Tag: Buffy Silverman

snowflake with a blue background Snow and Winter Children’s Books
Children's Book Recommendations

Snow and Winter Children’s Books

The Retired School Librarian1 Comment

Snow and Winter Children’s Books–2023 recommendations are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.

(The content below contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy through these links, she may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you.)

Bruce is in a robe outside holding a tissue box while his three mice friends are playing in the snow

Out Cold-A Little Bruce Book (Mother Bruce Series) 

by Ryan T. Higgins (Author)

Brief summary: Winter has come to Soggy Hollow. Poor Bruce has a cold and is stuck inside with his mice friends, Nibbs, Thistle, and Rupert. After playing outside, the mice thought it would be nice to bring the snow activities inside for Bruce to enjoy. I wonder if Bruce will enjoy them…

Comments: What can I say? I love the humor of grumpy Bruce. He reminds me so much of myself.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗 1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

A boy in a yellow cate with red mittens and a hat is facing tot he right as he stands in falling snow

I’m Going to Build a Snowman 

by Jashar Awan (Author, Illustrator)

Brief summary: A little boy wakes to see that it has snowed. After eating his breakfast and putting on all of his snow gear, he is determined to build the BEST SNOWMAN EVER.

Comments: The story explores how one’s expectations may not be realistic but still can be enjoyable in a positive mindset.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

billy barr is looking over his shoulder as he wears a red and black checkered hat with ear flaps while it snows. the background is pine trees on a snowy mountain.

The Snow Man: A True Story 

by Jonah Winter (Author), Jeanette Winter (Illustrator)

Brief summary: billy barr (he prefers all small letters) lives ALONE in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, eight miles from the nearest town. He first moved there as a college student in 1972 for the summer. He lived in an abandoned shack with dirt floors and no electricity or running water. He began to take meticulous notes of all of the wildlife and weather of the mountains.

He stayed for fifty-one years and is still there.

 The scientists at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory used his notes and observations, all written in notebooks, to chart how the mountains’ climate was changing. He still takes notes but enters them into a computer.

Comments: There is an Author’s Note in the back explaining billy barr in more detail.

I had so many questions while reading this biography. Why is he a hermit? What made him go there? Why did he stay so long? Would I want to live like that? What would that be like? Can I get my library up there? And could I bring all of my cats?

This biography picture book could spark some interesting classroom discussions.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Below is a short film made about Billy Barr in 2016 called The Snow Guardian  by Day’s Edge Productions.

Source: billy barr in The Snow Guardian by Day’s Edge Productions, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsZDHTTtSIg

Forest animals are lined up while the owl is flying above with their gifts of feathers, berries, nuts, and so on are in a circle around the title

Winter: A Solstice Story (The Solstice Series) 

by Kelsey E. Gross (Author), Renata Liwska (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Owl calls down from the top of a pine tree to the creatures of the forest asking who can help brighten the winter solstice, the longest night of the year. Each forest animal contributes something to the pine tree as it shines with the full moon upon it.

Comments: This is a gentle and quiet book that could be read as a bedtime story.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

A very excited boy has his face against the window looking outside

Just SNOW Already! 

by Howard McWilliam (Author, Illustrator)

Brief summary: A boy excitedly waits for the snow expected that evening in his neighborhood. He dreams of all the wonderful things he will do in the snow. He keeps checking out the window, not noticing all of the stupendous things taking place on his street, believing that nothing is happening because there is no snow yet.

He begins to wonder what it would mean if it never snowed again.

Comments: The details in these illustrations are action-packed and hilarious. I love the boy’s giant head and all of his facial expressions. This would be a fantastic read-aloud for kids, especially the day before the first snowfall of the year.

Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗 1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

A girl with a red hat and black scarf wearing a snow jacket is lying on the snow smiling

On a Flake-Flying Day: Watching Winter’s Wonders 

by Buffy Silverman (Author)

Brief summary: When winter arrives, nature changes in many ways to prepare for snow.

Comments: There are large and brilliant Nature photos in this narrative nonfiction picture book.

The back section includes the question: What can you see on a white winter’s day? and then in-depth answers correlating to the pages before, Further Reading, and Glossary.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Children’s book titles are carefully handpicked by a certified elementary school librarian who, although retired, still enjoys reading children’s books, especially picture books, and recommending them to busy teachers, school librarians, parents, grandparents, and other book lovers.

Most of the books Mrs. Ferraris reads before recommending are checked out from the public library, except for those much-appreciated complimentary copies sent to her for an honest review. Those are noted. 

Fall Children’s Books: Picture Books and Nonfiction–2023
Children's Book Recommendations

Fall Children’s Books: Picture Books and Nonfiction–2023

The Retired School Librarian5 Comments

Fall Children’s Books: Picture Books and Nonfiction book recommendations–2023 are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.

(The content below contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy through these links, she may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you.)

The cover for It's Fall is a young girl has her hands above her head where there are leaves falling from a tree. She is smiling as well as her dog and a flying bird

It’s Fall! (Celebrate the Seasons, 1)

by Renée Kurilla (Author, Illustrator)

Brief summary: A young girl shares what the fall season brings with back-to-school, Halloween, and Thanksgiving.

Comments: Illustrations are in yellows, reds, and oranges. The story is in rhyme.

What a fun book to share with young readers that introduces fall vocabulary.

Large single-page, double-page spreads, and vignette illustrations make this a read-aloud recommendation.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

A multigenerational family and their dog are on a fall hike walking over rocks in a stream with trees of orange and yellow behind them

When Fall Comes: Connecting with Nature as the Days Grow Shorter (When Seasons Come) 

by Aimée M. Bissonette (Author), Erin Hourigan (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Young readers will read how humans, wildlife, and nature prepare in the fall for the winter months ahead. Some will harvest and stock up on food, others will build places to sleep, while others will migrate to warmer weather.

Comments: This season series would be an excellent choice to have in any library. I’m looking forward to seeing When Spring Comes.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Nonfiction

Blue tennis shoes are standing on fall colored fallen leaves

On a Gold-Blooming Day: Finding Fall Treasures 

by Buffy Silverman (Author)

Brief summary: When fall arrives, nature changes in many ways to prepare for winter.

Comments: Large and brilliant illustrations with fun adjectives, adverbs, and verbs to read aloud.

More in-depth explanations of fall changes are at the end of the book.

The back section includes What Treasures Will You Find in Fall?, Further Reading, and Glossary.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Hanging lit lanterns are handing from the ceiling

Mid-Autumn Festival (Traditions & Celebrations)

by Ailynn Collins (Author)

Brief summary: Mid-Autumn Festival, also called the Moon or Mooncake Festival, is globally celebrated by Asian people. Young readers will learn the origins of the holiday, the lunar calendar, and what traditions and foods people have to observe this holiday.

Comments: The back sections are Glossary, Read More, Internet Sites, Index, and About the Author. Bolded words are found in the glossary.

I wish we had these Traditions and Celebrations books when I was a child. I’m learning so much from reading them as an adult, which has broadened my understanding of other cultures.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

A pile of apples on a wodden crate

Orchards (Trip to the Farm) 

by Ursula Pang (Author)

Brief summary: There are many orchards (farms where trees grow)producing fruit, nuts, seeds, syrup, and Christmas trees. Young readers will learn about each type of orchard.

Comments: I placed this book in the fall section as when I think of orchards, I think of apple or fruit orchards because those are the ones in my area that are harvested in the fall. I also had those teachers book requests for fall units before they went and visited a nearby apple orchard.

I enjoyed reading and learning about the different types of orchards and when they were harvested.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Children’s book titles are carefully handpicked by a certified elementary school librarian who, although retired, still enjoys reading children’s books, especially picture books, and recommending them to busy teachers, school librarians, parents, grandparents, and other book lovers.

Most of the books Mrs. Ferraris reads before recommending are checked out from the public library, except for those much-appreciated complimentary copies sent to her for an honest review. Those are noted.