Happiness (Monday Poem)

by Nicola Davies


Sand in my shoes.
Salt in my hair.
A pebble in my pocket.
The horizon in my eyes.



from A First Book of the Sea
by Nicola Davies
Illustrated by Emily Sutton
Candlewick, 2018 

'Tis the Season of Gratitude (FAMILY magazine reviews

As temperatures drop and the time for frights and spooks passes, we turn our hearts toward each other with gratitude for the many abundances in our lives. Take time to savor this season and settle in with these standout stories to share with your favorite youngster. This is a time to celebrate and these well-told tales will only add to the festivities. Enjoy!

Bagels from Benny 

By Aubrey Davis

Illustrated by Dusan Petricic

            Rooted in an old Jewish folk tale from Spain, this version, with a young boy and his grandfather at its center, makes Davis’ retelling of the legend accessible to young readers. Benny loves to help his grandfather in the bakery, where he makes the best bagels in town. But Grandpa doesn’t want thanks for the bagels – he thinks God deserves thanks.      

            So, Benny devises a plan to thank God for the bagels – he leaves a bag of bagels in the synagogue every week. Since they disappear, Benny sees this as a sign that God has heard his thanks. That is, until Benny discovers that a poor man has been coming in to prayerfully and thankfully take the bagels. 

            Petricic’s watercolor illustrations, in round bagel shapes -- using mostly brown bagel tones, with occasional brighter colors as highlights – feature a captivating youngster with large ears and an expressive face. Additional small sepia colored drawings punctuate each opposing page to emphasize the text.

            Benny is crushed when he realizes what has really been happening with the bagels. But Grandpa, who followed Benny and has seen the poor man take the bagels from the synagogue, tells Benny that he has “made the world a little better. . . And what better thanks could God have?”

            This surprising and lovely story is a holiday delight to share especially beyond Jewish settings. Not only can young children understand and value the close bond between Benny and his Grandpa, but the heartfelt wonder of sharing and giving thanks is profound and appealing to both children and the adults in their lives.

Kids Can Press, $15.95 (hardcover) $7.95 (paperback)

Interest Level: Grade1-4

Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving 

By Laurie Halse Anderson

Illustrated by Matt Faulkner

            As we prepare for Thanksgiving celebrations many of us think of Native Americans and their kindness to the Pilgrims, especially as the two groups celebrated the harvest season with feasting. But without the tireless work of Sarah Hale (Right! The same “dainty little lady” who wrote “Mary Had A Little Lamb,” one of the most famous nursery rhymes in the US.) Thanksgiving might have just faded away.

            For nearly four decades, through four US presidents, Sarah wielded her mighty pen writing tirelessly in support of a national holiday to celebrate Thanksgiving. At last, in 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday – “a day for all Americans to give thanks, together.”

Although in a silly mood, and illustrated with raucous hilarity, this peppy nonfiction picture book pays tribute to a letter-writing heroine.

A “Feast of Facts” about the day and the title character, is appended with sources included.

Simon & Schuster, $18.99 (hardcover) $7.99 (paperback)

Interest Level: Grade 1-4

Giving Thanks 

By Jonathan London

Illustrated by Gregory Manchess

            “Every morning,” a young boy says, his father thanks “Mother Earth” and “Father Sky” like his ”Indian” friends. Like them, he believes that nature gives gifts and that in return, something must be given back – a thank you. Especially at this season of the year, many of us are also thinking thankfulness.

As the two hike through a gorgeous fall day together, the father thanks frogs, crickets, wild mushrooms, autumn trees shedding leaves, a fox, deer, quail, a jackrabbit and a hawk. The boy feels a bit embarrassed as his father thanks trees and things. But his dad tells him it will become a habit for him too.

The tone of the text is respectful and matter-of-fact. The brilliant oil paintings reflect earth colors and the illustrator uses a soft focus to highlight the creatures and the boy-father pair from varied perspectives across a walking panorama.

The story ends with the boy thanking the stars. And, in this beautifully illustrated picture book, the message is simple, infused with a spirituality that cherishes the gifts nature freely gives.

Candlewick Press $16.99 (hardcover) $6.99 (paperback)

Interest Level: Junior Kindergarten – Grade 3

Shoal (Monday Poem)

by Nicola Davies


Swirl, swish.
Twirl, twist.
Flash, flick.
Gleam, glint.

All turn, all dive,
all eyes open wide.

Ten thousand bodies move in time.
a moving, swimming, living rhyme.



from A First Book of the Sea
by Nicola Davies
Illustrated by Emily Sutton
Candlewick, 2018 

Cat Watching a Spider (Monday Poem)

by Julie Fogliano


so silent and certain
a spider
can cause
a watchful and wondering cat
to pause

all prowl and prance
and teeth and claws



from World Make Way: New Poems Inspired by Art from the Metropolitan Museum of Art
edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins
Abrams, 2017

Finding Shells (Monday Poem)

by Nicola Davies


There's no special trick to finding seashells.
All you have to do is look.
It's hard at first, but soon your eyes
will start to notice tiny details
and you'll pick up little bits of beauty.
Let your heart sing for a moment,
then put them back;
someone else might need them.



from A First Book of the Sea
by Nicola Davies
Illustrated by Emily Sutton
Candlewick, 2018 

Hurricane Hustle (FAMILY Magazine reviews)

The season of hurricanes is upon us! And we remember the results and clean up from last year’s visit by Hurricane Irma! At a time when young people may feel anxious about hurricanes, these helpful books can make it easier to talk about how to prepare, what to do during, and what can be done following a hurricane. Reading any of these titles can make the opportunity for youngsters to voice their concerns and be reassured by someone who cares.

Ready, Set . . . WAIT! What Animals Do Before a Hurricane 

by Patti R. Zelch

illustrations by Connie McLennan

            South Florida is a featured character in Zelch’s (the “ch” is pronounced as a “k”) informative picture book. The animals she highlights -- from reef fish to pods of dolphin, sharks, lobsters, manatees, seagulls, herons, pelicans, crocodiles, butterflies, rabbits and mice – are waiting out the storm in various hidden locations. They seem to know the storm is coming and how to safely prepare themselves.

            Beginning with humans as they prepare for a brewing hurricane, by protecting their homes and collecting supplies, a young boy wonders what animals do to get ready for a storm. Simple but poetic text (“Fathers flicker flashlights” and “sharks explode”) companions beautiful paintings of the animals in their habitats. As the story continues and the animals huddle, the urgency builds, the clouds darken, the rain falls in sheets and the “wind howls.” The story concludes as the hurricane arrives on land!

            The back matter includes information about hurricanes as natural disasters, a map showing locations and brief explanations of typhoons, cyclones, and hurricanes, how humans prepare for storms, and what the numbers on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale mean. The final pages explain scientific and observational animal behavior. (Additional online links are provided on the publisher’s website.)

Sylvan Dell (now Arbordale Publishing)

$8.95 (paperback)$16.95 (hardcover)

Interest Level: Grade Junior Kindergarten – Grade 3

Hurricane!  

by Jonathan London

illustrated by Henri Sorensen

            Written long before the violence wreaked on Puerto Rico’s shores by last year’s hurricane Maria, this picture-book by hurricane survivor London nonetheless supplies readers with an authentic experience of the adventure, fear and relief that can characterize a hurricane. A morning can begin as any other morning, and in a moment change.

            The sky can darken with thunderclouds, the air can still, just before the wind thrashes the palm trees in a “wild dance.” The family in this story prepares by putting away bikes and closing storm shutters. They pack up bags, pets and supplies and, hurry to the shelter, while the rain slams the car.

            Dramatic paintings are magnetic accompaniments to the vigorous text. The strong sense of family and community support draws the occupants of the shelter together as they deal with a broken window and sing in Spanish.

            The true-to-life conclusion shows the clean-up of the littered yard, and the characters’ home is reassuringly still standing. But not far away others are not so fortunate.

HarperCollins, $17.99

Interest Level: Junior Kindergarten – Grade 3

Hurricane 

by David Wiesner

            Award winning author/illustrator Wiesner frames an inventive aftermath of a storm when two brothers, David and George, discover an elm tree downed by the hurricane winds during the night as they slept. They imagine a jungle exploration, a ship on the high seas searching for pirates, and a rocket into outer space. The “sleeping giant” becomes a “private place, big enough for secret dreams, small enough for shared adventures.”

            Although Wiesner uses the image of tape on windows, which has long been discredited as a realistic means for protecting glass from shattering. The experiences of the boys and their parents without electricity, and their wonderings about what animals like squirrels and birds do, are familiar to many who have lived through a hurricane.

            The watercolor paintings are both realistic and imaginative as the storm progresses and, in their play afterwards. But especially vivid are the results of the chainsaws, and the interactions between light and color in the double page illustrations that shadow the boys’ sadness as their tree playground becomes stacks of firewood.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

$7.99 (paperback)

Interest Level: Grade 1-3

Shore Crab (Monday Poem)

by Nicola Davies


Delicate!
Like a dancer,
the crab sidesteps
to a dead-fish dinner.

Wary!
Periscope eyes up, watching.
Its big claws pinch tiny scraps
and pass them to its busy mouth.

Dainty!
Like a giant eating cupcakes.



from A First Book of the Sea
by Nicola Davies
Illustrated by Emily Sutton
Candlewick, 2018