There Was No Snow on Christmas Eve
Pam Munoz Ryan, Pamela Munoz Ryan, , illus. by Dennis Nolan. . Hyperion, $15.99 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-7868-5492-9
In poignant poetry, Ryan (
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Reviewed on: 09/26/2005
Genre: Children's
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- MICE AND BEANSPam Munoz RyanMuñoz's (Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride) rollicking birthday tale stars one Spanish-speaking grandmother, one very long list of party preparations Continue reading »
- MUD IS CAKEPam Munoz RyanIn the opening illustration in this winsome tome, a mother reads to her two children as their stuffed animals look on and rain falls outside. Then, as a rainbow fills the sky, the siblings play in Continue reading »
- ESPERANZA RISINGPam Munoz Ryan"With a hint of magical realism, this robust novel set in 1930 captures a Mexican girl's fall from riches and her immigration to California," said PW Continue reading »
- WHEN MARIAN SANGPam Munoz RyanThe creative team behind Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride returns with a picture book biography as understated and graceful as its subject, singer Marian Continue reading »
- BECOMING NAOMI LEONPam Munoz RyanFifth-grader Naomi's great-grandmother has been a loving guardian for Naomi and Owen, her handicapped brother, since their mother divorced their father and abandoned them in Lemon Tree, Continue reading »
- Nacho and LolitaPam Munoz RyanA sense of enchantment pervades this tender love story, which begins when a mysterious bird called a pitacoche , arrives in the San Juan valley. Rueda (
Continue reading » - Becoming Naomi LenPam Munoz RyanFifth-grader Naomi's great-grandmother has been a loving guardian for Naomi and her brother since their mother abandoned them seven years before; now she has suddenly reappeared. In a starred Continue reading »
- Paint the WindPam Munoz RyanAn overprotected orphan, an imperious guardian who dies suddenly, a tender reunion with long-lost rustic relatives—Ryan (Esperanza Rising ) opens her tween Continue reading »
- Paint the WindPam Munoz RyanWhen her imperious grandmother dies suddenly, 11-year-old Maya, an orphan, is sent to Wyoming to live with her mother's family—strangers to her, thanks to her grandmother's high-handed notions. Continue reading »
- Religion in American Politics: A Short HistoryPam Munoz Ryan
- The DreamerPam Munoz RyanRyan's (Paint the Wind ) wandering and imaginative prose and Sís's (The Wall ) quietly haunting art fuse in Continue reading »
- Tony BaloneyPam Munoz RyanRyan's (The Dreamer) exuberant story takes a fresh look at sibling dynamics from the perspective of a beleaguered macaroni penguin caught between bossy Big Sister Baloney and twin Bothersome Babies Continue reading »
- The Flag We LovePam Munoz RyanStrike up the band and prepare to salute-this patriotic picture book unabashedly celebrates the Stars and Stripes. In a series of earnest verses, Ryan (One Hundred Is a Family) introduces young Continue reading »
- Esperanza RisingPam Munoz Ryan, Pam Munoz RyanTold in a lyrical, fairy tale - like style, Ryan's (riding Freedom) robust novel set in 1930 captures a Mexican girl's fall from riches, her immigration to California and her growing awareness of Continue reading »
- Riding FreedomPam Munoz RyanPW's starred review called this fictionalized biography of equestrian Charlotte ""Charley"" Parkhurst--who lived her life disguised as a man and was the first woman voter in the U.S.--an ""ebullient Continue reading »
- Amelia and Eleanor Go for a RidePam Munoz RyanIn this sparkling picture book based on a true incident, Ryan (Riding Freedom, with Selznick) proves that Amelia Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt truly were ""birds of a feather."" Friends in real life, Continue reading »
- Hello OceanPam Munoz RyanThis rhyming picture book about the pleasures of a day at the beach gets off to a rocky start. ""Hello, ocean,/ my old best friend./ I'm here,/ with the five of me, again!"" read the opening lines, Continue reading »
- Hello Ocean: Hola MarPam Munoz Ryan, Luther L. McDougal, IIIRelayed in Spanish as well as English, this rhyming picture book pays tribute to the pleasures of a day at the beach. ""Astrella's acrylics on airbrushed paper take on an almost photographic Continue reading »
- Riding FreedomPam Munoz Ryan, Pam Munoz RyanThe true story of Charlotte ""Charley"" Darkey Parkhurst, a woman who lived her life disguised as a man so she could be a stagecoach driver, is the basis for this ebullient and tautly structured Continue reading »
- Riding Freedom (Caballo Llamado Lib Ertad, Un)Pam Munoz Ryan, Pam Munoz RyanGr 4-6-Based on the true-life experience of Charlotte Darkey Parkhurst, this Spanish translation of Muoz Ryan's popular 1999 title, promises to keep independent readers engaged through to the end. Continue reading »
- One Hundred Is a FamilyPam Munoz RyanThe politically correct concept driving this counting book is that families are not just parents and children; in fact, ``every ONE on earth'' can be a family ``caring for the fragile universe.'' Continue reading »
- The Crayon Counting BookPam Munoz RyanIn a high-tech approach to a low-tech subject, computer-generated crayons strike different poses on each page of this surprisingly animated counting book. The crayons appear in rows, pyramids and Continue reading »
- Tony Baloney: School RulesPam Munoz RyanTony Baloney the penguin faces his first day of school in this early reader, and as in his eponymous 2010 picture book, he uses imagined conversations with his stuffed bird, Dandelion, to work out Continue reading »
- EchoPam Munoz RyanThe fairy tale that opens this elegant trio of interconnected stories from Ryan (The Dreamer) sets the tone for the rest of the book, in which a mystical harmonica brings together three Continue reading »
- EchoPam Munoz RyanIt’s hard to imagine a better way to experience this story than in the audiobook format. Music infuses the entire plot line; the characters are cellists, pianists, conductors, and singers. They hear Continue reading »
- THE DOG PRINCELauren MillsThe husband-and-wife collaborators behind Fairy Wings and The Rag Coat begin their tale with a prince "bored by his Continue reading »
- THE PERFECT WIZARD: Hans Christian AndersenJane Yolen"Once upon a time, a baby was born on a bed that was made from a coffin platform," begins this illuminating picture-book–biography of Denmark's favorite storyteller, which deftly Continue reading »
- The SkywriterDennis HaseleyWhen does a child lose faith in make-believe? How does the power of imagination fade? Haseley (Twenty Heartbeats ) and Nolan (The Castle Continue reading »
- A Midsummer Night's DreamBruce Coville, William ShakespeareCoville follows up his version of The Tempest (see p. 84) with a retelling of another of Shakespeare's most popular plays. The fundamental story of magic, mischief and the trials and tribulations of Continue reading »
- The Blessing of the Lord: Stories from the Old and New TestamentsGary D. SchmidtSchmidt gives a dramatic spin to some classic Bible stories in this engaging collection. Brief retellings range from well-known characters (Eve wonders if she should taste the fruit offered by the Continue reading »
- Step Into the NightJoanne RyderRyder ( Inside the Turtle's Shell and The Night Flight ) artfully blends poetry and science in this richly illustrated book about a girl who stands ``like a shadow / against a tall dark tree . . . to Continue reading »
- The Legend of the White DoeWilliam H. HooksThis little-known legend about the first English child born in America, Virginia Dare, is smoothly told and elegantly produced. It treats Virginia as a symbol of her Roanoke Island colony, whose Continue reading »
- Mockingbird MorningJoanne RyderThis companion book to Ryder and Nolan's Step into the Night is, like its predecessor, a naturalist's delight. A girl is awakened by a mockingbird's song: ``I am here. I am here. Happy day! Happy Continue reading »
- Dove IsabeauJane YolenYolen's new fable, redolent with myths ageless and archetypal, strikes at the heart. Dove Isabeau, so-called because she always wears dove's colors of gray or white, is bereft at her mother's death. Continue reading »
- Under Your FeetJoanne RyderLike their Step into the Night and Mockingbird Morning , Ryder and Nolan's quiet picture book portrays a child observing natural wonders. This time Ryder asks readers to be aware of creatures who Continue reading »
- The Gentleman and the Kitchen MaidDiane StanleyStanley and Nolan lure readers with this playful puzzle. Rusty, an art student who comes to the city art museum to copy the works of Dutch masters, realizes that a kitchen maid in one painting and a Continue reading »
- WingsJane Yolen""Yolen is in top form in this polished, ardent retelling,"" said PW; ""Nolan's sophisticated watercolors... provocatively blend reality and fantasy."" All ages. Continue reading »
- Dove IsabeauJane YolenAn evil stepmother turns lovely Isabeau into a hideous dragon and a prince saves her. Ages 8-12. Continue reading »
- The Gentleman and the Kitchen MaidDiane StanleyFigures from different paintings hanging in a museum fall in love; ""Stanley's supple storytelling admits a fresh, romantic grasp of the possibilities of art and imagination,"" said PW. Ages 5-8. Continue reading »
- Red Flower Goes WestAnn Warren TurnerTurner's (Shaker Hearts; Angel Hide and Seek) somewhat labored story of a family's difficult journey to the California gold rush territory is filled with details familiar to most adults, but centered Continue reading »
- Shadow of the DinosaursDennis NolanDennis Nolan weaves real-life dino facts into Shadow of the Dinosaurs, a fictional account of a family camping trip turned prehistoric adventure. In this follow-up to Dinosaur Dreams, the titular Continue reading »
- WingsJane YolenYolen is in top form here in this polished, ardent retelling of the tragic Greek legend of Daedalus and his son Icarus. Banished from his beloved Athens for killing his nephew, the proud craftsman Continue reading »
- Fairy WingsLauren Mills, Dennis NolanMills (Elfabet) and Nolan (Dinosaur Dream) pack everything but the glass slippers into this dainty sylvan romance starring a wingless fairy. Fia endures the disdain of her arrogant sisters and their Continue reading »
- Sea of DreamsReminiscent of David Wiesner’s Flotsam and Irene Haas’s The Maggie B, Nolan’s enchanting artwork creates a gorgeous, wordless nautical fantasy infused with the thrill of life-or-death adventure. On a Continue reading »
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