Ana Braga-Henebry

Look! Seeing the Light in Art

Author(s): 
Gillian Wolfe

I found this quite accidentally when browsing the art shelves in the non-fiction children books section at our library system's main branch last week.

Mind you, I am always carting around mountains of books in huge, oversize bags, and I am thankful for strong, teen sons, and for downtown ballet and piano classes allowing me the time to browse at the library.

Fun with Roman Numerals

Author(s): 
David A. Adler
Illustrator(s): 
Edward Miller

I showed this book and read it aloud to my kids in Junior Classical League's last meeting, and except for one kid, the  club's president and a Latin aficionado, none of us knew about the Roman numerals on the two last pages! Have fun learning!

From the publisher: 

What's The Deal?

Author(s): 
Rhoda Blumberg

National Geographic published some longer, generously illustrated non-fiction picture books, and this is one of them. A great aid to any homeschool's History curriculum. We have picked up several different titles from the library like this one. I, for one, learned a lot! From their site:

Twenty-Odd Ducks

Book cover: Twenty-Odd Ducks
Author(s): 
Lynne Truss
Illustrator(s): 
Bonnie Timmons

Lynne Truss does it again, this time stressing the correct use of the hyphen, parenthesis, question and exclamation marks and also more comma use. I feel that my younger kids will have a wonderful and visual grasp of punctuation as they grow up exposed to Truss' humor and fresh approach to grammar! If you haven't enjoyed her first punctuation picture books, don't miss them: Eats, Shoots and Leaves and The Girl's like Spaghetti

Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek

Book cover: Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek
Author(s): 
Deborah Hopkinson
John Hendrix

Another fun book we found at our library on Abe Lincoln! A good way to help celebrate President's Day!

Little is known about Lincoln's playmate and the event told in this darling book. I liked the perspective the author and illustrator take to retell the tall, thin tale...!

Addition by Suchi, Feb 2024: Lincoln's friend, Austin Gollaher, told the tale of the 1816 event as follows.

Abe's Honest Words

Author(s): 
Doreen Rappaport
Illustrator(s): 
Kelley, Gary

We are enjoying two new and fun books we found at our library on Abe Lincoln! A good way to help celebrate President's Day!Back cover of book

This one, Honest Abe's Words, is one. The other is Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek.

Marguerite

Author(s): 
Frances de Chantal

What an unexpected and lovely story! Beautifully written and engaging, this short novel has many elements of real life making it so alive. A little boy who is under cancer treatment, a good and kind doctor, and twin sisters who carry crosses with courage. The mystery is well woven, the suspense done just right. Everything is unraveled in time, and we get to know a lot about a beautiful grotto in Iowa. I enjoyed very much the many Catholic references as well. I highly recommend this short novel!

Will Wilder

Author(s): 
Raymond Arroyo
I am delightfully surprised by this new children's book. The author is talented and the story progresses without you noticing it... Yes, the story grabbed me from the first chapter, and that is a lot to say for this reviewer who is a mother of seven and has read many children's books to her kids. I liked many things about it. Like Frodo and Sam in Lord of The Rings--and all of us ordinary people--Will isn't perfect. He is an ordinary kid called to an important mission. His family and his town are realistic, and the mystery, dangers and mishap well told.

The Story of Job

Author(s): 
Regina Doman
Illustrator(s): 
Ben Hatke
Ben Hatke's illustrations are the icing on the cake of this wonderful little book. Job is famous for his biblical faithfulness over the most unfortunate circumstances. It is a tremendous story for us in our day, and Regina Doman brings it to life for children--and for adults as well! What a tool of hope in the dark days we live in. The final illustration of the happiness of the couple around their pregnancy and children should be made into life-affirming posters everywhere!

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