Best picture books, chapter books, young adult books, graphic novels and non fiction for kids.
I think that Jerry Pinkney is one of the finest watercolor illustrators ever to grace a children’s book. I would include Alan Say in that category as well. There is just something magical about Pinkney’s storytelling abilities when he puts brush to paper. Even as he conveys an old and well-known fable, he brings his…
I’m pleased to be on the blog tour for a fun spy chapter book called Double Vision: Code Name 711 by F. T. Bradley. She wrote it with reluctant boy readers in mind, but I had trouble putting it down! Her sense of pacing is perfect. It’s a real page-turner with characters you can relate to (kind…
Kids of all ages probably feel that rules and social norms are confining. Think of all the rules preschoolers have to learn! Adults feel that same way too. I feel that way a lot and I’m in good company. Author and illustrator Peter Brown says this is his most autobiographical picture book to date! I’m…
My reader Natalie has a young daughter who has been reading enthusiastically at a young age: My daughter read the first books of Penderwicks and Half Magic, but I should look into their sequels to return her to a more gentle universe 🙂 My daughter is probably a little unusual since she is reading since…
My friend Sarah Perry heads up The Second Step, a non-profit in Newton that provides comprehensive support services to survivors of domestic violence. She reminded me that October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. I don’t think about Domestic Violence much but when I researched books for kids on this topic, the titles alone broke my…
I’ve been researching Asian American and Asian furniture designers and artisans. Grasshopper and Sensei is enjoying the finds I am discovering and now she’s even talking about being an architect or furniture designer someday when she grows up. It’s not just the beautiful forms I’m searching for; it’s also the stories behind the designs. Take…
Read these children’s books with single parents! Includes picture books and chapter books featuring single-parent and nontraditional families. The divorce rate in America peaked at around 50 percent in the 1980s and slowly has been trending downward. It is now slightly more than 40 percent. With so many divorced families, why are there more children’s…