Frederick waits anxiously for his mother to visit from another plantation where she lives. Each time she visits she recounts the 12 miles journey she has endured to visit him. 
As a child John F. Kennedy was often overshadowed by his older, stronger brother Joe. It was believed that Joe would be the one to run for office. When Joe was killed in a plane explosion, Jack decided he would step up and fill that role in the family. His life was often filled with back pain yet he went on to serve in Congress, write a Pulitzer Prize winning book, Profiles in Courage, and eventually running for president. Written using quotes from Kennedy's life, another great biography from Rappaport. Easily used to teach students about biographies as well as the life of one of our US Presidents. 
Can't wait to read this to my students.....in 10 months. It is the Summer of John Lord Pierpont was living in Savannah, Georgia, working as a choir director for a Unitarian church under attack for their willingness to welcome former slaves into their congregation. John has been trying to come up with a song for the Thanksgiving program but the heat, homesickness for New England, and the violence from those in favor of slavery is hindering his ability to do so. 
Just as in his 2011 book Underground, author Shane W. Evans provides a glimpse into history using simple text and powerful illustrations in his new book, We March. August 28, 1963 was a momentous occasion as more than 250,000 people participated in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Great introduction to the Civil Rights Movement. 
George is so excited to celebrate his 7th birthday but is quickly disappointed when it seems everyone else has forgotten, something he is sure people won't do in the future. Based loosely on facts and stories from Washington's life, readers spend the day with Washington. 
You must pull, turn, and lift your way through this book of fun word play. Pull and the banana becomes banana split. Lift and the blue becomes blueberry pancakes. Great colorful pages with constant interaction will allow readers to become part of the book. This was has quickly become a favorite of our house. 
Bear and his friends head outside to enjoy the new snow but BBBRRRR it is CHILLY! The animals enjoy snow angels, sledding, snow ball fights, and building snowmen. But the snowman looks COLD and the animals decide to "warm" him up with some of Bear's clothes, right down to his red long underwear. Of course the other animals want some long underwear of their own. A hilarious, fun book young children will enjoy. Doodler is definitely an author that knows how to make kids (ok, fine, and adults too :) laugh! Great fun!
One hot summer day in the city, the lights go out. Now what? Seems everyone has more time now that there are no distractions. A family climbs to the roof to discover the light - stars - up above. Then down to the street where a party has developed. Family fun with no distractions. But the electric is back on life returns to "normal" but not for long. Very important story given all the distractions in our lives today. Incredible illustrations (yup, Caldecott Comm. I agree with this one - they will be relieved) which truly extends the story, providing a better understanding. Love this one more after my initial reading some months ago. 
Einstein is a mini miniature horse. He is so small that he has a hard time finding friends to play with. Einstein tries befriending all the animals at the farm. He was just not big enough to play with the others. Einstein is lonely. Finally he finds a friend, Lilly. Together the two gallop, play tag, and roll on the grass. Sure to be an instant favorite, as many "real" animal books are, with amazing photographs. 
He WAS warned....but Harvey did NOT listen. His mom told him NOT to draw on Doodleday but did he listen? NOOOOOO! And everything Harvey draws comes to life and the outcome is NOT good. He starts with a fly which is soon destroying the kitchen. In order to get rid of the fly, he draws a spider. The spider though decides he likes Harvey's dad more than the fly. It continues in this manner throughout the book. Finally mom arrives home and of course, like moms often do, makes everything right again! Good job, Mom!! Funny, unrealistic book. Kid's will love the wild adventure the fun illustrations. I am anxious to share it with my students...1st or 2nd grade....still deciding! Adam enjoyed it! 
The very popular song is illustrated in this adorable book with illustrations by Joey Chou. Each page features words from the song with corresponding illustrations. Many cultures are illustrated throughout the book. A cd comes with the book allowing readers to listen and read. 
Yahoo!! Was so excited to see this on the NEW BOOK SHELF this morning at the library! Jan Thomas' books are always fun and this is no exception. I can't wait to share this with my kinders when I get back in January (so hands off Kinder teachers if you are reading this :) The three cows decide they want to have fun on chicken's sofa. Chicken does not agree. Each "fun" activity is something safe that a classroom of kids could do without trips to the clinic. Love it...get those kiddos up and moving!!
The grizzly bear with the frizzly hair is hungry and there is nothing left because he has eaten it all. He comes upon a itzy-bitzy rabbit which he has decided will be his dinner. The rabbit may be small but what he is lacking in size, he makes up for in smarts. He convinces the bear to come look in the river for a much bigger dinner. Bear arrives at the river and is not the least bit disappointed and sees dinner. The bear decides to jump in after the mocking creature and quickly learns that it is not quite what he hoped for. Clever story. Readers will slowly unravel rabbit's plan. Fun!!
Found this one on the bargain table at Barnes and Noble today! 'Twas the Night Before Christmas with a new spin! Santa's reindeer have decided they have some demands that need to be met. 
Christmas is just a few days away and the North Pole is a busy place with final preparations being made for the big day. Oh no...there is a problem!! Santa has lost his HO HO HO!!! Everyone is eager to help but even the funniest jokes, pies in the face, reindeer kick line, and cocoa do not work to bring back Santa's HO HO HO!! Soon news spreads throughout the world (as is often the case with the media) and ever one is quite concerned. Letters start pouring in from people all over the globe trying to bring back Santa's HO HO HO. Mrs. Claus and the elves find one that they all agree will do the trick....will it work? I thought this was a cute, fun book. Adam and I really enjoyed it BUT....on the back end page there is a picture of the drawing that apparently brought back Santa's HO HO HO.....and the first thing Adam said was, "That is scary not funny." And honestly, I agree with him. I really wish the picture was funny....it is not. WHY?? I would love to hear other kid's reaction to "Holly's picture" because my kid does not honestly scare real easily.....BUT other than that....ADORABLE and FUN book!! 
...the 25 days of books. I saw this idea in a magazine years ago - pre-Adam - probably 6 or 7 years ago and was determined that some day I would start this tradition with my child. Adam's first Christmas we brought him home on December 14th, with some jet lag, remains of food poisoning, and an 8 month old that had just gone through over 32 hours of travel and a 12 hour time change, so I did not do it that first year. Each year a bag of 25 holiday/Christmas books arrive at our house, wrapped, and numbered. Each day Adam unwraps one. Where do the books come from? Same ones each year but for the other 11 months of the year the books are hidden away in a crate in the basement. So far, he has not caught on that they are his books and we read them the year before and when he does, that is ok. The excitement of unwrapping a "new" book each day is fun for both of us! I even wrapped them this year and it is always exciting to see which book is unwrapped each day! There are a few new ones sprinkled in each year. His reaction to some of the books are hysterical. Surely worth the 3 packages of Dollar Store tissue paper I used to wrap the books each year!!
