Books to Inspire, Thrill and Engage Children
We first met Rosalind in Small Acts of Amazing Courage, also by Gloria Whelan. In All My Noble Dreams and Then What Happens, we are back in India with Rosalind, her parents and her aunts during the turbulent times of the 1920's. Rosalind's 'adopted' baby is doing well in the orphanage, where her Aunt Louise... Continue Reading →
Boys have always been attached to their dogs. And Great-Grandfather was attached to Three Names, so called because everyone in the family had a different name for him. Three Names by Patricia MacLachlan isn't so much about the relationship between Great-Grandfather and Three Names, as it is about Three Names being a part of Great-Grandfather's... Continue Reading →
I almost squealed with delight when I discovered Hattie Ever After, the sequel to Kirby Larson's Hattie Big Sky. Of course, I immediately came home and devoured it, I was so anxious to find out what happens to Hattie after she leaves Montana. I appreciated Larson's treatment of Hattie - even though she loves a... Continue Reading →
Solveig, her older sister and younger brother, the crown prince, are trapped in a hidden fortress tucked between a narrow fjord and towering mountains. Their father sent them there, along with a band of fierce and restless warriors, to protect them during battle with his sworn enemy. But mysterious things are happening - food missing,... Continue Reading →
When we first started reading A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park, my children and I were rather confused. Throughout the book, Park weaves together the stories of two children who grew up in Sudan. One story starts in 2008, the other starts in 1985. In 2008, Nya walks to the pond twice... Continue Reading →
Rendi has a problem - an attitude problem. In my childhood, a General Bad Attitude (GBA) was grounds for punishment. In Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin, Rendi has run away from home, so his parents aren't around to punish him. Instead, he's forced to work as a chore boy at an inn... Continue Reading →
As I browsed the library's website and shelves, I often picked up The Clockwork Three by Matthew J. Kirby, but put it right back down. I wasn't sure I wanted to commit to it - I wasn't in the mood for a fantasy novel (which it isn't!), I needed to find picture books to review... Continue Reading →
Every time I read a book by Patricia MacLachlan, I am in awe of her gift of telling simple, yet heartfelt stories. White Fur Flying is no exception. Zoe's family rescues dogs. Not just any dogs, her mother rescues Great Pyrenees, "140 pounds of white fur." (To be honest, I'm not a dog lover, and... Continue Reading →
Sometimes I feel the world celebrates extroverts to the detriment of introverts - those of us who recharge and refuel being by ourselves, who don't feel a need to be involved in every conversation, who are perfectly entertained with favorite toys and our imagination. People like Oliver. Oliver, the title character in Birgitta Sif's picture... Continue Reading →
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 →
Cultivating Readers 