Lighthouse Reviews

  The Day the Crayons Quit Genre:     The Day the Crayons Quit picture book won the Texas Bluebonnet Award in 2015. Target Age Group:     The target age group is 3-7 years. Summary:     The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt is an epistolary picture book filled with humor and is a very imaginative tale on what it is like to be a crayon. One day, a young boy named Duncan, opens his box of crayons while at school to discover his crayons have written letters to him. The crayons are concerned about Duncan's use or lack of use of their particular color. Justification:     The title, The Day the Crayons Quit compelled me to think when I first read it, why would crayons be quitting? How would they do this and what caused them to feel this way? This picture book led me on a very comical and creative journey into the trials and tribulations of a box of crayons. Evaluation:      For this review, I will be evaluating the plot, paci...

  Listen: How Evelyn Glennie, A Deaf Girl, Changed Percussion Genre:     Listen: How Evelyn Glennie, A Deaf Girl, Changed Percussion (2022) is a picture book of how Evelyn Glennie prevailed over her disability. Target Age Group:     The target age group is preschool to 3rd grade. Summary:     Listen: How Evelyn Glennie, A Deaf Girl, Changed Percussion by Shannon Stocker is the moving and uplifting story about a young girl's perseverance to not only overcome the onset of deafness at age 10, but have her disability positively function for her and not deter her in any way. Evelyn Glennie was determined to play the snare drum by using her whole body through sound vibrations. The young reader will be filled with wonder and admiration at how Evelyn, with the loving support of her parents, fought and won to play a percussive instrument on her own terms. Justification:     I discovered this picture book on the Social Justice Books website. The words...

  Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpre Genre:     Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpre  is a biographical picture book from 2019. Target Age Group:     The target age group is 4-8 years. Summary:     The picture book Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpre is the intriguing and inspiring story of the first Puerto Rican librarian in New York City. Pura travels alone from Puerto Rico in search of a dream and a promise of a better life. Once she is in New York, she finds a job as a library assistant and discovers a need for new cuentos (stories) that will offer a more diverse assortment of children's books and decides to "plant her seeds throughout the land." Justification:     I had never heard of Pura Belpre before and I became fascinated with her story when I found out she was the first Latina to work as a librarian for the New York Public Library. ...

  Book Blog #1     I have already reviewed the children's books, Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall and Pizza! A Slice of History by Greg Pizzoli. The next three children's books I will be adding to my book blog are Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpre by Anika Aldamuy Denise, Listen: How Evelyn Glennie, a Deaf Girl, Changed Percussion by Shannon Stocker, and The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt.

Pizza!  A Slice of History Genre:      The picture book Pizza!   A Slice of History by Greg Pizzoli is on the Texas 2x2 reading list for 2023. This list of 20 books is selected by the Texas Library Association. Target Age Group:     The target age group is from age 2 to grade 2. Summary:     Pizza! A Slice of History is a clever and humorous picture book about the history and love of pizza. The young reader is led on this global journey by a New York City rat with an animated disposition. This informational book is a delightful, colorful romp and one cannot wait to see what happens on the next page in this very entertaining book. Justification:      I felt a personal connection to this book because my husband's family has owned an Italian pizzeria for almost 70 years. It is well known in my area for its pizza. The title seemed to leap off the page when I was perusing the list of the Texas 2x2 children's books.  Evaluation...

  Hello Lighthouse Genre:     The Hello Lighthouse  picture book is a Caldecott Medal Award book which won the prize in 2019. Target Age Group:     The target age group is 2-6 years. Summary:     The picture book Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall is a poignant and emotional story about a lighthouse keeper's life and duties. It seems, at first, the life he leads is filled with solitude but soon a wife and child join him "on the highest rock of a tiny island." The skill and necessity of a lighthouse keeper is highlighted by the care given to some shipwrecked sailors and the light that guides ships away from potentially dangerous waters. Justification:      It was not a difficult choice when I came upon this title that was on the list of winners for the Caldecott Awards. My last name and my life-long fascination with lighthouses enticed me to this book immediately. The endpapers (inside the front and back covers) were also tantalizin...