shelves May 2011 It’s not that contemporary picture books featuring Indian-American characters don’t exist. Even off the top of my head I’m able to instantly conjure up titles like Mama’s Saris or [...]
Layla’s Head Scarf By Miriam Cohen Illustrated by Ronald Himler Star Bright Books $15.95 ISBN: 978-1059572-177-8 Ages 4-8 On shelves now. Picture books serve all kinds of purposes. Some are meant to entertain. Others to instruct. Some deal with concrete subjects, and others are more emotional. Today I was asked at my library to come [...]
Rain Play By Cynthia Cotten Illustrated by Javaka Steptoe Henry Holt and Company $16.95 ISBN:978-0-8050-6795-8 Ages 3-8 On shelves now I was working the reference desk of the library one day when a boy that couldn’t have been more than seven-years-old came up to me. He had that deadly serious look to his face that [...]
Si, Se Puede! Yes We Can!: Janitor Strike in L.A. By Diana Cohn Illustrated by Francisco Delgado Essay by Luis J. Rodriguez Cinco Puntos Press $7.95 ISBN: 978-0938317890 Ages 4-8 On shelves now In discussing not only the Justice For Janitors Campaign of 2000 but also the need for strong unions in America today, this [...]
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