Author Archives: stephanielowden

A Bobby-Dazzler of a Pouch! By Janet Halfmann, Illustrated by Abira Das. Pen It! Publications LLC United States 2020. “In a forest clearing of eastern Australia, a little grey kangaroo practiced diving into his mum’s pouch. It seemed easy…until he … Continue reading →

Swing by Kwame Alexander with Mary Rand Hess. Published by Blink, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2018. “While I’m waiting by the flagpole baking beneath sun hot as the equator, someone walks up behind me, covers my eyes, and whispers in a … Continue reading →

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz. Simon and Shuster Children’s Publishing Division, New York, NY, 2012. “The problem with my life was that it was someone else’s idea.” Aristotle Mendoza is fifteen. One … Continue reading →

The Story of Civil War Hero Robert Smalls by Janet Halfmann, illustrations by Duane Smith. Lee and Low Books Inc., New York, 2020. (Grades 3-7) The story of Robert Smalls is most likely not known by many. Born into enslavement … Continue reading →

When You Are Brave by Pat Zietlow Miller, Illustrated by Eliza Wheeler. Little Brown & Company, New York and Boston, 2019. “Some days, when everything around you seems scary…you have to be brave.” When You are Brave is the story … Continue reading →

All the Walls of Belfast by Sarah J. Carlson. Turner Publishing Co. Nashville, TN, 2018. This young adult novel begins with seventeen-year-old Fiona on her way to Ireland to meet her father. Her mother fled Ireland for America when Fiona … Continue reading →

A Green Place To Be, The Creation of Central Park by Ashley Benham Yazdani. Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA, 2016, 2019. “Central Park in Manhattan is green and growing and full of life. It’s a vibrant jewel at the heart of … Continue reading →

Out of School and Into Nature, the Anna Comstock Story by Suzanne Slade, illustrated by Jessica Lanan. Sleeping Bear Press Ann Arbor Michigan, 2017. “From the time she was no higher than a daisy, Anna was wild about nature.” Out … Continue reading →

Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, I re-read two novels that I had purchased at Milwaukee’s Irish Fest in 2008. These stories depict the immigrant experience in all it’s joys and sorrows. An interview with the author follows. The … Continue reading →

The Nutcracker by Susan Jeffers. Harper Collins New York, NY 2007. When I look for a picture book, I look for the pictures. That may seem obvious, but all picture books are not created equal. I want the illustrations to … Continue reading →