You Can Fly

May 23, 2016 | Jeanne Walker Harvey

The Tuskegee Airmen fly book

Atheneum Books for Young Readers
5.3.2016 * 96 pages
Ages 9 – 12

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top
Author: Carole Boston Weatherford
and Illustrator: Jeffery Boston Weatherford

Characters: The Tuskegee Airmen

Overview from the jacket flap:

“… From training days in Alabama to combat on the front lines in Europe, this is the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the pioneering African-American pilots of World War II. In vibrant second-person poems that allow readers to fly too, award-winning author Carole Boston Weatherford teams up for the first time with her son, artist Jeffery Boston Weatherford, to tell the story of these men who triumphed in the skies and over the color barrier.”

For a Tantalizing Taste and Something More, visit the blog of kidlit author, Jeanne Walker Harvey*** True Tales & A Cherry On Top *** to learn more about this book.

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enormous SMALLNESS

January 18, 2016 | Jeanne Walker Harvey

A Story of E.E. Cummings 51Y4euOFhjL-1._SX348_BO1,204,203,200_

Enchanted Lion Books
4.7.2015 * 64 pages

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top
Author: Matthew Burgess
and Illustrator: Kris Di Giacomo

Character: E. E. Cummings

Overview from the jacket flap:

“There once was a boy with a big imagination who loved to play tag, climb trees, and gaze out of his window. Inspired by the world around him, he expressed his excitement in pictures and poems. Before he could even write, he played with words and said poems aloud. And when he got older, he filled page after page with poems.

This sensitive and spirited glimpse into the life of E. E. Cummings … is a lively story starring Edward Estlin, the playful child fascinated by words, who will grow up to become one of America’s most beloved poets. Some of Cummings’ most wonderful poems are integrated seamlessly into the story…”

For a Tantalizing Taste and Something More, visit the blog of kidlit author, Jeanne Walker Harvey*** True Tales & A Cherry On Top *** to learn more about this book.

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It’s Nonfiction Monday!

The House That Jane Built

January 4, 2016 | Jeanne Walker Harvey

A Story About Jane Adams 9780805090499

Christy Ottaviano Books (Henry Holt)
6.23.2015 * 32 pages

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top
Author: Tanya Lee Stone
and Illustrator: Kathryn Brown

Character: Jane Addams

Overview from the jacket flap:

“Ever since she was a little girl, Jane Addams hoped to help people in need. She wanted to create a place where people could find food, work, and community. In 1889, she chose a houseman run-down Chicago neighborhood and turned it into Hull House – a settlement home – soon adding a playground, kindergarten, and a public bath. By 1907, Hull House included thirteen buildings. Andy the early 1920s, more than nine thousand people visited Hull House each week.
The dreams of a smart, caring girl had become a reality. And the lives of hundreds of thousands of people were transformed when they stepped into the house that Jane Addams built.”

For a Tantalizing Taste and Something More, visit the blog of kidlit author, Jeanne Walker Harvey*** True Tales & A Cherry On Top *** to learn more about this book.

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It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Earmuffs for Everyone!

December 7, 2015 | Jeanne Walker Harvey

How Chester Greenwood Became Known as the Inventor of Earmuffs

A Paula Wiseman Book (Simon & Schuster)

1.6.2015 * 48 pages

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

Author and illustrator: Meghan McCarthy

Character: Chester Greenwood

Overview from the jacket flap:

“Everyone loves earmuffs! But have you ever wondered who invented the earmuff?

In Maine in the late 1800s there was a young boy named Chester Greenwood. His ears were always cold during the long winter, and he decided to do something about it. He made ear covers from wire and cloth and asked his granny to help him sew them. Chester later patented his earmuffs in 1877 when he was nineteen years old. And, as the story goes, earmuffs were born.”

For a Tantalizing Taste and Something More, visit the blog of kidlit author, Jeanne Walker Harvey*** True Tales & A Cherry On Top *** to learn more about this book.

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Trombone Shorty

November 30, 2015 | Jeanne Walker Harvey

Abrams Books for Young Readers

4.14.2015 * 40 pages

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

Author: Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews

Illustrator: Bryan Collier

Character: Trombone Shorty

Overview from the jacket flap:

“‘Who’s that playing out there?,’ Bo Diddley asked the New Orleans crowd. It was a small child who’d been nicknamed ‘Trombone Shorty’ because his trombone was twice as large as he was. Trombone Shorty was lifted in the air and carried through the audience until he reached the stage with Bo Diddley. He has been on stage ever since.
Hailing from the Treme neighborhood of New Orleans, where music always floated in the air. Troy ‘Tromboe Shorty’ Andrews didn’t always have the money to buy an instrument, but he did have the dream to play music. This is the story of how he made his dream take flight.”

For a Tantalizing Taste and Something More, visit the blog of kidlit author, Jeanne Walker Harvey *** True Tales & A Cherry On Top *** to learn more about this book.

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Gordon Parks

November 23, 2015 | Jeanne Walker Harvey

How the Photographer Captured Black and White America

Albert Whitman & Company

2.1.2015 * 32 pages

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

Author: Carole Boston Weatherford

Illustrator: Jamey Christoph

Character: Gordon Parks

Overview from the jacket flap:

“His white teacher tells her all-black class, You’ll all wind up porters and waiters. What did she know?

Gordon Parks is most famous for being the first black director in Hollywood. But before he made movies and wrote books, he was a poor African American looking for work. When he bought a camera, his life changed forever.

He taught himself how to take pictures and before long, people noticed. His success as a fashion photographer landed him a job working for the government. In Washington DC, Gordon went looking for a subject. But what he found was segregation…

With lyrical verse and atmospheric art, Gordon Parks tells the story of how, with a single photograph, a self-taught artist got America to take notice.”

For a Tantalizing Taste and Something More, visit the blog of kidlit author, Jeanne Walker Harvey *** True Tales & A Cherry On Top *** to learn more about this book.

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Luna & Me

November 9, 2015 | Jeanne Walker Harvey

The True Story of a Girl Who Lived in a Tree to Save a Forest

Christy Ottaviano Books
(Henry Holt and Co.)

Published 5.12.2015 * 40 pages

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

Author and Illustrator: Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw

Character: Julia Butterfly Hill

Overview from the jacket flap:

“Once there was a redwood tree – one of the world’s largest and tallest trees, and one of the oldest. And once, born nearly a thousand years after the tree first took root, there was a girl named Julia, who was called Butterfly.

One day, exploring her beloved forest, Butterfly wandered into a grove of ancient trees. One tree had broken branches and a big blue X on the side. It was going to be cut down. Butterfly climbed up into the tree. Don’t trees have a right to just be? she thought. And, she also thought, a tree wouldn’t be cut down if it had a person living in it. A person who would go on to live in that tree for two years.

Inspired by Julia Butterfly Hill’s courageous fight to save an ancient redwood…”

For a Tantalizing Taste and Something More, visit the blog of kidlit author, Jeanne Walker Harvey *** True Tales & A Cherry On Top *** to learn more about this book.

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Fab Four Friends

October 12, 2015 | Jeanne Walker Harvey

The Boys Who Became the BEATLES

Christy Ottaviano Books
(Henry Holt and Co./Macmillan)

Published 8.18.2015 * 40 pages

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

Author: Susanna Reich
and Illustrator: Adam Gustavson

Characters: The Beatles

Overview from the jacket flap:

“In 1957 in Liverpool, England, a kid named John Lennon and his band played music at a local church fair. In the audience was Paul McCartney, who liked what he heard and soon joined the group. Pal’s friend George Harrison kept showing up at rehearsals until the older boys finally let him in. Eventually they found the perfect drummer – Ringo Starr – and the perfect name – the Beatles.

This is the story of how four ordinary boys, growing up amid the rubble of postwar England, found music to be a powerful, even life-saving, force. This is the story of the four fabulous friends who became the bestselling band in history.”

For a Tantalizing Taste and Something More, visit the blog of kidlit author, Jeanne Walker Harvey *** True Tales & A Cherry On Top *** to learn more about this book.

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

One Plastic Bag

April 6, 2015 | Jeanne Walker Harvey

Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia

Millbrook Press (Lerner)
Published 2.1.2015 * 32 pages

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

Author: Miranda Paul
and Illustrator: Elizabeth Zunon

Character: Isatou Ceesay

Overview from the jacket flap:

“Plastic bags are cheap and easy to use. But what happens when a bag breaks or is no longer needed? In Njau, Gambia, people simply dropped the bags and went on their way. One plastic bag became two. Then ten. Then a hundred.

The bags accumulated in ugly heaps alongside roads. Water pooled in them, bringing mosquitoes and disease. Some bags were burned, leaving behind a terrible smell. Some were buried, but they strangled gardens. They killed livestock that tried to eat them Something had to change.

Isatou Ceesay was that change. She found a way to recycle the bags and transform her community. This inspirational true story shows how one person’s actions really can make a difference in our world.”

For a Tantalizing Taste and Something More, visit the blog of kidlit author, Jeanne Walker Harvey *** True Tales & A Cherry On Top *** to learn more about this book.

Flying Solo

October 20, 2014 | Jeanne Walker Harvey

How Ruth Elder Soared into America’s Heart

Roaring Brook Press (Macmillan Publishers)

Published 7.23.2013 * 32 pages

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

Author: Julie Cummins
and Illustrator: Malene R. Laugesen

Character: Ruth Elder

Overview from the jacket flap:

“In 1927, women were supposed to stay at home, mostly in the kitchen, with their feet planted firmly on the ground. But one woman proved that she could do anything a man could do – even fly an airplane. Before Amelia Earhart made her name crossing the Atlantic Ocean, Ruth Elder set out to beat her to the record. She didn’t make it, but she flew right into the spotlight and America’s heart.

This is the story of a remarkable woman who chased her dreams with grit and determination and whose appetite for adventure helped pave the way for generations of female flyers.”

For a Tantalizing Taste and Something More, visit the blog of kidlit author, Jeanne Walker Harvey *** True Tales & A Cherry On Top *** to learn more about this book.