Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation

Pinkney, A.D., Pinkney, B. (2008). Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation. Greenwillow Books.

Boycott Blues is a story of Rosa Parks told in a bluesy, jazzy narration.  In the background of the illustrations the reader can find a hound dog strumming his old guitar and imagine the sound of him telling this story in a sing-songing voice.  The story is inspirational and relays the struggles of Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as they lead African Americans in a fight for equal laws and treatment against the Jim Crow laws.  Imagine yourself reading this story out loud and you might best picture yourself standing on stage with a guitar and jazz band behind you as you read the rythmic lyrics.  Some of you readers out there, if you're brave like Rosa Parks, might make a podcast for the rest of us to enjoy!

The Firefly Letters

Engle, M. (2010). The Firefly Letters. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 

This book peeks in the lives of four young people in mid-nineteenth century Cuba.  The bulk of the story revolves around Cecilia, a young slave who was sold by her father for a stolen cow.  Fredrika is a young Swedish suffragette who travels to Cuba to exercise her freedom as a woman and demonstrates how much a woman can do when she steps outside the expected societal path.  Fredrika and Cecilia, while living difficult lives, appeal to Elena who is young, pampered and wealthy.  But when Cecilia is pregnant and due to have a baby born into slavery, what can be done about it? (Grades 5 and up). 

Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature's Survivors

Sidman, J. (2010). Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature’s Survivors. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 

This book is half poems, half informational essays.  The poetry is flowing and rythmic, making the book easy to read and share with youngsters.  The informational sections are full of facts and details about life forms which have survived the enormous changes brought about since the beginning of life.  The illustrations are beautiful, spreading across pages and allowing the poems to flow through them.  The book is created with sparks of information for all readers from the very young who will appreciate the colors and rhythmic poem to the older learners who will appreciate the immense amounts of information about life that has beat the odds.  (Grade 3 and up).

Inside Out and Back Again

Lai, Thanhha. (2011). Inside Out and Back Again.  New York: Harper Collins Children’s Books.  

A National Book Award Winner, this books introduces a topic rare to American literature.  Set in the aftermath of the Vietnam war in Vietnam, a young girl adjusts to life without a father and in increasing poverty.  The story travels to Atlanta where the family attempts to settle into a new way of life.  She and her brothers find their way, keeping their interests ranging from kung-fu to medical sciences intact along the way.  Written in poetic prose, the author tells a story of struggle and conquest through illuminating language. (Grade 3 and up).

We Are in a Book!

Willems, M. (2010). We Are in a Book!  New York: Hyperion Books for Children. 

This silly story is about a pig and an elephant who realize they are being read in a book.   The content is lighthearted and humorous for all young readers and humorous enough that struggling readers will enjoy reading the story again and again. (Kindergarten and up).  

Mercy Watson

DiCamillo, K. (2008). Mercy Watson Thinks Like a Pig. Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press. 

The illustrations in this early reader, by Chris Van Dusen, are bright, colorful and entertaining.  Another book in the series won the Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor Book Award.  The story is full of silly characters like Mr. and Mrs. Watson who are Mercy’s proud and doting “parents,” and who like to make her toast.  Mercy is a hopelessly hungry pig and will do anything, including joining tea parties for the reward of food.  The writing is humorous, the illustrations vibrant, it is sure to capture the attention of all readers.  (Grade 1 and up). 

Bink & Gollie

DiCamillo, K., McGhee, A. (2010). Bink & Gollie. New York: Candlewick Press. 

Bink and Gollie are two young girls who have a similar relationship with each other that Frog and Toad share in Arnold Lobel’s series.  The wonderful thing about Bink and Gollie is that they are illustrated in an attractive and modern fashion which will no doubt draw young girls to the series.  The other great thing about this easy reader book is that it includes some high-level vocabulary words.  The combined use of humor in the writing, bright and fun illustrations, and intelligent vocabulary make this book a wonderful read for that upper level early reader.