Catherine Reef Clarion Books 184 p.

Bridging the gap for fiction-only readers, this book can innocuously introduce young readers to a family biography. Author Catherine Reef’s book is an unwritten statement that revolutionary contemporary fiction writing was created from the real life of [...]]]>

The Brief Lives of Charlotte, Emily and Anne

Catherine Reef
Clarion Books
184 p.

Bridging the gap for fiction-only readers, this book can innocuously introduce young readers to a family biography.  Author Catherine Reef’s book is an unwritten statement that revolutionary contemporary fiction writing was created from the real life of three sisters who lived in northern England during a male-dominated Victorian age.

It is an interesting and detailed account of the sisters’ hearts and minds, while suffering the loss of their mother, older sisters, and only brother, dramatic events while at school and in various employments, and life within their isolated home.  Statements from the few people who were intimate with the family include eccentricities such as the alarming odd habit their father had of firing a pistol out of his bedroom window every morning.  Fueled by romantic poetry and wandering along the moor, they spent their youth contriving an imaginary world, acting it out behind closed doors and recording it on pieces of sheets sewn into a book.

This fascinating account of their lives allows readers to understand how and why these inseparable sisters wrote so passionately and made their books spring to life.  Recommended for ages 10 and up.

Mark Pett Simon & Schuster Books for Young Children unp.

This is a skillfully illustrated wordless storybook about a little boy who receives a toy airplane as a gift. The boy thoroughly enjoys it until it lands on the rooftop. Confronted with a dilemma on how to get it [...]]]>

Mark Pett
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Children
unp.

This is a skillfully illustrated wordless storybook about a little boy who receives a toy airplane as a gift.  The boy thoroughly enjoys it until it lands on the rooftop.  Confronted with a dilemma on how to get it down, he tries many things without success until he hits on what may be the perfect solution.   After seeing a seed fall from a tree, the boy plants it and waits patiently for the tree to grow.  We see him through the years until finally, he is able to climb the tree and retrieve the precious toy of his youth. Though he is ecstatic to retrieve his toy, he passes it on to a little girl.

This is a perfect story to start discussions on patience, ingenuity and generosity.  The simply drawn illustrations perfectly convey the boy’s joy with his gift and his determination to get his toy back.  Throughout the story the boy is accompanied by a small bird friend who watches his every move – another point for discussion.

Mark Pett is an author and illustrator and the creator of the comic strips Mr. Lowe and Lucky Cow.

by Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano illustrated by Michael Carroll Charlesbridge 74 pages

Black holes are a tricky concept to explain to most adults, let alone to children. Yet Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano is more than up to the challenge of making this complex science accessible to a young audience. [...]]]>

by Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano
illustrated by Michael Carroll
Charlesbridge
74 pages

Black holes are a tricky concept to explain to most adults, let alone to children. Yet Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano is more than up to the challenge of making this complex science accessible to a young audience. Through this book, readers will learn the basics of how black holes are formed, how they interact with the matter in our universe, and even where some of them are located in relation to Earth. DeCristofano also explores the history of the study of black holes, from Newton’s theory of gravity to the much more recent idea that supermassive black holes reside at the center of many galaxies. Humorous comparisons and helpful visual aids assist in engaging readers and making some of the more challenging concepts understandable. Artist Michael Carroll, a veteran illustrator of space, provides stunning renditions of black holes as their inescapable gravities pull in nearby light.

A Black Hole Is NOT a Hole is an entertaining and well-written introduction to a fascinating aspect of our universe. Though directed towards an audience of about 8-12 years, older children (and adults as well!) can benefit from DeCristofano’s ability to clarify the difficult subject and will be captivated by Carroll’s beautiful art work. This book will especially appeal to kids who are already interested in the mysteries of space.

by Johanna Wright Roaring Brook Press unpaged

Aspiring to be a championship ice-skater, a little bunny waits through the spring, summer and fall until the conditions are just right. When the time arrives, the bunny prepares to go skating. She eats a good breakfast, dresses warmly and takes her support group [...]]]>

by Johanna Wright
Roaring Brook Press
unpaged

Aspiring to be a championship ice-skater, a little bunny waits through the spring, summer and fall until the conditions are just right.   When the time arrives, the bunny prepares to go skating.  She eats a good breakfast, dresses warmly and takes her support group with her.  Once on the ice, the bunny demonstrates her skating abilities to her family and many fans in the trees.  Her mishaps do not deter her, and she skates until it is time to go home for hot cocoa, toasted marshmallows, a warm bath and a snuggly bed.

There are many details in the colorful drawings that children will find amusing such as a snowman with rabbit ears, a ballerina scarecrow, and cheering birds in the grandstands.   The story and drawings emphasize a warm and loving family and encourage young readers to have the confidence to pursue their dreams. A great book to read aloud on a cold wintry day – with a cup of hot cocoa, of course!

by A.S. King Little, Brown & Company 293 pages

Participants will learn about all of the college’s graduate programs, including the [...]]]> The University of Delaware College of Education and Human Development will hold an open house for people interested in pursuing a graduate degree in education or human development from 6:30-8 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 17, in Room 116 of the Willard Hall Education Building.

Participants will learn about all of the college’s graduate programs, including the Ed.D. in educational leadership; master of education in educational technology; master of education in exceptional children and youth; master of arts in teaching English as a second language; master of arts in teaching math, science or English; and the Ph.D. and master’s degrees in human development and family studies.

by Domenica More Gordon Bloomsbury unpaged  

When Archie, the dog, receives a gift of a sewing machine from Aunt Betty, it brings out the creative Archie in him and changes his life. Archie begins by making spiffy new clothes for his pet terrier. His dog is now the envy of the other dogs [...]]]>

by Domenica More Gordon
Bloomsbury
unpaged
 

Adapted by Eoin Colfer & Andrew Donkin Art by Giovanni Rigano Color by Paolo Lamanna. Hyperion Books for Children c2007 112 pages

All Artemis Fowl wants is to reclaim his family’s fortune and reclaim their name in the crime world. Artemis isn’t just any ordinary run of the mill 12 [...]]]> The Graphic Novel

Adapted by Eoin Colfer & Andrew Donkin
Art by Giovanni Rigano
Color by Paolo Lamanna.
Hyperion Books for Children
c2007
112 pages

All Artemis Fowl wants is to reclaim his family’s fortune and reclaim their name in the crime world. Artemis isn’t just any ordinary run of the mill 12 year old; he’s a young criminal mastermind with the brains of Einstein and smarts of Sherlock Holmes. With the help of his best and only friend and servant, Butler and Butler’s younger sister Juliet, he will do whatever it takes to get want he wants. He decides to kidnap a fairy and ransom it off for gold. These aren’t your run of mill, fairy that we here about in children stories, no these fairies are in no way to be messed with. They carry high powered guns and weapons that they aren’t afraid to use without hesitation. Artemis will do what he must to get what he wants from them but the fairies will also do want the need in order to keep what they have and get their solider back. This book is a good for any middle or high school student and since it is a graphic novel of a novel that is already out it would be good for them so see pictures of what they have already read. Or on the other hand it might get students who haven’t read the novel into the series. Also it may be a good way to get students into graphic novels itself.  Couldn’t stop reading once I started and now I want to read the rest of the series I highly recommend this graphic novel.

By Julie Paschkis Harcourt Children’s Books unpaged

Cora and her little sister, Mimi, are sent to stay with their reclusive great-aunt in the isolated village of Bryers Guerdon. It is immediately clear that Auntie Ida is reluctant to have visitors, and her strict rules and distant nature promise an unpleasant [...]]]> By Lindsey Barraclough
Candlewick Press
455 pages