Author Archives: Midge Livingston

Bouncing Bunnies!

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Written by Fiz Osborne, Illustrated by Tim Budgen

Bouncing Bunnies all around in this tale. When it’s time for the baby bunnies to wake up they do their bestest jumps! After that, they get hungry then it’s time to wiggle. This carries on until it’s time to cuddle snuggle and go to bed.

This happy little picture book can be a fun librarian read for youngers as it would be easy to sing a simple little tune to it. It can also be one that can have movement activities for an audience easily added. I recommend it as an extra purchase if one needs some new books like this for kinders and pre-K.

Sharing the Dream

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Written by Shelia P. Moses, Illustrated by Keith Mallett

This book is another wonderful book about a family traveling to march in Washington DC to fight for rights. Agnes travels by train on an adventure with many others. She is nervous and excited as she does not know what to expect. When they arrive, they walk and walk and in the end, they see many speak about rights, freedoms and the future. It is a day of celebration and smiles. People are hopeful for better days. I recommend this book for libraries that may need to refresh their MLK Day, Black History month books of just want a great historically based book added to their collection.

Wish in a Tree

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By Lynda Mullaly Hunt, Illustrated by Nancy Carpenter

Based on the well known book “Fish in a Tree”, this picture book delves into the concept of learning outside the box and being a student who struggles within a standard learning system. It challenges one to have grit and understand that not everything fits into one perfect package of understanding. It travels with a young boy how has ADHD and struggles to learn with the rest of his class.

This is a wonderful adaptation for yourgers to enjoy.

Precious

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By Carols Aponte

Pedrito lives in Puerto Rico with his family. HIs father is working in the U.S. preparing for his family to follow and settle there. Their family feels empty and incomplete with him. As they adjust to dad being gone, a hurricane is coming their way. They prepare and check on their neighbors and then go through the storm. Afterwards Pedrito finds a puppy alone on the street. The family takes him in and cleans him up. Will they find the dog’s family? If they do, will Pedrito be able to give the puppy up?

This is a lovely story of family, community, and resilience. Many will enjoy this compelling tale. I strongly recommend this book for any library to purchase.

The Kite Collector

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By Zoey Abbott

A young boy builds on his relationship with his baby sister when she starts messing with his new kite. After he gets really angry with her and makes her cry, he feels bad and knows that he needs to repair their relationship. He has many kites and enjoys collecting them (as the title implies) but never really flies them and so he goes out and gets her one and they fly it together.

This is a nice story that emphasizes the patience an older sibling needs to have with the younger ones. I would recommend this book as an extra purchase, especially if your library needs more tales about family dynamics/relationships.

Me & Lavender

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Written by Melody C. Peugh, Illustrated by Eve Farb

Lavender is a wonderful friend who always want to go on an adventure! When a girl awakes and realizes she must stay clean and tidy for an event that her mom has planned it is difficult to say no to her buddy. As the day goes on, things go a little sideways but Lavender is always there. In the end, she is found a muddy mess by her Mom who successfully gets her into a bubble bath and Lavender into the washing machine just in time.

A wonderful story with bright colors about a girl, her stuffie, and her sense of adventure. I would recommend this book to purchase if you have extra money.

Let’s Monster Up!

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By Cyndi Marko

This adorable book is a tale about monster friends who support each other. Seth is afraid of everything but when his friend Ruthie finds that her turtle is missing, Seth has to “monster up” and face many fears to help his friend.

With bright graphics and a simple story, Let’s Monster Up! will be a wonderful book to encourage readers to face their fears, achieve their dreams and support others. I recommend this book for young readers.

Shell Song: Based on a True Family Story

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By Sharon Fujimoto-Johnson

Shell Song is a wonderful reflection upon a family’s story that occured at the beginning of WWII when Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese. Told from the viewpoint of a granddaughter this is a tale that discusses a love of two countries as well as internment. Shigeki Fujimoto survived the Sand Island and Honouliuli Internment Camps where prisoners were subjected to extreme weather and living in tents. He collected shells and saved them. This collection is now a family heirloom.

This book is insightful as well as nicely illustrated. Many ages could read it and enjoy it at many levels. I would highly recommend this book and feel deep discussions could be created.

I am NOT Your Hat!

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By Lisa Bentley

This is a story about friendship and how it is not always as it seems. An outgoing bird has a shy friend, Dot, who sits on their head. No one seems to notice this pink character that is hiding something for Bert. They think Dot is a hat. At first, Dot doesn’t mind as they don’t necessarily want to be noticed but eventually, they get frustrated exclaim that they are not a hat and fly away only to leave Bert’s secret out in the open for all to see.

This is a fun story about friendship and how being shy or outgoing is okay. It also a tale of forgiveness and saying sorry. I would strongly recommend this quirky yet insightful tale for young readers.

Kindness Rocks

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Written by Megan Murphy, Illustrated by JiaJia Hamner

A young boy is having a hard day and as he took a walk he found a rock that was painted and said It’s okay. And, as many of us assume, he creates his own rock for someone else to find and the chain reaction continues.

This is a very colorfully illustrated book that would be wonderful for a collaboration with any art teacher and students. It has a great kindness message and gives kids a way that they can encourage others, spread warm thoughts and be artistic. In the back there are instructions on painting rocks and how to choose the best rock and paint for success. I would recommend this title for any library.