The Lights & Types of Ships at Night

A luminous ode to ships at night.  Readers embark on a journey around the world, observing the myriad lights of different ships sailing dark, nocturnal waters, from little fishing boats surrounded by tiny plankton, to river boats lullabying through the Seine to swiftly-moving RoRos carrying cars from one land to another.  Each has a special set of lights which produces a distinctive beauty, really the only kind you can find on ships in the night.  A peaceful bedtime read.

The Lights & Types of Ships at Night was written by Dave Eggers, illustrated by Annie Dills and published by McSweeney’s.

My Red Hat

A little girl receives a gift from her grandpa — a red hat — and discovers that there’s more to it than meets the eye.  It’s not only something to wear on her head.  It can be used for silly things, to hold dreams...or to hide secrets.  Most of all, it’s a promise of adventure and wonder, and a reminder of the love of its giver, Grandfather.  A whimsical and heartfelt story of the gift of family.

My Red Hat was written and illustrated by Rachel Stubbs and published by Candlewick Press.

Oscar's American Dream

History is all around us and in the case of a small corner store in a bustling city, it walks in and out its front door.  Oscar Nowicki arrives in the US just before the turn of the century carrying his life in a cardboard suitcase and enough money to pursue his American dream — his very own barbershop.  Oscar eventually marries, leaving for a job as a subway conductor.  The barbershop becomes a fashionable clothing store in the Roaring Twenties and later turns into a soup kitchen feeding the poor of the Great Depression.  Subsequent eras leave their mark on the little storefront, each with a story to tell about the generation living through it.  But after a fire eventually sweeps through the little shop, what will become of it?  Will it still play a part in fulfilling other American dreams?  This story is a beautiful reminder that there is more to the old, venerable buildings still standing in our cities than we realize, and that if walls could talk, they would truly have an abundance of stories to tell.

Oscar’s American Dream was written by Barry Wittenstein, illustrated by Kristen & Kevin Howdeshell and published by Schwartz & Wade Books.