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Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse – Kevin Henkes

Lilly is a cute little white mouse who loves school. She loves the sharpened pencils (she’s a mouse after my own heart) and she loves the chalk (okay, not so much) and her desk and her lunch and her teacher, Mr. Slinger. He was so wonderful. He wore a different colored tie every day of the week. He was friendly, he let them rearrange their desks, and he brought snacks. Being a teacher would be really cool, Lilly thought. She decided to play teacher when she got home, using her baby brother Julius as her student. She told her parents … Continue reading →

Owen – Kevin Henkes

Ah, the special attachment to a childhood blanket. In the Caldecott Honor winning book Owen, by Kevin Henkes, Owen is a young mouse that has had a fuzzy yellow blanket ever since he was a baby. “Fuzzy” goes wherever Owen goes, upstairs, downstairs, inside and out. Since Fuzzy likes whatever Owen likes, Fuzzy also has stains like juice, chocolate milk, and applesauce cake. Everything is fine for Owen and Fuzzy until their next door neighbor, Mrs. Tweezers, tells Owen’s parents that Owen is too old to be carrying around that blanket. That night Owen’s parents tell him that he puts … Continue reading →

Melissa Parkington’s Beautiful, Beautiful Hair – Pat Brisson

“Melissa Parkington’s Beautiful, Beautiful Hair” is a children’s picture book that goes beyond just a cute story. This one made me sniffle. Melissa has long, dark, shiny hair, and everywhere she goes, people compliment her on it. “Stunning!” they tell her. “Your hair is incredible!” Every night, when her dad tucked her into bed, he said, “Good night, Melissa of the Beautiful, Beautiful Hair.” She liked the praise, but after a while, she began to wish that people would notice her for something that she did, rather than something that grew out of her head. She made a list of … Continue reading →

Mr. Katapat’s Incredible Adventures – Barroux

Mr. Katapat might not look like anything special, but in reality, he is a great adventurer. Each day as he heads down to the library, he prepares himself to set forth on another quest. You wouldn’t think such great things could start at the library, but they do. You see, each and every book is a passport to adventure, and all he has to do is make a decision – which book will he choose today? There’s so much to choose from! He could be deep in the jungle, looking for a pygmy temple while staying out of the reaches … Continue reading →

Stone Soup – Marcia Brown

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Marcia Brown won a Caldecott Medal in 1947 for her version of an old French folktale, Stone Soup. This is a great story of ingenuity and cooperation. In the story, three soldiers are returning home from the wars. They are tired and haven’t had any food for two days. They come upon a village and ask for food. But the peasants have seen them coming and have hidden everything. The peasants try to look hungry and offer up good reasons for not having any food, sick fathers, poor harvests, and grain that must be kept for seed. The soldiers announce … Continue reading →

“More More More”, Said the Baby – Vera B. Williams

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“More More More”, Said the Baby: Three Love Stories is a great book for the littlest book lover. This Caldecott Honor book by Vera B. Williams captures those special, silly, tender moments between toddlers and the people that love them. My own boys loved this book when they were little. It’s silly. It’s about those moments when a toddler runs away and you catch them and kiss their sweet little bellies and toes. Re-reading it now for this review, the book struck me as kind of intimate. My boys are way past the stage of toe kisses and no longer … Continue reading →

Mystery at the Club Sandwich – Doug Cushman

I love corny jokes—well, most corny jokes, that is. “Mystery at the Club Sandwich” is just full of ‘em, and puns and all sorts of things that will probably make the parents laugh more than the children, but that’s okay. Our main character is hardened detective Nick Trunk, who is an elephant. He’s a private investigator who doesn’t charge much—he works for peanuts. One day, a lady who looked like trouble walked into his office and introduced herself as Maggie Trouble. She came on behalf of a lady named Lola who lost her marbles. She wants Nick to come investigate … Continue reading →

Media Week in Review – April 7th – 12th

Welcome to our week in review for Media! We had a fun week – let’s see what we were up to. We started with a joyful children’s book, “And Here’s to You” by David Elliot. This book looks at the good in different types of animals and people, and celebrates it all. Then Lauri told us about one of her favorite television shows, “Mission Organization.” If you need ideas for how to organize, this show is the one for you. Did you know that “What Not to Wear” has a video podcast? Well, it does, and you can read all … Continue reading →

Winners of the Caldecott Medal: 1993-1997

Come read the books deemed worthy of the Caldecott Medal! I am giving a brief synopsis of each book along with a comment about the artwork here and there. I am also including lists of the Honor winners for each year. I hope you enjoy my series. Comments are welcomed!! 1993 “Mirette on the High Wire” by Emily Arnold McCully There was a widow named Madame Gateau who ran a boardinghouse. She and her daughter Mirette always made sure that their guests were comfortable. But one day a stranger appears and Mirette becomes fascinated with his unusual talent. Will Mirette … Continue reading →