Holiday House

by Maxwell Eaton III

Learn how to make syrup the old fashioned way with the help of a friendly bear and her amusingly unhelpful accomplices Dog and Squirrel in this informative comics-style picture book.

Did you know that it takes forty gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup? "How many pancakes can I eat with that gallon?" wonders Dog.

Every step of the process of making maple syrup is covered in this sweet (but never saccharine) informational picture book by Maxwell Eaton III, the creator of the popular "Truth About" series. It begins with Bear assembling the tools she'll need for the project, continues with a discussion of the types of maples found in the area and why sugar maples are best for tapping, then on to drilling, tapping, evaporation and at the end of the process, real maple syrup and best of all, PANCAKES!

Along the way there are hilarious asides from increasingly ravenous Dog and Squirrel, making this a book as funny as it is informative. Helpful back matter and suggestions for further reading complete the package.

Recommended by the publisher for readers ages 4 - 8 years, but Nest Owner's Note: we do find this book full of information, and we might suggest that the drawings and an abridged selection could be reader for children as young as 4 years, but the entirety of the content could be geared towards 7 years and older.  Most adults would learn a lot from it along the way!

A Junior Library Guild Selection

Softcover, 32 pages.

by Lesa Cline-Ransome

When eleven-year-old Langston's father moves them from their home in Alabama to Chicago's Bronzeville district, it feels like he's giving up everything he loves.

It's 1946.  Langston's mother has just died, and now they're leaving the rest of his family and friends.  He misses everything— Grandma's Sunday suppers, the red dirt roads, and the magnolia trees his mother loved.

In the city, they live in a small apartment surrounded by noise and chaos.  It doesn't feel like a new start, or a better life.  At home he's lonely, his father always busy at work; at school he's bullied for being a country boy.

But Langston's new home has one fantastic thing.  Unlike the whites-only library in Alabama, the Chicago Public Library welcomes everyone.  There, hiding out after school, Langston discovers another Langston — a poet whom he learns inspired his mother enough to name her only son after him.

Lesa Cline-Ransome, author of the Coretta Scott King Honor picture book Before She Was Harriet, has crafted a lyrical debut novel about one boy's experiences during the Great Migration.  Includes an author's note about the historical context and her research.

Recommended by the publisher for ages 8 - 12 years old; recommended by Nest for reader ages 9 years and up.

Also in the Series

Praise

• Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book
• Winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
• Junior Library Guild selection
• CLA Notable Children's Book in Language Arts
• Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year, with 5 Starred Reviews
• School Library Journal Best Book of 2018

by Lesa Cline-Ransome

A companion novel to Finding Langston, recipient of a Coretta Scott King Writing Honor and winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction.

Behind every bad boy is a story worth hearing and at least one chance for redemption.  It's 1946 and Lymon, uprooted from his life in the Deep South and moved up North, needs that chance.

Lymon's father is, for the time being, at Parchman Farm--the Mississippi State Penitentiary--and his mother, whom he doesn't remember all that much, has moved North.  Fortunately, Lymon is being raised by his loving grandparents.  Together, Lymon and his grandpops share a love of music, spending late summer nights playing the guitar.

But Lymon's world as he knows it is about to dissolve.  He will be sent on a journey to two Northern cities far from the country life he loves -- and the version of himself he knows.  In this companion novel to the Coretta Scott King Honor wining Finding Langston, readers will see a new side of the bully Lymon in this story of an angry boy whose raw talent, resilience, and devotion to music help point him in a new direction.

Recommended for readers ages 8-12 years.

Softcover, 112 pages.

Holiday House.

A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
A Junior Library Guild Selection!
Named a Best Multicultural Children's Book by the Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature
A Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year!
A Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon Book

POEMS ABOUT ANIMALS THAT LIVE BENEATH OUR FEET

By David L. Harrison; Illustrated by Kate Cosgrove

15 fun and fact-filled poems about soil–what makes it and who lives in it! This book unearths some of the glorious mysteries that lie beneath our feet!

A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year

Spectacular vertical panoramas illustrating life underground accompany 15 funny, fascinating poems that explore dirt and the many creatures that make their homes underground.  Spiders, earthworms, ants, chipmunks and more crawl across the pages, between stretching roots and buried stones. 
 
Chipmunk, for such a little squirt
you sure do move a lot of dirt,
you sure do dig your tunnels deep,
you sure do find some nuts to keep,
you sure do know your underground.
Chipmunk, you sure do get around.
 
This unique celebration of dirt– what makes it, what lives in it, and the many wonderful things the soil does to support life on our planet– is a whimsical, cleverly-illustrated pick for kids who love animals…  or who just love playing in the mud. 
 
From the creators of And the Bullfrogs Sing, a Bank Street Best Book of the Year, this intriguing, uniquely charming nature book has been vetted by experts and includes an author’s note with more information about all the featured creatures, as well as a bibliography.

Recommended for readers ages 6-9 years.

Hardcover, 40 pages.  11 x 8.5 inches.

Holiday House.

Click here for bonus content activity sheets from the publisher.

Awards