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Posts by Karen L

Keeping the light on

Cover of Hello Lighthouse
A review of Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall

Sophie Blackall has won the Caldecott Medal for her incredible ode to lighthouses and the extraordinary lives of lighthouse keepers and their families. Blackall has illustrated such a broad range of books for children, including a board book featuring a GLBT family, the chapter book series, Ivy & Bean, and picture books about wild boars who go out to dinner, an only child who wishe

Jan 29, 2019

Book Baby!

Cover of New Board Books
A review of New Board Books by

Bim! Bam! Boom!, Frederic Stehr
With fresh language, Stehr revisits an activity as old as kitchens and toddlers – the pots and pans band.

The Wonderful Habits of Rabbits, Douglas Florian
Join a family of playful bunnies as they cavort through their day, and then settle in for snuggles at bedtime.

Skip to the Loo: a Potty Book, Sally Lloyd-Jones & Anita Jeram
All of the animals are using their potties.  This celebration of successful transitioning to using the potty can be sung as well as read.  And the illustrations are adorable!

May 2, 2018

Finding ways to help

Cover of Wolf in the Snow
A review of Wolf in the Snow by Matthew Cordell

Winner of the coveted 2018 Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children, Wolf in the Snow artistically explores themes of moving beyond fear and mistrust of “the other” to a place of caring and helping. Cordell’s watercolor illustrations depict a little girl and a wolf cub who find each other in a blizzard that renders each of them lost from their families and homes.

Apr 5, 2018

Politics of the time

Cover of Twelve Days in May: Freedo
A review of Twelve Days in May: Freedom Ride 1961 by Larry Dane Brimner

In 1946 the United States Supreme Court ruled that segregated seating on interstate buses was unconstitutional. Eight years later the 1954 landmark ruling from the Supreme Court in the Brown v. Board of Education declared public school segregation violated the Constitution. And in 1960 the Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation of interstate bus passengers at station restrooms, lunch counters and waiting rooms also violated the law. 

Feb 27, 2018

All the honors

Cover of Crown: An Ode to the Fresh
A review of Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut by Derrick Barnes

Earning multiple awards including a Newbery Honor, a Caldecott Honor (for illustration), and Coretta Scott King Honors for writing and for illustration, Crown celebrates one black boy’s experience in the barber’s chair, and how that fresh cut can elevate both self-esteem and self-confidence. James’ realistic illustrations are dazzling, with bold painterly strokes of color, that capture subtle nuances of feeling, character and setting.

Feb 15, 2018

1, 2, 3...Build!

Cover of Billions of Bricks
A review of Billions of Bricks by Kurt Cyrus

Billed as a counting book, Cyrus brings much more to this artful picture book.  We count bricks by ones, fives, tens and twenties.  Readers also learn how bricks and mortar are made, and are treated to the math, science, design and artistry involved in bricklaying.  The rhyming text invites repeated read-alouds. And the photo-realistic illustrations are worth multiple visits as well, with a racially diverse cast of characters that range in age from children to grandparents, all sporting hardhats and coveralls and fully involved in the building.

Oct 20, 2017

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