From all of us at READERKIDZ to all of you, sincere wishes for a healthy and joyous Thanksgiving and holiday season. May we see and celebrate the kindness of others. May we surprise a friend or stranger with “unjustified” kindness. May we celebrate goodness with laughter and applause. JIM THORPE’S BRIGHT PATH by Joseph Bruchac,… Read more »
Beyond Boundaries
THE OLIVE TREE
THE OLIVE TREE by Elsa Marston, illustrated by Claire Ewart, is a story for all ages about an ancient olive tree in Lebanon and two children who live on “opposite sides of the wall.” At first they are enemies until an unexpected disaster show them what they share in common. This picture book story is… Read more »
VOICES FROM AROUND THE WORLD in BOOKS CELEBRATED by IBBY
IBBY Honors Inclusion of all Voices in Books From Around the World The International Board of Books for Young People – IBBY – held their congress in September in Mexico City. IBBY introduced their 2014 Honor List, a biennial selection of outstanding, recently published books honoring writers, illustrators, and translators from around the world. The… Read more »
COLORS OF THE WIND
COLORS OF THE WIND is a picture-book biography with startling paintings that open your eyes, and also a true story about an Olympic champion runner and award-winning artist who is blind: George Mendoza. The author, J.L. Powers, tells us: “To me, it’s an amazing story of someone who has persisted and found such an incredible… Read more »
YES! WE ARE LATINOS
YES! WE ARE LATINOS By Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy, pictures by David Diaz Voices! The power and pride singing throughout this book is felt in each of the thirteen distinctive narrative poems. Each poem is told in the first-person voice of a Latino child who introduces his or her unique cultural background… Read more »
Librarian’s Corner: A Comic-Book Guy, the Need for Diverse Books for Young People, and the Power of Lifting Off the Invisibility Cloak
During this year’s Library of Congress National Book Festival in Washington DC, graphic novelist Gene Luen Yang delivered a passionate speech. He spoke about the power of diverse books and comics, and engaging readers from any background. At the conclusion, his literary audience, not your typical comic book crowd, stood up and cheered. Yang is… Read more »
NEVER SAY A MEAN WORD AGAIN
NEVER SAY A MEAN WORD AGAIN, A TALE FROM MEDIEVAL SPAIN Written by Jacqueline Jules and illustrated by Durga Yael Bernhard What could be more universal than name-calling and fighting – between children or adults? What could be harder to teach than effective conflict resolution? Choosing to become friends rather than to become an enemy, is… Read more »
