New Picture Books

Greetings! This is the last post for the year 2011. My next one will be in the year 2012. I have now completed three years of emails and blog posts now. I have a good time doing this and I know many of you have been helped because you write and tell me so. Thanks so much for the kind words. I enjoy helping where I can.
Today I will booktalk a few more books for you. These are mostly all new books and I hope you see something that catches your eye.

I just got this book called ‘Balloons Over Broadway’. It didn’t look like a book that I would normally be interested in, but then I saw the last line on the cover; the story of the puppeteer of Macy’s parade. I know I am not the only fan of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, and this book tells the story of how the whole thing began and how it has grown over the years.

The two books shown below are part of a set of books about a period in history. The cover looks a little bit like a newspaper and is titled “Actual Times” and the date of the paper is the date of the event. Don Brown writes the story and illustrates it so people will know what the event was like. These titles are ‘Gold! Gold from the American River!’ and ‘America is Under Attack’.

“I Will Come Back for You” is the story of a Jewish Italian family during World War ll. The father was taken and detained in a village in the mountains and the family went into hiding on a farm. The story actually happened to the author’s mother. The dust jacket reads, “Based on the experiences of the author’s own family, this deeply moving book deals with a difficult subject in a way that is accessible and appropriate for young readers.” The endpapers have photographs from the family album of the people in the story.



Steve Jenkins is one of my favorite nonfiction authors. His illustrations are torn and cut paper collage like his other books, but so well done that you have to look carefully to notice this. These two books are about the eating and sleeping habits of different creatures. If you already are a Steve Jenkins fan, you will enjoy these two books. If you aren’t a fan yet, just pick one up at a bookstore and leaf through it. I advise starting with “Actual Size”.

“Saving Audie” is the story of a young pit bull who was about to be raised to be part of a dog-fighting ring until the owner was caught. Audie was rescued by a kind couple and is now able to trust other humans and even help other dogs in different ways. The book also contains information about pit bulls and information about the other dogs from the dog-fighting kennel and how they are doing as well.

Claire Nivola has written a book about the Italian village Orani on the island of Sardinia where her father was born. She writes about the times her family would visit the relatives and explore the town and surrounding countryside. The author describes ordinary life in the village with her family and the other villagers. Note that the book contains a drawing of a dead man on a bed with mourners dressed in black surrounding him. The story does not dwell on this event, rather it includes it along with festivals, and weddings as part of the daily life in Orani.

If you have ever been to Niagara Falls, you may have seen the movie about the different people who have tried to go over the falls and you will also know that few have done this and lived through the experience. “Queen of the Falls” is about Annie Edson Taylor who accomplished this amazing feat. Chris Van Allsburg has written and illustrated Annie’s story and also included other information about the barrel riders who have been successful.

What do you do with a runt piglet that was too weak to push his siblings aside so he could eat? Why, bring him to the house and let the family pet dachshund nurse him, of course. Pink thrived with his doggie mother and eventually returned to the farm although he did take his dog bed with him. Students will love the photographs of Pink and his two families, pig and dog.



At first this book did not attract my attention, but during the Scholastic book fair last fall, I finally sat down and leafed through it. The book contains a number of stories of extraordinary animal friendships. Some are long-term friendships, and others are shorter, but it is very interesting to see some of the animal combinations that make some unlikely friendships. The photographs are stunning. This is a good book for all ages. Nonreaders can study the pictures and more advanced readers can read the text as well as enjoy the pictures.




I hope you find something that is of interest in this group of books. I also hope you have a restful Christmas vacation. I’ll see you back here in January 2012.
Christmas Blessings,
Audrey