Do You Need a Friend? Something I’ve noticed about my favorite writers is that I think they’re writing about me. Maybe not today’s me, or even yesterday’s me, but me someday. That’s what Barbara O’Connor does in Wonderland: The Novel. I found myself in all her main characters (yes, even the dog’s.) Poor little rich […]
When I worked as a children’s bookseller, I steered kids away from fantasy for a simple reason: I thought I didn’t like the genre. Then came His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman. The Golden Compass, the first in the series, blew me into fantasy land. Children are disappearing in 12 year old Lyra’s world. Scrappy Lyra, decides
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Mr. Puffball: Escape from Castaway Island is full of magic. It’s not just the slyly adorable artwork or the tongue in cheek narrative. The magic is in the details. Kids will read every word, not wanting to miss details like adding a bucket of butter for cake batter or the chattering of dolphins, written as
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The Rabbit Listened Take a child’s ordinary catastrophe… add a murder of crows… an inquisitive chicken… and a bunch of other animals… (You’ll recognize them grownups in disguise.) You’ll have a story about disappointment and what it really takes to mend a heart. #how to heal a broken heart
When Your child is sad, read this. Read More »
The Blue Songbird Vern Kousky The quiet child looks around and sees but says little. Perhaps it’s because everyone else’s talents are louder, more easily noticed. This book is for anyone who has felt shy..
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Arthur’s goldfish looks like he’s going to die of boredom (according to Arthur, that is). “Give him a poem,” says Mom. Arthur goes off in search of one. A baker says it’s hot like fresh bread, his canary says it’s when words beat their wings. It’s odd, a poem means something different to everyone. My
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On a Magical Do- Nothing Day Beatrice Alemagna Finally a story about the dreaded iPhone! But don’t worry, it gets what it deserves. The author knows an iPhone might hide what is really interesting. After it meets its untimely end that our heroine discovers the magic of a rainy backyard.
The Blue Songbird Vern Kousky The quiet, shy child looks around and sees but says little. Perhaps it’s because everyone else’s talents are louder, more easily noticed. This book is for them.
For the quiet and shy child Read More »
Big Wolf and Little Wolf by Nadine Brun-Cosmeillustrated by Olivier Tale You don’t need anyone and no one needs you. Sound like anyone you know? Life is just as you like it, until, one day, a small blue dot appears on the horizon. It’s a little wolf, come to change your world. A parable on loneliness and
Friendship and Loneliness…know anyone who is experiencing this? Read More »