Alvin Schwartz’s collection of haunting tales Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is an important gateway drug into the world of the supernatural. And as terrifying as the stories about brides locked forever in an attic trunk truly are, it’s the artwork by Stephen Gammell that kept you up at night.
Are you shitting me? It’s the wicked illustrations that got my 10yr old apathetic ass into reading more books; WTH people?!
Recent outrage in the tumblrverse!
Why are women winning fewer Caldecott medals than at any point in the 74-year history of the ALA’s top prize for picture books?
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Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples | Michel Streich
In my conversations with youth educators, one of the most valuable lessons to be impressed upon me is a deep understanding that the lives of young people are often very trying and difficult. Perhaps the most challenging- and most rewarding- aspect of working with youth is being able to offer a companion book for these moments.
When I first got my hands on Wolf Erlbruch’s Duck, Death and the Tulip, it took my breath away. The tenderness and sophistication with which it is written (and illustrated) makes it a good book to have on hand for children, or the families of children, who have experienced a loss.
It may take 5 or 10 minutes to read, but it will take much longer to digest.
An important book to share with children and adults; especially those who doubt Haiti’s relevance in world history.
Jacob Lawrence beautifully demonstrates the migration of African Americans from the south to the north.
Trina Schart-Hyman, Hershel and the Hannukah Goblins.
This is the best book ever.
I feel like off-beat Christmas books and movies get a lot of attention… but I’ve never seen this before. I feel like this should be a movie, and I have no idea what it’s about.
I’m sorry, but this push to get young children to read chapter books is absolutely ridiculous. Both my brothers and I read picture books up until 2nd grade: one has a doctorate and works for Google; the other has a masters and works for Sony; and I’m working on my masters and love reading more than anything. Clearly picture books dumbed all three of us down.
My Abuelita (2009) by Tony Johnston, illustrated by Yuyi Morales.
It’s no secret that I love Yuyi Morales. And this book, written by Tony Johnston is the perfect match, bringing just the right mix of magic and love for Yuyi Morales’ work to soar.
A young boy lives with his Abuelita and their cat, Frida Kahlo.
My abuelita is round. Robust, she says, like a calabaza. A pumpkin. She doesn’t mind. She likes pumpkins.
“Being round gives me a good round voice,” she tells me. “Just the voice for my work.
Abuelita goes through her daily routine to get ready for work: stretching, singing in the shower with “deep, boggy, froggy notes,” eating huevos estrellados, starry eggs for breakfast and packing up her “carcacha, her jalopy, with all the things she needs.” Luckily, the boy and Frida Kahlo both help out when she forgets little things here and there.
Finding this book is like falling in love. Exuberant, warm, with so much personality gushing right off the pages. An instant favorite.
(via A Guide to Over-Analyzing Obama’s Summer Reading List - The Atlantic Wire)
My two cents of over-analysis: not … enough … YA … lit. (Bet you didn’t see that coming.)
Seriously, though, what about Alexie’s Absolutely True Diary or something similar? I guess it’s because Greta van Susteren’s head would have blown up.
— Random House to Publish Lost Dr. Seuss Stories | Publishers Weekly
toward the scholarly study of children's literature and culture.
