Pitch perfect in tone and content, this is supposedly the book that will help all parents talk to their kids. In truth? This also is the book that will help KIDS talk to their parents. It’s a two-way street and everybody’s driving.
Review of the Day: The Talk, edited by Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson
October 21, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Review of the Day: The Girl and the Ghost by Hanna Alkaf
October 6, 2020 by Leave a Comment
A book that shows in the most eloquent way possible how family trauma lives on, from generation to generation, taking shape, forming us one way or another. The elements that make a great novel for children aren’t difficult to understand. Hanna Alkaf has laid them out for you.
Review of the Day: A Thousand No’s by D.J. Corchin, ill. Dan Dougherty
October 1, 2020 by 3 Comments
If you think the process of creation is sometimes painful and collaborative and ultimately fun, this book is the first that I’ve ever seen to express that idea. You want to get to yes? Then you gotta slog through no.
Review of the Day: I Wish by Toon Tellegen, ill. Ingrid Godon, translated by David Colmer
September 17, 2020 by
I Wish isn’t going to sit quietly in a category. It’s the kind of book that would rather wander off and make up its own categories, expecting you to follow dutifully behind. And you will, because it is strange and wonderful and ultimately very very memorable. Can many other books out there say half as much?
Review of the Day: Planet Omar – Accidental Trouble Magnet by Zanib Mian, ill. Nasaya Mafaridik
September 11, 2020 by
Let’s hand Omar to as many kinds as we can name. Because as far as I’m concerned, funny books that also prove to be smart and socially conscious (not to mention anti-racist) might help us get out of the mess this world is in.
Review of the Day: I Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott, ill. Sydney Smith
August 27, 2020 by
Deft poetic language pairs with the resonant watercolors of Sydney Smith to create a book that is more than a memoir and more than conveying a message. This is pain, turned into art, and written for young children. Incomparable.
Review of the Day: Drawing on Walls by Matthew Burgess, ill. Josh Cochran
August 20, 2020 by
Drawing On Walls is the kind of book that you wish other writers of children’s nonfiction would read. A story that justifies its very existence by justifying the very existence of its subject.
Review of the Day: Hide and Seeker by Daka Hermon
August 13, 2020 by
If you have kids looking for outright, down and out, horror horror (the ones who’ve watched Stranger Things but balk at the heft of a Stephen King novel) this little book is an answer to your prayers. Prayers / nightmares.
Review of the Day: All Because You Matter by Tami Charles, ill. Bryan Collier
August 6, 2020 by
There are plenty of inspiring picture books out there for kids. Few understand their purpose as perfectly as this book does.
Review of the Day: A Cat Story by Ursula Murray Husted
July 29, 2020 by
Gorgeously wrought and tenderly rendered, this feels like a labor of love that will snuggle itself deep into the hearts and minds of kids everywhere. Regardless of whether or not you even like cats, you will find much to admire and love (not necessarily in that order) in this gutsy little book.
Review of the Day: A Game of Fox and Squirrels by Jenn Reese
July 23, 2020 by
It’s a mystery. It’s a game. It’s filled with puzzles and riddles and clues. It’s funny, and it’s deadly serious. Parts are evocative and parts are heartfelt and parts are completely unforgettable. Having a rough day/week/month/year? Cuddle up to this. Challenging enough to intrigue you. Enticing enough to keep you.
Review of the Day: See the Cat by David LaRochelle, ill. Mike Wohnoutka
July 16, 2020 by
You can hand today’s book to a kid learning to read, absolutely. Just be warned that their read may be punctuated with interjections of a highly voluble nature. In other words, this is laugh-out-loud funny.
Newbery/Caldecott 2021: Summer Prediction Edition
July 15, 2020 by
If you’re anything like me, 2020 hasn’t been a great year for reading. That’s okay. This isn’t a great list for predicting (but it’s fun). See what may or may not win big in 2021!
Review of the Day: Rescuing the Declaration of Independence by Anna Crowley Redding, ill. Edwin Fotheringham
July 9, 2020 by
The true story of the man responsible for keeping key American documents out of the hands of the invading British in 1812. A book about the rescue of ideas put to paper.
Review of the Day: Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte
July 1, 2020 by
May casual cruelties fall by the wayside in the presence of such books as this ione. May our children find it and love it and read it repeatedly. And may we see more such books from Ann Clare LeZotte and authors like her, that put work and care into the very folds of their stories.
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