Blog I

IMAGE JUSTIFICATION Do our actions have consequences? How can we choose the best action? Author Kadir Nelson, winner of both the Coretta Scott King Honor and Caldecott Honor award, brings to life a magical world of reaping what you sow in the book, If you Plant a Seed. In this fantasy picture book, the readerContinue reading “If you Plant a Seed by Kadir Nelson”

IMAGE JUSTIFICATION What happens if you take more, much more than what you need? Jasper Rabbit loves carrots and he eats them all the time – on the way home, and more. Then one day, Jasper starts to notice someone or something following him. Are carrots seeking revenge for his glutinous appetite? How will itContinue reading “Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds and Peter Brown”

IMAGE JUSTIFICATION Have you ever heard the term “antiracist”? What does it mean to be an antiracist? Winner of multiple awards including, the National Book Award and the W.E.B. duBois Book Prize, Ibram X. Kendi teams up with Ashley Lukashevsky to offer an honest, yet age appropriate board book for babies and older. In it,Continue reading “Antiracist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi & Ashley Lukashevsky”

JUSTIFICATION Who was Selena? What did she accomplish? What did she represent to her fans? Who was Selena is a book from the Who Was series that since 2002 has published over 250 books (“How many,” 2020). To much of the Spanish speaking world, Selena is an icon. She was a female musician in aContinue reading “Who was Selena?”

JUSTIFICATION What would you do if you had a strong stutter? Would you avoid speaking? Would you use techniques from your speech therapist, even if it made you sound like a snake? The narrator in this part-fiction part-memoir tells the story of an 11 year old boy, as he takes over his friend’s paper routeContinue reading “Paperboy by Vince Vawter”

IMAGE What would you do if you found out someone wanted to beat you up and they didn’t even know you? How would that affect your life? How would it affect your perception of school? Piddy, or Piedad, goes through this nightmare in the book Yaqui Delgado wants to Kick Your Ass, written by MegContinue reading “Yaqui Delgado wants to kick your ass by Meg Medina”

IMAGE JUSTIFICATION What if you suddenly found yourself living in another country? How would you cope with the difference in language and culture? In Sonadores, Morales takes the reader on a surprising journey of hope, confusion, and of course, discovery. Yuyi Morales came to the United States with her son to visit her ailing grandfatherContinue reading “Sonadores by Yuyi Morales”

IMAGE JUSTIFICATION What is the day in the life of a female worker honeybee? After she is born, how soon can she fly? What does she do all day? Honeybee: The busy life of Apis Mellifera answers those questions and more in a beautifully illustrated and informative yet sentimentle story of a honeybee. The bookContinue reading “Honeybee: The busy life of Apis Mellifera by Fleming and Rohmann”

IMAGE JUSTIFICATION Have you ever been uninspired? What do you do? My Pencil and Me, a recommended graphic novel from the Texas Library Association Little Maverick list, is a story of a girl who is ready to write a story, but has no inspiration. Her dog suggests she asks her pencil for help, who happilyContinue reading “My pencil and me by Sara Varon”

IMAGE JUSTIFICATION What was it like to be the keeper of a lighthouse before electricity? What would your day look like? How did you get food? Hello Lighthouse is a beautifully written and illustrated picture book that tells a story of one light keeper, his day to day duties, the family that stands alongside himContinue reading “Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall”

IMAGE JUSTIFICATION What if you saw someone you love start to change? What if they started to forget things, or stopped acting like themselves? In the award winning verse novel, The Ever After, Zechariah, ZJ’s father and professional football player, begins to change. He has also happened to have a experienced a high number ofContinue reading “Before the ever after by Jacqueline Woodson”

IMAGE JUSTIFICATION How much can one action, one work, or one person matter? The book, You Matter, tells the reader that they matter, however big or small they are. The cover of the book itself exemplifies that. The reader sees children that are all different, from a child in a wheelchair to the others inContinue reading “You Matter by Christian Robinson”

IMAGE JUSTIFICATION Do you ever wish it just snowed, beautiful white snow, even if it means that parts of daily life might be canceled? Would you welcome a slow down in the pace of life? I came across this gem in the book, Children’s Literature, Briefly, as a recommendation. It is an easy reader pictureContinue reading “Before Morning by Joyce Sidman and Beth Krommes”

IMAGE JUSTIFICATION Have you ever wondered what happens to all the Jack-o’-Lanterns after Halloween? They shrivel up and get nasty, but what is really going on in this process? This informational book reads like a narrative of the slow demise of the Jack-o’-Lantern and all the players involved. Young readers will be drawn to itContinue reading “Rotten Pumpkin”

Image JUSTIFICATION What would you do if you saw a squirrel being vaccumed up by an all too powerful vacuum? What if after you revived it, it awoke with super powers, not to mention a love of poetry and the ability to type? Flora and Ulysses is about the friendship of Flora, a cynical 11Continue reading “Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo and K. G. Campbell”