Tag Archives: Animals

The Christmas Feast

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The wolf, the fox, and the weasel decide to treat themselves to a Christmas feast. Fox steals the turkey, but the turkey has other ideas. First, she wants the animals to clean their messy den. Turkey supervises the work. Next, Turkey asks what is for dinner and she scolds them when they say they have no intention of cooking. So Turkey prepares the meal.  The friends have a great evening enjoying the meal and playing cards. The next day, Turkey is very demanding about all the decorating for Christmas. On Christmas Eve, Turkey asks how they plan to cook her. They have no idea. Turkey’s solution is to wait until next year so that they will have time to fatten her up. Everyone agrees and Turkey cooks the Christmas feast herself. The playful illustrations enhance this fun holiday story. mjw

Title: The Christmas Feast Author: Nathalie Dargent Illustrator: Magali Le Huche Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers Copyright: 2020 Original Language: French Original Title: Le Festin de Noel Original Publisher: Editions Glenat Original Copyright: 2008 ISBN: 978-0-8028-5537-4 Hardcover pages: 32 Age range: 4-8 Genre: Picture Book Author’s ethnicity: French Author’s residence: Paris, France Illustrator’s ethnicity: French Illustrator’s residence: Paris, France Subjects: Christmas, Fox, Humorous stories, Meals, Turkeys, Weasels, Wolves

One World Many Colors

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“We share one world. We share many colors.” This beautiful book explores the world and its vibrant colors. White shines and sparkles in the deserts of Oman, in icy Antarctica, and in sunny Australia. Pink blooms and brightens in the blossoms of Japan, in a Paris bakery, and in the flamingos in Kenya. Other colors can be found all over the world. A map of the journey is included that highlights all the locations and objects seen. Color words are given in seven different languages. The vivid illustrations are loaded with small details that are fun to find. A note from the author explains about colors and that we all share the same world – a world we should cherish. mjw

Title: One World Many Colors Author: Ben Lerwill Illustrator: Alette Straathof Publisher: Quarto Publishing, plc Copyright: 2020 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-0-7112-4983-7 Hardcover pages: 32 Age range: 5-7 Genre: Picture Book, Nonfiction, Information Book Book setting: The world Author’s ethnicity: English Author’s residence: Oxfordshire, England Illustrator’s ethnicity: French Illustrator’s residence: Paris, France Subjects: Cities, Colors, Cultures, Fauna, Flora, Nature, Rural, Travel books, World

My Bison

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A little girl becomes friends with a bison. She brings it food that she makes. She misses it when it has to move away from the warm weather. She knows that it will return when the snow comes again.  They settle by the fire and she tells it stories as they drink cocoa. She loves it completely.  Year after year, the bison returns. They both grow older until one winter, the bison doesn’t come back. The girl, now grown up, knows that the bison will always be with her. Charcoal and ink illustrations, enriched with blue watercolor, enhance this gentle story. mjw

Title: My Bison Author: Gaya Wisniewski Illustrator: Gaya Wisniewski Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press. Hudson, New York Copyright: 2020 Original Language: French Original Title: Mon Bison Original Publisher: Editions MeMo Original Copyright: 2018 ISBN: 978-1-61689-886-1 Hardcover pages: 36 Age range: 5-8 Genre: Picture Book Author’s ethnicity: Belgian Author’s residence: France Illustrator’s ethnicity: Belgian Illustrator’s residence: France Subjects: Bison, Healing, Loss, Love, Passage of time

The Pencil

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Based on the author’s childhood memories of growing up in an iglu, this story is about being responsible for belongings and community.  Susan, her sister Rebecca, and brother Peter are home with their father in their iglu. Mother has gone to help a neighbor.  The children get tired of playing games. Father brings out a pencil from the box where they keep special things. All of the children begin drawing and drawing until they start to worry about what Mother will say when she gets home. They are supposed to use things wisely. Mother just reminds them that they shouldn’t waste things because they are hard to get. They only have one pencil. But she is glad that drawing brought them such joy. The illustrations have a sketch-like quality and are done in pencil. mjw

Title: The Pencil Author: Susan Avingaq and Maren Vsetula Illustrator: Charlene Chua Publisher: Inhabit Media Inc. Iqaluit, Nunavut Copyright: 2018 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-77227-216-1 Hardcover pages: 36 Age range: 5-7 Genre: Picture Book Book setting: Nunavut, Canada Author’s ethnicity: Avinngaq born in Nunavut Author’s residence: Both authors – Nunavut Illustrator’s ethnicity: Canadian Illustrator’s residence: Hamilton, Ontario Subjects: Canada, Community, Drawing, Iglu, Inaktitut, Polar regions, Thrift, Writing

When Spring Comes To The DMZ

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The beautiful paintings in this book show the changing seasons and the variety of wildlife that live peacefully in the Demilitarized Zone of Korea. Readers can also see the ever-present fences and soldiers. Salmon swim bravely upstream and mountain goats jump after their mother.  Grandfather goes to the DMZ every season and dreams of flinging the gates wide open and walking inside and looking up into the blue sky. The book is part of the Peace Picture Book Project by illustrators from Korea, China, and Japan. A map of Korea and historical facts are included as back matter and the endpapers provide a world map. mjw

Title: When Spring Comes To The DMZ Author: Uk-Bae Lee Illustrator: Uk-Bae Lee Publisher: Plough Publishing House. New York Copyright: 2019 Original Language: Korean Translator: Aileen Won Original Title: Bimujang chidae e bom i omyon Original Publisher: Sakyejul Publishing Ltd. Paju, Korea Original Copyright: 2010 ISBN: 978-0-87486-972-9 Hardcover pages: 40 Age range: 5-8 Genre: Picture Book, Historical Fiction Book setting: Korea Author’s ethnicity: Korean Author’s residence: Korea Illustrator’s ethnicity: Korean Illustrator’s residence: Korea Awards: 2020 ALA Mildred Batchelder Honor Award Subjects: Grandfathers, Korean Demilitarized Zone, Seasons, Soldiers

The Distance Between Me And The Cherry Tree

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Ten-year-old Mafalda has Stargardt Disease, which causes progressive vision loss and eventual blindness. She has six months of sight left and she hides this fact from her family and friends. She keeps a list of all the things she cares about, like climbing the cherry tree near her school and counting stars. She makes a plan for when she can’t see and runs away to live in her favorite cherry tree.  This is a powerful, thought-provoking story of a young girl’s fears. mjw

Title: The Distance Between Me And The Cherry Tree Author: Paola Peretti Illustrator: Carolina Rabei Publisher: Hot Key Books, London Copyright: 2018 Original Language: Italian Translator: Denise Muir Original Publisher: Rizzoli Original Copyright: 2018 ISBN: 978-1-4714-0755-0 Paperback pages: 195 Age range: 8-12 Genre: Fiction Book setting: Italy Author’s ethnicity: Italian Author’s residence: Verona, Italy Translator’s residence: Edinburgh and Abruzzo, Italy Awards: 2020 ALA Mildred Batchelder Honor Award, 2020 IBBY Honor List Subjects: Blindness, Cats, Emotions and feelings, Sight, Special needs, Stargardt disease, Trees

Stand On The Sky

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Twelve-year-old Aisulu is an expert equestrienne who loves to ride horses across the mountains. She is one of the Kazakh people of Mongolia, who are nomads and androcentric. It goes against all tradition for her to train eagles. But because her brother is disabled and he and their parents have to travel to a hospital in a faraway big city, she is left with her aunt and uncle and she secretly starts caring for an orphaned baby eagle. She becomes an Eagle Hunter. The setting for this animal-friendship story is unique and fascinating. A glossary of Kazakh and Arabic words and phrases, a list of characters, and an author’s note help readers gain a better understanding of Mongolia and nomadic culture. mjw

Title: Stand On The Sky Author: Erin Bow Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. New York Copyright: 2019 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-328-55746-9 Hardcover pages: 336 Age range: 9-14 Genre: Fiction Book setting: Kazakh nomads in Mongolia Author’s ethnicity: Canadian Author’s residence: Ontario, Canada Awards: 2019 Governor General’s Literary Award Subjects: Asia, Birds, Eagles, Horses, Mongolia, Mountains, Nomads, Wildlife

Letters From Bear

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Bird migrates south for the winter and Bear takes a long journey to find her. Bear writes letters to record her adventures. The letters recount a trip into the scary woods, being rescued by a mermaid, escaping a battle between two human armies, a squirrel’s birthday party, and much more.  Bear finally reaches her destination only to find that Bird never received the letters.  Bird didn’t want to be separated from Bear, so she headed back north.  Bird’s friends devise a plan for the friends to be reunited. Rich paintings illustrate Bear’s adventure. mjw

Title: Letters from Bear Author: Gauthier David Illustrator: Marie Caudry Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers Copyright: 2020 Original Language: French Translator: Sarah Ardizzone Original Title: Les lettres de L’ourse Original Publisher: Autrement, Belgium Original Copyright: 2012 ISBN: 978-0-8028-5536-7 Hardcover pages: 56 Age range: 5-9 Genre: Picture Book Author’s ethnicity: French Author’s residence: Drome, France Illustrator’s ethnicity: French Illustrator’s residence: Drome, France Subjects: Birds, Bears, Desert, Forest, Letter writing, Mountains, Oceans, Seas, Seasons, Volcanoes

I Dream Of A Journey

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The hotel keeper tells about the people (animal characters) from all over the world who come to stay in his small, but cozy hotel. They tell stories of places he has never seen.  He goes to bed at night and dreams of far, far away places.  He sets off on his dream journey with a big suitcase, boards a plane, and roams freely wherever he wants. Morning comes and he is still in his little hotel waiting for new guests to arrive.  One day, he just might set off on a journey of his own.  The artwork is rendered in muted color pastels and soft focus. This is a beautiful, quiet book about being curious about the world. mjw

Title: I Dream Of A Journey Author: Akiko Miyakoshi Illustrator: Akiko Miyakoshi Publisher: Kids Can Press Copyright: 2020 Original Language: Japanese Translator: Cathy Hirano Original Title: Boku no Tabi Original Publisher: Bronze Publishing, Inc. Tokyo Original Copyright: 2018 ISBN: 978-1-525304-78-1 Hardcover pages: 32 Age range: 4-8 Genre: Picture Book Author’s ethnicity: Japanese Author’s residence: Tokyo Illustrator’s ethnicity: Japanese Illustrator’s residence: Tokyo Subjects: Animal characters, Dreams, Hotels, Journeys, New experiences, Postcards, Wanderlust

A Good Day

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The cat and the tiger are best of friends.  Every day the cat visits the tiger in the zoo.  He is very punctual.  They spend a great deal of time together and they talk about everything.  The tiger wishes he could be free to go back home to the jungle.  They devise a plan for the tiger to escape from the zoo.  The intricately detailed illustrations depict the zoo perfectly. mjw

Title: A Good Day Author: Daniel Nesquens Illustrator: Miren Asiain Lora Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers Copyright: 2019 Original Language: Spanish Original Title: Un Buen Dia Original Copyright: 2017 ISBN: 978-0-8028-5530-5 Hardcover pages: 32 Age range: 4-8 Genre: Picture Book Author’s residence: Spain Illustrator’s ethnicity: Spanish Illustrator’s residence: Buenos Aire , Argentina Subjects: Cats, Freedom, Tigers, Zoos

P Is For Poppadoms: An Indian Alphabet Book

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This simple alphabet book introduces some Hindi words in an engaging manner.  Young readers will learn about the rich culture, delicious foods, and interesting animals of India.  The book begins with A is for Aam – mango and ends with Z is for Zaban – language.  More familiar words are also included.   C is for chai and Y is for yoga.  Whimsical digitally rendered illustrations enrich the text.  An author’s note provides background on the Hindi language. There is also a page showing how to write the Hindi words. mjw

Title: P Is For Poppadoms: An Indian Alphabet Book Author: Kabir Sehgal and Surishtha Sehgal Illustrator: Hazel Ito Publisher: Beach Lane Books.  New York Copyright: 2019 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-534421721 Hardcover pages: 32 Age range: 3-8 Genre: Picture Book Book setting: India Author’s ethnicity: Indian Author’s residence: Kabir – New York,  Surishthna -Atlanta Illustrator’s ethnicity: Scottish born Illustrator’s residence: Hawaii Subjects: Alphabet, India, Poetry

Child Of St. Kilda

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Norman John Gilles was one of the last children born on St. Kilda, a group of islands with high cliffs off the Scottish coast.   People lived there for over four thousand years, thriving in one of the most inhospitable places on Earth. They survived on sea birds, eggs, and potatoes. There was no crime or need for money.  They had no automobiles.  They trusted and cared for each other. The community came to an abrupt end in 1930 when the remaining St. Kildans begged the British government to evacuate them to the mainland. No one knows what happened. Today, the islands have become a World Heritage Site, recognized for their unique wildlife and vanished culture. The book concludes with a St. Kilda Sketchbook that provides more information and a map.  The stunning images were created by hand using monoprinting techniques. mjw

Title: Child Of St. Kilda Author: Beth Waters Illustrator: Beth Waters Publisher: Child’s Play. Auburn, Maine. USA Copyright: 2019 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-78628-188-3 Hardcover pages: 64  Age range: 4-9 Genre: Picture Book, Information Book, Nonfiction Book setting: Scotland Author’s ethnicity: English Author’s residence: Cambridge, U.K. Illustrator’s ethnicity: English Illustrator’s residence: Cambridge, U.K. Subjects: Birds, History, Immigration, Mystery, Storms, Survival