Thursday, February 23, 2012

Celebrate Black History month with these books

Heart and Soul by Kadir Nelson

The story of America and African Americans is a story of hope
and inspiration and unwavering courage.  But it is also the story of injustice;
of a country divided by law, education, and wealth; of a 
people whose struggles and achievements helped define their country.
This is the story of the men, women, and children who toiled in the hot sun
picking cotton for their masters; it's about the America ripped in two by Jim
Crow laws; it's about the brothers and sisters of all colors who rallied
against those who would are bar a child from an education.  It's a story
of discrimination and broken promises, determination and triumphs.

To the Mountaintop
by Charlayne Hunter-Gault
When Barack Obama was inaugurated on January 20, 2009,
he toppled a racial barrier that many thought would never fall.  But he
didn't achieve his victory alone.  Thousands of men, women, and even children 
struggled before him to win the right to freedom, the vote, and equal protection
under the law.  Among them were two nineteen-year-old students who dared to fight
for their right to attend the all-white University of Georgia, Hamilton Holmes and Charlotte Hunter.
In this dramatic history of the civil rights movement, Charlayne Hunter-Gault looks back 
on her experiences and offers a unique perspective on the pivotal events that swept the South
as the movement gathered momentum through the early 1960's.

I Lay my Stitches Down by Cynthia Grady

From a cotton plantation in the deep South, to a 
Kentucky horse farm, to a small household in the North,
the varying settings and voices depicted in these poems
reflect the rich patchwork of experiences and circumstances
of African Americans affected by slavery.

Underground by Shane W. Evans

A family silently crawls along the ground. They run
barefoot through unlit woods, sleep beneath bushes, take shelter
in a kind stranger's home.  Where are they heading?
They are heading for freedom.





Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Cuddle up with your little one with poetry!

A Family of Poems compiled by Caroline Kennedy

When Caroline Kennedy published the Best Loved Poems
of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in 2001, the book became a
national best seller. 
That grassroots response inspire Caroline Kennedy to create an
anthology for families, drawing from the poems her own family cherished.
Her work in the New York City public schools has made Caroline
Kennedy keenly aware of how great a role poetry can play in
the minds and hearts of young people.  A Family of Poems offers
children and families a single beautiful volume that will spark a love
of language and verse that will last a lifetime.

A Little Bitty Man by Halfdan Rasmussen

Translated from the original works by beloved
Danish poet Halfdan Rasmussen, this delightful collection
of poems for young children will enthrall little ones with
captivating rhyme, rhythm, humor, and charm, while Kevin
Hawkes's enchanting, light-filled illustrations bring the
text to vibrant visual life, making this an essential addition
to any child's library of modern classics.


Winter Eyes by Douglas Florian

What do you l ike about winter?  Is it the hot pancakes?
The snowball fights? Sledding? Skating? Icicles? And what do you not like about winter?
A runny nose? Frozen toes? Slush?
This collection of poems and paintings by
Douglas Florian welcomes winter and invites you to walk
through winter with your winter feet and listen to winter with your
winter ears and look at winter with your winter eyes.

The Hound Dog's Haiku by Michael J. Rosen

Simple, charming haiku by poet Michael J. Rosen portray twenty beloved dog breeds,
from the pug to the Dalmation to the golden retriever.  Complete with interesting
facts about each breed and illustrated with Mary
Azarian's striking woodcuts, this keepsake volume is sure
to set any dog lover's tail a - wagging.


Wednesday, February 1, 2012

These just in! Brand new fiction for kids.

Snow in Summer by Jane Yolen

With her black hair, red lips, and lily-white skin,
Summer is as beautiful as her father's garden.  And her life
in the mountains of West Virginia seems like a fairy tale;
her parents sing and dance with her, Cousin Nancy dotes on
her, and she is about to get a new baby brother.
But when the baby dies soon after he's born, taking Summer's
mama with him, Summer's fairy-tale life turns grim.  Things get
even worse when her father marries a woman who brings
poisons and a magical mirror into Summer's world.  Stepmama
puts up a pretty face, but Summer suspects she's up to no good.
Is Summer powerless to stop her?

War Horse by Michael Morpurgo

Joey is a war horse, but he wasn't always.
Once, long ago, he was a farm horse and a gentle
boy named Albert was his master. Then World War
I came along and changed everything.  Albert's father sells Joey
to the army where the beautiful, red-bay horse is trained
to charge the enemy, drag heavy artillery, and
carry wounded soldiers not much older than Albert of
of battlefields,  Among the clamoring of guns, and
plodding through the cold mud, Joey wonders if the war
will ever end.  And if it does, will he ever find Albert again?

Abe Lincoln at Last! by Mary Pope Osborne

Are you ready for a presidential adventure? Jack and
Annie are! They are trying to get a special feather that will
help save Merlin's baby penguin, Penny.  When the magic
tree house whisks them back to Washington, D.C., in 1861, Jack
can't wait to meet Abraham Lincoln himself!  But the new
president is too busy to see them, as he is desperately trying
to save a nation in crisis.
When Jack and Annie ask for some magical help, they go
back even further in time to a mysterious woods.  Are these the same
woods where Abraham Lincoln takes his daily horse ride? If
so, can an orphan named Sam help them find Abe? Or will
Jack and Annie have to help Sam instead?
It's a race against time as Jack and Annie try to do the right thing.
Plus, they still have to aid a president and a troubled nation, as well as
get the object that will save Penny the penguin!

May B. by Caroline Starr Rose 

May is helping out on a neighbor's homestead - just
until Christmas, her pa promises.  But when a terrible
turn of events leaves her all alone, she must try to
find food and fuel - and courage- to make it 
through the approaching winter.
This gorgeous novel in verse by Caroline Starr Rose
will transport you to the Kansas prairie - to the endless
grassland, and to the suffocating closeness of 
the sod house where May is stranded.