Deb Nance
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.
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 overcome the problem.
A gentle and poetic story of friendship.
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.”
A baby bird. A mama bird. It's time for Baby to take wing, and Mama is more than ready to be off to sunnier skies. But Baby would prefer to envision easier ways of making its way through the world....
Mark Teague has created a captivating story in this wordless picture book. It is an ideal introduction to point of view and characterization and making inferences in the classroom. It's so full of fun that every child will want to “read” it again and again.
The Travel Rangers head to Australia where they go snorkeling, climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge, look at animals at the zoo, and picnic with Australian food.
One of the unusual aspects of the book is that QR codes link the book to an app that displays 3D images that enhance the experience.
Animals prepare to hibernate in this board book, told in simple rhyme and with cozy illustrations.
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.
The recent release of a new movie version of Little Women inspired our book club to choose this for our February read. At the heart of the story are the wonderful and vivid characters of Meg, Jo, Amy, and Beth, and their fascinating mother as well as their next-door neighbor, Laurie. There are adventure and travel, romance and illness, redemption and death....it's a rich and thoughtful story.
This edition is ideal for anyone who would like to look carefully at the story and at Louisa May Alcott's life that inspired the story.
A girl has left her homeland and is beginning school in a new country. The girl is filled with longing to have a name that is easy to say, to have a lunch that looks like the lunches of others. Tentatively, she tries to connect with others, and, after a few misfires, she succeeds.
A lovely story of making friendships and connections despite differences, with beautiful and poetic language and soft gentle illustrations.
Gato is a cat, but he knows he is so much more. He has flown a plane, driven a taxi, run in pastures, worn sunglasses in Hollywood—he knows he is so much more than just a cat.
Not a Cat encourages us all to look at others and see the More that is there in all of us.
One hundred pages of poems for a mere fifty cents in 1965. Check it off on the Scholastic Book order form and see if your mom will give you a couple of quarters. Put the coins in a white envelope with your name on the order and give it to your teacher. In a couple of weeks, this book will arrive, and you'll open it and you can leave your small-town Texas behind and travel with the likes of Robert Frost and Langston Hughes and e.e. cummings.
Akpa, a young murre, hatches from his egg and must travel with his father far from his birthplace, though he is not yet able to fly.
A very compelling story based on factual information about murre birds.
A few spoilers below.
Mary Barton is the story of a young woman living in industrial Manchester. Her mother has died and her brother has starved to death and her father has been laid off and is living in despair over all the things he has lost. Mary herself is learning to be a seamstress and she is loved by two men, one rich and one poor, and she favors the rich one. Until she abruptly does not. And then the rich man is found dead and the poor one accused of his murder.
I found the story deeply melodramatic, with the good very, very good and the bad concerned only with themselves, but I liked how the story highlighted the terrible lives of the working man and woman of the time. The story was compelling though I came to expect that if something could go wrong, it would. The ending felt improbable but satisfying.
Lulu, the small blue monster, wants to be the boss. She demands that the big red monster give her everything she wants. And does she ever want a lot—a cake, a garbage truck, a dinosaur egg, a robot, an elephant, a chocolate castle, a chick, a plane, a monkey—but the big red monster says no. The big red monster can't give her any of these things. But finally there is one thing big red monster can give Lulu that she wants...
A story that young children will connect with...
Rebecca's mom has more than she can handle with seven kids and a farm after her husband dies, and so off Rebecca goes to live with her two maiden aunts in the brick house in town. Rebecca goes to school, and she gets a great education there, with an influential teacher to guide her. She befriends a rich benefactor as well as an elderly couple and all of these people—the aunts, the teacher, the rich man, the elderly couple—all of them influence her in strong and positive directions.
I loved this story. I think I'd expected something sappy sweet but it was nothing like that, with Rebecca a believable character coming from a poor background and developing into a lovable and strong young woman.
Some wonderful quotes:
“To become sensible of oneness with the Divine heart before any sense of separation has been felt, this is surely the most beautiful way for the child to find God.”
“Look at the pebbles in the bottom of the pool, Miss Emily, so round and smooth and shining.” “Yes, but where did they get that beautiful polish, that satin skin, that lovely shape, Rebecca? Not in the still pool lying on the sands. It was never there that their angles were rubbed off and their rough surfaces polished, but in the strife and warfare of running waters. They have jostled against other pebbles, dashed against sharp rocks, and now we look at them and call them beautiful.”
“He is wrong; my talent is not a great one, but no talent is wholly wasted unless its owner chooses to hide it in a napkin. Remember that of your own gifts, Rebecca; they may not be praised of men, but they may cheer, console, inspire, perhaps, when and where you least expect. The brimming glass that overflows its own rim moistens the earth about it.”
“He is wrong; my talent is not a great one, but no talent is wholly wasted unless its owner chooses to hide it in a napkin. Remember that of your own gifts, Rebecca; they may not be praised of men, but they may cheer, console, inspire, perhaps, when and where you least expect. The brimming glass that overflows its own rim moistens the earth about it.”
Bunny decorates eggs, looks for hidden treats, eats hot cross buns, and wears an Easter bonnet. But it is only after she goes to church that she discovers the true meaning of Easter.
Charming animal characters populate the book and the story is told in simple AABB rhyme.
On June 19 in 1865, the enslaved people of Galveston, Texas finally heard the news that they were free. Thus began a celebration that continues to this day.
The images in this book are stunning.
“My dear little one,
if you are upset
I promise to share
my calm.”
This little picture book offers a way to teach very young children (and their parents) how to calm down when they are overwhelmed.
Little Jesús is headed out with his Papá this Saturday to work in the family business, lawn maintenance. Papá puts Jesús in charge of what Papá calls “the magical water-jug clock,” a water jug that will indicate—when empty—that the two are finished working. Jesús takes this responsibility seriously, and proceeds to lavish water upon not only the two workers, but also the animals they meet and upon their tired and hot faces. It's time to go home, Jesús says, but it's still morning and there are lots of houses to go...has the clock stopped working?
A charming and fun little story of everyday life, with a great dad and a sweet kid as characters.
How to Attract Birds to Your Garden goes over all the important information about birds, focusing on the four most important needs of birds: food, water, nesting sites, and plants for shelter. It offers specific information on the best plants to grow in your garden for birds. The book contains great detail on the types of foods birds seek. There is information on how to make your own feeders and birdhouses. The back of the book gives an overview of key facts about most of the common backyard birds.
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 home. Chip knows to eat Grandpa's teeth because it will make Grandpa smile. And Chip knows the most important thing of all...Don't eat bees.
Completely hilarious book with completely hilarious text and completely hilarious illustrations. Full of kid appeal.
Merged review:
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 home. Chip knows to eat Grandpa's teeth because it will make Grandpa smile. And Chip knows the most important thing of all...Don't eat bees.
Completely hilarious book with completely hilarious text and completely hilarious illustrations. Full of kid appeal.
Baby Animals First Sounds Book is a first introduction to the sounds animals make for very young children. The text is simple rhyme, and the illustrations are photos of baby animals. An especially cool feature of this book is the QR code on the back which gives adults access to the real sounds that baby animals make.
What is more glorious than dreaming about the future? And how important is it for kids to be thinking about the future and what their parts in it might be? That, then, is the greatness of this book: This book highlights twenty-five people who set a goal to have their dream job and achieved it. Not only does the book tell each person's story, but it tells related stories about young people who are still children but who are already starting to work to achieve their dreams. The book also shares pro tips for achieving one's dreams, suggestions to try now in one's early pursuit of the dream, and spin-off jobs one might consider. Those chosen to share their stories are a diverse group of people, and that's delightful.
Rémi learns that those he thought were his parents are not, but are instead people who took in a child who was found abandoned. His foster father decides to send Rémi off into the world with a traveling musician Vitalis for money. Rémi finds Vitalis is a good master and he learns much from him.
I can easily see why this is one of the 1001 Children's Books You Must Read. It's a fantastic story of loss and love and learning and life.
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