Up There... Old Books for Young ReadersLast month, Franny and I gathered a few of our favorite books about being neighbors, even when we’re physically apart. Each week, we're continuing to share recommendations on our corner of the website and social media, such as author and poet Mary Ann Hoberman's National Book Award-winning classic, A House Is a House for Me, while taking your requests at kidsbooks@semcoop.com.What follows are some of the spring releases and authors we were most looking forward to hearing and reading aloud as a community gathered around books. Take a look from the house that's a house for you and place orders online atsemcoop.com, with free standard shipping extended through April 30. And don't forget to write and submit your own poem to appear in this newsletter by May 31 (see details below). —Colin & Franny, et al. at 57th Street BooksA House Is a House for Me Mary Ann Hoberman, illus. by Betty Fraser
Illus. by Ronnie Solbert from Bronzeville Boys and Girls(1956) by Gwendolyn Brooks Inspired by author Suzanne Slade and illustrator Cozbi A. Cabrera's brand new picture-book biography of Gwendolyn Brooks, Exquisite, and Brooks' own contemporary classic, Bronzeville Boys and Girls, 57th Street Books' Young Readers Advisory Board invites young readers of all ages to connect with your neighborhood by writing and submitting a poem from life to kidsbooks@semcoop.com by May 31, 2020. All who enterwill appear in A Young Person's Guide to 57th Street Books.
How to Write a Poem From Life (Courtesy of 57th Street Books' Young Readers Advisory Board):
1. Write a poem about your favorite books.
2. Write a poem using all five senses (sound, smell, etc.). Or write about a smell that reminds you of something.
3. Write a poem about an object that plays a role in your life.
4. Write a poem about something that happened to you or something you hope/fear will happen.
5. Write a poem about how you feel when you practice your favorite hobby, instrument, or sport.
6. Write a concrete poem.
7. Write a poem that describes someone by contrasting different aspects of their personality.
8. Write a poem reflecting on greatness and gratitude or noticing and appreciating.
9. Write a poem about a moment that changed you.
10. Read poems from Gwendolyn Brooks' Bronzeville Boys and Girls. You can find several examples here.
Highlight's recent Who Says series is a story time favorite, filled with repetition, fun vocabulary, and the unexpected delight of seeing yourself in each book's Mylar mirror! Who Says Uh Oh?, Who Says Peekaboo?, and Who Says I Love You? are all great places to start.
From the creator of Seeing Stars, his graphically immaculate board book introduction to six of the most recognizable animal constellations is ideal for bedtime stargazing. Especially now that the stars are a bit more visible.
Colin has been looking forward to this latest book by the author of Shh! We Have a Plan for so long that its U.K. edition was the first book he bought on his trip there last year. Now it’s here in the States, just in time. Little Crab’s fears about facing the sea are respectfully paced and finally, gently but firmly brought to the edge of courage in this mildly bracing book for all of us in need of a little encouragement, but especially ages 3-6. Also available in Spanish.
Cozily in keeping with the tradition of The Polar Expressand Jonathan London and Lauren Eldridge’s enchanting Sleep Train, All Aboard the Moonlight Train pairs exotic animals and a dreamily familiar interior, lit with a rhythm that chugs even the most ferocious of readers to rest. We can’t get enough of books that are supposedly meant to be read in pajamas, and this is the perfect bedtime alternative to a trip to the zoo.
This gentle, playful monster like no other first came on the scene in 1973, thanks to educators Ellen Blance and Ann Cook, who had the bright idea to let schoolchildren help bring Monster to life. He’s back in this omnibus edition, featuring the first six stories in their easy-reading magnificence, marvelously illustrated by Sir Quentin Blake from the equally brilliant minds at New York Review of Books. What better lesson than turning our fears into friends?
Nora is determined to play the violin, but her parents, sister Kate, and brother Jack are appalled by the terrible sounds that emerge during her practice sessions. Scrape and shriek, screech and squeak--everybody holds their ears. But when a special evening comes, Nora succeeds in playing the secret song she's struggled hard to learn. The value of perseverance finds a satisfying cadence in this humorous, heartwarming story by the virtuosic Rosemary Wells.
We can’t think of a more uplifting or educational way to take in the “cruelest month” than with children’s author and biographer Suzanne Slade’s account of Chicago’s eternal poet-in-residence, Gwendolyn Brooks, the first black writer to win a Pulitzer Prize. This graduated, lovingly researched picture book has the power to reach and inspire both younger and middle grade readers, and there’s no other word for artist Cozbi A. Cabrera’s illustrations: exquisite. Watch a reading of the bookandsee how Exquisite was made!
"Hattie is from the Pippi Longstocking school of clever, anti-establishment little girls who have the capacity for misrule until their conscience kicks in," wrote Alex O'Connell in The Times; a street-smart country girl in her first year of school from one of Sweden's most celebrated children's authors, herself a winner of the Astrid Lindgren Prize. Hattie, a charming assortment of reports from the eponymous six-year-old's first year "outside of nowhere," is a funny, lively, and sympathetic chapter book, fit for reading aloud and for newly independent readers.
Bat and the End of Everything (Walden Pond Press)
Elana K. Arnold, illus. by Charles Santoso Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat) has been the caretaker for Thor, the best skunk kit in the world... but the last day of third grade is quickly approaching, and Thor is almost ready to be released into the wild. Summer promises good things, too, like working with his mom at the vet clinic and hanging out with his sister, Janie. But Bat can't help but feel that everything is coming to an end. National Book Award finalist Elana K. Arnold returns with the third story starring an unforgettable boy on the autism spectrum. New to the series? Start withA Boy Called BatandBat and the Waiting Game.
Illus. by Betty FraserHow far
How far
How far is today
When tomorrow has come
And it's yesterday?
