Editor’s Choice
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Here readers will find a list of titles that the editor has chosen to highlight. New titles are added to this list regularly. |
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February 2004
By Catherine Jinks
March 2004
By Steve Augarde
April 2004
By Jaqueline Briggs Marti
Illustrated by David A. Johnson
May 2004
By Aileen Kilgore Henderson
June 2004
By Anais Vaugelade
July 2004
By Mary Hooper
August 2004
By Kenneth Oppel
September 2004
By Sarah Stewart
Illustrated by David Small
October 2004
By Avi
November 2004
By Bodil Bredsdorff
December 2004
By Jeanne DuPrau
January 2005
By Brigitte Weninger
Illustrated by Eve Tharlet
February 2005
By Jon J. Muth
March 2005
By Marian Hale
April 2005
By Jeff Brumbeau
Illustrated by Gail de Marcken
May and June 2005
By Douglas Wood
Illustrated by Dan Andreasen
July 2005
By Amy Hest
Illustrated by Jon Muth
August 2005
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
By J.K. Rowling
September 2005
By Patricia Reilly Giff
October 2005
The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips
By Michael Morpurgo
November 2005
By Steve Augarde
December 2005
By Dugald A. Steer
Illustrations by Anne Yvonne Gilbert, John Howe, Tomislav Tomic, and Helen Ward
January and February 2006
Dickens: His work and his world
Michael Rosen
Illustrated by Robert Ingpen
March 2006
By Gloria Whelan
April 2006
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
By Kate DiCamillo
May 2006
By Charmian Hussey
June 2006
Septimus Heap: Book One – Magyk
By Angie Sage
July 2006
By Nina Payne
Illustrated by Adam Payne
August 2006
By Matthew Skelton
September 2006
By Cynthia Rylant
October 2006
By Susan Beth Pfeffer
November 2006
Peter H. Reynolds
December 2006
Duncan Cameron and Richard Platt
January 2007
Eoin Colfer
February 2007
Markus Zusak
March 2007
Bernard Waber
April 2007
Ruth White
May 2007
Gretchen Moran Laskas
June 2007
Sally Swain
July 2007
Michael Morpurgo
August 2007
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows
J.K. Rowling
September 2007
Mathilde Stein
Illustrated by Mies van Hout
October 2007
Ida B…and her plans to Maximize fun, avoid disaster and (Possibly) save the world
Katherine Hannigan
November 2007
The Loud Silence of Francine Green
Karen Cushman
December 2007
Shaun Tan
January 2008
Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams
February 2008
By Jonathan Bean
March 2008
By Alice Walker
April 2008
By Matthew Van Fleet
May 2008
By Caroline Bingham, Ben Morgan, and Matthew Robertson
June 2008
By Susan Beth Pfeffer
July 2008
By Kimberly K. Jones
August 2008
By Simon Winchester
September 2008
By Sophie Benini Pietromarchi
October 2008
Bonny Becker
Illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton
November 2008
Elise Broach
Illustrated by Kelly Murphy
December 2008
Sucks to be me: The All-True Confessions of Mina Hamilton, Teen Vampire (maybe)
Kimberly Pauley
January 2009
How to get rich in the California Gold Rush
Todd Olson
Illustrated by Scott Allred
February 2009
Sarah Prineas
Illustrated by Antonio Javier Caparo
March 2009
The Year the swallows came early
Kathyrn Fitzmaurice
April 2009
Barbara Lehman
May 2009
Hounsley and Catina: Plink and Plunk
James Howe
Illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay
June 2009
Stephen Michael King
July and August 2009
The evolution of Calpurnia Tate
Jacqueline Kelly
September and October 2009
Marie Rutkoski
November and December 2009
Sebastian Meschenmoser
January and February 2010
Saci Lloyd
March and April 2010
Julie Andrews’ Collection of Poems, Songs, and Lullabies
Julie Andrews and Emma Hamilton
May and June 2010
Matthew Skelton
July and August 2010
Sarah Dessen
September and October 2010
F.E. Higgins
November and December 2010
Wendelin Van Draanen
January and February 2011
Timothee de Fomelle
Illustrated by Francois Place
March and April 2011
William Shakespeare: His Life and Times
Kristin McDermott and Ari Berk
Illustrated by Ian Andrew, Diz Wallis and Eloise Lambert
May and June 2011
Frances O’Roark Dowell
July and August 2011
Ann Aguirre
September and October 2011
Amy Ignatow
November and December 2011
Loretta Ellsworth
January and February 2012
Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah and Kelly DiPucchio
March and April 2012
Sarah Weeks
May and June 2012
Jenn Reese
July and August 2012
Tony DiTerlizzi
September and October 2012
Marianne Malone
Adele and Simon
For ages 4 to 8
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006 ISBN: 978-0374380441
Today, as is usual on every school day, Adele is picking up her little brother Simon from his school. One of the first things Adele does is to ask her brother to "please try not to lose anything today." From her words it sounds as if Simon is in the habit of losing things. Unfortunately, today is no exception. The children are not far from the school when Simon realizes that he has lost the cat drawing that he did in class that day. The children are in the middle of a street market and they look and look everywhere for the picture but they cannot find it. On they walk through the Jardin de Plantes. Here Simon climbs a tree, much to Adele's annoyance. Somehow he manages to lose his books.
The children go from place to place through the colorful and vibrant city of Paris. They visit Pont-Neuf, the Louvre art museum, a patisserie where they have a snack, and many other places, and in each one Simon loses something. Why, by the time they get home Simon has lost his coat, hat, gloves, scarf, sweater, knapsack, books, and crayons. Luckily the items he has lost find their way back to him.
Children will love this simple and amusing story, sympathizing with Simon and understanding how hard it is not to lose things every so often. Better still, young readers will have a wonderful time trying to find Simon's lost possessions in the detailed, meticulously executed drawings that fill the double page spreads. The soft colors in the beautiful artwork give the pictures a delicious vintage feel.
At the back of the book the author includes information about each of the places that the two children visit, and inside the covers readers will find a map of Paris which shows them where each of the places are.
Good-bye Winter! Hello Spring
Picture Book
For ages 5 and up
NorthSouth, 2019 ISBN: 978-0735843455
One morning the squirrel children wake up to discover that the snow of winter has gone. Their father explains that every year “The snow returns to the sky.” Sure enough, in the sky, the children see white puffy clouds. They also notice something else; they hear water dripping and little streams running. As they watch, the little snow that is left on the ground is turning into “a babbling brook.”
Eager to find out where the water goes, the squirrel children follow its path until they come to stream. A log is floating in the stream and the children climb onto it. The snow melt “sang as it joined into one stream,” and a nightingale added its voice to the music of the wakening forest.
The log, with its three little passengers, floated down the stream, which then emptied into a large lake. There the children were, tiny little creatures sitting on their log in the middle of a lake, seemingly all alone.
In this special picture book Kazuo Iwamura pairs his wonderful illustrations with a rhyming text that captures the magic of the changing seasons. The little squirrel children discover that they are witnessing something that, though it happens every year, is still awe inspiring and beautiful. Some of the lines in the narrative truly lift the spirit with their imagery.
April |
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
April Fools Day
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1834– The birthday a French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi who created the Statue of Liberty 1805 - Hans Christian Andersen was born |
1934 - Jane Goodall was born 1693 - The inventor John Harrison was born
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1968 – Martin Luther King Jr. Was killed
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1856 – Educator and leader, Booker T. Washington, was born 1827 – Dr. Joseph Lister, founder of antiseptic surgery, was born |
1909 - Robert E. Peary reached the North Pole
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8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
Buddha’s birthday
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1866 – The Civil Right’s Bill was passed by Congress 1865 – The American Civil War ended |
1970 - An accident took place on the Apollo 13 spacecraft. |
1955 – Anniversary of the development of a safe polio vaccine |
1743 – The birthday of Thomas Jefferson, American President 1962 - Rachel Carson's book "Silent Spring" was published
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1866 – The Birthday of Helen Keller’s “Teacher,” Anne Sullivan |
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15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
1817 – The first public American school for the deaf was founded by Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc. 1912 – The luxury liner “Titanic” sank on her maiden voyage 1947 – Jackie Robinson played his first game in the Major Leagues breaking the color barrier in baseball 1452 - Leonardo da Vinci was born |
1867 - The birthday of Wilbur Wright, powered flight pioneer. |
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1775 – Paul Revere made his famous ride from Boston to Concord 1906 – San Francisco was rocked by an earthquake that destroyed much of the city |
1775 – The American Revolution began with the battles of Lexington and Concord
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1933 – Amelia Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt went on a flight together |
1838 - The birthday of John Muir, naturalist, writer, and environmental activist.
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22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
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St. George's Day (UK) 1564 – The birthday and death anniversary of William Shakespeare
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1874 – The birthday of Guglielmo Marconi – the inventor of wireless telegraphy |
1785 – The birthday of naturalist John James Audubon 1822 - The birthday of Frederick Law Olmsted, the great landscape architect. |
1521 – Ferdinand Magellan died in the Philippines 27th, 1791 – Samuel Morse was born 1927 - The birthday of Coretta Scott King
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28th, 1789 – The anniversary of the Mutiny on the Bounty
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1899 – The birthday of musician and composer “Duke” Ellington |
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March |
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | |
1692 - The Salem witch hysteria begins National Pig Day (USA) |
1904 - Dr. Seuss was born. Read Across American Day |
1847 - The birthday of inventor Alexander Graham Bell Hinamatsuri -Doll Festival - (Japan) |
1678 - The birthday of volinist and composer, Antonio Vivaldi. |
1512 - Mapmaker Gerhardus Mercator was born |
1836 - The fall of the Alamo 1475 - The birthday of painter and sculptor, Michelangelo |
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8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | |
Girls Write Now Day (USA) International Women's Day |
1451 - The birthday of adventurer and explorer Amerigo Vespucci |
1913 - American Abolitionist Harriet Tubman died |
Johnny Appleseed Day (USA) |
1888 - The Great Blizzard of '88 |
1879 - The birthday of Albert Einstein |
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15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | |
1767 - Andrew Jackson, American president, was born
44BC - The Ides of March and the day Julius Caesar was murdered. |
1933 - Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court Justice was born |
1751 - The birthday of James Madison, America's 4th president St. Patrick's Day (Ireland)
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1848 - Famous American lawman Wyatt Earp was born
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1928 - Fred Rogers, TV personality, is born |
1685 - The birthday of musician and composer Johann Sebastian Bach | |
22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | |
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1857 - The birthday of Fannie Farmer, cook and cookbook writer
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1874 - Magician and escape artist Harry Houdini was born
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1911 – A fire broke out in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City |
1874 - Robert Lee Frost, Poet, was born
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1854 – France and England declared war on Russia – The Crimean War began | |
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1853 – The birthday of painter Vincent Van Gogh
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1732 – The birthday of composer and musician Franz Joseph Haydn 1889 – The Eiffel Tower was completed 1927 – Cesar Chavez, labor leader, was born |
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February |
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
Robinson Crusoe Day 1902 - The birthday of poet Langston Hughes |
Groundhog Day (USA) |
1894 - Painter Norman Rockwell was born
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1913 - Civil rights leader Rosa Lee Parks was born 1902 - Aviator Charles Lindbergh was born |
1895 - The birthday of famous baseball player Babe Ruth |
1827 - Ballet was introduced to the United States 1812 - The birthday of writer Charles Dickens 1867 - The birthday of pioneer and author Laura Ingalls Wilder
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8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
1828 - The birthday of Jules Verne, writer
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1847 - Thomas Alva Edison, inventor, was born |
1809 - Abraham Lincoln was born 1809 - Author and naturalist Charles Darwin was born |
1892 - American artist, Grant Wood, was born |
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15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
1564 - Galileo Galilei was born 1874 - Explorer Ernest Shackleton was born 1820 - Susan B. Anthony was born
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1895 -The anniversary of the death of Frederick Douglass
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22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
1732 - The birthday of George Washington |
1685 - The birthday of George Frederic Handle, composer |
1786 - The birthday of Carl Wilhelm Grimm |
1841 - The birthday of Pierre Auguste Renoir |
1846 - Buffalo Bill Cody was born 1829 - Levi Strauss, inventor, was born |
1807 - Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born 1897 - Singer Marian Anderson was born |
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The Reluctant Dragon
Illustrator: Ernest H. Shepard
Fiction
For ages 7 and up
Holiday House, 2020 ISBN: 978-0823447251
Once day a shepherd comes back from his work tending his sheep in a real state. It would appear that there is a dragon living in a cave on the Downs, and everyone knows that dragons and sheep just don’t mix. Luckily for everyone, the shepherd’s son is a scholarly young fellow and he announces that he - knowing more about dragons than everyone else - will take care of the scaly problem.
The boy and the dragon soon strike up a pleasant acquaintance and the boy soon learns that the dragon is a "lazy beast" who is not in the slightest bit interested in fighting knights or eating maidens. He is quite happy to rest quietly, write sonnets, and mind his own business. The problem is that the dragon simply cannot seem to grasp the idea that people have a terrible preconceived notions about dragons. What on earth is the boy to do with this reluctant dragon who won’t fight to protect himself when Saint George, of dragon slaying fame, comes to town?
Using the rich language that he is famous for, Kenneth Grahame takes us back to time when dragons were a part of everyday living and when little boys could indeed have wonderful adventures. The characters, many of whom have a touch of the South Downs accent in their 'voices,' are charming, funny, and often surprising. Ernest H. Shepard, whose drawings of Pooh are beloved by so many, has superbly captured the essence of the story in his artwork. Sophie Blackall, whose own books have won numerous awards, has written a foreword for this special anniversary edition.
All in all this is a book to treasure for years to come, and it would make an excellent addition to a collection of classic children’s literature.
January |
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1892 - Ellis Island was opened 1735 - American patriot, Paul Revere, was born 1752 - American patriot, Betsy Ross, was born
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1793 - Women's rights leader Lucretia Mott was born 1892 - J.R.R. Tolkien was born |
1843 - Sir Isaac Newton was born 1809 - Inventor Louise Braille was born |
1943 - Death anniversary of George Washington Carver |
1412 - Joan of Arc was born |
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8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
1324 - Marco Polo, explorer, died |
1859 - Women's rights leader Carrie Chapman Catt was born |
1755 - Politician Alexander Hamilton Was born |
1741 - Benedict Arnold was born |
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15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
1929 - Martin Luther King Jr. was born | Appreciate a dragon day |
1706 - Benjamin Franklin was born.
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1839 - Painter Paul Cezanne was born 1809 - Writer Edgar Allen Poe was born |
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22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
1737 - American patriot John Hancock was born 1832 - Painter Edouard Manet was born 1849 - Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman to receive an MD degree in America
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1890 - Nellie Bly ended her journey around the world
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1893 - The birthday of aviator Bessie Coleman |
1756 - The birthday of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1832 - The birthday of author Lewis Carroll |
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1882 - The birthday of American president Franklin Delano Roosevelt 1649 - King Charles I of England was beheaded for treason
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1919 - Famous baseball player, Jackie Robinson was born
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Thankful
Illustrator: Samantha Cotterill
Picture Book
For ages 5 to 7
Simon and Schuster, 2021 ISBN: 978-1534477346
Every year a little girl and her family start making “thankful chains” on the day when the first snow starts to fall. On strips of colored paper they write down what they are thankful for, and then they create a paper chain using the pieces of paper.
The little girl starts with the things that she is thankful her in her home. She has parents who love her, and who show their love with every story that they read to her, every time they brush their hair, and every night when they close the day with a poem full of good wishes for her. One of those wishes has come true and now the little girl can be thankful for the little dog who “jumps when I am happy and comforts when I am scared.”
The little girl goes on to give thanks for big things like “a heart that beats” and “every breath” and colors that makes her world so beautiful and exciting. Then we hear about the wonderful things that are warm and give comfort, for things that are cold, for things that are soft, and for things that are hard.
Onto the little strips of paper all these words of thanks go, with one sentence of thanks leading to a memory that brings forth another.
Many of us forget that we have a great deal to be thankful for. We are in so much of a hurry to move on to the next thing that we don’t take the time to stop and look and to remember. It is only when we do this that we realize that we have so many beautiful, special, and enriching things in our lives.
One the pages of this picture book, readers will find a lyrical text that summons up memories as they are read; as the little girl remembers her thankful things, we remember ours. These lines are paired with photos that combine dioramas and drawings in a unique and emotive way.
This is book that will encourage children and their grownups to pause and find gratitude, and readers might even decide to bring chains of thankfulness into their homes.
Wish
Picture Book
For ages 5 to 7
Quarto, 2019 ISBN: 978-1786033468
Every year there is a day when wishes rise from the earth. They fill the air with sparkle and hope, dancing here and there, and if you are lucky a wish chooses you. On one of these wish days Rabbit was chosen by not one wish, but by three. Rabbit had never had a wish before, and he did not quite know what to with the three that he now had. So he decided that he would go and ask his friends for their advice. Off Rabbit went, running across the flower speckled meadow and then punting, atop a log, on a river.
The first friend Rabbit talked to was Mouse. His diminutive companion said that if he had a wish he would wish that he could fly so that he could see the world that “is so big.” Thinking about this wish, Rabbit set off again. His friend Fox said that he would wish that he could write stories that people would love, and books full of “knowledge and hope,” books that had the “power to inspire.” What a wonderful wish this was, but was it the right wish for Rabbit? Bear told Rabbit that he would wish for a boat so that he could explore. Bear had walked great distances and climbed great heights, but he had not been able to set off across the sea as yet, and this was something that he was eager to do.
Rabbit still does not know what he wanted to wish for, but he did know that he wanted the world to be a better place, and so he made three glorious wishes that gave his friends what they yearned for.
Rabbit’s wishes were beautiful and generous, but he had not wished for anything for himself, and he felt rather forlorn. What Rabbit did not know was that kindness begets kindness, and wishes have a habit of growing.
This sweet picture book beautifully shows how rewarding it is to think beyond oneself. Generosity and selflessness are gifts in their own right, but these qualities also have a tendency to reflect back on the giver.
Throughout this book the delightful and emotive rhyming text is paired with soft illustrations that are truly charming. It is hard not to fall in love with sweet, expressive Rabbit as he hops along on his journey.
Almost a Full Moon
Illustrator: Jensine Eckwall
Picture Book
For ages 5 and up
Tundra Books, 2016 ISBN: 978-1770498716
The moon is almost full, and outside a little house in the snowy woods a boy collects wood. Back at the house his grandmother stirs a huge round-bellied pot that is full of hot, savory soup. Her grandson adds some herbs to the steaming pot that contains “Pumpkin and parsnip, carrot and turkey bones. Bay leaf and pepper, potato and garlic cloves.” The gifts of the harvest create a meal that will perfect on this cold winter night.
Soon friends arrive at the little house, drawn there by an invitation to have some soup in the candlelit room. They come bearing gifts, smiles, and rosy cheeks. In addition to the expected guests are a few unexpected ones. A girl with flaming hair traveling on the back of a giant wolf arrives with her animal friends. There is always room for more and they join the party, for the boy and his grandmother have made enough soup to “feed everyone we know” and “everyone we don’t.” This is a place where “No one’s different…”
Based on the lyrics from Hawksley Workman’s song Almost a Full Moon, this picture book gives readers a picture of a cold, moonlit winter’s night. The white of the snow, leafless trees, and blue shadows are juxtaposed by the welcoming warmth of the little house where friends, both old and new, gather to sip soup, share news, and dance.
Unassuming and evocative illustrations provide a perfect backdrop for the text, giving readers of all ages a thoughtful and memorable story experience.