Picture Book - Laxmi's Mooch by Shelly Anand

Illustrated by Nabi H. Ali
Endpapers:  Pale simple drawings on solid orange that explain nine Hindi words used in the story

found at Ellsworth Public Library

2021, Kokila/Penguin Random House

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating:   4.42 - 820 ratings

My rating:  4.5

Illustrations:  big, bold, brightly colored

Text:  Just 1 -2 sentences per page.

1^st line/s:  "Hi!  I'm Laxmi.  Come here.  Closer.  You see that?  That's my mooch."

My comments:  After a young Indian-American gets noticed for the tiny dark hairs on her upper lips (mustache = mooch), she has a talk with her parents and is made to realize that this is a normal - and good - thing.  References are made to Frida Kahlo.  Then she returns to school and has kids examine their own upper lips - and on those that are completely hairless she draws on a mooch for them.

    Acceptance for all!  Everyone's different!

Goodreads:  A joyful, body-positive picture book about a young Indian American girl's journey to accept her body hair and celebrate her heritage after being teased about her mustache.

          Laxmi never paid much attention to the tiny hairs above her lip. But one day while playing farm animals at recess, her friends point out that her whiskers would make her the perfect cat. She starts to notice body hair all over--on her arms, legs, and even between her eyebrows.
        With her parents' help, Laxmi learns that hair isn't just for heads, but that it grows everywhere, regardless of gender. Featuring affirming text by Shelly Anand and exuberant, endearing illustrations by Nabi H. Ali, Laxmi's Mooch is a celebration of our bodies and our body hair, in whichever way they grow.

Picture Book - Kamala and Maya's Big Idea by Meena Harris

Illustrated by Ana Ramirez Gonzalez

found at Ellsworth Public Library

read on 7/14/2021

2020, Balzer & Bray

32 pgs.

Endpapers:  solid royal blue

illustrations:  bold colors, edge to edge, not too much text

Goodreads rating:   4.03 - 1011 ratings

My rating:  4

Afterward/explanation with photos

1^st line/s:  " 'You know what should be out there?' Kamala asked her sister, Maya."

My comments:  Two sisters (Kamala Harris and her sister Maya) create, plan and organize a way to make a playground in the empty apartment courtyard where they live, even after gettin several "no"s .  Working together, almost anything can be accomplished. 

Goodreads:  One day, Kamala and Maya had an idea. A big idea: they would turn their empty apartment courtyard into a playground!

          This is the uplifting tale of how the author’s aunt and mother first learned to persevere in the face of disappointment and turned a dream into reality. This is a story of children’s ability to make a difference and of a community coming together to transform their neighborhood.

Picture Book - Be a Tree! by Maria Gianferrari

Illustrated by Felicita Sola

found at Ellsworth Public Library, 7/8/2021

2021 Abrams Books for Young Readers

44 pgs. including two that fold out into a huge quadrapage spread

Goodreads rating:  4.10 - 192 ratings 

My rating:  5
Endpapers:  3 shades of green, simple outlines of different leaves, labelled, showing veins

1^st line/s:  "Be a tree!"

My comments:  Trees are special.  Trees are friends.  And this book compares them to people and communities.  Great vocabulary, cool illustrations, wonderful tress of all sorts and locales are depicted.  "So be a tree.  For together, we are a forest."  A zillion applications for the classroom.

    Vocabulary:  sapwood (xylem, carries water & nutrients from the roots), heartwood (dead wood in the tree's center, gives strength and support), pith (soft tissue found in the very center of trunk, holds key nutrients as sapling grows, then dries up as the tree ages), sapling, crown, alert, fungi, purify, doe, sustain, vulnerable, cosmos. Also:  WOOD wide web (cute!) and Immigrant Trees.

    Activity Idea:  Leaf project of some sort

    Ends with an Author's note  - 5 ways you can save trees - How you can help your community - Anatomy of a tree - Further reading and websites

    fantasticfunandlearning.com/tree-activities-for-kids.html

    neefusa.org/nature/land/tree-toolkit

    theteachersguide.com/arbordaylessonplans.htm

    earthday.org/campaign/the-canopy-project

    arborday.org/celebrate

Goodreads:  An illustrated look at the majesty of trees—and what humans can learn from them.

Stand tall.
Stretch your branches to the sun.
Be a tree!
We are all like trees: our spines, trunks; our skin, bark; our hearts giving us strength and support, like heartwood. We are fueled by air and sun.
And, like humans, trees are social. They “talk” to spread information; they share food and resources. They shelter and take care of one another. They are stronger together.

Picture Book: The Lost Package by RIchard Ho

Illustrated by Jessica Lanan

found at St. Patrick School Library

2021

40 pgs.

Goodreads rating:   4.14 - 262 ratings

My rating:  4
Endpapers:  Solid blue

1^st line/s:  "Like other packages, this one began as an empty box."

My comments:  So much of the telling in this story is shown through the illustrations, not the text.  The illustrations are absolutely lovely.  My only criticism is that in this day and age, when the postal system is under such scrutiny, why the package wasn't returned to the USPS to wend its way to its final destination.  Sure, it was a great story of the package's path, but a little negative to the postal system, even though I know that was not the author's intent after reading about his family background. I'm really fretting about the USPS's slow demise.....

Goodreads:  The heartwarming story of a package that gets lost, then found and an in-depth behind the scenes look at what happens at the post office, in Richard Ho and Jessica Lanan's The Lost Package...

Picture Book - The Forest Man: The True Story of Jadav Payeng by Anne Matheson

Illustrated by Kay Widdowson 

found at Amelia Givin Library

2020 FlowerPot Press

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  3.80 - 60 ratings

My rating:  4
Endpapers:  Simple.  White with one-inch yellow grid lines.

1^st line/s:  "Jadev Payeng loves trees."

My comments:  Someone called this "a treat for the eyes" and I agree.  How one person took two hours traveling back and forth for forty years to replant and recreate a decimated forest island in India.  The last six pages told of animals, easy-to-follow further facts, and a great glossary.  Perfect for younger classes learning about biomes, or for any age that cares about making the world a better place, and growing trees.

Jadav Payeng

Goodreads:  After years of harsh monsoon seasons, a forest on the river island of Majuli is in danger of being slowly washed away. Jadav, a boy living on the island, is determined to save the forest he loves.

          This is the true story of how one young boy dedicated his life to creating and cultivating an expansive forest that continues to grow to this day. In a world impacted by climate change, Jadav Payeng's inspirational story shows how one person's contributions can make a difference in helping to save our environment.
          Featuring a beautiful arlin paper cover with foil text enhancements and educational back matter including a glossary, fun facts, and resources for further reading, this book introduces a new understanding of our planet and encourages mindfulness and action when it comes to caring for the environment.
          In partnership with Trees for the Future (TREES), each book sold plants a tree.

Picture Book - Together We Grow by Susan Vaught

Illustrated by Kelly Murphy
Endpapers:  Front:  storm coming as animals head to the barn

                     Back:  Outside after the storm with clear skies

2020 Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster

HC $17.99

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating:   3.79 - 284 ratings

My rating:  4

1^st line/s:  "Lightning gash!  Windy lash!"

My comments:  Great illustrations, wonderful message, "meh" rhyming text. This might have been more fun as a wordless book (sorry Ms. Vaught...)  And a family of foxes are the protagonists!

Goodreads:  From award-winning novelist Susan Vaught comes a poignant picture book that celebrates inclusivity, acceptance, and the importance of rebuilding a community in the wake of disaster.

Lightning gash!
Windy lash!

A storm drives all the farm animals indoors except for a lonely fox family. The barn isn’t their home. But where will they go for safety?

This stunning picture books explores themes of acceptance and belonging:
Large or small,
Short and tall,
There is room,
There is room,
There is room
For us all.

Picture Book - We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom

2021 CALDECOTT WINNER

Illustrated by Michaela Goade

2020 Roaring Brook Press

HC $17.99

40 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.53 - 2103 ratings

My rating:  5
Endpapers: Bright Yellow

1^st line/s:  "Water is the first medicine, Nokomis told me."

My comments:  Gorgeous, just gorgeous.  Tristan (10) and I read this together, and as we turned each page we gasped at the beauty of the illustrations.  It led to a wonderful discussion of what's been happening, which Tristan had no idea about. I'm not crazy about the title, and I'm not even sure why. But that's only a silly little negative.  Exceptional book.

Goodreads:  Inspired by the many Indigenous-led movements across North America, We Are Water Protectors issues an urgent rallying cry to safeguard the Earth's water from harm and corruption--a bold and lyrical picture book written by Carole Lindstrom and vibrantly illustrated by Michaela Goade.

Water is the first medicine.
It affects and connects us all . . .

When a black snake threatens to destroy the Earth
And poison her people's water, one young water protector
Takes a stand to defend Earth's most sacred resource.

Picture Book - Trees Make Perfect Pets by Paul Czajak

Illustrated by Cathy Gendron

2020 Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky

HC 17.99

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.19 - 48 ratings

My rating:  4.5
Endpapers: mossy green

1^st line/s:  "Birthdays are the best days for wishes and on this birthday Abigail wished for a pet."

Dedications:  To Abigail:  Yes, We'll get a dogwood, but you have to name it. - PC
     To green thumbs everywhere - CG

My comments:  I love trees, so I quickly and happily pick up every new book I find that has something to do with them.  This one was adorable, both the premise, the setting, and the illustrations.  This particular tree did seem to grow particularly quickly, but it's a picture book, right?

Goodreads:  Abigail is determined to get the perfect pet.
          So she chooses Fido. He keeps her cool from the sun, stays where she tells him, and even gives her air to breathe. That's because Fido is a tree!
          But not everyone thinks having a tree as a pet is a good idea, though, especially when Fido starts to grow. Will Abigail be able to keep her perfect pet?

Picture Book - The Universe is a Tree by Laura Filippucci

Illustrated by the author

2018, Creative Editions

HC $ 18.99

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  3.90 - 10 ratings

My rating:  5
Endpapers:  a beautifully drawn tree in greens on white, with two poems/quotes:  one fby Charles Darwin, the other from Katha Upanishad.

My comments:   Oh my gosh, I love this book.  I love trees.  I love short, clear poetry and meaningful quotes.  So both of those are covered really well...and the illustrations are glorious!  The short explanation about each of the trees is interesting and readable, so that you can read the entire book without skimming.  Hoorah!  I wish I could have the opportunity to see them all.  I think I'll start a buck list based on these trees...

Redwood (Trees are Creators)
Kauri (Trees are Ancestors)
Oak (Trees are Temples)
Cedar of Lebanon (Trees are Homes of the Gods)
Yew (Trees are Gates to the Beyond)
Kapok (Trees are Channels to Other Worlds)
Baobab (Trees are Givers)
Sweet Chestnut (Trees are Protection)
Olive (Trees are Bearers of Peace)
Ginkgo (Trees are Healers)
Banyan/Bodhi (Trees are Founts of Wisdom)
Bristlecone Pine (Trees are Keepers of Secrets)

"To be like these, straight, true and fine,
to make our world like theirs, a shrine;
Sink down, Oh, traveler, on your knees,
God stands before you in these trees.
          -Joseph B. Strauss, from "The Redwoods"
NOTE:  This is MY kind of god!

Goodreads: Trees are teachers, healers, protectors, creators. They keep secrets. They bring peace. This rich anthology of stories, proverbs, and poems about trees from around the world reveals that a tree's roots not only go down deep into the earth, but its branches also reach up and out into the universe, connecting us all, across time and space. May we peer through the forests of our imaginations to see the beauty and experience the awe that still arches over our world.

Picture Book - Two Brothers, Four Hands: The Artists Alberto and Diego Giacometti by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan

Illustrated by Hadley Hooper

2019, Neal Porter Books, Holiday House

HC $ 21.99

64 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  3.82 - 168 ratings

My rating:  4
Endpapers:  Deepblue

1^st line/s:  1901 - 1918  "In the Swiss village of Stampa, surrounded by mountains so high that in winter their shadows fill the valley, live two brothers."

My comments:  This is the way I like to read history and biography....in a well researched picture book!  I've seen Alberto Giacometti's sculptures before, but didn't even attribute a name to them.  So this informative, easy-to-read picture book was perfect for me.  And although I was not super thrilled with the illustrations, they did tell the story of the two brothers well.

Goodreads:   The inspiring true story of the Giacometti brothers, one an artist, the other a daredevil, both devoted to their craft . . . but even more devoted to each other.
          Everyone who knew them agreed. Alberto was the genius of the family. His younger brother Diego was his opposite--he didn't care much for books or schoolwork, and he had no idea what he would be when he grew up. But despite their differences, the two brothers shared an intense bond.
          Alberto Giacometti became one of the iconic artists of the twentieth century, whose tall, spindly sculptures grace the collections of museums around the world. Diego was always at his side, helping and encouraging, and in his spare time creating remarkable pieces of furniture, works of sculpture in their own right.
          The poignant story of brothers and sculptors Alberto and Diego Giacometti is skillfully brought to life in the hands of multiple Sibert Honor authors Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan, and the spectacular artwork of Hadley Hooper.
          This lavishly illustrated 64-page book includes extensive backmatter, complete with a timeline, source notes, photographs, and an essay on how to look at a Giacometti sculpture.
A Horn Book Best Book of the Year
A Washington Post Best Children's Book of the Year

Picture Book: Crow Not Crow by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple

Illustrated by Elizabeth Dulemba

2018 The Cornell Lab Publishing Group

HC $16.95

36 pgs.

Goodreads rating: 3.93 - 120 ratings

My rating:  5/Excellent
Endpapers:Deb Grocery Bag Brown

1^st line/s:  "The first day Dad took me out birding, the sky was the color of Mom's old pearl ring.  The trees were draped with birds.  It was very noisy."

My comments: This book was written for me....or a kid just like me.  All birds look the same to me.  But this ingenious way to teach beginning birders how and what to look for when they're birdwatching is a super-great idea.  The book ends with a few of the birds described in the book, and a few other common North American birds. Lovely illustrations.

Goodreads: New York Times bestselling children's author, Jane Yolen, and her son, Adam Stemple, have teamed up to write this gentle tale of a father introducing his daughter to the joys of bird watching using the "Crow, not Crow" method for distinguishing birds. Elizabeth Dulemba's delightfully warm illustrations bring the story to life..

Picture Book - Around the Passover Table by Tracy Newman

Illustrated by Adriana Santos

2019 Albert Whitman & Co.

HC $16.99

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  3.67 - 21 ratings

My rating:  4
Endpapers:  Dark baby blue

1^st line/s:  "Here is our table for this seder night."

My comments: Modern-day illustrations, multi-ethnic representations, simplicity and not too much text highlight this book as a great read aloud for preschoolers, just what I was looking for!  I love that the family's cat and dog are in every illustrations, no matter what's going on, just part of the family!

Goodreads:  The candles are lit, the seder plate filled, and the matzo stacked high. Join in to read, sing, eat, and observe the holiday. The many steps of a Passover seder are portrayed in this rhyming story.

Picture Book - If I Built a School by Chris VanDusen

Illustrated by the author

2019 Dial Book for Young Readers

HC $17.99

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating: 4.24 - 413 ratings 

My rating:  5
Endpapers:grenn with white outline drawing of OTHER crazy school ideas - lots of fun to look at!

1^st line/s:  "Jack, on the playground, said to Miss Jane,
This school is OK, but it's pitifully plain.
The builders who built this I think should be banned.
It's nothing at all like the school I have planned."

My comments: I love Chris VanDusen!  I love his illustrations, his ideas, and his very clever rhyming.

Goodreads: In this exuberant companion to If I Built a Car, a boy fantasizes about his dream school--from classroom to cafeteria to library to playground.
     My school will amaze you. My school will astound.
     By far the most fabulous school to be found!
     Perfectly planned and impeccably clean.
     On a scale, 1 to 10, it's more like 15!
     And learning is fun in a place that's fun, too.
                 If Jack built a school, there would be hover desks and pop-up textbooks, skydiving wind tunnels and a trampoline basketball court in the gym, a robo-chef to serve lunch in the cafeteria, field trips to Mars, and a whole lot more. The inventive boy who described his ideal car and house in previous books is dreaming even bigger this time.

Picture Book - How To Read a Book by Kwame Alexander

Illustrated by Melissa Sweet

2019, Harper

HC$17.99

36 pgs. - one opens out to a double spread, and one is smaller, inserted into the middle

Goodreads rating:  3.79 - 1824 ratings

My rating:  3
Endpapers:startling bright neon pink

1^st line/s:  see below

My comments: This book is a poem, using a clementine orange as a metaphor.  It's really quite lovely.  And I love, love, love Melissa Sweet.  However, the poem got totally lost in these illustrations.  I could barely read the words myself, let along having a child try to read it.  It's too busy, and almost too bright, though I do love the vibrancy AND the collages, but not with this text in this book, too much is too much.

Goodreads:  Find a tree—a
black tupelo or
dawn redwood will do—and
plant yourself.
(It’s okay if you prefer a stoop, like Langston Hughes.)

With these words, an adventure begins. Kwame Alexander’s poetry and Melissa Sweet’s artwork come together to take readers on a journey between the pages of a book.

Picture Book: Saturday by Oge Mora

Illustrated by the author

2019 Hachette Book Group

HC $18.99

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.54 - 641 ratings

My rating:  4
Endpapers: monthly calendar with days crossed off, in shades of purple, lilac, and lavendar

1^st line/s:  "This morning Ava and her mother were all smiles.  It was SATURDAY!"

My comments:  Love the story, not quite so in love with the illustrations , but I do like them. done in collage where the cut paper is evident in many places.  Mom works six days a week, so when their Saturday plans keep having bumps in the road, they make the best of it.  Very upbeat, great message, positive and fun.

Goodreads: In this warm and tender story by the Caldecott Honor-winning creator of Thank You, Omu!, join a mother and daughter on an up-and-down journey that reminds them of what’s best about Saturdays: precious time together.
          Today would be special. Today would be splendid. It was Saturday! But sometimes, the best plans don’t work out exactly the way you expect….
          In this heartfelt and universal story, a mother and daughter look forward to their special Saturday routine together every single week. But this Saturday, one thing after another goes wrong–ruining storytime, salon time, picnic time, and the puppet show they’d been looking forward to going to all week. Mom is nearing a meltdown…until her loving daughter reminds her that being together is the most important thing of all.
          Author-artist Oge Mora’s highly anticipated follow up to Caldecott Honor Thank You, Omu! features the same magnificently radiant artwork and celebration of sharing so beloved in her debut picture book.

Picture Book: Field Trip to the Moon by John Hare

A Wordless Picture Book
Illustrated by the author

2019, Margaret Ferguson Books, Holiday House

HC $17.99

40 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.24 - 348 ratings

My rating:  5
Endpapers: Bright Goldenrod

1^st line/s:  None, it's wordless!

My comments: Clever, cute, quick story.  A little boy, and artist with his crayons, gets left by mistake on the Moon.  After his schoolbus/spaceship leaves, little grey men come to the surface and make friens with him.  They each take a different crayon, and hide with them when the schoolbus/spaceship returns for the boy.  He's left with only the gray crayon...which he uses to draw his new friends onto his pad on the return trip to earth.

Goodreads: It's field trip day, and students are excited to travel on their yellow spaceship bus from their space station to the moon.
\          Climb aboard the spaceship bus for a fantastic field trip adventure to the moon. Once they land, students debark and set out with their teacher to explore. They jump over trenches and see craters and mountains on the moon's surface and even Earth in the faraway distance. One student takes a break to draw some pictures, falls asleep, and wakes up to discover that the rest of the class and the spaceship are gone. How the student passes the time waiting to be rescued makes for a funny and unexpected adventure that will enchant children all over the galaxy.

Picture Book: The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson

Illustrated by Rafael Lopez

2018 Nancy Paulsen, Penguin Random House

HC $18.99

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.52 - 3920 ratings 

My rating:  5
Endpapers: Lovely, simple growing things on a delicate light jade jade green background.

1^st line/s:  "There will be times when  you walk into a room and no one there is quite like you."

My comments:SO BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED! And with a great message, to boot.  Not a "story" persay, but a collection of thoughts about being different, understanding that difference, and in a way, being the same.  Lovely.

Goodreads: National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson and two-time Pura Belpre Illustrator Award winner Rafael Lopez have teamed up to create a poignant, yet heartening book about finding courage to connect, even when you feel scared and alone.
          There are many reasons to feel different. Maybe it's how you look or talk, or where you're from; maybe it's what you eat, or something just as random. It's not easy to take those first steps into a place where nobody really knows you yet, but somehow you do it.
          Jacqueline Woodson's lyrical text and Rafael Lopez's dazzling art reminds us that we all feel like outsiders sometimes-and how brave it is that we go forth anyway. And that sometimes, when we reach out and begin to share our stories, others will be happy to meet us halfway.
          Jacqueline Woodson is the 2018-2019 National Ambassador for Young People's Literature

Picture Book: Explorers by Mathew Cordell

A Wordless Picture Book
Illustrated by the author

2019 Feiwel and Friends

HC $18.99

40 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  3.75 - 177 ratings

My rating:  4
Endpapers: bright rust

1^st line/s:  None- it's a wordless book

My comments:  Fun story, lots to examine, with a great message and a little bit of "mysticism."  The young boy is given a flying airplane-type toy and he  plays with it throughout the museum, until it's caught by another boy.  At first he's upset, but when he "loses" his parents, upon finding them, both families make friends. 

Goodreads: From Caldecott Medalist Matthew Cordell, Explorers is a new picture book about an extraordinary trip to a museum.
          When a family goes to a local museum, a boy notices a homeless man sitting outside, making brightly colored origami birds. He convinces his dad to buy a bird the man makes just for him.
          Once inside the museum, his little sister takes the bird and launches it into the air. Is it lost? Soon another boy helps him look, and the paper bird brings two families―and two new friends―together.
          With the style he used in Wolf in the Snow, Matthew Cordell shows how an ordinary family outing can be both extraordinary and magical.

Picture Book - Cyril and Pat by Emily Gravett

Illustrated by the author

2018, Great Britain Simon & Schuster

HC $17.99

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  

My rating:  5
Endpapers: solid bright yellow

1^st line/s:  "Lake Park only had one squirrel,
all alone and sad (poor Cyril).
Until the morning he met Pat,
his new best friend, a big gray ..."

My comments:Great story and great illustrations!!  Written mostly in sets of couplets and full of humor with lots to look at in each illustration.  And what a great message - you can be friends with ANYONE!!!

Goodreads:  Cyril is the only squirrel in Lake Park, and he's very lonely. Until one day he meets Pat – Pat the big, grey . . . other squirrel. Cyril and Pat have lots of adventures and fun together and Cyril is so pleased he's made a friend. But everyone is adamant that Cyril and Pat simply cannot be friends, and they soon reveal why: Pat, as the reader has known all along, is actually a RAT!
          But Cyril's life turns out to be a lot duller and quite a bit scarier without Pat by his side, and in the end the two friends learn that some things are more important than being the same, or listening to others.          Cyril and Pat is a richly colourful, rhyming romp through the park from the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal-winning Emily Gravett. 

Picture Book - River by Elisha Cooper

Illustrated by the author

2019, Orchard Books

HC $18.99

40 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  3.97 - 173 ratiugs

My rating:  Hmmmm.....4?
Endpapers:Map of the northeast, largely including the Hudson River

1^st line/s:  "Morning, a mountain lake.  A traveler, a canoe.  As she paddles out into the bluster middle of the lake, she turns for a last wave to the shore behind her.  Her journey begins.

My comments: A woman, alone paddles a canoe the entire 315-mile length of the Hudson River in New York, detailing many of her adventures, sightings, and trials.  It's a very interesting read for this adult, but I'm not sure how much it will hold a child's attention.  Definitely suited for a third or fourth (or even higher) geography/river study.

Goodreads: Caldecott Honor winner Elisha Cooper invites readers to grab their oars and board a canoe down a river exploration filled with adventure and beauty.

In Cooper's flowing prose and stunning watercolor scenes, readers can follow a traveler's trek down the Hudson River as she and her canoe explore the wildlife, flora and fauna, and urban landscape at the river's edge. Through perilous weather and river rushes, the canoe and her captain survive and maneuver their way down the river back home.
          River is an outstanding introduction to seeing the world through the eyes of a young explorer and a great picture book for the STEAM curriculum.
          Maps and information about the Hudson River and famous landmarks are included in the back of the book.