Bigfoot is Missing by J. Patrick Lewis and Kenn Nesbitt with illustrations by Minalima

Bigfoot is Missing! is an interesting poetry addition all about Cryptozoology… Bet you don’t know what that means!

The poems are short and sweet, in some instances not like poetry at all (in a good way!). The illustrations are big and colorful advertisement-style graphics that seem to be looking for eighteen mythical beasts of yore. The brevity of word and gargantuan color makes for a nice balance. The end pages are short definitions of each mythical beast that will leave young readers headed to research more about them.

Writers Lewis and Nesbitt have both been Children’s Poet Laureates and illustrators Mina and Eduardo Lima are heavily involved in the Harry Potter film designs so this book comes with a stellar group of people attached. This is a good poetry book to add to both library and classroom collections. Out just in time for April's Poetry Month!

Genre: Poetry Picture Book
Age: Elementary & Middle
Pages: 40




Thank You to Publisher Chronicle Books for my advanced copy
Release Date: March 31, 2015
ISBN: 978-1452118956

You can read more about the authors on Chronicle's webpage: HERE.

-------------------- That's all folks! --------------------

 © 2007-2015 Cheryl Vanatti for www.ReadingRumpus.com

Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla - a must for all elementary classrooms & libraries

When you start to read Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla, if you have already read The One and Only Ivan, you are going to tear up on the first page because you already love Ivan and know his fate. I am obsessed with The One and Only Ivan and have been since I had the chance to read it before release and then again when it won the Newbery. The nonfiction picture version doesn't disappoint with the true tale of Ivan. It is (once again) told with an even hand, one where humans make mistakes and humans fix mistakes. It also contains a special magic that only Ivan can create. That gorilla left a lasting mark on us humans and we need to seriously consider the balance between animal care and exploitation because of having known him.

Add this one to all elementary classrooms & libraries.

Little Bird by Germano Zullo with illustrations by Albertine: A very special little book

I usually write about children's books on Reading Rumpus. Sometimes I drop a few teaching ideas, but mostly this is simply a place to chronicle children's literature that I find interesting for one reason or another. I read a lot more books, A LOT more, than I ever could write about here. Every once in awhile, I get my hands on a book that is so profound it transcends the stigma of being labelled a "children's" book (boy, is that a post for another soap box sort of day). Those books become our classics. They are this:

A Plethora of Picture Books!

Tap, tap, tap.... Is this thing on? 
Apologies for the lack of attention to Reading Rumpus, but work and school have this bibliophile overwhelmed. 

There have been so many wonderful picture books pass across my desk; I feel that I must mention them here. Unfortunately, I have not read them well enough to write a review with lesson ideas as I typically like to do on Reading Rumpus. Some are a few years old now, but better late than never!