Ladybug Girl by David Soman and Jacky Davis Dial Books for Young Readers, 2008 40 pages I have a confession to make: I'm a book snob. I usually avoid bestsellers like the plague. This is partly due to experience. When I have tried to read John Grisham, Tom Clancy, or the like, I've found them … Continue reading Ladybug Girl
Abigail Adams by Alexandra Wallner Holiday House, 2001 32 pages Grade-school lessons about the women's movement are pretty limited in scope. They tend to focus on the women's suffrage campaigns of the late 1800s and early 1900s, then skip ahead to the '60s and '70s and the battle over the ERA. As a result, young … Continue reading Abigail Adams
Virginia Wolf by Kyo Maclear; ill. Isabelle Arsenault Kids Can Press, 2012 32 pages Fifty years ago, Maurice Sendak published Where The Wild Things Are--and all hell broke loose. Parents, educators, and politicians alike were horrified that anyone would produce a picture book centered around children's deepest, darkest emotions and fantasies. Most didn't want to … Continue reading Virginia Wolf
Jessica by Kevin Henkes Greenwillow Books, 1989 24 pages Kevin Henkes is one of my favorite author-illustrators for children. His perceptive, sometimes sly and snarky heroes and heroines are among the most engaging characters in picture book land. And his lovely little jewel-like illustrations beautifully capture the simultaneous limitations and limitlessness of a child's world, … Continue reading Jessica
Miss Dorothy and Her Bookmobile by Gloria Houston; ill. by Susan Condie Lamb HarperCollins, 2011 32 pages I love books about books. Or, perhaps more accurately, I love books about people who love books. Partly, I'm just a book geek. Books have been my prime object of fascination since I was a preschooler. It's not … Continue reading Miss Dorothy and Her Bookmobile
Queen of the Falls by Chris Van Allsburg Houghton Mifflin, 2010 40 pages Did you ever wonder who first had the crazy idea to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel? That honor belongs to a 62 (yes, 62)-year-old woman named Annie Edson Taylor, who dreamed up the stunt as a get-rick-quick scheme in 1901. … Continue reading Queen of the Falls
Here Come the Girl Scouts!: The Amazing All-True Story of Juliette "Daisy" Gordon Low and Her Great Adventure by Shana Corey; ill. Hadley Hooper Scholastic, 2012 40 pages I know it sounds curmudgeonly, but kids don't get outside enough these days. We parents are too scared of catastrophe; kids are too enmeshed in devices (also … Continue reading Here Come the Girl Scouts!
