Anastasia Suen

March 11, 2019March 7, 2019

Out of This World

Out of This World: The Surreal Art of Leonora Carrington
by Michelle Markel (Author) and Amanda Hall (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Ever since she was a little girl, Leonora Carrington loved to draw on walls, in books, on paper–and she loved the fantastic tales her grandmother told that took her to worlds that shimmered beyond this one, where legends became real.

Leonora’s parents wanted her to become a proper English lady, but there was only one thing she wanted, even if it was unsuitable: to be an artist. In London, she discovered a group of artists called surrealists, who were stunning the world with their mysterious creations. This was the kind of art she had to make. This was the kind of person she had to be.

Snippet: But nothing kept Lenora from painting–not struggling to earn money, not tending to her husband and her children.

She painted with a baby in one hand, a paintbrush in the other. She was like a wizard, stirring egg into her tempera paints, mixing cinnabar, vermilion, and golden umber.

Nonfiction Monday

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March 4, 2019March 3, 2019

Away with Words

Away with Words: The Daring Story Of Isabella Bird
by Lori Mortensen (Author) and Kristy Caldwell (Illustrator)

Booktalk: This picture book biography about the first female member of the Royal Geographical Society takes readers around the world with a daring 19th century female explorer and author. Exploring was easier said than done in Victorian England. But Isabella persisted, and with each journey, she breathed in new ways to see and describe everything around her. Question by question, word by word, Isabella bloomed. First, out in the English countryside. Then, off to America and Canada, and eventually around the world to Africa, Asia, Australia, and more.

Snippet: Out in the wild, Isabella forgot about her aches and pains. She breathed in new ways to see and describe everything around her.

Question by question, word by word, Isabella bloomed.

BONUS! Download the Teacher’s Guide

Nonfiction Monday

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February 25, 2019February 24, 2019

History’s Mysteries: Freaky Phenomena

History’s Mysteries: Freaky Phenomena: Curious Clues, Cold Cases, and Puzzles From the Past
by Kitson Jazynka (Author)

Booktalk: Is there any truth to the legend of Bigfoot? Why have planes and ships suddenly disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle? Is there really a lost city of gold in the jungle of Central America? Discover even more of history’s most fascinating head-scratching conundrums, including the curse of the Hope Diamond, King Tut’s tomb, black holes, the puzzling disappearance of ancient civilizations, long-lost treasure, and the cryptic creatures of myth and legend.

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Nonfiction Monday

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February 25, 2019February 24, 2019

Alien Abductions

Alien Abductions
by Ken Karst (Author)

Booktalk: An investigative approach to the curious phenomena and mysterious circumstances surrounding alien abductions, from abductees’ hypnotic recollections to conspiracy theories to hard facts.

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Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

February 18, 2019February 17, 2019

Let ‘er Buck!

Let ‘er Buck!: George Fletcher, the People’s Champion
by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson (Author) and Gordon C. James (Illustrator)

Booktalk: In 1911, three men were in the final round of the famed Pendleton Round-Up. One was white, one was Indian, and one was black. When the judges declared the white man the winner, the audience was outraged. They named black cowboy George Fletcher the “people’s champion” and took up a collection, ultimately giving Fletcher far more than the value of the prize that went to the official winner.

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Nonfiction Monday

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February 11, 2019February 9, 2019

Carter Reads the Newspaper

Carter Reads the Newspaper
by Deborah Hopkinson (Author) and Don Tate (Illustrator)

Booktalk: As the father of Black History Month, he spent his life introducing others to the history of his people. Carter G. Woodson was born to two formerly enslaved people ten years after the end of the Civil War. Though his father could not read, he believed in being an informed citizen. So Carter read the newspaper to him every day. When he was still a teenager, Carter went to work in the coal mines. There he met a man named Oliver Jones, and Oliver did something important: he asked Carter not only to read to him and the other miners, but also research and find more information on the subjects that interested them.

Snippet: At Harvard, so the story goes, one of Carter’s professors said that Black people had no history.

Carter remembered his father’s pride, his mother’s courage, and Oliver’s determination to read. He remembered reading the newspaper.

Carter spoke up. “No people lacked a history,” he said. The professor challenged Carter to prove him wrong.

For the rest of his life, Carter did just that.

BONUS! Download the Teacher’s Guide

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

February 11, 2019February 9, 2019

Puppies (Spot Baby Farm Animals)

Puppies (Spot Baby Farm Animals)
by Anastasia Suen (Author)

Booktalk: This search-and-find book invites early readers to look for new vocabulary words and pictures of baby dogs. It gives simple facts about puppies living on a farm.

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Nonfiction Monday

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February 4, 2019February 2, 2019

Abraham Lincoln: The Making of America

Abraham Lincoln: The Making of America #3
by Teri Kanefield (Author)

Booktalk: Born in a cabin deep in the backwoods of Kentucky, growing up in a family considered “the poorest of the poor,” Lincoln rose to become the sixteenth president of the United States. As president, he guided the United States through the Civil War, helped end slavery in America, and strengthened the federal government.

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Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

January 28, 2019January 27, 2019

Planting Stories

Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré
by Anika Aldamuy Denise (Author) and Paola Escobar (Illustrator)

Booktalk: When she came to America in 1921, Pura Belpré carried the cuentos folklóricos of her Puerto Rican homeland. Finding a new home at the New York Public Library as a bilingual assistant, she turned her popular retellings into libros and spread story seeds across the land. Today, these seeds have grown into a lush landscape as generations of children and storytellers continue to share her tales and celebrate Pura’s legacy.

Snippet: The library needs a bilingual assistant.
Pura speaks Spanish, English, and French.
She is perfect for the job.

But where are her abuela’s stories?
Not one folktale from Puerto Rico is on the shelves.

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

January 21, 2019January 20, 2019

The Civil Rights Movement

The Civil Rights Movement
by Eric Braun (Author)

Booktalk: The Civil Rights Movement started in the 1800s and remains a prominent movement within our modern society. Find out how activists such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Fannie Lou Hamer set the stage for activists in modern times and learn how activists are speaking out today to expand rights for African Americans.

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Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!