picture books

The picture book is alive and well, to judge by the way the publishing industry keeps pumping them out.  Here are some of the more ...

To our children it’s already history, but to us it seems like “only yesterday.”  Too soon, really, to come to an informed conclusion about what ...

Captain Awesome (series), by Stan Kirby, Illustrated by George O’Connor.  Little Simon, 2012, approx. 110 pages.  Age/interest level: 5-7 According to many K-3 teachers I’ve ...

In keeping with our back-to-school focus: if you haven't met little Rocket, you really should.  As for Charlie Joe, well . . . How Rocket ...

Those delegates to the Second Continental Convention probably had no idea what they were creating when they signed a certain document back in July of ...

Some kids like numbers and are good with them; others aren’t.  Though no longer a kid, I fall in the latter category,but these two books ...

Last year about this time, I did a vacation audiobook post. I'm actually on vacation myself right now, so I can't do as thorough a ...

Memorial Day, like Veterans Day, is one of those overlooked observances that to government, library, and bank employees means a chance to catch up or ...

The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate.  HarperCollins, 2012, 304 pages.  Age/interest level: 8-up. Last week, a little bluebird appeared in our wood stove.  ...

I'm way behind on my Saturday reviews, so it's time to catch up—with a Tuesday review tagging off of last Friday's Steve Jobs post. Jobs ...

I have a confession to make: I’m not a fan of poetry.  For someone who loves literature, I see this not as a mere preference ...

Ever since Edgar Allen Poe, one of the most reliable publishing genres has been the mystery or detective novel.  I'm not a huge fan myself, ...

I read a lot of books for this blog.  All the ladies at the circulation desk at the Greene County Library (bless their hearts!) know ...

Rather than do a more traditional Easter post, I thought that this morning I'd create a small "bookstore" of some of my Easter favorites.  Here ...

“It is to be broken. It is to be torn open. It is not to be reached and come to rest in ever. I turn ...

As mentioned last Friday, some professional worriers have noted that children's picture books are displaying a decided preference for cityscapes as opposed to natural landscapes.  ...

This month my local public library is offering a marionette show of African folktales starring Anansi the spider. It's a unique way to celebrate Black ...

My first exposure to Charles Dickens was the original Classics Illustrated edition of A Tale of Two Cities.  The last panel of Sidney Carton climbing ...

When The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats first came out in 1962, it broke the mold in a number of ways.  Besides the charming ...

Late last year an article in the New York Times caused the book world to shiver and shake and ask itself, "Is the picture book ...

On Friday we looked at some very popular picture books that you just might find under your tree.  Some of them are better than others, ...

Any bookstore manager can tell you that one of the most reliable customer types is the older woman with no children in the household (either ...

Food occupies our minds a lot this time of year—to gather around, to give away, to serve to strangers at the Salvation Army, to stuff ...

*The Adventurous Life of Myles Standish, by Cheryl Harness.  National Geographic, 2006, 143 pages.  Age/interest level: 8 and up. Thanksgiving means a raid on the ...

Veterans’ Day is one of those holidays that sneak up on me.  I intend to write a note to a veteran, wear red, pray a ...

COLUMBUS The first time I browsed through Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire's biography, Columbus, I purchased it for my kids on the spot based largely ...

Images of God for Young Children, by Marie-Helene Delval (illustrated by Barbara Nascimbeni) Eerdmans, 2011. Brother Sun, Sister Moon, by Katherine Paterson, illustrated by Pamela ...

Shakespeare and Story Bibles As I was searching recently for Shakespeare resources for my kids--who are 3 and 5--I harbored a nagging, undefined feeling that ...

We end our extended history week with what some consider to be the purest form of history: biography.  The old argument of whether great events, ...

The Brave Young Knight, by Karen Kingsbury, illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard.  Zonderkidz, 2011.  Age/interest level, 4-7 In the spirit of Will, God's Mighty Warrior, here's ...

*Press Here by Herve Tullet.  Chronicle Books, 2011.  56 pages. Reading Level: Picture Books, ages 0-4 Recommended for: Ages 0-4 and up Those of you ...

Queen of the Falls by Chris Van Allsburg.  Houghton Mifflin, 2011, 37 pages.  Reading Level: Picture Book, ages 9-12 Recommended for: Ages 4-8 On the ...

Just when you thought we'd done a pretty good job of knocking down stereotypes, a new study (those three words have to be among the ...

In Surprised By Joy, C. S. Lewis wrote about the flowering of his imagination at an early age--especially through books, which were piled up everywhere ...

Dust Devil, by Anne Isaacs, Illustrated by Paul Zelinsky, Schwartz & Wade, 2011. Reading Level: Picture Books, ages 4-8 Recommended for: Ages 4-8 and up ...

“I just ordered Happy and Honey, Bob Books set 1, and the Starfall readers—books you recommended—for Lois's and my African-American great-grandson. Could you recommend an ...

The Prince's Poison Cup is perfect for young boys ages 4-8, but I think it will also appeal to many girls. It's that time of ...

The Anansi stories have been handed down through generations of Ashanti culture...Born in Ghana I left at aged 3, leaving much of the Ghanaian culture ...

It's a Book by Lane Smith.  Roaring Brook Press, 2010.  32 pages. Reading Level: Picture book, ages 4-8 Recommended for: ages 10-12 and up Bottom ...

It may be my freshman attempt at an interview, but Kevin Twit is no novice when it comes to focusing his listeners' attention away from ...

Sneaky Sheep is a light-hearted book about two silly sheep who go astray. The illustrations are worth the price of the book. *Sneaky Sheep by Chris ...

We live in an age of series picture books. Which, like having 27 McDonalds in every city, makes shopping a little less complicated for tired, ...

The claim that a story Bible isn’t actually a Bible may seem a bit shocking at first. I mean, it’s got the word "Bible" right ...

You’re a new parent. You’ve got the baby crib with a fancy name, the swing, the bouncer, the burping pads. Now it’s time to choose ...