This is the true story of Emmy Noether who helped make Einstein’s theory of relativity the solid indestructible physics principle it is today. Emmy was a mathematician in a time when women were not allowed to be educated, let alone allowed to teach. Because of this, she did great things for science, but most of the credit for her work was taken by others.  The men were allowed to publish and be famous.  This is an interesting biography, but it is a tad long. It is also a bit confusing for the age it’s written. Overall, it is a nice work and introduces children to someone they not heard about before, and for that it was a nice read. 

 

This is a simple book that follows Wally as he notices the weather. This book is part story and part factoid. One of my favorite factoids was that squirrels spread themselves out and lay flat to help cool themselves off in the heat of the summer. There is information that kids are sure to find fun and for the kids that need a storyline this has that as well. 

 

This book is about all the ways that children can use technology for a better world.  There’s lots of arguments going around now about when is one too young to be so ingrained in digital. This book completely ignores that and it’s just all the positive things But as an adult, it would have been nice to seeing in there “Sometimes you need to put the technology down”. Either way this book does work and it’s lovely, but I have a feeling it does not have an infinite lifespan. 

 

This is a picture book of poems about trees. Some of them are about nature, some of them are about life and history with trees. And some are about specific trees, like birch or willows. Overall, it’s a fun book if a little long for story time. But there is surely something for everyone to find fun. 

 

Debbie and his sister head to their grandparents’ house. While there they hear the story of their grandparents getting lost in the snow, and how they stayed where they were and made themselves safe and waited for someone to find them. Turns out that happens to Davey on their way home. After they slide down the big hill, they can no longer find the path home because of the snow. Davey makes sure that he and his sister are safe and wait for mom and dad to appear. This book is basically a lesson in survival on a cold day. It does work, but it is very long winded. The best thing about this book is the illustrations. The story could’ve been cut in half and still have been successful. 

 

This book is fantastic. The book is a giant metaphor on how to deal with anxiety. In this case, anxiety is a boat. And it’s a calm day, but things start to get worse, and the Billies come. They believe in other things that want to wreck the ship and pull them down. In typical books about how to whether anxiety, there’s “take breath”, “be calm”, etc. This book uses a metaphor of riding the waves up and down as breathing in and breathing out. Picturing your boat and then tying the anchor. It’s all done in a sing song, rhyming fashion that just works. It’s not lecturing anyone, it’s not giving them a three point plan, it’s giving them something they can remember because it’s sing songs  the illustrations are just as fantastic as the story itself. 

 

This book has a nice sing song pattern that works quite well and includes a short, four stanza songs that children can memorize to share their love with people who are not around. This book is about looking for the good sides and life and that by sharing the good things and wishing others love and peace and hope, that everybody helps bring to the world. This book works and the illustrations are really fun. I’m not sure it’s something I would read frequently at story times, but I do see some kids and educators falling in love with it. 

 

This book is full of questions. A child is going for a walk with their father and one question leads to another and leads to another, etc. It’s when new words are introduced that you begin to realize that this may not be coming from your current experience. Buddha told everybody to always question. Question why things work, know that things come from one thing to another, and on and on. This book is basic beginnings questions and how things come after each other and how ohm covers everything. Anybody could read this book and get something out of it. It does not have to be read or is not strictly for those who follow Buddha. The information about Buddha is in the very end, as a note to parents rather than part of the story which makes this book open for all. 

 

This book is a simple way to talk about being anti-racist. It starts with a child seeing a protest, specifically the Black Lives Matter protests from the killing of George Floyd. The child asks what’s going on why are we doing this. His parents inform him and give him some examples of people who have fought for the freedoms they have today, and they also talk about why they’re still fighting. The book includes activities and things to try after reading to become not just an anti-racist superhero but to have empathy and to feel for others, and to pay attention to what is happening around the world. The story in this book is lovely. The activities elongate the story but there’s a purpose and a need this book fills quite well. 

 

Do not be fooled, this is not a picture book. This is a nonfiction biography that is heavily illustrated. This is about Mary Seacole, a type of nurse who believes in the home remedy, and healing the way her mother did it. She was born and raised in Jamaica and was of creole descent. This meant she was not white and was treated as such throughout her life. She was turned away many times for wanting to help people, all because of the color of their skin. This includes Florence Nightingale, who thought of Mary as unclean, unsure, and of lesser education. While some people sided with Florence, men who were treated by her in the battlefield, did not. To them she was a hero, who deserves just as much fanfare as Nightingale gets. I full heartedly, agree and hope more children pick up this story and learn about another fantastic woman making waves for future women everywhere.