These titles are no longer in print, but available through your library or favorite second-hand bookseller.
Picture Books
A B Cedar, illustrated by Tom Parker, Orchard Books
0-531-07080-8 (paperback), Grades PreS-1
“It could be said that this is an alphabet book built around trees or a tree book built around the alphabet...Easily the basis for a nature lesson, this will intrigue children usually considered too old for alphabet books.... A pleasing exposition.” - Booklist
“Sprigs and seeds held up by realistic hands are shown alongside silhouettes of trees in this extraordinary guidebook.” - Riverbank Review
NSTA-CBC OUTSTANDING SCIENCE TRADE BOOKS FOR CHILDREN
Ada's Pal, illustrated by Marguerite Casparian, Orchard Books
0-531-09528-2 (hardcover), Grades PreS-2
“A moving tale about dogs' true best friends: other dogs...Young children will relish meeting Ada at storytime and independent readers will cherish her as well.” - School Library Journal
Basket, Illustrated by Mary Szilagyi, Orchard Books
0-531-05886-7 (hardcover), Grades PreS-2
“Warmly appealing, the book has a quiet charm that makes it an effective choice for celebrating intergenerational relationships.” - The Horn Book
WINNER OF THE KENTUCKY BLUEGRASS AWARD
Book, illustrated by Peter Catalanotto, Orchard Books
0-789-42560-2 (hardcover), Grades PreS-4
“This oversize picture book, really an illustrated free verse poem, pays tribute to books and reading. The full page paintings embrace both the words and the spirit of the text and bibliophiles will find themselves in complete agreement with the author's exalted view of books and reading...” - Judy Katsh, Children's Literature Reviews
BOOKLINKS BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR 1999
Cecil's Story, illustrated by Peter Catalanotto, Orchard Books
0-531-07063-8 (paperback), Grades K-2
“The trauma of separation is sensitively explored in a Civil War setting in this evocative picture book...Well worth serious consideration.” - starred review, School Library Journal
Come a Tide, illustrated by Stephen Gammell , Orchard Books
0-531-07036-0 (paperback), Grades PreSch-1
“Four families on a hillside cope with the flood...The story is lyrically told with sly humor, and expanded to hilarity by Gammell's rollicking, wet, full-of-action, full-color cartoons...Children and adults will love this big-hearted book.” - starred review, School Library Journal
- ABA/CBC CHILDREN'S BOOKS MEAN BUSINESS
- AMERICAN BOOKSELLER KIDS' PICK OF THE LIST
- BOOKLIST EDITORS' CHOICE
- THE HORN BOOK/FANFARE LIST
- SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR
- A READING RAINBOW FEATURE
Watch the Reading Rainbow episode that features Come a Tide.
A Day at Damp Camp, Illustrated by Peter Catalanotto, Orchard Books
0-531-09504-5 (hardcover), Grades 1-3
“Megan and Sarah begin their camp experience as loners and end it as supportive friends...Extraordinary work is what we have come to expect from these
collaborators, and the promise is once again delivered.” - School Library Journal
Dreamplace, Illustrated by Peter Catalanotto, Orchard Books
0-531-05466-7 (hardcover); 0-531-07101-4 (paperback), Grades PreS-2
“Children are treated to a vision of the past, this time among the ruins of an Anasazi village...This book is both art and literature of a quality that is rarely seen and should be cherished.” - starred review, School Library Journal
“The best yet from a uniquely gifted team.” - Kirkus
“An atmospheric, shimmering glance backwards...” - Publishers Weekly
AN AMERICAN BOOKSELLER KIDS' PICK OF THE LISTS
Father Time and the Day Boxes, Illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker, Bradbury Press
0-02-761370-4, Grades PreS-3
“This first book for children by a Kentucky poet is hauntingly illustrated in delicate watercolor washes with pen-and-ink drawings. Kindly Father Time (Nature's grandson) tosses down one of his 365 packets containing a day.” - New York Times Book Review
“A dreamy, whimsical look at the meaning of time. Lovely to look at and something to think about with children.” - Booklist
CCBC CHOICES
Five Live Bongos, Illustrated by Jacqueline Rogers, Scholastic
0-590-46654-2, Grades PresS-3
“In a nonconforming, musical text reflecting various percussive moods, Lyon depicts the creative means [a] painter's children adopt in pursuit of their 'Found Sound Band.' A lively invitation to readers, artists, inventors, and musicians to come join the anarchic fun.” - Kirkus
CHILDREN'S BOOKS OF THE YEAR, BANK STREET COLLEGE
Reprinted in Crayola Kids magazine, December '95-January '96 issue
Mama is a Miner
Illustrated by Peter Catalanotto, Orchard Books
978-0531068533 (hardcover), Grades PreS-3
Click here for a lesson plan using the book; it was written by teacher Brenda Muse and is posted on the Ferrum College AppLit site.
“Visually, the book is breathtaking, intertwining elements from the mine and home, child and parent, family chores and work for money. Mama brings light-into the mine and into the home-and Catalanotto's full-page, luminous watercolor illustrations vibrate with this energy. Muted shapes, soft edges, creative perspectives, and blending of scenes all come together to enhance the story of a youngster's complicated thoughts and emotions. This book packs a lot into its 32 pages and is far more than a simple "I'm so proud of my Mama" career-exploration story.” - School Library Journal
One Lucky Girl, Illustrated by Irene Trivas, DK Publishing Inc.
0-789-42613-7 (hardcover), Grades PreS-2
“A well-crafted picture book based, apparently, on a true story that in both text and illustration pitches drama and tension at exactly the right level for the audience...Lyon's telling has the spareness, denseness, and vividness of poetry...but never strains for effect...” - The Horn Book
WINNER OF THE KENTUCKY BLUEGRASS AWARD
The Outside Inn, Illustrated by Vera Rosenberry, Orchard Books
0-531-07086-7 (paperback), Grades PreS-1
“Kids cooking up a pretend meal are the springboard for Lyon to introduce another idea...An imaginative work that will fit nicely with primary environmental curriculums.” - Booklist
AMERICAN BOOKSELLER KIDS' PICK OF THE LISTS
A Regular Rolling Noah, Illustrated by Stephen Gammell, Bradbury Press
0-02-761330-5 (hardcover), 0-689-71449-1 (paperback), Grades PreS-3
“[T]ext that sings and shimmering paintings that fairly burst with color...This poetic work is a feast for the eyes and ears.” - Publishers Weekly
A Sign, Illustrated by Chris K. Soentpiet, Orchard Books
0-531-30073-0 (hardcover), Grades K-4
“Lyon's lyrical autobiographical poem and Soentpiet's glowing paintings unfold quietly, articulating with deft simplicity the complex relationship between an artist's childhood dreams and adult achievements...” - Publishers Weekly
NCTE/NOTABLE TRADE BOOKS IN THE LANGUAGE ARTS
Together, Illustrated by Vera Rosenberry, Orchard Books
0-531-07047-6 (paperback), Grades PreS-1
“The essence of youthful exuberance is captured perfectly in this celebration of friendship...”
- School Library Journal
A Traveling Cat, Illustrated by Paul Brett Johnson, Orchard Books
0-531-30102-8 (hardcover), Grades PreS-2
“Some cats are born to travel and such a one is Boulevard, who appears at a drive-in one evening, stays with the young narrator and her family for a year and then leaves as the spring floods arrive...It's rare to find such a distinctly drawn animal character...but Boulevard is through and through a cat among cats.” - Kirkus Reviews
Novels for Young Readers
Gina.Jamie.Father.Bear , Atheneum
0-689-84370-4 (hardcover), Grades 6 & Up
“In this finely drawn tale, Lyon weaves parallel story lines into a novel of uncommon beauty that incorporates the mysterious bonds between parents and children, love and legend....Her subtle theme — that children remain open to the inexplicable wonders of life that adults have given up — may well inspire readers to explore the mysteries in their own lives. Lyon's poet-roots inform her vivid imagery and metaphoric prose. A lyrical, memorable tale.” - Publishers Weekly, starred review
The Stranger I Left Behind (originally titled Red Rover, Red Rover), Troll
0-816-74026-7 (paperback), Grades 3-6
When Sumi's brother leaves for boarding school, her best friend moves away, her grandfather dies, and her mother withdraws into grief, Sumi finds herself facing the beginning of adolescence alone and afraid.
MOUNTAIN (a poetry chapbook),Andrew Mountain Press
0-9603840-5-7
“Her poetry, original, delightful, compelling, is the real thing. It creates a shock of recognition. These marvelous poems are universal.” - Ruth Stone
Books Edited
A Gathering at the Forks:
Fifteen Years of the Hindman Settlement School's Appalachian Writers Workshop
Edited by George Ella Lyon, Jim Wayne Miller, and Gurney Norman, Vision Books
|
