Book Room

How to Ride A Dragonfly

Anne Schwartz Books | 978-0593175644 Have you ever dreamed of sharing a pot of tea and crumpets with a fairy? Or imagined you’d one day joust with a bumble bee while riding on the back of a dragonfly? You’re a wee bit big, of course. But not for long! All you’ll need is “a rose… Read more »

This is Not My Home

Little Brown Books for Young Readers | 978-0316377102 When the cover of this week’s book popped up on my social media feed, I was immediately intrigued by the young protagonist, Lily, her mouth agape and holding the words “THIS IS NOT MY HOME.” Her expression of disbelief and desperation spoke for itself and I couldn’t… Read more »

A Bed of Stars

Candlewick Press | 978-1536212396 I have hundreds and hundreds of picture books. I place them all around the house. In bookcases and on shelves, but also displayed on the piano, the media center, an entry table by the front door, and on all the flat surfaces in nearly every room of the house. Truly, I… Read more »

Namaste is a Greeting

Candlewick Press | 978-1536217834 At their best, picture books are the interplay of text, illustrations, and design, a marriage of the visual and the verbal – together, more than the sum of each of their parts. It’s a form that invites readers to inhabit the world of the book in such a way that, once… Read more »

How to Write a Poem

Quill Tree Books | 978-0063060906 As I write, it’s the last day of National Poetry Month in the US, so it’s not surprising that earlier today, I read an article about poetry in the Council Chronicle, a professional journal about language arts and literacy published three times a year by NCTE. The article,”The Power and… Read more »

My Baba’s Garden

Neal Porter Books | 978-0823450831   When her grandson arrives in the early morning, the sun is rising and the mountains beside the sea “look like whale bellies.” Baba is already in the kitchen fixing a bowl of oatmeal that swims in butter, and “pickles, cabbage, and beets from the garden.” CLICK TO ENLARGE ©… Read more »

Ode to a Bad Day

Chronicle Books | 978-1797210803 We’ve all had our share of bad days. Times when nothing goes our way. We’re late, we’re bored, someone cuts in line, even dinner disappoints. It feels like the whole wide world has turned against us. Then, just when we think we won’t be able to stand another minute of it,… Read more »