Was it the great Shakes who said: A nose by any other name would smell as accurately? Yes, I think he was the one. And I think he was talking about the young James Kelly in search of a career, of something that would make him special. His future was out there. He could almost … Continue reading “Smelly” Kelly and His Super Senses – Perfect Picture Book Friday
Amy Novesky has no interest in writing a standard biography. I'm thinking specifically of her books, Cloth Lullaby: the Woven Life of Louise Bourgeois; Mi, Frida; and Imogen: The Mother of Modernism and Three Boys. I imagine her focusing a wide angle lens on her subject, then combing through every wavelength of light until it … Continue reading Girl on a Motorcycle – Perfect Picture Book Friday #PPBF
To Emma Lilian Todd, problems were likegusts of wind: they set her mind soaring. This lyrical sentence introduces us to a girl aswirl with ideas, curiosity, and a tinkering spirit. Just HOW do things work? Lilian figures things out. But what can a girl in the late 1800s do, if the world isn't quite ready … Continue reading Wood, Wire, Wings: Emma Lilian Todd Invents an Airplane
Going back 15 years, today, because I just read a beautiful autobiographical story told by an amazing writer you may have heard of: Jacqueline Woodson. And yes, it won a Newbery Honor. The cover's die cut diamond with patchwork border, reveals a child with a lantern. And that lantern illuminates a quilt, a "show way" … Continue reading Show Way – Perfect Picture Book Friday #PPBF
When you can't sleep at night, do you lie awake in the dark, wondering what kind of equation would describe the rotation of a wobbling top? If your answer is yes, you're in good company. Meet Sophie Kowalevski, a Russian mathematician born in 1850, who spent years pondering this question. But because she was a … Continue reading Numbers in Motion: Sophie Kowalevski, Queen of Mathematics #PPBF
Thinking quite a bit about the late 60s right now. So I'm pulling a book from my collection to feature this week, The story opens with an invitation: You are here. Let the map lead the way. Let the dove fly ahead. On the path. To the dream. To the words. And the songs. … Continue reading Martin & Mahalia – Perfect Picture Book Friday #PPBF
What better book to feature for National Poetry Month and Perfect Picture Book Friday than this story about the first Black person to win a Pulitzer Prize for her poetry. An achievement made even more phenomenal given the year she won—1950. The thread that winds its way through this book is one of a flower … Continue reading A Song for Gwendolyn Brooks – #PPBF
Some picture book biographies are meant to be read by older elementary school kids. For example: a story about the events that turned August Wilson into a poet and playwright who goes on to win two Pulitzer prizes. Bryant's language is suitably lyrical for the subject. They call it "Little Harlem"—the city within a city. … Continue reading Feed Your Mind – Perfect Picture Book Friday #PPBF
In the spirit of multicultural children's book day AND Perfect Picture Book Friday, I decided to feature a book I love about a courageous woman, Ghengis Khan (aka Maria Toorpakai Wazir). What does Maria, a girl being raised in a rural area of Pakistan, do when she doesn't want to conform to Pashtun tribal culture … Continue reading A Girl Called Genghis Khan – Perfect Picture Book Friday #PPBF – Multicultural Children’s Book Day
For centuries, men have come up with reasons why women can't do things, whether its wear pants, wield a welding torch, fly airplanes, explore space, vote...... And in all of those cases, their arguments bordered on the ridiculous (well, if I remove the sugar coating, they actually were ridiculous). Case in point, my featured informational … Continue reading Born to Ride – Perfect Picture Book Friday #PPBF
Jilanne Hoffmann 