SANTA RETIRES by David Biedrzycki (Charlesbridge, 2012) After another Christmas of lugging toys down the chimney and facing extreme weather conditions, Santa is exhausted and not his jovial self. Thank goodness Mrs. Claus has just the solution, a vacation on Mistletoe Island. So they pack their bags and leave the elves in charge. After several tennis… Read more »
Book Room
Celebrating the Seasons’ Treasures
NUTCRACKER translated by Ralph Manheim, with pictures by Maurice Sendak (Crown Publishers, 2012) Written by E.T.A Hoffman in 1816, the NUTCRACKER has charmed audiences and artists of all ages for nearly two centuries. This gorgeous reissue of Sendak’s illustrated edition of Hoffman’s tale will delight readers anew with its fresh approach and intentional return to the… Read more »
Things Seen and Unseen, Spoken and Unspoken
LIFE IN THE OCEAN: The Story of Oceanographer Sylvia Earle by Claire A. Nivola (Frances Foster Books, 2012) There’s something magical and infinitely satisfying about swimming through quiet ocean waters. Sylvia Earle recognized that magic and according to her mother, “lost her heart to the water” early on. All her young life, Sylvia spent hours… Read more »
On the Road to Mr. Mineo’s by Barbara O’Connor
ON THE ROAD TO MR. MINEO’S by Barbara O’Connor (Farrar Straus Giroux, 2012) Stella wants a dog and her parents won’t hear of it. So it’s not surprising that when a one-legged pigeon flaps and taps its way to Meadville, South Carolina landing on the tin roof of the shed Stella and her friend, Gerald,… Read more »
Oh, Nuts!
OH, NUTS! by Tammi Sauer, illustrated by Dan Krall Have you ever been to the zoo and seen the chipmunks running amok? Darting up trees? Whooshing through the grass? Zipping over branches and sidewalks? But do you ever stop and pay them any attention? No. You’re too busy snapping photos of the tigers and elephants… Read more »
Noah Webster and His Words by Jeri Chase Ferris
Noah Webster and His Words by Jeri Chase Ferris, illustrated by Vincent X. Kirsch (Houghton Mifflin, 2012) Dictionaries. Kids store them in their desks, pull them out for homework, and access them on-line. But how many kids (even adults!) know the story behind our first All-American dictionary? They need look no further than Jeri Chase… Read more »
Finding Home
I don’t think anyone knows for sure how it happens that books sharing a similar theme – published by different houses – seem to come out in the same, or nearly the same, year. But it does happen. Earlier this month, ReaderKidZ featured Joan Bauer’s newest book, ALMOST HOME, about a young girl, Sugar Rae,… Read more »
