Good Boy
by Sergio Ruzzier (ages 2-5)
This picture book is about a dog and his boy. Or is it a boy and his dog? Each page of this story has just a few words. It starts with simpler words like “sit” and “stay” but gets a little more complex as the story goes on, with words like “sail” and “build.” This is a good book for caregivers to work on some basic vocabulary as well as narrative skills as children can predict what might happen based on the words and illustrations. After the boy and dog have built a spaceship and gone in to space, they view Earth from far away and say, “Home? Home.” They return home and the words begin to be simpler again, ending with “good boy,” which could be referring to the boy or the dog – or maybe both.
One, Two, Grandma Loves You
by Shelly Becker (ages 2-5)
This fun new picture book is based on the nursery rhyme “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe.” A grandma and granddaughter write letters to each other and mark their calendars for the next date they will get to visit with one another. Once the granddaughter is dropped off at her grandma’s house, the two of them do all kinds of activities together like painting, fishing, baking, painting each other’s nails and, of course, reading a story together at bedtime. After their visit is over, they talk on the phone, hang up pictures from their adventures together and mark their calendars once again for their next visit. I enjoy the fact that the grandmother is depicted as a more modern one with brown hair and fun glasses.
International Day of the Girl
by Jessica Dee Humphreys and the Hon. Rona Ambrose (grades K-3)
This non-fiction book celebrates nine different girls from around the world by telling a quick story based on the reality of real girls from different countries including Kenya, Brazil, Canada, India, Afghanistan and the United States. Each story is designed to promote gender equality, is only one page long and doesn’t reveal where it takes place until the next page, which helps make it even more relatable. My favorite story is about a young girl named Hana. It is illegal for girls to go to school where she lives, so some very brave grandmothers, including hers, set up secret meetings disguised as tea time to teach her and other girls how to read and write so they have the same opportunities as their grandsons. A timeline is included at the end of the book about the history of the International Day of the Girl.
Sea Sirens: A Trot & Cap’n Bill Adventure
by Amy Chu and Janet K. Lee (grades 4-7)
This graphic novel is about a teenage surfer girl named Trot who lives in California. While her mom works, she is in charge of caring for her Vietnamese grandpa. Cap’n Bill is her cat, who she rescued from the beach. Because Grandpa has mild dementia, he sometimes forgets who and where he is and wanders off. One day while Grandpa is napping, Trot and Bill go out to surf and are hit by a wave that knocks them to the bottom of the ocean where there is a whole other world of serpents and sirens. The sirens mistake Cap’n Bill for a hero, so they give him and Trot magic to allow them to breathe under water. Grandpa wakes up from his nap and follows Trot and Bill to join them for their ocean adventures. The wide range of characters, the adventures and the pretty and detailed illustrations provide a fun fantasy world that seems almost believable.
Elsewhere
by Gabrielle Zevin (grades 8 and up)
This is the story of a 15-year-old girl named Liz who wakes up on a boat only to realize she has died and is on her way to Elsewhere. Upon arrival, she meets her grandmother, Betty, who she never met while she was alive as she died before Liz was born. In this new world, people age backwards until they become babies and are then born again on Earth. Elsewhere is a lot like Earth: people can do recreational activities, have relationships with one another and even pick a job they enjoy. Betty helps to guide Liz and is there to support her while she deals with the loss of everything she never got to experience on Earth because of her death. Liz eventually comes to accept her new life and becomes a counselor for animals who find themselves in Elsewhere. Overall, this is a fast paced read as well as an interesting and thoughtful look at what life after death could be like.
Bookmarks submitted by the Upper Arlington Public Library.
