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Told in a matter of fact tone by Roy Samuelson with just the right breaths to keep you riveted to the story we learn what it took to invent the world's most destructive weapon. We learn how the team of geniuses who came up and carried out the concept of annihilation were assembled and a little bit about their private lives. This book, a winner of multiple awards, will interest not just the young people interested in science but adults as well. Ages 10+ Maria Gentle
If you want to see a whale….. you need certain things like a window and an ocean. You also need to know what not to look at…. like pink roses and pelicans. And you need patience. Imagination is floated on poetic language in this quiet story. Beautiful illustrations in sea greens and blues are a delight. Up to Seven. Ruth Anne Champion
Not just a counting book, this story draws reader's attention to the necessity of keeping our oceans clean. The text explains the water cycle, oxygen creation, and how polluted ocean water effects humans. Back matter reinforces how oceans need to be clean if we want breathable air and includes a bibliography and web lins. Told from the perspective of an elementary school class on a field trip to the beach, young readers will relate to the characters and hopefully be inspired to clean up their local beach! Up to Seven. Anne Womack
In a fictionalized, yet clearly somewhat accurate slice of family life, Say presents the story of a Japanese American daughter who is the source of confusion and teasing when her classmates see her in a kimono in her baby picture. Her blond hair is at odds with their understanding. How she comes to terms with her heritage--and the photograph of Say's lovely teen daughter at the conclusion (in a kimono)--makes for sensitive addition to the collection of picture books about being "different." Up to Seven. Wendy Lukehart. (This title will appear on the June agenda.)
Smart, clean design and a text built around unpunctuated phrases allows room to ponder and discuss ideas and images that will hold great appeal to children. Colorful, decorative scenes on predominantly while backgrounds show how to: make a sandwich (with children and pillows), see the wind, make new friends,disappear. Inventive and quietly joyful. Up to Seven. Wendy Lukehart.
Almond's powerful text and McKean's other-wordly caricatures create a magic that is all-absorbing in this original creation myth set "long ago and far away, in a world rather like this one." The gods have grown lazy, yet there "places that are filled with emptiness." When three bored children take matters into their own hands, well, let's just say Pandora could relate. Moved to Ten to Fourteen. Wendy Lukehart.
In this wordless allegory of friendship between and bird and a boy, Staake uses digital renderings of geometric shapes and shades of grey and blue, along with comic-style framing, to portray the urban setting. When a bluebird perks up a boy's miserable day, they frolic together on the street and in the park. A tragic event (that may shock some readers) leads to an inspirational, unforgettable ending. Seven to Ten. Todd Krueger
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