Category Archives: Uncategorized

A Well-Mannered Young Wolf

A young wolf, whose parents taught him good manners, goes on his first hunting trip in search of his next meal. He offers his prey their last wishes. As he tries to fulfill each wish, his meals escape. The poor wolf finds himself very hungry. The surprise ending will delight young readers. Cartoon style illustrations in earth tones add visual humor. mjw

Title: A Well-Mannered Young Wolf
Author: Jean Leroy
Illustrator: Matthieu Maudet
Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
Copyright: 2016
Original Language: French
Original Title: Un jeune loup bien eduque
Original Publisher: L’ecole des loisirs
Original Copyright: 2013
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5479-7
Hardcover pages: 30
Age range: 4-8
Genre: Picture Book
Author’s ethnicity: French
Author’s residence: France
Illustrator’s ethnicity: French
Illustrator’s residence: France
Subjects: Chickens, Humor, Manners, Rabbits, Wolves

The Three Musketeers

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This beautifully illustrated adaptation of the classic French novel by Alexandre Dumas will introduce young readers to Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and their friend D’Artagnan, whose dream is to become one of the king’s elite guardsmen the Musketeers. In seventeenth century France, they learn that loyalty and friendship are the most important values. “One for all and all for one!” Vibrant watercolor effects enhance this ambitious retelling. mjw

Title: The Three Musketeers
Author: Benedicte Riviere. Adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas
Illustrator: Camille Andre
Publisher: Auzou Publishing. Paris, France
Copyright: 2016
Original Language: French
Original Title: Les Tres Mousquetaires
Original Publisher: Auzou Publishing. Paris, France
Original Copyright: 2016
ISBN: 978-2-7338-4326-0
Hardcover pages: 40
Age range: 8 up
Genre: Picture Book, Historical Fiction
Book setting: France
Author’s ethnicity: French
Author’s residence: France
Illustrator’s ethnicity: French
Illustrator’s residence: Paris, France
Subjects: Action, Adventure, France, History, Louis xiii, Swordsmen

The Wonderful Adventures Of Nils

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Nils teases an elf, is bewitched, and is turned into a thumb-size Thumbletot. He makes friends with a wise goose named Martin and together they travel all over the provinces of Sweden. The book was originally a commission from the Swedish National Teachers Association in 1902 to be a geography reader for the public schools. The story is still popular in Swedish culture. The text is simple and playful and the glorious illustrations incorporate intricate papercut pages. mjw

Title: The Wonderful Adventures Of Nils
Author: Selma Lagerlof (1858-1940), adapted y Kochka
Illustrator: Olivier Latyk
Publisher: Words and Pictures, an imprint of Quarto Publishing, CA
Copyright: 2016
Original Language: Swedish
Original Title: Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige
Original Copyright: 1906
ISBN: 978-1-91027-719-5
Hardcover pages: 64
Age range: 8-12
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy
Book setting: Sweden
Author’s ethnicity: Swedish
Adapter’s ethnicity: born in Lebanon
Adapter’s residence: France
Illustrator’s ethnicity: French
Illustrator’s residence: Strasbourg
Awards: Selma Lagerlof was the first female to win the Nobel Prize in Literature
Subjects: Ducks and other waterfowl, Europe, Geese, Fantasy, Sweden

Water’s Children: Celebrating The Resource That Unites Us All

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Twelve young people from different countries around the world describe what water means to them. It is a burst of laughter for children playing in a lake in Quebec. It is a perfect crystal of snow to the Inuktitut child. It is the opening flower of springtime to a girl in Germany. And it is a bowl of rice to Chinese children. All the children convey the universal truth that water is life. The poetic text is accompanied by expressive artwork that examines the importance of water throughout the world. On the final page, a guide identifies the languages in which the phrase “water is life” appears in watermarks embedded in the illustrations. mjw

Title: Water’s Children: Celebrating The Resource That United Us All
Author: Angele Delaunois
Illustrator: Gerard Frischeteau
Publisher: Pajama Press. Toronto, Canada
Copyright: 2017
Original Language: French
Translator: Erin Woods
Original Title: Les Enfants de l’eau
Original Publisher: Editiions de L;lsatis
Original Copyright: 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77278-015-4
Hardcover pages: 32
Age range: 4-8
Genre: Picture Book
Author’s ethnicity: French
Author’s residence: Canada
Illustrator’s ethnicity: French
Illustrator’s residence: Canada
Subjects: Earth science, Oceans and seas, Water, Water supply

The Warli People

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The Warli people lived in ancient India around 2500 BCE. They hunted, fished, and harvested salt from the sea. The women were artists who painted scenes of day-to-day activities on the walls of their mud-brick houses. The artwork in the book , in the Warli style, depicts seasons, the forest, animals, trees, food, a festival, and a wedding day. It is interesting that no mythological characters or deities are shown. The Warli people celebrated life’s joyous moments. Back matter includes a note on the people and their artwork, a timeline of events, key terms and concepts, and information on the rise of civilization. mjw

Title: The Warli People
Author: Hye-eun Shin
Illustrator: Su-bi Jeong
Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. Grand Rapids, MI
Copyright: 2017
Original Language: Korean
Editor: Joy Cowley
Original Publisher: Yeowon Media Co. Ltd.
Original Copyright: 2014
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5476-6
Paperback pages: 36
Age range: 6-10
Genre: Picture Book, Information Book
Book setting: India
Author’s ethnicity: Korean
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Korean
Subjects: Agriculture, Community, Harvest, Indic people, Monsoon, Wedding

Plume

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Plume is a cat that is lurking on every page of this large-format picture book that introduces readers to all kinds of birds. Sometimes readers only see the cat’s tail or his whiskers. Plume is not trying to hurt the birds. He only wants their feathers for a soft overstuffed pillow. Each page opening shows a bird and its feathers. A peacock, a nuthatch, an eagle, and a kingfisher are only a few of the 18 birds pictured. Wonderfully detailed, digitally created illustrations make this title a fun book. mjw

Title: Plume
Author: Isabelle Simler
Illustrator: Isabelle Simler
Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. Grand Rapids, MI
Copyright: 2017
Original Language: French
Original Title: Plume
Original Publisher: Editions courses et longues. Paris
Original Copyright: 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5492-6
Hardcover pages: 42
Age range: 3-7
Genre: Picture Book
Author’s ethnicity: French
Author’s residence: France
Illustrator’s ethnicity: French
Illustrator’s residence: France
Subjects: Birds, Cats, Feathers

Good Night Hockey Fans

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A young boy would rather stay up watching the hockey game than go to bed. He’s worried that he won’t be able to go to sleep. As he listens on a radio he keeps under his pillow, he drifts off to sleep. He dreams that he is part of the action and that he scores the winning goal. This delightful bedtime story is illustrated in gouache and edited digitally in blues and greens. mjw

Title: Good Night Hockey Fans
Author: Andrew Larsen
Illustrator: Jacqui Lee
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Copyright: 2017
Original Language: English
ISBN: 978-1-77138-105-5
Hardcover pages: 32
Age range: 3-7
Genre: Picture Book
Author’s ethnicity: Canadian
Author’s residence: Toronto, Canada
Illustrator’s residence: London, England
Subjects: Bedtime, Dreams, Hockey, Sleep

A Dog Wearing Shoes

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Mini and her mother find a silly lost dog on their way home one day. Mini is determined to keep him even though he is wearing yellow shoes and probably belongs to someone. When the dog runs off again, Mini realizes that she needs to find his real owner. The whimsical artwork is rendered in pencil and colored digitally with splashes of red and yellow. Information on how to adopt a dog and suggested websites complement the cute, heartwarming story. mjw

Title: A Dog Wearing Shoes
Author: Sangmi Ko
Illustrator: Sangmi Ko
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade Books, an imprint of Random House, New York
Copyright: 2015
Original Language: English
ISBN: 978-0-385-38396-7
Hardcover pages: 40
Age range: 4-8
Genre: Picture Book
Author’s ethnicity: Korean
Author’s residence: Seoul, South Korea
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Korean
Illustrator’s residence: Seoul, South Korea
Subjects: Dogs, Lost and found possessions, Lost articles, Shoes

Can I Build Another Me?

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Young Kevin decides to make a clone of himself to do all the things he really doesn’t want to do, like homework, but it becomes very difficult when he considers what actually makes him. In pondering his individuality, he looks at facts about himself, his likes and dislikes, growing up, what others think about him, what he knows, and much more. He concludes that “thinking about yourself isn’t always easy, but it can be fun.” Quirky line drawings in greens and golds add humor to this philosophical comic-style book. mjw

Title: Can I Build Another Me?
Author: Shinsuke Yoshitake
Illustrator: Shinsuke Yoshitake
Publisher: Thames and Hudson Ltd. London
Copyright: 2016
Original Language: Japanese
Original Publisher: Bronze Publishing, Inc.
Original Copyright: 2014
ISBN: 978-0-500-65078-3
Hardcover pages: 32
Age range: 8 up
Genre: Picture book, Graphic novel
Author’s ethnicity: Japanese
Author’s residence: Japan
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Japanese
Illustrator’s residence: Japan
Subjects: Cloning, Comics, Identity, Inventions, Robots, Self

The Blue Jackal

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Little Juno, the jackal, was puny, lean, and hungry. The bigger jackals teased him and would not share their food. The big village dogs chased him, too, until he found safety in the dyer’s shed, where he fell into a vat of indigo dye. Juno, now with blue fur, terrified all the other animals, and they declared him their king. He banished the jackals and then had no more hunger or worries until his true identity was discovered. This is a retelling of a story from the Panchatantra, a collection of Indian fables from the 3^rd century, BCE. The illustrations were inspired by the traditional white paintings in rice flour on a mud base of the Warli tribe of western India. An informative historical note is included. mjw

Title: The Blue Jackal
Author: Shobha Viswanath
Illustrator: Dileep Joshi
Publisher: Eerdmans Books. Grand Rapids, Michigan
Copyright: 2014
Original Language: English
Original Publisher: Karadi Tales Company. Chennai
Original Copyright: 2014
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5466-7
Hardcover pages: 34
Age range: 4-8
Genre: Picture Book
Book setting: India
Author’s ethnicity: Indian
Author’s residence: India
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Indian
Illustrator’s residence: India
Subjects: Fables, Folklore, Folk tales, Legends, Myths, Stories in rhyme

A Child Of Books

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a-child-of-books The young girl is a child of books. She uses books and their words to go on adventures. On a journey after she crosses a sea of words, she meets a young boy at his house. The two go on an exploration into the worlds of words. The word artwork is amazing in this picture book. The background and landscape are made of words from classic novels and lullabies and the main characters interact with the text throughout the story. Moreover, the endpages of the book are packed with titles and authors of several classics of children’s literature. Readers can use the book as a game of trying to find quotes and classic titles on each page. This is a brilliant picture book that all bibliophiles must read. ema

Title: A Child Of Books
Author: Oliver Jeffers
Illustrator: Sam Winston
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Copyright: 2016
Original Language: English
ISBN: 978-0-7636-9077-9
Hardcover pages: 40
Age range: 4 and up
Genre: Picture Book
Authors’ ethnicity: Irish
Authors’ residence: Brooklyn, New York
Illustrator’s ethnicity: English
Illustrator’s residence: London
Subjects: Books, Classic Books, Readers, Words

Peter Pan

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Peter Pan is a mischievous and free-spirited young boy who can fly and who never grows up. He kidnaps three ordinary children, Wendy Darling and her two brothers, and the adventures begin. They fly to Neverland and interact with the Lost Boys, fairies, pirates, mermaids, Indians, and Captain Hook. Enchanting, delicate paintings bring the classic story to life. mjw

Title: Peter Pan
Author: J.M. Barrie (1860-1937)
Illustrator: Silke Leffler
Publisher: NorthSouth Books
Copyright: 2016
Original Language: English
Original Title: Peter Pan, Or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up
Original Copyright: 1904
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4259-5
Hardcover pages: 176
Age range: 9 up
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy
Book setting: England
Author’s ethnicity: Scottish
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Born in Austria
Illustrator’s residence: Lake Constance at the border of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland
Subjects: Fairies, Flying, Neverland, Pirates