Ale for a tale... storytelling in a medieval inn...about three brave children and a greyhound who just might be saints...a brilliant story...sit down Ale for a tale... storytelling in a medieval inn...about three brave children and a greyhound who just might be saints...a brilliant story...sit down and I'll tell you more if you'll fill my mug...aw, just go read our Bookends Blog post....more
I’m in love with this book. The action-packed illustrations that move the tale along are simple and full of humor. The abundant white space and black I’m in love with this book. The action-packed illustrations that move the tale along are simple and full of humor. The abundant white space and black line drawings give this a whiteboard and magic marker look, while colorful first letters highlight its alphabetic instruction.
After reading it, I was tempted to create an alphabetic caper of my own, and I’m sure elementary school-aged children would, too; even a sequence of three or four letters with drawings could make for a fun project. I’m even considering putting a copy out for my middle-school students to read—they could stand to brush up on alphabetical order. I’m here to tell you: It’s a dying skill.
Check out the rest of our comments about this book at our September Bookends Blog post.
I've been giving this as a baby shower gift with a set of alphabet blocks.
Congrats on the 2017 Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor!...more
From our Bookends Blog postfeaturing Elephant and Piggie Like Reading series:
If you think watching the grass grow is boring, think again. The bug-eyedFrom our Bookends Blog postfeaturing Elephant and Piggie Like Reading series:
If you think watching the grass grow is boring, think again. The bug-eyed grass blades of Laurie Keller’s We are Growing! (2016) impart humor and drama where there was none before.
Although the blades start out at the same height, one has a growth spurt. The others are amazed and a kerfuffle ensues, but his boasting soon gets old, especially as his peers begin to grow taller. In short order, everyone is growing and bragging about their unique attributes. Alas, one stunted blade is left out of all the boasting—until someone mows the lawn.
We Are Growing is the perfect story to cheer up a kid who hasn’t lost his first tooth or reached another, similar milestone. Elephant and Piggie come up with their own reason to brag in the book’s closing pages, one that might spur children to find a way to grow as readers.
Congrats on the 2o17 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award!...more
In We Will Not Be Silent, Russell Freedman focuses on the White Rose student movement against HiFrom our October Bookends Blog roundup of WWII titles:
In We Will Not Be Silent, Russell Freedman focuses on the White Rose student movement against Hitler, a group started and led by brother and sister Hans and Sophie Scholl, who were eventually captured and executed. Freedman’s slim book manages to expand on the Scholl’s heroic story most famously told in the Newbery Honor book Hitler Youth by Susan Campbell Bartoletti.
Robert Scholl warned his children against the propaganda of Hitler, but Hans and Sophie became Hitler Youth anyway. It didn’t take too long for them to become disillusioned. As Freedman reports:
“When Sophie was warned not to read ‘degenerate’ Jewish books, which had been banned and burned, she stubbornly replied, ‘He who doesn’t know Heinrich Heine doesn’t know German literature.’ In fact, a century earlier, Heine had warned with tremendous foresight, ‘Where one burns books, one will, in the end, burn people.'”
The Scholl’s story is heroic, inspiring, and tragic, as well as incredibly readable and illustrated with excellent photographs.
Congrats on the 2017 Robert F. Sibert Honor!...more
I learned to knit in 2016 and this book struck a chord as I just wanted to be left alone to practice my new obsession...I mean, craft. We blogged abouI learned to knit in 2016 and this book struck a chord as I just wanted to be left alone to practice my new obsession...I mean, craft. We blogged about this book in a round up of knitting picture books at this Bookends Blog post last November. I'm so excited it won a 2017 Caldecott Honor....more
I adore this book for what it is for the intended audience, a spur to creativity and engaging in play rather than being entertained with the perfect gI adore this book for what it is for the intended audience, a spur to creativity and engaging in play rather than being entertained with the perfect gift, but I adore it even more for the memories it brought back to me. One of my favorite toys as a child was a metal dollhouse that looked much like the one here with its little plastic furniture. I later was a teen during the "miniatures" craft craze and spent many hours (and made a lot of my spending money) making miniature food from clay that I sold in my mother's antique booth along with my father's balsa wood dollhouse furniture. I must have sold thousands of tiny striped candy canes that adult women glued on fake miniature Christmas trees... Thank you, Giselle Potter, for the trip down memory lane in such a beautiful book that I hope encourages creativity in young and old alike....more
I read this earlier in the fall but reread it on New Year's Day. This small gem is too good to only read once. A dog who only poets and children can hI read this earlier in the fall but reread it on New Year's Day. This small gem is too good to only read once. A dog who only poets and children can hear, an old poet, two children needing rescue in a snowstorm, and lots of wisdom in an economy of words, as is MacLachlan's style. This story will not appeal to every child, but the right child will be changed by it. Adults, too. Anyone who has sat in a poetry critique group or creative writing class will appreciate those scenes as well. Full review at Bookends Blog...more
A unique and inspiring take on "overcoming fear of the dark" that also encourages dreaming about the possibilities of your future. The charming story,A unique and inspiring take on "overcoming fear of the dark" that also encourages dreaming about the possibilities of your future. The charming story, set in 1969 and based on astronaut Hadfield's childhood, is beautifully illustrated by The Fan Brothers who illustrated The Night Gardener. I loved the author's note and the photo collage that includes Chris's first cardboard spaceship. "The dark is for dreams--and the morning is for making them come true." Indeed....more
This was a perfect read leading up to the Christmas holidays. I was in a funk like Lily and Cohn and Levithan helped me through. I am grateful, too, tThis was a perfect read leading up to the Christmas holidays. I was in a funk like Lily and Cohn and Levithan helped me through. I am grateful, too, that teens navigating the tricky, complicated, rewarding nature of relationships will have Dash and Lily books to help them through. There are wise words in here, no matter your age. My copy is going on the shelf with lots of sticky page markers hanging out for future reference.
And, because I was reading this during the transfer of power from Barack Obama to Donald Trump, page 201 in my galley made me cry:
"But I don't like it, okay? I don't like how everything is changing. It's like when you're a kid, you think that things like the holidays are meant to show you how things always stay the same, how you have the same celebration year after year, and that's why it's so special. But the older you get, the more you realize that, yes, there are all these things that link you to the past, and you're using the same words and singing the same songs that have always been there for you, but each time, things have shifted, and you have to deal with that shift. Because maybe you don't notice it every single day. Maybe it's only on days like today that you notice it a lot. And I know I'm supposed to be able to deal with that, but I'm not sure I can deal with that."--David Levithan...more
I so want to visit this museum, but while I wait I am thankful for Bolden's book giving me a peek. I'll be booktalking this to my students, highlightiI so want to visit this museum, but while I wait I am thankful for Bolden's book giving me a peek. I'll be booktalking this to my students, highlighting what it takes to build a museum from scratch, especially on such a large scale. Full review at Bookends Blog...more
Gorgeous storytelling, a moving intergenerational relationship, magical realism, and a tale that evokes laughter and tears. All the elements I love inGorgeous storytelling, a moving intergenerational relationship, magical realism, and a tale that evokes laughter and tears. All the elements I love in a book. The Brilliance Company's audio production was fabulous....more
I'm a huge fan of the original Calpurnia stories, so I was leery of this spin-off for younger readers, but it is delightful. Skunked remains true to tI'm a huge fan of the original Calpurnia stories, so I was leery of this spin-off for younger readers, but it is delightful. Skunked remains true to the spirit of the older stories while being age-appropriate for the format. Kelly provides an intelligent heroine interested in science as a role model along with heavy doses of humor. Callie Vee and Travis will be fun to follow in the sequels. I can't wait.
The bookmaking here is beautiful, too. The interior illustrations by Jennifer L. Meyer harken to Garth Williams but have a charm all their own. Add this to your gift book buying list.
Another answer for where lost socks turn up, written as a tragic love story with a happy ending. I think these socks are destined for even more fun inAnother answer for where lost socks turn up, written as a tragic love story with a happy ending. I think these socks are destined for even more fun in their repurposed life together. Vibrant, whimsical art adds to the fun....more
Plenty have rewritten "Who's the Fairest..."so surely there's space on library shelves for a contest about who is the grossest? There is definitely anPlenty have rewritten "Who's the Fairest..."so surely there's space on library shelves for a contest about who is the grossest? There is definitely an "ew" factor here that will delight many and disgust others. But MAD magazine is long-lived for a reason. I was grossed out AND amused. Your mileage may vary but I guarantee you'll have kids who will love this and will reread it again and again, chortling all the way....more
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