Books I've Read
Using only simple text and simple verse, Hanukkah Night delightfully shares the Hanukkah experience. The author also manages to include concepts of counting and ways of creating art. And she even makes it a good read-aloud for bedtime.
Acorn was a little wild.
Acorn didn't listen to the warnings of the other acorns. Instead, he jumped right into dangerous adventures. He didn't care; he gloried in the joy of all the elements of life.
Acorn Was a Little Wild celebrat...
You've heard of counting sheep to go to sleep? How about counting fireflies?
With pictures that almost seem to glow in the dark and gentle rhyming text, Ten Little Fireflies is a soothing way to ease young children into sleep. Slowly, o...
Kids' poet Douglas Florian teaches the acquisition of toothbrushing skills in a powerful rhyme to our youngest people in this short board book. Florian shares the whole process but adds a charming element of fun. Kids will love learning ...
Undies, Please! is a board book that perfectly captures in simple pictures and simple text the experience of potty training for our youngest folks. Any kid will identify with the struggle of learning to use the potty and the joy of doing...
The Depth of the Lake and the Height of the Sky is the reason I do the Cybils year after year...It's a book that hit me right in the gut, an amazing wordless picture book that celebrates the joy of being in nature. And I had heard nothin...
I used to be a huge fan of The Book of Lists series and The People's Almanac. This is a book from that lineage, but it's a tidy little hundred and fifty pages. The layers of the atmosphere. The order of English succession. Deities of var...
“We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be take...
Aw, you can't help but be charmed by these letters to God from children.
Women of Substance arrived in the Small Books in a Small Box Bookbox today, and, hey, it's Nonfiction November, and this book is...well, kinda nonfiction. It's a collection of comics featuring women, and it's all in good fun.
"Reading has saved my life, again and again, and has held my hand through every difficult time."
Cathy Rentzenbrink tells the story of her life through the books she read. Even during the hardest times, it was books that pulled her thro...
An’s grandmother Bà seems to be retreating further and further from the world, and An and her grandfather Ông create a plan to bring her back to them. They decide to grow gấc fruits from seed and make Bà's favorite food from her wedding ...
"Let me make myself very clear.
I don't want to read it."
The reader makes him/herself very clear: The reader does not want to read this book. The reader does not like words. The reader does not like sentences. The reader does not like ...
"When I look at you I see
Much more than meets the eye.
I'm not sure how to list it all,
But with this book I'll try..."
The narrator compares the child to a tiger...a river...a swallow...an oak tree...and to many more things in nature,...
Everyone in the red brick building was asleep.
Until...
WaaaAAH!
Rraak! Wake up!
Pitter patter STOMP!
Pssheew!
Everyone is awake with all the noises, and then slowly the nighttime sounds lull everyone back to sleep.
A book that re...
“La comida siempre nos lleva a casa.”
Alejandra loves going to her abuelita's home every Sunday with her extended family. As her grandmother says, "Food always leads us home." And it is true for Alejandra and all of the tios and tias ...
Abdul has lots of stories to tell, but he has trouble with writing and spelling---trouble just in getting the words down on paper. Then a real author comes to Abdul's school and shares his own troubles in getting the words down on paper....
In the land of the Tlingit people, a girl is guided by her grandmother to pick berries for her family to make into many useful things. Along the way, the girl learns about her place in nature and nature's place in her culture. And later ...
Doris' twenty-six children---yes, one for every letter of the alphabet---give her a lot of grief. But that's just what you might expect from the offspring of a gharial. But Doris knows a lot about young gharial and she just might know ho...
Award-winning illustrator Dapo Adeola and eighteen other Black illustrators to celebrate the ways Black children can make their way through the difficulties and challenges that racism creates in our world.
The illustrations are vibrant...
It's always a happy day when the Pigeon is back with a new book. This time the Pigeon is making plans to ride the roller coaster. This is a more mature Pigeon than we have seen in years past, carefully anticipating what he needs to do---...
Little Buckaroo and Buckaroo's horse, Lou, count all the cowpoke things---boots, saddles, neckerchiefs, hats, harnesses---around them in this little board book. A first book for all the cowpokes in your life.
A diverse group of monsters use rhyme to count to ten in this little board book. The text is simple and fresh and the monsters are surprising and fun.
Covered hair,
Bun Hair,
Party Hair…
No matter your hair—YOU are welcome anywhere!
LaTonya Yvette, with bright colors and bold forms and vivid text, takes us on a journey through all the diverse ways hair can be featured in our world.
"Dear Diary,
This morning, Mr. Grizzly announced we're taking a field trip. I thought we'd study stars at the Planetarium or dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum. But we're going to study plants and animals...IN THE WILD!
Everyone wa...
Lupe Lopez heads to kindergarten, ready to be a rock star, with a set of rules to guide her to her dream goal. But her teacher might have different rules for Lupe...Is there a way for both Lupe and her teacher to be happy?
Lupe is a bol...
Pug is happily relaxing on the rug when along comes...Bug! And it isn't long before Bug takes over the rug. Poor Pug. What to do, what to do? It is up to Slug to help Pug and Bug figure out what to do on the rug.
Lots of fun rhyme and l...
Oh, golly, I loved this one. It's a counting book, and we are counting fruit...
Well, mostly fruit. As our narrator tells us, nothing really rhymes with figs. Can we blame the poor narrator when he resorts to throwing a few animals in t...
My teachers at my primary school loved classic folktales, and they loved to share other versions of classic folktales. The Leaping Laddoo is a well-thought-out, cleverly Hindi version of The Gingerbread Boy. It's full of all the details ...
The cookies---chocolate chip, macarons, sugar, gingerbread, snickerdoodles, oatmeal raisin, pinwheels---proudly share their strengths. Sadly, they are quick to deprecate the plain cookie, but he stands up for himself and demands respect....
When Kylie goes to visit her Amah so far away, Kylie feels shy at first. Slowly, she becomes more comfortable with her grandmother. That's basically the story, but the book is really so much more than that.
Amah Faraway is full of the l...
Lizzy foregoes carousels and puppet shows in order to buy herself an old-fashioned cloud who she names Milo. She carefully follows the instructions for her young cloud, and together Lizzy and Milo spend many happy days together. But then...
Tama and George have been sent to live in an internment camp for Japanese-Americans during World War II. Tama runs the library, and George comes to the library every day. Before long, they begin to talk and soon they marry.
Along with ...
What is a drum? What kinds of drums are there in the world? Where can I find a drum?
This board book answers all these questions and more. And keep turning the pages and you will find a drum of your very own.
Drum fun for anyone who l...
You are My Special Narwhal is a book full of sparkles and rainbows, celebrating the uniqueness of each person with stars and lovely sea creatures.
"My mighty miracle.
My magnificent marvel."
Surprise! Cat's family suddenly has a new addition, and Cat is getting to know this new person as the new person is getting know Cat.
A little board book that's just right for a baby or young child. Light and fun.
Elsie is thrilled that soon she will be going to a dance with her Daddy. She's been practicing swaying in her wheelchair and she's picked out the perfect dress. Using a book filled with pictures and with gestures and smiles, Elsie lets h...
“Shimmy shimmy, no-sashay!”
Little Worm is walking along with a song stuck in his head. Who put that song in his head?
It's not Owl. His song goes, "Wave, wave, talking to the wing!"
It's not Chipmunk. His song goes, "Chee, chee, chit...
Julian Warner thinks about the stories he'd like to tell his child about family. Lone Stars is a collection of stories about Julian's extended family, with stories about his grandparents, his parents, and the family of his spouse. The st...
Siddhartha wanders, becoming a seeker after truth, a poor contemplative, a rich man who looks for the sensual pleasures of life, a father trying to teach his son, and, finally, a man of wisdom.
This is one of the most profound books I'...
“When is the best time to plant a tree? Twenty years ago.
The second best time? Today.”
—Chinese proverb
David Milarch, a nurseryman in Michigan, had a near-death experience, and an idea came to him. He felt led to find old, large, an...
The less I say about this book, the better, I think.
Some spoilers, possibly, but I wish I'd known these things going in.
I didn't expect to *love* Love Hypothesis, but I didn't expect to dislike parts of it either. I disliked parts o...
Nigel is having career week at school. But he's afraid of being laughed at---What will the other kids say when he tells them he wants to be a superhero? And his parents' jobs aren't anything special...Instead, Nigel tells the moon.
Ways...
The young daughter leads the way, while the dad somewhat reluctantly follows along, in this hike to the top.
You will feel like you are hiking with the two of them as they travel through the dense jungle, go up a shaky ladder, slip on ...
Alyssa Satin Capucilli has written an ode to the ones we love, a song for all those we care about, a poem to celebrate the people we adore in this picture book, All That is You.
Here. Listen to a bit:
"You're the sunflower in my garden...
Marjorie longs to make some new friends with whom she can share her love for gardening and baking and knitting. She's delighted when she sees a sign at the community center where people can talk together about gardening and crafting and ...
A sliver of moonlight moves through the forest, down a river, into a valley, until it finally reaches your neighborhood and your room...and softly fades away...
A glimmer of a story, following a beam of moonlight. Beautiful illustration...
Juniper hopes to be part of the orchestra that welcomes spring and melts away winter, but Mr. Moose finds her too loud. Off Juniper goes, and she soon meets others who are equally loud and vigorous. Before you know it, winter has begun t...
"They say you can spot a true shénnóng-shi by their hands—palms colored by the stain of the earth, fingertips scarred from thorns, a permanent crust of soil and blood darkening the crescents of their nails.
I used to look at my hands w...
Moon cannot see but he hears things other horses miss.
Clara cannot speak but she hears things other children miss.
When a snowstorm threatens the herd of horses, Moon and Clara work together, using the strengths they each have, to ove...
Chip the Dog has been around for seven years, but that's like fifty in human years, and Chip knows some things which he is delighted to share with us: Chip knows to eat important papers of small people because then they will have to stay...
For a quick tour of noodles eaten around the world, you can't do better than this little board book. Illustrated with an iconic picture of each dish and described in a brief sentence, this is a great introduction to noodles for the very ...
Odd Birds introduces young children to some of the strangest birds in the world, first with just a sentence, and then with more detailed information.
Just the right amount of quirkiness to inspire some new birders among the young...
Hello, World! Garden Time covers all the basics of gardening---how seeds are planted and how they grow, the parts of plants, interactions of plants with earthworms and pollinators. It's a lovely way to share the joy of gardening with you...
A little bear questions his dad with the perpetual inquiry of early childhood: Why? And the little bear's wise parent answers every question thoughtfully and lovingly.
A lovely story for all our little questioners out there, brimming o...
There's a knock on the door and the Three Bears are surprised to find Little Red Riding Hood standing on their step. Little Red Riding Hood is fleeing the wolf and the Three Bears offer her shelter. But the Big Bad Wolf is sad and discon...
Sutton Button is saddened when others tell her that she doesn't look like her siblings, that she doesn't belong, and she attempts to change her appearance to more closely resemble them. But her attempts fail. It is only after she has a t...
Lucrezia has always been a difficult child. When she is asked to marry the ruler of Ferrara in the stead of her dead sister, she begs her father to allow her to remain with her family in Florence. But the wedding takes place anyway, and ...
Dog and Hat must find Dog's missing polka dots and, in order to do so, they must travel down into the dangerous sewers below the streets and confront a dangerous alligator.
Adventure...action...humor...this little easy reader has it all.
No more cookies and...oh dear...it's coming...oh no...yep, it's the big scream.
This delightful little board book shares a tried-and-true strategy to teach children to calm themselves down when things get too much for them.
And it jus...
I couldn't resist checking out this book once I heard about it from a fellow blogger.
Here's the pitch: "There are over a million words in the English language, but the average person only uses 2%(for the math-challenged among us, that'...
Nicky prefers to shelve books in the library rather than participate in the rough-and-tumble play of the playground. Then the librarian tells Nicky that she will be gone for the following week to a conference and Nicky is filled with ner...
If you are looking for a Halloween read-aloud for those of us who like to celebrate the holiday for its magic and fun more than for its scariness, then look no further than A Spoonful of Frogs. It's a charming recipe for a witch's favori...
Cornbread and Poppy are friends. But they are very different.
Cornbread has prepared for winter. Poppy has not. How will Poppy make it through the winter without food? How can Cornbread help her?
A gentle story for easy early chapter r...
The Black Panther Party! As a child and as a young person, I was terrified of the Black Panther Party as they were presented to me on the nightly news. Armed. Angry. They were shown to me as Very Scary People.
How different is this acc...
Wow...wow...wow.
The story of the Civil Rights Movement in America is told through powerful and poignant poems.
Read it. Just read it.
Javier Zamora tells the grueling story of his seven-week journey as a nine-year-old boy from El Salvador to the United States. It's a story of frightening boat trips, sudden police appearances, debilitating desert crossings, and arrests....
Pupper really wishes he could be a hero like Wonder Dog. Is there a chance he could be?
It would be fun to be a drummer like Doggo, too. But maybe some (like Cat) prefer quiet music.
A wonderful easy early chapter book for our younges...
It's the art of this book that captivates me. Who better to do a graphic novel than this author who wows me every time?
Sophia's father was lost at sea doing the work he loved, with sea creatures. Since then, Sophia's uncle has tried to...
My grandma's loose tooth!
The rats are eating the moon!
Off goes the first cat in space to the rescue!
It's a story full of evil...no, hungry...rats plus a queen and giants and a maze and whales and a toenail-clipping robot looking fo...
Indira is a human who has been cybernetically augmented, and Fawn is a human-presenting AI. After having an embarrassingly public argument, they have been forced to work together on a project in the art gallery in which they work. Slowly...
I could read about Lucy and her family forever, I think. Lucy is an observer and a writer, and she makes note of the small discrepancies and small joys of her daily life in a simple and wise way. All around her is the world, and that wor...
Nobody knows more about baking than Paul Hollywood. Who better to share favorite recipes for baked goods---both sweet and savory---than Hollywood?
A toilet plunger wants to be...a vase.
Simple, right?
The plunger's desires are quickly shot down by the other occupants of the bathroom. "Not to be rude but...look at you. You're shaped like a plunger. That's your job. That's what you...
You should know before you read this review that
I LOVE ROCKS!!!
(Yes, all caps and three exclamation points. Yes, I love rocks like you love your dog. Trust me. It can happen.)
So, I've been waiting and waiting for this book to be pub...
"If it's almost Halloween and you
have a new babysitter...be wary.
She might be a bruja! A witch!"
This is the story of a child who discovers her new babysitter is a witch, and the child takes steps to vanquish her. And the child event...
John Parra tells stories of his childhood, helping his papi in his father's work as a landscape contractor. Juanito struggles when a friend from school, Alex, looks away and pretends not to see him while he works in a yard. And yet he le...
Leonard the cat loved his human. But his human left for work each day, and Leonard felt lonely. One day Leonard spies a tortoiseshell cat across the way, and soon Leonard and Mariposa are friends, exploring the city together. But Leonard...
Judith Valente looks closely at The Rule of St. Benedict and shares its wisdom. Valente includes Benedict's thoughts about paying attention, waking up, living fully, living peacefully, silence, humility, prayer, trust, community, finding...
Patrick Radden Keefe is a long-form journalist, an old-time investigative reporter, who digs deep into a story, and the stories he chooses to investigate thoroughly are stories of bad guys. Rogues is a collection of twelve of Keefe's mos...
Dellawisp is a building made up of five apartments on Mallow Island, and inside each apartment is a story. Zoey comes to live in one of these apartments, and she comes to learn the stories of the apartments and, in doing so, she grows to...
Fellowship Point is the story of respected children's author Agnes Lee and her best friend Polly Wister. The two women are in their eighties and Agnes desperately wants to protect Fellowship Point from developers. The long and complicate...
Erika L. Sánchez tells the stories of her life thus far in Crying in the Bathroom. Sánchez grew up in Chicago, the daughter of immigrants. She knew from an early age that she wanted to be a writer. Some of her biggest obstacles are debil...
If I had taken a pretest on what I knew about microbes before I read this book, I wouldn't have been able to say much. I would say that most microbes I knew about were bad, destructive if not controlled in humans. I would say that I'd he...
Anders wakes up one morning to find that his skin has turned dark and he does not recognize himself. As he gets out of the house, he is startled to find that people seem to look at him differently than they did when he was a white man. H...
Julia thought her sister, Olga, was the perfect Mexican daughter. Olga stayed home after high school with her family, went to community college, went to work as a receptionist, and dated a nice boy.
But now Olga is dead.
And Julia isn...
Who would guess that something as simple, as...well, childish, if you will, as playfulness can transform your life?
How many times has too-seriousness taken hold of me and caused a rift between me and others? And now that I'm armed with...
Living Life as a Thank You is a collection of stories of many people which center on the power of gratitude to change lives. Until I read this book, I don't think I realized how powerful gratitude can be in trying to cope with the variou...
It's 3 1/2, just so you know.
Kip's quiet, and she's surprised to find ten of her favorite characters have stepped out of their world and into hers. A ninja from her TV show. A race-car driver from a video game. An old man from a pictur...
Jane falls in love with Duncan almost as soon as she meets him, but the problem is that just about every other female in town has been involved with Duncan, too. Even Duncan's ex-wife, Aggie, still has Duncan over to mow the yard...Can J...
Krista Tippett shares her journey in life, from her early spiritual experiences in childhood with a minister grandfather to her young adulthood in Germany to her return to spirituality in later adulthood.
Tippett's connection to faith ...
“Improv is freakin’ magic.”
“The secret lies in improv’s structure—a set of rules that allows players to stop worrying and second-guessing and to ease into the moment and be completely engaged with their fellow performers.”
“The best-k...
Mary Pipher tells the story of her life and focuses on the ways she was able to find light during the dark times.
A few quotes:
“I was a fleck of dust in an enormous universe, fortunate to even exist. Our lives are as fragile as the sm...
It's 1914 in America, and it's not easy to be a child whose parents are divorced, or a person of Native American heritage, and Norvia is both of these. And now her mother is remarrying, and Norvia doesn't know whether her new stepfather ...
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