picture books
Mission Work for Kids: Sewing School and Crafts for Hope
By emily |
In our Summer Reading Challenge, we've just read the story of Nate Saint, one of the men who entered glory alongside Jim Elliot trying to ...
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Steaming into Sunset: an Interview with Sherri Rinker
By Janie Cheaney |
Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site (see our review here) hurled Sherri Rinker’s star into the picture-book firmament. Accepted by the first publisher she submitted it to, ...
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A Novel in Verse and Verse in a Novel
By Janie Cheaney |
We're rounding out our Poetry Month coverage with three books for middle-graders: Gone Fishing: a Novel in Verse, by Tamera Will Wissinger, illustrated by Matthew ...
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Poetry Anthologies
By Megan Saben |
A good poetry anthology is like going to a friend's house with a basket, and being told, "Oh, you must read this one, and this one, and ...
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Red Sings from Treetops by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski
By Betsy Farquhar |
Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski. Houghton Mifflin, 2009. 32 pages. Reading Level: Picture Books, ages ...
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Waxing Poetic: a pop quiz and some homework from the teacher
By Betsy Farquhar |
It's National Poetry Month! Who cares, right? Well, YOU should care. Not because it's "National Poetry Month," per se, but because poetry is worth enjoying ...
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*Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens
By Megan Saben |
Tops and Bottoms is a clever folktale that illustrates the wisdom of diligence and warning against laziness in the book of Proverbs. *Tops and Bottoms ...
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*My Lucky Day by Keiko Kasza
By Megan Saben |
My Lucky Day by Keiko Kasza. Puffin, 2005. 32 pages. Reading Level: Picture Books, ages 4-8 When a fat pig shows up at a hungry ...
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Proverbs, Tricksters and Fools
By Megan Saben |
The book of Proverbs is full of instructions for the simple to obtain wisdom and avoid disaster. Stories about tricksters demonstrate common-grace examples of using ...
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*The Gardener by Sarah Stewart and David Small
By Betsy Farquhar |
Lydia shares her efforts to bring beauty to the world around her in this epistolary picture book. *The Gardener by Sarah Stewart and David Small. ...
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Toddling into the Word: First Bible Storybooks and Early-Reader Bibles
By Janie Cheaney |
What could be more appropriate for Holy Week than a survey of children’s Bibles and Bible storybooks? That’s what I foolishly thought, treatment but this ...
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Easter Picks from the New Crew
By emily |
We thought we'd kick off our new partnership with Megan and Betsy with a few Easter book recommendations. (If you missed their introduction, read about ...
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New Nonfiction: Titanic, Moonbird, and Bodyguards
By Janie Cheaney |
These three books have nothing in common except their general category and the fact that the first two won honors in the ALA Youth Media ...
Read More Zeus, King of the Gods by George O’Connor
By Janie Cheaney |
Zeus, King of the Gods, (#1 in The Olympians graphic-novel series) by George O’Connor. First Second, 2012, 80 pages. Reading Level: Picture books (graphic novel), ...
Read More The Adventures of Achilles by Hugh Lupton and Daniel Morden
By Janie Cheaney |
The Adventures of Achilles, by Hugh Lupton and Daniel Morden, illustrated by Carole Henaff. Barefoot Books, 2012, 96 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages10-12 Maturity ...
Read More *Greek Myths by Marcia Williams
By emily |
*Greek Myths by Marcia Williams. Candlewick, 2011. Ages 4-up. Reading Level: Picture Books, Ages 4-8, Ages 8-10, Ages 10-12 Marcia Williams' Greek Myths is a ...
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ALA Awards: Newberys and Caldecotts, Splendors and Glooms
By Janie Cheaney |
One month ago was “Oscar night for Librarians,” when the American Library Association announced their “best of” picks for children’s literature. We’ve given some space ...
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Happy Birthday, Mr. Lincoln
By Janie Cheaney |
I’ve heard that aside from William Shakespeare, more books have been written about Abraham Lincoln than any other historical figure. That makes it difficult to ...
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Valentine Books for Little Ones
By emily |
VALENTINE'S DAY PRESENTS With Valentine's Day creeping up on us, I thought I'd throw out a few of my favorite Valentine books for the little ...
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Picture Books for Sharing and Giving, Part Two
By Janie Cheaney |
The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau, by Michelle Markel, Illustrated by Amanda Hall. Eardmanns, 2012, 32 pages. Age/interest level: 4-8 “Henri Rousseau wants to be ...
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Picture Books for Sharing and Giving, Part One
By Janie Cheaney |
A post for grandmas out there: when we go to the bookstore at this time of year to pick out something with no plastic in ...
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A Very LOGOS & Parnassus Christmas, Part One
By emily |
One Hip Town. Two Bookstores. And Lots of Great Books for Kids! Here in Nashville, we have at least two exceptional bookstores: Logos Bookstore and ...
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The History of Faith: Wiliam Boekestein’s and Simonetta Carr’s New Books for Kids
By emily |
This week in our library month theme, Janie took us back to the 8th century in a review of Hand of Vengeance by Douglas Bond. ...
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Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing: Savoring Sally Lloyd Jones’ New Book
By emily |
This October, the team that brought you The Jesus Storybook Bible released a unique new book, Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing. At 224 pages, ...
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Just Because: a Roundup of New Picture Books
By Janie Cheaney |
The picture book is alive and well, to judge by the way the publishing industry keeps pumping them out. Here are some of the more ...
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Kids and 9/11
By Janie Cheaney |
To our children it’s already history, but to us it seems like “only yesterday.” Too soon, really, to come to an informed conclusion about what ...
Read More Legends in their Own Minds
By Janie Cheaney |
Captain Awesome (series), by Stan Kirby, Illustrated by George O’Connor. Little Simon, 2012, approx. 110 pages. Age/interest level: 5-7 According to many K-3 teachers I’ve ...
Read More Rocket Reads and Writes; Charlie Joe Does NOT
By Janie Cheaney |
In keeping with our back-to-school focus: if you haven't met little Rocket, you really should. As for Charlie Joe, well . . . How Rocket ...
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American Originals
By Janie Cheaney |
Those delegates to the Second Continental Convention probably had no idea what they were creating when they signed a certain document back in July of ...
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Crazy Numbers
By Janie Cheaney |
Some kids like numbers and are good with them; others aren’t. Though no longer a kid, I fall in the latter category,but these two books ...
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Summer Vacation Audiobooks
By emily |
Last year about this time, I did a vacation audiobook post. I'm actually on vacation myself right now, so I can't do as thorough a ...
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In Memory – Picture Books For Memorial Day
By Janie Cheaney |
Memorial Day, like Veterans Day, is one of those overlooked observances that to government, library, and bank employees means a chance to catch up or ...
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The Secret Lives of Animals
By Janie Cheaney |
The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate. HarperCollins, 2012, 304 pages. Age/interest level: 8-up. Last week, a little bluebird appeared in our wood stove. ...
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Thinking Different(ly)
By Janie Cheaney |
I'm way behind on my Saturday reviews, so it's time to catch up—with a Tuesday review tagging off of last Friday's Steve Jobs post. Jobs ...
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The Splendor of the Ordinary
By Janie Cheaney |
I have a confession to make: I’m not a fan of poetry. For someone who loves literature, I see this not as a mere preference ...
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Detectives: Hard Boiled and Four-Legged
By Janie Cheaney |
Ever since Edgar Allen Poe, one of the most reliable publishing genres has been the mystery or detective novel. I'm not a huge fan myself, ...
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Saturday Review: Books for Beginning Readers
By Janie Cheaney |
I read a lot of books for this blog. All the ladies at the circulation desk at the Greene County Library (bless their hearts!) know ...
Read More Our Easter Basket
By emily |
Rather than do a more traditional Easter post, I thought that this morning I'd create a small "bookstore" of some of my Easter favorites. Here ...
Read More The Lorax: A Book and Movie Meditation
By emily |
“It is to be broken. It is to be torn open. It is not to be reached and come to rest in ever. I turn ...
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Cities and Gardens
By Janie Cheaney |
As mentioned last Friday, some professional worriers have noted that children's picture books are displaying a decided preference for cityscapes as opposed to natural landscapes. ...
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Africa: A Literary Adventure and Podcast!
By emily |
This month my local public library is offering a marionette show of African folktales starring Anansi the spider. It's a unique way to celebrate Black ...
Read More A Roundup of Dickens Resources: Books
By Janie Cheaney |
My first exposure to Charles Dickens was the original Classics Illustrated edition of A Tale of Two Cities. The last panel of Sidney Carton climbing ...
Read More 50 Years of The Snowy Day
By emily |
When The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats first came out in 1962, it broke the mold in a number of ways. Besides the charming ...
Read More Picture Book Roundup
By Janie Cheaney |
Late last year an article in the New York Times caused the book world to shiver and shake and ask itself, "Is the picture book ...
Read More A More Excellent Way
By Janie Cheaney |
On Friday we looked at some very popular picture books that you just might find under your tree. Some of them are better than others, ...
Read More Thanks Anyway . . .
By Janie Cheaney |
Any bookstore manager can tell you that one of the most reliable customer types is the older woman with no children in the household (either ...
Read More What’s on the Menu? Literary Cookbooks!
By Janie Cheaney |
Food occupies our minds a lot this time of year—to gather around, to give away, to serve to strangers at the Salvation Army, to stuff ...
Read More Thankful for Cheryl Harness
By Janie Cheaney |
The Adventurous Life of Myles Standish, by Cheryl Harness. National Geographic, 2006, 143 pages. Age/interest level: 8 and up. Thanksgiving means a raid on the ...
Read More Those Who Served–And Serve
By Janie Cheaney |
Veterans’ Day is one of those holidays that sneak up on me. I intend to write a note to a veteran, wear red, pray a ...
Read More Columbus and the Founding of our Nation
By emily |
COLUMBUS The first time I browsed through Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire's biography, Columbus, I purchased it for my kids on the spot based largely ...
Read More Picturing God
By Janie Cheaney |
Images of God for Young Children, by Marie-Helene Delval (illustrated by Barbara Nascimbeni) Eerdmans, 2011. Brother Sun, Sister Moon, by Katherine Paterson, illustrated by Pamela ...
Read More Growing Up Shakespearean
By emily |
Shakespeare and Story Bibles As I was searching recently for Shakespeare resources for my kids--who are 3 and 5--I harbored a nagging, undefined feeling that ...
Read More The Living Past: An Interview With Cheryl Harness
By Janie Cheaney |
We end our extended history week with what some consider to be the purest form of history: biography. The old argument of whether great events, ...
Read More Knights in Training
By Janie Cheaney |
The Brave Young Knight, by Karen Kingsbury, illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard. Zonderkidz, 2011. Age/interest level, 4-7 In the spirit of Will, God's Mighty Warrior, here's ...
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*Press Here by Herve Tullet
By Janie Cheaney |
*Press Here by Herve Tullet. Chronicle Books, 2011. 56 pages. Reading Level: Picture Books, ages 0-4 Recommended for: Ages 0-4 and up Those of you ...
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Queen of the Falls by Chris Van Allsburg
By Janie Cheaney |
Queen of the Falls by Chris Van Allsburg. Houghton Mifflin, 2011, 37 pages. Reading Level: Picture Book, ages 9-12 Recommended for: Ages 4-8 On the ...
Read More Sex, Cats, and Stereotypes
By Janie Cheaney |
Just when you thought we'd done a pretty good job of knocking down stereotypes, a new study (those three words have to be among the ...
Read More Brave Little Digital World
By Janie Cheaney |
In Surprised By Joy, C. S. Lewis wrote about the flowering of his imagination at an early age--especially through books, which were piled up everywhere ...
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*Dust Devil by Anne Isaacs
By Janie Cheaney |
Dust Devil, by Anne Isaacs, Illustrated by Paul Zelinsky, Schwartz & Wade, 2011. Reading Level: Picture Books, ages 4-8 Recommended for: Ages 4-8 and up ...
Read More Easter Gifts 101: Bible stories and The Story of the Bible
By emily |
“I just ordered Happy and Honey, Bob Books set 1, and the Starfall readers—books you recommended—for Lois's and my African-American great-grandson. Could you recommend an ...
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Easter Gifts 101: ‘The Prince’s Poison Cup’ by R. C. Sproul
By emily |
The Prince's Poison Cup is perfect for young boys ages 4-8, but I think it will also appeal to many girls. It's that time of ...
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‘A Story, A Story’: Thinking Through African Mythology
By emily |
The Anansi stories have been handed down through generations of Ashanti culture...Born in Ghana I left at aged 3, leaving much of the Ghanaian culture ...
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It’s a Book by Lane Smith
By Janie Cheaney |
It's a Book by Lane Smith. Roaring Brook Press, 2010. 32 pages. Reading Level: Picture book, ages 4-8 Recommended for: ages 10-12 and up Bottom ...
Read More RR Podcast: Kevin Twit on The Jesus Storybook Bible
By emily |
It may be my freshman attempt at an interview, but Kevin Twit is no novice when it comes to focusing his listeners' attention away from ...
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*Sneaky Sheep by Chris Moore
By Janie Cheaney |
Sneaky Sheep is a light-hearted book about two silly sheep who go astray. The illustrations are worth the price of the book. *Sneaky Sheep by Chris ...
Read More If Olivia Comes to Visit….
By emily |
We live in an age of series picture books. Which, like having 27 McDonalds in every city, makes shopping a little less complicated for tired, ...
Read More The Whole Counsel of God: Complementing Your Story Bible
By emily |
The claim that a story Bible isn’t actually a Bible may seem a bit shocking at first. I mean, it’s got the word "Bible" right ...
Read More Buying Your First Story Bible
By emily |
You’re a new parent. You’ve got the baby crib with a fancy name, the swing, the bouncer, the burping pads. Now it’s time to choose ...
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