By Justin Richardson,Peter Parnell
32 pages
Children
Danny Says
A touching story of two penguins at the Central Park Zoo that admire the other penguins having babies but cannot have one of their own. When a zoologist notices their dilemma, he gives them an egg for their nest, where they nurture their egg until the day their new baby is born. A beautiful book with some pretty deep messages (but I’ll let you enjoy the deeper message for yourselves).
I get this feeling that interest in Leonardo da Vinci is going to really increase next month (there’s this little film called The Da Vinci Code coming out, based on a modestly-selling book). If you are too lazy to read an adult biography on Leonardo (and I am), this book provides an excellent glimpse into da Vinci’s life and artwork. Kids love the pictures, and I love subversively introducing students to paintings (even though art is no longer taught in most schools).
Anyone who knows me knows how much I love to use poems and music to teach students of all ages. This is the perfect book, as it includes wonderful poems set to music by Jim Furmston and accompanied by Pat Woolley’s adorable illustrations. There are certain books that I read every day with my kids: Dr. Seuss, our children’s Bible, a book of nursery rhymes…and now this. My kids love it!
Your kids will love this silly tall tale about a little girl whose family gets a lot more than they bargained for when they get a couple of pet hamsters. With fun illustrations by Bruce Whatley, this book reminded me of the Pecos Bill and Paul Bunyan stories I treasured as a child.
The McMullans wrote one of my favorite picture books, I Stink!, which is about the life of a garbage truck (I recommended it in my March 2003 issue). This is another gem, as it chronicles the life of a nasty T-rex who may not be as nasty as he seems. Total fun.
I have listed Greste as the author, as his photos of a baby hippo and adoptive mother tortoise are the true stars of this amazing story publicized following the Indonesian tsunami in 2004. I have been recommending this book to audiences for years and never realized I had not listed it among my lazyreaders.com recommendations. Make sure to check this one out (along with Jeanette Winter’s Baby).
Woodson is a rock star who does not need me to promote her books. I cannot resist recommending this one, though. It is a great book to introduce to students when teaching them the importance of writing their personal family stories. Woodson is one of the most gifted storytellers of our time, and I thank goodness I get to expose her works to my students. She has inspired a lot of my young writers. By the way – Hudson Talbott’s illustrations are phenomenal.
Portis has developed a delightful Not a… series of books with simple illustrations that inspire children to use their imaginations. Great motivation for young writers and illustrators.
With apologies to Margaret Wise Brown, I have never liked Goodnight, Moon. There, I said it. Please don’t hate me. Perhaps that is just one of the contributing factors to my delight in reading this clever parody. Parents and kids will get a chuckle out of this gem (clever author pseudonym, too).
One of my favorite books to introduce to students. A barnyard has a cow that only oinks, and a pig that only moos. They teach each other their languages and turn out to be better off than the other animals because they can communicate with twice as many animals. The book is filled with lessons on helping others, etc., but I love it because it shows the importance of bilingual education (which means all kids should learn two languages, not just immigrants).
We lost a true American hero recently in Neil Armstrong. All children should get to know about him and the other amazing astronauts that inspired countless people throughout the world. This book includes terrific illustrations by Mike Wimmer.
