The Labors of Hercules Beal
There’s a right time for the right book. The time for this book is now. Reading it, you cannot help feeling hopeful.
friendship
Hands
Trev is a talented artist. He’s kind, thoughtful … and he doesn’t want to learn how to fight. But … he needs to protect his family.
Mark Ceilley
Writing this book was a wonderful experience for me. I am proud to be a part of writing a book that incorporates themes of friendship, kindness, cooperation, and building self-confidence.
Peace Books
We're publishing a list of some of the more recent books about peace and conflict resolution, as annotated by Carol Spiegel, a long-time K-8 educator.
Friendship
“One of the most beautiful qualities of a true friendship is to understand and to be understood.” (Lucius Annaeus Seneca)
Growing up it was difficult for me to make friends. Some of the key phrases I was told included: “it is a natural process,” “the sky is full of many stars, but having one friend is larger than the universe,” and “smile to everyone you walk past.”
You Should (Not) Read These Books
I remember my neighborhood friends standing on opposite sides of a driveway, angry, yelling loudly at each other. I don’t recall why, but I can still feel those emotions. That’s how strong feelings are. Our children deal with a multitude of emotions every day.
You were probably remembering similar instances from your childhood. And what happened afterward? Most likely you were all friends again, because you needed to be.
Bookstorm™: Orphan Eleven
Four orphans have escaped from the Home for Friendless Children. One is Lucy, who used to talk and sing. No one knows why she doesn’t speak anymore; silence is her protection.
The orphans find work and new friends at a traveling circus. Lucy loves caring for the elephants, but she must be able to speak to them, and to warn others of danger.… more
Beethoven in Paradise
Fresh Lookology features books published several years ago that are too good to languish on the shelf.
Martin Pittman takes a reader’s heart and runs with it. He lives in a trailer park called Paradise, but his home life is anything but. Martin’s father is abusive, his mother completely cowed. He has no siblings. His grandma, Hazeline, who comes on Sundays to take him to the Howard Johnson Prince of Wales buffet, is quite a character — one the reader is unsure of at first.… more
Friends, Friends
Jackie: We two friends have been doing this blog since 2015. Yet, we’ve never done a column on books about friends. We know there are many, and many classics, such as the always-satisfying Frog and Toad books by Arnold Lobel, or William Steig’s Amos and Boris, or James Marshall’s George and Martha. But today we want to look at three, one by one of our favorite writers Lucille Clifton.… more
Pie and Gratitude
November is a month of gratitude — and, for us, a month to celebrate Pie. We all have a favorite. Many of us have childhood memories of good times and pie. We all wait for the days when we can eat pie for breakfast. So we two thought this would be the perfect month to look at picture books about pie.… more
Laughter and Grief
by Vicki Palmquist
There are books we remember all of our lives, even if we can’t remember the details. Sometimes we can’t even remember the story, but we remember the characters and how they made us feel. We recall being transported into the pages of the book, seeing what the characters see, hearing what they hear, and understanding the time and spaces and breathing in and out of the characters.… more
