Early years: the body and the senses

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisMelissa Iwai''s Soup Day celebrates the importance of making a nutritious meal and sharing in the process as a family. On a cold, snowy day, a young girl and her mother shop to buy ingredients for vegetable soup. At home, they work togetherstep by stepto prepare the meal. While the soup is cooking, they spend the time playing games and reading. Before long, Daddy''s home and the family sits down to enjoy a home made dinner.A Christy Ottaviano Book

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Book SynopsisA gentle, collage-illustrated bedtime read about the often mysterious and always beautiful experiences to be found in nighttime spaces.In the night garden fireflies look like fallen stars.Moonflowers unfurl and release their intoxicating perfume. In the night garden you can lie on the cool grass and look up to themillions and trillions of stars…In the night garden, nothing is as it seems and everything is made new. Blinking stars and pale moonlight might reveal a lone cat tiptoeing across a roof, luminous flowers unfurling in the cool air, a mama fox escorting her sleepy cubs home. Listen closely and you might hear the wind blowing through the trees, the murmur of a slow stream, or the gentle song of crickets and bullfrogs, lulling you to sleep.Carin Berger is the award-winning author of The Little Yellow Leaf, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book. With soothing words and

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Book SynopsisThe bond between a child and his grandmother grows as they tend her garden together.A young boy spends his mornings with his beloved Baba, his grandmother. She doesn''t speak much English, but they connect through gestures, gardening, eating, and walking to school together. Marked by memories of wartime scarcity, Baba cherishes food, and the boy learns to do the same. Eventually, Baba needs to move in with the boy and his parents, and he has the chance to care for her as she’s always cared for him. Inspired by memories from poet Jordan Scott’s childhood, with beautiful, dreamlike illustrations by award-winning illustrator Sydney Smith, My Baba’s Garden is a deeply personal story that evokes universal emotions. Like Scott and Smith’s previous collaboration I Talk Like a River, winner of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, My Baba’s Garden lends wistful appreciation to cherished time with family.A Jun

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Book SynopsisA young boy in Iraq yearns to taste the bananas that have been made unavailable by warfare.Growing up in Iraq after the Gulf War, Mooz didn’t always like his name, which means “banana”. But when he learns the story behind it, he’s proud, even when being teased by his classmates. Now all he yearns for is to taste a banana—a lofty dream in a time when few countries are trading with Iraq, where bananas don’t grow.Inspired by author Hasan Namir’s own childhood, Banana Dream is at once a celebration of a seemingly ordinary fruit and a snapshot of how war can alter a landscape. Artist Daby Zainab Faidhi’s background in architectural illustration is evident as she brings the story''s setting vividly to life.

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Book SynopsisIf your heart has ever ached remembering a place or a person, a smell or a taste, then you?ve felt saudade.Saudade is a Portuguese and Galician word with no perfect translation to English; it?s a strong, melancholy longing for something you once had. Hiking in the hills, a little girl and her Brazilian immigrant mother contemplate what makes them feel saudade. A cool salty breeze miles from the ocean; the smell of Mamãe''s perfume; memories of playing with cousins under trees or waterfalls, riding waves with grandparents who are now stuck in the square of a video call.Though deeply woven through Brazilian music and literature, saudade is a familiar companion to us all. Readers who live far from loved ones or have adopted new homes will especially connect with this exploration of nostalgia and yearning.An endnote offers author Ana Crespo?s personal story of saudade as a Brazilian immigrant, and a glossary covers other Portuguese words the mother and daughter use. Andre Ceolin?s vivid illustrations, twining with daydreamy wisps of haze, set the perfect mood for this bittersweet, profoundly human story.A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

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Book SynopsisDive into this playful poem about the draw of the shore and the effect the ocean has on all five senses. Relive a day at the beach with this lovely book of memories. You can almost feel the salt spray on your face and smell the musky scent of ocean in the cool morning air. Remember how the sand squishes between your toes as the tide rushes to shore and taste the tang of the ocean on your lips. Spirited language evokes a sense of closeness and nostalgia for an old friend. The inspiration of the ocean will make learning the five senses as easy as a day at the beach.Crisp, realistic illustrations fill the pages with the rush of surf and the warmth of sun-baked sand. The sights and smells and sensations of the sea become vividly clear in these beautifully rendered paintings.

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Book SynopsisA story to show how to keep going even when something is difficult.Trade Review"Incredible book alert! I Am Darn Tough is a beautiful new picture book that I am so excited to share with you. Picture Books have such a magical way of tackling important subjects…and I am Darn Tough does it in such a powerful way. It is the story of determination and perseverance. Of looking within when times get tough and finding the inner strength that we all have inside of us. This is so relatable because we have all experienced moments of self-doubt, moments when we weren’t sure if we could keep going. This is a must-read for girls and boys of all ages. Author Licia Morelli’s writing has such a beautiful poetic quality to it. Morelli’s words flow so lyrically across the page while still sending such an important and powerful message. The story follows a young girl as she faces a physical and mental battle during a long race. As things get difficult she has a moment of self-doubt…but she looks deep within herself and knows she has it in her to finish the race. The illustrations by artist Maine Diaz are simply breathtaking. You can feel the pain, anguish, and triumph in the images. They are so rich and warm and pair absolutely perfectly with the writing. I adored this book. This was one that I immediately read to my kids. What an important message that I think we ALL need to hear. When we are feeling overwhelmed or down on ourselves this serves as such a beautiful reminder that we CAN do hard things. We really can. Belief in ourselves is such a powerful tool to overcoming hardships. I love how this was conveyed in the story! Something that stuck with me was that she was allowed to stop and feel her feelings. It wasn’t viewed as a moment of weakness. I think this is such an important message to share with our kids. Being able to pause and think things through is such an important quality to learn…and it is a sign of strength! Just love that this was conveyed through the story!" -- Homeschool By The Beach" Morelli isn’t just writing about a cross-country race run by a young girl, perhaps 11, with brown skin and flushed cheeks. The girl prepares at the starting line with her teammates. There is the crunch of gravel, large hills, and twisting paths, captured in soft-focus watercolors. It is a true quest, right down to the moment of stumbling and scraping her knee. “I remember crying, feeling defeated. My heart hurting, stomach in knots.” Readers are there at the start of the race, and at the end, when the girl crosses the finish line, the wind at her back, a cramp receding in the rush of accomplishment. In the voice of the narrator that is both strong and true, the story has a simple, empowering message: that even to the fleet of foot there will be moments of self-doubt, injury, and pain. Diaz’s scenes carry readers along with various perspectives and styles, from the close-up of the girl’s determined face to the ghostly outlines of the moment when she falls and drags herself back up. VERDICT A necessary purchase; a surprisingly poetic glimpse of the heart of the athlete, with a welcome, winning heroine. STARRED REVIEW " -- School Library Journal" I see your strength. I see your fight. I see you running and never stopping. Falling and never stopping. Fighting and never stopping. What Lucia Morelli and Maine Diaz bring to I AM DARN TOUGH has grit and persistence and strength and universality. And it’s a brilliant and beautiful and important and unputdownable book. A picture book that doesn’t stop and delivers solid with each read. More of this always. In books and in those who read them. And in all those mighty girls who see themselves mirrored throughout. " -- Matthew Winner - The Children's Book Podcast"A runner’s high is an exhilarating mix of relief and tenacity. Running is largely a solitary and quiet activity, combining muscle memory and mental strength. A race puts this book’s protagonist, who has light-brown skin and straight, black hair in a ponytail, together with other runners; all present female. She lines up at the start, runs at her own pace, and finishes strong. Her friends and teammates, a merry band of casually diverse girls, are supportive, yet the text understands that the girl’s race is hers alone. What Morelli and Diaz do remarkably well is show what the girl thinks about and sees with each step and how that fuels her to keep going and not give up. Diaz’s illustrations prove that anyone who runs has a runner’s body; the stereotypical vision of what a runner looks like is a misconception. In the middle of the book are two illustrations that leave lasting impressions: The first abruptly ends the soft images seen heretofore when the girl falls and scrapes her knee; a stark, almost aggressive smear of blood is rendered with sharp, jagged lines. In the second, the girl breaks the fourth wall and stares out at readers. Her gaze is so straightforward and penetrating that it’s almost startling, yet it feels simultaneously compelling, daring readers to look away first. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 48.6% of actual size.) A tender introduction to the discipline and community that running provides to its athletes. (Picture book. 5-8)" -- Kirkus Reviews

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Book SynopsisGrowl along with the Gruffalo in this fun pre-school sound board book!

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisThe holidays are filled with joyful noise. But Christmas is sometimes wrapped in quiet: “Searching for presents quiet,” “Gingerbread quiet,” and “Hoping for a snow day quiet.” Irresistibly cute, soft colored pencil illustrations of bunnies, owls, bears, and more paint a magical holiday picture indeed.Trade Review"A congenial, understated choice for reading aloud to excited children to help them settle down for a long winter's night." —Kirkus "Reverence for the quieter aspects of the season is indeed a gift." —Publishers Weekly "This is an ideal title for use during a winter holiday storytime or for one-on-one cuddling at bedtime." —School Library Journal "Little kids will relate to the anticipation of the big night but also to the little pleasures, like making snow angels and enjoying a cup of steaming cocoa." —Booklist "This pleasing companion to The Quiet Book and The Loud Book! explores quiet times of the season." —Horn Book "Especially endearing." —Wall Street Journal "All of those quiet moments that make the holidays so special are wonderfully illustrated in this adorable book." —Parents Canada A Huffington Post Holiday Book Recommendation "Irresistibly cute, soft colored pencil illustrations by Renata Liwska of bunnies, bears, and more paint a magical holiday picture and illuminate author Deborah Underwood's original picture book story for children ages 4 to 7."--Midwest Book Review —

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