Unspoken, A Story from the Underground Railroad, a picture book by Henry Cole, is an unusual book. First, Cole illustrated it with graphite illustrations - no color on the page, except the ocher yellow of the paper itself. While a tad plain, Cole's drawings are striking - full of detail and emotion which draw the... Continue Reading →
The Obstinate Pen
What should a person do when they find a beautiful pen? Write with it of course! Except when dealing with this pen. This pen only writes what it wants to write, not what the writers want to say - which make for some very funny situations. So who will be able to bring this pen... Continue Reading →
My Father’s Arms are a Boat
I rarely read book reviews, but I happened to read one about My Father's Arms are a Boat by Stein Erik Lunde. It describes Lunde's book as "lyrical" - and I can't think of a better way to describe it. Many things are implied in the text - the young boy's anxiety, the father's sorrow,... Continue Reading →
The Country Bunny
I'm not sure if Du Bose Heyward wrote The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes for children, or for their mothers. The Country Bunny is a sweet tale of a little girl bunny from the country who dreams of becoming one of the five Easter Bunnies. As a child, all the other bunnies laugh... Continue Reading →
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
A panda walks into the library, eats a peanut butter sandwich, shoots off a couple of arrows and leaves. The librarian shouts after him, "Why did you do that?" "Because that's what the book says I do," the panda replies. The librarian opens the book and finds a misplaced comma. "PANDA: Large black-and-white bear-like mammal,... Continue Reading →
Just the Way You Are
Even adults will appreciate Just the Way You Are by Max Lucado. Lucado tells a story about a family of five orphan children who long for a family. Soon they discover the king is going to adopt them. What news! To prepare, they each get busy working on a gift for the king. All, but... Continue Reading →
Train to Somewhere
Train to Somewhere by Eve Bunting tells the story of Marianne, a young girl heading West on the Orphan Train. Her mother left her at the orphanage years earlier, promising to come for her after she had made a home for them out west. She never came back. Marianne is convinced her mother will meet... Continue Reading →
Mailing May
We have often teased our children about boxing them up and sending them to visit their grandparents via the post office. These conversations usually happen when they are missing their grandparents and we have no immediate plans to visit them. In Mailing May by Michael O. Tunnell, that is exactly what happened! Little May wanted... Continue Reading →
This is Not My Hat
The small fish in This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen is very proud of the fact he has a hat. But, as you can surmise from the title, the hat is not his. He took it from a much larger fish. This tiny fish is confident that he can outwit the larger fish,... Continue Reading →
Dog Loves Books
In Dog Loves Books, author Louise Yates gives an eloquent argument in favor of real books - no e-readers or audio books here. Dog loves books so much, he decides to open a bookstore. But when no customers come, what will dog do? Read, of course! Sweet, colorful drawings illustrate this picture book, one children... Continue Reading →
Cultivating Readers 