The photo below is from, 7 Ate 9, and captures the theme of this blog perfectly. Who do you think committed this horrendous crime? Stay tuned to see!

The first mystery book I feel in love with was Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard. Even though this book was published in 1977, (I was born in 1999) I still fell in love with its captivating story line! It's about a misbehaving class whose horrendous actions lead to the disappearance of their teacher, Miss Nelson.  The class arrived the next day and instead of Miss Nelson it was a cruel teacher dressed in all black named Miss Viola Swamp. This book introduced me to the genre of mystery as a child because the entire time I read the novel, I was wondering where Miss Nelson had gone! “Maybe she was gobbled up by a shark?” one of the children said.  Once the children began to look for her, I had tons of ideas on what could have caused Miss Nelson to disappear. “Maybe she was gobbled up by a shark?” one of the children said. Read Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard to find out what happened to Miss Nelson all along!

Creepy Carrots! By Aaron Reynolds won the Caldecott Honor Award in 2013. This book follows the story of Jasper Rabbit and his encounter with some unusual carrots. It all began when Jasper was on his way home from a baseball game. He had always stopped in this field to eat the carrots that grew there, but that one particular night Jasper here “chomp chomp chomp” behind him so he hurried home. He began to notice that the carrots were following him, and they were awfully creepy! Every time Jasper would tell his parents the carrots would suddenly disappear… so Jasper came up with a plan! He built a fence around the field he once ate from and from then on he hasn’t seen a creepy carrot since. But they still live there so beware…. 

7 Ate 9 by Tara Lazar is a perfect example of mystery in children’s books. This book is about the old joke of how the number Seven ate (eight. Lol, you get it?) Nine. A private investigator who is shaped like the letter I, helps the number Six find out what happened to the number Nine. The book is filled with fantastic puns and witty humor. I found it hilarious when the number Eight took of her belt and turned into the number Zero. Hahaha! The case is solved when the number Seven returns from vacation, and everyone finds out that the number Nine was disguised as the number Six the entire time! 

 

 

Alphabet Mystery by Audrey Wood is a story about the letters we use every day. One night when the lowercase alphabet was doing their roll call, everyone noticed that little x was missing! Worried, they jumped on a flying pencil as the all wondered “Where could little x have gone?” Arriving at a castle, they are greeted by capital I and soon find out that little x ran off here. He had found a job playing on a xylophone. He said that he ran away because he had no use at home. When I first began reading this book I was wondering where little x could have gone… I’m glad he was safe! 

Lastly, The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt is a book that captures the genre of mystery in a subtle way. The book is a series of letters written to a kid from his crayons. Each letter is a series of complaints, or lack thereof, to their owner Duncan. The letters entail a sense of mystery because all of the crayons have a different story that requires the reader to think beyond the lines like a detective would. What caused all the crayons to quit? What color do you use to color the sun, yellow or orange? The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt answers these questions in their intriguing story line.

 

The photo below shows all of the wonderful African American authors or main characters that were discussed in this blog! 

The first book that showcases black excellence is, Don’t Let Auntie Mabel Bless the Table by Vanessa Brantley Newton. It is about a story of an aunt whose dinner grace is just too long! Auntie Mabel goes on to bless the black eye peas, ham, and everything in between until the food is cold. This book fit the theme of black excellence not only because it is written by an African American author, but because it is a situation well known around African American households including mine. Lol! While reading Don’t Let Auntie Mabel Bless the Table, I could only giggle over memories of my grandpa taking his precious time blessing everything from the grass outside to the cooks who prepared the food during our Thanksgiving dinners.

When God Made Light by Matthew Paul Turner is a great example of black excellence as well. This book is about how God made the light inside of each one of us! It is narrated by an older sister speaking to her younger sister. It is an excellent example of black excellence because the illustrations are of two little black girls. This is important because a lot of children’s books are not centered around African American families, so this breaks this barrier with its amazing story and illustrations.

 

Remember the same light that lights up the sun and sky, lights up you too!

Princess Hair by Sharee Miller is a story about the array of different hair textures. The book goes on to tell about princesses with afros, braids, and dreads even about bantu knots and twist outs too! African American author, Sharee Miller exemplifies black excellence in her book Princess Hair by showing all the different hairstyles princesses can have! This type of book shows young girls that a crown can fit on any type of hair and to accept themselves for the princesses that they truly are!

Lastly, Natalie’s Hair was Wild! by Laura Freeman is a book that captures the black excellence as well. The book is about a young girl whose hair cannot be tamed. Natalie finds herself hosting an array of animals in her hair from birds to even a tiger! This story takes the stereotype of African American hair being like a “bird’s nest” to an empowering story of a girl who accepts her hair.

 Do any of these books make you want to see more diverse story lines? Any that resonate with your heritage as well? After reading these books that showcase Black Excellence, find books that showcase your excellence as well! 

 

 

The photo below shows the books in order ranging from the newest to oldest. Can you believe that And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street was published in 1937! 

 

My first required book is Texas Bluebonnet Award winner. The Texas Blue Bonnet Award program that encourages reading in the elementary age groups. The award is chosen by students themselves! Author John Grandits won this award in 2014 for his amazing book Ten Rules You Absolutely Must Not Break if You Want to Survive the School Bus. The book is about a list of rules an older brother gives to his younger brother about surviving the awful school bus. Kyle, the younger brother, is extremely nervous and ends up breaking every rule in the book by the end of the day.

 

My second required book is a Pura Belpré Award winner. The Pura Belpré Award is named after the first Latina librarian, Pura Belpré. The award goes to books that portray and/or celebrates Latino culture. Niño Wrestles the World by Yuyi Morales won this award in 2014 for its fantastic illustrations. Niño Wrestles the World is a story of a brave boy who tackles famous Hispanic legends such as La Llorona and Cabezca. The illustrations of this book capture the famous culture of Lucha Libre found throughout homes in Mexico and many other Spanish-speaking countries.

And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street by Dr. Seuss is a story about Marco and his walk home from school. The boy has trouble with adding a few too many details to his stories about what he sees while walking on Mulberry Street. He goes on to turn the horse drawn wagon into a grand event with elephants, trumpets, and more! And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street was Dr. Seuss’s first children’s book published on December 21, 1937, and is when the author that we know today became the infamous Dr.Seuss! I was roughly negative sixty two years old when this book hit the shelves. Wow!

How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a more known novel by Dr.Seuss. The story follows the mean old Grinch who just seem to hate Christmas with all of his small heart.  How the Grinch Stole Christmas was original published on October 12, 1957 and later on adapted into a movie in 2000 which is where I was first introduced to this story! 

 

Now that I read this book as an adult, it reminds me a lot of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Does the Grinch remind you of Ebenezer Scrooge? He sure does to me!

Lastly, The Lorax by Dr.Seuss was published in 1971. I still wasn’t born yet, negative twenty eight years to be exact LOL! The book is about a young boy who runs into a man called the Once-ler. The boy pays the Once-ler an arrangement of unusual items to hear about the legend of the Lorax. This novel by Seuss was also adapted into a movie in 2012, which is how I found out about this book as well. The novel is a great story about the importance of trees and is still very relevant today!