Who will Time Magazine’s Person of the Year be this year, I wonder? If a refugee is not in the running, I will be surprised, even disappointed. What a year it has been for the innocent victims of war. And what …
Tag: world war II
voracious young readers…this novel’s for you!
When I was a child, my Swede-Finn grandfather carved an exasperatingly difficult wooden puzzle. When it is all put together, it looks like this: Separately, the pieces look somewhat like this: I could never put it together, but my older …
leaving china …a poignant, artistic biography
Leaving China: An Artist Paints His World War II Childhood, written and illustrated by James McMullan published in 2014 by Algonquin Young Readers 113 pages I’ve just finished reading this intriguing, moving memoir by the highly-regarded artist, James McMullan, and …
a European holiday…five historic cities, five books to bring us there
Today I’m flying to Germany to visit my daughter for a couple of weeks. She’s in her third year of teaching there, and oh! we miss her. I’ll be traveling with my sister and my niece, and we all are …
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fiction favorites…Mister Orange
Mister Orange, by Truus Matti, art by Jenni Desmond, translated from the Dutch by Laura Watkinson published in the U.S. in 2012 by Enchanted Lion Books Linus hurried along the sidewalk, pulling the cart behind him…It was eight minutes past …
fiction favorites…Odette’s Secrets
I’ve posted several World War II fiction titles recently — just what’s happened to cross my plate lately. That war, particularly the Holocaust, continues to inspire so much children’s literature. This novel is based on a true story… Odette’s Secrets, …
fiction favorites…Snow Treasure
One additional winter-journey story to cap off this week. While you’re watching the luge and bobsledding teams, here’s a well-loved story of some brave sledders in Norway. Snow Treasure, by Marie McSwigan, illustrated by André LaBlanc In the summer of …
fiction favorites…Shadow on the Mountain
Shadow on the Mountain, by Margi Preus The steep climb had made Espen overheat. He stopped and took off his windcheater, which he stuffed into his rucksack. Although he couldn’t see it, he could hear the roar of a distant …
nonfiction nuggets…an artist’s childhood in China
The House Baba Built: An Artist’s Childhood in China, written and illustrated by Ed Young; text as told to Libby Koponen Ed Young, an outstanding, prolific author/illustrator of children’s literature, was born in 1931 in China, and grew up in …
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fiction favorites…The Romeo and Juliet Code
The Romeo and Juliet Code, by Phoebe Stone As I climbed those long dark stairs, so began my stay in Bottlebay, Maine, USA, where they didn’t have tea at night, they had supper, and no one said, “jolly good” or …
orange marmalade 