Posted by Lydia Schultz on Friday, August 12, 2011,
I'm going to start with a disclaimer: Rosemary Well's On the Blue Comet
is exactly the kind of book I loved as a child. It reminds of some of
my favorites by Zilpha Keatley Snyder, which had an enchanting blend of
realism and whimsy. But I also think that much about the
book would be hard for modern children to understand.
Our protagonist, Oscar Ogilvie Junior, is obsessed by the world of
Lionel trains. Set at the beginnings of the Great Depre... Continue reading ...
Posted by Lydia Schultz on Wednesday, July 20, 2011,
True (. . . sort of)
by Katherine Hannigan is both fun and serious. It is also an example of why I have learned to trust my
instincts – some of my favorite books are the ones I happen to stumble
upon. This book falls squarely into that category.
The main character is Delly Pattison, a short, sassy spitfire of a
girl who can’t seem to stay out of trouble. Delly has enough of a
reputation in her family, at school, and in her town that she is... Continue reading ...
Posted by Lydia Schultz on Wednesday, July 20, 2011,
Owen Jester seems like a typical elementary school boy. In Barbara O'Connor's The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester,
Owen feels stranded on the wrong side of town, away from his friends.
His family has moved in with his grandfather both to help out his
grandfather, who is recovering from a stroke, and to help themselves
out, since Owen's father has lost his job. Viola, the nearby neighbor
girl, is no substitute for Owen's friends--she suffers fr... Continue reading ...
Posted by Lydia Schultz on Thursday, July 7, 2011,
I wanted to love this book. I love Mark Twain's
books. I even took a course devoted to his writing when I was in
graduate school. I forced my husband to make a vacation stop at Twain's home in Connecticut. I've been known to quote (excessively, some might say) his writing. But this book just didn't live up to my hopes.
First of all, it felt as if Susy's writing was literally
de-emphasized by its placement into the smaller, inserted pages. If ...
Posted by Lydia Schultz on Tuesday, June 21, 2011,
Because I work as a librarian at a Jewish Day School, the students I
encounter are well aware of the Holocaust by the time they reach 4th and 5th
grades. Benno and the Night of the Broken Glass by Meg Wiviott
will make an excellent addition to our collection on the topic.
Wiviott successfully captures the interest of children in this age group by
using Benno the cat as the central... Continue reading ...
Posted by Lydia Schultz on Friday, May 13, 2011,
Linda Glaser provides a gentle introduction to activist Emma
Lazarus in her picture book, “Emma’s Poem.”
She introduces to young reader how Lazarus was born into wealth and
privilege in the United
States.
Coupled with Nivola’s lovely paintings, Glaser clearly conveys how
people in Lazarus’s social class were able to read, have parties, collect art,
and generally aspire... Continue reading ...
Posted by Lydia Schultz on Monday, February 28, 2011,
In the book, “Sliding Into the New Year,” we
gain a wonderful new author of children’s Jewish literature in Dori Weinstein. She brings a
modern, human tone to a story that is both timely and engaging.
The story’s narrator, Ellie Silver, (aka
YaYa) speaks in the authe... Continue reading ...
Posted by Lydia Schultz on Sunday, January 30, 2011,
"Mitzvah the Mutt” does something that I have long been
wishing for as a librarian at a Jewish day school. It tells a story that has Jewish content,
without being excessively didactic. In the process, it tells a wonderful
story about a family and their delightful dog.
The author, Sylvia Rouss, is better known for her Sammy Spider series of
Jewish content books for preschoolers. ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Lydia Schultz on Thursday, April 1, 2010,
This “picture”
book would be a wonderful choice in helping younger students to learn about the
senses. All the pages of the book are black, with the text in Braille and
in white lettering. The illustrations are raised print on the pages, without
color. One must feel... Continue reading ...
Posted by Lydia Schultz on Sunday, December 27, 2009,
 Bradley Trevor Greive has put together animal photos with a snappy text to create a helpful book for elementary-aged children. His purpose is straight-forward: he wants children to know what a "blue day" is and to recognize that everyone (maybe even these highly photogenic critters) has a blue day once in a while. He illustrates some typical causes: feeling grumpy, lonely, or tired; being embarrassed or picked on; or simply just feeling out of place. But Greive doesn't stop there. He wants c... Continue reading ...
Posted by Lydia Schultz on Friday, November 20, 2009,
I admit it—I am an enormous
fan of Lobel’s Frog and Toad series. I
still chant lines from about willpower from the “Cookies” story, I cite Frog’s
desire to be alone as different from lonely, and I empathize with their kite
flying endeavors. As a result, I was
very excited to see that Lobel’s daughter, Adrianne Lobel, was publishing some
new material that her father had... Continue reading ...
Posted by Lydia Schultz on Saturday, September 12, 2009,
 "Always My Brother," written by Jean Reagan, provides a gentle, yet realistic depiction of a child going through the grieving process. Becky and her older brother John are best friends, sharing a love of soccer, their dog Toby, and knock-knock jokes. When John dies--out of sight and without any explanation--Becky is left to cope with her feelings. Reagan does a wonderful job of tracing how Becky doesn't know how to behave anymore. Soccer is hard, since it is something she shared with John.... Continue reading ...
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About Me
| Lydia Schultz |
| St. Paul, Minnesota |
I am a school librarian and former college English teacher. I hope to review many of the books I read, both in the context of my research about children's books as well as in my pursuit of recreational reading. I want to share what I read--so what else is new?
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Please feel free to contact me. I welcome hearing feedback and advice. If you would like to comment on a particular post, click on the title of the post and a comment box will appear after the post when the page reloads. Thanks!
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