catastrophe – Mom Read It

Blog Tour: Willow and Bunny, by Anitra Rowe Schulte/Illustrated by Christopher Denise

Posted on October 18, 2023 by Rosemary Kiladitis

A bunny who needs a home, a welcoming willow tree, and the power of kindness. This is the moving story of Willow and Bunny.

Willow and Bunny, by Anitra Rowe Schulte/Illustrated by Christopher Denise,
(Oct. 2023, Two Lions),
$17.99, ISBN: 9781542025690

Ages 4-7

A Bunny finds home in the loving branches of a willow tree, who keeps him warm and safe. When a stormy spiral tears through the forest, terrified animals run in search of shelter and find it within Willow’s embrace. With Bunny to help soothe them, Willow holds and protects all the animals from the storm, holding steady and strong in the face of the storm’s rage. After, when the animals discover the disastrous effect the storm has had on Willow, they come together to help her heal, and to spread her love. Using soft natural colors, Caldecott Honor artist Denise creates cozy settings using a soft, maternal glow of sunlight against the backdrop of warm greens and browns, creating the embrace of nature taking in the lone Bunny. Willow appears massive compared to the tiny bunny, but never overpowering; she is welcoming, beckoning, protective of her new charge. Schulte’s story weaves itself around the reader, creating a tale of mutual love and respect, of community, and empathy, while describing the chaos and terror of a disaster and the hopeful aftermath as members come together to heal and rebuild. This is a Giving Tree for a new generation, where everyone contributes to the benefit of all.

“This tale provides a vehicle for conversations both about weather catastrophes and, more generally, about strong bonds that endure through change.” —Publishers Weekly

“The cozy, kindhearted story is beautifully told, mixing moments of sweet simplicity and light peril with a gentle hand. . . . A gratifying glimpse of generous friendship.” —Booklist

Anitra Rowe Schulte is the author of Dancing with Daddy, which won the Christopher Award and the Dolly Gray Children’s Literature Award. She has worked as a journalist for The Kansas City Star and the Sun-Times News Group, as a staff writer for Chicago Public Schools, and as a publicist. She lives in the Chicago area with her husband and their three daughters. Visit her at http://www.anitraroweschulte.com or @anitraschulte on Twitter.

Christopher Denise wrote and illustrated Knight Owl, a 2023 Caldecott Honor winner and New York Times bestseller. He is also the illustrator of many critically acclaimed children’s books, including Anika Aldamuy Denise’s Bunny in the Middle, Alison McGhee’s Firefly Hollow, and Anne Marie Pace’s Groundhug Day, as well as several in Brian Jacques’s award-winning Redwall series. Christopher lives with his family in Rhode Island. Visit him at http://www.christopherdenise.com and @christopherdenise on Instagram.

CATastrophe! teachers readers to spot patterns

Posted on September 7, 2021 by Rosemary Kiladitis

CATastrophe! : A Story of Patterns, by Ann Marie Stephens/Illustrated by Jenn Harney, (Aug. 2021, Boyds Mill Press), $17.99, ISBN: 9781635923216

Ages 4 to 8

Nine kittens set out on a fishing adventure to catch some dinner, but – OH NO! – they’re running into some trouble! Luckily, the Captain is there to help them out, by organizing them and calling out patterns for them to follow: row, row, meow; heave, heave, ho; Captain calls out the code, and the kittens follow, creating an organized unit where they can paddle their boat and catch their fish. Using math as a code-building foundation, this is a great way to introduce patterns and coding to younger kids. Rhyming and wordplay, a fun story, adorable artwork, and a fun story makes mathematical concepts accessible and fun to learn and easy to remember. A fun side challenge has readers searching for a dragonfly and a worm that each appear 20 times throughout the book.

A fun companion to Ann Marie Stephens’s Arithmechicks series and Josh Funk’s How to Code books, bring the math fun early on this school year.

History, Intermediate, Middle Grade, Non-fiction, Non-Fiction, Tween Reads

Titanic survivor stories: 10 True Tales

Posted on April 20, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Titanic: Young Survivors (10 True Tales), by Allan Zullo, (Dec. 2015, Scholastic), $5.99, ISBN: 9780545818391

Recommended for ages 10-12

Another solid addition to the 10 True Tales series, Allan Zullo researched survivor stories of the kids who survived the Titanic sinking and told their stories. With heartbreaking statistics – only 86 of about 195 young people under age 17 survived – and tear-jerking stories of children saying goodbye to their fathers as they were lowered into lifeboats, these stories are tough to read, but create an emotional link between readers and the kids who survived the tragic sinking of the luxury liner over 100 years ago. It’s a good additional book to add to nonfiction collections; one that will go beyond the facts and straight to the heart of the people and what they lost. Each story includes a brief epilogue that details what happened to the survivors after arriving back in New York, and any information about the recovery of the survivor’s family members.

If Allan Zullo’s name is on it, I buy it. He’s written over 100 nonfiction books for kids, and knows how to write series nonfiction that reads like page-turning fiction. He knows the subject matter that kids like to read about, from war heroes to surviving sharks, and he makes sure to get a kids’-eye view with books like Kid Pirates and Teens at War. He puts the real face of history into nonfiction text by telling the stories of people affected by world-shattering events.

The book includes a glossary, and Zullo mentions several reliable Web resources, including Encyclopedia Titanica, Titanic-Titanic, and the Titanic Inquiry Project.

Allan Zullo’s author webpage offers more information about his books and an FAQ that features questions kids have asked him.