Books, Reading, Libraries, and Learning Blog

Theodore Seuss Geisel Award Following is an annotated bibliography, composed of Theodor Seuss Geisel Medal and Honor Award books , that I recommend for parents and guardians to read with children in their lives. Info about these awards is from https://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/geisel .  “The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award is given annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished American book for beginning readers published in English in the United States during the preceding year.   The winner(s), recognized for their literary and artistic achievements that demonstrate creativity and imagination to engage children in reading, receives a bronze medal.  Honor Book authors and illustrators receive certificates, which are presented at the ALA Annual Conference.  The award was established in 2004 and first presented in 2006. The award is named for the world-renowned children’s author, Theodor Geisel. "A person’s a person no matter how small," Th

Caldecott Medal and Honor Award Following is an annotated bibliography, composed of Caldecott Medal and Honor Award winning books, that I recommend for parents and guardians to share with children in their lives. Info about these awards is from https://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/caldecott .   “The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. This medal is to be given to the artist who had created the most distinguished picture book of the year and named in honor of the nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph J. Caldecott. The idea for this medal was also accepted enthusiastically by the Section for Library Work with Children of ALA and was approved by the ALA Execu

Book Review of Lights, Camera, Middle School! (Babymouse Tales from the Locker, Book 1)   BIBLIOGRAPHY Holm, Jennifer. 2017. LIGHTS, CAMERA, MIDDLE SCHOOL! Ill. by Jennifer Holm and Matthew Holm. New York, NY: Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. ISBN 9780399554391.   PLOT SUMMARY Babymouse attends middle school. She joins the film club. The sponsor appoints Babymouse director of the movie that they will produce, and she is also given the assignment to write the script. After Babymouse writes the script, they start work on producing the movie. Eventually, the film is completed and screened in front of the entire middle school. The audience reaction was not at all what Babymouse expected.                 CRITICAL ANALYSIS This is the first book in the Babymouse book series, Babymouse Tales from the Locker , by Jennifer Holm and Matthew Holm. The illustrations and text in this book work well together, one supporting the other. This gra

Book Review of Guts   BIBLIOGRAPHY Telgemeier, Raina. (2019). GUTS. Ill. by Raina Telgemeier (with color by Braden Lamb). New York, NY: Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic Inc. ISBN 9780545852517.     PLOT SUMMARY Raina is a girl in elementary school. She is shy and nervous about most things (except discussing cartoons and comics), and she has an intense fear of everything related to vomit and vomiting. Raina’s mom eventually takes her to a therapist to try to help Raina handle her anxiety and fears. Raina learns coping skills such as breathing exercises. Eventually, Raina learns that she is not alone when it comes to these kinds of problems.               CRITICAL ANALYSIS This book should not be dismissed as just another graphic novel. The subject matter discussed in this memoir is perhaps the single most important issue surrounding student life in upper elementary, middle school, and high school today – mental health. There are numerous concerns addressed: anxiety, obsessive thoughts,

  Book Review of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon   BIBLIOGRAPHY Lin, Grace. 2009. WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON. New York, NY: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers is a division of Hatchette Book Group, Inc. ISBN 9780316114271.      PLOT SUMMARY Minli is a girl who lives with her family in a village. It was a hard, difficult life for Minli, her family, and the villagers. They have to work very hard; and, yet they are only able to harvest the bare minimum to survive. Minli’s father tells her stories every night. He tells her about a Never-Ending Mountain and an Old Man of the Moon. One day, Minli leaves to go in search of this man in hopes he can help her bring fortune to the village and her family. She has many adventures on her way. Along the way, Minli befriends a dragon. Finally, she reaches the Old Man of the Moon. Afterward, the dragon takes Minli home. When Minli is home, fortune returns to her family and the village.             CRITICAL ANALYSIS This is

Book Review of Savvy   BIBLIOGRAPHY Law, Ingrid. 2008. SAVVY. New York, NY: Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group in partnership with Walden Media, LLC. ISBN 9780803733060.   PLOT SUMMARY Mississippi “Mibs” Beaumont is a girl waiting for her 13 th birthday because that is when her special power (“savvy”) will convey itself upon her. She lives with her family on the state line between Kansas and Nebraska. One day her father is hospitalized in a coma after a bad car wreck. Mibs is determined to get to the hospital to see him. She ends up stowing away on a traveling salesman’s bus to sneak a ride to the town the hospital is in. Many adventures later, she eventually makes it to the hospital. Along the way she has discovered that her power is being able to hear the thoughts of people, but only if they have ink (like a tattoo) on them. She uses her “savvy” to communicate with her father to encourage him to come out of his coma. Everyone returns home togethe

Book Review of Full of Beans   BIBLIOGRAPHY Holm, Jennifer. 2016. FULL OF BEANS. New York, NY: Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. I SBN 9780553510379.   PLOT SUMMARY Beans and his family live in 1930’s Key West, Florida. It is during the Great Depression, after the Stock Market Crash. Everyone is struggling to get by. Beans works many odd jobs to try to make money, from selling cans out of the trash to transporting illegal liquor to baby-sitting. The town of Key West eventually becomes the focus of a successful tourism industry.             CRITICAL ANALYSIS Jennifer Holm does a creditable job telling about life in depression era Key West. Her heart-warming descriptions of daily activities by both children and adults is both entertaining and informative. The protagonist, Beans, is likable and believable. He is fallible, yet someone we can root for. The plot revolves around the world of the children in the story and is often compelli