Category Archives: Middle Grades

The Nutcracker (Part 4)

Posted on December 19, 2010 by Mrs. N

I’ve loved Susan Jeffers’s work as an illustrator ever since I got my hands on her beautiful rendition of Robert Frost’s poem Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening. Her period pictures in this version of The Nutcracker are bound … Continue reading →

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The Harlem Nutcracker (Part 3)

Posted on December 16, 2010 by Mrs. N

It was pretty exciting to find a version of the Nutcracker that featured a non-white cast. But I really wasn’t at all prepared for The Harlem Nutcracker. Rather than illustrations, author Susan Kuklin uses photographs of a dance performance to … Continue reading →

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The Nutcracker / The Nutcracker Ballet (Part 2)

Posted on December 15, 2010 by Mrs. N

The Nutcracker grand tour continues.  Today’s versions follow the ballet fairly closely for children who want their storybook to match their viewing experience. First up is the version by Geraldine McCaughrean and illustrated by Nicki Palin.  The lead is called … Continue reading →

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The Nutcracker (Part 1)

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Mrs. N

As a little girl, one of my favorite holiday treats was getting all dressed up and taken to The Nutcracker.  It did a marvelous job of combining my somewhat cliched little girl favorites – a desire to be a ballerina … Continue reading →

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Quick Pick Picture Book – Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins

Posted on December 6, 2010 by Mrs. N

When Hershel arrives in a village he learns that they are unable to celebrate Hanukkah because of some antisemitic goblins.  To rid the town of this scourge, Hershel will need to light the candles each night and on the eighth … Continue reading →

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Candelight for Rebecca

Posted on December 5, 2010 by Mrs. N

Well, they can’t all be winners.  It would have been nice if this were a good book, because anything American Girl is wildly popular, but I’d have to say Candelight for Rebecca was marginal at best.  There are conflicting messages … Continue reading →

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Quick Pick Picture Book- The Latke Who Wouldn’t Stop Screaming

Posted on December 4, 2010 by Mrs. N

You would scream too, wouldn’t you, if you were dropped in sizzling oil to be fried?  If everywhere you went others refused to understand you?  If you felt as if you didn’t have a proper home?  If someone was prepared … Continue reading →

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Quick Pick Picture Book – The Trees of the Dancing Goats

Posted on December 2, 2010 by Mrs. N

This is a fabulous story for the winter holidays. Patricia Polacco has written The Trees of the Dancing Goats about her own experiences growing up on her grandparent’s farm.  One winter, while her family is making their preparations for Chanukkah, … Continue reading →

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Quick Pick Picture Book – The Chanukkah Guest

Posted on December 1, 2010 by Mrs. N

Eric Kimmel’s The Chanukkah Guest is one of my favorite Chanukkah stories.  97 year old Bubba Brayna has been cooking her famous latkes.  The smell is so tantalizing that it wakes a hibernating bear.  The old woman has become a … Continue reading →

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Letters From Rifka

Posted on November 15, 2010 by Mrs. N

Okay, I’m going to admit to you that I was teary at the end of this one.  It ends well, but the story is quite touching.  Rifka and her family flee their home in the Ukraine under the cover of … Continue reading →

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