And just like that . . . *poof!* It’s gone! Not gone, exactly. The 31 Days, 31 Lists series may indeed continue next year. Just so long as the books or my eyesight holds out. In the meantime, it’s been a blast, guys. I appreciate that not a single one of you pointed out to […]
31 Days, 31 Lists: Day Five – 2017 Rhyming Picture Books
December 5, 2017 by
This year something struck me about the rhyming picture book crop that usually eludes my notice. I think it’s easy to assume that because a book rhymes, it’s automatically funny. But some of the books on today’s list, like The Road Home or even The Pomegranate Witch, dare to be touching. This begs the question […]
31 Days, 31 Lists: Day Four – 2017 Picture Book Readalouds
December 4, 2017 by
When I became a children’s librarian the most nail-biting aspect of the job was, without a doubt, storytime. Granted, this may have had something to do with the fact that part of my training meant doing a storytime for adults. Kids, as it turns out, are a completely different ballgame. My earliest attempts at reading […]
HIC! by Anushka Ravishankar, ill. Christiane Pieper
November 24, 2017 by
HIC! By Anushka Ravishankar Illustrated by Christiane Pieper Tara Books $18.00 ISBN: 9789383145645 Ages 4-7 On shelves now Ladies and gentlemen I ask you, and I ask you truly, can you think of a more international childhood experience than the hiccups? Here we have an unwanted occurrence that comes to every nation in the world. […]
Review of the Day: The Antlered Ship by Dashka Slater, ill. The Fan Brothers
October 28, 2017 by
The Antlered Ship By Dashka Slater Illustrated by The Fan Brothers Beach Lane Books (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) $17.99 ISBN: 9781481451604 Ages 4-7 On shelves now Take any number of picture books published in a given year. Read them all, cover to cover. Digest them. Ponder them. Then, I have no doubt, you’ll […]
Review of the Day: Crown by Derrick Barnes, ill. Gordon C. James
September 29, 2017 by
Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut By Derrick Barnes Illustrated by Gordon C. James A Denene Millner Book, Bolden (an imprint of Agate) $17.95 ISBN: 978-1-57284-224-3 Ages 4-7 On shelves October 10th Do you ever find yourself wondering if a book is too good to be true? Publishers are sneaky little devils. They know […]
Review of the Day: After the Fall by Dan Santat
September 1, 2017 by
After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again By Dan Santat Roaring Brook (an imprint of Macmillan) $17.99 ISBN: 978-1-62672-682-6 Ages 4 and up On shelves October 3rd Sometimes its easy to forget in the midst of all those picture books about farting dogs, night kitchens, and giant dance parties that initially literature […]
Review of the Day: What’s My Superpower? by Aviaq Johnston, ill. Tim Mack
August 2, 2017 by
What’s My Superpower? By Aviaq Johnston Illustrated by Tim Mack Inhabit Media $16.95 ISBN: 978-1-77227-140-9 Ages 4-7 On shelves August 4th I credit Booger Beard. I will explain. While many children’s librarians will tell you that they have strived to make their book collections diverse and inclusive, they have always been hampered by what was […]
Review of the Day: Accident! by Andrea Tsurumi
July 7, 2017 by
Accident! By Andrea Tsurumi Houghton Mifflin Harcourt $17.99 ISBN: 978-0-544-94480-0 Ages 4-7 On shelves October 3rd There is no accident so small that a forward thinking six-year-old can’t turn it into World War III. You see, there are certain things they won’t tell you when you prepare to become a parent. They’ll conveniently fail to […]
Review of the Day: Town is By the Sea by Joanne Schwartz, ill. Sydney Smith
June 14, 2017 by
Town Is by the Sea By Joanne Schwartz Illustrated by Sydney Smith Groundwood Books $19.95 ISBN: 978-1-55498-871-6 Ages 4-9 On shelves now There’s been a lot of talk lately about how a parent can engender empathy in their children. It’s a good question and worth a lot of discussion and listening. As a parent I’ve […]
Review of the Day: The Ring Bearer by Floyd Cooper
May 24, 2017 by
The Ring Bearer By Floyd Cooper Philomel Books (an imprint of Penguin Books USA) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0399167409 Ages 4-7 On shelves now. Decent, hard-working, necessary picture books are, in many ways, the hardest books I review. Decency, should anyone ask, is not exciting. Deplorable books are exciting. Madcap horrendous books are exciting. Dirty, indecent, awful, […]
Review of the Day: My Valley by Claude Ponti
April 21, 2017 by
My Valley By Charles Ponti Translated by Alyson Waters Elsewhere Editions (an imprint of Archipelago Books) $24.00 ISBN: 978-0914671626 Ages 4-8 On shelves now. I’ve written a lot about the state of translated children’s books in America lately. It is what it is. Generally speaking, Americans can be a bit cagey when it comes to […]
Review of the Day: Wolf in the Snow by Matthew Cordell
March 24, 2017 by
Wolf in the Snow By Matthew Cordell Feiwel and Friends (an imprint of Macmillan) $17.99 ISBN: 978-1250076366 Ages 4-7 On shelves now It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why it is that I love picture books as much as I do. Putting aside the usual reasons (brain growth, increasing a child’s capacity for wonder, parent/child bonding, […]
Review of the Day: The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet by Carmen Agra Deedy, ill. Eugene Yelchin
February 9, 2017 by
The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet! By Carmen Agra Deedy Illustrated by Eugene Yelchin Scholastic $17.99 ISBN: 978-0-545-72288-9 Ages 4-8 On shelves now Allegorical tales are not supposed to make you giggle. They’re steeped in seriousness. Rooted in meaning. Awash in heartfelt feelings that are meant to make you think deeply about the state […]
Review of the Day: Prince Ribbit by Jonathan Emmett, ill. Poly Bernatene
January 13, 2017 by
Prince Ribbit By Jonathan Emmett Illustrated by Poly Bernatene Peachtree Press $16.95 ISBN: 978-1-56145-761-8 Ages 4-7 On shelves March 1, 2017 There’s been a lot of talk in the news lately about . . . well, the news. Specifically fake news. Articles and stories that look real when you find them in your in-box or […]
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