This picture book by Melanie Florence and illustrated by Francois Thisdale tells the story of Kateri, a young Cree girl who is motherless and being raised by her grandmother, Nohkom. Kateri’s story is based on the stories of the missing indigenous women of the U.S. and Canada. Told in alternating voices, the absent mother follows… Read more »
Book Room
Jazz Day: The Making of a Famous Photograph
Jazz Day: The Making of a Famous Photograph by Roxane Orgill, illustrated by Francis Vallejo (Candlewick, 2016) From the flap: “In 1958, Esquire magazine was planning a special issue focused on American jazz. Art Kane, a graphic designer in New York City, pitched a crazy idea: gather as many jazz musicians as were willing and… Read more »
Steamboat School
“… sometimes courage is just an ordinary boy… doing a small thing, as small as picking up a pencil.” Reverend John Berry Meachum was no ordinary boy. Born a slave, Reverend John later purchased his freedom and began offering “religious and secular education to free and enslaved black St. Louisan’s.” STEAMBOAT SCHOOL by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by… Read more »
THE SOUND OF ALL THINGS
Your parents are deaf but you can hear. In this picture book, THE SOUND OF ALL THINGS by Myron Ulberg, a hearing son describes to his father through sign language all the noise and music that surround them as they enjoy the sights of the amusement park, Coney Island. But how do you explain the… Read more »
you belong here
The stars belong in the deep night sky, and the moon belongs there too, and the winds belong in each place they blow by, and I belong here with you. — by M.H. Clark Soothing rhythms calm and reassure young readers in this lyrical picture… Read more »
TALKING LEAVES by Joseph Bruchac
In the mid-1800’s a Cherokee man known as Sequoyah, invented an entire writing system for his people. The Cherokee still to this day use his system. Sequoyah realized the power and importance of keeping one’s tribal language alive. He observed that when a language cannot be written and shared, an alternative language is forced onto… Read more »
Two Ways to Say “I Love You”
Two ways to say I love you: I HEART YOU by Meg Fleming, illustrated by Sarah Jane Wright (Beach Lane Books, 2016) A tender ode to all the ways little ones are loved and cherished, sung to and snuggled, adored and embraced. Three-word-lines capture these moments in phrases such as this one, when the mother bird and… Read more »
