
Picture book reviews
Picture books that have a major character with a disability are hard to find. So are picture books that include people celebrating Easter. These are the books I’m most likely to review. For a quick look at titles, topics, and lists, check the index.
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The Dancers: A book about dancing with your heart
I love the opening line of The Dancers: “Three summers ago, when I was still a little kid, my mother and auntie took me to a powwow where we danced and danced.” Of course, the narrator is still a little kid. You know that. I know that. But she doesn’t know it. And her...
Miss Rumphius: Making the world more beautiful
I didn’t read Miss Rumphius when I was young, of course. It came out in 1982, when I was already an adult, but didn’t yet have children. And so the book escaped my notice for many years. And when I first read it, standing in a bookstore, I thought it was sweet and...
Jump-O-Ween: A Halloween party with a sensory kid
Li-Li, the sensory kid who stars in Miracle at Bates Memorial, is back! In Jump-O-Ween, the third book in Gin Noon Spaulding’s “Adventure of Li-Li” series, it’s Halloween. Li-Li’s church has borrowed the neighborhood school for their annual Hallelujah Party. It’s full...
All the Way to the Top: A story of the Capitol Crawl
I have two things to say about All the Way to the Top. First, this book is important, and every child should have a chance to read it. If you have a picture book shelf, this book should have a place on it. There really isn’t another book like it. Second, All the Way...