Publications about books for children and young adults
Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger; illus. by the author Preschool Porter/Roaring Brook 40 pp. 3/12 978-1-59643-397-7 $16.99 Lemons Are Not Red (rev. 1/05) was a concept book about color, so you might think this offering on various shades of a single color would be simpler. But Seeger once again sets up a challenge for herself, [...]
The Hero of Little Street by Gregory Rogers; illus. by the author Primary Porter/Roaring Brook 40 pp. 3/12 978-0-59643-729-6 $17.99 g The same bulb-headed boy who was chased through Elizabethan London in The Boy, the Bear, the Baron, the Bard (rev. 11/04) is time-traveling again, this time to seventeenth-century Delft, an important center of the [...]
The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? by Mo Willems; illus. by the author Preschool Hyperion 40 pp. 4/12 978-1-4231-5128-9 $15.99 In this seventh Pigeon book—the first in four years (The Pigeon Wants a Puppy! rev. 7/08)—the Duckling asks politely for a cookie and gets one: “Thanks! That was very nice of you!” No fuss, no drama. [...]
As we (in the northeast, anyway) move from winter into “mud-luscious,” “puddle-wonderful” early spring, the outside becomes irresistible. Here are four new picture books celebrating nature and outdoor play to read after all that puddle-splashing. A young bear explores his surroundings in Ashley Wolff’s Baby Bear Sees Blue. Baby Bear asks about the birdsong he [...]
Z Is for Moose by Kelly Bingham; illus. by Paul O. Zelinsky Primary Greenwillow 32 pp. 3/12 978-0-06-079984-7 $16.99 If you think you’ve seen every possible idea for an alphabet book played out, think again. Even before the title page of this very funny and inventive ABC, cast members Apple, Ball, Cat, Duck, Elephant, Fox, [...]
It was a good night for children’s books last night at the 84th annual Academy Awards. Hugo (based on Brian Selznick’s Caldecott winner The Invention of Hugo Cabret) won several technical awards. I was also very excited to see The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore receive an Oscar for best animated short film. [...]
“If you could go anywhere, where would you go?” The sky’s the limit in Nick Sharratt and Pippa Goodhart’s You Choose (Kane Miller, March), an interactive book (originally published in the U.K. in 2003) where kids call the shots in their own narrative. Sharratt’s bright and friendly cartoon illustrations invite readers into pages filled with [...]
We March by Shane W. Evans; illus. by the author Preschool, Primary Porter/Roaring Brook 32 pp. 1/12 978-1-59643-539-1 $16.99 Many young children know there was a march on Washington a long time ago and that Martin Luther King Jr. gave a famous speech that day. Some know why the march took place; fewer still know [...]
Fuse Eight suggests lots of possible presents for my new granddaughter. And who can tell me the name of that great chapter book about one girl bragging to another about being on first-name terms with their teacher, “Chillow”? If Fuse is onto something there, that book might not be possible anymore . . . . [...]
All you need is love—but it’s also nice to have a good book to share with your loved one! Snuggle up with your little Valentine(s) and these lovable picture books recommended by The Horn Book Magazine. In Sunday Love, written and illustrated by Alison Paul, sound effects and red, black, and white illustrations chronicle Bruno [...]
