Reviews
Booklist - Junk: A Spectacular Tale of Trash
Each day, Sylvia Samantha White heads out with her wagon to find discarded stuff. Whether tires, old wood, a partial pack of gum, or empty paint cans, she lugs everything home. And when anyone asks why, from her father to the grumpy mayor, she replies, “I’m working on something.” But… View →
Booklist - Nature's Friend: The Gwen Frostic Story
Although Gwen Frostic (1906–2001) grew up with physical disabilities, her mother encouraged the girl to become active, strong, and independent. Her artistic talent and her love of nature led her to a career creating decorative brass and copperware until her materials were needed for the… View →
Booklist - Bully
Bully the bullfrog lives in a lovely lily pond, which he is unwilling to share with anyone else. To that end, he orders a series of insects off the pond: a snail who wants to taste the lilies; a dragonfly who wants to smell them; and a bee who wants to tickle them. Blissfully alone,… View →
Publishers Weekly - Kindergarrrten Bus
Excerpt: With its over-the-top cartooning and abundance of crowd-pleasing “arrr” sounds, this clever comedy may be powerful enough to defuse the worry of an entire classroom of reluctant school-goers. View →
Kirkus Review - Bully
A self-centered and egotistical bullfrog refuses to share the beauty of the pond ecosystem, ultimately leaving him in a muddy mess. View →
Kirkus Review - Kindergarrrten Bus
A pirate bus driver tells his new kindergarten charges to buck up and not be afraid, but then something happens that shows him to be a fraidy… On their first day of kindergarrrten, a rather unconventional bus driver greets six diverse kids whose fear (both of the new experien View →
Publishers Weekly - Bully
Bully is a bullfrog, but in Sattler’s (Pig Kahuna) watercolor-and-pencil drawings, he resembles a slightly less ugly version of Jabba the Hutt. Huge, squat, sickly green, and scowling, he chases away all the small, appropriately bug-eyed critters, all of whom should be able to enjoy the… View →
Booklist - Write On, Irving Berlin!
Irving Berlin gets the full picture-book treatment in this appealing introduction to the songwriter. Berlin’s story begins as the five-year-old arrives in the United States in 1893 along with his family, fleeing the Russian pogroms. Left fatherless at 13, he makes money by singing and… View →
School Library Connection - My Red Velvet Cape
Mateo is having a superhero themed birthday party. Grandma calls to wish him well and tell him she has made “a red velvet…” but before she can finish, Mateo becomes excited, certain that Grandma is bringing him a red velvet cape. He has many plans for how to use the cape, like walking… View →
School Library Journal - Write on Irving Berlin
Gr 2-4–A feel-good biographical look at a great songwriter. Israel Baline arrived on Ellis Island as a small boy fleeing the violence of Russian pogroms. But in the freedom of New York’s Lower East Side, he blossomed into Irving Berlin. From his first song (sold for 37 cents) to iconic… View →