Two stories of 8-10 year old kids coping with a parent who has cancer. It is serious stuff, and family goes on. Ida B. is home-schooled until her mother must go into cancer treatment. Ida B. must find a new place in public school. Ida's patient teacher makes a significant difference in her outlook. Tobin in Chicken Boy has lost his mother to cancer. He changes significantly when Henry takes him home after school one day to see the chickens. Tobin's outlook grows through friendship with Henry and chickens.

Grandma's General Store: the Ark is the story of two young children in an African-American family in Florida during the Great Depression. The children must remain with Grandma in Florida, while their parents go north to find work in Philadelphia. This slim book maintains strong and honest characters and events while it leads to a simple happy ending. The family is re-united to live in the north, without Jim Crow laws.

A clever new children's book Has anyone seen Christmas? by Anne Margaret Lewis, is getting a lot of attention this season. Illustrated by Wendy Popko, this picture book tells what happens when little Emit falls out of Santa's sleigh. The book was published in September by Mackinac Island Press.

Need some ideas for that special reader on your list?

“Reader Perfect” suggestions cover many categories, formats and genres, as well as age groups.

Amazon.com gives you not only the Best Books of 2005, but also the
Top 50 Editors' Picks.

For the wee bookworms on your list, there's the age-appropriate Parents’ Choice Holiday Gift Guide.

And don't forget The New York Times Editor's Choice and the 100 Notable Books of the Year.

A book is a gift you can open again and again. ~ Garrison Keillor

Well, what about tooth fairies? Want to know more? Try Dad, Are You The Tooth Fairy?; Fooling The Tooth Fairy; and Tooth Trouble.

Happy Birthday to You! Celebrate with Fairytale Cake; Oscar's Half Birthday; and Parent's Party Book.

The Economist may be a respected international newsmagazine, but it’s also great for students. Every issue has useful sections on each continent or geographic region of the world. In the table of contents you can see which particular countries are covered in that issue. There are short summaries of recent newsworthy events, longer articles, and plenty of maps, graphs, statistics, and pictures. While the focus is on economics, they cover the full range of news events in every corner of the globe. It’s perfect for country reports, current events assignments, or just to impress your social studies teacher! (Read More)

Eve thinks you should read Toni Morrison's Bluest Eye while Jay-Z recommends "Keep Ya Head Up" by Tupac. You can find these recommendations and more on The Hip Hop Reader, an "interactive website created to increase and enhance the reading habits, Internet usage, and civic engagement of urban high school students." Funded by Verizon, the first Hip Hop reader program is being tested in NYC right now, and features a point system (for students in public NYC high schools), where they can purchase prizes after reading from the Leadership Council's selections. The council includes Jay-Z, Russell Simmons, Eve and others. Check out the reading lists, too.

November is National Adoption Month, and amid all the publicity, adoptive parents can usually pick up a few good reading recommendations. Our family’s all-time favorite titles are Through Moon and Stars and Night Skies by Ann Warren Turner, and Pablo’s Tree by Pat Mora.

November 14 through November 20 is Children's Book Week. Try some folktales from around the world and celebrate with us. From Persia try Three Princes, or Rose's Smile.