Skip to main content

From Story Time: All Around the World!

Read in Book Babies

Written by Jeanne Willis
Illustrated by Tony Ross
Andersen Press USA, 2014.  Picture Book.

It's Boa's birthday, and he's so excited for his friends to bring him presents.  However, when Orangutan, Monkey, Jaguar, and Sloth bring their presents, he is so disappointed.  How can he play the piano without fingers?  Or wear sunglasses without a nose and ears?  And when Dung Beetle arrives with her present, Boa has had enough.  But Dung Beetle's present holds a surprise that may just make it the best gift ever!  Pen, ink, and watercolor illustrations complement this hilarious story of keeping an open mind about presents that stink.




Read in Toddler Time

By Dan Yaccarino
HarperCollins, 2016.  Picture Book.

Stories have existed since the earliest civilizations.  They were painted on the walls of caves, written on sheets of papyrus, created into tapestries, and bound into books.  They can be printed, acted out, or read.  The simple text of this feel-good book beautifully celebrates the power of story in all of its many forms and modes of transmission.




Read in Preschool Time

By Gerald McDermott
Henry Holt and Company, 1972.  Picture Book.

Anansi the Spider has six sons, each with their own special talent.  One day when Anansi is in danger, each of his sons are able to help him using their unique, special abilities.  Anansi is grateful, but doesn't know which son to reward.  In the end, this traditional African folktale gives a fun explanation of how the sun was placed in the sky.  The beautiful, bright, and bold illustrations garnered a Caldecott Honor for the book in 1973.




Read in Cuentos

Written by Cédric Ramadier
Illustrated by Vincent Bourgeau
Lóguez Ediciones, 2016.  Board Book.

Es hora de acostarse. Pero esta vez, es el libro quien quiere que le cuenten un cuento antes de dormir. Muy lentamente, sus ojos se van volviendo más y más pesados, y después se cierran cuando le damos un besito y se queda dormido...(Publisher)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Review: The New Girl

The New Girl By Cassandra Calin New York: Graphix, 2024. Comic. 261 pages. 12-year-old Lia and her family have just moved from Romania to Montreal, and she's doing her best to keep up with the changes. But, she's homesick. She misses the rest of her family, her friends, and her favorite Romanian treats. She doesn't speak French and her English is shaky, which makes it hard to make friends, even in her international immersion class. And she's dealing with super painful menstrual cramps every month. But before long, Lia starts to hit her stride. She befriends the other bilingual girls in her class, she gets a spot as the artist for her school's magazine, and even has a new crush -- Julien. Though she may be the new girl, Lia is starting to fit in. This slice of life graphic novel is an adorable choice for middle grade readers and young teens. Lia is a likable protagonist and readers will have little difficulty relating to her adjustment to school. The text speaks to a...

Review: Cincinnati Lee, Curse Breaker

  Cincinnati Lee, Curse Breaker By Heidi Heilig New York: Greenwillow Books, 2025. Fiction. 291 pages. Thanks to Cincinnati Lee's no good, dirty rotten, artifact stealing great great great grandfather, Cincinnati's family is now cursed and Cincinnati feels like it's up to her to break the curse. Which involves trying to steal the artifacts back from museums that her grandfather robbed from graves and archeological sites around the world and return them to their countries of origin. But when Cincinnati's first artifact stealing mission goes awry, she decides it might be more effective to steal an all-powerful artifact herself that she can use to break the curse - The Spear of Destiny. Unfortunately her race for the spear will pit her against art smugglers and thieves intent on finding the ancient artifact themselves. If you are looking for an Indiana Jones read-alike, this is the perfect for you! Heavy on the adventure with similar levels of mysticism to those seen in th...

Review: The Factory

The Factory By Catherine Egan New York, NY : Scholastic Inc., 2025. Fiction. 306 pages.  Thirteen-year-old Asher Doyle has been invited to join the Factory, a secretive research facility in the desert which ostensibly extracts renewable energy from the electromagnetic fields of its young recruits. But Asher soon realizes something sinister is going on. Kids are getting sick. The adults who run the Factory seem to be keeping secrets. And the extraction process is not only painful and exhausting, but existentially troubling. Asher makes a handful of new friends who help him with an investigation that turns into a resistance, which turns into...a cliffhanger! The Factory is a page-turning sci-fi with multidimensional characters, an intriguing plot, and refreshingly straight-forward writing. Egan weaves in detail about climate crises and social unrest, making the story's dystopian setting feel rich and plausible. With its sophisticated themes and accessible storytelling, I would recomm...