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Re: Favs of 2011
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From: Lisa Von Drasek <lisav_at_bankstreet.edu>
Date: Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:18:42 -0500
Editor/author/pundit, Marc Aronson spoke to NYC school librarians in November and repeatedly expressed his dislike for the phrase “non-fiction .”
“It is as if books about real things are less than made-up stories,” he exclaimed incredulously. He passionately advocated the renaming of the category “reality” books as in reality TV.
I wouldn’t go that far. At my library the signage says “non-fiction,” but the phrase we use more often is “information books,” so the kids who on ly want books about “real things” can find them. If you’re asked to reco mmend gift books for kids who aren’t interested in fiction, here’s my list of the year’s best.
well/
The list includes
*All the Water in the World
* by George Ella Lyon, illustrated by Katherine Tillotson, S&S/Atheneum,$15.99. Ages 5 and up.
Where does water come from? Lyon’s lyrical poetry dances across the page as the water flows from a hose, runs down river, evaporates into the sky, splashes across the page and rains down on bright umbrellas in the sharp, graphic digitally
*Meadowlands: A Wetland Survival Story * by Thomas F. Yezerski, $17.99, FSG Ages 8 and up.
This is the natural history of the 20,000 acres of land that comprise the wetlands of New Jersey, a mix of freshwater and salt water that soaks onto spongy ground and houses flora like scrub oak, pennywart and cattails as well as fish like shad, black sea bass and the Atlantic sturgeon. As the land returns from industrialization, snakes, red fox and turtles can found. Migrating birds that haven’t been seen since the 1940’s are also return ing.
*Who has What? All about Girls’ Bodies and Boys’ Bodies
* by Robie Harris, illus. by Nadine Westcott, $15.99, Candlewick, Ages 2 and up.
The kids at our school would be the first to tell you that humans are animals, mammals to be specific. Here is Robie Harris (*It’s Perfectly Normal*, *It’s Not the Stork*), explaining the parts of the body that children are curious about in the most matter-of-fact way. This may not be an obvious choice for gift-giving, but there are parents out there who would be grateful for a little help explaining the similarities and differences to their little ones.
* *
*All the Way to America: The Story of A Big Italian Family and A Little Shovel
* by Dan Yaccarino, RH/Knopf, $16.99 Ages 5 and up
As a nation of immigrants, we have many family stories of “coming to America.” This is Yaccarino’s, beginning with his great-grandfather, wh o grew up on a farm in Sorrento, Italy. As a child, he was given a little shovel to help tend the zucchini, tomatoes and strawberries that the family sold in the village. That shovel, handed down through the generations, tells the the story of Michele coming to New York City and the family that grew in the new land.
Received on Wed 14 Dec 2011 05:18:42 PM CST
Date: Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:18:42 -0500
Editor/author/pundit, Marc Aronson spoke to NYC school librarians in November and repeatedly expressed his dislike for the phrase “non-fiction .”
“It is as if books about real things are less than made-up stories,” he exclaimed incredulously. He passionately advocated the renaming of the category “reality” books as in reality TV.
I wouldn’t go that far. At my library the signage says “non-fiction,” but the phrase we use more often is “information books,” so the kids who on ly want books about “real things” can find them. If you’re asked to reco mmend gift books for kids who aren’t interested in fiction, here’s my list of the year’s best.
well/
The list includes
*All the Water in the World
* by George Ella Lyon, illustrated by Katherine Tillotson, S&S/Atheneum,$15.99. Ages 5 and up.
Where does water come from? Lyon’s lyrical poetry dances across the page as the water flows from a hose, runs down river, evaporates into the sky, splashes across the page and rains down on bright umbrellas in the sharp, graphic digitally
*Meadowlands: A Wetland Survival Story * by Thomas F. Yezerski, $17.99, FSG Ages 8 and up.
This is the natural history of the 20,000 acres of land that comprise the wetlands of New Jersey, a mix of freshwater and salt water that soaks onto spongy ground and houses flora like scrub oak, pennywart and cattails as well as fish like shad, black sea bass and the Atlantic sturgeon. As the land returns from industrialization, snakes, red fox and turtles can found. Migrating birds that haven’t been seen since the 1940’s are also return ing.
*Who has What? All about Girls’ Bodies and Boys’ Bodies
* by Robie Harris, illus. by Nadine Westcott, $15.99, Candlewick, Ages 2 and up.
The kids at our school would be the first to tell you that humans are animals, mammals to be specific. Here is Robie Harris (*It’s Perfectly Normal*, *It’s Not the Stork*), explaining the parts of the body that children are curious about in the most matter-of-fact way. This may not be an obvious choice for gift-giving, but there are parents out there who would be grateful for a little help explaining the similarities and differences to their little ones.
* *
*All the Way to America: The Story of A Big Italian Family and A Little Shovel
* by Dan Yaccarino, RH/Knopf, $16.99 Ages 5 and up
As a nation of immigrants, we have many family stories of “coming to America.” This is Yaccarino’s, beginning with his great-grandfather, wh o grew up on a farm in Sorrento, Italy. As a child, he was given a little shovel to help tend the zucchini, tomatoes and strawberries that the family sold in the village. That shovel, handed down through the generations, tells the the story of Michele coming to New York City and the family that grew in the new land.
Received on Wed 14 Dec 2011 05:18:42 PM CST
