My mother is Buddhist and I grew up going to mostly weddings, funerals, and remembrance ceremonies at Buddhist temples in the Los Angeles area. Years later, when I attended UCLA for business school, I ended up in West Los Angeles’ Little Japantown a half block down the street from the Buddhist temple that my grandparents…
Category: Reading Lists: Picture Books
Best picture books for kids including Caldecott and other award winning books for children.
Moon Themed Books for Kids
I just got the latest Red Knit Cap Girl picture book, a sequel with an environmental message, and this inspired me to create this list. I had hoped the first one would win a Caldecott but alas no. It did win a New Times Best Illustrated Book award but here’s hoping that Red Knit Cap…
Top 10: Runaways in Children’s Books
The joy of children’s books is reading about things, and thereby living vicariously, without actually having to experience the discomforts or stress of it. Herein lies the beauty of runaways in children’s books. I remember two runaway chapter books that made me jealous of such a wonderful adventure. They bookend my list. And these runaway…
Retold Fable by Caldecott Illustrator as Nearly Wordless Picture Book
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…
I’m Wild for Mr. Tiger Goes Wild!
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…
20 Gentle Chapter Books for a Young Girl
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…
8 Domestic Violence Books for Kids
My mom 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…