We are the Ship

We are the Ship: The story of Negro League Baseball words and paintings by Kadir Nelson

This stunning book combines sports, history and biography with detailed paintings that capture the viewer. The oversize paintings show details and emotions while sharing the key people and places of this league. The text is friendly to young people as it easily adds important information from the time period and the ugliness of racism in our country while still providing important details. Nelson does a fabulous job of pulling you into the greatness of this league and the many innovations that the players and managers promoted. The resources are cited with endnotes, bibliography, index and and author's note about the process.

Blue Lipstick : Concrete poems

Blue Lipstick: Concrete poems by John Grandits has an eye catching cover that shows off the style of concrete poems. Students in our literature classes often need to find great examples of different poetry styles and this one is fun for middle school and high school.

We also have a copy of Conversations with a poet -- the book Dr. Bradley edited and uses in her EDUC 401 class.

I Feel a Foot by Maranke Rinck & Martijn van der Linden is a retelling of the Blind Men and the Elephant with pizazz and vibrant colors. The black backdrop highlights the colorful creatures of turtle, bay, octopus, bird and goat as they find the "super big" version of themselves as they follow the rustling sound.

The angles and the colorful textrue of the animals is sure to produce wonder with lap tellings.

Breaking Dawn

Stephenie Meyer has written the fourth book in the Twilight series. She maintains the drama between the vampires and werewolves of Forks,WA. her characters remain entwined in their need to be with each other. Several of the problems are solved with extraordinary methods but Belle remains a character.
This book attracts older readers since Belle and Edward have graduated from high school. Still fun!

Roots & Wings

Roots & Wings by Many Ly features a young teen confronting her Cambodian past. Her mother has always remained quiet about the family's time in a community in Florida but when Grace's grandmother , Noree dies, her Mom decides to give her a full Cambodian funeral in Florida. The surprises don't stop for Grace as she begins to understand her mother, her past and the changes that are happening with her mother.

17 things I am not allowed to do anymore

17 Things I'm not allowed to do anymore by Jenny Offil & Nancy Carpenter features an adorable troublemaker and thinker who is always caught at her best. But the prohibitions does not stop her style as each idea is more outrageous and funny. It will make you laugh !

Barefoot: Poems for naked feet

Barefoot by Stefi Weisburd adds a joy to summertime with short poems about feet. From the tiny feet peeking out a baby picture to rubbing Mom's tired toes, this collection makes you feel like your feet are wonderful. The illustrations show single shoes lined up like sagging townhouses and frothy bubbles in a tub with toes peeking out.

Diamond Willow

Helen Frost continues her exploration of story and poems in this tale from Alaska. Diamond Willow, better know as Willow, is adventurous and good with her father's sled dogs. The shape of the poems is a diamond with a bold short text similar to the real Diamond Willow's found in nature that is a broken or hurt willow branch that forms the diamond shape on the bark. Willow in immersed in her family and yet she discovers they have secrets too.

The story has adventure, friendship and the poems make it fascinating to follow in the storyline and poetry.