Picture Books
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America at War
I discovered this book on the new books shelf in the children’s department at our local library. It’s a collection of poems compiled by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by Stephen Alcorn. To…
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Celebrate the Author: Gene Zion
Recognize this guy? He’s a white dog with black spots who likes everything except getting a bath. So begins the adventure of Gene Zion’s Harry the Dirty Dog(1956), one of the handful of…
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Celebrate the Author: Robert McCloskey
I’ve missed Robert McCloskey’s birthday on September 15 of this month. But considering the timeless appeal of his stories and pictures, maybe it doesn’t matter. This book, for instance, was one of my…
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Seasoning the Season with Words: A Child’s Calendar
A few days ago it was about ninety degrees outside, but it was an unmistakably autumn ninety: windy, the air full of those little yellow leaves that are the first to surrender. I’ve…
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Pure air and fire: a roundup of horse poems
Do you give the horse his strength? Do you clothe his neck with terror? Do you make him leap like a locust, snort like a blast of thunder? He paws and champs at…
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Porcine liberation
I’ve marvelled at the creativity of a couple of children’s books we’ve been enjoying this week. This Caldecott winner by David Wiesner is the most fun. I’m not a deconstructionist, but this story…
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Celebrate the Author: Beatrix Potter
I didn’t remember that I had chosen Beatrix Potter as my July author for the Celebrate the Author Challenge when I checked out three of her books for my daughters last weekend. I…
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Celebrate the Author: Chris Van Allsburg
I’m not exactly an expert on Chris Van Allsburg. My first acquaintance with him was The Polar Express, long before it became Hollywood fare. I think it was my mother, then a kindergarten…
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Another Herd of Horse Books
Curious about what kinds of comparisons might emerge among the many horse books I’ve read to my 7-year-old daughter, I’ve started keeping track. I want to do one more post about them, then…
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Horsebook Riding: Weekly Roundup
Helen Kay’s A Pony for the Winter tells the tale of a pony who gives rides at an amusement park boarded to a young girl for the winter. Deborah, who’s 8 years old, learns…