Tag Archives: Animals

The Color Of The Sun

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This story takes place in one day of Davie’s life in Tyneside, his small town home.  He takes off on a journey after what appears to be the murder of a boy he knows.  Half real and half imagined, he meets characters from his town, which has rival gangs,. Davie thinks he knows who the murderer is.  As the story progresses, it gets harder to fathom what is real.  The ending is brilliant and leaves readers feeling positive and hopeful.  The book is beautifully written. mjw

Title: The Color Of The Sun Author: David Almond Publisher: Candlewick Press Copyright: 2019 Original Language: English Original Publisher: Hachette Children’s Group. U.K. Original Copyright: 2018 ISBN: 978-1-5362-0785-9 Hardcover pages: 224 Age range: 12 up Genre: Fiction, Fantasy Book setting: England Author’s ethnicity: English Author’s residence: Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K. Awards: Hans Christian Andersen Medal, Carnegie Medal Subjects: Adventure, Coming of Age, Death and dying, Violence, Young adult boys

The Elephant

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The illustrations of the elephants in this book are done in watercolor, acrylic, pencil, and crayon. They are accurate, strikingly detailed, and beautifully rendered.  They make the book!   Here, we join a young boy as he learns interesting facts about Asian and African elephants.  Elephants are intelligent and have amazing memories and excellent hearing.  They walk on their tip-toes and are either right-tusked or left-tusked.  Tusks can be as long as two seven-year-old children from toe to toe.  An introductory note describes modern threats to elephants and a map shows where these fascinating animals live today. mjw

Title: The Elephant Author: Jenni Desmond Illustrator: Jenni Desmond Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books.  New York Copyright: 2018 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-59270-264-0 Hardcover pages: 48 Age range: 4-8 Genre: Nonfiction, Information book Author’s ethnicity: British Author’s residence: London Illustrator’s ethnicity: British Illustrator’s residence: London Subjects: Africa, African elephants, Asiatic elephants, India, Zoology

Vanishing Colors

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In this haunting story, a young girl and her mother take shelter in their roofless house to sleep. The mother tells the story of a large bird that flies from the mountains to protect them.  Dark illustrations show that the city is ravaged by war.  The bird reminds the girl of happy memories and colors that were there before.  The girl and her mother can leave when the girl sees all the colors in the rainbow, which makes a bridge across the sky.  The book ends with the mother and child walking on, holding hands, under a rainbow. They will stay together and help each other. mjw

Title: Vanishing Colors Author: Constance Orbeck-Nilssen Illustrator: Akin Duzakin Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers Copyright: 2019 Original Language: Norwegian Translator: Kari Dickson Original Title: Fargene som forsvant Original Publisher: Vigmostad & Bjorke Original Copyright: 2017 ISBN: 978-0-8028-5518-3 Hardcover pages: 40 Age range: 5-9 Genre: Picture Book Book setting: Eastern Europe Author’s ethnicity: Norwegian Author’s residence: Norway Illustrator’s ethnicity: Turkish-Norwegian Illustrator’s residence: Norway Subjects: Destruction, Emigration and Immigration, Homelessness and poverty, Migration, Parents, Refugees, Social issues

The Whale The Sea And The Stars

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Gerda the blue whale listens to her mother’s beautiful song.  She sings that if Gerda ever gets lost, she should look to the stars and they would guide her.  When Gerda leaves home, she travels from warm equatorial waters to freezing polar waters. She meets penguins, a grouchy octopus, seagulls, orcas, a polar bear, and a narwhal.  Gerda wants to stop traveling and find a special place of her own. She eventually hears someone singing her mother’s song.  It is Lars, her brother.  She has found the most beautiful bay filled with more and more whales: Beluga whales and grey whales, beaked whales and bowhead whales, humpback whales and right whales, all living happily.  She knows her journey is over.  The luminous illustrations were drawn by hand on a graphics tablet and finished using natural color palettes and textures. mjw

Title: The Whale The Sea And The Stars Author: Adrian Macho Illustrator: Adrian Macho Publisher: Floris Books, Edinburgh Copyright: 2019 Original Language: Czech Translator: Peter Kavecky Original Title: Gerda Prise Velryby Original Publisher: Albatros Media A.S. Original Copyright: 2018 ISBN: 978-178250-559-4 Hardcover pages: 32 Age range: 4-7 Genre: Picture Book Author’s ethnicity: Slovak Author’s residence: Bratislava, Slovakia Illustrator’s ethnicity: Slovak Illustrator’s residence: Bratislava, Slovakia Subjects: Marine life, Narwhal, Penguins, Polar bears, Stars, Whales

Coming Home

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A lone Scandinavian robin migrates across Europe to Great Britain in the winter to escape the harsher northern winters and to find his mate before Christmas. The striking illustrations of the red-breasted bird were created digitally. Robin migration facts are included. mjw

Title: Coming Home Author: Michael Morpurgo Illustrator: Kerry Hyndman Publisher: Candlewick Press Copyright: 2018 Original Language: English  Original Publisher: David Fickling Books, Oxford Original Copyright: 2016 ISBN: 978-1-5362-0042-3 Hardcover pages: 32 Age range: 3-7 Genre: Picture Book Book setting: Scandinavia, Britain Author’s ethnicity: English Author’s residence: Devon, England Illustrator’s ethnicity: English Illustrator’s residence: London, England Subjects: Birds Christmas, Holidays, Robins

The Hawk And The Dove

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The feisty hawk is feeling sad, so he puts on a mask and gloves and turns into a gentle dove.  The world is at peace.  No more cannon-fire blasts.  Planes that dropped bombs turn into butterflies.  Warships are replaced with sailboats.  Soldiers’ guns sprout flowers.  The world is calm and joyful, but will it last?  Paper cuts inspired by Henri Matisse allow readers to see the miracle that happens every time a page is turned.  A note at the end of the book describes the book’s inspiration and the author’s ever-present hope for peace. mjw

Title: The Hawk And The Dove Author: Paul Kornowski (1926-2001) Illustrator: Paul Kornowski (1926-2001) Publisher: Kids Can Press. Toronto, Canada Copyright: 2019 Original Language: Hebrew Translator: Annette Appel Original Title: Hawk and Dove Original Publisher: Zmora-Bitan, Dvir-Publishing House, Ltd. Original Copyright: 2017 ISBN: 978-1-5253-0125-4 Hardcover pages: 32 Age range: 5-8 Genre: Picture Book Author’s ethnicity: Israeli Illustrator’s ethnicity: Israeli Subjects: Birds, Military fiction, Peace, War

Who Stole The Hazelnuts? A Forest Mystery

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All was quiet and still in the forest until there came a shrill scream.  Someone has stolen the squirrel’s three hazelnuts.  Who could cause the squirrel such distress?  He accuses the mole, the mouse, the rabbit, the hamster, and the fox, who all reply, “it isn’t me.”  The squirrel returns to his tree to discover his three nuts.  They weren’t stolen after all.  The squirrel could have hung his head in shame.  He apologized to everyone and then enjoyed his hazelnuts – they were delicious!  The watercolor paintings of the animals, especially the squirrel, are hilarious in this new rhyming book by the author of the Rainbow Fish series. mjw

Title: Who Stole The Hazelnuts? A Forest Mystery Author: Marcus Pfister Illustrator: Marcus Pfister Publisher: NorthSouth Books Copyright: 2019 Original Language: German Translator: David Henry Wilson Original Title: Wer hat die Haselnuss geklaut? Eine Räubergeschichte Original Publisher: NordSud Verlag AG Original Copyright: 2019 ISBN: 978-0-7358-4382-0 Hardcover pages: 32 Age range: 4-8 Genre: Picture Book Author’s ethnicity: Swiss Author’s residence: Bern, Switzerland Illustrator’s ethnicity: Swiss Illustrator’s residence: Bern. Switzerland Subjects: Hazelnuts, Mystery, Squirrels