Pay Attention, Carter Jones by Gary D. Schmidt

Carter Jones' life is in disarray. Dad is stationed in Germany. The family car is beyond repair. His three younger sisters function in crisis mode. Their dog is constantly barfing. The Joneses are trying to keep the family together and their heads above water.  They are not succeeding. Then the doorbell rings. It's the Butler. Thanks to arrangements from a deceased relative, the family now has a Butler. But this is no ordinary gentleman's gentleman. His major task is restoring order to a crumbling household. Homework, piano practice, and a proper breakfast are promptly instituted.  The Butler takes the unusual step of introducing Carter to cricket and organizing a group of boys, teaching them the game's fundamentals. Separate story threads come together on a blustery Saturday morning when Team Britannia meets Team India on the local middle school football field for an exhibition game. ​Schmidt brings the contest between the two teams to a riveting finish that will have readers holding their breaths until the final moments of the game. No one will want to stop for coffee.

I was there.
In the Blue Mountains of Australia.
I was wet and cold and the wind was up, and my father had scattered my fire and now he was kneeling by the fire he had built and now he was stacking twigs onto it.

Look at all the shiny medals!

Rocket to the Moon!: Big Ideas That Changed the World
​by Don Brown

Big Ideas That Changed the World, a series created by Don Brown, "celebrates the hard-won succession of ideas that ultimately remade the world."  Rocket to the Moon! is the first book in the BIG IDEAS series, exploring the development of rockets. ​Rodman Law, a New Jersey daredevil parachutist in the early 1900's, is the character who narrates the chronology. He provides commentary and adds his own witty asides.  I bet I'm the first guy to try flying in a rocket. OK, OK, there's a sketchy story about a Turkish guy who did it in 1633, but come on, 1633? I'm not buying it, so I'm claiming the title. Briefly mentioned are the Chinese invention of gunpowder, as well as fifteenth and sixteenth century experimentation with rockets. The narrative progresses with greater detail when detailing the research of twentieth-century Russian, American, and Romanian scientists and the work of American-German aerospace engineer Werner von Braun. His association with Hitler's Germany is mentioned. ​​

They lightened Eagle by discarding an impressive pile of junk: boots, a camera, canisters, scoops, a shovel, space suit parts, and an empty storage container. They left a bag of barf, too, so watch your step if you're ever on the Sea of Tranquility.

Don Brown Comics

Rocket History 

Contrary Creatures: Unique Animal Opposites
​by James Weinberg

Weinberg uses bold graphic design to compare animal characteristics. The cover sets the stage with a wave-like separation between life on land and life underwater. The title font remains the same for both words. However, color and text position offer important informational cues. The demarcation between the two environments is neatly pierced with shafts of light streaming from the sky and penetrating the deep water.  ​Interior pages include comparisons of animal size, habitat, as well as distinguishing features and behaviors. There is even a nod to imaginary animals found in stories and legends. A listing of the creatures along with a brief description of each can be found at the back of the book.

Home for a Penguin, Home for a Whale
​by Brenda Williams   ill Annalisa Beghelli      

Images of ocean life, both in the water and near the shore, follow a wave-like motion across two-page spreads. Brenda Williams’ rhythmic couplets undulate along with these animals, visually reinforcing the text’s aquatic theme. Annalisa Beghelli uses various shades of blue as the primary background. Generally the deeper blues are at the bottom of the spreads, with color values becoming lighter near the page top. Animals are depicted with a light whimsical touch.  Sharks and barracudas to not appear particularly menacing. A fun read aloud with a bonus: a tiny sea snail is hidden on each page, waiting to be discovered.

The Brain Storm by Linda Ragsdale ill Claudio Molina

The title is a clever play on words. There's brainstorm, a group consideration of a problem. Then there is a brainstorm, a condition where one is unable to think clearly. Linda Ragsdale combines the two in her wordless picture book, The Brain Storm. A boy wakes up in a foul mood. Maybe it's the ringing alarm clock. Perhaps it's a hold-over from yesterday's problems. Whatever the source, a cloud is looming over the head of our young protagonist. This dark storm manages to escape the hat on his head, and take residence in his backpack, his locker, and his attitude. Every activity and every person he encounters is affected by his gloom. At the end of the day, he arrives home. A loving caregiver, perhaps grandma, takes a look at that scrawl hovering overhead. She sets to work with her knitting needles, taking the strands of the tangled mass of misery to fashion a sweater. What can he do with her creation? Wear it? Stare at it? Kick it around?

Claudio Molina simple illustrations with ample white space allow the swirling tornado of a brainstorm prominence on each page. Backgrounds are kept to a minimum, usually a line drawing with a few touches of color A distinguishing feature of the boy's face are his expressive eyebrows. Molina conveys emotions with a brow's shape and angle. Tiny button nose and no mouth, draw attention to this facial feature. Readers finally see a mouth, curved into a gentle smile on the book's concluding page, when the brainstorm is gone. Share this book. Then consider ways to move beyond the stormy moments in life.

Bad Days Happen

Bad days come for us all.  Meet Alexander and Grumpy Pants who have their own very bad days.

Worry-free Sleep

For children experiencing nighttime anxiety, a quitapena may be the solution. Handmade by a family in Guatemala, these worry dolls come in a colorful cloth pouch.

Carter Reads the Newspaper by Deborah Hopkinson ill Don Tate

Deborah Hopkinson introduces young readers to an important historical figure: Carter G. Woodson. ​Born in 1875, the son of a formerly enslaved father and mother, young Carter grew up hearing the stories of his Virginian parents' struggles. Times were hard for this family. As a result, Woodson left school in his early teens to labor as a farm-hand, garbage collector, and coal miner. He and other West Virginia coal miners were often invited to the home of Oliver Jones, a Civil War veteran. Carter would read the newspapers to Jones and the other miners, researching and answering their questions.

Carter Reads the Newspaper is an excellent introduction to African American History Month. Use this poster with a display of books featuring biographies, historical accounts, historical fiction, and other works by Black authors and illustrators.  Download a copy of the poster featuring an inspiring quote and art by Don Tate.