Dear Readers:
Another year seems to have flown by. The reviews listed below are from Dec. 16, 2022, through Nov. 17 of this year. I hope that the books I have reviewed have helped you and your families. This bibliography is a list of books that I believe will build the character and faith of young readers.
The library world is fraught with angry censorship challenges today. As the German poet, Heinrich Heine stated: “Where they burn books, they will burn people.” This column is not part of that battle. When I started The Children’s Literature Bookshelf in 2006, the then rector of St. Gregory the Great Seminary, Msgr. John Folda, now Bishop of Fargo, N.D., admonished me to not attack other writers or books in the column. There was to be no censorship.
The bibliography was to be my attempt to give parents a list of books to foster their children’s imagination and love of literature. I have tried to follow Bishop Folda’s advice. Merry Christmas, Dear Readers.
Sincerely, Dr. Terrence Nollen
Full reviews of these books – as well as those reviewed in previous years – are available online at www.lincolndiocese.org/op-ed/children-s-literature-bookshelf
“Letters From Father Christmas” by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Baillie Tolkien. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1999, 111 pages, Grades 2-4. Dec. 16, 2022
“The Infancy Narratives,” Dec. 23, 2022
“Joseph and Chico: The Life of Pope Benedict XVI as Told by a Cat,” by Jeanne Perego, illustrated by Donata Dal Molin Casagrande. Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 2007, 32 pages, Grades 4-5. Jan. 13, 2023
“Best Stories of O. Henry: 38 Stories by America’s Greatest Short Story Writer,” by Bennett Cerf and Van H. Cartmill. Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, New York, 349 pages, Grades 9 and higher. Jan. 20, 2023
“Real Cowboys” by Kate Hoefler, illustrated by Jonathan Bean. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, 2016, 32 pages, K-2. Jan. 27, 2023
“Wildfire” by Rodman Philbrick. Scholastic Inc., New York, 2019, 202 pages, Grades 4-7. Feb. 3, 2023
“Race with the Devil: My Journey from Racial Hatred to Rational Love” by Joseph Pearce. Scholastic St. Benedict’s Press, Charlotte, N.C., 248 pages, Grades 10 and higher. Feb. 10, 2023
“Before the Ever After” by Jacqueline Woodson. Nancy Paulsen Books, Penguin Random House, New York, 2020 161 pages, Grades 5-8. Feb. 17, 2023
“Someplace to Call Home” by Sandra Dallas. Sleeping Bear Press, Ann Arbor, Mich., 2019, 222 pages, Grades 4-6. Feb. 24, 2023
“Trusting True North” by Gina Linko. Shadow Mountain Publishing, 2022, 364 pages, Grades 4-6. March 3, 2023
“Calico Bush” by Rachel Field, illustrated by Allen Lewis. Macmillan Press, New York, 224 pages, 1966 (original publication 1931), Grades 4-6. March 24, 2023
“The Worlds of Tomie dePaola: The Art and Stories of the Legendary Artist and Author” by Barbara Ellerman. Simon and Shuster Books for Young Readers, N.Y., 2021, 202 pages, Grades 8-10. April 7, 2023
“Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic Sun in the Year 1889” by Ernest Lawrence Thayer, illustrated by Christopher Bing. Handprint Books, Brooklyn N.Y., 1888, (reprint, 2000) 32 pages, any age. April 14, 2023
“North American Cranes” by Lesley A. DuTemple. Carolrhoda Books, Inc., Minneapolis, 1999, 47 pages, Grades 4-6. April 21, 2023
“Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen,” April 28, 2023
“Hot Dog” by Doug Salati. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2022, 32 pages, K-3. May 5, 2023
“See the Cat: Three Stories About a Dog” by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka. Candlewick Press, Somerville, Mass., 2020, 64 pages, K-2. May 12, 2023
“Secret Sisters of the Salty Sea” by Lynne Rae Perkins. HarperCollins Children’s Books, New York, 2018, 232 pages, Grades 3-5. May 19, 2023
“The Big Book of Birds” by Yuval Zommer. Thames and Hudson, New York, 2019, 64 pages, Grades 2-4. May 26, 2023
“The Little Island” by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Leonard Weisgard. Doubleday Book for Young Readers, New York, 1946, 32 pages, K-2. June 9, 2023
“My Fourth of July” by Jerry Spinelli, illustrated by Larry Day. Holiday House, New York, 2019, 40 pages, Grades 1-3. June 23, 2023
“Beatrice’s Goat” by Page McBrier, illustrated by Lori Lohstoeter. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, N.Y. 2001, 32 pages, K-2. July 7, 2023
“I Survived the San Francisco Earthquake, 1906” by Lauren Tarshis. Scholastic, Inc., New York, 2012, 94 pages, Grades 4-5. Aug. 4, 2023
“A Gift for Nana” by Lane Smith. Random House, New York, 2022, 40 pages, Grades K-3. Aug. 18, 2023
“Eyes that Kiss in the Corners” by Joanna Ho, illustrated by Dung Ho. Harper/Collins Children’s Press, 2021, 40 pages, Grades 1-3. Sept. 1, 2023
“Yukie’s Island: My Family’s World War II Story” by Kodo Kimura and others. Illustrated by Kodo Kimura. Roaring Brook Press, New York, 2023, 48 pages, Grades 2-4. Sept. 8, 2023
“The Women Doctors of the Church” by Collen Pressprich, illustrated by Adalee Hude. Our Sunday Visitor, Huntington, Ind., 2022, 36 pages, Grades 3-5. Sept. 15, 2023
“Impossible Escape: A True Story of Survival and Heroism in Nazi Europe” By Steve Sheinkin. Roaring Books Press, N.Y., 2023, 243 pages, Grades 7 and higher. Sept. 22, 2023
“Nebraska: The State of Volleyball” By Lincoln Journal Star. Lincoln Journal Star Books, Lincoln, Neb., 2009, 111 pages, Grades 7-11. Sept. 29, 2023
“Knight Owl” by Christopher Denise. Christy Ottaviano Books, Little, Brown and Company, New York, 2022, 48 pages, K-3. Oct. 6, 2023
“Keeping the City Going” by Brian Floca. Atheneum Books, for Young Readers, New York, 2021, 40 pages, Grades 1-3. Oct. 13, 2023
“In Every Life” by Maria Frazee. Beach Lane Books, New York, 2023, 32 pages, Grades 1-4. Oct. 20, 2023
“Mrs. Katz and Tush” By Patricia Polacco. Dragonfly Books, New York, 32 pages, 1992, Grade 1-3 and adults. Oct. 27, 2023
“Fever, 1793” by Laurie Halse Anderson. Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, New York, 251 pages, Grades 5-7. Nov. 3, 2023
“Dear Mr. Dickens” by Nancy Churnin, illustrated by Bethany Stancliffe. Albert Whitman & Company, Chicago, 2021, 32 pages, Grades 2-4. Nov. 10, 2023
“The Three Questions” Jon J. Muth, writer and illustrator. Scholastic Press, New York, 2002, 32 pages, Grades 1-3. Nov. 17, 2023