Quiet Violet Finds her Voice by Gabrielle Nidus ’93?  If you were a quiet child or if you are the parent of a quiet child, you will be heartened by this gift of loving kindness.  Violet’s longing to be visible to her peer group is countered by her inherent bashfulness.  She is a talented cook and wh

Alma Presses Play by Tina Cane ff. Tina Cane, former French teacher at Friends and present poet laureate of the state of Rhode Island, offers a fresh look at what it feels like to be thirteen. Alma is a New York kid living in the East Village; her world begins with her family, a Chinese mother and a

Courageous Calla & The Clinical Trial by Arya Singh ’18. Still in college, Arya already has a book to her name and one that will be reassuring to children who find themselves participants in clinical trials. The only way we can move forward with treatments and medications is through clinical tria

What’s it For? by Henry Humphrey ’49. I was surprised to find that the urban contraptions explained in this book are still mostly quite familiar even though the book is fifty years old. Manhole covers, standpipes, and grates still look pretty much the same. The gizmo where you put your change when

Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel ’83. The rambunctious , constantly reprimanded crowd will love Bad Kitty. She’s not so bad really, -- just doesn’t like veggies and may have a bit of an impulse control issue. There is a very long list of Bad Kitty books . This one, the first, engages us with the alphabet.

We are so Crashing your Bar Mitzvah!! By Fiona Rosenbloom (aka Amanda Stern ‘89) The dust jacket tells us that even shiksas will smile. I can testify that this shiksa, who left eighth grade woes behind over six decades ago, LOLed her way through the whole thing. One of the few rewards of aging is

· Guide to Shakespeare’s Macbeth(f) by Maria Fahey. Of Maria’s various books, I selected this one because when I was in college, I was one of the witches. Because of all the rehearsals, I know many lines by heart, so I figured I would be able to follow the suggestions. This is the sort of text th

What is Juneteenth?  By Kirsti Jewel Peters f. This book will put young readers on a path toward reading to find answers to questions.  Now that Juneteenth has become a national holiday, they (and many adults) will wonder why is it so important?  Where did the word “Juneteenth” come from?  How shoul

Earth Squad: 50 People who are Saving the Planet by Alexandra Zissu ’92. I can well imagine this book making its way into the curriculum of a place like, well, Friends Seminary. I would love to see every fifth grader (random choice) prepare a Power Point on one of these individuals and figure out h

Writing for Law Practice by Elizabeth Fajans 60's Mary R Falk and Helene S. Shapo. When I saw that an alum had written a textbook on legal writing, I wondered (not for the first time) am I nuts? What have I gotten myself into? Turns out that as usual, I was into something interesting. I read it

Love and Betrayal, A Catullus Reader (Expanded Edition) by Elizabeth Baer late 70’s early 80’s with cowriters Bruce Arnold, Gilbert Lawall and Andrew Aronson. The poetry of Catullus (84-54 B. C.) provides the basis for this Latin textbook for intermediate and advanced students. Most of Catullus’ e

Dear Santa, Love, Rachel Rosenstein by Amanda Peet, ’90? and Andrea Troyer, illustrated by Christine Davinier. Young elementary school children will enjoy reading this picture book and even younger ones will love having it read to them. Helping Jewish children cope with their longing to belong as t

Where’s Wallace by Hilary Knight ‘43?. Hilary Knight is well-known for his illustrations of Kay Thompson’s Eloise series, but he has written and illustrated many of his own books. This one invites you to find the venturesome orangutan, who slips his cage at the Central park Zoo, to a variety of

The Silver Shuttle, by Jennifer Fell Hayes (te). Young readers will link their fates to young Annie, a British adolescent who, by virtue of her courage and kindness, is chosen to save us all from evil Balziel and the Powers of Darkness. In vivid detail, we witness her magical travel from her lo

Little Wade and Watchtower, Abigail and the Great Gang Trap by Sean Mullan aka Sean March. This novel tumbles young readers (and the rest of us) into the exciting and dangerous world of late nineteenth-century New York, where natural and supernatural forces converge, bringing on a cosmic battle of

The Literacy Coach’s Game Plan, Making Teacher Collaboration, Student learning, and School Improvement a Reality by Gabrielle Nidus early 90’s and Maya Sadder. How well I know that teachers can get their back up when anyone invades the sanctity of their classroom to offer advice. The literacy coac

The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman middle school maybe in the 80's. It turns out that the magical world of fairy tales is true. You just have to go to the New York Circulating Material Repository to access it. There does seem to be some little proviso about proving yourself worthy, but other than

The Joy of the Court, Retold by Constance Hieatt ’46? Illustrated by Pauline Baynes. Constance Hieatt, a Medieval scholar, sought to make the tales of King Arthur accessible to the young. The Joy of the Courtis filled with the magic, whimsy, adventure, valiance and love that we associate with King

Trash Revolution: Breaking the Waste Cycle by Erica Fyvie, ’91. Middle Schoolers will relish this exposé of the truth about the stuff we throw out. While jaunty and accessible for young readers, Trash Revolution does not spare the factual details of where everything goes, how long it takes to biode

· Louis Souris et ses amis by Margaret Gonzalez(te) illustrated by Judy Brewer(ff). Hmm, mice sneak in everywhere.

· Visiting Langston by Willie Perdomo (‘85). Noticing in Facebook postings (maybe Ed Randolph’s) that Willie had become a published poet, I randomly ordered what I thought would be a book of poetry and got this enticing picture book about a little girl who is excited about going to see the house