MLK Jr. tie!

 MLK Jr. Day is nearing and this is a perfect book to celebrate that occasion. In this book we meet the African American actress who was featured on the original STAR TREK TV series, Nichelle Nichols. She did not realize how much of a difference she was making as a role model to other African Americans until Martin Luther King, Jr. told her so. From that moment forward, she took that responsibility seriously. The illustrations in this book are beautiful and the message about how one person can make a striking difference is clear! Very cool!

Happy New Year!

I love this gorgeous picture book about horses Tim and Tom who take people for sleigh rides through the snow. First they take the children and then they take the elders. This is a celebration of the new year. Love it! The collages created by illustrator Micha Archer accompany this beautiful story about simple pleasures/traditions.
 

Wishing customs

 

Happy New Year, 2025! Making wishes is a universal habit across cultures. This non-fiction book for children (& up) explains many of them. The text is accompanied by vibrant photographs. Which of these wishing techniques have you used? For me, coins in the water is a favorite!

Somehow I missed this in 2023

 

Published since Lois Ehlert passed, what a treat to receive another beautiful book from her. "Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse" becomes "Not a creature was stirring, except for a mouse." This beautiful story is accessible to very young children. That sassy mouse devours the cookies meant for a very special guest. Charming! And an instant classic!

Between two windows--a book from Dinovember!

 

This book hit so many marks for me. Makerspace! Friendship! Imagination! Dinosaurs! Play! Two kiddos send pictures back and forth to each other on a clothesline. When the clothesline is taken down for repair, they meet below their windows and find other ways to play. Love it!

I augmented this story in story time with a clothesline coloring page and a tangible clothesline we could move with pegged dinosaur pictures (for review). 

A gracious illustrator, Susan Baum, let us use her Christmas book as template for a craft

 I encourage librarians to reach out to authors and illustrators anytime! We are all in the same business of building literacy in our communities. My experience is that authors and illustrators are gracious and excited to help. Christmas cheer at this morning’s story time. Illustrator Susan Baum Moyer - Children's Books & Design graciously gave us permission to use her graphics for craft (with help from Colette Bezio). The results are beautiful!

 

This year I discovered some very fun Christmas books!

This is a great book about enjoying decorating your tree and sitting by it. Then when the dry needles are too much it is time to say goodbye to the tree. This little boy figures out a way to still enjoy the tree after it is gone. Clever!

I am so happy with this book that is true to the spirit of CHICKA CHICKA BOOM BOOM! Letter recognition is a concept in this book but so are shapes. Wonderful!

Oh my gosh, Santa puts Humphrey (the giant) and Leetree (the elf) to work finding a Christmas tree. When they stop for a nap before taking it back to Santa's workshop, it disappears! (It floats away on an ice floe.) This does not stop them from bringing a tree back...they use their creative talents for making beautiful gift wrap and they take all the gift wrap to make a spectacular tree. A perfect Makerspace story!

A great read aloud. The kids do the called for actions (Example: Can you blow the broken pieces away?) and then the result is on the following page. The illustrations are beautiful, very geometric.

I found this book at Walgreens! It is age appropriate for our littlest patrons who like to play peekaboo. Lovely!

This one is a hoot. Turtle and Snake take an excursion to a tree farm to pick out a tree. The trees Snake likes are too tall and too skinny. The trees Turtle likes are too short and too fat. Luckily for them, they find the perfect tree when they get back home! This is an easy reader format.

This is also a hoot...hilarious! Polar bear and mouse take turns decorating a tree but they don't like each other's style. There is a sweet ending when they trade presents and they are "just right". The tiny red sweater that mouse gives polar bear is used by polar bear as a hat. The oversized green sweater that polar bear gives mouse is used by mouse as a blanket. And they are both very happy. The illustrations in this book are charming and bright.