Children's Books
Welcome to the Youth Services Children's Books blog. We encourage you to give feedback and share.
Tough, foul-mouthed, 11-year-old Gilly Hopkins is a foster child being moved from home to home as she waits for her mother Courtney to bring her to her "real" home in California. She has developed a reputation for both her brilliance and her obstinance. Her latest residence is in Virginia in the home of a very gross family in her opinion, consisting of an extremely large woman known as Trotter and another foster child, William Earnest, who obviously has problems because he barely speaks. Their neighbor and closest friend is an elderly black man who can't even see! Gilly schemes to leave this place as soon as possible but finds that her plan backfires. The reader will come to care for Gilly just as Trotter and W.E. have come to love her. But there is no such thing as a happy ending, as Gilly learns, and she must leave once again. There is mild bad language making this book more suitable for children grades 4-8. This book won a Newbery Honor Award in 1979 and is written by the same author as A Bridge to Terabithia. 
How would you like to experience winter in Chicago, where the snow is so deep that you sink and almost disappear, get to throw eggs at a rich person's car, and your mother encourages you to do this deed, and go to a school so free from structure that you can do anything from disco dancing to having rats for pets that race around? Does this sound like a good story? Well, this is the true story (well, at least 95% t) of Esme Raji Codell's childhood when she was 10 years old and living in Chicago in the late 1970s. This memoir is written in a very conversational way and is a very easy to read. There is a set of seven stories, and each one is (for the most part) pretty funny. There is one sad incident where a classmate of Esme's dies from holding onto the back bumper of a truck. It teaches most of the other children not to do this dangerous stunt, called "skitching." The friend of the boy who died, says he will not do again, but "if he does, he will hold on real tight." In other stories, Esme outwits a rabbi during a Passover seder, has her best friend beat her up so that she could get out of piano lessons, and tries to a win a young boy's heart. In each story, Esme does learn a lesson about life and growing up. She especially is pleased to go from a school where there is no structure to a school where there is structure. She also some very strong opinions on life and love. A fun, lighthearted story that would fulfill an autobiography assignment. It is also a good book to read just for fun. This book was given a starred review in Booklist. Recommended for young readers in grades 3-6. 
In just under 60 poems, George Washington Carver comes to life from his first days in slavery until his death in 1943. Describing his character, his hobbies, his talents, and ultimately his many achievements in the area of agriculture and education, the poetry is written in a simple free-style that readers can grasp. Appropriate for students in grades 4 and up, it will provide enough interest for them to want to read more information about the man and his amazing accomplishments in a time when blacks were not accepted in society. This book won a Newbery Honor award and a Coretta Scott King Honor award in 2002 and is written by the same author who wrote A Wreath for Emmett Till. 
Creatively written, this book describes the unique character of Henrietta P. Hoppenbeek and her world. The humor of Henrietta and the "out-of-the box" thinking of this young girl just may lead you to see a bit of yourself in her character. The mix of reality and fantasy is carefully woven throughout the story. This book might appeal to girls more than boys. This book is most appropriate for children ages 7-9. 
This 1973 Newbery award winner is a survival/adventure story featuring 13-year-old Julie Edwards Miyax Kapugen, an Eskimo girl who comes to live among a pack of wolves after her mother's death and father's disappearance while seal hunting. She lives briefly with her aunt and again with the family of a boy she marries according to the old ways. But after being promised that they will live "like brother and sister", he tries to go too far and Miyax leaves, heading for the home of her pen pal in San Francisco. However, she becomes lost on the tundra and faces certain death until she remembers a story her father told her about his survival among the wolves. Once she figures out how to communicate with them, she is accepted as part of a pack of wolves herself and they protect her as well as provide her with food. Most of the story tells of Miyax's life among the wolves and how she uses the old Eskimo ways to survive, although there is a surprise at the end making Miyak wonder if she will ever return to civilization. Full of action and some heartbreak, this book will appeal to those in grades 4-8 who enjoy adventure, survival, and animal stories, as well as those interested in other cultures. 
Bad haircut? No problem, unless your name is Dave. Dave is in dire need of a haircut. He wakes up one morning, and seeing only blackness, thinks the sun has burnt out. Dave quickly jumps under his bed and refuses to come out at the mention of another haircut. He remebers his last and very bad haircut. He can't get teased like that again! His mother lures him out from under his bed with his favorite chocolatey cereal. (Good thinking Mom!) At the suggestion of a haircut, Dave imagines all the horrible 'do's he could end up getting. After trying to cut his own hair, Dave ends up at Uncle Danny's Barbershop. Dave's hairdo rests in the hands of Joe the Barber. Can Joe do the trick? This book is great for grades K-3. It is great as a read aloud or a read on your own. Its style is sure to appeal to readers of all sorts. Overall, a very funny story and the illustrations are great. 
Correspondence between nine year old Max (a want-to-be author) and world famous author, D. J. Lucas, are exchanged in this story. Max shares events from his life with his favorite author, D. J. Lucas. D. J. Lucas finds the time to appreciate Max's desire to be an author. She tries to be supportive to him. One big surprise for Max was finding out D. J. Lucas was a woman rather than a man. She remains Max's favorite author, however. They become friends through letter writing. Could this story be based on real events? Read the book for yourself and you decide! This book is appropriate for ages 6-9. 
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