My Heart is like a Zoo

Hall, Michael. 2010. My heart is like a zoo. New York: Harper Collins.

With digitally created art that explodes in a riot of simple color combinations, this book is sure to grab the attention of young children. Each zoo animal is depicted in only a few colors against a brightly contrasting background with sparse white text.  Hearts are used extensively in each illustration.

Rhyming similes describing how "my heart is like a zoo," are both simple and inventive,

Frightened as a rabbit, jumpy as a frog, gloomy as a lone coyote walking in the fog.

Straightforward and satisfying. This is the author's first book for children.

Gracias Thanks

Mora, Pat. 2009. Gracias / Thanks (English and Spanish Edition). New York: Lee & Low.


A small boy is thankful for the many small things that we often take for granted,

For the ladybug that landed on my finger, a little red flying surprise, thanks. ... For my little brother, who threw mashed peas at my sister and made me laugh so hard I fell off my chair, thanks.

Each sentence is presented on a double-spread page, with Spanish appearing on one page and English on the next. The illustrations are done in a warm and weathered style, reminiscent of a well-worn, favorite desk or chair. The narrator is of Hispanic descent, his mother appears to be white, friends and schoolchildren are of varying races. All are portrayed with slightly oversized heads, highlighting soft and friendly features. Hispanic influence is prominent throughout the book - Spanish language books on the shelves, a brightly colored tile floor, palm trees, a red-tiled roof. His American side is apparent in the US dollar received from Abuelita, his baseball gear and posters, his English language homework, and sadly (humorously?) the garden gnome in the yard.

A cheery and light-hearted book of gratitude. Perfect for storytime and as a gentle reminder that we all have much to be thankful for; sometimes the little things are the most precious.

The Book That Eats People

Perry, John. 2009. The Book That Eats People. Berkeley, CA: Tricycle Press.

Who can resist a book that eats people? If the yellow caution tape on the cover does not scare the reader, the book that eats people surely will! Just think of the fate of poor Victoria Glassford. After disguising itself in a cheery "Dolphins" book jacket, the "book that eats people" attracted Victoria's attention; she checked it out of the library and took it home one evening.

She put the book on her nightstand, but before she could finish brushing her teeth, it jumped up, thumped her on the head, and gobbled her down, beginning with her polished pink toenails.
Have you ever heard a book burp?

Beware - this book is ALWAYS hungry.

Great fun with hilariously gruesome illustrations.
(Not for the youngest listener - this book DOES eat people.)

I'm taking this one on school visits!

Years of Dust

Marrin, Albert. 2009. Years of Dust: The Story of the Dust Bowl. New York: Dutton.

On May 9, 1934, winds kicked up a dust storm that scientists estimate carried away 350 million tons of topsoil.  Although it began in the plains of Montana and Wyoming, in the next two days,

 "Some 12 million tons of dust enveloped Chicago in a gritty haze - four pounds for every man, woman, and child in the Windy City.  On May 12, the New York Times reported, 'a cloud of dust thousands of feet high...filtered the rays of the sun for five hours yesterday. New York was obscured in a half-light similar to the light cast by the sun in a partial eclipse.' Three hundred miles out at sea, sailors wrote their names in the dust that settled on ships' decks."

But this was not the biggest storm, nor the only storm.  The Dust Bowl years lasted a decade and spanned the plains in a wide swath from Montana and North Dakota to Texas.

Albert Marrin tells the story from a wide range of viewpoints -  geological, historical, economical, political, artistic, environmental, social, literary and individual.  The era that was the Dust Bowl touched every aspect of our civilization and every component of our natural habitat.  Marrin employs the voices of newspapers, individuals, poets, and writers of the time, including the great John Steinbeck to convey the harsh realities of the day.  He uses images of newspapers, handbills, and period artwork as well as photographs, including those of the famous Dorothea Lange.

Words to Know, Notes, Books for Kids, Bibliography and Index complete this intense and exhaustive study of one our country's worst social and environmental catastrophes.

Years of Dust: The Story of the Dust Bowl is a cautionary tale of the consequences of our own actions.  A powerful book.

Click for links to all of today's Non-Fiction Monday reviews.

Newbery and Caldecott Winners announced

A quick run-down of the major 2010 ALSC Award Winners  announced today:

Newbery Medal

When You Reach Me, written by Rebecca Stead, published by Wendy Lamb Books, an imprint of Random House Children's Books
Newbery Honor Books


Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice, written by Phillip Hoose, published by Melanie Kroupa Books/Farrar Straus Giroux, an imprint of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, written by Jacqueline Kelly, published by Henry Holt and Company

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, written by Grace Lin, published by Little Brown and Company Books for Young Readers

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg, written by Rodman Philbrick, published by The Blue Sky Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.


Caldecott Medal
The Lion and the Mouse , illustrated and written by Jerry Pinkney, published by Little, Brown and Company Books for Young Readers

Sibert Medal

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream, written by Tanya Lee Stone, published by Candlewick Press

Belpre (Author) Award
Return to Sender, written by Julie Alvarez, published by Alfred A. Knopf

Of course there are many other winners and honor books, but I wanted to pass the word quickly.

A comlete list of all awards and honors is available on the Association of Library Service to Children (ALSC) website.