Queen Victoria’s Bathing Machine

Paula Wiseman Books (Simon & Schuster Books)

Published 5.6.2014 *  40 pages

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

Author:  Gloria Whelan
and Illustrator: Nancy Carpenter

Character:  QUEEN VICTORIA

Overview from the jacket flap:

“No one ever said being queen would be easy. But one thing that Queen Victoria never thought about was not being able to swim – ever. It would be so indelicate to have your loyal subjects see your bathing suit and you, Her Royal Highness, in it! What is a queen to do?

If you are Queen VIctoria with a smart and loving husband like Prince Albert, you have no worries because your husband will make sure you have a bathing machine that is fit for a queen.”

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.

Benny Goodman & Teddy Wilson

Taking the Stage as the First
 Black-and-White Jazz Band In History

Holiday House
Published 1.1.2014 * 32 pages

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

Author: Lesa Cline-Ransome
and Illustrator: James E. Ransome

Characters: Benny Goodman – clarinet player
Teddy Wilson – piano player

Overview from the jacket flap:

“Brought together by the love of jazz, Teddy Wilson and Benny Goodman broke the color barrier in entertainment when they formed the Benny Goodman Trio.”

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

A Home for Mr. Emerson

Scholastic Press

Published 2.25.2014 *  48 pages

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

Author:  Barbara Kerley
and Illustrator: Edwin Fotheringham

Character:  RALPH WALDO EMERSON

Overview from the jacket flap:

“Before Ralph Waldo Emerson was a great writer, he was a city boy who longed for the broad, open fields and deep, still woods of the country, and then a young man who treasured books, ideas, and people.
When he grew up and set out in the world, he wondered, could he build a life around these thing he loved?
This tender and joyful portrait of the man whose vision helped shape the American spirit illustrates the rewards of a life well lived, one built around personal passions: creativity and community, nature and friendship.
‘May it inspire you to experiment and build the life you dream of living.'”

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.

Mister and Lady Day

Billie Holiday and the Dog Who Loved Her

 

Harcourt Children’s Books

Published 6.18.2013 *  32 pages

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

Author: Amy Novesky
and Illustrator: Vanessa Brantley Newton

Character: BILLIE HOLIDAY – jazz singer

Overview from the jacket flap:

     “The great jazz singer Billie Holiday, known as Lady Day, had fame, style, a distinctive singing voice – and lots of dogs! But a boxer named Mister was the dog she loved most.
     She took good care of Mister, and Mister took good care of her. When the spotlight lit her up like star, Mister was there. When the stage – and her life – went dark, Mister was there. No matter what, Mister gave Lady Day courage.
     But would she have enough courage to sing at the grandest venue of her career? The audience at New York City’s Carnegie Hall was expecting great things.”

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.

Electrical Wizard

How Nikola Tesla Lit Up The World

 

Candlewick Press

Published 9.10.2013 *  40 pages

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

Author: Elizabeth Rusch
and Illustrator: Oliver Dominguez

Character: NIKOLA TESLA

Overview from the jacket flap:

“Move over, Thomas Edison! Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla takes center stage in the first-ever picture-book biography of the man responsible for lighting our lives with electricity…

Tesla faced many obstacles along the way, including the great American inventor Thomas Edison, who was a staunch defender of the direct-current electrical system. But Tesla worked tirelessly to proved that AC, not DC, was the wave of the future. He proved it at the Chicago World’s Fair and at Niagara Falls – and his proof lives on today in a world transformed by his inventions …”

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.

When The Beat Was Born

DJ Kool Herc and the Creation Of Hip Hop

Roaring Brook Press (MacMillan

Published 8.27.2013  *  32 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

Author: Laban Carrick Hill

           and Illustrator:Theodore Taylor III

Character:  DJ Kool Herc

Overview from the jacket flap:

    “DJ Kool Herc lived in the Bronx, where there was a lot of fighting. But he didn’t want to fight. He wanted to play music.

      DJ Kool Herc had a new way of spinning records. He played the breaks of songs back-to-back so that the music best for dancing could go on and on…
This is the story of DJ Kool Herc. The story of how he came to be a DJ, how kids in his neighborhood stopped fighting in order to break-dance, and how he invented a new kind of music that would change the world. This is the story of hip hop.”

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.

Papa is a Poet

A Story About Robert Frost

Christy Ottaviano Books (Macmillan)

(published 10.15.2013)  40 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Natalie S. Bober

           and Illustrator: Rebecca Gibbon

C haracter:  Robert Frost – poet

O verview from the back cover:

     “When Robert Frost was a child, his family thought he would grow up to be a baseball player. Instead, he became a poet. His life on a farm in New Hampshire inspired him to write ‘poetry that talked,’ and today he is famous for his vivid descriptions of the rural life he loved so much.
There was a time, though, when Frost had to struggle to get his poetry published. Told from the point of view of Lesley, Robert Frost’s oldest daughter, this is the story of how a lover of language found his voice.”

         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.