Welcome! Some of my fondest elementary school memories are of reading with my friends. We would pass the book back and forth to read to each other and share the illustrations. I looked forward to my visits to the public library, and I would leave with a pile of books in my arms. After I received my Bachelor's degree in Education, I went on to earn a Master's degree in Library Science and a professional certificate in Youth Literature and Technology. The best part of my day is helping a child or adolescent find just the right book!
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In all, several thousand people took part over fourteen years…They worked a ten-hour day, six days a week, and they were all men – with the sole exception of Emily Roebling. David McCullough, Brave Companions How Emily Saved the Bridge: The Story of Emily Warren Roebling and the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge by Frieda […]
Thurgood by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Bryan Collier (Schwartz & Wade Books) Growing up in Texas, Jonah Winter heard racial epithets on a daily basis, and he observed the segregation that was accepted in society. As an adult, he began writing picture book biographies about personalities who faced that bigotry and prejudice and worked to […]
Counting the Stars: The Story of Katherine Johnson, NASA Mathematician by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illustrated by Raúl Colón (Simon & Schuster) Katherine Johnson is one of the women who was featured in Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly. Counting the Stars is a picture book biography that narrates her life story for younger and intermediate readers. […]
Follow Chester!: A College Football Team Fights Racism and Makes History by Gloria Respress-Churchwell, illustrated by Laura Freeman (Charlesbridge) Follow Chester! is a non-fiction picture book that introduces readers to an amazing man, Dr. Chester Middlebrook Pierce. Before he became Dr. Pierce, Chester attended Harvard as an undergraduate, and he was the only African-American member […]
The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander, illustrated by Kadir Nelson (Versify) The Undefeated was awarded the 2020 Caldecott Medal for artistry in the most distinguished American picture book. Distinguished is an apt adjective for this particular title. The first time I read this book, it took my breath away. The pictures complement Kwame Alexander’s powerful poem […]
Every year, a Monday in late January is awards’ day for librarians, publishers, authors, illustrators, and readers. For us, it’s as big as the Grammy’s, the Emmy’s, and the Oscar’s because it’s the announcement by the American Library Association of their awards for children’s and young adult’s books. There were a number of outstanding books […]
Liberty Arrives!: How America’s Grandest Statue Found Her Home by Robert Byrd (Dial) When I discover a subject good enough, I will honor that subject by building the tallest statue in the world. Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi In his Author’s Note, Robert Byrd states that he had never seen the Statue of Liberty before he began to […]
Our school celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy with a day of service. It is always a challenge to explain the events that surrounded his life and death to students of different ages. The middle school students examine the injustices in our society. Our younger children grasp that he was a great man who fought […]
The Crayon Man by Natascha Biebo, illustrated by Steven Salerno (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) Edwin Binney (1866-1934) was an inventor and businessman who also happened to be intrigued by color. He and his cousin, C. Harold Smith started the company, Binney and Smith. They created dustless white chalk and a carbon black that was used in […]
A special book that celebrates the holiday season is The Carpenter’s Gift by David Rubel, illustrated by Jim LaMarche (Random House, 2011). While this picture book is a work of fiction, it is based on facts about the tree at Rockefeller Center. Construction workers who were digging the foundation for the project in New York […]