Tag Archives: children’s books

Wet Cement: A Mix of Concrete Poems

This collection of poems is as fun as it looks, full of clever word play and concrete poetry. Even typography works to make the poems fun, with just the half-circle of the e showing in “Sunset” and one of the … Continue reading

Posted in Poetry, Word choice | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Nest

The Nest is a haunting and surreal book about a boy named Steve whose newborn brother is born with a host of medical problems that require surgeries and hospitalizations. Through Steve’s dreams and his conversations with the knife man, we see … Continue reading

Posted in Canadian author/illustrator, Children's novels, strong characters | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Strictly No Elephants

The title and cover alone had me itching to read this picture book–there he is, a boy and his pet elephant (both wearing red scarves!) at a closed door with the sign “Strictly No Elephants”. The boy and his elephant … Continue reading

Posted in Picture books | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

News: An Education in Books wrote a book

Dear Readers, Today’s interruption from the regular reviews of books is just that–an interruption (I intend to get back to reviewing books pronto). I wanted you to be some of the first to know that I wrote a picture book, … Continue reading

Posted in Picture books | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

123 Versus ABC

If a book about numbers and a book about letters meshed, and then the numbers and the letters fought about whose book it was, well, you’d have 123 Versus ABC by Mike Boldt. The letter A and the number 1 host a growing parade of … Continue reading

Posted in Canadian author/illustrator, Picture books | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Black Book of Colors

Every page of The Black Book of Colors by Menena Cottin, illustrated by Rosana Faria and translated by Elisa Amado, is black with a short line of white print. Each line is also in Braille, and the pictures are raised like Braille … Continue reading

Posted in Picture books | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

What Do You Do With An Idea?

A child has an idea, then struggles with acceptance. The idea follows him around, and when he trusts his conscience, he realizes he feels happier. So he plays with the idea, and it grows. He builds it a new house, … Continue reading

Posted in Picture books | Tagged , | 3 Comments

It’s A Tiger

Everywhere you turn, there’s a tiger! Ah, run! Exciting and fun to read, David LaRochelle and Jeremy Tankard‘s It’s A Tiger! makes the expected unexpected every time. The childlike tiger is delightful and not too fierce, especially when we find out what … Continue reading

Posted in Canadian author/illustrator, Picture books | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Crossover

I don’t think I’ve ever read a novel-in-verse with this sort of pace and feel to it. Usually novels-in-verse are on the quieter side, but this book changes the whole genre. There’s movement and depth. After reading it, I know exactly why Kwame … Continue reading

Posted in Children's novels, Poetry, Rhyme | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

The Iridescence of Birds: A Book About Henri Matisse

This lovely picture book biography, The Iridescence of Birds, by author Patricia MacLachlan and illustrator Hadley Hooper poses questions to a young child. What if you grew up in a gray French town and found colour wherever you went? Would you grow … Continue reading

Posted in Biography, Picture books | Tagged , , | Leave a comment