Picture Books

Planting the Trees of Kenya

Author(s): 
Claire A. Nivola
Illustrator(s): 
Zhao, Jing

When I was doing my research for this year's library tree project, I spent a bunch of time at a local bookstore, checking out great new children's titles. Easily my favorite (which it turns out the library had already purchased) was Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai by Claire A. Nivola.

Jesus Feeds Everybody!

Book cover: Jesus Feeds Everybody
Author(s): 
Choi, Young-Jin
Kim, Jung-Cho

Jesus Feeds Everybody! by Young-Jin Choi and Jung-Cho Kim, is an English translation of a board book originally published in Korea. The multiplication of the loaves and fishes came to life for Ramona. She loved this brightly illustrated book and I think she especially loved that it comes with a built-in ribbon handle for convenient toting.

A very happy Jesus, cute bunnies and lambs and its own handle ... Ramona was pleased.

The Easter Swallows

Author(s): 
Vicki Howie
Illustrator(s): 
Paola B. Grudina

The Easter Swallows, by Vicki Howie, is a lovely book that tells the story of the Crucifixion and the Resurrection from the point of view of two swallows, Long-tail and Short-tail. Though it gets right to the point:

"What are they going to do to Jesus?" she whispered.

"I'm afraid they are going to kill Him," said Long-tail.

That dreadful Friday, the soldiers put Jesus on a cross between two other crosses. They left Him there to die.

The Last Straw

Book cover: The Last Straw
Author(s): 
Frederick Thury
Illustrator(s): 
Vlasta Van Kampen

To celebrate Christmas, in addition to baking Christmas cookies, setting up the manger scene, decorating the tree, and numerous other seasonal activities, we also like to pause in out preparations to cozy up together and read good books that encapsulate the true meaning of Christmas. The Last Straw by Frederick H. Thury is one such book.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Book cover: Our Lady of Guadalupe
Author(s): 
Carmen T. Bernier-Grand
Illustrator(s): 
Tonya Engel

I never cease to marvel at the wonder-full story of Guadalupe. This new picture book does a fabulous job of retelling it, with historical accuracy, gentleness, and vibrant illustrations. This lovely book will make a very nice gift to a child, and the child's older siblings and parents will enjoy it as well. 

Fur and Feathers

Author(s): 
Janet Halfmann
Illustrator(s): 
Laurie Allen Klein

In Sophia's dream, all the animals had their coats blown off and so she has to make new ones for them, adding her own special touches.  This is the story of "fur and feathers" which introduces young children to animal classification.

The story has a good variety of common animals with different coats.  A few parts are a bit contrived, like the frog finding the slime, but otherwise the story is engaging.  The "For Creative Minds" section at the end of the book contains activities based on animal classification.

Good Night, Little Sea Otter

Book cover: 'Good Night, Little Sea Otter'
Author(s): 
Janet Halfmann
Illustrator(s): 
Wish Williams
This sweet book is about Little Sea Otter saying good night to all sorts of ocean friends. While it makes a wonderful bedtime book, the illustrations deserve some time to be admired as you read through it. The story is straightforward, and yet contains enough tidbits to include it in an ocean study. The illustrations are full of color, bringing alive Little Sea Otter's story. You can preview the book at Star Bright Books: http://www.starbrightbooks.org/details.php?id=300

Galileo's Leaning Tower Experiment

Author(s): 
Wendy Macdonald
Illustrator(s): 
Paolo Rui

Science readers are to be found if you look around enough as this book demonstrates.  It is the fictional story of Massimo, a boy who regularly throws his uncle's lunch off a bridge to his boat as his uncle rows by below.  Galileo happens to see that the bread and the cheese land at the same time.  The story ends atop the leaning Tower of Pisa, as legend suggests Galileo did.

Pippo the Fool

Book cover: Pippo the Fool
Author(s): 
Tracey E. Fern
Illustrator(s): 
Pau Estrada

I heard this story long ago... most certainly from my story-telling aunt, who had the power to do exactly what this phenomenal books does: to turn real life stories into a delightful tale for children!

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