Today is the day to “look up” and watch for meteors, or shooting stars. It’s also a great day to read the book Rocket Says Look Up! by Nathan Bryon and illustrated by Dapo Adeola. It’s a cute story about a little girl named Rocket, named that because a rocket blasted into space the day she was born. It seems to have influenced her as she dreams of becoming an astronaut and studying the meteors and starts. She encourages her family to look up to see them, especially her big brother, who is always looking down on his phone. It’s a great reminder to kids to dream big and look up! This is a 40 page picture book recommended for ages 3 to 7.
Camera Day is the perfect day for kids to read or listen to Dorthea’s Eyes: Dorthea Lange Photographs the Truth written by Barb Rosenstock and Illustrated by Gerald Dubois. Dorthea had many challenges in her early life, including a bout with polio that left her with a limp. Her father left home, and her mother went to work in a library, leaving Dorthea with lots of unsupervised time to spend as she wanted. And what she wanted to do was traipse through the city observing people. Those days of traipsing led to her developing a keen eye for seeing the truth and an open heart for loving the people she saw. The pictures she took during the Great Depression still let us see the truth and the people. Some of the most famous one are shown near the end of the book. This picture book, which is recommended for children ages 7-10, invites discussion and is a great addition to home or classroom libraries.
I grew up listening to my dad read tall tales. Paul Bunyan, the lumberjack, and his blue ox Babe, were a favorite. The Story of Paul Bunyan is by husband and wife Barbara and Ed Emberley. The book first came out in 1963. I love the woodcut illustrations, which award winning artist Ed Emberley created with Minnesota pine from the state where Paul Bunyan lived. The story is a wonderful retelling of the exaggerated and fantastical story of Paul Bunyan and Babe. There are several other books for kids on Paul Bunyan. I liked this one best because the words and illustrations don’t overpower the tall tale itself. It’s a great introduction for kids ages 4 on up to one of the oversized and powerful heroes from the early days of America.
The Miracle Worker: A Play by William Gibson is an excellent choice for older children who love the theater. It tells the story of Annie Sullivan, described as the “half-blind Yankee schoolgirl,” who tutored Helen Keller. Helen had been blind, deaf, and mute since infancy. As Helen grew older, she became more and more frustrated and difficult. In desperation, her parents turned to Perkins Institute to find a home tutor. Perkins Institute sent Annie Sullivan. With great persistence and love, Annie was finally able to break the barriers of deafness and blindness and reach Helen. A movie of this book was made many years ago, and in 2000, Disney made another movie about it.
Three Days on a River in a Red Canoe by Vera B. Williams was originally published in 1984, and it’s become a classic. The story is told from a child’s viewpoint, as he journals about the purchase of a red canoe and his first canoe trip with his cousin Sam, his mother and aunt. There is so much to think about and learn in this book, as it takes the reader through buying supplies, packing up, maneuvering the river, and setting up camp. Colored pencil drawings include maps and details of the trip. There is even extra information on recipes and tying knots. If you’ve never been on a canoe trip, this book will take you there. If you are planning a family canoe trip, this book will help you prepare. It’s recommended for pre-school to age 4, but older kids will like it too.
Eric Carle was born June 25, 1929. His book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, has been a childhood favorite for generations of children who love seeing the caterpillar with a voracious appetite eat his way through the book. Carle wrote other brightly illustrated insect books that bring delight to children. Consider reading some of them too. Some of his insect books that curious children will enjoy are The Grouchy Ladybug, The Very Quiet Spider, and The Very Clumsy Click Beetle. Kids who love those will also love The Very Busy Spider.
What better way to celebrate fairies than with this charming and fascinating big book by Emily Hawkins and illustrated by Jessica Roux. The book begins with a letter written by Professor Elsie Arbour in 1925, and it is addressed to her niece. Aunt Elsie is a botanist, but she explains in the letter that in recent years she has developed a new passion–the study of fairies. All of her information is in this book that she is entrusting to her niece while she goes to South American in search of the illusive Hummingbird Fairy. She asks her niece to keep the book a secret because she is afraid her colleagues will mock her about studying fairies. In a publisher’s note, readers are told that the book has been recently discovered, but none of the information can be verified. “Readers who are interested to find out whether fairies really exist are advised to carry out their own investigations.” This is a beautifully crafted book that adults and children, probably age 5 and older, can share. It’s the kind of book you can “dip in and out of” as the author says. Hawkins wrote the book to present fairies as real life creatures so that she could present them as a biologist would present real plants and animals. Children will learn the importance of our environment as it relates to the fairies who may live there, and to all of us who do. Sections of the book cover “What are Fairies,” which uses a discussion of mammals and insects to determine what fairies are; “The Secret Life of Fairies,” “The Anatomy of a Fairy,” “Fairy Wings,” and “Fairy Camouflage,” which illustrates how fairies camouflage themselves in their environment. These are followed by sections on fairies around the world and in different environments.
National Pink Day is an ideal day to learn about perfectly pink animals. Pink is for Blobfish: Discovering the World’s Perfectly Pink Animals (The World of Weird Animals) by Jess Keating is filled with interesting facts about pink animals, including a tarantula, an orchid mantis, a pygmy seahorse, a dolphin, a tiny armadillo, and a roseate spoonbill. Curious children will be intrigued by the creatures, and likely, the adults who buy the book or check it out of the library for them will be equally fascinated.
Captain Starfish by Davina Bill and illustrated by Allison Colpoys is a precious story about a boy, Alfie, who has anxiety over things like school events and birthday parties. He plans to participate, but then he retreats and hides. His understanding parents quietly help him work though things. At home, he practices wearing his starfish costume for the school parade, but his fears overcome him when parade day arrives. His mother takes him to the city aquarium. As he watches the different kinds of fish of all sizes, he relates to a little clown fish who swims up to the glass and then swims away and hides. The fish gives Alfie courage to be himself. As one reviewer said, the book provides “a quiet place in a very loud world.” The pink and blue retro illustrations are the perfect accompaniment to the gently encouraging story. The picture book is for ages 4 to 8, and for any child who faces anxiety and also for those who love them.
Summer Days and Nights written and illustrated by Wong Herbert Yee shows a young girl and what she does on summer days and summer nights. Beautifully illustrated in watercolors, this book shows the fun and wonder of the summer season. Rhyming couplets tell the story as the child moves through days and into nights. Children, and the adults reading to them, will enjoy the poetry and pictures.
Today's Kidlit Book 