Skip to main content

From Story Time: The Letter "S"

Read in Monday Book Babies

Written by Alison Jackson
Illustrated by Tricia Tusa
Puffin Books, 2002.  Picture Book.

Oh my darling, oh my darling, oh my darling Valentine.  I have written forty letters, but you've never read a line.  While Valentine goes about her day, doing chores around her mountain cabin, her secret admirer is hard at work trying to find a way to ask her an important question.  He tried many ways to contact her, including Morse code and smoke signals, but he can never complete his message.  Will he ever be able to reach his beloved Valentine?  --Publisher




Read in Monday Cuentos

La idea más maravillosa
Por Ashley Spires
Beascoa, 2018.  Spanish Picture Book.

La idea más maravillosa es un cuento infantil que trata sobre la creatividad y los pasos del proceso creativo. Una historia que motivará a niños y niñas a no desanimarse, a cambiar su perspectiva y a probar de nuevo. Un día, una niña amanece con una magnífica idea en su cabeza. Con la ayuda de su perro y asistente decide dedicarse a construirla. Sabe cómo será. Sabe cómo funcionará. Y piensa que será muy fácil crearla. Pero cuando se pone manos a la obra, se da cuenta de que es una tarea más difícil de lo que ella pensaba... Trabaja, trabaja y trabaja, ¡pero no consigue que funcione! Pero entonces su ayudante logra convencerla de que se tome un descanso, para regresar a su proyecto más tarde con entusiasmo renovado, y volverlo a intentar. ¿Será suficiente para conseguir construir el invento más maravilloso jamás visto?  --Publisher





Read in Toddler Time

Stick and Stone
Written by Beth Ferry
Illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld

When Stick rescues Stone from a prickly situation with a Pinecone, the pair becomes fast friends. But when Stick gets stuck, can Stone return the favor? Author Beth Ferry makes a memorable debut with a warm, rhyming text that includes a subtle anti-bullying message even the youngest reader will understand. New York Times bestselling illustrator Tom Lichtenheld imbues Stick and Stone with energy, emotion, and personality to spare. In this funny story about kindness and friendship, Stick and Stone join George and Martha, Frog and Toad, and Elephant and Piggie, as some of the best friend duos in children’s literature.  --Publisher




Read in Preschool Time

Square
Written by Mac Barnett
Illustrated by Jon Klassen
Candlewick Press, 2018.  Picture Book.

This book is about Square. Square spends every day taking blocks from a pile below the ground to a pile above the ground. This book is also about Square’s friend Circle. Circle thinks Square is an artistic genius. But is he really? With the second story in a trilogy of tales about Triangle, Square, and Circle, Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen nudge readers toward a more well-rounded way of looking at things. Understated and striking in its simplicity, this funny, thoughtful offering from two of today’s most talented picture-book creators emphasizes the importance of keeping your eyes — and your mind — open to wonder where others see only rubble and rocks. 
--Publisher




Read in Preschool Time

I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean
By Kevin Sherry
Dial Books for Young Readers, 2007.  Picture Book.

When a giant squid takes inventory of all of the creatures in the ocean, he realizes that he's way bigger than most of them! Of course, there are bigger things lurking around . . . but maybe this giant squid with a giant touch of hubris doesn't really care?  First-time author-illustrator Kevin Sherry is sure to garner fans of all sizes for his perfect-for-preschool read-aloud with simple text, bold and delightful collage art, and a lovable squid whose spirit just cannot be crushed. 
--Publisher



Read in Friday Book Babies

Falling For Rapunzel
Written by Leah Wilcox
Illustrated by Lydia Monks
G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2003.  Picture Book.

When the prince spies Rapunzel high in her tower, he's convinced she is the girl of his dreams. Of course he thinks he can save her the traditional way, but this is no traditional Rapunzel. She throws down everything but what the prince asks for--including a surprise that makes all his dreams come true.  A hilarious fractured fairy tale with clever page-turns and vibrant, eclectic art that is perfect for funny Valentine's Day story hours.  --Publisher




Read in Friday Cuentos

¡Estamos en un libro!
Por Mo Willems
Traducción por F. Isabel Campoy
Hyperion Books for Children, 2015.  Spanish Picture Book.

Gerlado es cuidadoso.  Cerdita no lo es.  Cerdita no puede evitar sonreir.  Geraldo sí puede.  Geraldo se preocupa para que Cerdita no tenga que hacerlo.  Geraldo y Cerdita son los mejores amigos.  Geraldo y Cerdita descubren el placer de que los lean.  Pero ¡¿qué va a pasar cuando se acabe el libro?!  --Publisher

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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...

Review: Blood in the Water

Blood in the Water By Tiffany D. Jackson New York: Scholastic, 2025. Fiction. 255 pages. 12-year-old Kaylani McKinnon can't help but feel like a fish out of water. She's a Brooklyn girl spending her summer on Martha's Vineyard surrounded by wealthy family friends in their mansion. All she really wants is to stay home all summer where she her incarcerated father can easily reach her, and she can keep working to find ways to prove him innocent of fraud and embezzlement. Despite her protests, she finds herself on the island with the snooty granddaughters of her host. Soon after Kaylani's arrival, a popular teen boy is found murdered and she decides to conduct her own investigation. As she tries to discover what happened to Chadwick Cooper, Kaylani finds that not everything on Martha's Vineyard is as perfect as it appears. Thrillers for middle grade readers can be hard to find, but Tiffany D. Jackson succeeds in her first middle grade novel. A quick moving plot, tight d...

National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry

National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry Edited by J. Patrick Lewis National Geographic, 2012, 183 p. Poetry In this beautiful poetry collection, the National Children's Poet Laureate, J. Patrick Lewis, has teamed up with the amazing photographers at National Geographic. The result is 200 poems about animals, all illustrated with stunning nature photography.  The poems are well chosen and include rhyming, free verse, and shape poetry. Some of the poems are funny, many are contemplative and all are nicely typeset on top of the full color photographs. One of my favorites is a shape poem about flamingos, with a photograph of a flock of flamingos which seem to be standing the the shape of a flamingo (how did they do that?).  Lewis ends the collection with a brief but interesting section about writing animal poetry.  This selection is sure to turn any animal lover into a poetry lover.