First Day of Unicorn School by Jess Hernandez and Mariano Epelbaum

First Day of Unicorn School by Jess Hernandez and Mariano Epelbaum will be published in January of 2021. I was lucky to receive an ARC from the author, but this book is available for ordering right now. I taught with Jess at a middle school, and her sense of humor shines through in her debut book. 

This is the story of Milly the donkey who gets accepted to unicorn school, but since she isn't a unicorn, she wears a party hat and masquerades as one. She meets all the other unicorns when she is distracted and bumps into one and then stumbles into the others. What she doesn't realize until later is that none of the other animals are unicorns either. 

I like that this story shows the importance of being your true self and that often we all feel like we are suffering from imposter syndrome. This would be a fun story to read to young children in pre-school or elementary school and have them create their own unicorn disguises. They could also find the similarities they share with each other. 

Mariano Epelbaum created the cute and brightly colored art for this book that is fitting for unicorns. 

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

Link to our NICU book registry to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Red Kayak by Priscilla Cummings

 Red Kayak by Priscilla Cummings was published in 2004 and is the first book of a three book companion set. I read the second book, The Journey Back, several years ago, so when I spotted Red Kayak in a little free library, I scooped it up. 

Brady Parks, the main character, is hailed as hero when he rescues a small boy from the waters of the Chesapeake Bay, but he makes a discovery that puts all that he did in question. 

Brady and his friends, Digger and J.T. are close, but their friendship may not survive the poor choices that are made. Brady keeps his discovery a secret, but he must choose between what he knows is right and his friends. 

This story shows how important it is not act on impulse, but to think things through, take a breath, even when anger takes control. The consequences of rash actions can often haunt us and others for a lifetime. 

The Cope Family, who had twins in our NICU, sent this selection of quality books for the babies at our hospital. Thank you so very much!

Link to our NICU book registry to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams

Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams was published in 2019 and won a Newbery Honor medal, the Coretta Scott King Award, and was a finalist for the William C Morris Debut Award. 

Genesis, the main character of this story, deals with poverty and housing instability because of her father's gambling and alcohol addictions. Genesis loves her parents and they love her and each other, but life with an addict is hard.

Genesis's grandmother is willing to help Genesis and her mother, but her help comes at a cost. Grandma is a multi-generational victim and perpetrator of colorism. Genesis, like her father, has very dark skin - even her gums are dark. She doesn't like herself and has a list of the reasons she dislikes herself - being too black is only one of the items on her list. 

I enjoyed this well-written story of a young girl trying to fit in a society that doesn't always appreciate her gifts. The author dealt realistically with the father's addictions, issues of poverty, relationships, and the struggle to fit in. 

My daughter, Caitie Jolley, donated these books to our NICU book project. If you haven't read these books, they are incredibly fun to read to a little one. Thank you, Caitie. 

Link to our NICU book registry to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

A Perfect Day by Lane Smith

A Perfect Day by Lane Smith was published in 2017 and tells the story of a perfect day for several animals in Bert's yard. He explains what makes it a perfect day for each animal. "The warmth of the sun  felt good on Cat's back. Cat liked to be in the flower bed where the daffodils grew. It was a perfect day for Cat." 

The dog, chickadee, and squirrel are all having a perfect day until a bear comes and scares them all into the house. What they leave behind gives Bear a perfect day. I can't wait to share this one with the grandkids if the pandemic ever ends. 

I love the art in this book and wish it was the original paintings because the texture on the original art begs to be touched. This would be a fun book to have children try to copy the art style because of all the different textures. It would be fun to figure out how Smith made them all. 

The Mello family donated these four Seuss books in honor of their nephew Liam. The recipients of theses books will know they were donated in his honor  

Angie donated these 12 fun books. Thank you! 

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

Link to our NICU book registry to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Robomop by Sean Taylor and Edel Rodriguez

Robomop by Sean Taylor and Edel Rodriguez was published in 2013 and is the cute story of a robot mop that lives in a bathroom lavatory in the basement of a large building. He likes his work keeping things clean, but he's lonely and longs to see the world. 

Eventually, the facility gets a new Bellebot Cleanerette, and Robomop is in love. Unfortunatly, he's being replaced. Will this friendly, dancing robot end up at the dump, or will he find a place where his personality is appreciated?

Edel Rodriguez's illustrations are fun and full of emotion. I can't wait to share this one with the grandkids to see what they think. Covid19 needs to go away, so I can have regular visits with my grandkids again.  

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

Link to our NICU book registry to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

Out of the Easy, a historical fiction by Ruta Sepetys, was published in 2013. This story is set in 1950 era New Orleans and is the story of Josie Moraine, the daughter of a brothel prostitute. This is a book for older teens because of the mature content. 

I found this story interesting, sad, but also hopeful. Josie is smart and has found ways to keep herself safe from the life her mother lives. She is likable and has good friends. I liked the little bit of romance in her life and found her relationship with the Madame of the brothel interesting. 

Josie's need for a father and how it effects her life was portrayed realistically. It's hard to grow up without a good father.  I liked the ending to this story, but I felt so badly for Josie's friend, Patrick. His character could be a whole new novel. 

Quotes:

"'Don't hate her, Jo,' he told me. 'Feel sorry for her. She not near as smart as you. She wasn't born with your compass, so she wanders around, bumping into all sorts of walls'" (pg 37).

"I love you the more in that I believe you have liked me for own sake and for nothing else" (pg 284).

Ruta Sepetys is an author who tells a good story. I've enjoyed the books of hers that I've read so far and look forward to reading more of her work. 

 

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

Link to our NICU book registry to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Booked by Kwame Alexander

Booked by Kwame Alexander was published in 2016 and is a book told in verse. I love stories written in verse, especially ones that appeal to teens because this type of book helps make a reader. 

Nick Hall, the main character of this book, is a soccer player, his dad is a writer who wrote a dictionary called Weird and Wonderful Words, and his mom is a horse trainer. Nick is expected to read and know the words in his dad's book, but he doesn't enjoy learning all these words. Nick also has a crush on a girl from his etiquette and dance class. He has a best friend and twin bullies who have the same name as twin bullies that I had in my childhood - Dean and Don. 

Nick has a really good relationship with his mom and when she takes a job out of town to train a horse, he is angry and sad about her being gone. 

He says:

"Thought

It does not take

a math genius

to understand that

when you subtract

a mother 

from the equation

what remains

is negative" (pg 59).

There is a lot of word play in this story, found poetry, good teachers, good friends, and loving parents.  I like that this author is careful with language in his books because it makes it easier to get them approved for our school district's book list. Students love his books. 

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

Link to our NICU book registry to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

Dear Martin by Nic Stone was published in 2017. I've been actively seeking out books written by authors and illustrators of color.  Nic Stone tells an important story about bias and racism in our current day.

I liked this story because of the tie to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I liked that the main character is introspective. I think this would be a good book to teach at the high school level.

Justyce, the main character, attends a mostly white school with his best friend Manny. Justyce is an excellent student who experiences daily micro-aggressions and often blatant racism. The story opens with Justyce being detained and put in handcuffs even though he has not committed a crime. This experience haunts him throughout the story.

One day while driving with Manny, the radio turned way up, they encounter an off-duty cop who in anger shoots at the boys. The media fallout is brutal. This story has mature language. It's an important story where Justyce continually tries to live his life in the manner of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. but finds there are no easy answers to What would Martin do?

Link to our NICU book registry to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo was published in 2018 and is a novel written in verse. This is one of my favorite books that I read this year. Acevedo's writing is beautiful. I listened to the novel and it was brilliantly narrated by the author. In fact as soon as it ended, I began listening to it again - it's that good. 

Xiomara Batista is the main character and she is a poet. She tells her story through poems. Often she shares the feelings of her heart, but in reality, she doesn't share those thoughts with anyone else. Through her story the reader knows what it is like to be sexually harassed, to have a first period, to be a twin, to feel your voice is being silenced, to feel you have a voice, to question religion, to question one's relationship to those they love, and to feel responsible for unwanted attention from men. 

This story is about Xiomara finding her voice in a home and a society who tries to quiet her, and her voice is strong, powerful, and beautiful. One of my favorite poems was "How I Feel about Attention" I'll share the first and last verse of this poem. 

"If Medusa was Dominican 

and had a daughter, I think I'd be her. 

I look and feel like a myth. 

A story distorted, waiting for others to stop

and stare. 

"If I was her kid, Medusa would tell me her secrets:

how it is that her looks stop men

in their tracks            why they still keep on coming. 

How she outmaneuvers them when they do" (48). 

I plan on buying all Acevedo’s other books. 

Angela Jensen donated 13 copies of If You Give a Dog a Donut by Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond to our NICU book project. 

We’ve been able to give books to every baby who has been in our NICU this year because of all our generous donors. Thank you. 

 Link to our NICU book registry to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

When We Were Alone by David A. Robertson and Julie Flett

When We Were Alone written by David A. Robertson and  illustrated by Julie Flett was published in 2016. Robertson tells the story of a child helping her kokom (grandmother) in the garden and asks her questions about why she likes so many colors among other questions. Through these question, the child learns about her kokom's experience of being sent to a residential school with her brother and how restrictive the school was. 

Everything was taken from her and her brother: their long hair, their language, their brightly colored clothing, and their families. She explains how she was able to get through that hard experience and how she appreciates having all of those things in her life now. She explains to her granddaughter how when they were alone, she and her friends and brother would get around the rules. 

This book introduces children to the reality of residential schools. Both the author the illustrator are Native Americans. Julie Flett's illustrations are beautiful as always and portray the emotion of the story. I like the use of Native language in the story and the gentle way Robertson tells the story. I always love a story with a wonderful grandmother because I was blessed with such a good one. 

Teresa Moore donated 20 hardbacks to our NICU book project. I appreciate her support of our project, and hardbacks are always in short supply for us. 

Link to our NICU book registry to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

If You Ever Want to Bring a Piano to the Beach, Don't! by Elise Parsley

 If You Ever Want to Bring a Piano to the Beach, Don't! by Elise Parsley was published in 2016 and is just a cute as her book, If You Ever Want to Bring and Alligator to School, Don't. As I read and laughed at this book I thought of my oldest daughter and her addiction to her piano when she was young girl. I had to make her go play outside because she would stay on the bench and play piano all day otherwise. 

Parsley's illustrations are hilarious. Magnolia pushing her piano to the beach is the best. She says, "But on the way, your arms will get heavy. Then your legs will get draggy. So you'll find the perfect way to move the piano along." 

Her poor piano goes through a lot, and Magnolia is her typical emotional self. 

We've had some new donations to our NICU book project. We were low on hardbacks, but it seems that whatever we need seems to come our way.

Michelle Schwendiman sent these books over. They are so cute and were such a good price that I went and used some of our donated money to purchase a big stack of them. 

Books from our anonymous donor:

These are from Kohl's and ended up costing only $2 each. 

Max the Brave was sent to us from Theo's mom Britney Shaw. This is such a cute story. 

Liam's mom, Miranda Heinz, sent these cute board books.   

I've been so blessed by people who have chosen to give to our project. In our often chaotic world, it helps me see the good and know that we are contributing to literacy, gentleness, and the bond between parent and child. 

Link to our NICU book registry to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi was published in 2020. This book was originally published as Stamped From the Beginning by Ibram X Kendi, and is a remix written by Jason Reynolds for teen readers. I am hoping our school district will add this book to our approved book list because I'd like to use it in my classroom. 

Our school librarian loaned me the school's copy, but I found I needed to annotate - a lot, so I bought my own copy. This book, while not a history book, details the roots of racism in our world and especially in the United States. 

One great thing about this book is it gives just enough information about many topics to make you want to learn more, so it becomes a great catalyst for research. It touches on so many things that are at the roots of systemic racism. This book makes me feel like we can do better and that we must to better. 

Page xvi; "There will come a time when we will love humanity, when we will gain the courage to fight for an equitable society for our beloved humanity, knowing, intelligently, that when we fight for humanity, we are fighting for ourselves." ~Ibram X. Kendi

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

Link to our NICU book registry to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

More NICU Donations

 We've received many NICU donations in the last few weeks. I am way behind on getting them posted and thanking you all because I've been getting my classroom ready and school has started. I'm excited to be back in the classroom. I also enjoy the bonus Scholastic points that allow us to get even more books. 

Katey Blakely sent the books in the next several pictures. 

Crystal Loveland sent these. 

I ordered more books from Scholastic with the money donated by an anonymous donor. With the bonus points I was able to get so many books with this money. The next several pictures are the 356 books that we were able to get. 

Also from our anonymous donor.

Even more from our anonymous donor. 

These are from our anonymous donor.

These are from our anonymous donor. 

These are from our anonymous donor. 

Teresa Moore sent these two. 

Valarie sent this batch of books. There are so many good ones in here. 

Thank you all so much for your generous donations. 

Link to our NICU book registry to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

Everything to Spend the Night by Ann Whitford Paul and Maggie SmithWe

Everything to Spend the Night written by Ann Whitford Paul and illustrated by Maggie Smith is an ABC book published in 1999. I collect ABC books and this one is so cute. This story features a little girl going to spend the night with her grandfather. She's brought a huge travel bag full of treasures. 

She says, "Grandpa! Grandpa!

Come and see

the things I brought

for you and me - 

I packed my bag.

I filled it tight with . . .

Everything to spend the night. 

First with Apples we can share 

with Bunny and my fuzzy Bear. 

The story continues with something to represent each letter of the alphabet. Grandpa is getting tired from all the activities his grand daughter has brought along. This story has a cute ending.

This book is currently out of print but you can find it on line. 

We have received more donations for our NICU book project. I appreciate every single book we get. 

Lori Cash donated this selection to our NICU book project. I love the tiny board books; they are just right for baby hands. 

Debbie Murray sent these books. 

Kate Thompson sent us this selection. 

Thank you all so much for your generous donations. 

Link to our NICU book registry to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

Perfect by Max Amato

Perfect by Max Amato was published in 2019 and my grand kids think this book is funny.

The story begins with a clean eraser on a clean page. Pencil joins the story and starts drawing on the page, and Eraser is able to wipe out all the marks. 

The story progresses with more and more writing on the page and Eraser struggling to keep the page clean until finally. Eraser can't keep up, and the page is all in pencil. 

Eraser discovers that he can draw pictures by erasing. I liked the humor of the illustrations. 

This is a fun story that would be great to use as a lead up to an art lesson or one on working together. 

Nancy Frandsen sent 25 books for our NICU book project. Sandra Boynton books are so much fun.  Thank you so much, Nancy. 

Link to our NICU book registry to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas' debut novel, was published in 2017, and although I'd heard many good things about this book, I'd put off reading it. This book is a Coretta Scott King and a Michael L Printz Honor book.

The Hate U Give is incredibly well written. Starr Carter, the main character, witnesses the fatal shooting of one of her friends at the hands of a police officer, and the subsequent criminalizing of her friend is terrible. They call him a Thug - thus the title.

Starr lives in a poor black neighborhood, but she attends a suburban prep school. She feels pulled by both sides, and her attempts to keep her worlds from colliding don't work out they way she hopes.

This story shows the aftermath of this shooting. Thomas puts the reader right in the situation. I felt anger, I cried, and I worried about the characters.

Thomas writes about race relations in a way that is easy to relate to. She talks about poverty, about colorism, police brutality, police fear of those of color, criminalizing the victim, and bigotry.

I thought this book would be more polarizing, but it is a well written story that builds bridges. There are so many talking points. I would love to teach this book in the classroom. Kudos to Angie Thomas.

James and Wyatt Frandsen from CJF sent books for our NICU book project. Thank you both so very much. 

Link to our NICU book registry to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin by Jen Bryant and Melissa Sweet

A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin  written by Jen Bryant and illustrated by Melissa Sweet was published in 2013. I had never heard of Horace Pippin. Horace was born in 1888 on February 22. His grandmother had been a slave and he had large capable hands just like she did.

Horace was a hard worker and he loved to draw and paint. He spent his early years creating pictures for those he cared about. He was often asked to "Make a picture for us, Horace."

He used natural colors, but he liked to add a splash of red to his paintings.

Sweet's illustrations fill the page with quotes by Horace and images of things from his time. Sweet made art that matches his style of art.

As a young man, he served in WWI, and he was shot in the right shoulder and it weakened his arm and hand so that he could no longer draw or paint. After some time, he regains some strength in his right hand, and he uses his left hand to brace and hold his right arm and hand up so he can continue to create art. Pippin is an example of working hard for what he loved.

I went online after reading this picture book and looked at Horace Pippin's artwork. He said, "Pictures just come to my mind and I tell my heart to go ahead; and The war brought out all the art in me."

During WWI, he journaled and drew pictures in a notebook. Here are some of those pages.

Here are some of his paintings.

A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin is a Robert F Sibert Honor book.

We've had a few more donations to our NICU book project this week.

My sweet momma, Rolean Peterson sent this collection.

Aaron Reeder sent this fun selection.

Seth Dickson sent these cute books.

My cousin, Ben Grow sent me a big box of books. Some of these will go to local little free libraries, but many of them will head to the NICU babies. 

I appreciate each book that is donated to our project. Thank you all so very much. 

Link to our NICU book registry to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Read to a child today even if that child is you.