Perfectly Normal, a middle school sexual education digital textbook by Robie H. Harris and Michael Emberley, is has received some complaints from parents in Missouri.
The book shows graphic representations of people having sex, which is leading some local parents to petition to have the eBook removed from a school library in the Francis Howell School District. USA Today has the story:
District officials say “it was determined to keep the ebook available as a resource for check-out in the library. If a parent determines that he/she does not want to their child to have access to certain materials, we honor that request.”
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By Nicki Richesin, The Children’s Book Review
Published: April 25, 2012
Beautiful Dreamers
In celebration of National Poetry Month, we’ve hand-picked ten many-splendored new books. Children are born loving poetry from the moment they form their first babbling words to when they begin to tackle more complex rhythms and tongue twisters. As they acquire language and enjoy how it rolls off their tongues, they also gain an appreciation for the beauty of creative expression. Nothing quite tops that moment when they learn to recite their first nursery rhyme. So leave a poem in your child’s pocket and help him discover the appeal of modern poetry.
By Shel Silverstein
If you’re like most of us, you may have grown up with Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic, or The Giving Tree on your childhood bookshelf. Master wordsmith and doodler Shel Silverstein invented laugh-out-loud silly rhymes for us to endlessly ponder. Every Thing On It has been posthumously published as a new collection of his irreverent poems and characters drawn with his trademark squiggly offhand style. It’s a great joy to share his nonsense poems with a new generation to puzzle over and love for years to come.
Ages 8-11 | Publisher: HarperCollins | September 20, 2011
By Marilyn Singer; Illustrated by LeUyen Pham
What a winning combination Pham’s playful illustrations and Singer’s amusing verse make in this lovely poetry collection. Bouncing rhyme and pictures of active children at play ensure even the most poetry-adverse child will warm to its magical delights. As Singer’s light-handed verse concludes, “A stick is an excellent thing if you find the perfect one.” We’ve certainly found the perfect book of poetry in this one. For more on LeUyen Pham, check out our interview with her.
Ages 5-8 | Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | February 28, 2012
By Kate Coombs; Illustrated by Meilo So
In her first book of poetry, Kate Coombs takes us on a voyage under the sea.
