Reading Ahead
Anna and Johanna
Anna and Johanna: a Children’s Book Inspired by Vermeer Geraldine Elschner illustrated by Florence Koenig Prestel Publishing, 2018 published in French in 2016 ISBN 978−3−7913−7345−4 Delft. Delft blue. The book begins with blue and yellow. 1666. Two friends born on the same day. This day, their birthday. They are each making gifts for the other. Lace and chocolate. One the daughter
Summer Reading
When I say “summer reading,” you think about … a good novel, right? I have a couple of suggestions. Every kid should have these two books tucked in their beach bags, ready for a car trip, or packed for summer camp. Seriously. In between the reading out loud of those novels you’ve been saving up all year, or the listening
What’s So Special about Shakespeare?
We celebrate William Shakespeare’s birthday on April 23rd (or thereabouts). Consider reading excerpts of this book to your classes. In What’s So Special about Shakespeare?, the author, Michael Rosen, walks into a house with us, peeking into rooms where Shakespeare’s plays are being enacted. Such variety! It’s an inspired way to place young readers among the
The Enchanting Boggarts
Whenever anyone asks the title of my favorite book, it’s a toss-up between two: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle and The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper. A Wrinkle in Time because it opened the whole wide universe to my young mind and The Dark is Rising because I understood for the first time what a perfect story
With My Hands
Sometimes, a book comes across my desk that sparkles like a gem, attracting my attention, insisting that I stop what I’m doing and read it. This happened when With My Hands: Poems about Making Things arrived last week. I thought I’d take a peek. Next thing you know, I was closing the last page of the book, sighing with contentment. And then
The Magic Misfits
I’m one of those people that often reads a celebrity-written book because I’d like to find one that defies the odds. How about you? Did you get over the wondering at a certain point? Or do you still give a new star-powered book a try? Sadly, I don’t often find a celebrity book I can recommend. This time, though, I’m practically shouting:
The Secret Kingdom
This book is irresistible. For all kinds of reasons. Remember when you were a kid, or maybe you do this now, how you’d take whatever was at hand and create a house, a camp, an entire setting for you to play in? Where you could act out your stories? Did you do this with found items from nature?
Mighty Jack
We are thrust into the midst of the action, which never stops until the epilogue. This is how Ben Hatke tells a story. We don’t know what’s going on. There’s no setup. Instead, we quickly learn that Jack is climbing some vegetative matter to find the ogre who kidnapped his sister Maddy and take her home.
For The Beast in Us All
The theme of being yourself is familiar. Many books, movies, and plays are devoted to this idea. When it’s done well, we all sit up a little straighter, laugh more confidently, and dream about all the things we’d like to do to be true to who we are. Children need to hear this message often so
No Pigs in Space?
Some of my readers know that the very first story I wrote (in second grade) was Pigs in Space. I still have it. I still wonder whatever prompted me to write it. This was before the Muppets launched their pigs into space. And it was definitely before Kim T. Griswell and Valeri Gorbachev launched their pig into space
Proof
If you ever doubt that kids are affected by books, read any one of these letters. They will touch your heart deeply. You’ll remember each two- or three-page missive and the ardent connection to the book. If you haven’t already done so, you’ll more than likely be moved to read (or re-read!) the book that
Imaginary Selves
Each of us knows well the person we imagine ourselves to be. I’m guessing that this imaginary person has changed shape and identity throughout your life. As a child, do you remember your secret identity? Mine was a fearless superhero version of myself, because fearless I was not. If Richard Torrey had known that, he surely would have
August Shorts
Picture books you’ll want to add to your repertoire! Touch the Brightest Star written and illustrated by Christie Matheson Greenwillow Books, 2017. A night-time book, settling down for bed, quietly looking at the pages, hearing the story. An interactive book? Yes, because the author/illustrator wisely invites the reader and listener to touch the pages, to help
Me, All Alone, Reading This Book
Sometimes, the illustrations are wonderful but the language is captivating. You know how you read a picture book and you can’t decide which part to focus on? Should you look at the picture first? Should you read the story because it’s the thread that’s pulling you through? Well, when you read “He was a long-leggedy man with
The Best Wish of All
Once in awhile I find a book on my reading pile that I’ve passed by a few times. It might be that the cover doesn’t make sense to me and I shuffle through to choose another title. Or the title might be silly (in my mind) and I don’t open the book because something else catches my interest. And then