I Can Read

Cousins Lulu and Mellie are best friends. In this modern-day, seaside adventure, the girls are vacationing with Lulu’s parents and their beloved old dog, Sam. Having rented a cottage from a persnickety owner, the family hopes for the perfect week full of reading, kite-building, and marathon-training. However, a wayward stray bounds into their lives and turns their plans upside down (along with a few trash cans along the way). McKay hits the nail on the head in this beginning chapter book. Children will delight in the story of how this thieving menace turns into a brave hero and loyal friend, wiggling its way into the hearts of the characters and readers alike. This book is just right for youngsters ready for chapters, with cheerful black-and-white illustrations on almost every other page. Younger children will also enjoy this story as a read-aloud. The plot is universal and the vocabulary hints of a European setting. Family members sticking together to overcome obstacles is the prevalent theme and the happy ending is hoped for, if not expected. This title should be a staple in any early-chapter-book

collection. —School Library Journal. Grades 1–3.

Before becoming The Babe, George Ruth was just a regular kid growing up in Baltimore. Tracing Babe Ruth’s formative years and his first exposure to baseball at St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys, this picture book brings history to life showing that even when Babe made it big, he never forgot where he came from. “The art captures Ruth’s irrepressible personality and joy in playing baseball. Yes, the eyes definitely twinkle.” —Booklist, starred review. Ages 6+

If you are not already taken by the strong and beautiful portrait of Nelson Mandela on the front cover, you will be captured by the equally absorbing story of Mandela’s life on the pages inside. Tracing his life from an orphan, to his studies, to his life as an activist, and ultimately as President of South Africa, this picture book brings his courage, strength, and humanity to young readers. Ending on a note of hope, this biography will both educate and inspire the next generation. Ages 6+

Tracing the origins of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade from 1924, Sweet’s biography of Tony Sarg, the puppeteer who made the parade balloons come to life, will inspire children that work can actually be fun. Winner of the Robert F. Sibert Medal for the best non-fiction book of 2012, Sweet shows the vision and science behind the balloons through multi-media graphics and textured illustrations. “Sweet tells this slice of American history well, conveying both Sarg’s enthusiasm and joy in his work as well as the drama and excitement of the parade. . .This one should float off the shelves.” —School Library Journal, starred review. Ages 4+

“First you have brown, all around you have brown / and then there are seeds / and a wish for rain…”

Surrounded by nothing but the barren brown of winter, a bespectacled young gardener and his coterie of animal companions plant the first seeds of spring. They patiently examine the stubborn brown, fret over the possibility of peckish birds and stomping bears, and listen for the green buzzing of nascent life below the earth. A gentle, wistful palette, exquisitely crafted woodblock and pencil detail, and direct, intimate language leave the reader sharing the same hope, doubt, and ultimately joy at the sweeping green of spring’s arrival. Preschool–Grade 2.