Margo Bandini has always felt secure. She had Papa, Mama, and her little brother Charlie - although he had given the family quite a scare several years earlier. But it is now 1933, and Margo's world seems to be falling apart. The sheriff sale sign in on the front door of her home. Her best... Continue Reading →
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
"This is the best book EVER!" cried my 10-year-old, lifting Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor high in the air. We had just finished listening to the audio version of the book, read by Lynne Thigpen. I had tried reading it aloud to my children, but being a white woman from... Continue Reading →
Kindred Souls
If the child in your life has lost a beloved grandparent or other loved one, Kindred Souls by Patricia MacLachlan will help them process that loss. MacLachlan has a gift for expressing emotion in strong simple words, and actions of her characters. Sarah, Plain and Tall is an award-winning example of her gift. I think... Continue Reading →
Born and Bred in the Great Depression
Author John Winter remembers his father's stories of growing up during the Great Depression in Born and Bred in the Great Depression. He recounts how his father grew up in a small house outside a small town in Texas. He describes the hardships, and the joys, of being a child during those difficult years. The... Continue Reading →
Heart of a Samurai
Japan in the 1800's was a mystery to the rest of the world. The country was truly isolationists - no Japanese person who left its shores was allowed to return. Not for any reason. Japanese rulers told their people the world outside Japan was dangerous - full of demons, barbarians and monsters. And soon, fourteen-year-old... Continue Reading →
Oodles of Animals
Not surprisingly, animals are the focus of Lois Ehlert’s book Oodles of Animals. Each page features one, or several, animals portrayed in Ehlert’s colorful collage artwork, accompanied by short, rhyming poems describing each animal. Ehlert features a wide variety of animals, from mammals like bears and foxes, to reptiles like crocodiles and snakes, to birds... Continue Reading →
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin may seem an intimidating book to some readers. It's quite thick, with 278 pages. However, the words are large, the chapters are short and the illustrations are beautiful. Lin tells the story of Minli, a girl growing up in the shadow of the Fruitless Mountain. Life... Continue Reading →
Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge
In Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox, Wilfrid lives next to an old people’s home, and he knows everyone who lives there. He overhears his parents discussing his favorite person, Miss Nancy Alison Delacourt Cooper. They say she’s lost her memory. Wilfrid doesn’t know what a memory is, so he asks all his friends... Continue Reading →
Dark Life
In Dark Life, author Kat Falls introduces her readers to Ty, the first child to be born in Benthic Territory. He helps his parents & his sister on their subsea farm, and explores the rest of the continental shelf - and even parts of the open ocean, even though it's dangerous. Ty is more comfortable... Continue Reading →
Virginia Lee Burton
There are some authors that no matter what book you pick up, you will be sure to enjoy it. Virginia Lee Burton is one of those authors. Virginia Lee Burton (1909 - 1968) wrote and illustrated several classic picture books - including The Little House, Katy and the Big Snow, Maybelle the Cable Car, Mike... Continue Reading →
Cultivating Readers 