Children's Books

Celebrate Library Lovers' Month with children's books. Some of my favorite children's picture books about libraries and librarians range from serious books like The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq and Tomas and the Library Lady to the amusing The Boy Who Was Raised by Librarians. All of these picture books celebrate the impact of libraries and librarians. Do you and your kids have a favorite book about libraries/librarians? If so, please let me know by clicking on "Comments" below and posting a message.

(Cover art courtesy of Peachtree Publishers)

One of the nice (and simple) ways to celebrate Valentine's Day with young children is to share a children's book about love and/or Valentine's Day with them. For little ones, I have several Valentine's Day board books to recommend. For children who are a little older, I have a dozen recommendations, including several books for beginning readers, a book of poetry and a number of picture books, including my old favorite, Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch. I have added a new favorite to my list of children's Valentine's Day books. It's Snowy Valentine, pictured to the left. Do you have a favorite children's Valentine's Day book? If so, click on "Comments" below and share your recommendation.

(Cover art courtesy of HarperCollins)

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While English author Philip Pullman is most well-known for his popular and controversial fantasy trilogy, His Dark Materials, he is also the author of a number of other books, including the Sally Lockhart Victorian mysteries that are popular with teens. Read teen librarian Jennifer Kendall's article to learn more about Philip Pullman and his controversial books. Then, read her review of the first book in the Sally Lockhart series, The Ruby in the Smoke. If you and/or your kids have read The Golden Compass or any of the other books in the His Dark Materials trilogy, share your opinions at Readers Respond.

(Cover art courtesy of Random House)

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With the closing of libraries across England, Julia Donaldson, the 2011-2013 Children's Laureate in the UK, and author of such popular children's books as The Gruffalo, has written Library Poem in support of all that libraries have to offer. I love libraries and appreciate the fact that we can all not only find great resources, but save money at the public library. What do you like the most about your local public library? Please click on "Comments" below and post a message about your library.

(Cover art courtesy of Penguin Putnam)

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You'll find numerous books related to February events on my February 2012 Calendar of Chilldren's Books. There are children's books related to National African American History Month (also known as Black History Month), Valentine's Day and Library Lovers' Month. The birthdays of Langston Hughes, Wilhelm Carl Grimm and Jane Yolen are in February. There's Groundhog Day. Check out my February 2012 Calendar of Children's Books for recommended children's books for February. For books about winter weather (We haven't had much, have you?), see Children's Books About Winter and Snow. Do you have other children's books related to February events to recommend? If so, click on "Comments" below and post a message. Thanks.

(Cover art courtesy of Simon & Schuster)

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Wonderstruck, by Brian Selznick, who won the 2008 Randolph Caldecott Medal for The Invention of Hugo Cabret, is another remarkable book by the talented author and illustrator. Like Hugo Cabret, Wonderstruck is "A Novel in Words and Pictures" for middle grade readers. However, instead of one story, in Wonderstruck, Selznick tells two stories. One is set in 1977 and told in words only, and one is set 50 years earlier, in 1927, and told exclusively in illustrations until near the end of the book when the two stories come together.

Brian Selznick won a 2012 Schneider Family Book Award in recognition of his "artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences" in his portrayal of each of the main characters in the two stories, a boy and a girl, both of whom are deaf. See my review of Wonderstruck for more about the book, which is 600+ pages long, with more than 450 of Selznick's dense pencil illustrations covering the pages. It's number 1 on my personal list of the Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2011. Do you have a facorite illustrated children's book that was published in 2011? If so, please click on "Comments" below and post a message about it.

(Cover art courtesy of Scholastic)

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The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery by Steve Sheinkin is the 2012 winner of the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults, ages 12 to 18. YALSA, the Young Adult Library Services Association, is a division of the American Library Association (ALA). Citing the book as "an illuminating biography," Jennifer Hubert the YALSA Nonfiction Award Chair, praised the author for not only examining Benedict Arnold's life in terms of what happened but also in terms of why it happened. To learn more about the award winner, see teen librarian Jennifer Kendall's review of The Notorious Benedict Arnold.

(Cover art courtesy of Flash Point/Roaring Brook Press, An Imprint of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group)

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The talented Chris Raschka is the 2012 Randolph Caldecott Medal winner for picture book illustration for A Ball for Daisy. This is Raschka's second Caldecott Medal. He won the 2006 Caldecott Medal for Norton Juster's The Hello, Goodbye Window. Raschka's illustrations for A Poke in the I: A Collection of Concrete Poems and A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms are among my favorites. Two of the three 2012 Caldecott Honor Books, Me...Jane and Blackout, are also on my personal Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2011 list. Are you more apt to buy a book for your child/teen if it's an award winner? Please let me know by posting a comment at Readers Respond.

(Cover art courtesy of Random House)

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Wow! Hugo, the movie version of Brian Selznick's The Invention of Hugo Cabret, has been nominated for 11 Oscars, including Best Picture! The other nominations for Hugo announced by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Directing, Film Editing, Original Score, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects and Adapted Screenplay. Brian Selznick, who received the 2008 Caldecott Medal for The Invention of Hugo Cabret also wrote The Hugo Movie Companion, which provides a fascinating detailed look at the making of Hugo.

Related Resources
Hugo Movie Review for Parents (About.com: Kids' Movies & TV)
Hugo Movie Trailer, Clips and Information (About.com: Kids' Movies & TV)
Hugo Behind the Scenes Video (About.com: Hollywood Movies)

(Cover art courtesy of Scholastic Press, An Imprint of Scholastic)

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Happy Chinese New Year! I've added still another picture book to my list of recommended Children's Books About the Chinese New Year / Lunar New Year. It's Crouching Tiger, and it's a book children will enjoy any time of year because, while it includes the Chinese New Year celebration, the focus is more on how a Chinese-American boy comes to appreciate his Chinese grandfather who is visiting for the New Year. Young kids who are fascinated with martial arts will particularly enjoy the book. Read over my list, and if you have other books about the Chinese New Year to recommend, please click on "Comments" below and share your recommendations.

Related Resources for Chinese New Year
Celebrate Chinese New Year (About.com: Family Crafts)
Chinese New Year: History, Legends and Food (About.com: Chinese Food)

(Cover art courtesy of Candlewick Press)