Deb Nance

I decided to read this graphic novel about Picasso since (1) I knew almost nothing about Picasso and (2) it was set, at least in part, in Paris.

This was not my sort of story. It isn't really what I would call a biography, as it only covers a few years of Picasso's life, and it really isn't as much about his life as it is about his relationships with a few people of those few years. I was disappointed with that aspect of the book. I quickly learned that I didn't like Picasso as a human being at all, and that makes reading a book about him very difficult. In addition, it was hard to follow the story. Others have said that the translation is poor, so perhaps that is part of the problem.

The perfect book to read on All Saints' Day. Many of these saints were put to death, mostly in gruesome ways. I enjoyed reading about all the ways these people, all regular humans, were able to act in ways to make the world better. Some of my favorites featured in this book were Anne (grandmothers, booksellers, and lace makers), Catherine (intellectuals, philosophers), Christopher (travelers), Dorothy (gardeners), Francis of Assisi (animals and ecology), Francis of Sales (writers), and James the Elder (hikers).

Victor Emmanuel tells the story of his life with birds in One More Warbler. He begins with his childhood growing up in Houston, including the many mentors he had in his early years as he began to learn more and more about birds and nature. He eventually became a man who takes birders on trips all around the world.

Madeline Finn has trained her dog, Star, to be a therapy dog. Star must pass three tests to be certified. He must learn to not chase things, to sit still while he is petted, to stay when his leash is dropped and more. He does well, but one resident of the retirement home doesn't respond to Star. Still Star has two more chances...

A lovely story with dogs.

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 nothing about it, I'd seen no mention of it, until it arrived as a nomination for the year's best picture book for the Cybils Awards.

Ten little ducks follow their parents down the road until...one of the little ducks stops to say hello to a new friend.

A counting book with lots of lovely repetition.

If you are a Texas beginning backyard birder, and if you are looking for your first field guide to birds in your area, you cannot do better than to start with this book.

The birds are organized by color, and that's the recommended order for a first field guide. The number of birds is comprehensive but limited to those who reside and/or migrate to Texas, and that's helpful for a beginner.

“We're not just losing the wild world. We're forgetting it.”

Thus Simon Barnes, Nature Lover Extraordinaire, begins his book Rewild Yourself. He proposes twenty-three simple ways to reawaken yourself to the magic of the natural world.

His proposals are magic. He suggests stopping by a buddleia tree, a tree that attracts scores of butterflies, and discovering the names of some of the butterflies that alight there. He offers the idea of listening to the birds and finding out what birds make the songs we hear.

He reveals lots of other ideas of discovering the magic that is right in front of our eyes and ears but that we have lost the ability to see and hear.

The book focuses on England and the English, but it's quite simple to adapt the ideas for our own specific parts of the world.

Here's a fun idea: Learn shapes while you bake!

Cookie Truck tells the story of a truck made of cookies. And the recipe is included, too.

Fresh and hands-on approach to learning shapes.

Read this book about forty strong Latinas and you will be forever changed. These are stories I haven't heard before now. These are stories that need to be read. These are stories that need to be celebrated. Dancers. Singers. Writers. Doctors. Artists. Poets. Architects. Engineers. Activists. And much more. Venezuela. El Salvador. Cuba. Puerto Rico. Mexico. Argentina. Colombia. And much, much more. Strong Latina women. Read these and be filled with admiration for those who listened to their inner voices, for those who followed their dreams.

Fergus and Zeke are the class pets in Miss Maxwell's classroom, and they feel a responsibility to participate in all the activities the children do. As they see the children beginning projects for the 100th Day of School, they, too, try to come up with a project that will work, but project after project idea fails.

This book takes on, in a very light and casual way, the ideas of resilience, of finding work that is suitable for you, on trying things and moving on when an idea doesn't work. Fergus and Zeke are completely likable characters, and both the text and the illustrations are delightful.

Peek-a-boo!

The monkeys in this book play peek-a-boo with the reader.

Can you guess the mood of each monkey?

It's tough to be the new kid at school.

You get asked all kinds of annoying questions.

Once the new kid opens up, other kids share the annoying questions they have been asked:

“Why do you always have your nose in a book?”
“Why are you so small?”
“Where do you come from?”

And then they share the questions they wish they'd be asked.

And there's one that everyone agrees they'd love to be asked:

“Hey, kid! Do you want to play?”

Folktales are old. Folktales arise from an oral tradition. Folktales are good because they are old and because they arise from an oral tradition. No one retells a story that is not good. Stories get better as they are told more and more.

This is a wonderful collection of folktales from around the world. The stories are about love and old age and trickery and work and families—all the important things—and they are testaments to both the unfailing wickedness and the unfailing redemption available in the world.

Zack and Ike are exactly alike.

They both have wriggly hair.

They both have giggly grins.

They both have kind hearts.

But what happens when they disagree?

And how about that Zena Lola-Jo Lee? Is she exactly different? Or not?

A wonderful conversation starter.

Baby Loves Electrical Engineering on Christmas connects science to real life. It explains complicated scientific concepts in a way that even very young children can understand. And it cautions children against the dangerous parts of electricity.

A 1001 CBYMRBYGU.

Most of the time, the sea monster sits quietly in the rocks, but when a boy's sailboat drifts out to sea and the boy swims out after the boat, the monster must take action. An old fisherman hears the cries of the boy's dog and he rows out to help.

A surprising story. Quiet. Suspenseful. A satisfying ending.

Far out into the ocean the old fisherman rowed,
but he saw no sign of the boy. The waves grew
big and the sky grew dark and the old man
had almost given up hope, when suddenly
the little white dog began
to bark.

“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, emphasizing the strengths of the child.

Marie Curie discovered several new elements including radium, and the uses for the new elements helped the world. She was first in her class when she graduated from the Sorbonne with a degree in physics, and she later earned a second degree from the prestigious institution. She was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize, and she became the first person to win two Nobel Prizes. She was the first female professor at the Sorbonne.

In second grade (which I only attended for six weeks), my teacher came up with projects for me to keep me busy, and one kind of project I did was to do research. One of my first subjects for research was a report on Marie Curie. Since then I've always had a fondness for this amazing scientist.

Bo Willie sets off down Highway 61 in search of Yellow Dog. On and on he travels, past many famous spots known for the music that grew up along the Mississippi Blues Trail. But his search is in vain; Yellow Dog has been nabbed by the blues and he won't be coming back.

A completely novel story, with lovely historical spots interwoven into the story. The hand-stitched art is something you should not miss.

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 learns a lot about design and art and the value of work from his time helping his father.

Some beautiful lines from the conclusion to the book: “I see the yards my dad has made beautiful...I remember Alex's face in the window. I turn to a blank page and begin to sketch. I will use my art to tell the stories of hardworking, passionate people who make the world more beautiful. I will tell their stories. I will tell my story.”

The Family from One-End Street is a three hundred page children's chapter book originally published in 1937. It's the story of a poor family. Mom is a washerwoman and Dad is a dustman (I had to look that up...he is what we in the US refer to as a garbage collector). The family has seven very different children. Lily Rose is the oldest and finds her name to be embarrassing. Kate is bright and does extremely well in school. The twin boys, Jim and John, like adventure. Jo, short for Josiah, tries to find ways to get enough money to go to the cinema often. Peg is the youngest daughter, and William is the baby.

The family has struggles and little adventures and great joys, and it's all set in a small town in England in difficult economic times. There are beautiful little black-and-white drawings throughout the book. It's just the sort of story I would have loved when I was a child, with something for everyone.

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 picture book. Rabbit from a comic strip. And more.

I'm curious to see where this is going next.

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 there?

But when we will we get to bananas?!

I am looking forward to read this one to kids!

Lion and Audrey find ways to celebrate birthdays (even if it's not your own, it's bound to be somebody's, right?) and Tuesdays and coconuts and Thursdays and orange and yellow and purple and ordinary days and lions and monkeys.

A simple story of finding delight wherever it appears.