Finding a great children's book is like unwrapping a perfect sweet.
Spring is the time of new flowers, buds bursting and growing plants. The seed catalogs are out and thoughts of gardens are swirling. It’s a perfect time for the classic children’s book, The Carrot Seed.
It’s also time for this week’s trivia question:
Bonus question:
Who was this author’s husband?
I’ll post the answers next Thursday. Have a fun week!
Edit: The answers are now posted.
Both of our authors today delve into history; one loves the Middle Ages and the other explores the lives of immigrants from China coming to Canada.
62. Our first author is very inspiring to those of who started writing later in life. She started writing when she was 49, and was 53 when her first books was published. She has been pumping out award-winning books for children ever since. One of her books won the Newbery in 1996. She lives in Seattle.
Do you know who she might be?
Karen Cushman is a teacher who dabbled in writing until she became intrigued with the life of a girl in the Middle Ages. She started writing about the girl, fleshing out her life, and before long had the novel Catherine, Called Birdy. Carol Hurst has a nice review and ideas for lessons.
Cushman continued her interest in history with her following novels. In 1996, she won the Newbery for The Midwife’s Apprentice, the story of an orphan who aids a midwife in a medieval English village.
If you enjoy historical fiction, take a look at these books by Karen Cushman:
63. Our second author saw a need for books about immigrants coming to Canada, particularly Chinese immigrants. With a Master’s degree in Canadian history, he has the research skills to write authentic tales. As a third generation Canadian, he knows the challenges immigrants face from experiences in his own family. His book, Ghost Train, won Governor General’s Award for children’s literature in the same year our first author won the Newbery.
Do you recognize this author?
Paul Yee was gaining recognition in Canada the same year Karen Cushman won the Newbery in the United States. He says he writes his historical stories about Chinese immigrants coming to Canada because people forget that that there were immigrants coming from China as long as 150 years ago.
Have you read a book by Paul Yee?
What kind of prize do you usually expect to find in your cereal box? A cheap toy? The latest movie tie-in? If you look in a Cheerios® box this spring, the surprise might be the book How Do You Hug a Porcupine? by Laurie Isop and illustrated by Gwen Millward.
First-time children’s author Laurie Isop won the 2009 Cheerios® Spoonfuls of Stories New Author Contest®,which I wrote about last week. Now her book is being published by Simon & Schuster and distributed for free in some six million Cheerios® cereal boxes. How cool is that?
How Do You Hug a Porcupine? has a gently humorous, rhyming text that is sure to be a bedtime reading hit. We see children hugging all sorts of animals, but one boy asks, “How do you hug a porcupine?” Probably more than a few parents will be warmed by the similarity to hugging their own sometimes prickly child.
The illustrations are adorable, and child friendly. Isop was paired with veteran illustrator Gwen Millward, who was not part of the contest.
The books in the cereal boxes are special in that they are small paperbacks, about five inches by seven inches. That is a perfect size to slip in a purse or backpack for those moments when you are caught waiting somewhere (think doctor’s office). The cereal box versions have both English and Spanish text.
Don’t worry if you can’t find a copy of How Do You Hug a Porcupine? in the grocery store. You can also buy a hardcover copy from Simon & Schuster starting in July.
Kudos to Cheerios® and congratulations to Laurie Isop.
See what icon Jon Scieszka has to say about the program:
If you are interested in learning more about porcupines through nonfiction, check my review Porcupines from Two Points of View.
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing (July 26, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1442412917
ISBN-13: 978-1442412910
This book was provided for review purposes.
And be sure to look for more information about children’s books at today’s Book Talk Tuesday.
Planting the Wild Garden by Kathryn O. Galbraith and illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin is a lovely new picture book about how seeds are spread in nature. 
“OOOOOO-whishhhh! The wind scatters seeds. It spills them. And spins them.”
The text is full of action, with verbs highlighted. It is an absolute pleasure to read aloud. Galbraith has a superlative writing style. In fact, her last book won a Parents’ Choice Award, and this one will probably be in contention for upcoming awards as well.
The text is also informative. Did you guess that fish might eat seeds that fall in the water? Or that some plants pop out their seeds? Galbraith packs a lot of facts into very few words.
What a visual treat! The endpapers are exquisite, with many interesting seeds and fruit to explore. The illustrations show movement or the passage of time in a novel way. Halperin has blocked out small squares of details within a bigger picture, so it is almost like a slide show, or even a movie.
Planting the Wild Garden would work equally well as a read aloud for a group, or a quiet cuddle in a chair. This book is a wonderful, gentle introduction to the topic of seed dispersal. It is sure to engage young children and inspire them to want to learn more about nature.
Jennifer at Jean Little Library, has a recent review.
Look for related hands-on science activities at Growing With Science
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Peachtree Publishers (April 1, 2011)
ISBN-10: 1561455636
ISBN-13: 978-1561455638
Book was supplied for review purposes.
Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. We invite you to join us. For more information and a schedule, stop by the new Nonfiction Monday blog to see who is hosting each week.
This week’s post is at L. L. Owens.