 Non-Fiction
Grades K-3 Best of Titlewave Young Abe Lincoln was an animal lover. He was often late, because he would stop to free animals from traps, check out a cool creature, or go exploring to see what new animals he could discover. One day on his way back from the miller, he finds a dog with an injured leg. Abe mends the dog’s leg and takes him home. He asks his mom if he can keep him because he knows the dog will do “good things'' for him. Honey joins Abe on all of his adventures and they, of course, become best friends. One day Abe goes exploring in a cave and gets caught under a rock. Night is approaching and the townspeople begin to look for Abe. Will Honey help the townspeople to find and rescue Abe? The book ends with a timeline of Abraham Lincoln’s life, and his animal encounters. It traces the different phases of his life through The Kentucky Years, The Indiana Years, The Illinois Years, and The Washington D.C. Years. Facts about Abe’s life are interspersed with facts about his interactions with animals, including the pardoning of the first turkey and Abe’s dog, Fido, sitting for the first presidential photograph. Swanson, S. (2020). Honey, the Dog Who Saved Abe Lincoln. HarperCollins Publishers.
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 Fiction
Grades K-3 Emotions/feelings This story is all about what it means to be a human in our big diverse world. Verde explores both aspects of what it means to be an individual human as well as how “humanness” connects us to the entire human race. The book helps readers recognize positive human attributes as well as those that are more difficult. Some of the traits discussed are: uniqueness, learning, dreaming, curiosity, wonderment, playfulness, making mistakes, fearfulness, sadness, thoughtfulness, kindness, compassion, equality, fairness, forgiveness, open-mindedness, and connectedness to humanity. Ultimately, readers explore the journey of what it means to be human. Throughout the story a variety of races are represented with varying skin tones, hair colors, and clothing styles. The illustrations are very diverse, but also unifying by the use of bright colors on all of the characters. Reynolds uses simple line drawings with pops of colors to create his illustrations. There is typically a lot of white space on the page with one or two colorful illustrations. To counterbalance, there are a few pages sprinkled throughout the book where the colorful illustrations surround the text and there is little white space. The end pages are a sunset-orangey-swirl that reminds the reader of a sunrise/sunset, which is something the whole human race can see, connecting all humanity through the beauty of nature. Verde, Susan. I Am Human: A Book of Empathy. Harry N. Abrams, 2018.
Informational Text
Grades K-3 Informational books, especially those about animals, are my youngest readers favorite books to check out, so I was very happy to add Made for Each Other: Why Dogs & People are Perfect Partners to our collection! The book has a table of contents, listing such topics as: Perfect Partnerships, The Science of Love, and Sharing Our Lives. The photographs by William Munoz are beautiful, and author Dorothy Hinshaw Patent does a beautiful job explaining human’s ancient ties to canines in a way that young people can understand. Part Two: The Science of Love is perhaps the most interesting section of the book. Did you know researchers have done MRI’s on dogs’ brains to observe what the dog is thinking about? It turns out that dogs' brains react with joy in the same place as the human brain. When humans pet dogs, each partner produces the love hormone oxytocin. Even looking into your dog's eyes can have the same effect! All dog lovers could tell you how amazing dogs are, but this book reveals the actual science behind why dogs and humans are so cosmically connected! Patent, D. H. (2018). Made for Each Other: Why Dogs and People Are Perfect Partners. Crown Books for Young Readers. Rothman, S. (2020). Attack of the Underwear Dragon. Random House Children's Books.
Historical Fiction
2018 Scott O’dell Historical Fiction Award Grades 5-8 Adventure & Diversity Beyond the Bright Sea, recipient of 2018 The Scott O’dell Historical Fiction Award, is one of those books that will forever be a part of me. Crowe, a twelve year-old-girl, has beautiful dark skin and hair, unlike any of the other islanders on Cape Cod during the 1920’s. She lives with Osh, a kind and patient man with a mysterious past and an unknown language. Crowe does not know who her real parents are. All she knows is that she washed up on the shore in the Elizabeth Islands only hours after she was born, and Osh made her his own. Miss Maggie, a generous no-nonsense woman, who lives across the sandbar, also helps raise Crowe. The mystery of where Crowe came from begins to eat at her, and adventure ensues. Is there really treasure on the island of Penikese where the lepers used to live and die? And what is that mysterious fire across the way? Wolk uses beautiful, descriptive writing and figurative language to make readers feel they are on the islands themselves. The heartwarming relationship between Crowe and Osh proves that families can come in all shapes and sizes. And Crowe’s brave and honorable character is nothing short of inspirational. Wolk, L. (2017). Beyond the Bright Sea. Dutton Children's Books.  Realistic Fiction Diversity Carnegie Medal Coretta Scott King Author Award National Book Award Finalist New York Times Best Seller Grades 5-8 Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds transcends culture, race, and diversity and connects us all to the universal experience of adolescence. For adults who read this book, it is a time machine back to the days when we were just figuring things out for ourselves. Jason Reynolds “writes to black children, but he writes for all children”. (Washington Post Live, 2022) And this story certainly follows that intention. Written through a “black lense”, Reynolds writes about the experiences of ten middle school kids or groups of kids, one chapter dedicated to each, on their walk home from school. During these walks from school, readers get to know a variety of personalities and perspectives, which are both hilarious and heartbreaking at times. Either way, there is at least one character in this book that everyone could relate to. By the way, when I say hilarious, I mean laugh out loud funny. While the urban town is fictional, it is based on many different real-life community settings, all woven together as a patchwork neighborhood. Represented are blocks with project housing apartments, blocks with middle class homes, blocks with rowhomes, etc. The characters face illness, crushes, fostercare, best-friendships, sexual orientation, anxiety, bullying, and more. I love nothing more than a book that can make me cry and laugh in the same sitting, and this book certainly fits the mold. Reynolds, J. (2019). Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks. Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books.
Washington Post Live. (2022, February 24). Jason Reynolds on why he says his books are 'love letters' to Black children. YouTube. Retrieved May 21, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-OKF-aSEgI Santat, D. (2017). After the Fall (How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again). Roaring Brook Press.
McGinty, A. B. (2021). Bathe the Cat. Chronicle Books.
 Wang, A. (2021). Watercress. Holiday House. Semi-autobiographical
Diversity & Inclusion Caldecott Medal Winner Newbery Honor Picture Book Award Winner Watercress by Andrea Wang is about the deep meaning of family and the preservation of cultural identity within a Chinese-American family who lives in Ohio. The narrator is a girl whose parents immigrated to the United States from China. One day, while the family is driving home in their old Pontiac, the girl’s parents spot watercress growing wild on the side of the road. Watercress, being a common food in China, evokes a nostalgic response from her parents. They pull over on the road and tell the girl and her brother to begin picking the watercress. Wang describes an unpleasant scene with squishing mud and snails, and the shame of the girl as she picks the watercress. She says, “A car passes by and I duck my head hoping it’s no one I know.” (Wang, 2021, p. 9) When the family returns home, and prepares the watercress for dinner, the girl rejects the watercress. Her mother decides to share some of her history in China, something she rarely does with her children. The girl takes on a new perspective; one of compassion, which allows her to connect more deeply with her Chinese heritage. Wang does an amazing job of relating to first generation Americans who have felt embarrassed of having cultural differences. The United States is becoming more and more diverse, making this book more relevant than ever. Not only can this story make Chinese children and others with diverse backgrounds feel seen and understood, it is also a call to all children to have compassion and empathy for others. Illustrator Jason Chin, won the Caldecott medal for his incredible watercolor artwork, which is thoughtfully detailed. There are several full page spreads, but the most significant is a masterfully painted scene where present day Ohio seamlessly melds into a scene of China. The colors go from vibrant to muted, implying a bit of homesickness for China. Watercress is semi-autobiographical, reflecting similarities of Andrea Wang’s own childhood. Knowing this story actually happened to someone makes it even more powerful. |
