Halloween Books

It is always fun to be festive and read books about the seasons.  Here are some of my family's favorite Halloween books that we are reading this year. 

The Charles Addams Mother Goose by Charles Addams

The Charles Addams Mother Goose is a great collection of Mother Goose rhymes.  It includes all of your favorites like Humpty Dumpty, Little Miss Muffet and Hickory Dickory Dock.  What makes this such a great Mother Goose collection is the illustrations.  If your child likes scary then this is the Mother Goose for them.  Addams did not change any of the rhymes, but his illustrations of the rhymes show a darker side.  He uses his familiar drawings of forlorn faces and dark eyes to depict our favorites.  The farmer's wife is solemnly cutting of mice tails with her electric knife, Little Miss Muffet's spider is gigantic and a witch is stirring pease porridge.  What a great Mother Goose collection to have, especially for Halloween time!

Bone Soup by Cambria Evans

I have blogged about the classic folktale Stone Soup but now I have found a spooky fun Halloween version of the tale. In this version of Stone Soup a little skeleton named Finnegan sets off with his eating spoon, eating stool and hungry mouth to find a Halloween feast.  When the town's creatures hear that Finnegan is on his way they all go into hiding and take their food with them.  When Finnegan reaches the town and sees that it is deserted and there is no feast he fills the biggest pot he can find with water and sets it to boil.  You can see in the pictures that the towns creatures are curiously watching Finnegan first from behind closed windows.  Then as he drops an old bone into the boiling water and sings, "Bone soup is what I make. A magic bone is all it takes.  Boil it long and add some spice. Bone soup tastes so very nice" the town's creatures open their windows to watch Finnegan.  Eventually the town's creatures join Finnegan around the pot and help him make bone soup by sharing their stewed eyeballs, bat wings and frog legs.  Just like in the original story of bone soup Finnegan teaches the towns creatures the importance of generosity!

Pumpkin Trouble by Jan Thomas

Halloween doesn't always have to be spooky and scary, sometimes it can be funny! Jan Thomas delights us again with her simple humor in Pumpkin Trouble.  Duck decides to make a jack-o-lantern for Halloween and falls into the pumpkin.  He begins looking around for help. When Mouse and Pig see a pumpkin walking around they think that Duck is a pumpkin monster.  They being to run away from the monster, Duck follows because he is also scared of the pumpkin monster.  When Duck runs into the barn and the pumpkin smashes into pieces, Pig and Mouse declare that Duck battled the pumpkin monster and won.  This book will have your preschoolers laughing out loud for sure!

Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson

Another Halloween classic. What happens when you take a witch, her boom and several animals?  Well the broom breaks of course.  But that is not even the worst part.  All the animals fall into a icky, mucky swamp, but the witch runs into a dragon who wants to eat her.  The animals come to the rescue of the witch by disguising themselves as a swamp monster with 4 heads.  When the dragon hears the swamp monster say, "Back off that's our witch" he is terrified and runs off leaving the witch unharmed.  Then together the witch and her animal friends brew a potion to make a brand new broom with room for everyone.  As a bonus Amazon Prime has the story animated and it is super cute and fun to watch!

What Was I Scared Of? by Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss even gets in the spooky spirit with his book What Was I Scared Of?  In this Seuss story a man goes for a walk and sees a pair of pants, with nothing in them.  Of course he was not scared, not even when the pants started running.  Then the man kept running into the pants different places.  Now the man was scared.  He tried running away and hiding from the pants but again he found them.  He was so scared, but then he realized that the pants were scared also because, "I began to see that I was just as strange to them as they were to me." From that moment on the man and the empty pants were friends, because he knew there was nothing to be scared of.  A fun book to use to teach our little ones who may be scared of some aspects of Halloween.

For some more fun Halloween books check out these posts:

Bunnicula
The Little Old Lady...
Beware
Click, Clack, Boo!
Leonardo the Terrible Monster
Funny Bones

Happy Reading!

Appalachia

Recently I have been doing some work in McCreary County, KY one of the poorest counties not just in the state but in the nation.  McCreary County rests in Southern Kentucky right at the border of Tennessee in the Appalachian Mountains. Having been there and seen the deep, multigenerational, persistent poverty it's still hard to describe to people what it is like.  It is hard to explain why some people can't wait to leave and other's stay for their lifetime.  Appalachia is not just a place it is a way of life.  Whenever I can't find words I always turn to books.

Cynthia Rylant, born and raised in Appalachia has written many books about her growing up in this culture, however none has ever spoke to me the way that Appalachia: The Voices of Sleeping Birds has.  This will now be my go to book for finding the words to tell people about this amazingly beautiful yet very poor part of the country.

Rylant tells us that the people of Appalachia are "more used to tress than sky" and that "mountains came up so close to them and blocked their view" so they just stay where they "know for sure how the sun will come up." She goes on to describe coal mining and how even when people do go off to become something else, they always come back to the mountains.  She describes the houses, inside and out, including the sounds and smells you will encounter in the kitchen.  She tells us how people who live in Appalachia are shy to outsiders but will still be friendly, even more so when they become familiar with you.

"Most of them are thinkers, because these mountains inspire that, but they could never find the words to tell you of these thoughts they have."

This beautiful text paired with the paintings of Barry Moser, also a native of Appalachia make this book a true work of art.  His paintings convey the very emotion of the Appalachian culture and tell more of the story Rylant was writing.

If you have ever been to Appalachia or just want to better understand the culture this book is a must.

Happy Reading!

Laura

Little Pea

Amy Krouse Rosenthal has endless amounts of books that appeal directly to kids.  They teach simple lessons about life to kids in an easy and understandable way.  One of my favorites is Little Pea.  Little Pea is just like any other pea he likes playing with his friends. But what is really awful about being a pea is that you have to eat candy for dinner.  Little Pea HATES candy.  He complains and complains but his mom and dad always MAKE him eat 5 pieces of candy for dinner (tragic right?) After his dinner he is rewarded with dessert- a big bowl of spinach.

Picky eaters will definitely appreciate and understand the twist- a pea that hates eating candy for dinner.  The whole time they will be thinking, "It's not fair, I want candy for dinner!" Little Pea is also a good example for these picky eaters, because even though he doesn't want to eat the candy, he does what his parents say.

If you like Little Pea you need to check out two more books by Rosenthal Little Hoot and Little Oink.   Little Hoot is about an owl who hates stay up late.  Little Oink stars a pig who hates being messy.

Happy Reading!
Laura

How To Read A Story

Everyone needs a good how to tutorial.  We have all read a how to book about something (how to make more money, how to be happy, how to raise a child), but have we ever read a book on how to read a story?  It might sound a little redundant, reading a book on how to read but Kate Messner brings us a lovely read aloud that shows kids how to read a story in just 10 easy steps!

Step 1 of course is to find a story, a good one of course.  Step 2 is to find a reading buddy.  Step 3 is find a cozy reading spot.  The list goes on and on, telling the reader every imaginable step to reading a story like reading in fun voices and what to do when a hard word comes up.  It is such a fun read aloud because the book reads just like a conversation.  This is a fun book for any reader to read, but an especially great read aloud for kindergarten and first grade when they are just beginning to become independent readers.

What would your steps be for how to read a story? Would you read with a buddy or just by yourself?

Happy Reading!
Laura

Garden

It's that time of year, gardens have been planted and are beginning to grow yummy fruits and vegetables.  We have already been cooking and baking with our strawberries, kale and lettuce.  It won't be long until the beans, peas, tomatoes and other veggies are ready to pick.  In the mean time pick up some fun garden read alouds to help pass the time until harvest!

Up in the Garden Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner

Anyone who loves gardening will enjoy this comparison book with beautiful language.  A child and her Nana begin getting their garden ready to plant.  One page will describe what is happening up in the garden, while the next pages describes what is happening down in the dirt to help the garden grow.  The book takes us through the seasons beginning with late winter/early spring and ending with the snow covered winter. Each season and stage of garden is beautifully described and paired with illustrations that are just as beautiful.

Garden Rhymes by Clare Beaton

A collection of super cute and classic poems all about the garden.  You will find Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary, Lavender Blue, Here is the Bee Hive and others.  The pictures are all felt stitched which adds the the quaintness of this perfect spring board book.

I Have a Garden by Bob Barner

This is a great book for early readers.  Your young reader can read about all the animals they might see in their own garden.  Barner uses the repeated phrase "I have a __________ in my garden," through the book.  Your beginning reader can easily fill in the blank with the correct word by looking at the picture and beginning sound of the unfamiliar word.  Try covering the animal word up with a sticky note.  Then have your child read the phrase and guess what word could be under the sticky note.  Be sure to prompt them to look at the picture.  Once they make a guess ask were you right? Does bird begin with?  Young readers love trying to guess the missing word by using the picture- a great early literacy skill!

Munch! Muncha! Muncha! by Candace Flemming

In Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! All Mr. McGreely ever wanted was a garden.  When he finally decided to plant a garden, bunnies got in and ate all his vegetables.  He then put up a fence figuring that would keep the bunnies out, but those bunnies found a way in.  Day after day Mr. McGreely put a new obstacle in the bunnies way.  Then night after night the bunnies found a way through, over or under the obstacle.  In the end Mr. McGreely gives up and shares his vegetables with the bunnies.

I love Fleming's use of sound and action words through out this book.  The bunnies dash and spring and scratch and splash through the obstacles and then muncha all the vegetables! Her use of these words add to the excitement of the book and make it fun to read! If you children are into listening to audiobooks Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! read by William Dufries is also great!

Inch by Inch The Garden Song by David Mallett

The Garden Song Inch by Inch complete with illustrations of a young boy planting his garden and harvesting giant vegetables.  In the back of the book there is the sheet music so that you can sing the song while reading.  Here is a clip of John Denver singing The Garden Song on Sesame Street.

What are your favorite garden books to read while waiting for your yummy vegetables to ripen?

Happy Reading!
Laura

Silly Wonderful You

Four years ago today our oldest was born.  Since then my husband and I have been blessed beyond measure with the opportunity to be his mommy and daddy.  He has taught us so much about life, love and how to have fun!  I cannot think of a better book to share today than Sherri Duskey Rinker's Silly Wonderful You. 

Silly Wonderful You is written by a parent to a child.  The mother remembers a clean and quiet house, never quite imagining just how loud and messy a house could get.  She reflects on early morning wake up calls, the number of toys and the sheer exhaustion of being a parent.  The books ends with parent and child sleeping together in a chair with the line, "dreams really do come true."  Silly Wonderful You is the perfect ode to children, how they change our lives for the better and all the love that comes with them. 

Anthony reading through the years! #raiseareader

So today I want to wish a Happy 4th Birthday to my silly wonderful Anthony!  

Happy Reading!

Monsters

Chances are you might know a kid that is scared of monsters.  They can't sleep at night because of monsters, or maybe they need the light on.  Marilyn in the book Marilyn's Monster gives monsters a new name.  All the sudden monsters aren't to be feared, but they are friends to play with.

Everyone in Marilyn's class was getting a monster.  You had to wait for your monster, your monster would come and find you.  Your monster might find you riding your bike, or taking a test at school.  The problem is Marilyn waited and waited for her monster but he never came and Marilyn was the only kid without a monster. She had no one to play with or laugh with.  She had no one to keep her safe at night. Monsters were pretty great and Marilyn really wanted one.  She could not wait anymore and decided to go and find her monster. She walked and walked and searched and searched.  She yelled out "WHERE ARE YOU!" and heard a soft voice reply, "here."  She had found her monster!  He had gotten lost and stuck but Marilyn came to save him.  Marilyn took him home and they were best friends!

Marilyn and her monster might help your child get over a fear of monsters.  You could also have your child draw and create their own monster.  All the monsters in the book are so different and unique, just like our children.  What kind of monster would your child come up with?

Here is a blog with some really fun monster craft ideas:

Here are some yummy to eat Monster Cupcakes:

Happy Reading!

Laura

Friends Shape Who We Are

For kids, learning to be friends is so hard.  Little kids struggle so much with right and wrong, playing together and what friendship really is.  Luckily, there is a book out there to define friendship for children (and adults too!)

Friendshape by Amy Krouse Rosenthal uses the 4 basic shapes (circle, rectangle, square and triangle) to tell us about friendship. Rosenthal uses short simple sentences to tell us what friends are, and in a couple sentences what they are not.  Every sentence starts with friend, so there is no mistaking what we are talking about.

The book is illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld (Good Night, Good Night Construction Site Steam Train, Dream Train and I Wish You More just to name a few) and he uses simple pictures of the shapes, but the shapes are talking, giving us examples of what Rosenthal just defined a friend was.

I love the page that says, "Friends play fair..." and shows a picture of all the shapes flying a kite.  The Circle says to Rectangle, "Your turn next ok?" What a great image that so many of our really young kids need today to understand that friends share and take turns.

Get this book for your child or your best friend because the inside flap says it best, "Friends shape who we are."

Happy Reading!
Laura

Reading Green

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  I know you are wearing green, eating green and drinking green so we should why not read green today.  To celebrate St. Patrick's check out Laura Vaccaro Seeger's book Green. 

Green has every color green imaginable khaki green, jungle green, faded green and even wacky green! I love that Seeger even uses foods like limes and peas to describe different green colors.

Kids will love turning the pages and seeing what new image the subtle die-cuts make on the next page as well as seeing all the different color greens there are! As a fun activity, divide a paper into 9-12 squares and give your child paint to see how many different shades of greens they can make today!

What St. Patrick's Day books will you be reading today!  Share in the comments!  

Happy Reading!

Wait

We all know the struggle of having young children.  Whenever we are out running errands or trying to get somewhere it is the constant struggle of hurry up and wait!

Antoinette Portis captures this familiar struggle between parents and children in her book Wait.  The book only consists of two words, hurry and wait, but the pictures tell an entirely different story.

A young boy and his mom are walking down the street, mom looking at her watch as if they are already running late.  The boy sees a dog and of course has to pet him so mom must wait.  This hurry and wait exchange continues with the boy waving to construction workers wanting to buy some ice cream and looking at fish in the pet store window.  Then it begins to rain and it is all hurry, hurry, hurry, until the boy tugs on his mother's coat to point out a rainbow.

This book is so symbolic of making sure to take time out to enjoy the little things, which our kids always help us to remember to do!

Happy Reading!
Laura

Books for Babes: What We Do and Why

Books for Babes...  Here is what we do and why we do what we do!

What we do:
Reading aloud to a child can make a world of difference in the life of that child.  That is why Books for Babes has set out to provide every baby with its first book.  We partner with hospitals to provide books to babies.  Currently we are providing books to the moms and babies in the maternity ward at University Hospital as well as the NICU at Norton Women's and Kosair Children's Hospital on Dutchman's Lane.

Why we do it:

First, babies love books! It's true.  They love to hear your voice, they love to cuddle in your lap, they love the attention.  They love everything about being read to so we should try to make it a part of our daily routine.  It is a great way to bond with baby. Plus all the attention and cuddles from reading aloud are good for mom too! 

Second, reading to your baby will help develop language skills and pre-reading skills (like how to turn a page and hold a book).  Our children often come to kindergarten not ready to learn to read.  Let's use books to start conversations with our kids and let them hear words and language they may not get otherwise.  

Lastly, reading aloud creates a love of reading.  When children hear their parent's voice reading aloud to them it is a comforting feeling.  They associate it with happiness and love.  Therefore as they become readers themselves they will find happiness in reading, just like they did when they were read aloud to.  

The Future:

We do not stop want to stop at giving books to hospitals.  We want to work with daycares also. We want to not just give the metaphorical fish but teach people how to fish.  We aim to one day provide classes to parents and daycare workers to show them how to read aloud to their baby and teach them that it is just as important as reading to your school age child.  These two aspects (the books and the classes) can help parents to read aloud, creating a special bond between parent, child and book.

How you can help:

We need books!  Last year we were able to give out over 350 books and we want to beat that this year.  We take new or gently used board books.  If you don't have the time to go shop for board books, make a donation and we can shop for you! 

Consider hosting a book drive.  If you work for a school who needs a service project or know a high schooler who needs a service project, tell them about us! We would love to have a school sponsor a book drive!

Spread the word.  Please tell your friends and family about what we are doing here at Books for Babes.  The more people that know the more moms and babies we can help!

Thanks and Happy Reading!

Warriors Can Wear Skirts

This month as we celebrate women, take time to read some books about everyday women who paved the way for women everywhere.  Help teach our girls that with determination, persistence and grit we can do anything and be anything!

Not All Princesses Dress in Pink by Jane Yolen and Heidi Y. Stemple

Jane Yolen does it yet again.  This book empowers young girls to be who they want to be, dress how they want to and do what makes them happy- all while wearing their princess crown.  It was not too long ago that girls had to fit into a certain mold.  They had to act a certain way, dress a certain way and grow up to have a certain job. It is different for our girls now- we want them to be who they are, celebrate who they are and love who they are.  This book is a great celebration for all girls!

Amelia to Zora: Twenty Six Women Who Changed the World by Cynthia Chin-Lee

If you want to celebrate a lot of women who made a difference this is the book for you. Every letter of the alphabet is represented by a different woman who fought for equal rights and paved the way for women everywhere.  Some of the women you will know and recognize like Amelia Earhart, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mother Theresa and Oprah.  But you have probably never heard of Grace Cooper who was the first woman to earn a doctorate degree in mathematics from Yale or Wilma Mankiller a chief for the Cherokee Nation.  Learn about many different women and their contributions to our world.

Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Maker's Strike of 1909 by Michelle Markel

Clara was just a young girl who immigrated to New York.  She knew it was was wrong when young girls had to work in garment factories all day in poor working conditions and for low wages. She decided things had to change. At first she tried small strikes- but it was not enough.  When she would strike she would get fired and beaten and sometimes arrested.  Clara knew the women needed a giant strike to make a difference, so she made a speech at a union meeting. Her speech started the largest walkout of women workers in US history, some of who are only 12 years old.  All winter the girls picketed.  Rich women and college girls joined them- all women united for their rights.  Clara's strike changed working conditions in New York and encouraged women to do the same in Philadelphia and Chicago. The last line says, "Proving in America wrongs can be righted, warriors can wear skirts and blouses and the bravest hearts may beat in girls only five feet tall."  Women have come a long way, thanks to the many women like Clara who fought for what they knew was right.  Let's continue to be warriors.

Miss Moore Thought Otherwise by Jan Pinborough

Miss Annie Moore is an example of another woman who had ideas and the grit and determination to make those ideas a reality.  Annie loved to read and be read to but children were not allowed to go inside libraries, much less take a book home from the library. When Annie grew older and heard that libraries were hiring women as librarians she quickly packed her bags and headed to Brooklyn so she could go to the Pratt Institute Library school.  When she got her first job as a librarian she began making changes in how libraries served children.  She created fun spaces for the children to read, provided story times and made sure there were great books available.  Her ideas and opinions about children and books caught on.  Slowly libraries around the county and the world began copying Miss Moore and her ideas for children's libraries.  We can thank Miss Moore for the wonderful children's libraries we have today, because with out her there would be none.

Helen's Big World by Doreen Rappaport

Doreen Rappaport beautifully tells the story of Helen Keller starting when she was born to when she lost her sight and hearing at 2 years old.  Then she goes on to tell of Helen's struggles and accomplishments.  You can tell how close Annie Sullivan and Helen were.  Annie took every opportunity to teach Helen about the world and what was in it.  Because of Annie's determination Helen was able to learn and grow and see the world.  Helen was able to fight for rights of women and people who were blind.  She did not let her deaf and blindness stop her from doing anything and Helen Keller accomplished a lot more than other people in her life.  Her story is an inspiration to all.

Happy Reading!
Laura

See also:

Who Says Women Can't Be Doctors?

Coretta Scott King Book Award

Since 1970 African American authors who have excelled in writing have been awarded the Coretta Scott King book award.  Outstanding African American illustrators began being recognized in 1974.  The first author to win the award was Lillie Patterson for the book Martin Luther King: A Man of Peace.  The first illustrator was George Ford for the Book Ray Charles (written by Sharon Bell Mathis)

The Coretta Scott King Author Award for this year goes to Rita Williams-Garcia.  Williams-Garcia also won the award in 2014 for P.S. Be Eleven and in 2011 for One Crazy Summer.  Her latest book Gone Crazy in Alabama has been award with the 2016 award.

Gone Crazy in Alabama is the sequel to One Crazy Summer. In Gone Crazy in Alabama Delphine and her two younger sisters are shipped of to Alabama for the summer to live with their grandmother and great grandmother.  Rural Alabama in 1969 is much different than Brooklyn.  The girls struggle with finding their identify, getting along and learning the difference between oppression and respect.

All sisters can relate to the three sisters in the story (oldest, middle and youngest) Delphine is the big sister, in charge of looking after her younger sisters.  She takes her job a little too seriously, constantly picking on them to do right.  However, she thinks that she is above helping out around the house (especially ironing sheets) and tells her grandmother that she will not do it.  This act of disrespect does not sit well with her grandmother. Over the summer Delphine learns a lot about what it means to be a big sister and just how much her sisters mean to her.

Vonetta is the outspoken middle sister.  She is always picking on her little sister and getting bossed around by her big sister.  She doesn't take it from anyone.  Vonetta loves being the center of attention and will do anything to stay there.  Her favorite thing to do during the summer in Alabama was take stories back and forth between her great grandmother and her estranged sister Great Aunt Miss Trotter.  Vonetta is so stubborn and bull-headed she finds herself in trouble when a tornado hits the town.

Fern, the baby, does not like to eat meat.  She wants to take care of all her animals friends.  She is constantly being picked on by Vonetta and being defended by Delphine.  Fern is just a happy go lucky girl until her sister Vonetta turns up missing- or possibly worse.

All three girls learn, that even through all the fighting and bickering, they are still sisters and still love one another.

Now, in addition to the author and illustrator award, the ALA also recognizes new authors and illustrators with the Steptoe award.

This year's Coretta Scott King Steptoe award for new author goes to Ronald L. Smith for his book Hoodoo.  Hoodoo is the story of a boy growing up in the south in the 1930's.  The boy, Hoodoo, comes from a family who does hoodoo magik, although he has never been able to.  One day a stranger comes to town and Hoodoo can feel the bad juju.  The bad juju is showing up in his dreams and in real life.  Hoodoo quickly realizes that there is evil in the world that only he can conquer.  He digs as deep as he can inside himself for bravery and belief in the hoodoo magik to conquer the evil.

Hoodoo is an intense slightly scary novel.  Smith does a great job with describing the scene, everything from the look and feel right down the the smell.  He sets the scene brilliantly, the entire time you feel as though you are in 1930 Alabama from the way that the characters talk to what they are eating.  If your intermediate aged child likes magic and spells and can be scared a little this book is perfect for them!

Happy Reading!
Laura

Robert F. Sibert Award

The Robert F. Sibert Award has been award annually since 2001 to the most distinguished informational book for children.  This award will not be given to poetry, folktales or any other works of literary fiction.  The informational category for children has greatly improved.  Now you can find high quality informational books on a variety of subjects.  They are a great way to supplement or even replace textbooks.

The 2016 Sibert Award was given to Duncan Tonatiuh for his book Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras. I love, love, love this book.  It has so many possibilities to be used cross-curricularly in the classroom, plus it is just interesting.

Tonatiuh tells the story of Jose Guadalupe Posada, an artist from Mexico.  Posada's story is interesting enough but Tonatiuh adds so much to it. Posada did not start out making drawings of calaveras (skulls) in the beginning.  He slowly worked his way into that subject and actually used his calaveras to speak his opinion and thoughts (which were often political). Throughout his life Posada used many different types of styles to make his artwork.  Some of his drawings were lithographs, etchings and engravings.  I love how Tonatiuh includes a step by step process for each of the different types of printing.  Tonatiuh does a great job of using simpler language to tell the somewhat complicated story of Posada.  I also love how Tonatiuh uses some of Posada's actual prints as illustrations.  With the print a possible message that Posada was trying to get across is included.

This book is very kid friendly and could be used as a supplement to history class, cultural studies and even art class.  It would be a great addition to any teacher's library. At the end the book is begging to be turned into an art project.  The last line is, "What would Posada's calaveras look like now days?" It is practically encouraging children to create their own calaveras print with a message.

2016 Sibert Award Honors

Drowned City: Hurrican Katrina and New Orleans by Don Brown

The Boys Who Challenged Hitler by Knud Pedersonn and The Churchill Club

Turning 15 On the Road to Freedom by Elspeth Leacock and Susan Buckley

Voice of Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford and Ekua Holmes

Happy Reading!

Laura

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award

I honor of the great, late Dr. Seuss's birthday today we will check out the Geisel Award winner (named after the Seuss himself). The Geisel Award for outstanding authors and illustrators of beginning readers is a relatively new award.  This is only the 10th year for the award.  This year's award goes to David A. Adler (author) and Sam Ricks (illustrator)for Don't Throw It To Mo! 

Don't Throw It To Mo! is a story about little Mo Jackson and his love for football.  Mo is the smallest one on the team and he often has to sit out with the coach.  That never discourages Mo. He practices catching buttered footballs and does whatever Coach asks.  One day his team is playing a game.  The other team laughs and makes fun of Mo and how small he is.  "No one will ever throw it to him," they think, "he is too small!"  Well, they are wrong.  Mo gets in the game and after not throwing it to him two times, the third time the ball is thrown to Mo, he catches it and his teams wins the game.  Great job Mo!

Adler uses simple sentences and dialogue to tell Mo's story, two characteristics of a good beginning reader.  He even uses some receptions (don't throw it to Mo) which beginning readers appreciate because they know what to expect. Children will love hearing how Mo, even though he is small, was able to win the football game.  It will give young beginning readers hope that they too will have a shining moment, even though they are small.

Geisel Award Honors:

A Pig, A Fox and A Box by Jonathan Fenske

Waiting by Kevin Henkes

Supertruck by Steven Savage

Happy Reading!
Laura

Stonewall Book Award

The Stonewall Book Award is given out annually to a distinguished book relating to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experiences.  This award also has a non-fiction and literary category, but those are geared more towards adults.  The award has been given out since 1976, under several different names.  The award was first simply called The Gay Book Award, then the Gay and Lesbian Book Award.  The award's name continued to change as we learned more and became more accepting of people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender.

This year's Stonewall Book Award for children was awarded to Alex Gino for the book George.  This book needs to go on everyone's to read list RIGHT NOW! This book is the epitome of what I love about books and literature.  Through reading your eyes are opened and thoughts broadened.  You are able to put yourself into someone else's shoes and have empathy.  Reading diverse books creates diverse people.

George is the story of a person everyone thinks is a boy, because that is what they see, but really she is a girl.  George is in 4th grade struggling with her identity and how to tell those around her that she is a girl.   George's class has just finished reading Charlotte's Web and are now going to perform it for their school and families.  George wants to be Charlotte so bad.  She loves how strong, bold and radiant Charlotte is.  But only the girls are allowed to try out for Charlotte.  With the help and encouragement of her best friend, Kelly, George tries out for Charlotte.  Her teacher gets upset and thinks that it is a joke so George does not get the part, Kelly does.

George eventually gets the courage to first tell Kelly that she is a girl and then her mom and brother.  Kelly is the most accepting of the idea saying to George, "If you think you're a girl....Then I think you're a girl too!" To George's surprise her brother Scott also takes it well.  George's mom is having a hard time accepting it.  Then George and Kelly come up with a plan to switch places during the play so that George can be Charlotte.  Everyone is blown away by her performance and people begin to understand what George has been struggling with.

The book ends with Kelly asking George to go on a girl's trip to the zoo (wearing girl clothes and everything).  George is so excited at the idea, and even more when she finally gets to share her girl name with Kelly... Melissa.

The plot alone is enough to put this book on the must read list, but the way Gino includes George's thoughts and struggles (all the way down to hating going into the boy's bathroom), is what knocks this book out the of the park.  There are George's sitting in our classrooms and at our dinner tables across this country and we need to let them know we accept them for who they are and that there are people out there just like them.  If nothing else George gives us a glimpse into the difficult inner struggle transgender children are dealing with.  Don't miss this one!

Stonewall Book Award Honors

Wonders of the Invisible World by Christopher Bazark

Sex Is A Funny Word: A book about bodies, feelings and YOU! by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smythe

Happy Reading!
Laura

Pura Belpre Award

The Pura Belpre Award is awarded annually to a Latino writer and illustrator whose children's books portray, affirm and celebrate the Latin culture.  The award is named of Pura Belpre who was the first Latina librarian in the New York Public Library system.  She dedicated her life to providing access to books for Latino families. She instituted a bilingual story hour and increased access to bilingual books.  She was also known for bringing Puerto Rican folklore to America.  The award was first given out in 1996 every two years and then annually in 2009.

The 2016 Pura Belpre Illustrator Award goes to Rafael Lopez for Drum Dream Girl by Margarita Engle.  Drum Dream Girl is a poem about a real girl named Milo who wants to play the drums, but isn't allowed because playing drums is only for boys.  She continues to practice and work hard until she is allowed to play the drums at an outdoor cafe.  Lopez does a great job of adding to the story with his illustrations.  He uses folksy artwork with bold colors to tell the little girl's story through pictures.  You are transported to Cuba with the birds and colorful settings. Lopez uses warm colors to show the opposition she met when trying to play drums.  He often portrays Milo flying or in the sky to show how she never stopped dream or drumming.  My favorite picture is of Milo's father pulling her down from the sky.  The text with this picture tells us that Milo's father finally agreed to find a music teacher to listen to her play.  Him pulling her down from the sky symbolizes that playing the drums is no longer a dream for Milo, but a reality.

Drum Dream Girl is a great book for kids, not only because of the Latin influences can help children understand a culture different from their own, but because Milo never gave up on her dream.  Her grit and persistence paid off and she played the drums for all to hear!

Happy Reading!
Laura

Pura Belpre Illustrator Award Honors

My Tata's Remedies illustrated by Antonio Castro L.
Mango, Abuela and Me illustrated by Angela Dominguez
Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Cavalaeras

Schneider Family Book Award

The Schneider Family Book Award is a newer award that has been awarded annually since 2004.  The award goes to authors and illustrators who create an artistic expression of the disability experience.  We all know children and people who struggle with disabilities, whether they are mental, physical or emotional.  Including books in our home and classrooms about people with disabilities creates a more open and accepting culture.  Check out past winners of the Schneider award for other great books that speak about disabilities.

The award is given out to several books, usually they are broken up into age groups.  I am going to share the winner of the 0-10 age range.  I will list the other winners and hopefully at another time I will be able to share more about those with you.

Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah by Laurie Anne Thompson and illustrated by Sean Qualls is the true story of a boy born with only one leg in Ghana, West Africa. In West Africa, if you are born with a disability (physical or mental) you are shunned and thought to be useless.  Emmanuel's mother refused to believe that.  She always told Emmanuel that he could have anything he wanted, he only had to get it for himself.  So that is what Emmanuel did.  He learned to crawl and then hop.  He shined shoes to earn money.  When he became too heavy for his mother to carry, he hopped to school on one leg- 2 miles there and back. He played soccer and rode a bike- he did not let having only one leg stop him from doing anything!  He constantly met people telling him he could not do it, which only made him work harder.  When he was only 15, as his mother was dying, she told him to never give up.  That is when Emmanuel really began dreaming.  His new dream was to tell everyone that being disabled does not mean unable.  He made a plan to ride his bike across Ghana and back, with a shirt that said The Pozo or the disabled person.  His boldness, determination and grit encouraged others with disabilities to come out of their homes, some for the first time.  He proved to everyone that being disabled definitely does not mean unable.

What an inspirational story that everyone needs to hear.  Emmanuel has received many awards since his ride across Ghana (in 2001).  Oprah created a documentary about his life called Emmanuel's Gift (which he starred in) and most importantly the government of Ghana passed the Persons with Disability Act- which gives equal rights to people with disabilities in Ghana. I added two short clips to this post, one is when he received the EPSY award in 2005 and another that is an update on what Emmanuel is up to now.

Other 2016 Schneider Family Book Awards

Fish in a Tree by Linda Mullaly Hunt

The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Tessa Toten

Happy Reading!

Laura

2016 Caldecott Award Winner

The Caldecott Award is given annual to the most distinguished artist of a picture book for children.  A distinguished artist will create pictures that add to the story and help to move the story along, they can't just be good pictures.

The Caldecott Award is named after 19th century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott who began illustrating different Mother Goose Rhymes.  His work and creativity have inspired illustrators from generation to generation.

The 2016 Caldecott Award goes to Sophie Blackall for her illustration in Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear  by Lindsay Mattick. Check out the book trailer for a good synopsis of the book

In the story Blackall creates beautiful detailed pictures that dominate the page.  In essence her illustrations are the backdrop to the story.  The books starts with a picture of a mother and her son lying in bed, telling a bedtime story.  Then the pictures begin to tell the story of veterinarian Harry Colebourn, but on each page there is a small snippet of a picture of the mother and son still lying in bed.  The pictures of Harry's story are beautiful and telling.  They perfectly depict the time period and the emotions of Harry.  You can see the anger on the Colonel's face and the shock on the other soldier's faces when Harry brings Winnie the bear with him.  You can see just how close Winne and Harry are when you see them sleeping together in Harry's tent.  When it is time for Winnie and Harry to part ways Blackall sweetly shows the sadness in their face with a picture of Harry and Winnie's foreheads touching.  My three year old loved this book, not just for the story, but I think more for the pictures.  The entire time we were reading he was pointing things out in the pictures, which helped him to understand the story better (because we know young children understand the pictures better first!)

The end of the book is filled with photographs of Harry's journal pages and pictures of Harry and Winnie.

Happy Reading!
Laura

2016 Caldecott Award Honors

Trombone Shorty illustrated by Bryan Collier
Waiting illustrated by Kevin Henkes
Voice of Freedom illustrated by Ekua Holmes
Last Stop on Market Street illustrated by Christian Robinson

Newbery Award Winner

The Newbery Award is given out each year to the most distinguished book in children's literature.  The Newbery Award has been given annually since 1922.  This year, however the winner of the Newbery Award made history for two reasons. This year's winner was the first picture book to be awarded the honor and the first Hispanic author to win.

Matt De La Pena's book Last Stop on Market Street is well deserving of the honors it has won.  De La Pena tells the story of a young boy, CJ, who is leaving church with his nana.  We quickly learn that this little boy might come from less money than some of his friends because he is waiting for the bus in the rain while his friends are driving away in cars.  The entire bus ride down Market Street CJ learns small life lessons from his nana like how the blind man may not see with his eyes but he can see the world with his ears and nose.  He sees two boys get on the bus with iPods and is envious, but Nana reminds him that real live music is better.  The bus finally made it to CJ and Nana's stop and CJ complained about the dirt.  Nana once again imparted wisdom on his telling him, "Sometimes when you're surrounded by dirt, CJ, you're a better witness for what is beautiful." Then CJ and Nana walk into the soup kitchen to serve lunch to all the people.  A great story with a theme that tells us to find the beauty in our surroundings and circumstances.

Happy Reading!
Laura

More books to check out by Matt De La Pena: