Deb Nance
Alyssa Satin Capucilli has written an ode to the ones we love, a song for all those we care about, a poem to celebrate the people we adore in this picture book, All That is You.
Here. Listen to a bit:
“You're the sunflower in my garden,
the giggle in each surprise,
the wait in every wonder,
the wind when dandelions fly.”
Vibrant and bright illustrations light up every page, and you will delight in all the imagery in the text.
Marjorie longs to make some new friends with whom she can share her love for gardening and baking and knitting. She's delighted when she sees a sign at the community center where people can talk together about gardening and crafting and baking, and she tries to join, but she is sent away—she's just a kid and doesn't belong with the senior citizens. In disguise she returns, and she has a lovely time until, in the heat of dancing, her costume falls away, and she is discovered for who she is. But perhaps who she is is enough...
A beautifully and brightly illustrated book that cuts down the lines that separate us by ageism.
The young daughter leads the way, while the dad somewhat reluctantly follows along, in this hike to the top.
You will feel like you are hiking with the two of them as they travel through the dense jungle, go up a shaky ladder, slip on rocks, and arrive at the summit, all the while glorying in the wonders, big and small, along the way.
A story told entirely in conversation. Delightful.
Juniper hopes to be part of the orchestra that welcomes spring and melts away winter, but Mr. Moose finds her too loud. Off Juniper goes, and she soon meets others who are equally loud and vigorous. Before you know it, winter has begun to melt and spring is beginning to appear.
A book with a theme of finding ways for all to contribute to the world, even the unconventional.
A sliver of moonlight moves through the forest, down a river, into a valley, until it finally reaches your neighborhood and your room...and softly fades away...
A glimmer of a story, following a beam of moonlight. Beautiful illustrations. You can't help following the moonlight to its conclusion. And it ends with anticipation of its return tomorrow.
Hello, World! Garden Time is a wonderful first look at gardening—how seeds are planted and how they grow, the parts of plants, interactions of plants with earthworms and pollinators...everything a little person might like to know about growing plants.
It's a lovely way to share the joy of gardening, the joy of the outdoors, with young children.
Chip the Dog has been around for seven years, but that's like fifty in human years, and Chip knows some things which he is delighted to share with us: Chip knows to eat important papers of small people because then they will have to stay home. Chip knows to eat Grandpa's teeth because it will make Grandpa smile. And Chip knows the most important thing of all...Don't eat bees.
Completely hilarious book with completely hilarious text and completely hilarious illustrations. Full of kid appeal.
Merged review:
Chip the Dog has been around for seven years, but that's like fifty in human years, and Chip knows some things which he is delighted to share with us: Chip knows to eat important papers of small people because then they will have to stay home. Chip knows to eat Grandpa's teeth because it will make Grandpa smile. And Chip knows the most important thing of all...Don't eat bees.
Completely hilarious book with completely hilarious text and completely hilarious illustrations. Full of kid appeal.
There's a knock on the door and the Three Bears are surprised to find Little Red Riding Hood standing on their step. Little Red Riding Hood is fleeing the wolf and the Three Bears offer her shelter. But the Big Bad Wolf is sad and disconsolate until the other characters find a way to help him.
A fun mashup of familiar fairy tales.
Lucrezia has always been a difficult child. When she is asked to marry the ruler of Ferrara in the stead of her dead sister, she begs her father to allow her to remain with her family in Florence. But the wedding takes place anyway, and off the young girl goes to a land of intrigue and dissent, a land for which she is poorly prepared. Her husband, too, is perplexing, kind one day and cruel the next. It is immediately clear that her husband is desperate for an heir to resolve some of his kingdom's issues, but it doesn't seem at all certain that Lucrezia will be able to provide one.
A rich novel, with strong and complex characters, set in a time when even bold girls like Lucrezia had few choices.
My grandma's loose tooth!
The rats are eating the moon!
Off goes the first cat in space to the rescue!
It's a story full of evil...no, hungry...rats plus a queen and giants and a maze and whales and a toenail-clipping robot looking for a larger purpose in life and, of course, pizza...everything you need for a great read.
If you are looking for a Halloween read-aloud for those of us who like to celebrate the holiday for its magic and fun more than for its scariness, then look no further than A Spoonful of Frogs. It's a charming recipe for a witch's favorite soup, but the witch using the recipe gets stuck on “Place the frogs on the spoon.” Completely delightful, and with a satisfying ending.
Judith Valente looks closely at The Rule of St. Benedict and shares its wisdom. Valente includes Benedict's thoughts about paying attention, waking up, living fully, living peacefully, silence, humility, prayer, trust, community, finding balance, forgiving, hospitality, living simply, facing our faults, building consensus, being a leader, caring for what we have, living with awe, finding meaning in our work, and contemplation.
Here are a few quotes I wrote down:
“Your way of acting must be different from the world's way.”
“Listen with the ear of the heart.”
“What is not possible by nature, let us ask the Holy One to supply with the help of grace.”
Nicky prefers to shelve books in the library rather than participate in the rough-and-tumble play of the playground. Then the librarian tells Nicky that she will be gone for the following week to a conference and Nicky is filled with nervousness. Can she find where she belongs on the playground?
A beautifully told story of making connections.
Javier Zamora tells the grueling story of his seven-week journey as a nine-year-old boy from El Salvador to the United States. It's a story of frightening boat trips, sudden police appearances, debilitating desert crossings, and arrests. The boy and his fellow immigrants suffer from a lack of water, a lack of food, the cold of the night, and the heat of the day. And it's all told in harrowing detail, in the beautiful language of a brilliant poet.
I'd love to see the people who make and enforce our laws read this book.
It's the art of this book that captivates me. Who better to do a graphic novel than this author who wows me every time?
Sophia's father was lost at sea doing the work he loved, with sea creatures. Since then, Sophia's uncle has tried to carry on his work at the sea park, Aqualand, that the two created. Sophia is astonished to meet the Aquanaut and she is even more astonished to discover the secret behind the Aquanaut. It doesn't take her long to get behind the mission of the Aquanaut and to help it in its quest.
A fun story with fantastic illustrations.
I could read about Lucy and her family forever, I think. Lucy is an observer and a writer, and she makes note of the small discrepancies and small joys of her daily life in a simple and wise way. All around her is the world, and that world is churning and sparking and grinding, but Lucy goes on, reflecting on the world but managing to stay apart from it, noting her reactions to the world but not allowing herself to get immersed in it...Lucy is a healthy person, that is, and a person to emulate.
In this volume of Lucy's story, she is amid the pandemic, and her former husband, William, takes her out of the city to a safe place in Maine. There Lucy meets new people—Bob, who helped William find a safe place for Lucy; Bob's wife, Margaret, a minister; Charlene, a cleaner who helps out in a soup kitchen and supports the president Lucy despises. Lucy deals with her daughters and their grownup troubles. And Lucy and William talk and visit and come to know each other all over again.
Dellawisp is a building made up of five apartments on Mallow Island, and inside each apartment is a story. Zoey comes to live in one of these apartments, and she comes to learn the stories of the apartments and, in doing so, she grows to know the other people of Dellawisp.
The people of Dellawisp are broken, and their healing comes as they become vulnerable to each other and begin to come face to face with the traumas of their pasts.
A toilet plunger wants to be...a vase.
Simple, right?
The plunger's desires are quickly shot down by the other occupants of the bathroom. “Not to be rude but...look at you. You're shaped like a plunger. That's your job. That's what you were made for,” says the bathtub. But the plunger does not let the scorn and derision of others stop the search for fulfillment...off the plunger goes. And this sets off a quest for satisfaction by a whole household of appliances.
Wouldn't this be a fun readaloud? And think about the discussion that might ensue...