Picture books, as I’ve said before (apologies for beating this to death), are inspiring ways of entertaining children while also opening the door for discussion of important topics. These picture books will certainly open the door for talks about topics as diverse as brother-sister rivalry, parental admonitions, cloud formation, stereotyping, and even facts vs. lies. All of these would be perfect additions for a classroom or school library.
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It’s rare that I’ll review just one picture book, but for this board book, “Below the Ice,” I’m making an exception because it is exceptional. Michaël Escoffier and Ella Charbon have created a brilliant board book—yes, I said brilliant—with a twist at the end worthy of any bestselling mystery novel.
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Adrian So is not your average fourteen year old. He wrote a middle grade novel, “The Groundworld Heroes,” and it’s being published by Monarch Educational Services this August. Adrian described how he started writing by explaining that during COVID, he was stuck at home and had nothing to do but read and write. He wrote nonstop and wrote short stories daily. He wasn’t ready to write a book, he thought.
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Young children learn about the world around them from their parents and their friends, but also through the books that they read. Included here are books which explain that the world around us is filled with different people who might have different kinds of skin color, different body types, or different family structures. But at heart, we are all the same, and most of us want the same thing: to be loved for who we are. These books will reinforce those concepts, and each one has its own unique appeal.
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In “Walkin’ the Dog,” Chris Lynch tells the story of Louis, a boy who loves being home, has no friends, and will be going to the public high school after being home schooled. His father is a retired firefighter who bought a fishing boat and moved them to a seaside town. His mother is an activist whose mental health has been suffering, and she is in a facility working on regaining her equilibrium.
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Biographic picture books serve multiple purposes; they not only teach children about special people, they can serve to inspire children by demonstrating the actions of others who may have overcome challenges, followed their passions, or shown a desire to change the world. In these picture books, children will learn about people who challenged traditions, people who fought to discover our history, and a woman who didn’t listen to what others thought women should do. We also learn about the people who saved an elephant in Vietnam and a man who wants to save the world.
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“Wrecker,” is pure Carl Hiaasen with its Key West setting and fabulous action, quirky characters, and clever plot. Carl Hiaasen is known for his novels about Florida, its struggle against pollution and destruction of the land and waters around it, as well as his tongue-in-cheek depiction of people who are oblivious to common sense and basic reasoning skills. This is a book that, in pointing out the racist past of Florida, and Key West in particular, could very well be banned in Hiaasen’s home state of Florida: In this clever and gripping novel, one of the characters actually feels terrible about an ancestor who was a member of the Klu Klux Klan and participated in the lynching of a white man who had dared to enter into a common law marriage with the Black woman he loved.
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Sometimes coincidences can be astounding. Last night I read the children’s picture book “Growing Up Under a Red Flag: A Memoir of Surviving the Chinese Cultural Revolution” written by Ying Chang Compestine and illustrated by Xinmei Liu. It’s a powerful book about how civil liberties flew out the door when Mao Zedong took over China and unleashed his Red Guard to terrify civilians into submission. The text is informative, very accessible, and appropriately shocking.
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Each of these nonfiction picture books has something special to offer children. Most children love reading nonfiction picture books as a way to learn about the world around them, and even adults like me can learn new information from these books! Each book would make a fabulous addition to any classroom or home library.
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Can I just say that I love the “City Spies” series by James Ponti? This latest one, “Mission Manhattan,” is just as exciting and thrilling as the preceding books, and reading them brings me as much pleasure as reading one of my favorite adult spy novels, like Tess Gerritsen’s “The Spy Coast” or even John Scalzi’s “Starter Villain.” While granted, these spy novels are geared for middle grade readers, the plots and the action are every bit as well plotted and gripping as many of that genre written for adults. The major differences are that the books in this series are much quicker reads with spies that are underaged. But they are no less brilliant than any seasoned adult spy.
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“Finally Heard” is Kelly Yang’s newest middle grade fiction. Author Yang is known for her powerful middle grade and young adult novels about fitting in, making friends, finding one’s place in life, and appreciating family. Many children appreciate the vulnerability in her fictional characters because it reflects some of their own feelings. Her first novel, “Front Desk,” for example, reflected her own experiences growing up as her parents managed hotels and she helped work the front desk.
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In her new book, “Project F,” Jeanne DuPrau takes us yet again far into the future to a different kind of world. It’s a simpler world where there is some electricity, but little technology. Through the eyes of main character fourteen-year-old Keith, we learn about a world in which there are no cars, no planes, no smart phones. Instead people take trains if they need to travel long distances, they bike within their small cities, and they walk. Life as we know it today is hundreds of years in the past.
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