Dear Readers:
Thank you for sharing another year of children’s books with me. It is an honor to write for the Southern Nebraska Register. I hope that the reviews have helped you choose books for your families. Additionally, I would like to thank readers for suggesting titles for the column. For his wonderful contributions to children’s literature, Walter de la Mare, the 1947 winner of the Carnegie Medal stated: “Only the rarest kind of best in anything is good enough for the young.”
I hope you have found some of these titles this year in my column. Merry Christmas!
Terrence Nollen
“Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story” by Kevin Noble Maillard, illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal. Roaring Brook Press, New York, 2019, 48 pages, K-3. Dec. 11, 2020
“A Single Shard” by Linda Sue Park. Clarion Books, New York, 2001, 180 pages, Grades 5-7. Dec. 18, 2020
“Over in a Stable” by Suzanne Nelson, illustrated by Alexander Zolotic. Zonderkidz Press, Grand Rapids, Mich., 2020, 32 pages, K-2. Dec. 24, 2020
“The Electoral College: U.S. Presidential Elections, How They Work” by Phil Corso. Power Kids Press, 2019, 32 pages, Grades 3-5. Jan. 8,, 2021
“The Paper Kingdom” by Helena Ku Rhee, illustrated by Pascal Campion. Random House Children’s Books, New York, 2020, 32 pages, K-3. Jan. 15, 2021
“1919: The Year That Changed America” by Martin W. Sandler. Bloomsbury Children’s Books, New York, 2019, 192 pages, Grades 7-9. Jan. 22, 2021
“The Cat Man of Aleppo” by Irene Latham and Karim Shamsi-Bash, illustrated by Yuko Shimizu. G.P Putnam’s Sons, New York, 2020, 32 pages, K-3.Jan. 29, 2021
“All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team” by Christina Soontornvat. Candlewick Press, Somerville, Massachusetts, 2020, 280 pages, Grades 7-10. Feb. 5, 2021
“The Children’s Book of Virtues” by William Bennett, illustrated by Michael Hague. Simon and Schuster, New York, 1995, 111 pages, K-4. Feb. 12, 2021
“Show Way” by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Hudson Talbott. G.P Putnam’s Sons, New York, 2005, 48 pages, Grades K-4. Feb. 19, 2021
“Boxes for Katje” by Candace Fleming, illustrated by Stacey Dressen-McQueen. Melanie Kroupa Books, New York, 2003, 40 pages, Grades K-3. Feb. 26, 2021
“Finding Langston” by Lesa Cline-Ransome. Holiday House, New York, 2018, 106 pages, Grades 4-6. March 5, 2021
“Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera” by Candace Fleming, illustrated by Eric Rohmann. Holiday House, New York, 2020, 40 pages, K-3. March 12, 2021
“The Lost Son Comes Home: Stories Jesus Told” by Tim Ladwig. Discovery House, Grand Rapids, Mich., 2019, 32 pages, Grades K-3. March 19, 2021
“Take It To The Queen: A Tale of Hope” by Josephine Nobisso, illustrated by Katalin Szegedi. Gingerbread House, Westhampton Beach, N.Y., 2008, 32 pages, Grades 3-5. March 26, 2021
“Celebrating A Christ-Centered Easter” by Emily Belle Freeman and David Butler, illustrated by Ryan Jeppesen. Ensign Peak, Salt Lake City, 2018, 32 pages, Pre-3. April 2, 2021
“Lucky Broken Girl” by Ruth Behar Puffin Books, New York, 2017, 257 pages, Grades 4-7. April 9, 2021
“What Did You Do In The War, Sister?” by Dennis J. Turner. Cincinnati Book Publishing, Cincinnati, 2018, 299 pages, Grades 10-12. April 16, 2021
“The Proudest Blue. The Story of Hijab and Family” by Ibtihaj Muhammad, illustrated by Hatem Aly. Little, Brown and Company, New York, 2019, 32 pages, K-3. April 30, 2021
“Can I Be Your Dog?” by Troy Cummings. Random House, New York, 2018, 32 pages, K-3. May 7, 2021
“Trudy’s Big Swim: How Gertrude Ederle Swam the English Channel and Took the World by Storm” by Sue Macy, illustrated by Matt Collins. Holiday House, New York, 2017, 32 pages, Grades 2-4. May 14, 2021
“Fatal Fever: Tracking Down Typhoid Mary” by Gail Jarrow. Calkins Creek, Honesdale, Penn., 2015, 175 pages, Grades 6-9. May 21, 2021
“The Library Book” by Tom Chapin and Michael Mark, illustrated by Chuck Groenink. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, New York, 2017, 32 pages, K-3. May 28, 2021
“Paul Writes (a letter)” By Chris Raschka Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, Grand Rapids, Mich., 2018, 32 pages, Grades K-3. June 11, 2021
“Because They Marched: The People’s Campaign for Voting Rights That Changed America” by Russell Freedman. Holiday House, New York, 2014, 83 pages, Grades 5-8. June 25, 2021
“The Tiny Hero of Ferny Creek Library” By Linda Bailey, illustrated by Victoria Jamieson. Greenwillow Books, New York, 2017, 324 pages, Grades 3-4. July 9, 2021
“A Voice of Her Own: The Story of Phillis Wheatley, Slave Poet” by Kathryn Lasky, illustrated by Paul Lee. Candlewick Press, Cambridge, Mass., 2003, 48 pages, Grades 3-5. July 23, 2021
“Rosie the Riveter” by Christine Petersen Cornerstones of Freedom, 2nd Series, Children’s Press, New York, 2005, 48 pages, Grades 4-6. Aug. 6, 2021
“Mount St. Helen’s 1980: Fiery Eruptions” by Gare Thompson. B.E.S Press, 2017, 240 pages, Grades 4-6. Aug. 20, 2021
“Little Cliff’s First Day of School” by Clifton L. Taulbert, paintings by E.B. Lewis. Dial Books for Young Readers, New York, 32 pages, 2001. Sept. 3, 2021
“Hurricane Katrina” by Ellen Rodger Crabtree Publishing Company, New York, 2007, 32 pages, Grades 4-6. Sept. 10, 2021
“Let Liberty Rise! How America’s Schoolchildren Helped Save the Statue of Liberty” by Chana Stiefel, illustrated by Chuck Groenink. Scholastic Press, New York, 2021, 40 pages, Grades 1-2. Sept. 17, 2021
“Gunner: Hurricane Horse” by Judy Andrekson, illustrated by David Parkins. Tundra Books, Toronto, 2010, 95 pages, Grades 4-6. Sept. 24, 2021
“Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers’ Strike of 1909” by Michelle Market, illustrated by Melissa Sweet. Harper and Collins, New York, 2913, 32 pages, Grades 2-4. Oct. 1, 2021
“The Someone New” by Jill Twiss, illustrated by E.G. Keller. Harper, New York, 2019, 32 pages, Grades K-2. Oct. 15, 2021
“Edmund Campion: Hero of God’s Underground” by Harold C. Gardiner, S.J. Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 1992, 180 pages, Grades 8-10. Oct. 22, 2021
“The Second Sky” by Patrick Guest, illustrated by Jonathan Bentley. Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, Grand Rapids, Mich., 2017, 32 pages, K-3. Oct. 29, 2021
“The World I Live In” by Helen Keller. 146 pages (E-book), 1904, Grades 9-12. Nov. 5, 2021
“Crash, Splash, Moo!” by Bob Shea Little, Brown and Company, New York, 2018, 32 pages, Grades K-2. Nov. 12, 2021
“Strongheart: Wonder Dog of the Silver Screen” by Candace Fleming, illustrated by Eric Rohmann. Schwartz and Wade books, New York, 2018, 245 pages, Grades 4-6. Nov. 19, 2021
“Pumpkin Soup” by Helen Cooper, Macmillan Press, New York, 1998, 32 pages, Grades K-2. Nov. 24, 2021
