An Exploration of Children Literature

Alphabet book Touch and trace ABC (My First Home Learning) by Harriet Evans. Tiger Tales, August 2021. 26 pages, $8.99. 9781680106794. Touch and trace ABC is a great way to teach children their ABCs and vocabulary. Colorful photographs and large, easy-to-read text fills each page. Each letter has an accompanying word that begins with the letter and a picture of the word. This combination makes it easy for children to learn to associate the words together. The words, letters, and images lie against colorful squares for organization and aesthetics. Since the book illustrates common food and animals, children can learn the name of the things around them. The book can also help children learn to write letters. Each letter has a dotted line, numbered strokes, and arrows showing which direction to move. Both the capitalized and lowercase letters are provided. Touch and Trace ABC is a great book to teach children letters and words. Children can build fine motor skills to write the words, to

Three Times Lucky (Mo & Dale Mysteries) by Sheila Turnage. Penguin Young Readers Group, Dec 2013. 336 pages, $17.99, 9780142426050.      Mo is a mystery. Colonel found Mo drifting downstream on a makeshift raft during a hurricane. Colonel and Miss Lana decide to raise her. Overall, life in the southern town of Tupelo Landing is pretty good. Then everything gets turned upside down by unexplained events. A detective comes to town to investigate a robbery, a person murdered a local figure, and Dale becomes a suspect. Colonel and Miss Lana are also missing. The murderer kidnapped them! Plus, Plainclothes Phil is stalking the children. It is up to Mo and her friend Dale to get to the bottom of things. They must solve the murder and rescue her guardians before it is too late.       Three Times Lucky is the first book in the series, so the author does not reveal everything at      once. The characters are still shrouded in mystery. The Colonel lost his memory before he found baby Mo in th

Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia. Disney Publishing Group , Sept 2020. 528 pages, $17.99, 9781368039932.     Tristan Strong does not feel strong. He is a third-generation boxer who lost his first match. He also blames himself for not saving Eddie, his best friend, from a bus accident. All he has left is the journal full of the African stories they recorded together. Dealing with grief, his grandparents take him from Chicago to Alabama to work and heal. But strange things start to happen. The journal starts to glow. Later that night, Gum Baby, a swearing baby, breaks in and steals the journal. Tristian chases Gum Baby through the forest, and a tug of war ensues underneath the Bottle Tree. Tristan punches the tree, accidentally opening a chasm into MidPass and releasing the Maafa into Alke. Like in a traditional fairy tale, Tristan falls through the hole and into MidPass, a dangerous place with burning seas, bone ships, and iron monsters called Featherlings. Mid

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia. HarperCollins Publishers, Jan 2010. 224 pages, $16.99,  9780060760885.     11-year old Delphine and her younger sisters Vonetta and Fern lived most of their lives in Brooklyn without a mother. In the summer of 1968, their father sent them to Oakland to spend time with their mother and get to know her better. However, their mother is cold, rude, and not motherly. She would rather spend all her time creating poetry than care for her children. Because she wants them out of her way, she sends them to a Black Panther People's Center. The girls join the summer camp, learn more about the group, and contribute to a movement.       The time and place are historically and politically accurate. Williams Garcia references 1960s culture by including “The Mike Douglas Show" payphones, radios, television, and historically-accurate speech patterns. She adds historical events, like the Black Panther Movement and protests against the Vietnam War, that

  Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson. Penguin Random House (Nancy Paulsen Books), Sept 2020. 176 pages, $17.99, 9780399545436.      Before the Ever After is set in the late 1990s and early 2000s when chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and its consequences were not as known. At first, Zachariah, ZJ's father and famous football star, was at the height of his career. He has a great relationship with his family. After one too many concussions, Zachariah eventually succumbs to CTE, facing mood swings, explosive outbursts, memory lapses, and excruciating headaches. The family does not know what is causing the deterioration, and the doctors do not have any answers. The family is left to find a way to live with this new normal in the "ever after" while reminiscing about better times when Zachariah remembered ZJ's name.      Some of the themes in this story are football and brain injuries, the relationship between father and son, and overcoming adversity with the

We are Growing!, Mo Willems. Hyperion Books for Children, Sept 2016. 64 pages, $9.99, 9781484726358.          We are Growing! is part of the Elephant & Piggie series. T he story begins with Elephant and Piggie introducing a book on watching grass grow. Readers can follow along with Elephant and Piggie as they learn about Walt and his grass friends. These blades of grass grow a unique characteristic that makes them “something-est”. Some of his friends are the tallest, crunchiest, curliest, or silliest. However, Walt is left wondering what his “something-est” is. When the lawn mower comes around to cut them down to the same size, they all realize they can be similar while still being the “-est” at something. This enjoyable book is for children trying to figure out their individuality within a group. There is always something special about them.       We are Growing! is a Level 1 book. The narrative has a large, bold 17-20 point type, at most four words per line, three-six words per

  Babymouse #1: Queen of the World, Jennifer Holm. Random House Children’s Books, Dec 2005. 96 pages, $12.99, 9780375832291.     Children will understand the plot of Babymouse #1: Queen of the World. Babymouse wants to be popular. She wants to hang out with the queen of the school, Felicia Furrypaws, and get an invitation to Felicia’s party. Although she receives an invitation, she might miss the monster movie marathon with Wilson, her best friend. When she goes to the sleepover, she is bored, does not fit in, and does not share common interests with the popular crowd. In the end, Babymouse learns to be true to herself and values her friendship with Wilson.       The text and illustrations work well together. The text has simple dialogue, enough words to convey a message, and provides an easy-to-digest narrative. Simple line drawings against a white, black, and pink background make up the illustrations. They add to the text by setting the frame, environment, behavior, and emotions. Th

Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre, written by Carole Boston-Weatherford and illustrated by Floyd Cooper. Lerner Publishing Group , Feb. 2021. 32 pages, $17.99, 9781541581203.      Unspeakable provides elementary students with a look at one of the worst incidents of racial violence in US history. Presented in chronological and story narrative format, readers will learn about the rise of the Greenwood District in Tulsa; the positive achievements of Black business owners and doctors; the incident that led to the massacre; the white mob that attacked this prosperous black community; and the devastation left behind. It took seventy-five years before the government launched an official investigation.      The writing style by Weatherford is concise, historical, and informative. The repeated phrase “Once upon a time" makes the information approachable and acts as a buffer from the emotional toll of the massacre. Although she simplified the events for young readers, there is sufficien

Not So Different: What You Really Want to Ask About Having a Disability, Shane Burcaw. Roaring Brook Press, Nov 2017. 40 pages, $18.99, 9781626727717.     Shane Burcaw was born with Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a disease that makes the body smaller and weaker the older a person gets. Through Not So Different , he hopes to educate children about his disability, challenges, and adaptations. Despite his disability, Burcaw has so many accomplishments. He is an author, speaker, and co-founder of the nonprofit organization, Laughing at My Nightmare, Inc (LAMN). LAMN promotes positivity and provides equipment grants to people living with muscular dystrophy. His author notes, found at the end of the book, provide additional information about SMA, types of SMA, his life and hobbies, and the nonprofit he organized.       In Not So Different, Burcaw answers questions children may have about SMA and his life. Asking questions is perfectly alright because children can learn about people who live

Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story , written by Kevin Noble Maillard, illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal. Roaring Brook Press, Oct 2019. 48 pages, $18.99, 9781626727465.    Fry Bread follows a Native American family as they make bread and celebrate their culture. The focus is narrow enough for early elementary. The story reads like a beginning picture book and follows a predictable pattern by repeating the“fry bread is…” phrase. This phrase is written in red to signify it is the main idea of the page. The smaller, black text expands on the idea. Although the writing is simple, rhythmic, and easy to understand, the meaning behind the narrative is complex. The story narrative begins with the simple act of sharing food and gradually moves to explain the history shared among native tribes. Fry bread is an indigenous staple connected to family legacies, art, and a history of colonialism and displacement.      Kevin Noble Maillard is qualified to write about fry bread in Native Ameri