Author Archives: rosinskynatalie

Some “Tree-mendous” Books

Posted on April 1, 2019

Every day—not just Earth Day (April 22) or Arbor Day (April 26)–should be “tree-mendous.” I reached this conclusion as world-wide student protests about climate change overlapped last month with my reading of novelist Richard Powers’ The Overstory (2018). Powers’ epic work about the fabulous … Continue reading →

Posted in biographies, Books, graphic novels, picture books | Tagged A Log's Life, Andy Hirsch, Annie Proulx, Arbor Day, Aurelia Fronty, Barkskins, Bob Staake, Branching Out: How Trees are Part of Our World, Cynthia Alonso, David Mitchell, deforestation, Diane Muldrow, Donna Jo Napoli, Earth Day, Elif Shafak, forest ecosystem, Franck Prevot, Future Library, H. Joseph Hopkins, Han Kang, Harriet Birkenshaw, Iris Volant, Jason Howard, Jeanette Winter, Jen Cullerton Johnson, Jill McEllmurry, Joan Marie Galat, Kadir Nelson, Kate Sessions, Kenya, Kevin Byron, Mama Miti: Wangari Maathai and The Trees of Kenya, Margaret Atwood, Monica Russo, Richard Powers, Robin Brickman, San Diego, Seeds of Change: Planting a Path to Peace, Shel Silverstein, Sjon, Sonia Lynn Sadler, The Giving Tree, The Overstory, The Tree Lady: How One Tree-Loving Woman Changed a City Forever, tree species, Treecology: 30 Activities and Observations for Esploring the World of Trees and and Forests, Trees comic book series, Trees: Kings of the Forest, Under the Canopy: Trees Around the World, Wangari Maathai, Wangari Maathai: The Woman Who Planted Millions of Trees, Warren Ellis, Watari's Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa, We Planted a Tree, Wendy Pfeffer | Leave a comment

Tweens Spring Forward

Posted on March 1, 2019

Transitions. Whether it is tweens careening towards adolescence or winter blossoming into spring, the change is predictable–even if the pace is not! This is why fickle March seems an apt moment to catch up with two award-winning graphic novels about … Continue reading →

Posted in graphic novels | Tagged All's Faire in Middle School, award winner, bullying, challenges, elmentary school graphic novels, family relationships, friendship, growing up, humor, Latinx characters, middle school, Newberry Honor book, Renaissance Faire, roller derby, Roller Girl, self-awareness, sports, team relationships, The Great Art Caper, The Great Pet Escape, tween girls, tweens, Victoria Jamieson | Leave a comment

Crushes Now and Then

Posted on February 1, 2019

Heartthrob or heartache? Sudden attraction or slow connection? With Valentine’s Day approaching, and its card exchanges popular even in some pre-schools, the recent publication of Svetlana Chmakova’s Crush (2018) was aptly timed. This continuation of the author/illustrator’s award-winning Berrybrook Middle … Continue reading →

Posted in graphic novels, story collection | Tagged 1960s, Awkward, Beach Boys, Beatles, Berrybrook Middle School series, Brave, bullying, Crush, crushes, friends, I Am Young, M. Dean, middle school, music, Pet Sounds, Svetlana Chmakova, teenagers, tweens, Valentine's Day, young love | Leave a comment

Timely Questions

Posted on January 1, 2019

At the start of a new year, in our sometimes Kafkaesque world, it is good to realize that not all tales from the inner city are bad. What exactly do I mean by that remark? I hope you will be … Continue reading →

Posted in graphic novels, picture books | Tagged animals, animals in cities, bureaucracy, canine history, cats, creativity, dogs, Franz Kafka, graphic adaptation, human imagination, humans and animals, In the Penal Colony, judicial system, justice, Kafkaesque: Fourteen Stories, legal system, New Year, Peter Kuper, Shaun Tan, Tales from Outer Suburbia, Tales from the Inner City, The Hunger Artist, The Metamorphosis, Trumpesque | Leave a comment

Great Graphic Gifts

Posted on December 1, 2018

Giving “experiences” rather than “things” is a trend this winter holiday season, making graphic literature a fashionable, two-for-one joy for the tween-and-up readers on your gift list. They can hold a volume in their hands, actively scanning between text and … Continue reading →

Posted in graphic novels, hybrid books | Tagged Auschwitz, Brian Selznick, concentration camps, demonizing enemies, displaced persons camps, elves, Eugene Yelchin, goblins, holiday gifts, Holocaust, humor, hybrid graphic novel, hybrid novel, Judaism, M.T. Anderson, music, opera, spying, survivors, The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge, Vesper Stamper, war, What the Night Sings | Leave a comment

Happy Holidays? Family Woes and Wins

Posted on November 7, 2018

Santa Claus may not be this season’s biggest holiday myth. A more troubling fantasy here in North America may be the myth of the perfectly happy, affluent family—one celebrating its winter holidays with big smiles in a bright, cheerful home … Continue reading →

Posted in graphic novels, memoir | Tagged 1950s, abandonment, alcoholism, and Dealt with Family Addiction, autobiography, bullying, California, Chinese immigrants, Christmas, David Small, drug addiction, father, Good Night Monkey Boy, grandparents, Hey Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother Found My Father and, holiday myths, Home After Dark, homophobia, Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Lunch Lady series, memoir, mother, Mother's Day, racism, Stitches, suicide, Worcester Massachusetts | Leave a comment

After the Pittsburgh Synagogue Massacre

Posted on October 30, 2018

What do we tell school-aged children who see, read, or hear news about this past weekend’s massacre at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue? You already may have had to deal with initial reactions, but I have some print resources to … Continue reading →

Posted in graphic novels | Tagged A Family Secret, Adolph Hitler, Amsterdam, Anne Frank House, anti-Semitism, complicit citizens, elected government leaders, elections, Eric Heuvel, German Jewish refugee, Holocaust, local police, Nazis, Pittsburgh synagogue massacre, resistance, Resistance Museum of Amsterdam, Resistance Museum of Friesland, school-aged children, sixteen-year olds, The Search, Tree of Life synagogue, twelve-year olds, World War II | Leave a comment