Parent of a Picky Eater?

What is a parent to do when his child refuses to eat the meal that's prepared for him? Get creative. TALES FOR VERY PICKY EATERS, by Josh Schneider, is the wacky tale of James' refusal to eat his broccoli, oatmeal, lasagna, milk, and eggs."What else is there to eat?" he asks his father. "Well....there's dirt or already chewed gum," replies his father. This, along with other creative techniques, are eventually successful in getting James to eat his food.This book won the 2012 Theodor Seuss Geisel award for the most distinguished beginning reader book.(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011)

Schneider Middle School Book Awards

WONDERSTRUCK, by Brian Selznick, is the unique tale of two deaf children growing up 50 years apart. Rose is a deaf girl growing up in the 1920s. Her story is told solely through beautiful pencil- sketched illustrations. She runs away to NYC to find the star Lillian Mayhew, her birth mother. Lillian is furious when she sees her, so Rose runs away again, this time to the same museum as Ben. Ben's story takes place 50 years later and is told through text only. Ben travels to NYC in search of his father. Eventually, they meet in a bookstore and realize that Rose is Ben’s grandmother. She tells him the story of his father. Their intertwining stories are uniquely told in an overlap of text and pictures.Tween readers are sure to love this book written by the creator of The Invention of Hugo Cabret. This book was named as a Schneider Family Award Winner for middle school readers (ages 9-13). (Scholastic Press, 2011)

                                                                                                                                
CLOSE TO FAMOUS, by Joan Bauer, is the delightfully sweet (no pun intended) of Foster McFee. Chased out of town by an Elvis impersonator, Foster and her mother end up in the small town of Culpepper. Foster has big dreams. She is a baker with an enormous talent for making muffins and cupcakes. She dreams of one day having her own cooking show like her idol, Sonny Kroll.There's one small problem. Foster can't read. She listens and memorizes her recipes, but she can't read a cookbook. With the help of an award winning actress living in Culpepper to escape Hollywood, she learns to read. She and her mother begin their new life in this wonderful town full of interesting characters. This feel good story is full of determination and perseverance. It was recently named as a Schneider Award winner for middle school books.(Viking, 2011).

Elephants and Bears....oh my!

I BROKE MY TRUNK, written and illustrated by Mo Willems, is part of the adorable Elephant and Piggie series. Elephant Gerald is careful. Piggie is not. In this book, Gerald tells Piggie the long, crazy story about how he broke his trunk.This beginning reader book has clean pages with simple illustrations and sentences. Colored thought bubbles surround Gerald and Piggie's conversation making it easy to distinguish who is saying what.Elephants thought bubbles are gray and Piggie's are pink.This delightfully charming book was named as a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor book.(Hyperion Books for Children, 2011)
 

I WANT MY HAT BACK, written and illustrated by Jon Klassen, is about a bear who has lost his hat and worries he will never see it again.......or wait, has he? Bear asks friend after friend if they have seen his missing hat. Their replies are written in contrasting colors of ink. Simple sentences, clean pages, and earth tones provide a neutral canvas against the missing hat's pop of bright red.Will you spot it? This beginning reader book is a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor recipient.(Candlewick Press, 2011)

East Meets West

BREAKING STALIN’S NOSE, written and illustrated by Eugene Velchin, is the story of ten year old Sasha Zaichik. Sasha has known the laws of the Soviet Young Pioneers since the age of six.  Sasha’s father is a Communist and a hero. Sasha writes a letter to Stalin thanking him personally for allowing him to be fortunate enough to live in the Soviet Union. He goes on to say that he has read how hard life is for children in capitalist countries, and he is so thankful to be in the USSR .He looks forward to one day joining the Young Soviet Pioneers. Sasha and his father live in an apartment that they share with 48 other Soviet citizens. One night, officers from the Kremlin storm into their apartment and take Sasha’s father away. We spend that night and the next day with Sasha as he begins to question everything he knows about the Soviet government and the cynicism of the system he once trusted. This book was recently named as a John Newbery Honor Book. (Henry Holt and Company, 2011).

 

THE SCRAPBOOK OF FRANKIE PRATT a novel in pictures, written by Caroline Preston, is the delightful tale of Frankie Pratt who graduates from high school in 1920. She is given a scrapbook and an old typewriter for graduation.Through an array of vintage postcards, letters, magazine ads, ticket stubs, catalog pages, and other assorted memorabilia, we follow Frankie on her journey in search of success and love. She attends Vassar, falls in love, and moves to Greenwich Village where she pursues her career in writing. She later moves to Paris where she meets two exiled Russian princes. A family crisis calls her back to New England where she finds what she has been searching for all along. This whimsical novel recently received the Alex award for being one of the top ten adult books that appeal to teen audiences.(Harper Collins, 2011).