June 30 – Honoring George Washington on America’s 250th Anniversary

About the Holiday

On July 4th America will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776. This foundational document, adopted by delegates to the Continental Congress, summarized the colonists’ motivations for severing their ties with Great Britain to become an independent country. George Washington’s leadership—as a young man, through the war for independence, and as president—set a high standard for future politicians and presidents. Today’s book honors Washington’s legacy.

Thank you to Abrams Books for Young Readers for sending me a copy of this book for review!

George Washington: A Revolutionary Life

By Tim Grove

Absorbing and surprising, George Washington: A Revolutionary Life presents the biography of the man who became America’s first president as well as a look at 18th-century life and social constructs. George Washington looms large over the history of the United States, just as his stature in a crowd commanded attention—George stood 6 feet 2 inches, while the average man was around 5 feet 2 inches. As historian and author Tim Grove eloquently reveals, George Washington influenced much more than our nation’s war for independence and nascent government. He was a savvy experimental farmer, entrepreneur, spy, and leader—and all without formal education past the age of 14.

With a natural curiosity and penchant for continuous education, George leapt at a wide range of opportunities to learn from books and the people he met on his many professional and military excursions. He incorporated all of his experiences, including defeats as well as success, into a world view that informed his opinions on farming and British rule, his actions during wartime, finesse in negotiating, and his leadership in building a new government.

Having inherited farmland from his father at the age of 11 and an estate including Mount Vernon at age 20, following his brother’s death, as well as attaining another vast estate with his marriage to Martha Dandridge Custis at the age of 27, George Washington was an enslaver throughout his life. Grove points to private correspondence in which he expressed his sincere wishes to “see a plan adopted for the abolition of [slavery]” and his freeing of William Lee in his will to demonstrate Washington’s evolving opinion on the inhumanity of slavery. Ultimately, however, Washington bowed to the authority of the Virginia legislature to affect this change.

The stories of enslaved men, women, and children, including Ona Judge, Martha Washington’s personal maid; William Lee, Washington’s valet; and Doll, Mount Vernon’s chief cook, are woven throughout Grove’s narrative in detailed sections, giving readers a view of their lives at Mount Vernon.

Readers also meet and get to know the strong and influential women in Washington’s life, including his mother, Mary Ball Washington; his wife Martha Dandridge Custis Washington; Catharine Macaulay Graham, an “English political thinker”; and Elizabeth Willing Powel, who hosted and participated in political and philosophical discussions among the delegates to the Constitutional Convention at her home.

Tim Grove concludes with examples of George Washington’s continuing legacy that we as a country still celebrate today. Images of maps, paintings, photographs, documents, and other types of primary sources liberally accompany nearly every page, helping readers visualize and understand colonial life. Back matter includes a timeline of George Washington’s life, notes for every chapter with links to online sources, an Author’s Note, and an Index.

Tim Grove’s George Washington: A Revolutionary Life is a thoughtful and thoroughly fascinating biography of George Washington that reveals him as a remarkable and astute man, who with courage and humility united disparate colonies toward one goal while setting America and her system of government apart as an example of what democracy could achieve. Grove’s writing is not just accessible, it is riveting. His engaging text, which flows smoothly and quickly, clearly explains important concepts, connecting the culture of yesteryear and today in ways that readers of all ages can appreciate.

George Washington: A Revolutionary Life is a must for all public and school library collections as well as for classroom history and government classes. History buffs of all ages will find the book an immersive and enlightening reference for home bookshelves as well.

Ages 10 – 14+

Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2026 | ISBN 979-8887076461

About the Author

Historian Tim Grove has written several books for young readers. His book Star-Spangled was named a Best Book of 2020 by Kirkus Reviews and the Chicago Public Library, and First Flight Around the World was a finalist for the American Library Association’s YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction award. He holds a graduate degree in history and an undergraduate degree in journalism. Grove’s career has included positions at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, National Air and Space Museum, and National Museum of American History. Grove lives in Falls Church, Virginia. Visit him at timgrove.net.

About Mount Vernon

Mount Vernon is owned and maintained for the people of the United States by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association of the Union, a private, nonprofit organization (501c3) founded in 1853. At the forefront of the field, the Association is the oldest national historic preservation organization in the country. It is directed by a board of regents, comprised solely of women, who represent nearly 30 states. The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association preserves, restores, and manages the estate of George Washington and educates visitors and people throughout the world about the life and legacies of American’s first president.

You can purchase George Washington: A Revolutionary Life from these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop

Picture Book Review

March 6 – National Women’s History Month

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

Women have been inventing, discovering, questioning, challenging, and changing the world just as long as men have—but often without recognition, the ability to take jobs in their fields of expertise, or equal (or even any) pay. Established by the United States Congress in 1987, National Women’s History Month serves to educate people on the amazing women who have blazed trails in the past and those who are continuing that tradition today.

This year’s theme is Leading the Change: Women Shaping a Sustainable Future and encompasses a wide understanding of sustainability, including climate change, economic and financial sustainability, community resilience, healthcare disparities, leadership succession, intergenerational equity, and threats to democratic participation. In all these areas, women are at the forefront of sustainable transformation that will carry us into a supportive future for all. To learn more visit the National Women’s History Alliance website.

Thanks to Beach Lane Books and Barbara Fisch at Blue Slip Media for sending me this book!

Mary Morland in the Time of Dinosaur Discovery

Written by Jane Kurtz | Illustrated by Giselle Potter

In the early 1800s, when Mary Morland was a child, girls were seen as “dainty, delicate decorations” who embroidered, arranged flowers, and played with dolls. Mary Morland had other ideas. From the first page, Jane Kurtz allies readers with the spirited Mary through cleverly posed questions that contrast the stifling conventions of her time with the freedoms of today: “Did [Mary] perch on her chair like a prim little miss?” Kurtz posits. “Well what would you do if the whole world was waiting outside? Mary tromped around, exploring. Wouldn’t you?”

“Of course!” kids will say, and off they go, following Mary as, following the death of her mother, her father sends her to live with family friends who encourage her curiosity and teach her to study nature and fossils. From there readers view her drawings of “everything that fascinated her,” and discover that instead of calling herself a “cork-brain” and spending mannerly afternoons sipping tea in a fancy hat, Mary tooled around in her donkey-pulled carriage to “collect shells and fossils.”

Did teenage Mary keep her discoveries to herself? No! She corresponded with Georges Cuvier, a famous French scientist, impressing him with the drawings and specimens she sent. And instead of trying to find a husband, Mary spent her time with old fossils, labeling and mending them. Then one day, she did meet the man she would marry: William Buckland, England’s best fossilist. In fact, it was he who had theorized that a collection of bones had come from a “giant land reptile,” named it Megalosaurus (before the word dinosaur was even created), and asked Mary to draw them for an important meeting of England’s geologists.

After Mary and William were married, did she give up drawing and studying to keep a tidy house? Not at all! She kept exploring, writing, and drawing. She helped William turn his work into books—with her illustrations—and served as a curator for his collections of fossils. And, oh yes! She raised and taught their nine children and welcomed a menagerie of creatures—including a pony her the kids rode around the dining room—into their home! You might wonder: after all this, “did William say, ‘I am so fortunate that my wife is not a cork-brain?'” or acknowledge her contributions on his papers? Well, this was a time when women could not vote, own property, or go to college. So, what do you think? But that didn’t stop Mary from learning and using her gifts wherever she could throughout her life.

Back matter includes an Author’s Note highlighting other women intrinsic to the discovery and understanding of dinosaurs as well as how scientists came to accept that dinosaurs once existed, further resources for young readers, and a selection of resources.

Jane Kurtz combines pluck, humor, and illuminating cultural mores of the past to weave an absorbing biography of Mary Morland, a brilliant paleontologist, writer, and illustrator with whom children will immediately connect. Mary’s personality and intelligence shine from each page, drawing children not only into her life, but into this incredible time of scientific discovery. Readers will be inspired by Mary’s example of self-confidence to set their own path, buck the norm, and prevail over obstacles on their way to success.

Giselle Potter’s illustrations are always a delight, and here she perfectly captures Mary Morland’s singular affinity for exploration, scientific thought, and illustration. In her folk art, watercolor paintings, Potter recreates the fashions, transportation, and traditions of the 1800s as well as Morland’s and her husband’s work. Readers will envy Mary’s children when they get a glimpse of the rambunctious Buckland home. In several instances, Mary’s and William’s facial expressions eloquently (and comically) reveal their innermost thoughts.

Biographical storytelling at its best, Mary Morland in the Time of Dinosaur Discovery will captivate children with its verve and beauty. The book is a must for classroom, school, and public libraries and will become a favorite on home bookshelves as well.

Ages 4 – 8

Beach Lane Books, 2026 | ISBN 978-1665955546

Jane Kurtz was born in Portland, Oregon, but spent most of her childhood in Ethiopia. Jane speaks about being an author at schools and conferences and helped start Ethiopia Reads (EthiopiaReads.org), a nonprofit that has opened the first libraries for children in Ethiopia. She is the author of many books for children, including The Bone Wars, illustrated by Alexander Vidal; What Do They Do with All that Poo?, illustrated by Allison Black; Do Kangaroos Wear Seat Belts?, illustrated by Jane Manning; Anna Was Here; Clara the Triumphant Rhinoceros, illustrated by Claire Messer; and the American Girl book Lanie. You can visit her to learn more at janekurtz.com.

Giselle Potter has illustrated many books, including Once Upon a Fairy Tale House by Mary Lyn Ray, Try It! by Mara Rockliff, All by Himself? by Elana K. Arnold, and Kate and the Beanstalk by Mary Pope Osborne, as well as her own Tell Me What to Dream About, This Is My Dollhouse, and The Year I Didn’t Go to School, about traveling through Italy with her parents’ puppet troupe when she was eight. She lives in Rosendale, New York, with her husband and two daughters. Visit her at gisellepotter.com.

National Women’s History Month Activity

Women’s History Month Coloring Page

Celebrate Women’s History Month with this coloring page! In the letters write the names of women from history and today that you admire!

Women’s History Month Coloring Page

You can purchase Mary Morland in the Time of Dinosaur Discovery from these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop

Picture Book Review

May 18 – International Museum Day

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

International Museum day was created in 1977 by the International Council of Museums to raise awareness that “museums are an important means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among peoples.” The theme for this year is “The Power of Museums.” Museums are not just repositories of the past. They are vital and active members of the communities they serve and as such can be leaders in tackling some of society’s biggest issues. This year the International Council of Museums aimsto “explore the potential of museums to bring about positive change in their communities through three lenses: the power of achieving sustainability, the power of innovating digitalization and accessibility, and the power of community building through education. To learn more about these initiatives, visit the ICOM website. Celebrate International Museum Day by visiting a museum near you – or visit many world-famous museums through today’s book.

The Ultimate Art Museum

By Ferren Gipson

A blurb on the cover of this astounding book sums up the lofty goals it achieves: “40,000 years of the world’s most amazing art in one dream museum!” Indeed, once readers open the cover and accept the “ticket” offered, they can peruse the museum map that lays out the three wings, 18 galleries, and 128 rooms, plus a cafe and garden, that await them. An note from author Ferren Gipson introduces readers to the range of ways art can influence and reflect their times and the people who lived during different eras.

Gipson’s conversational style follows visitors to this unique museum from page to page, prompting them to look, consider, understand, and make connections. On some pages, a question or comment marked by an eye sends readers to another gallery or room to compare artworks, subjects, or themes across time and cultures. Some of these give a page number to consult, while others allow readers to study a room or gallery to find the artwork referred to.

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Wing 1, appropriately, presents “treasures from the world’s earliest civilizations and the earliest art ever made.” Here, children and adults will find cave art; figurines carved from ivory, bone, and stone; treasures from ancient empires, carved reliefs, the painted, sculpted, and gilded wonders of ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. The intricate art of the Byzantine, early Islamic, and Medieval worlds demonstrate important aspects of these cultures as do works from ancient East Asia well as South and Southeast Asia. Readers then cross the Atlantic Ocean to discover the pottery, sculptures, and fabrics created by Native societies of North and South America. Each artwork is accompanied by a paragraph that will draw children in with clear, concise, and fascinating descriptions of the artwork, what it means, and, sometimes, even secrets that it holds.

Time for a break? Turn the page and enter the Café, where the “menu,” consisting of “Snacks, Mains, and Dessert” offers delectable choices depicted in paintings and sculpture. Refreshed, readers can step into Wing 2, where the galleries hold treasures from the 1200s to the 1800s created in Asia, including book illustrations, a palepai cloth, a puppet, scholar paintings, porceline, folding screens, carpets, and even the Taj Mahal.

The Renaissance comes to Europe with an impressive display of curiosity and learning that resulted in many changes to society and art. “Artists came up with better ways to mix oil paints and began to paint on canvas for the first time. And what scientists learned about the human body helped them paint and sculpt people who looked very real.” The subjects of artworks expanded too to include “portraits, mythology, and everyday life.” Dragon lovers can take up the challenge to compare two dragons – one created by an Italian master and the other found on a Chinese vase from the Yuan Dynasty.

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From 1600 – 1850, dramatic and lifelike paintings became popular. Dark shadows and highlighted areas gave paintings an atmospheric feel that invited viewers to look closely. In one of Diego Velázquez’s famous Las Meninas painting, all of the people portrayed seem to be looking out from the canvas at you. But who are they really looking at? The answer can be found reflected in a mirror on the back wall. In addition to realistic family and town life, landscapes also became popular during this time.

Moving to another room, readers will find that the art of the Pacific Islands is distinctively different in its depictions of “images of gods, spirits, and ancestors of the people who lived there.” Those works created from stone and wood have survived through the ages while “others, such as objects made from delicate spider webs or flowers, have disappeared.” Art from the continent of Africa is up next. With its many unique kingdoms and communities, Africa has produced unique artworks that “celebrate leaders and tell the stories of Africa’s great empires and civilizations.” Clay, wood, metal, ivory, and cloth have been used to “create art with spiritual and practical purposes.”

Ah! Time for a walk through the garden. Which path will you take? The one past Georgia O’Keefe’s “Red Poppy” or one where you can see a moth and a caterpillar on the branch of a citrus tree? Perhaps you’d like to stroll through a hurricane with a tiger on your trail with Henri Rousseau’s “Tiger in a Tropical Storm (Surprised)” or maybe you’d like a fragrant walk through Gustav Klimt’s “Flower Garden.”

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Wing 3 takes readers to modern times, when “almost anything is possible in art!” In this wing, visitors will see “art that does not have a set purpose.” Instead, the artists represented here “created works that were experimental and personal. They used unusual materials and tried exciting techniques.” In these rooms, readers will encounter the Impressionists, who were interested in capturing a moment in time, and Post-Impressionists, who experimented with color, techniques, and subject matter. Readers will no doubt recognize paintings by Mary Cassatt, Vincent Van Gogh, and Georges Seurat.

American realist painters took city scenes, sports events, tender moments between family members, and many other topics. The Cubist period began when some artists experimented in showing their subject from a variety of angles at one time. Paul Cézanne, Pablo Picasso, and Georges Braque are just a few of the famous artists who “chopped up and rearranged images” to make a new style of art.

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Visitors will also learn about the Dada movement, Expressionism, and American Regionalism. Photography took center stage as cameras became lighter and easier to use. The art of the Harlem Renaissance by Black Americans is reflected in a painting of Harriet Tubman by William H. Johnson, a bronze bust of a boy by Augusta Savage, and a quilt by Harriet Powers – one of only two that still exist.

After visiting a room of modern works from India and Mexico, readers enter the dizzying world of the Surrealists. Surrealism “shows real objects but in a completely fantastical way. It explores how dreams, imaginations, and the inner workings of the mind can be shown in art.” A train emerging from the “tunnel” of a fireplace, a fur teacup, saucer, and spoon, and Salvador Dali’s “drooping” clocks are a few of the works you’ll find here.

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In Wing 3, readers will also learn about Collages, Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism, Conceptual art, and Op art that boggle the eyes and mind with their optical illusions. Pop art, Installations, contemporary sculptures large and small as well as Alexander Calder’s mobiles and artwork created from light stand side-by-side with Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s outdoor wrapping installations, Aboriginal Australian art, Feminist art, Chicanx art, performance art, video art, contemporary art, and so much more. If you’re a fan of selfies, you’ll want to stop at the Hall of Selfies and see how four artists anticipated and/or reflect this very modern art form.

Helpful maps accompany each wing and gallery change to show readers where the art in that gallery comes from or its influence. A smaller map inset often orients readers to where the region represented is situated in the world at large.

Back matter includes an Author’s Note, a map of 54 major museums around the world, a glossary of terms found in the text, and an index.

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Ferren Gipson is the “cool” docent every visitor wants as their tour leader on a trip to a museum. Full of enthusiasm for art and its impact, gifted with a wealth of knowledge, and quick with a fun fact, a humorous aside, or an intriguing nugget of perspective, Gipson will wow kids and adults alike with her love of all kinds of art. Open The Ultimate Art Museum to any page and readers will immediately be absorbed by whatever style of art or time in history they’ve hit upon and will eagerly wander from gallery to gallery, room to room, page to page to learn more.

The Ultimate Art Museum has applications for strong cross-curricular study for teachers and homeschoolers, expertly connecting history, art, changing societies, and more visually and textually. Gipson’s entertaining and thorough treatment of her topic will get kids excited about visiting museums of all kinds, and arm-chair travelers will wile away many happy hours wandering its pages.

The Ultimate Art Museum is a must for classrooms and school and public libraries and would be a much-loved addition to home bookshelves or coffee tables.

Ages 8 and up

Phaidon, 2021 | ISBN 978-1838663780

Discover more about Ferren Gipson, her books, work, and podcast “Art Matters” on her website.

International Museum Day Activity

Create a Museum Exhibit

Every item has a story. Maybe there’s a funny anecdote behind that knick-knack on your shelf. Perhaps your favorite serving dish holds sentimental value. How about your child’s best-loved toy or a drawing or craft they’ve made? A fun and educational way for kids to learn family stories and interact with their own history is to create a museum exhibit of objects in your home.

For teachers this can be a fun classroom activity that incorporates writing, art, and speaking as well as categorizing skills. Students can use objects in the classroom or bring items from home to set up museum exhibits. This activity can be done as a whole-class project or by smaller groups, who then present their exhibit to the rest of the class.

Supplies

A number of household or classroom items
Paper or index cards
Markers
A table, shelf, or other area for display

Directions

To get started help children gather a number of items from around the house to be the subjects of their exhibit. An exhibit can have a theme, such as Grandma’s China or Travel Souvenirs, or it can contain random items of your child’s choice, such as toys, plants, tools, even the furniture they see and use every day.
Using the paper or cards and markers, children can create labels for their exhibit items. Older children will be able to write the labels themselves; younger children may need adult help.
Spend a little time relating the story behind each object: where it came from, how long you’ve had it, when and how it was used in the past, and include any funny or touching memories attached to the item. Or let your child’s imagination run free, and let them create histories for the objects.
When the labels are finished, arrange the items on a table, shelf, or in a room, and let your child lead family members or classmates on a tour. You can even share the exhibit with family and friends on social media.
If extended family members live in your area, this is a wonderful way for your child to interact with them and learn about their heritage.

**You can find The Ultimate Art Museum at these booksellers**

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million

To support your local independent bookstore, order from

Bookshop | IndieBound

Picture Book Review

July 28 – Beatrix Potter Day

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

On this date in 1866, one of the world’s most beloved children’s authors was born – Beatrix Potter. Her twenty-three books about Peter Rabbit and his friends have enchanted children for generations, and the tale of how The Tale of Peter Rabbit came to be is as full of twists and turns as any good story – as you’ll see in today’s book. To celebrate today, why not go to your bookstore, library, or maybe even your own bookshelf at home and enjoy spending some time in the garden with Peter.

Saving the Countryside: The Story of Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit

Written by Linda Elovitz Marshall | Illustrated by Ilaria Urbinati

At home in London, young Beatrix Potter loved drawing and painting pictures of her pet rabbit, Benjamin Bouncer and other woodland creatures. Beatrix and her brother didn’t go to school but were taught at home under a strict daily timeline. “Then came summer and … freedom! During the summer, Beatrix’s whole household—pets included—moved to a country house where there were ducks, chickens, cows, and a garden.

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Image copyright Ilaria Urbinati, 2020, text copyright Linda Elovitz Marshall, 2020. Courtesy of little bee books.

When Beatrix’s brother grew a little older, however, he went away to a boarding school while Beatrix had to stay home. “But Beatrix wanted to do something important, something that mattered. She often helped her father with his hobby, photography.” She visited artists’ studios and museums. She learned about art and how to make her drawings better.

She made more pictures of Benjamin Bouncer and sent them to publishers. One publisher put her drawings on the front of greeting cards, and Beatrix began making money from her work. But Beatrix was also interested in the science of nature. She even wrote a paper about mushrooms and hoped to have it printed in a scientific journal, but it was rejected. Beatrix was disappointed but went back to drawing.

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Image copyright Ilaria Urbinati, 2020, text copyright Linda Elovitz Marshall, 2020. Courtesy of little bee books.

Then one day, to cheer up a sick child, Beatrix wrote and illustrated a story about Peter Rabbit. Later, she submitted it to publishers. When they told her they weren’t interested, she had books printed herself. She sold every copy—the second batch too. Finally, a publisher agreed to print her books. Beatrix went on to write more and more stories. At last she had fulfilled her dreams of creating something important. She was also an excellent marketer and self-promoter, and “soon people all over the world knew about Peter Rabbit, and they knew about Beatrix Potter too.”

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Image copyright Ilaria Urbinati, 2020, text copyright Linda Elovitz Marshall, 2020. Courtesy of little bee books.

As Beatrix grew older, she couldn’t draw in the way she had, but that didn’t mean she left the countryside behind. She wanted to protect the farmland she loved. She helped farms and families, paying for needed veterinary care for animals when the farmers couldn’t afford it and for a nurse when the flu hit. Beatrix Potter’s life was made up of so many things that mattered. Not only did she give the world the beloved Peter Rabbit and his friends, but through donations of farms and acreage she “made sure the land would be cared for, protected, and cherished. Forever.”

An Author’s Note about how she came to write this book and more information on Beatrix Potter’s legacy follows the story.

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Image copyright Ilaria Urbinati, 2020, text copyright Linda Elovitz Marshall, 2020. Courtesy of little bee books.

Linda Elovitz Marshall’s delightful and surprising biography of Beatrix Potter delves into the depths of her desire to make a difference with her life. A woman far ahead of her time, Beatrix Potter remains an inspiration for each new generation of readers not only for her well-loved stories but for her community work and foresight. Marshall’s thorough and well-paced story will captivate today’s children, who have the same hopes as Beatrix to influence the world with their talents and opinions. Marshall’s descriptions of Beatrix’s later largesse swell the heart and readers’ admiration for this exceptional woman.

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Image copyright Ilaria Urbinati, 2020, text copyright Linda Elovitz Marshall, 2020. Courtesy of little bee books.

Linda Marshall’s words are set among Ilaria Urbinati’s exquisite illustrations that take children inside Beatrix Potter’s world at home in London and out to the countryside she adored. Her delicate and detailed renderings of young Beatrix drawing with her pet Benjamin Bunny by her side, the farm where she spent summers, her scientific explorations, and her later successes immerse readers in the late 1800s to mid-1900s, allowing them to experience the environments that created one of the world’s most beloved authors. Urbinati’s glorious panoramas of the lake district farms that Beatrix saved are breathtaking and inspiring in their beauty.

For fans of Peter Rabbit and any lover of children’s literature, Saving the Countryside: The Story of Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit is a must. Stirring on so many levels, the book will inspire multiple readings as well as the discovery or rediscovery of Beatrix Potter’s tales. Perfect for home, school, and public library collections for story times and to enhance language arts lessons and even nature science studies.

Ages 4 – 8

little bee books, 2020 | ISBN 978-1499809602

Discover more about Linda Elovitz Marshall and her books on her website.

To learn more about Ilaria Urbinati, her books, and her art, visit her website.

Great Outdoors Month Activity

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Grow a Vegetable Garden Board Game

As all readers know, Peter Rabbit loved vegetable gardens. With this fun game you and your family can grow your own gardens inside! Roll the dice to see whose garden will fully ripen first!

Supplies

Printable Garden Plot Game Board
Printable Vegetable Playing Cards: Page 1 | Page 2
Printable Vegetable Playing Die
Black or brown crayon (optional)
Card stock or heavy paper for printing (optional)
Tape
Scissors

Directions

Object: The object of the game is for each player to fill their garden rows with vegetables. Depending on the ages of the players, the required winning number of rows to fill and the number of vegetables to “plant” in each row can be adjusted.

Print one Game Board for each player
Print one set of Playing Cards for each player (for sturdier playing items, print on card stock)
Print one Vegetable Playing Die and assemble it (for a sturdier die, print on card stock)
Cut the vegetables into their individual playing cards
Color the “dirt” on the Garden Plot with the crayon (optional)
Choose a player to go first
The player rolls the die and then “plants” the facing vegetable in a row on the game board
Play moves to the person on the right
Players continue rolling the die and “planting” vegetables until each of the number of determined rows have been filled with the determined number of vegetables.
The first person to “grow” all of their veggies wins!

**You can find Saving the Countryside: The Story of Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit at these booksellers**

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million

To support your local independent bookstore, order from

Bookshop | IndieBound

Picture Book Review

March 30 – It’s Women’s History Month

Posted by Kath Carroll

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-a-most-clever-girl-cover

About the Holiday

National Women’s History Month is all about celebrating women who broke barriers with their intelligence, creativity, courage, persistence, and unwavering confidence in their abilities. In every discipline, women have brought and continue to bring new perspectives, experiences, and talents to make contributions toward a better world. Today’s book celebrates a writer who broadened readers’ understanding of women and their lives through her complex and compelling novels.

A Most Clever Girl: How Jane Austen Discovered Her Voice

Written by Jasmine A. Stirling | Illustrated by Vesper Stamper

While Jane loved stories, there were some she couldn’t abide. These were stories about women who fainted at the slightest thing, stories about orphans with dark secrets, and stories about couples who fell in love at first sight. To Jane these books were boring, unbelievable, and predictable. But they were all the rage. Instead, Jane like the ridiculous, and she made up her own stories that “poked fun” at the popular literature of the day. When she read her “stories to her family,… they couldn’t stop laughing.”

Jane lived in a large house in the English countryside. It was always full of people, fun, and learning. Jane’s father was the village rector of Steventon in Hampshire, England, and her mother wrote poetry. Sometimes Jane’s family (mother, father, six sons, and two daughters) staged plays in the barn. They made their own sets and costumes and played all the roles. When there was quiet time, Jane wrote and wrote in the study her father had created just for her and her sister.

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Image copyright Vesper Stamper, 2021, text copyright Jasmine A. Stirling, 2021. Courtesy of Bloomsbury Children’s Books.

Jane loved the satires she wrote, but “she stared to dream about writing stories that mattered to her. They would come from her own voice—a style that was uniquely hers.” She began to pay attention to tiny personal details, particular conversations, and the way her family, friends, and neighbors interacted. She found it all fascinating. Jane’s father encouraged her writing, saving up to buy her the best pens, blank books, and even a “portable mahogany writing desk.”

Jane had an idea about a story involving “three or four families in a country village,” and soon the characters came to life in her imagination, even when she wasn’t writing. She “wrote three novels before she turned twenty-four. Jane’s voice was clever and real… But something was still missing.”

Over the years as Jane’s brothers left home, the big house grew quiet. When her father stopped teaching, money grew short and Jane’s parents decided to move to a small house in another town, Bath. They sold their possessions, even the books in her father’s library, and left the neighbors and friends they’d known so well. Jane wondered if she would feel at home anywhere else. When they moved into their new home, Jane put away her writing things. Time passed, but “Jane persisted in a very determined, though very silent, disinclination for Bath.” Years passed and Jane spent her time in “busy nothings.”

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Image copyright Vesper Stamper, 2021, text copyright Jasmine A. Stirling, 2021. Courtesy of Bloomsbury Children’s Books.

When her father died, Jane, her sister, and their mother had to move into a cheap apartment, and then when they could no longer afford that, they moved in with her brother Frank in a rough-and-tumble town. “The weight of Jane’s losses threatened to drown her,” and she still couldn’t write. Four years later, her brother Edward gave her, her sister, and their mother a small cottage near their childhood home. Here she found her way to happiness.

At last she brought out her pens, paper, and writing desk and began to write. Her voice was still clever and “filled with real people, but grief and loss had added something new. Jane’s voice was wise.” Her characters were even more realistic and complicated. She wrote about happiness and wealth, but also about heartbreak and sadness “mixed together in a way that was completely new.”

Jane’s novels were a hit—even with the future king of England. George IV loved them so much that his librarian wrote to Jane and asked her to write one of those “love-at-first-sight” stories she hated. Jane wrote back and told him that she could not unless her life depended on it, that she must remain true to her own style. At long last, “Jane had found her voice.”

Extensive backmatter includes a list of quotes from Jane Austen’s novels that are used in the story, more about Jane Austen’s life, Notes from the Author and Illustrator, a list of Austen’s novels, further resources for young readers, and a bibliography.

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-a-most-clever-girl-novels

Image copyright Vesper Stamper, 2021, text copyright Jasmine A. Stirling, 2021. Courtesy of Bloomsbury Children’s Books.

Jasmine A. Stirling’s in-depth biography of Jane Austen shines with specific details about her and her family’s life, their happy times and tribulations that informed her writing and made it so distinctive for its time and beloved even now. Stirling’s engaging and lively storytelling invites children to share the joys and heartaches that molded Jane Austen’s personality and writing. Quotations from Austen’s novels sprinkled throughout the story give young readers a taste of Jane’s writing and the truths and understanding her novels embody.

Dazzlingly lovely, Vesper Stamper’s expressive illustrations draw readers into Jane Austen’s world and give them a glimpse into her childhood and adult experiences as well as the society of the time. Cleverly designed images allow kids to understand how much Jane loved to read, to laugh along with her as she reads the sentimental and gothic stories she satirized, and to see at a glance all the shenanigans, work, and entertaining that went on in her beloved home. The elegance of these surroundings and the dinner parties that enlightened Jane’s writing are realistically reproduced and her characters come to life on the page. A moving metaphorical image shows Jane riding away from the home she loved while pages of her novels fly out of the writing desk strapped to the back of the carriage. Jane’s sadness is depicted on pages sketched in gray, but her vibrancy returns with her brother’s generosity and the novels that finally take wing.

A superb biography of a beloved and influential writer that will spark enthusiasm for Jane Austen’s novels as well as literature and writing in general, A Most Clever Girl: How Jane Austen Discovered Her Voice is a must for students of all ages as well as for those who simply love reading and writing stories. The book would make an exceptional addition to lesson plans for readers from elementary school to high school and is highly recommended for home, school, and public library collections.

Ages 5 – 12 and up

Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2021 | ISBN 978-1547601103

Discover more about Jasmine A. Stirling and her books on her website.

To learn more about Vesper Stamper, her books, and her art, visit her website.

Women’s History Month Activity

Jane Austen Coloring Page

Enjoy this printable coloring page of Jane Austen as you learn more about this clever writer.

Jane Austen Coloring Page

**You can find A Most Clever Girl: How Jane Austen Discovered Her Voice at these booksellers**

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million

To support your local independent bookstore, order from

Bookshop | IndieBound

Picture Book Review

June 23 – It’s Great Outdoors Month

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

Established in 1998 to celebrate nature and encourage people to enjoy outside activities, Great Outdoors Month is a favorite summer event. With indoor activities curtailed this year, heading out to explore, hike, picnic, or have other adventures with your family is a great way to rediscover familiar places and to set your sights a little farther

Saving the Countryside: The Story of Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit

Written by Linda Elovitz Marshall | Illustrated by Ilaria Urbinati

Image copyright Ilaria Urbinati, 2020, text copyright Linda Elovitz Marshall, 2020. Courtesy of little bee books.

An Author’s Note about how she came to write this book and more information on Beatrix Potter’s legacy follows the story.

Image copyright Ilaria Urbinati, 2020, text copyright Linda Elovitz Marshall, 2020. Courtesy of little bee books.

Ages 4 – 8

little bee books, 2020 | ISBN 978-1499809602

Discover more about Linda Elovitz Marshall and her books on her website.

To learn more about Ilaria Urbinati, her books, and her art, visit her website.

Great Outdoors Month Activity

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-garden-board-game-1

Grow a Vegetable Garden Board Game

As all readers know, Peter Rabbit loved vegetable gardens. With this fun game you and your family can grow your own gardens inside! Roll the dice to see whose garden will fully ripen first!

Supplies

Printable Garden Plot Game Board
Printable Vegetable Playing Cards: Page 1 | Page 2
Printable Vegetable Playing Die
Black or brown crayon (optional)
Card stock or heavy paper for printing (optional)
Tape
Scissors

Directions

Print one Game Board for each player
Print one set of Playing Cards for each player (for sturdier playing items, print on card stock)
Print one Vegetable Playing Die and assemble it (for a sturdier die, print on card stock)
Cut the vegetables into their individual playing cards
Color the “dirt” on the Garden Plot with the crayon (optional)
Choose a player to go first
The player rolls the die and then “plants” the facing vegetable in a row on the game board
Play moves to the person on the right
Players continue rolling the die and “planting” vegetables until each of the number of determined rows have been filled with the determined number of vegetables.
The first person to “grow” all of their veggies wins!

**You can find Saving the Countryside: The Story of Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit at these booksellers**

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million

To support your local independent bookstore, order from

Bookshop | IndieBound

Picture Book Review

March 27 – National Reading Month: Rosie: Stronger than Steel Book Tour Stop

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

The month of March is dedicated to reading—an initiative that’s taken on new importance as parents and caregivers search for resources for homeschooling and to share family time. Authors, illustrators, teachers, librarians, publishers, and others in the publishing and education fields are finding new ways to connect with readers and bring them the books they love. Today, I’m happy to be taking part in a book tour for Rosie: Stronger than Steel, an original look at another momentous time in history that brought people together to work for the good of all.

I received a copy of Rosie: Stronger than Steel from Two Lions for review consideration. All opinions on the book are my own.

Rosie: Stronger than Steel

By Lindsay Ward

Rosie, a tractor built during World War II, reveals what she’s made of as her story begins: “Refrigerators, fences, old cars, and a toaster… all melted down to build me up strong.” In the factory four women weld and rivet Rosie together. As they work on her they sing…”This is our Rosie, / stronger than steel. / She’ll plow all the land / with a turn of her wheel.” A finishing touch—a single red rose—is painted on, and Rosie offers a promise: “I’ll plow and I’ll dig. / I’ll dig and I’ll plow. / No matter the job, / this is my vow.”

Then Rosie is sent out, traveling by air, ship, truck, and train to a farm far away. The fields are overgrown—in need of Rosie’s expertise. Rosie is happy to get to work, churning the ground so that the Land Girls can plant seeds to grow crops—“wheat and barley. Oats and potatoes. Sugar beets, currants, apples, tomatoes.”—to support the war effort.

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-rosie-stronger-than-steel-women

Some days Rosie toiled in the shadow of a war plane, her green body hiding among the green crops. But she never faltered, always singing to herself promise she made to the women who built her. Year after year “more crops were needed! Load after load, sent out to the troops. To feed them. To help them. To win the war!”

Rosie did more than plow. She was hitched to wagons that carried milk and wool and hauled bushels and bushels of apples. She trudged uphill with logs to be converted into supplies. And then one day Rosie heard cheers ringing out across the farm. “The celebration spread throughout the world. The war was over!”

As time passed, new-model tractors joined Rosie on the farm. And then came the day when Rosie sputtered to a halt. She was taken to the barn, where the farmers tinkered and brought her back to life. Now Rosie had rubber tires and new paint, and the little rose had blossomed to fill her hood. Rosie was back, working the farm but never forgetting her promise to the women who built her and her fight for freedom.

In an extensive Author’s Note and accompanying timeline, Lindsay Ward talks about the inspiration behind her story, the work of women in factories during World War II in the US, and the Women’s Land Army in England. She also reveals fascinating facts about tractors built by Ford Motor Company and sent to England. Ward also includes a list of resources for those interested in learning more.

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-rosie-stronger-than-steel-night

Lindsay Ward introduces children to the heroism and sacrifice displayed during World War II through her unique story. Told from the perspective of a tractor built by women factory workers in the United States and shipped to a British farm supplying food for the troops, Ward’s story reveals details of the time period that children may not know but that will make an impact: In the first page spread, children see women lined up with donations for the scrap metal collection—not only cans and unneeded items, but toasters and bed frames too. The reason for Rosie’s green paint—a familiar color for tractors—also becomes apparent later in the story.

With the war’s end and the passage of time, Ward demonstrates the return to normalcy and progress again through tractors—Rosie, who acquires rubber tires, and new, sleeker models. Straightforward storytelling describing Rosie’s origins and her hard work on the farm intermittently shares the page with Rosie’s inspiring rhymed promise to do any job necessary.

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-rosie-stronger-than-steel-plow

Ward’s colored pencil and cut paper illustrations evoke the 1940s and give Rosie a determined personality while maintaining a realistic view of the important work of these valuable machines. Green predominates, highlighting Rosie, reminding readers of the camouflaged troops she served, and spotlighting the crops she fostered while adding a touch of metaphorical depth in the idea of renewal. Images created from lined notebook paper hint at the importance of remembering history through stories, and other choices of paper add texture and interest.

An excellent story to add to lessons on World War II, women’s history, American history, farming, and industry as well as for children interested in vehicles and machinery, Rosie: Stronger than Steel would be an inspirational addition to home, school, and public library collections.

To learn more about Lindsay Ward, her books, and her art, visit her website.

For a Learn to Draw Rosie Activity Sheet, visit Lindsay’s Rosie: Stronger than Steel page.

Ages 4 – 8

Two Lions, 2020 | ISBN 978-1542017947

National Reading Month Activity

Build a Tractor Jigsaw Puzzle

With this printable jigsaw puzzle, you can color and build a tractor of your own! Just print the Tractor Template, color, cut, and have fun putting it together!

Supplies

Printable Tractor Template
Card stock paper, poster board, or cardboard (optional)
Colored pencils or crayons
Scissors
Glue (optional)
Tape (optional)

Directions

Print the Tractor Template. For a sturdier puzzle, print on card stock or glue the pieces to poster board or cardboard before cutting.
Color and cut out the pieces
Put the tractor together

Optional Game

If you’d like to play with your tractor, you can print this Vegetable Garden Game.

To use your tractor to play with the game, tape the pieces together.
Then pretend to plow and plant your garden then play the game with the directions provided.

**You can find Rosie: Stronger than Steel at these booksellers**

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million

To support your local independent bookstore, order from

Bookshop | IndieBound

Picture Book Review

About the Holiday

George Washington: A Revolutionary Life

By Tim Grove

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About the Holiday

Mary Morland in the Time of Dinosaur Discovery

Written by Jane Kurtz | Illustrated by Giselle Potter

National Women’s History Month Activity

Women’s History Month Coloring Page

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About the Holiday

The Ultimate Art Museum

By Ferren Gipson

International Museum Day Activity

Create a Museum Exhibit

You can find The Ultimate Art Museum at these booksellers

To support your local independent bookstore, order from

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About the Holiday

Saving the Countryside: The Story of Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit

Written by Linda Elovitz Marshall | Illustrated by Ilaria Urbinati

Great Outdoors Month Activity

Grow a Vegetable Garden Board Game

You can find Saving the Countryside: The Story of Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit at these booksellers

To support your local independent bookstore, order from

Share this:

About the Holiday

A Most Clever Girl: How Jane Austen Discovered Her Voice

Written by Jasmine A. Stirling | Illustrated by Vesper Stamper

Women’s History Month Activity

Jane Austen Coloring Page

You can find A Most Clever Girl: How Jane Austen Discovered Her Voice at these booksellers

To support your local independent bookstore, order from

Share this:

About the Holiday

Saving the Countryside: The Story of Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit

Written by Linda Elovitz Marshall | Illustrated by Ilaria Urbinati

Great Outdoors Month Activity

Grow a Vegetable Garden Board Game

You can find Saving the Countryside: The Story of Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit at these booksellers

To support your local independent bookstore, order from

Share this:

About the Holiday

Rosie: Stronger than Steel

By Lindsay Ward

National Reading Month Activity

Build a Tractor Jigsaw Puzzle

You can find Rosie: Stronger than Steel at these booksellers

To support your local independent bookstore, order from

Share this:

**You can find The Ultimate Art Museum at these booksellers**

**You can find Saving the Countryside: The Story of Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit at these booksellers**

**You can find A Most Clever Girl: How Jane Austen Discovered Her Voice at these booksellers**

**You can find Saving the Countryside: The Story of Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit at these booksellers**

**You can find Rosie: Stronger than Steel at these booksellers**