Books to Inspire, Thrill and Engage Children
Boys and girls alike will enjoy except if by Jim Averbeck. It starts with an egg, which is not a baby bird. The egg will become a baby bird Except if... it becomes a baby snake. The rest of the book follows the same format: the snake will slither on its belly, except if... it... Continue Reading →
Ling and Ting are twins, and many people say they look exactly alike. But they are not exactly the same - as the stories in Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same by Grace Lin show. In each story, Ling & Ting discover something different about themselves: haircuts, ease of using chopsticks, making dumplings, etc.... Continue Reading →
The people were mourning their king, who was dying. They were also fearful of the future, because the king's son & heir, Prince Raphael, was not a pleasant person. As the king lay dying, he blessed his son, saying, "You cannot wear my crown until the day you marry a woman who is your equal... Continue Reading →
Anyone who has a child, or knows a child, or was a child, can remember the cajoling of finding an animal and wanting to keep it as a pet. "Please? Can I take it home and keep it? I'll take care of it, I promise!" Author Peter Brown turns those experiences around in Children Make... Continue Reading →
The mosquito is causing problems in the jungle - no surprise, right? But this mosquito is not causing problems for people. Not quite yet. This mosquito is causing problems between the animals. In Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears by Verna Aardema, readers learn the mosquito buzzed in the ear of an iguana, telling a... Continue Reading →
For most people, the thought of dandelions brings thoughts of desperate efforts to eradicate them from their yards. But for Zoe, dandelions are a symbol of hope. Hope that her mother will feel at home on the prairies of Nebraska. Hope that their sod house will soon feel like home. Hope that the family will... Continue Reading →
The little ghost Georgie takes great comfort in his evening routine. He makes the stair creak, the parlor door squeak, and the inhabitants of his house know what they need to do next. It's the same routine every evening. Until Mr. Whittaker decides to fix the creak in the stair, and oil the parlor door's... Continue Reading →
For those who enjoy Alexander McCall Smith's The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, he has now written a story for younger readers. The Great Cake Mystery tells readers of Precious Ramotswe's first case as a detective - when she was in elementary school. Her classmates are missing sweets - cake, bread with strawberry jam. Iced... Continue Reading →
Stories of courage and sacrifice inspire children, and adults, to become courageous and sacrificial themselves. Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story by Ken Mochizuki is one such story. Mochizuki tells the story of Hiroki Sugihara, the son of the Japanese ambassador to Lithuania in the 1940's. If you remember your history, you'll remember that the... Continue Reading →
My younger son is slightly obsessed with dogs right now. He's read dozens of books on dogs, different breeds of dogs, how to care for dogs - all in the hopes of convincing his daddy and I that he needs a dog. He figures if he can find the *perfect* dog, we'll have to say... Continue Reading →
Cultivating Readers 