Just got word that The East-West House, Christy Hale’s biography of Isamu Noguchi, earned a star from the not-easily-impressed Kirkus Reviews! Thanks, Kirkus!
The review says, “Hale’s striking illustrations and the book’s elegant look are an homage to the Japanese landscape.” Can’t resist posting two of my favorites:
It’s Back to School week on the blog and we’re talking about W. Nikola-Lisa’s My Teacher Can Teach…Anyone!, which is giving me all sorts of flashbacks to that last day of school when you got your report card and on the bottom, all hidden away by the signature lines and stuff, were a few words that would pretty much define your quality of life for the next year: the name of your next teacher.
We’re starting up a new feature on the blog: A Book a Day. The third week of every month, we’ll pick a theme, and each day (Monday-Friday) one of us will talk about one of our books that fits into the theme.
So, to inaugurate the feature, I bring you the first book of our Back to School theme: In Her Hands: The Story of Sculptor Augusta Savage.
It seems fitting that we should start a brand-new feature on a brand-new blog by talking about the beginning of the school year. Each new year, new school, new class is a new beginning, building on where you’ve been but taking you someplace different. Take, for instance, Augusta Savage. Ceramics and sculpture were always a part of her life; from a very young age, she made little clay figures out of the clay she found in her back yard. Her father didn’t approve and money was tight, so she practiced her art quietly as she grew up, got married, had a daughter, and was widowed. It wasn’t until she was twenty-seven that she went to art school and became a professional artist.
What We Will Do:
1. Edit:
Our books are pondered, nurtured, and meticulously edited. Call us old school, but we take the time to really edit books. Several people’s opinions are solicited. We have found this collaborative effort results in books that stand the test of time and are appreciated by readers for many years after publication.
2. Celebrate Unsung Heroes:
While we certainly recognize the contributions of legends like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Gandhi, we also think it is important to acknowledge the contributions of lesser-known heroes. We have published books about Anna May Wong, Paul Robeson, Peg Leg Bates, and John Lewis, to name just a few, and we will continue to tell the stories of courageous people whose lives and actions deserve recognition.
And they like it!
A great review of I and I Bob Marley was written by John Martin on the Boys Read blog, plus some nice words from I and I Bob Marley illustrator, Jesse Joshua Watson.
You know you’re jealous of all the people who bought these awesome books — and you know what to do about that, don’t you?
June’s Top 10 Books on leeandlow.com
I and I Bob Marley received a starred review from Booklist magazine. The review calls I and I “[A] rare, soulful tribute.”
Winners Abound!
Winner in the Grades 4-6 category:
Bird by Zetta Elliott, illustrated by Shadra Strickland
For a great cooking adventure, pair Hiromi’s Hands and this delicious activity.
