About the Book
Maggie is a tan Cocker Spaniel puppy who was taken from the puppy dog kennel to live with Carrie in Highland Cove. Maggie’s favorite thing to do is go for a walk in the neighborhood. She describes what she sees and smells as she and Carrie go for a walk in the neighborhood.

About the Author
Carolyn E. Grant is a freelance writer who lives in Brandon, MS, near the Barnett Reservoir. This is the setting of the Maggie’s Neighbor series of children’s picture books in which Maggie experiences the same seasons, events and holidays as children ages 3 to 6 years old. The books were inspired when Carrie’s grandchildren called and asked,  “What is Maggie Doing?” Maggie is the tan Cocker Spaniel puppy Kalysa went with Carrie to pick out and bring home.

Ten percent of all proceeds from the Maggie books will go to the Community Adoption and Rescue Association.

Information is from Carolyn E. Grants promotional material.

God Is with Me through the Night

Mississippi author Julie Cantrell uses apt and funny pictures of the animal kingdom to convey simple yet prevalent truths about growing up: a child goes to sleep afraid of the dark; a child feels small in the big world; a child likes to wrestle with a sibling; and a child longs for love, support, and safety. In the midst of all these emotions and desires of a child, God is there: a foundation of comfort, companionship, and strength. Put simply, God is with Me through the Night reveals and reminds a child that God will keep you…through the night and always. A short but appropriate Scripture verse ends the book, reinforcing God’s words of care to little ones.

God Is with Me through the Day

In God is with Me through the Day, Julie Cantrell again incorporates sparse writing with expressive pictures from the animal world to explain to a child the nearness of God amidst such emotions as fear, lonelinesss, happiness, and playfulness.  Cantrell’s correspondence between animal behavior and human emotion is perfect and even hilarious at times.  The length of both books is appropriate for very young little ones as Cantrell’s writing is short and simple but profound and truthful.  What meaningful and fun books for parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles to read to our children!

The Graphic Novel
Jack and the Beanstalk
Retold by Blake A. Hoena
Illustrated by Ricardo Tercio

This blog is for the boys out there who perhaps need some more enticement when it comes to reading.  Well, I’ve got a good story for ya today that’ll knock your socks off!  The Graphic Novel Jack and the Beanstalk has got all those elements of a classic page-turner: a magic beanstalk that reaches up to a castle in the sky, a talking, gold harp for the taking, tough young hero Jack about to be mincemeat, and a ferociously angry boy-eating giant out to get wily Jack.  At 33 pages, its length favors a 2nd to 3rd grade reading level, while the illustrations are funkier and a bit edgier than your typical rendition of this well-known tale.

For the older crowd, young men and women alike, Lemuria Bookstore has just gotten in the graphic novel version of Newbery Award winner Neil Gaiman‘s eerily awesome story Coraline.  Read about how Coraline’s parents live in an alternate universe with black buttons for eyes and you’ll be hooked!

*
*
*
*
*
*

And finally, back to an old favorite, for the rambunctious and adventurous girls out there, there is the graphic novel Rapunzel’s Revenge. Click here for my earlier blog on Rapunzel’s Revenge.

Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman is a wonderful fairy tale–it reminds me somewhat of Narnia. He received this year’s Newbery Award for The Graveyard Book–if you haven’t read it, do so–a must for all ages. This book is quite different from ones he has written recently but it is every bit as good. Actually, it’s quite wonderful.

*

*

Can there be a book as fantastic as The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane? Absolutely. The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo is written for all ages–a magical, beautifully worked book with oh-so-many “take home” points. It could easily serve as an adult reading group offering. An aging magician intends to conjure up a bouquet of flowers and gets an elephant instead. Then the journey begins and what a journey it is. I have read it once, passed it around, and plan to read it again this time with a magic marker in hand to highlight all the wonderful thoughts to ponder over and over.

Kate has a neat website with an interesting bio on her, her thoughts on writing and photos. Click here to read an excerpt from The Magician’s Elephant.

-Yvonne

Kate Dicamillo is the author of numerous books including Tale of Despereaux, which received the Newbery Medal; Because of Winn-Dixie, which received a Newbery Honor; The Tiger Rising which was named a National Book Award Finalist; The Mercy Watson stories; The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, winner of the Christopher Award; Great Joy, a children’s Christmas picture book; and Louise, the Adventures of a Chicken, a delightful picture book for children.

Kate DiCamillo is a wonderful and talented writer of books for children and young adults. Actually, one of her books, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane is loved and cherished by individuals of both genders and people of all ages. This wonderful chapter book has short chapters, and charming illustrations by Bozgram Ibatoulline. Edward Tulane is a china bunny who is owned and loved by a girl named Abilene. They go on a cruise; Edward is tossed overboard; he is caught in a fisherman’s net and thus begins his miraculous journey of about 20 years. Edward takes us on a journey of life lessons-loving, losing, and loving again. You, too, will become a victim of the adventurous Edward. Enjoy the adventure.

Hook by Ed Young, a Caldecott Medal winner, is a children’s nonfiction storybook about an abandoned egg getting adopted, via human hands, by an ordinary, nurturing hen.  Turns out, the hatchling is an eaglet no less and Hook is his name because of his hook-like beak!

I tell you, my blog reader, the story in words, but this book tells its story through blended charcoal drawings that are just phenomenally mesmerizing.  Each page consists of a charcoal drawing that lures you into the narrative of this young eagle that has to find its own way in the world, with the help, again, of  a young boy and a homely hen.  The writing is sparse, another feature that draws your eye to the picture.  Now, the story itself, I found, was winsome in its ability to point to the kindness of strangers and the importance of perseverance (“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again!”).

Another winning quality to this book is its length.  With few words, it flies by and is able to hold the short attention span of very young readers, ages two and half and up!  It’s a unique find, our wonderful Yvonne Rogers saw the beauty of, and it is literature of the natural world at its zenith.  Like the eagle it fondly speaks of, this book soars and it soars with bold elegance.

It was getting about time for me to go home Tuesday afternoon and I heard that there was a children’s book author who had just stopped by to sign her books. Well, I thought, I’d better go see who that is. It was Ms. Deborah Wiles! The author of one of my favorite children’s books Freedom Summer.

Freedom Summer was important in helping me understand Mississippi’s past. Although I am from Tennessee, I had a lot to learn about the Deep South. Rereading her book this morning, I remembered that we have a lot to be thankful for. The many civil rights leaders and fighters have given us a true ‘freedom summer’ every summer. It’s only up to us to look into our hearts and connect with all of those around us. Because of the civil rights era and the brave work done in Mississippi, we have the opportunity to see that just because people may have different skin colors, different cultures and religious beliefs, there is that essential human nature and feeling which binds us together.

I have also read The Aurora County All-Stars, which is now just out in paperback. Ms. Wiles’ story telling ability is so wonderful that I did not even care that this book was for kids! She also has two other books for middle readers: Each Little Bird That Sings and Love, Ruby Lavender. If you have never had the pleasure of reading her books, this summer would be a great time to read these with your kids.

Ms. Wiles is in the middle of her Aurora County Shoe String Tour. All the dates can be found on her blog. Here you can also find out what a Shoestring Tour is all about!

I also learned on her blog that she is a writing teacher, specializing in the craft of personal narratives. Now that is something near and dear to my heart! And she also loves to grow Zinnias! Sigh . . . what a talented lady!