Category Archives: Uncategorized

Who Done It?

This delightful picture book with clues and pictures that encourage readers to answer the text’s questions will surely engage early readers. The adorable and hilarious illustrations created using pencils and acrylic paints are reminiscent of the style of characters from the classic comic strip, Peanuts. Moreover, young children will enjoy the narration which invites them to find differences in the illustrations. This is a perfect book for an audience who may be too young for I Spy books. ema

Title: Who Done It?
Author: Olivier Tallec
Illustrator: Olivier Tallec
Publisher: Chronicle Books, San Francisco
Copyright: 2015
Original Language: French
Translator: Chronicle Books
Original Title: Qui Quoi qui?
Original Publisher: Actes Sud, Paris
Original Copyright: 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4521-4198-5
Hardcover pages: 32
Age range: 4 up
Genre: Picture Book
Author’s ethnicity: French
Author’s residence: Paris
Illustrator’s ethnicity: French
Illustrator’s residence: Paris
Subjects: Differences, Expressions, Finding differences, Observation, Picture puzzles, Positions

A Prayer For World Peace

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Jane Goodall, world-renowned anthropologist and conservationist, speaks out against greed, slave labor, animal abuse, bullying and torture, harm to the natural world, and more in this “family book” for adults to read along with their children. She asks for generosity to the living world and justice for all humankind in this nondenominational prayer for peace and equality. Beautiful double-page spreads of birds, animals, flowers, and humans are set on glowing, mysterious abstract patterns. Back matter includes a message from Jane Goodall as the UN Ambassador of Peace, notes about the Jane Goodall Institute and her Roots and Shoots organization, and a biography of the illustrator. mjw

Title: A Prayer For World Peace
Author: Jane Goodall
Illustrator: Feeroozeh Golmohammadi
Publisher: Michael Neugebauer Publishing, Minedition
Copyright: 2015
Original Language: English
ISBN: 978-988-8240-49-4
Hardcover pages: 48
Age range: 7 up
Genre: Picture Book
Author’s ethnicity: British
Author’s residence: England
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Iranian
Illustrator’s residence: Tehran, Iran
Subjects: Hope, Justice, Peace, Prayers, Values

Little Red Riding Hood

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This eye appealing retelling of Little Red Riding Hood with die-cut patterns and textures is absolutely gorgeous. The brilliantly placed text and die-cut illustrations create a fun and alluring interactive reading experience.The die-cut pages’ placement foreshadows upcoming events which invite readers to guess what will happen next. The mixture of patterns, textures, ominous shades, and bright colors evokes Little Red Cap’s carefree attitude despite being surrounded by clues of looming dangers. ema

Title: Little Red Riding Hood
Author: Jacob Grimm (1785-1863) and Wilhelm Grimm (1786-1859)
Illustrator: Sybille Schenker
Publisher: Michael Neugebauer Publishing Ltd.
Copyright: 2014
Original Language: German
Translator: Anthea Bell
Original Title: Little Red Cap
Original Copyright: 1857
ISBN: 978-988-8240-79-1
Hardcover pages: 52
Age range: 5-7
Genre: Picture Book, Fairytale
Author’s ethnicity: German
Illustrator’s ethnicity: German
Illustrator’s residence: Berlin
Subjects: Fairytale reimaginings/ retellings, Folklore, Folktales, Little Red Riding Hood

The Snowman’s Wish

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The other toys made fun of the snowman who has been living in his little snow globe on the bottom shelf of the playroom toy case forever. “It hadn’t snowed in his globe for ages, his music was out of tune, and nobody had played with him for such a long time, he was beginning to gather dust.” The snowman was very sad. Then, one winter’s night, sweet music filled the air. The snowman’s wish to see who was singing was granted by the golden angel on the top of the mantelpiece clock. He was given one hour outside of his snow globe to dance with the beautiful little music box dancer in a pink tutu. She was the one who was singing! In the end, the angel grants the dancer her wish and the two dance together forever inside the snow globe. This sweet, holiday love story is adorned with soft watercolor and ink illustrations of the secret lives of the toys. mjw

Title: The Snowman’s Wish
Author: Harmen van Straaten
Illustrator: Harmen van Straaten
Publisher: NorthSouth Books Inc. New York
Copyright: 2013
Original Language: Dutch
Translator: Andrew Rushton
Original Title: Ik wil voor altijd bij je zijn
Original Publisher: Leopold Publishing in Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Original Copyright: 2012
ISBN: 978- 0-7358-4144-4
Hardcover pages: 32
Age range: 4-8
Genre: Picture Book, Fairy Tale
Author’s ethnicity: Dutch
Author’s residence: Amsterdam
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Dutch
Illustrator’s residence: Amsterdam
Subjects: Ballerinas, Dancers, Music boxes, Snow globes, Snowmen, Toys, Wishes

The Never Snowy Christmas

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A young boy living in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands wishes for snow on his island and comes up with ingenious and impetuous ways to get it. He asks a policeman. He saves his money to buy a snow maker he saw in an electronics magazine. He has a friend in Belgium send some snow. And he even puts flour in the freezer and then throws it in the air, only to get “grounded until he’s old.” Cartoon-like illustrations showing US Virgin Islands architecture and landscapes accompany the rhyming text. A note about the US Virgin Islands and information about the story and author are included. mjw

Title: The Never Snowy Christmas
Author: Zenzi Hodge
Illustrator: Jonathan Brown
Publisher: Sandscript Publishing, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands
Copyright: 2014
Original Language: English
ISBN: 978-0-9905662-8-1
Hardcover pages: 36
Age range: 4-8
Genre: Picture Book
Book setting: St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands
Author’s ethnicity: Born in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands
Author’s residence: St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands
Illustrator’s residence: Utah, USA
Subjects: Christmas, Dreams, Snow, Tropics

The Message Of The Birds

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The wise owl begins telling the Christmas story, with its message of peace, to a gathering of birds. The young robin asks why the birds don’t sing the story anymore and the partridge explains that people don’t listen. When the lark offers that perhaps people don’t understand the language, the inventive robin suggests that children listen with their hearts and they understand. And so, the birds fly far and wide singing the song of peace. The tale is not a traditional Christmas book. It is a universal story of peace that brings people together. The book ends with “Let there be peace. Peace on Earth!” and the word peace in over 60 different languages. The rich, soft, and realistic watercolor illustrations in wintry colors awaken warm emotions in readers and complement the text beautifully. mjw

Title: The Message Of The Birds
Author: Kate Westerlund
Illustrator: Feridun Oral
Publisher: Michael Neugebauer Publishing Ltd. Minedition
Copyright: 2014 North American edition
Original Language: German, French
Original Title: Doe Botschaft der Vogel, Le Message des Oiseaux
Original Copyright: 2011
ISBN: 978-988-8240-55-5
Hardcover pages: 32
Age range: 3-8
Genre: Picture Book
Author’s ethnicity: Born in Florida, USA
Author’s residence: Salzburg, Austria
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Turkish
Illustrator’s residence: Istanbul, Turkey
Subjects: Birds, Christmas stories, Peace

The Tortoise And The Hare

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As the animals are having a picnic in a meadow, the Tortoise says to the Hare, “I bet I can beat you in a running race!” Despite everyone’s laughter, the Hare accepts the challenge. This favorite classic about how “slow and steady wins the race” is retold in this book’s wondrous artwork. The illustrations of the woodland creatures and stunning landscape were created using ink drawings with soft watercolor washes. Intricately detailed illustrations make this book excellent for one-on-one reading. ema

Title: The Tortoise And The Hare
Author: Aesop (620-560 BC), retold by Bernadette Watts
Illustrator: Bernadette Watts
Publisher: North-South Books
Copyright: 2015
Original Language: German
Translator: North-South Books
Original Title: Der Hase und die Schildkröte
Original Publisher: North-South Books
Original Copyright: 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4207-6
Hardcover pages: 32
Age range: 4-8
Genre: Picture Book, Fable
Author’s ethnicity: Aesop: Greek, Watts: English
Author’s residence: Watts: England
Illustrator’s ethnicity: English
Illustrator’s residence: England
Subjects: Fairytales, Folklore, Folktales, Races, Running, Retellings

Moko Jumbi Dreams

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Ten-year-old Lexi dreams of becoming a moko jumbi majorette, a stilt walker in a parade. Though Lexi misses her best friend, she befriends her new neighbors, Miss Ivy and her foster children. Unfortunately, people petition that they should move out of the neighborhood. Moreover, Lexi’s family worries about the threatening hurricane which is quickly approaching. This lively first book in a series has a glossary of terms, questions which accompany the reading, a list of vocabulary words, and a bibliography of helpful resources. ema

Title: Moko Jumbi Dreams
Author: Alscess Lewis-Brown
Illustrator: Wayne “Bully” Petersen and Cynthia Hatfield
Publisher: Little Bell Caribbean an imprint of Editorial Campana
Copyright: 2011
Original Language: English
ISBN: 978-1-934370-22-3
Paperback pages: 112
Age range: 9-14
Genre: Fiction Novel
Book setting: The US Virgin Islands/ the Caribbean
Author’s ethnicity: Born in Antigua
Author’s residence: St. Croix, US Virgin Islands
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Petersen: Caribbean
Illustrator’s residence: Petersen: The Virgin Islands, Hatfield: St. Croix
Subjects: Caribbean, Dreams, Foster children, Neighbors, Racism, Small towns, Stilt walkers

When The Earth Lost Its Shapes

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One day, the Earth loses all of its shapes and nobody knows how or why they have gone. Triangles, rectangles, ovals, circles, and squares have all disappeared. Maybe it was a thief or giant aliens? Vibrant acrylic artwork shows eggs that are scrambled, oranges that are squeezed, sandwiches that are squished, and kites that look windswept. The only shape left is a little dot. She declares that she must do something and teams up with the other dots to save the world from shapeless confusion. Soon, everything is shipshape once again. The author is Co-founder and Publishing Director of Karadi Tales Company, an independent children’s publisher in Chennai. mjw

Title: When The Earth Lost Its Shapes
Author: Shobha Viswanath
Illustrator: Christine Kastl
Publisher: Karadi Tales Company Pvt. Ltd. Chennai, India
Copyright: 2011
Original Language: English
Original Copyright: 2008
ISBN: 978-81-8190-192-7
Paperback pages: 36
Age range: 3 up
Genre: Picture Book
Author’s ethnicity: Indian
Author’s residence: Chennai, India
Illustrator’s ethnicity: German
Illustrator’s residence: Germany, France, and India
Subjects: Environment, Size and shape

The Day Everything Went Wrong

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One day Badger wakes up and tells himself that he will do only things he enjoys. From this moment on, it seems like everything is going wrong for Badger. He almost knocks his lamp off his bedpost, accidentally breaks his favorite mug, loses his colored pencils, trips over his shovel, and knocks his wheelbarrow over. Badger decides to visit his friends to see if they are having as bad of a day as he is. When he visits his friends, Badger helps solve their problems. Although everything has gone wrong for Badger, he finds some consolation in helping his friends. Badger wants to go straight to bed after his horrible day, but he finds a surprise when he returns home. Adorable illustrations created using playfully vibrant colors work with the text in showing readers that they can always find good even when it seems like everything is wrong. ema

Title: The Day Everything Went Wrong
Author: Moritz Petz
Illustrator: Amélie Jackowski
Publisher: North South Books
Copyright: 2015
Original Language: German
Translator: David Henry Wilson
Original Title: Der Dachs hat heute einfach Pech
Original Publisher: NordSüd Verlag AG
Original Copyright: 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4209-0
Hardcover pages: 32
Age range: 4-8
Genre: Picture Book
Author’s ethnicity: German
Author’s residence: Germany
Illustrator’s ethnicity: French
Illustrator’s residence: France
Subjects: Bad days, Badgers, Friendship, Helping others

Tales From Rumi: Mathnawi Selections For Young Readers

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This collection of 32 anecdotes, fables, and tales of everyday life from the Mathnawi is adapted for younger audiences. The Mathnawi is a compilation of more than 24,000 verses by Rumi (1207-1273) and is considered by many to be one of the greatest works of mystical poetry. The stories, such as The Rabbit and The Lion, The Merchant and The Parrot, and The Teacher’s Fear, have interesting, action-packed plots that illustrate a point and morals at the end that reinforce the message. Amusing black-and–white drawings and a ribbon bookmark add to this lively and insightful introduction to world literature for young readers. mjw

Title: Tales from Rumi: Mathnawi Selections For Young Readers
Author: Mawlana Jalaladdin Rumi (1207-1273)
Edited by: A. Fuat Bilkan
Illustrator: Erdinc Semen
Publisher: Tughra Books, New Jersey
Copyright: 2014
Original Language: Persian, also Turkish, Arabic, Greek
Translator: Jeannette Squires Okur
Original Title: Mathnawi
Original Publisher: Rumi dictated the verses
Original Copyright: 1258-1273
ISBN: 978-1-59784-124-5
Hardcover pages: 128
Age range: 12 up
Genre: Fiction, Fables, Folklore
Author’s ethnicity: Persian
Subjects: Fables, Folk tales, Iran, Islam, Poetry, Religion, Storytelling

The Bernadette Watts Collection: Stories And Fairy Tales

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Watts’s works “display warm and pleasing colors that bathe each image in an almost theatre-like setting” -Eric Carle.

Bernadette Watts is an iconic English children’s book author and illustrator who has illustrated several fairy tales and fables. This huge collection of fairy tales features some stories written by world renowned storytellers and Watts herself. The gorgeous impressionistic illustrations of animals, creatures, people, and nature complement the wondrous stories. This collection is excellent for introducing readers to popular tales, such as Cinderella, Rapunzel, The Ugly Duckling, Sleeping Beauty, and The Snow Queen, as well as some unfamiliar works. ema

Title: The Bernadette Watts Collection: Stories And Fairy Tales
Author: Short stories by Bernadette Watts, Jacob (1785-1863) and Wilhelm Grimm (1786-1859), Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875), Aesop (620-560 BC), Gerda Marie Scheidl (1913-2005), Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), and more
Illustrator: Bernadette Watts
Publisher: North-South
Copyright: 2015
Original Language: German
Translator: North-South Books
Original Title: Bernadette
Original Publisher: NordSüd
Original Copyright: 2014
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4242-0
Hardcover pages: 317
Age range: 4 up
Genre: Fables, Fairy Tales, Picture Books
Author’s ethnicity: Watts: English, Grimm Brothers: German, Andersen: Danish, Aesop: Greek, Scheidl: German, Tolstoy: Russian
Author’s residence: Watts: England
Illustrator’s ethnicity: English
Illustrator’s residence: England
Subjects: Fables, Fairy tales, Fairy tale reimaginings/ retellings, Folktales, Illustrated children’s books, Short stories