Freight Train by Donald Crews. Greenwillow, 1978.
Conceptual, informative, this little book teaches object permanence (through the tunnel cut away) and prepositions like through and by, and it uses real train terminology. It has a certain energy and excitement to it—forward momentum and rhythm of a train.
Conceptual, informative, this little book teaches object permanence (through the tunnel cut away) and prepositions like through and by, and it uses real...
Now here is a compelling and well-told story! Kamma never loses her narrative thread, she includes quotes and details, and she keeps the details to those that ground the story or move it forward. She, in short, finds a plot and...
Second person, a how-to booklet on digging to the center of the earth and beyond. Fact meets fun. The fantasy element combined with scientific detail make this a favorite and true classic. But hey, my copy didn't come with a CD!
That aside...
I love Mordicai Gerstein. I have since I got his book on Noah for my children. His art, his prose, his creativity—delicious. This story...
Triumphant!
Easy to read text that can be read independently by most first/second graders and Mochizuki's is an important voice in a history that has seldom been captured. Both elements combine for an important book.
The illustrations feel sort of 1970s (which is odd given the pub date); makes it seem dated. The poems, however, give snapshots into life, like...
I had a horrid time finding any Wells book I hadn’t already read 100+ times. Fish LOVED Yoko and the various Max and Ruby books. I’d have to say Yoko is probably...
Any MFA in Children's Writing must have this book on it's required reading list -- such an important tale. Uniquely South African and full of stunning, authentic illustrations. This morality story...
Martin brings Bentley’s love and obsession to the child on a mitten-full of snow. Imagine a book about photographing snowflakes making the reader cry. But Martin does it, gently and in a voice I’ve had the privilege to...
Rebecca has been writing since childhood, her first book about a kitten published between homemade cardboard covers in second grade. Although she studied religion and philosophy in university, she continued writing, earning an MFA from Hamline University and publishing multiple picture books (no longer with homemade covers) and a collection of poetry with a variety of New York and independent publishers. She has also published a wide array of fiction, essays, and poetry in magazines and journals and photographs for Getty Images. She balances writing with homeschooling the younger of her six children, launching her young adults, church activities, and overseeing a small flock of chickens in rural West Michigan.
If a culturally rich adaptation of a classic tale is going to be on a required reading list for any MFAC program, I think it should be Yeh Shen.