Sweethearts of Rhythm: The Story of the Greatest All-Girl Swing Band in the World
by Marilyn Nelson
​Illustrations by Jerry Pinkney

Nelson and Pinkney pay tribute to this extraordinary group of musicians--racially integrated, beautiful young women traveling the country in the 1940s with their swing band. Nelson’s poems are voices of the instruments, the words reflecting rhythms of the music and conditions of the time--the war, traveling in a bus, jitterbug, Jim Crow laws, the blues. Pinkney captures the intensity of the music and the players’ lives, combining watercolor with collage in colors like turquoise, scarlet, and bright gold. Subdued browns evoke soldiers’ uniforms, earth of a victory garden, the depressing brown of a hall with separate drinking fountains for white and “colored.” Warm, vibrant browns light up faces of the musicians and audiences. Hum “I’m in the Mood for Swing,” while watching saxophonist Willie Mae Wong sitting on her suitcase by the bus, her foot just out of its red high-heeled pump. It’s the history of an era for all music-lovers, especially devotees of jazz!
2009, All Ages

Check it out from your library using the library catalog. Donate to an improved Sebastopol Regional Library here.

Recommended by: Barbara Talcroft
Barbara Talcroft reviews children’s books professionally for childrenslit.com and for Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database.  She has a Master’s degree in International Children’s Literature.  She also has many years’ experience as a teacher.  Barbara is one of the founders of LANTERN and its past chairperson.

Little Melba and Her Big Trombone
Katheryn Russell-Brown
Illustrations by Frank Morrison

It’s Women’s History Month, so meet Melba Liston, who fell in love with a trombone when she was seven (1933). Self-taught, she learned to play the long shiny instrument and never looked back. From child prodigy playing a radio solo, Melba went on to a professional career in jazz, appearing with Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, and Quincy Jones. As a woman in a man’s musical world, she endured slights from jealous male players; in the South, she became discouraged by discrimination and Jim Crow laws. Melba didn’t quit, though, becoming an outstanding composer and arranger, traveling around the world with her band and “making her trombone sing.” Morrison’s horizontal spreads emphasize the trombone’s length, while rich browns, oranges, and reds, along with curving and diagonal lines evoke the vivid jazz sounds. A final, impressionistic painting fills the stage with light as a misty Melba leans back to play her long trombone. Enjoy the jazz!
2014, Ages 5 to 9

Check it out from your library using the library catalog. Donate to an improved Sebastopol Regional Library here.

Recommended by: Barbara Talcroft
Barbara Talcroft reviews children’s books professionally for childrenslit.com and for Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database.  She has a Master’s degree in International Children’s Literature.  She also has many years’ experience as a teacher.  Barbara is one of the founders of LANTERN and its past chairperson.

Little Elliot, BIG CITY
Story and Pictures by Mike Curato

Elliot is different, too--a tiny white elephant with pink and blue polka dots, living alone in a New York apartment. He has to jump into the sink to wash his dishes and be very careful he doesn’t get stepped on in the busy streets. He badly wants a cupcake from the Speranza Bakery (Est. 1905), but he’s much too short to be noticed. When he walks sadly through Central Park and meets someone in distress who’s “even littler than himself,” Elliot offers to help--leading to a delightful story and a delicious cupcake. Curato’s cool 1940s illustrations include a towering Flatiron Building, a sign advertising Pie A La Mode for 10 cents, and a crowded subway stop where everyone wears a hat. Peek through Elliot’s window later that night with the lighted Manhattan Bridge and looming skyscrapers for background. What could be better than a pink-iced cupcake?  “A friend to share it with!”
2014, Ages 4 to 8

Check it out from your library using the library catalog. Donate to an improved Sebastopol Regional Library here.

Recommended by: Barbara Talcroft
Barbara Talcroft reviews children’s books professionally for childrenslit.com and for Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database.  She has a Master’s degree in International Children’s Literature.  She also has many years’ experience as a teacher.  Barbara is one of the founders of LANTERN and its past chairperson.

Be a Friend
Story and Pictures by Salina Yoon

​In February, we think of love and friendship. Silent Dennis is extraordinary--with a closetful of black-and-white striped shirts, white gloves, and black top hats, all inspired by mime Marcel Marceau. Dennis wears a red heart pinned on his shirt and expresses himself only through mime--he can act out anything. But Dennis is lonely; he feels invisible. One day, however, when he kicks an imaginary ball, someone catches it! Her name is Joy and she’s been quietly watching him. Readers will share their happiness as he and Joy play, laugh together with jazz hands, and finally turn an invisible rope for the other children to jump. Yoon’s lovely inventive story will appeal to many young readers, but especially to those who feel themselves different. When they see Dennis’s red heart pinned on Joy’s white and grey polka-dot dress, they’ll want to join the celebration, while adults can admire Yoon’s elegant use of black, white, and red.
2016, Ages 3 to 7

Check it out from your library using the library catalog. Donate to an improved Sebastopol Regional Library here.

Recommended by: Barbara Talcroft
Barbara Talcroft reviews children’s books professionally for childrenslit.com and for Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database.  She has a Master’s degree in International Children’s Literature.  She also has many years’ experience as a teacher.  Barbara is one of the founders of LANTERN and its past chairperson.

​Cleonardo: The Little Inventor
Mary Grandpre
 
Cleonardo is a bright little Renaissance girl, full of ideas and devoted to her inventor father, Geonardo. She’s bursting to try her own inventions, but Geonardo’s too busy in his cluttered studio to listen: he’s constructing a heavy metal bird that will actually fly. Cleonardo, deciding to enter the town’s Festival of Inventions, makes a tiny, delicate whirligig, but she dreams of creating something BIG. From branches, she weaves a huge moon, propelled by blue butterflies, wraps it up, and paddles to town. How her two natural creations save the day when Geonardo’s bird goes crazy makes for a dramatic climax, bringing father and daughter together as collaborators. Grandpre’s detailed acrylic and rice-paper collages are Renaissance grand, with people and settings large and dark (as in the chunky metal wheels and gears in Geonardo’s workshop). Still, Cleo’s luminous face shines through with a freshness that enhances the pleasure of seeing an imaginative girl as triumphant inventor.

2016, Ages 4 to 8

Check it out from your library using the library catalog. Donate to an improved Sebastopol Regional Library here.

Recommended by: Barbara Talcroft
Barbara Talcroft reviews children’s books professionally for childrenslit.com and for Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database.  She has a Master’s degree in International Children’s Literature.  She also has many years’ experience as a teacher.  Barbara is one of the founders of LANTERN and its past chairperson.

​The Branch
Mireille Messier
Illustrations by Pierre Pratt
 
It’s a new year--time for new ideas! Follow a round-faced little narrator who treasures a certain tree branch, felled overnight by a fierce ice storm. It’s been her castle, her ship--her special place. She watches people gathering up broken branches and hears a loud buzz saw. Can she keep her branch? A neighbor encourages the girl to imagine its “potential.” Then she and Mr. Frank work together to make her idea a reality, using his tools and expertise. Author and artist take time and space to show each step from planning and measuring to drilling holes and final varnishing. When spring comes, readers find the girl happily trying out her new swing. Pratt paints with strong, free strokes and diagonal swoops of blues and violets to emphasize the storm’s drama. Mr. Frank’s intriguing workshop glows with warm colors to match his red plaid shirt. Kids will discover that patience and satisfying work can make a dream come true.

2016, Ages 5 to 9

Check it out from your library using the library catalog. Donate to an improved Sebastopol Regional Library here.

Recommended by: Barbara Talcroft
Barbara Talcroft reviews children’s books professionally for childrenslit.com and for Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database.  She has a Master’s degree in International Children’s Literature.  She also has many years’ experience as a teacher.  Barbara is one of the founders of LANTERN and its past chairperson.

Maps
Aleksandra Mizielinska and Daniel Mizielinski
​Translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones
 
Here’s a spectacular atlas from Poland for middle-schoolers who want to explore their world. Each continent (including icy Antarctica) begins with a colorful two-page spread, followed by separate displays of its most important countries. That ends the comparison with any atlas you’ve seen before! Each huge spread covers not only the usual cities, rivers, and mountains, but offers spaces teeming with delightful drawings of animals and birds, people and products, trees and landmarks. Oceans contain intriguing islands and sea creatures. Take Peru, for example: kids can observe a great white shark and a Humboldt penguin in the waves, fly with a harpy eagle or a Peruvian booby, explore an equatorial rainforest (or Incan Machu Picchu). They can taste ceviche and shrimp soup, while listening to a player of the stringed charango. And that’s just a sample. Three final pages illustrate flags of the world. What a gift for a young explorer to treasure and keep forever!

2013, Ages 8 to 12

Check it out from your library using the library catalog. Donate to an improved Sebastopol Regional Library here.

Recommended by: Barbara Talcroft
Barbara Talcroft reviews children’s books professionally for childrenslit.com and for Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database.  She has a Master’s degree in International Children’s Literature.  She also has many years’ experience as a teacher.  Barbara is one of the founders of LANTERN and its past chairperson.

Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear
Lindsay Mattick
​Illustrations by Sophie Blackall
 
Shopping for a holiday gift book? Meet the bear cub that lent her name to Winnie-the-Pooh! This family story is told by the great-granddaughter of Harry Colebourn, a young Canadian veterinarian who, in 1914, signed up to go to war with his Winnipeg regiment. At a break in the long train-ride east, Harry spots a trapper with a tiny bear cub and buys her for 20 dollars. Named Winnipeg for their hometown, Winnie becomes the soldiers’ beloved mascot and accompanies them to England on a troopship. When it’s time to leave for France, Harry must deposit Winnie at the London Zoo. There, years later, Christopher Milne meets the gentle bear. He’s allowed to play with her--his father, A.A. Milne, adopts Winnie’s name for his Pooh books. Blackall’s charming Caldecott-winning illustrations, inspired by E.H. Shepard’s originals, make Winnie irresistible--a six-page album offering photographs of Winnie, Harry, and the soldiers is a lovely bonus.

​2015, Ages 4 to 8

Check it out from your library using the library catalog. Donate to an improved Sebastopol Regional Library here.

Recommended by: Barbara Talcroft
Barbara Talcroft reviews children’s books professionally for childrenslit.com and for Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database.  She has a Master’s degree in International Children’s Literature.  She also has many years’ experience as a teacher.  Barbara is one of the founders of LANTERN and its past chairperson.

So You Want to Be President?
Judith St. George
Illustrations by David Small
 
With the election over, kids (and adults) may want to consider some Presidents from the past. St. George covers executives from Washington to George W. Bush, dividing them into unexpected groups based on questions readers might ask. What’s good about being President? For one thing, you don’t have to eat yucky broccoli. What’s bad? People get mad at the President (someone threw a cabbage at Taft) and the President always has to be dressed up--McKinley wore a frock coat, carnation, and top hat. What’s the most popular first name? It’s James! Highest number of siblings? Benjamin Harrison had eleven. Presidents come in all sizes, with varying abilities and surprising pets. Small’s wicked caricatures (winning him a Caldecott Medal) let readers imagine intellectual Woodrow Wilson dancing a tango, while Warren Harding puffs away on a Sousaphone and FDR converses genially with John Adams. A fascinating book including statistics for each President and some thoughtful comments!

​2004, All Ages


Check it out from your library using the library catalog. Donate to an improved Sebastopol Regional Library here.

Recommended by: Barbara Talcroft
Barbara Talcroft reviews children’s books professionally for childrenslit.com and for Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database.  She has a Master’s degree in International Children’s Literature.  She also has many years’ experience as a teacher.  Barbara is one of the founders of LANTERN and its past chairperson.

If I Ran for President
Catherine Stier
Illustrations by Lynne Avril
 
November means elections, but kids may wonder--just how do you get to the White House? Follow along as multicultural classmates take turns imagining each step of a presidential campaign. Ben (who resembles a young Obama) announces his candidacy and loves his workers, T-shirts, and bumper stickers. Ellie enters the New Hampshire primary and speaks at her convention, while Sam debates issues on television (his baby picture makes Cool People magazine). Serious Claire flies to meet voters, but finds it’s hard to smile when she’s stuffed with unfamiliar food; Marco votes for his favorite candidate (himself) and watches election returns with his parents. Proud to have run, African-American Ashley plans to congratulate the winner, but when electoral votes are counted, might she be the new President? Avril’s stylish illustrations, using lots of red, white, and blue, highlight the intense activity and add lively details. For future voters trying to understand campaigning, this book’s a winner, too!

2007, Ages 6 to 9

Check it out from your library using the library catalog. Donate to an improved Sebastopol Regional Library here.

Recommended by: Barbara Talcroft
Barbara Talcroft reviews children’s books professionally for childrenslit.com and for Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database.  She has a Master’s degree in International Children’s Literature.  She also has many years’ experience as a teacher.  Barbara is one of the founders of LANTERN and its past chairperson.