Books for Younger Readers
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| Dear Frank: Babe Ruth, the Red Sox, and the Great War. Designed by Tom Greensfelder. Gyroscope Books, 2012.
Dear Frank is is work of historical fiction chronicled through a series of letters penned by Andrew to Frank, his older brother, fighting in the trenches of Europe during the last year of World War I. The book captures the impact of the war, as well as the future hopes and dreams of Bostonians, as seen through Andrew’s eyes. The politics of war and baseball, focused on Red Sox phenom Babe Ruth, play a key role in this story, as does the touching sentiment of a family who greatly misses the presence of Frank in their lives.
"Gems of historical fact are interspersed throughout the book, making this a fascinating and enjoyable read. W. Nikola-Lisa exhibits rare talent in this genuinely touching book about the bond between brothers, the hardships of war. . . and the joy of baseball. Dear Frank: Babe Ruth, The Red Sox, and the Great War is a Seal of Approval Recipient and earned two Gold Awards in the 2013 Literary Classics International Book Awards." Reviewed by Literary Classics Book Reviews and Awards, 26 November 2013.
Available in paperback, case-laminate hardcover, and as an audiobook.
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Shark Man: A Middle-Grade Novel. Gyroscope Books, 2015.
Billy-Boy and his two sisters arrive in Florida at the beginning of summer after their mother whisks them away from Texas, leaving their mean stepfather behind. Billy-Boy quickly befriends a local boy, Tim, and all is well until it becomes clear that they both like the same girl, Mae Beth, the daughter of the local surf shop owner.
Billy-Boy has to leaen how to navigate this new terrain, while struggling to overcome his feelings about his stepfather. He is helped by the insights of an older boy, known locally as "Shark Man," and by Sonny, Mae Beth's father, who helps Billy-Boy understand both the mysteries of the ocean and the depths of his inner self.
Shark Man picks up where my first memoir, Dragonfly, left off. Rather than continue the next phase of my life as a memoir, however, I fashioned it as a novel, condensing almost ten years of living in South Florida into one summer. Although the cast of characters is fictional, most of the surfing episodes—even jumping off the end of a fishing pier in the midst of a hurricane—are right out of my lived experience.
Available in paperback and case-laminate hardcover.
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| Magic in the Margins: A Medieval Tale of Bookmaking. Illustrated by Bonnie Christensen. Houghton Mifflin, 2007.
Simon was an orphan, the son of peasants. He was keen-minded and quick and soon learned the ways of the scriptorium, of the illuminated manuscripts. In fact, he was such a fast learner, he felt ready to draw pictures of his own in his teacher’s books. But first, the monastery’s abbot tells him, he must learn how to capture mice. Capture mice? It's an enigma that keeps Simon entranced until he understands the true meaning of the abbot's dictum.
"Prolific author W. Nikola-Lisa and acclaimed illustrator Bonnie Christensen combine talents to create their own illuminated story about patience, talent, and the imagination." Inside flap copy, Magic in the Margins
Available in full-color hardcover.
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| How We Are Smart. Illustratred by Sean Qualls. Lee & Low Books, 2006.
Musician Tito Puente. Ballerina Maria Tallchief. Explorer Matthew Henson. Congresswoman Patsy Mink. These are some of the people profiled in this book. They are well known for different reasons, but they also have something in common. They were all smart!
In this highly-acclaimed book, winner of the prestigious Christopher Award and a Gustvus Myers Outstanding Book Award Honoree, readers will learn that being smart is about more than doing well in school. There are eight ways to be smart, and they are reflected in how a person uses his or her body, relates to the natural world, responds to music and art, and more. When readers see how the people in this book used their smarts, they will learn about themselves too, and their own unique ways of being smart. Back-of-book information about the eight intelligences, along with activities, enhance the learning experience.
"Lively storytelling and striking illustrations introduce readers to Howard Gardner's empowering theory of multiple intelligences and the adventure of discovering how they are smart!" Reviewed by The Christophers, a Catholic association founded by Father James Keller
Available in paperback and hardcover.
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| Tangletalk. Illustrated by Jessica Clerk. Dutton, 1997.
This magically illustrated pictrue book explores the world of topsy-turvy (a.k.a. "tangletalk"). Set in early 20th-century Boston, Tangletalk follows the daily routine of a dapper Bostonian and his tony feline as they make their way through the course of a day. You'll find all sorts of topsy-turvies—
lunch hanging from a clothesline,
a chair dashing up a chimney,
rats smoking a huge cigar,
babies taking a birdbath,
and so much more...
Oh, and don't forget to count the "cat heads" the illustrator has placed through the book, turning Tangletalk into more than word play: it's just as much a feast for your eyes than anything.
Available in full-color hardcover.
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| Can You Top That? Illustrated by Hector Viveros Lee. Lee & Low Books, 2000.
What have we here? A child's mind run amuck. Can You Top That? plays on the old trope of kids trying to outdo each other, in this case bragging about the wild, funny, and unusual animals they have (that is, supposedly). As with Tangletalk, you'll find much to wonder and laugh about—a mouse with two tails, a bird with four wings, a cat with five eyes, a pig with seven snouts, a cow with nine legs...
But don't worry, it's all resolved by the last child who brings the fantasy down to earth with a resounding thud with his revelation—that he as an elephant! An elephant, you ask? Sure, why not (of course you won't know why until you read the entire book).
Once you do, you can use it as a prompt for student artwork. Have students write their own counting book and then illustrate it themselves. They'll have lots of fun telling their own story (as much as they had reading mine).
Available in paperback and hardcover. So don't wait. Run out and grab a copy now!
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| Till Year's Good End. Illustrated by Christopher Manson. Atheneum, 1997.
This is the prequel for my book Magic in the Margins, or, at least, it was the inspiration for that book. Both are set in the European Middle Ages, one on a manorial estate, the other in a monastery's scriptorium. I've always loved the texture and feel of the medieval period, so much so that, as a second-grade teacher, I ended each year with a thematic unit on the 12th-century English folk hero Robin Hood. We literally turned the classroom into Sherwood Forest. It was a great way to end the year.
Till Year's Good End follows the medieval twelve-month cycle of the "Labors of the Months," in which every month of the year there was a prescribed set of chores to do. After all, life in the Middle Ages was primarily about survival. To create this book I wrote two texts: a read-aloud text comprised of a dozen rhyming couplets (one for each month of the year) and a corresponding set of informational texts to flesh out the meaning behind each couplet.
The book, available in paperback and hardcover, is beautifully illustrarted by Christopher Manson, who also illustrated The Practical Alchemist and The Marvelous Blue Mouse.
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| Night Is Coming. Illustrated by Jamicael Henterly. Dutton, 1991.
My first book—and still my favorite. Of all the books I've published for young readers, Night Is Coming takes me back the furthest in reveries of my childhood. Not that you would know that from Jamichael Henterly's illustrations. He sets the book in mid-Atlantic Amish country (note the rolling hills and amish-like insignia on the barn). That's not where I spent my childhood: I grew up in South Texas in a sparse environment, one that was flat as a pancake—and dry as a bone.
Night Is Coming is a quiet book that focuses on night slowly descending on a family farm. The main characters, along with the many animals tucked away in Henterly's paintings, are a young girl and her grandfather, who take in the changing scenery, especially the ever-changing shades of light as the sun sets below the horizon.
It's the last book you'll want to read to your children at night. What a better way to put them to sleep than with these words...
Night is coming,
quiet is the land.
Night is coming,
still are the feet.
Night is coming,
calm is the heart.
Night is coming...
Is coming...
Is.
Available in full-color paperback and hardcover editions.
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