Douglas, You Need Glasses! by Ged Adamson; illustrated by the author; Schwartz & Wade Books/Random House, 2016. 32 pages; $16.99 (hardcover); reading level: ages 3-7. When Douglas the nearsighted dog mistakes leaves for squirrels, sits so close to the television that no one else can see, and fetches a beehive instead of a ball, his… [Read More]
Gator Dad by Brain Lies Reviewed by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
June 14, 2016 By
Gator Dad by Brain Lies; illustrated by the author. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016. 32 pages; $17.99 (hardcover); reading level: ages 3-7. This stay-at-home alligator dad takes care of his three offspring his way! Breakfast fish fly through the air, errands are run with the emphasis on “run,” and a neat house is definitely a low… [Read More]
ABC Dream by Kim Krans Reviewed by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
March 8, 2016 By
ABC Dream; by Kim Krans; Random House, 2016. 32 pages; $16.99 (hardcover); reading level: ages 2-5. The letters on the pages of this alphabet book are the main event: large and bold, some solid black and white, others plaid or quilted (you guessed it – P and Q!). It’s the surrounding illustrations, however, that are… [Read More]
Who Done It? by Olivier Tallec Reviewed by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
February 2, 2016 By
Who Done It? by Olivier Tallec; illustrated by the author; Chronicle Books, 2015. 32 pages; $15.99 (hardcover); reading level: ages 3-6. With a board-book style cover and thicker-than-usual pages that turn from bottom to top like a calendar, this picture book is sturdy, unique, and inspired. Each two-page spread sports two rows of animals and/or… [Read More]
Jump Back Paul; The Life and Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar by Sally Derby Reviewed by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
September 3, 2015 By
Jump Back, Paul; The Life and Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar by Sally Derby; illustrated by Sean Qualls; Candlewick Press, 2015. 128 pages; $16.99 (hardcover); reading level: grades 5-9. From the first sentence of this concise, lyrical biography a grandmotherly narrator takes the reader firmly by the hand: “You never heard of the poet Paul… [Read More]
Vegetables in Underwear by Jared Chapman Reviewed by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
July 13, 2015 By
Vegetables in Underwear by Jared Chapman; illustrated by the author; Abrams/Appleseed, 2015. 32 pages; $14.94 (hardcover); reading level: ages 4 and under. What item of clothing is more fascinating to a potty-training-aged fashionista than underwear? And what food is more on the minds of the fashionista’s care-givers than vegetables? Chapman gives a nod to both… [Read More]
If You Plant a Seed by Kadir Nelson Reviewed by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
June 16, 2015 By
If You Plant a Seed; words and paintings by Kadir Nelson; Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, 2015. 32 pages; $18.99 (hardcover); reading level: ages 3-8. Seeds – both real and metaphoric – are the subject of this stunning, oversized picture book. The biblical adage of reaping what you sow (carrots…selfishness…kindness) is conveyed in a restrained text that… [Read More]
Like a River; A Civil War Novel by Kathy Cannon Wiechman Reviewed by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
March 31, 2015 By
Like a River; A Civil War Novel by Kathy Cannon Wiechman; Calkins Creek, 2015. 336 pages; $17.95 (hardcover); reading level: ages 10 and up. The stage is deftly set in the first two pages of this remarkable novel: we are in Ohio, the Civil War is raging, and fifteen-year-old, Leander Jordan (“Jordan like the river”)… [Read More]
Bookends – Some Suggested Christmas Reading
December 1, 2014 By
I like “bookend” plots that start in one place and then circle back to the beginning of things. I like January and December because they bookend the year. And I like bookends – the real thing – because they’re useful when you have as many books as I do. Here are some books you might… [Read More]
The Big and the Small of it
November 24, 2014 By
Speaking is a part of the writing life. Initially I thought I would speak to larger and larger audiences as I became better and better known. Two events this past weekend show how wrong I was! On Friday, October 31, I joined forces with illustrator Will Hillenbrand and Richmond Symphony Orchestra flutist Evelien Woolard to… [Read More]