This post all began when my son gave me It Began with a Page: How Gyo Fujikawa Drew the Way for Christmas. It had special meaning to us because I read Gyo Fujikawa books to him almost every night for years. There was something about her sweet, calming stories and illustrations we both loved. As I was reading the biography on Christmas day, an idea was forming. I had read so many wonderful picture book biographies recently and learned the life stories of so many people I knew of, but didn’t really know. I decided I wanted to share these remarkable people with you. In these books you’ll learn the stories behind some famous people and some not so famous, but all fascinating.

It Began with a Page: How Gyo Fujikawa Drew the Way

By Kyo Maclear @kyomaclear

Illustrated by Julie Morstad @juliemorstad

Published by Harper Collins @harpercollins @harperkids

When my son was a baby, we discovered some remarkable board books. They were charming stories full of sweet animals, diverse children with angelic expressions and gentle words that were perfect to hear before I tucked him in each night. I always remembered the author, Gyo Fujikawa, and her special books, which have been my “go to” baby shower gift for 25 years. So I was delighted when I learned there was a new picture book biography about her, and even more excited when I learned it was illustrated by Julie Morstad, one of my favorite illustrators.

Gyo Fujikawa was a Japanese American girl who loved to draw. Unfortunately, she was also a girl who was invisible to the white students in her school and to most of her teachers. Happily though, one teacher recognized her talent and gave Gyo the money to attend art school. This changed her life. It gave her the courage to face the discrimination she would encounter for years to come because she was Asian American, as well as because she was a woman. It gave her the courage to write a children’s book with multiracial children in the 1960’s and to insist her publisher break the rules and publish it. When the publisher finally agreed, Babies became a bestseller and is still in print today.  She went on to create 50 more picture books for children. 

This story of courage and determination gives you a glimpse into not only Gyo’s life, but also into the lives of Asian Americans during the last century. Julie Morstad’s illustrations will give you a glimpse into the charm you’ll find in all of Gyo’s books. You’ll see the rainbow of faces of naughty, nice and very busy babies which are similar to the little ones you’ll find in so many of Gyo’s books. And you’ll begin to understand why I’m such an admirer of Gyo Fujikawa, and why I’ll continue to tuck her books into every baby shower gift I give.

The Important Thing About Margaret Wise Brown

By Mac Barnett @macbarnett

Illustrated by Sarah Jacoby 

Published by Balzer and Bray @balzerandbray @harpercollins_publishing

You may end your days tucking your little one in by reading Goodnight Moon or The Important Book, but do you really know anything about the author, Margaret Wise Brown? I certainly didn’t before I read this delightful picture book biography by award winning author, Mac Barnett. 

There are so many things I loved about this book. 

• I love how the author and the illustrator skillfully interweave the theme of The Important Book, as well as the covers of so many of her books into their story. 
• I loved learning that the New York Public Library, as well as many others, stamped Margaret Wise Brown’s books “NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PURCHASE BY EXPERT”!!
• I loved Sarah Jacoby’s gentle illustrations that filled every page, especially the fact that the children in the library circle are rabbits, the librarian is a rabbit and every book is being held by a rabbit!
• And most of all I loved that I learned a little bit more about the quirky, fascinating person who wrote some of our most beloved children’s books.
  

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Prairie Boy: Frank Lloyd Wright Turns the Hearland into a Home

By Barb Rosenstock @brosenstock

Art by Christopher Silas Neal @csilasneal

Published by Calkins Creek #calkinscreek

I’ve been fascinated with Frank LLoyd Wright since I was in grade school. it began when my parents explained why my classmate’s house was so very different than the usual suburban ranches that filled our neighborhood. The reason the house was so unique was that it was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. When I was nine years old, I didn’t realize how special that was. All I knew was that I loved that house, wished it was my house. and from that moment on loved mid century design and Frank Lloyd Wright.

Barb Rosenstock’s story guides us on a tour through Wright’s life, beginning with his childhood on the Wisconsin Prairie and throughout his career as an architect; an architect who went against the norm of designing Victorian style mansions and rather chose to design houses to fit the modern family inside and out. Christopher Silas Neal’s illustrations, which utilize the shapes of the prairie landscape and reflect Frank Lloyd Wright’s style, further help the reader gain a better understanding of the prairie houses. 

I wish my nine year old self had this wonderful book so many years ago. I would have loved to understand more about Frank Lloyd Wright and the reason his houses were so unique.  I, too had a love of shapes and creating structures with wooden blocks. Perhaps I would have been inspired to study architecture. Maybe a child who reads this book today will be inspired to follow in Frank Lloyd Wright’s footsteps!

Little Libraries, Big Heroes 

By Miranda Paul #mirandapaul

Illustrated by John Parra @johnparaart

Published by Clarion Books #clarionbooks @hmhkids

Have you ever wondered about the Little Free Library @littlefreelibrary (LFB) phenomenon like I did? Well for myself, who always seems to make up stories every time I take a walk through my hometown, these are the questions bouncing around in my head. Where do all of these unique little houses come from? Why are there more and more of them? Who makes them? How did it begin? When I discovered this inspirational story, I was delighted to find the answers to my questions, plus a few more, too!

It all began with an ordinary hero who wanted to honor his mom’s memory and her love of reading. And it spread with the help of other ordinary heroes who worked together to spread their love of reading by building the little houses, filling them with books, labeling the containers with this motto “Take a Book, Share a Book” and placing them in yards throughout the U.S. And the phenomenon didn’t stop at the U.S. borders. Soon there were LFLibraries all around the world, such as at a hospital in Ireland, on a street corner in Pakistan and in a schoolyard in South Sudan.

This is a story of the amazing things that can happen when ordinary people work together to make a dream come true; a dream to help people across the world. This story offers a wonderful starting point for conversations and brainstorming with students about their dreams to help the world, and planning to make their dreams come true.

Just Like Rube Goldberg:

The Incredible True Story of the Man Behind the Machines

Written by Sarah Aronson 

Illustrated by Robert Neubecker 

Published by Simon & Schuster Kids  @simonkids

Every year Purdue (my Alma Mater) has a Rube Goldberg competition. It’s always fascinating to see what imaginative contraptions the teams create. But even though I’ve followed this for years, I never knew Rube Goldberg’s story. Happily, after reading this, I now do! I know that his true aspiration was to be a “great cartoonist for a big-time newspaper.” Unfortunately, his family had other ideas, so to please them he became an engineer. But since he was an engineer who dreamed of drawing, he soon quit his job and became a laborer at the San Francisco Chronicle. During the day he emptied wastebaskets and filed photos, and at night he drew cartoons. Finally a few were published. This gave him the courage to move to New York City where everything changed. He became a cartoonist, a political commentator and most importantly, a creator and illustrator of an alter ego, Professor Butts, who created crazy contraptions that solved problems in ridiculous and totally unexpected ways.

This story illustrates the success one can have, if you persevere and follow your dream. It also introduces the reader to the fun and creativity of inventing, whether it be a serious invention or a ridiculous one that has loads of surprises.

The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons

By Natascha Biebow 

Illustrated by Steven Salerno

Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt @houghtonmifflinharcourt

Do you remember opening a new box of crayons? If you were lucky, you got a new box every school year. If you were EXTRA lucky, it was a box of 64 shiny new crayons with pointy ends that had never touched a piece of paper.  That beginning of the school year excitement came back to me whenever my kids and I used to watch Mr. Roger’s segment on a trip to a crayon factory. We always wished we could be right there with him watching the thousands of crayons coming off the assembly line. But we never knew where crayons originated, or who invented them, or why? This delightful book answers all of those questions and more.  

Edwin Benny loved colors and knew children did, too. Sadly, though, most children couldn’t afford the dull, clumsy crayons, which were available in the late 1800s. Edwin Benny listened to what children wanted and began experimenting in his lab to create a strong, colorful, safe crayon. It took years of work, but at the 1904 World’s Fair the familiar green and yellow box of Crayola Crayons was introduced and children’s lives were never quite the same. 

I like this book so much because it shows what can be accomplished with perseverance, creativity and hard work. When Edwin Benny’s wife described a problem to him – crayons were expensive, dully colored, breakable and clumsy, he became determined to solve it, even though a solution wasn’t readily apparent. I also like the back material in the book including captioned photographs of a crayon factory, a brief biography and a list of websites and videos. 

If your children are fans of crayons (who isn’t?!), please add this to your list. It will be so much fun for all of you.

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I hope you’ve had a good week beginning with the school holiday on Monday. It was wonderful to have such warm temperatures on President’s Day! We had a great dinner with my sister, brother-in-law and niece and nephew on Monday. It was fun to catch up! Then on Thursday, we visited old friends and on Friday we got to take one of our niece’s out for dinner. Now I’m ending my week by sharing some Kids’ Books to Remember with you.

KIDS’ BOOKS TO REMEMBER: READ ALOUD

Hank the Cowdog  by John R. Erickson

Agnes and Clarabelle  by Adele Griffin and Courtney Sheinmel. This is the first book of a new beginning chapter book series that you won’t want to miss.

Judy Moody Predicts the Future  by Megan McDonald

KIDS’ BOOKS TO REMEMBER: PICTURE BOOKS

Freedom Summer  by Deborah Wiles. This is an excellent book that will help your kids better understand our country before the Civil Rights Act was law.

Four Feet, Two Sandals  by Karen Lynn Williams and Khadra Mohammed. This story will help your children develop an understanding of, and develop empathy for the refugee children of our world.

Magic Beach  by Alison Lester. This story will help you prepare for your trip to the beach for spring break!

KIDS’ BOOKS TO REMEMBER: CHAPTER BOOKS

Trixie Belden mysteries, along with Nancy Drew books were my first true favorite series. I was surprised and so happy when I found this on the library shelf!

Trixie Belden, The Mystery at Bob-White Cave  by Kathryn Kenny

Mallory vs. Max  by Laurie Friedman

The following two books are part of a fun series that appeal to both boys and girls.

The Girls Get Even  by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Boys in Control  by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

LINKS FOR MOM AND DAD

In celebration of President’s Day:

Fantastic Kids Books about American Presidents

As you begin to get ready for spring break, here are some audio books that will help your trip go much faster.

Great Audio Books for Kids

This link tells about one of my favorite chapter books of the past year.

Survival and Wildness with Peter Brown

This is a new blog you will want to follow. The Loud Library Lady shares a new series that is bound to become a favorite with your family.

We Love Fenway and Hattie!

Thank you for once again inviting me into your inbox. I’m taking a few weeks off, so Kids’ Books to Remember will return on March 19th. Have a good few, hopefully warm, weeks!

A few weeks ago, I sent out an email to all of the library volunteers from the past school year, to let them know about Red Canoe Reader. I received a lot of kind and supportive responses. It meant so much to me. When I was an elementary school librarian, the volunteers played a vital part in the success of the library. They are the moms who didn’t mind trying to make sense of the crazy and mixed up library shelves, to check in hundreds of books or to rearrange the furniture. And most importantly, they were the moms who kindly helped the kids with their many requests and needs. There was never a complaint when a little one would ask, for example, for the “blue book with an elephant on the front”. Even with that small amount of information, they would always do their best to help the kids to find the perfect book! And that was not an unusual situation. It happened multiple times through out the day! So, when one of the moms mentioned in her reply to my email that her son, a rather reluctant reader, was  needing some new beginning chapter book series on the second and early third grade levels, I got busy with this addition to the website. I was planning to compile a list of beginning chapter book series, so this prompted me to get started! I had already posted a list of middle grade chapter books a month ago, Chapter Book Series, so if you have some kiddos who are ready for books on the 3rd – 6th grade levels, that is the list for them. If your kids are not quite there yet, then try some of the series in this new list, Beginning Chapter Books.

Reading Strategies for beginning chapter book Series

I suggest going to the public library and getting several books on the list. It doesn’t need to be the first in the series. Luckily, the majority of these series can be read in any order. Then let your little one choose a book, cuddle up and begin to read it together. You can take turns reading pages. Perhaps, you can read a few chapters each night or more if you can’t put it down! In that case, keep reading! I found with my kids that once they found a series they loved, a great strategy was to buy the books. There’s something about owning the book, that adds to their confidence. Of course, if you have a great public library, you may not need to do that. You may just be making lots of trips to pick up new books!

As always, this list is certainly not all of the beginning chapter book series out there. For one thing, early chapter books are defined differently by publishers, librarians, teachers and parents. These are simply books that appealed to lots of different kids with lots of different interests in my library. And when a child finds the perfect series for them, they are going to keep reading. I’ve seen it happen so many times and it’s magical! It’s one of the reasons I loved being a school librarian.

Do you know of some beginning chapter books to add to the list? I’ll look forward to hearing your suggestions in the comments below.

In my last post, I wrote about some of the new chapter books in Some New and Noteworthy Chapter Books and I wrote about some of my favorite chapter books in my post, Children’s Books for Christmas: Chapter Books.  Those books are usually written on the third grade level and higher. But what about the kids who are not quite ready for these, but are eager to feel the pride in reading chapter books? That is when I would lead them to the colorful displays of the early chapter books in the library. The displays made it easy for the kids to choose their own book, once they were familiar with the series.

And about this time of year, those displays contained very few early chapter books, because the kindergarten and first graders had discovered them. So many times, those beginning readers would come in and ask for a book with chapters. They might still be reading on the first grade level, but they wanted to have the thrill of moving on to reading chapter books. This meant the books needed to have a table of contents containing a list of the chapters and the page numbers. The book might have only three chapters, but that didn’t matter, because it was a chapter book!

Then the next step would be finding that series that would draw them in and make them eager to read another one. My assistant and I would spend what seemed like endless hours working with all of our kids to help them find the perfect book, because we knew if we could hook them on a series, most likely we would create a real book lover.

Recently, I saw a blog post about early chapter books that I was very much in agreement with. Sarah Mackensie wrote about early chapter books on her blog, Amongst Lovely Things, titled Series Books that Will Turn Your Struggling Reader into a Voracious Reader. I was very excited to read her thoughts, because her ideas and methods were so similar to what we tried to do in our elementary library. In addition, Sarah has excellent step by step instructions to help make your child into a reader who is eager to read every book in a series! She also includes a list of many chapter books that will entice your child. When I saw this post, I was already planning to write about early chapter books, so I was excited to read Sarah’s ideas and wanted to share her post with you. I would encourage you to give her ideas a try, if the child in your life needs a little extra support and guidance to make them into a lifelong reader.

cynthia rylant early chapter books

Once the kids began chapter books they had many favorites. And I was constantly searching for new series, to make sure they could find a perfect book when they were ready to move on to a new one. To introduce early chapter books, I would read the first few chapters of some early chapter books during my weekly storytimes with the kindergarten and first grade classes. I always started with Cynthia Rylant’s Henry and Mudge and High Rise Private Eyes series.

When the kids wanted to try another series (or all of Henry and Mudge and High Rise Private Eyes are checked out), I would suggest another series by Cynthia Rylant, Mr. Putter and Tabby.  

These are all well loved early chapter books that give the kids a real sense of accomplishment.

national geographic readers

For the children who would rather read a nonfiction book, National Geographic Readers are a great choice. They range from second grade through fourth grade reading level, Lexile 220 – 650, AR 1.9 – 4.2. Due to this wide range of levels, you might want to check on each book on the Lexile site and the AR BookFinder site to find the right book for your child.

Katie Woo and Max and Zoe

Two extremely popular early chapter book series for the kids, once they are ready to move on from the Cynthia Rylant books are Max and Zoe, and Katie Woo. Katie is a sassy, spunky, curious and funny Chinese American girl who is great at getting into trouble. The character was inspired by the great niece of the author, Fran Manushkin. Max and Zoe feature Max and his best friend Zoe as they explore different places and meet new people. 

BILLIE B. BROWN and HEY JACK by sally rippin

Billie B. Brown is a girl and her best friend Jack lives next door. The Billie B. early chapter book series describes her quirky adventures from her point of view. Hey Jack gives her next door neighbor a chance to be heard. At first it was hard to convince our early readers that they should read both series, even though there might be a girl or a boy on the cover (horrors!), but once we convinced them to give it a try, they loved both series.

star wars and lego chapter books

Finally, two more favorites are the Star Wars and the Lego early chapter books. These books were loved by kindergarteners through third or fourth grade, no matter their reading level. In fact, one little guy would come in almost every day and want a new Star Wars books. I tried to convince him to try something else, and sometimes I would succeed, but often he was adamant that he wanted a Star Wars book. He told me that he and his dad would read them together and read them over and over. I soon realized that the books might be above his reading level, but they were providing some special family time. Since the new Star Wars movie was released in December, I would guess these are even more popular now!

Finally, for Lego lovers, there is a series of Lego early chapter books. They range from first grade through fifth grade reading level. These books describe adventures of lots of different characters and include many about Star Wars, making them extra popular!

This is just a short list of some of my favorite early chapter books. There are so many more! Look for a list of these books to be added to my website within the next few weeks. I’ll let you know when that happens! And please remember, that although the links from the book titles direct you to Amazon, most of these books can be found in your public library.

Which early chapter books series are your favorites? Please let me know in the comments below!

The Stranger

By Chris Van Allsburg

Houghton Mifflin Company

1986

AR 3.7, Lexile 640

The Widow’s Broom

By Chris Van Allsburg

Houghton Mifflin Company

1992

AR 4.7, Lexile 810

Today my husband and I went on a hike at our local arboretum. We love to go there every October to wander the trails and take pictures of the amazing trees. However, a few years ago after we waited 45 minutes on a weekend just to get through the gate and then more time searching for a parking space, we told ourselves that perhaps we would skip our fall hikes at the arboretum until we retired. We reassured ourselves that we would continue to go there throughout the year for the trails and the peacefulness which leads one to believe that you’re really out in the country, just not in October. Well this year is different! One of the perks of being retired is that we can go to the arboretum during the week! It was amazing. It was so peaceful. We were both taking pictures and constantly remarking about the beauty in the forests. I was thankful to be outside and to spend time with my husband in the midst of the splendor of the trees. I was thinking, maybe this retirement idea might work after all (I’ve had my doubts)!

As we hiked, I began to think of the books I most loved sharing with my classes in October. With less than one week remaining until Halloween I thought of my definite favorite, The Stranger by Chris Van Allsburg. I’m sure you’re familiar with some of Van Allsburg’s other books, such as The Polar Express and Jumangi (both Caldecott winners), but he has written many other picture books as well. His books have amazing illustrations, as well as mysterious and intriguing stories. They sometimes have black and white charcoal pencil illustrations, but other times the illustrations are pastels. When asked why this is, Mr. Van Allsburg explains in his online biography (http://hmhbooks.com/chrisvanallsburg/faqs.html) that he always imagines all of his stories before he begins and sometimes the pictures are black and white and other times color. He’s not certain why this is, but this is how he works!

In The Stranger Farmer Bailey hits a man with his car and then takes him home to recuperate. The farmer’s family becomes very fond of the stranger, as his stay stretches into weeks, because the stranger has no idea who he is or where he came from. At the same time, Farmer Bailey realizes that fall is not arriving as it should. It had begun to come, but now it seems like summer. Chris Van Allsburg skims back and forth across the lines of reality and fiction, as the mysterious events continue. His illustrations almost come alive, although the story is a fantasy. These draw the reader into the story and lead to many questions. For example,  Why is the doctor’s thermometer stuck on zero? Why do the rabbits run toward the stranger, rather than away from him? Why are the farm trees green when the surrounding trees have turned orange?

I also loved to share Van Allsburg’s The Widows Broom. It is another mysterious story perfect for Halloween. In this story, a witch’s broom loses the power to fly, so it is abandoned in a widow’s field. The widow retrieves it and brings it into her home. The next day she is amazed to awaken and see the broom sweeping her floors and helping with many other chores. She even plays the piano for the widow during the long evenings. However, her neighbors are very suspicious of the broom and its intentions. This leads to a great ending with a wonderful twist.

I encourage you to explore all of Chris Van Allsburg’s books. Although they are picture books, children of all ages, as well as adults will be fascinated by his stories and amazed at the illustrations. Be sure, too, to visit his website, http://hmhbooks.com/chrisvanallsburg/index.html. And learn why Chris Van Allsburg says:

“The idea of the extraordinary happening in the context

of the ordinary is what’s fascinating to me.” Chris Van Allsburg

Hi! I’m Susan, a wife, a mom and a recently retired elementary school librarian with 22 years of experience. You may be wondering what brought me to the decision to write a blog about kids’ books. It all began about a year ago during a conversation with my brother during our annual reunion at Thanksgiving. We were talking about my upcoming retirement in June of 2015 and I was admitting to feeling a little panicky about what I would do (actually a lot of panic was already setting in!). You see, I’ve always worked with children and books since I graduated from Purdue in 1973 and I’ve always loved seeing the light go on in children’s eyes when they begin to learn to read. I believe a big part of that is making sure the kids have the right book. Because of that belief, 22 years ago I made a decision to accept an elementary school librarian job (my second major at Purdue) in Naperville, IL, and it proved to be one of the best decisions I ever made!  Through the years, I was able to help children find a perfect book or author, time and time again and I was always rewarded with big smiles and that light in their eyes. I don’t want to walk away from that joy. I may not be able to see the light in your child’s eyes, but I’m hoping you’ll share their joy with me, if one of my blogs leads them to find the perfect book for them.

Well, it turns out that writing a blog is a little harder than I expected! It has taken lots of thought, lots of support and lots of help from my husband, my two sons, my nieces, my nephews and my siblings. But thanks to all of them, I’m finally doing it! My goal is to write at least one post a week. These postings may include my thoughts about a series you might not be familiar with or had forgotten about, my suggestions about new books, both fiction and nonfiction, as well as low reading level/high interest level fiction books. In addition I hope to share my suggestions about tips and techniques for parents to use as they read aloud or share reading with their children. I want to assure you that I will only include books that are currently available in public libraries and book stores, so I don’t send anyone off on a frustrating quest! And finally, I will include the reading levels of the books I suggest using both the Lexile level and the ALTOS level which is used to determine the Accelerated Reader (AR) level. This will help you determine if the book might work for your child. However, I want to remind you, even if the Lexile level is below your child’s reading level, the content might be perfect for their maturity level and might include some concepts you would like your child exposed to.

Finally, you may be wondering why this is the Red Canoe Reader. As I mentioned earlier, I requested help from my family as I began to create my blog. I received lots of wonderful suggestions for names – thank you everyone – and then my sister, Lisa, who follows many blogs, suggested it needed to be something personal to me. When she mentioned Red Canoe Reader, I knew I had found the perfect title! A red canoe has been a big part of my life since high school. At that time my dad bought a red canoe and we immediately began our adventures. He was a huge fisherman, so we would take the canoe to the local reservoir on many summer evenings and carry it from the car to the water. (I wonder, now, how we ever did that. It’s an extremely heavy fiberglass canoe!) We always had it with us during our annual two week lake vacations and it is now a permanent resident of our Michigan lake house. There have been so many happy and crazy adventures connected with that red canoe through the years, that it seemed like the perfect title for my blog.

If you have any suggestions for blog ideas, or questions about specific books, series or ideas, please make a comment. I look forward to hearing from many of you, as I begin to explore the world of blogging!