January Books
January Children's Books
Chase away those winter blues with great books!
Cozy
by Jan Brett
During a winter storm, Cozy a musk ok is separated from the herd. Cozy's massive size and warm fur attract small animals seeking shelter from the winter storm.Cozy befriends and protects many animals from the harsh winter weather. There are rules, quiet voices and gentle thumping, the animals follow to get along and be polite. A lovely and moving story with beautifully detailed exquisite illustraions.
Jan Brett reads Cozy Video
A Polar Bear in the Snow
by Mac Barnett
Follow a polar bear through a world of snow and to see where he is going. A polar bear awakens and rises from the snow to take a walk. "Where is he going?" is repeated during the bear's journey, which is attention-catching while building suspense and curiosity.
A charming fun story with sparse text and incredible artwork that is a delight to read and view.
Sewing Stories: Harriet Powers' Journey from Slave to Artist
by Barbara Herkert
Sewing stories tells the story of Harriet Powers, who learned to sew and quilt surrounded by women who sewed on a Georgia plantation. Harriet learned quilting as a young girl and she grew into a skilled artist. After the Civil War she had to selling two "story quilts" to make ends meet. Harriets quilts get large-scale reproductions on the endpapers.
Today two of Harriets quilts hang in the Smithsonian Institution and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Historical details are provded throughout the book on a background of fabric patches with information about the lives of slaves during the Civil War.
Included at the end of the book is a black and white photo of Harriet Powers and biographical information. Harriet's journey from slave to artist is told with expressive language, attention to detail, and illustrations reminiscent of folk art quilts. A wonderful book!
Knopf Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 0375833358
As Good as Anybody: Martin Luther King and Abraham Joshua Heschel's Amazing March Toward Freedom
by Richard Michelson & Wendy Masi
This is one of the best children's books on MLK I have read; it is not boring! In this picture book a parallel is draw between Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Joshua Heschel and their quest for justice and equality.
The childhoods of Martin Jr. and Abraham Heschel are shown with Martin's sense of injustice and his parents encouragement through telling him that he was "as good as anybody." Abraham's childhood is shown in Europe and the barring of Jews from public places. Abraham's parents also told him he was "as good as anyone." The book tells how both men became friends and marched side-by-side for freedom and equality.
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
by Judy Barrett
Grab your plates! In the land of Chewandswallow, meals - rather than rain or snow - fall from the sky. But something goes awry: the food falling from the sky gets larger and larger, causing the residents to make an escape before being squashed by giant pancakes or rolls.
Snowflake Bentley (Caldecott Medal Book)
by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
A biography of a self-taught scientist who photographed thousands of individual snowflakes in order to study their unique formations.
From the time he was a small boy, Wilson Bentley thought of the icy crystals as small miracles. And he determined that one day his camera would capture for others the wonder of the tiny crystals.
Sites to See: Snowflake BentleyLiterature Guide
The Snowflake Bentley website. This site gives biographical information about Wilson A. Bentley and about his life's work.
