| Feast
on a Cornucopia of Good Reading for November!
by
Selene Vasquez
Picture
Books: Ages 6 thru 8
Thanksgiving
Is Here! by Diane Goode. (HarperCollins, 32 pp., $15.99).
Grandma and Grandpa busily prepare a Thanksgiving feast while
each ring of the doorbell brings an increasing flock of happy
and hungry relatives. Delightful pen-and-ink and watercolor
cartoon artwork.
The
Perfect Thanksgiving by Eileen Spinelli. Illustrated
by JoAnne Adinolfi. (Holt, unpaged, $15.95). A tale of two
Thanksgivings, whereby a little girl compares her family’s
chaotic and free spirited holiday celebration with another
more ‘genteel’ family seemingly perfect in every way. Punchy
rhyming text full of warm humor.
Fiction:
Ages 8 thru 12
Turkey
Monster Thanksgiving by Anne Warren Smith. (Albert Whitman,
103 pp., $13.95). After her mother leaves, fourth-grader
Katie and her little brother spend Thanksgiving lounging
in their pajamas, munching on pizza, and watching football
on T.V. Embarrassed over her family’s plight, she attempts
a grand elaborate holiday celebration with unexpected comic
touches. Substantial characterizations with a subtle enjoyable
theme.
Nonfiction:
Ages 5 thru 10
Grateful:
A Song of Giving Thanks by John Bucchino. Illustrated
by Anna-Liisa Hakkarainen. (HarperCollins, unpaged with CD
and score, $16.99). “In a world that can bring pain, I will
still take each chance...for I believe that whatever the
terrain, our feet can learn to dance.” A sweetly rendered
song celebrating the beauty of the seasons and the meaning
of faith. Celebrated musician Art Garfunkel sings on the
accompanying CD.#
Selene
S. Vasquez is a media specialist at Orange Brook Elementary
School in Hollywood, Florida. She is formerly a children’s
librarian for the New York Public Library.
Education
Update, Inc., P.O. Box 1588, New York, NY 10159.
Tel: (212) 477-5600. Fax: (212) 477-5893. Email: ednews1@aol.com.
All material is copyrighted and may not be printed without express consent of
the publisher. © 2003.
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