Dyamonde Daniel is a spunky 3rd grader who knows about life -- and is always trying to teach her best friend, Free. For example, she sets her friend straight when he complains about being too poor to buy a new video game. No, that's not being poor; that's just not having the money right now. Big difference! When their teacher announces a poetry contest sponsored by the local library, Free, a self-described 'poet who knows it,' is very excited, especially when he hears about the $100 prize. Dyamonde is more sedate. She prefers math to poetry. Dyamonde notices that shy, quiet Damaris also looks pretty excited about the contest. Damaris is a bit of a mystery; one that Dyamonde intends to solve. What she discovers about this girl surprises and saddens her. But leave it to the irrepressible Dyamonde to find a way to turn a bad situation into something lovely. Published by Putnam Juvenile, 2009. 96 pages.
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A very chatty elephant meets a contemplative giraffe in this debut picture book. The duo first encounter each other at the watering hole, where elephant is headed for a swim. Confused and more than a little offended at the giraffe's standoffish behavior, she stalks away in a huff but then turns to a book (All About Giraffes) to try to understand why he snubbed her. She discovers that giraffes “don’t make much noise” and learns to accept her new acquaintance’s quiet nature. This opens the door to a friendship which leads to a cooking adventure and a pirate-themed play time. Humor abounds and centers on conflict arising from the very different personalities of this odd couple. Published by Disney: Hyperion, 2013. This charming book celebrates the delights of playing in the snow with a good friend. Bear and Chipmunk are thrilled to see snow falling outside their window. Bear declares, "I love snow," and Chipmunk chimes in, "Me too!" Bear has a blizzard of ideas to try and Chipmunk steadfastly agrees that he'll have a go at them as well. Plenty of repetition and short declarative sentences make this an excellent choice for beginning readers. The text is complemented by wonderful watercolor and ink illustrations that bring the snow-filled, action-packed day to life and help readers decipher unfamiliar words. Illustrated by author. 32 p. Published by Holiday House, 2013. |
AuthorJoanne Zienty is a school librarian, teacher, reader, writer and published author who firmly believes there are so many good books and not enough time to Archives
October 2016
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