There are thousands upon thousands of books published each year. Therefore, I don’t know why I am surprised every single time when I find amazing new authors but I am. Recently, I stumbled upon two authors that are just genius that I want more and more people to know about.

Carin Berger commented on my blog earlier this year and while her name was familiar to me, I realized that somehow we had never  read her books.

Her latest title is Finding Spring which is something that took an awfully long time to do around these parts this year. Perhaps our lingering winter made Finding Spring especially sweet but I came to realize that all of Carin’s work is to be treasured. She uses cut paper collage that is so fun to examine closely. You see little snippets of writing scattered on scrap paper used to create amazing illustrations. The  stories in each of her books that we read including The Little Yellow Leaf, A Perfect Day and Forever Friends were great studies of both nature, the power of friendship and never feeling alone.

Along with Carin, we also discovered Sebastian Meschenmoser. My amazing friend Jules of Seven Impossible Things is to thank for this new-to-me author. And no secret here- she is often the one to lead me in a great direction. Waiting for Winter is no longer a seasonally appropriate read but I encourage you to check it out none the less. The expressions on the faces of the animals in this tale are among the best I have seen. Somehow in what appears to be simple pencil sketches, you can read in to the minds and the imaginations of these creatures who are out to find the first snowfall. The second title we read was Mr. Squirrel and the Moon. In this tale, Mr. Squirrel’s imagination runs wild and it is awfully fun to pretend right along with him.

I hope you enjoy these new-to-me authors as much as I did.

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This summer I am teaching a class through The Writers Circle called “A Reader’s Writing Club.” The goal of the class is to connect children as readers and writers and to help them learn from each other through discussion and from both art forms. A writer must read and a reader should write, or so I believe.

In planning this class, I have been reminded of a belief that I hold very strongly.

In order to raise readers, children must be given choices.

Many children who believe they are not readers have simply not been given the right books. Of course there are children who will not enjoy reading even when given choice and of course there are children for whom reading will always be difficult and therefore, not enjoyable. But that said, there are many non-readers who would be readers if they were presented with different titles.

Sara Kadjer, a professor and author posted the following on Facebook:

“I’m struggling a bit here and need some clarity from our community here.

Just had book fair with one of the boys and watched as kids wandered aimlessly, barely picking anything up. Knowing some of these kids, I asked them what was up (as my son wasn’t talking…). Apparently, they were each told a lexile band and/or AR level that a book must be in order to be appropriate for them. The offerings on the shelves were rich (books by Kate Messner, Rick Riordan, Tom Angleberger, Lisa McMann, Eliot Schrefer, amongst so many other smart, engaging writers). Hands were empty as each book was labelled with the corresponding numbers – and very few were “rigorous” enough. Overheard by two excited readers who were writing down a list of books – “we can read these in the summer when it is for fun.” 

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I usually post about picture books at least once a month and often twice but somehow I haven’t written about our latest favorites since early February. I don’t know exactly what this winter did my productivity but it was nothing good I can tell you that!

I’m still not sure that spring is on it’s way but I seem to be coming out of my lull none the less. Here are our current picture book favorites.

Red: A Crayon’s Story by Michael Hall. What’s to come of a red crayon that will only color in blue? First a lot of disappointment but over time he comes to realize that he has his own set of strengths. This is a perfect book for anyone who is searching for the ‘real me.’

The Storm Whale by Benji Davies. A little boy is very lonely during the day when his fisherman father is out on the water. Therefore, when he finds a beached baby whale, he is more than happy to bring his new friend home and plop him in the bathtub. When the family eventually brings the whale back to the ocean, the little boy learns what it means to have a friend.

Goodnight Already by Jory John & Benji Davies. This book was laugh out loud funny for adults and children alike. And the best part was that the nagging duck reminded Katherine of the nagging mouse in A Visitor for Bear. I love it when she makes these connections!

Smick written by Doreen Cronin & illustrated by Juana Medina. With no more than two words on each page, the author shows the power of few words as a full story is told. This book would make an awesome and engaging early reader!

Bad Dog Flash by Ruth Paul. When Katherine was learning how to read, I wrote a lot about ‘read together’ books. We loved these type of books that allowed an early reader to experience a sense of independence while reading. In these books, the grown up reads most of the text but then there are repeated lines of text throughout the book that allow the new reader to feel a great sense of confidence. Bad Dog Flash is a perfect read together story of a sweet little dog who is quite bad until he isn’t.

Special Delivery written by Phillip Stead and illustrated by Matthew Cordell. These creators are two of my favorites so I was super exited to read this tale of a little girl on a mission to mail an elephant to her Great Aunt Josephine. The book was great although I still love Stead’s Sick Day for Amos McGee and Cordell’s Another Brother more.

Wolfie the Bunny by Ame Dyckman and illustrated by Zachariah OHora. This tale of a bunny family who welcomes in a baby wolf is a great alternative to the sappy new baby stories that are out there. It is even funny enough to read if there are no new babies in your house.

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