November Carnival of Children’s Literature Roundup

Welcome to the November Carnival of Children’s Literature. You are in for a treat. Browse through a variety of posts by talented bloggers belonging to Kidlitosphere. Let them lead you to wonderful books just in time for your holiday shopping.

Hosting this extravaganza on my blog for the first time has been comparable to my own search for holiday gifts. That is—major distractions from the task at hand and into the realm of what I personally like and enjoy!

I so enjoyed every blog post featured here and of course had to wander “down the aisles” exploring many additional offerings on their sites.

I highly recommend such explorations. Links for each blog are included below. Have fun!

Non-fiction

Zoe at Playing by the Book raves about How to be a Dinosaur Hunter by Scott Forbes, illustrated by James Gulliver Hancock that “mixes the delights of a practical handbook with a choose-your-own-adventure story that says…YES! YOU could be a palaeontologist!”

Jennifer fills us in on Port Chicago 50 which covers the grim lives of African American soldiers during WW II in her post at  Jean Little Library. Steve Sheinkin writes about a dramatic incident “that sparked a controversy that ended with 50 sailors being convicted of mutiny and the eventual desegregation of the Navy.”

Anastasia at Booktalking shares Healthy Kids by Maya Ajmera, Victoria Dunning, and Cynthia Pon. It’s from the Global Fund for Children’s Books and tells how children around the world work to stay healthy—from brushing teeth to wearing seat belts.

Alex at Randomly Reading features Flight of the Honey Bee. “Raymond Huber has written a nonfiction book for the youngest readers that is both entertaining and informative. And he does include ways that we can help rejuvenate bees and pollination before they die out.”

Jeanne blogs at True Tales with a Cherry on Top about The Tree Lady written by H. David Hopkins and illustrated by Jill McElmurry. Scientist Kate Sessions is described as a “tree hunter.” She transformed Balboa Park in San Diego with hundreds of trees.

Iron Guy Carl at Boys Rule Boys Read gives thanks for many things including good new books such as What was the First Thanksgiving? by Joan Holub—its adventure and a “Good Quick Read.”

Illustration and Interviews and More…

Sarah blogs about Books for Children in New England at Local Love and she definitely loves the illustrations in Journey by Aaron Becker. Her cozy comparison of this beautiful wordless picture book to a cup of hot cocoa is definitely attractive in my northern state.

Becky Shillington at Tapestry of Words interviews a young reader, Joshua, age 12. He’s a fan of action and adventure and speaks highly of the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz. “It’s about a 14 year secret agent for the British Secret Service.”

The publisher of Lee and Low Books interviews literary agents at The Open Book about the lack of diversity in children’s books. Their insights are worth reading by anyone who loves children’s books and wonders about the diversity issue.

Gail at Original Content fills us in on some interesting twists in literature for children via Rabbit Ears Entertainment. They are formatting in three ways—videos, radio programming and picture books.

Carmela at Teaching Authors shares a “Thanku” poem in honor of school librarians—a Haiku expressing gratitude. “Several studies have shown that full-time librarians have a positive impact on student performance.”

Fiction

The haunting Young Adult novel Sorrow’s Knot totally captured Amitha, writing on her blog Monkey Poop. She says of author Erin Bow, “Her writing is lyrical and magical; every word sings a perfect note. I was captivated by this book from the very first chapter…”

LH Johnson shines a spotlight on a recent chat on Twitter about “Comics! Shazam, kathwop, kablammo, comics!” Check out the blog Did you ever stop to think and forget to start again? for “a sort of  ‘de-mystification’ of the genre.”

Brenda at Prose and Kahn reviews Jack Strong Takes a Stand by Tommy Greenwald. Middle-schooler Jack is feeling overbooked. “He sits down on the couch and refuses to get up, except to eat and go to the bathroom, until his parents allow him to drop the activities he doesn’t enjoy.”

Katie at Secrets and Sharing Soda reviews the sequel to Grace Lin’s Ling and Ting Not Exactly the Same. She says, “The short chapters, universally appealing subject matter, and familiar settings make Ling and Ting Share a Birthday a great choice for beginning readers…”

On Jen Robinson’s Book Page we find her enthusiastic review of Heaven is Paved with Oreos by Catherine Gilbert Murdock for middle grade kids. It “is a coming of age story, a book about family, and a book about taking baby steps towards boy-girl relationships.”

Catherine at Story Snug says Dixie O’Day in the Fast Lane by Shirley Hughes and Clara   Villiamy “perfectly bridges the gap between picture books and early chapter books…It’s a real page turner and the perfect size to fit in a Christmas stocking.”

The fourth in an excellent chapter book series about a second grade boy gets the thumbs-up from Marty at Chapter Book Chat. Alvin Ho: Allergic to Dead Bodies, Funerals and Other Fatal Circumstance by Lenore Look, illustrated by Leuyun Pham. “It is funny, good for boys and includes a nice multi-ethnic component.”

Lori at StoryQuill is focused on award winners and she anticipates Sugar by Jewell Parker Rhodes is in the running. “This historical novel allows the reader to experience life on a southern plantation through the eyes of ten-year-old Sugar, post-emancipation.

Jeff, who blogs at NC Teacher Stuff, highly recommends Fossil by Bill Thomsen to readers and also as a resource for classroom instruction. A “wordless treasure…the illustrations are magnificent. They are not computer generated, but hand drawn.”

Early Literacy

From “Miss Maple’s Seeds

Looking for picture books? Darshana at Flowering Minds dazzles us with a round-up of the Best Picture Books of 2013. She says “I think this was the year of the “wordless” or nearly wordless picture book.”

Jeanette, a speech pathologist and writer, blogs at SpeakWell ReadWell. She highlights her book Giant’s Sneeze, illustrated by Susan Joyer—it entertains and helps kids practice “ch” sounds. “Speech and reading skills are interdependent and children make leaps toward literacy when those skills are taught together.”