The prolific mystery writer turns her hand to children's Christmas stories with a sentimental tale of a beloved family heirloom that is restored just in time for reappearance under the Christmas tree.
A little boy named Johnny remembers a previous holiday visit to his grandparents' New England farm, where he rode on a white riding-horse toy that had been in the family for several generations. Read full book review >
This gorgeous book presents a lyrical account of Amelia Earhart's 1932 solo transatlantic flight, taking readers from the runway at Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, at 7:12 p.m., through an initially calm and eventually harrowing flight in which weather and equipment failure almost condemn Amelia's small craft to the dark waters of the Atlantic, to daybreak and a safe landing in a pasture in Ireland. Read full book review >
This admirably researched biography of little-known patriot Henry Knox introduces an unlikely hero who played a pivotal role in the American Revolution. Read full book review >
"Now the tracks that shone like silver, have turned to rusty brown. / Thirty years ago the last train rolled through town." Read full book review >
Beginning and ending with the joyous birth of a calf, George describes the eradication of bison from the American plains, subsequent ecosystem damage, return of the species and restoration of the tall grass prairie in this companion to The Wolves Are Back (2008). Read full book review >
Returning to the Arctic, George presents a tale that is simultaneously a warning about global warming/pollution and a surreal meeting between a boy and Nanuq, the polar bear. Read full book review >
There's no doubt about Aldrin's passion for his subject nor his very specialized firsthand knowledge. Read full book review >
The second from this husband-and-wife team (Christmas Tree!, 2005) explores the many things that penguins can do and suggests to readers that they can also share in these activities. Read full book review >
Two picture-book veterans choose a unique way of demonstrating President Lincoln's impact upon the people of the United States. Read full book review >
Lush, naturalistic paintings and gentle, carefully chosen words celebrate the return of wolves to the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park. Read full book review >
Minor's well-rendered, gorgeous illustrations beg for a text that informs and emulates the lyric language of the Sioux. Read full book review >
The prolific author of adult novels turns her hand to children's literature with a ghostly picture-book story. Read full book review >
Five poems, originally published in 1959, are newly illustrated with lovely, detailed illustrations of bunnies, mice and other animals in natural surroundings. Read full book review >
Striking pictures make this patriotic alphabet particularly memorable. Read full book review >
A very dim sandhill crane earns his name as he migrates from Texas to Siberia and back again. Read full book review >
Imaginative Christmas trees of unusual sizes and materials are the focus of this holiday story for younger children with retro art that points adult readers back to the 1950s. Read full book review >
In first-person voice, Aldrin highlights points from his childhood that led to his dream of being an astronaut and making the historic moon landing. Read full book review >
A rafting expedition down the Middle Fork of Idaho's Salmon River turns suddenly deadly for the outdoorsy lad introduced in Cliff Hanger (2002). Read full book review >
Ehrlich's biography of the noted environmentalist covers much ground, from her early years in Pennsylvania, to research at Woods Hole Marine Laboratory, to Maine and her environmental writings. Read full book review >
A tribute to the naturalist and artist John J. Audubon pairs verse by the author with quotations from Audubon's journals. Read full book review >
The indefatigable Bunting (Gleam and Glow, above, etc.) looks "beyond the light / to darkness / and the corner" where shadows hide spider, scorpion, bat, rat, cockroach, and snake, all of whom have come to join the cattle and other livestock gathered around baby Jesus. Read full book review >
Fascination, admiration, respect, and love for the inscrutable cat are evident on every page of this beautifully designed tribute. Read full book review >
This handsome and genuinely appealing collaboration transcends the usual picture-book biography genre. Read full book review >
The fruit of a 12-day visit to the Grand Canyon, Minor goes solo in this departure from his usual meticulously detailed art for an album of watercolor sketches. Read full book review >
Minor's signature watercolors, limpid and bright, make a visual hymn to the Midwest and thereby echo the poems of Carl Sandburg. Read full book review >
Completing the switch in narrative view begun in Julie (1994), the sequel to Julie of the Wolves (1972), George continues her tale of the Avalik River pack entirely from the standpoint of its members: Kapu, the young new alpha; his daughter and successor, Sweet Fur Amy; Ice Blink, a lone wolf who carries rabies—and Willow Pup Julie, who lives in town but puts in appearances to inspect new pups or perform rescues. Read full book review >
The Shaker motto ``Hands to work, hearts to God'' is depicted in twelve four-line verses and seventeen acrylic paintings as elegant and serene as the buildings and artifacts they show, from Hancock Shaker Village in Massachusetts. Read full book review >
Jinxed perhaps by the old bromide that you can't judge a book by its cover and by row after row of books shelved spine out in the stores, book-jacket art has become the unglamorous and unglorified stepsister of the world of commercial art. Read full book review >
"I am going to tell you a story....It's a story about a river," says a storyteller to several children in a boat in this tale. Read full book review >
This sequel to 1973 Newbery Medal-winning Julie of the Wolves continues the story of Julie Edwards Miyax Kapugen, the girl who traveled across the tundra with her adoptive wolf pack. Read full book review >
As in Mojave (1988) and Heartland (1989), the land speaks here in first-person verse enumerating its qualities, fauna, geological history, etc. Least successful of the three, this text is awkward and over-earnest. Read full book review >
