Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson and Hudson Talbott

Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson and illustrated by Hudson Talbott was published in 2005 and is an absolutely beautiful book. The illustrations by Hudson Talbott are incredibly detailed. There is so much to see in each picture as each generation is linked together. This is a Newbery Honor book, but it should also have earned a Caldecott for illustrations.

The story starts with Soonie's great-grandma being sold away from her parents when she was seven. Her child, Mathis May, was also sold away when she was seven. Mathis May grew to sew Show Way quilts that showed slaves how to escape.

The story goes on to tell of Soonie and how she was born free to her mother who was also born free. Soonie learned to make the Show Way quilts. Each generation loves their children up and as the generations go by, the children learn to read.

Soonies' grandchildren help with the Civil Right's Movement, and one of those children became Jacqueline's mother and loved her up. Jacqueline went on to have Toshi, and "Loved that Toshi up so. Yes, I loved that Toshi up. So some mornings, I start all over. Holding tight to little Toshi, I whisper a story that came before her. . ."

This book is a work of art, both the story and illustrations, and would make an excellent addition to your personal library or to a classroom library.

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

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like 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.

Nothing Ever Happens at the South Pole by Stan and Jan Berenstain

Nothing Ever Happens at the South Pole by Stan and Jan Berenstain was published in 2012 and has been grandchild approved.

This silly book follows a penguin who gets invited to write a book about what happens at the South Pole, but everything he thinks about writing, he feels is not good enough.

Each thing turns into something big, but because he isn't paying attention, he misses everything that happens.

This is a fun book. My grandson wanted him to look behind him, so he would see the cool things.

The pictures are cute on this funny book.

It's been another good week for donations for the NICU.

Angie Moore sent these. The Giant Jumperee is such a cute book.

Teresa Moore donated this group of books. Love Fish is Fish. 

Deb Molly sent this collection that is mostly board books that are perfect for little hands.

Megan Jones sent all of these. I loved reading A Fish Out of Water when I was little, and I need to buy a copy of Big Bear Hug for my personal grandkid library.

Thank you, kind ladies, for helping our project reach more babies. 

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

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like 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.

Count the Monkeys by Mac Barnett and Kevin Cornwell

Count the Monkeys by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Kevin Cornwell was published in 2013, and my grandkids love this book. It's so cute.

The premise is that it is time to count the monkeys, but things happen on each page to keep the monkeys away. There are still things to count, but the things scare the monkeys away. The first thing is "1 King Cobra has scared off the monkeys. Turn the page very slowly, very carefully so he doesn't notice us."

What follows are mongooses, crocodiles, grizzly bears, bee swarms, beekeepers, wolves, lumberjacks, and rhinoceroses with bagpipes and bad breath. Will we ever get to count the monkeys?

I collect counting books, and this one is so much fun. It is super interactive with the child and the illustrations are funny and fun.

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

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like 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.

September 11: An Oral History compiled by Dean E. Murphy

September 11: An Oral History compiled by Dean E. Murphy was published in 2002. It is a compilation of the stories of forty people who survived the 9/11 attacks. Because it was published so soon after the attacks, the stories are incredibly raw. 

I purchased this book the week after we returned from a trip to NYC and the 9/11 memorial, so it was interesting to see the maps and be able to visualize the area in my head. The stories are chilling and a reminder that we must watch out for one another, we must help each other, and we must be kind. 

Because the author used oral histories, each story has an unique voice. This book will make you cry, but it is an important part of history and must never be forgotten. 

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

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like 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.

The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich

The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich was published in 2006, and this novel is beautiful. I listened to the audio version and enjoyed it.

The story begins with Faye Travers who buys and sells family estates. She discovers a rare moose skin and cedar drum made by an Ojibwe artisan. I'll let you discover what she does with the drum, but the novel follows the story of the drum. Part two is told by Bernard Shaawano. Part three is told in third person about a girl and her siblings. In part four, Faye Travers comes back and ties everything together.

This story covers many years and is beautifully told. I look forward to reading this story again because it is one that has many layers, so I'm sure I'll find more treasures. I want to read it and annotate in the novel.

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

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like 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.

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly was published in 2016, and I have not yet viewed the movie. I listened to the audio version, and it was excellent.

I found this book interesting even though the subject matter (advanced math) can be quite dry.

I loved how Shetterly followed each of the women and told their stories of how they fought against racial discrimination and sexist policies. I like that this story was written by a Black author as it reads truer.

Shetterly writes well and makes what could be a confusing story understandable. Without Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden, NASA would have taken a lot longer to put a man on the moon, if at all. These women were smart, strong, and ahead of their time. They helped forge a path for others to follow.

I would love to see more books that show what happened behind the scenes and gives proper credit for many of the accomplishments of the last two plus centuries in the United States.

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

Our NICU book project is still receiving books. Here are our latest donations.

These are from Renee Bond. I love the classic board books. They are perfect for babies.

The United Way dropped these off with Angie for our project.

Teresa gave these books to our project. I sure appreciate all these donations. I think we may be able to add a new hospital if this keeps up.

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like 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.

A Fire in My Hands by Gary Soto

A Fire in My Hands by Gary Soto and illustrated by James M. Cardillo was published in 1990 and contains 22 free-verse poems along with questions and answers about poetry. The poems are loaded with imagery and accessible to children of today even though they were written a while ago.

I found this book at a little free library, but now that I've found it, I'm keeping it. At the beginning of each poem, he shares his inspiration for the poem. The illustrations by James M. Cardillo add to the poetry and are well done. This is a great book for a classroom or for a child who enjoys writing poetry. He is Latino, yet his writing speaks to all ethnicities.

This is the copy I found, but there is an expanded  newer version that I now need to buy.

This is the cover of the expanded edition.

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

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like 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.

The Golden Egg by A. J. Wood and Maggie Kneen

The Golden Egg by A. J. Wood and illustrated Maggie Kneen was published in 2000 and is perfect for Easter. It is fun to read with it's rhythm and rhyme, and the pictures are incredibly beautiful. This is a lift the flap book, but the pages are very sturdy and the flaps are extensions of the pages, so they should hold up well. The eggs have sparkly foil on them and were made to delight children (and this grandma).

"Little Duck, Little Duck what have you found? Looking here, looking there, searching all around?"

"I've found a lovely shiny egg. I've found an egg, it's true. But this egg isn't gold at all . . . "

'"Oh, no,' says Chick. 'It's blue?"'

The child lifts the flap to find the egg and see the color. The rhyming helps them know what color to guess and little bits of color peek through the cut work on the pages.

This book has been grand kid tested and approved.

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

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like 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.

Too Many Bunnies by Matt Novak

Too Many Bunnies by Matt Novak was published in 2005, and this book is absolutely darling. The grandkids love it.

This little book has a hole in the front of it showing a bunch of bunnies. When you open the book, there are two holes. One is empty and one it full. The bunnies are too crowded, so they one by one hop over to the other hole as you turn the pages, but soon the new hole is too full of bunnies.

There is a cute little ladybug that lives between the holes and it constantly cleaning their footprints off her walkway. At the end, she gives up and puts her house up for sale.

This book is so cute, and the pages are quite sturdy, so it can get a lot of love by little hands.

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

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like 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.

A Fantastic Week for NICU Donations

This week has been wonderful for our NICU book project. The week began with my neighbor, Jennifer Staley, dropping off a bag of books. I use the books I can for the NICU and other books head into local Little Free Libraries.

Here is what she brought over.

This picture is of books that will go into my little free library. I have a lack of early chapter books (and adult books) because I taught middle school, so the neighbor kids thank you for these, Jennifer.

These books will head to the NICU. The skull ABC book is very cool. I need to get one for my own library. The Math-terpieces is also a very cool book.

Then on Saturday, the NICU had its reunion and people brought books for our project. There was also a box of books that will be headed to local Little Free Libraries.

 The United Way also gave us books on Saturday at the reunion.

On Sunday, my son's best friend, Justin, and his family, Carrie, Annalisa, and Brittney, brought over four boxes of books. I was able to use 101 of them for the NICU. The rest will be appearing in local Little Free Libraries.

I really appreciate getting books for our NICU project. With your help we reach a lot more babies than I'm able to reach on my own.

If you have used books, I am happy to take them, use what I can for the NICU and rehome others in Little Free Libraries. I am really good at rehoming books. :)

If you'd like to visit a Little Free Library, here is a link to the map. You can give to, borrow, or keep books. You never know what will be inside. I love seeing what each steward does to make their library unique. My grandson, Vincent, has a favorite one as do some of my grand daughters. We are lucky that we have many in our area.

"It is like the take a penny, leave a penny only better because its books," my daughter, Caitie, says of Little Free Libraries.

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

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like 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.