Reviews written by Nicholette Tilghman

Starting off with a typical grumpy "morning person," in Hooray for Hat!, we meet many characters who are having a bad day, and need the cheerful encouragement of a friend and the addition of a whimsical hat to their head, to boot. Each character remembers a friend in need, and...

In this simple story, sleep eludes one sole panda of many in a bamboo grove. His search for the right position ends in a sweet slumber, but ends up awakening another. I liked that although this book is short, it conveyed the desperate feelings one has...

The world is ending. At least, that's what it looks like to the near-500 people left in the Kingdom of Tides, a tiny island with a lone castle, whose king and princess cannot even escape the ever-encroaching waters of the huge and hostile sea. Corvina, who is called "Coe," is...

Meet April--A 14-year-old, bonafide aircraft and flight expert and now a highly-experienced runaway who knows how to work the system as an 'unaccompanied minor.' She is witty, intelligent, quick-thinking, and quite honestly one of my FAVORITE young adult main characters to date. Her matter-of-fact, sometimes sarcastic and often hilarious manner...

This fold-out book is just incredible. I am a huge fan of the paper, the layout, the descriptions, and the illustrations, and I know this book will give my kids and I lots to look at, admire, and discuss. The different modes of transportation are laid out in chronological order,...

On June 15, 1869, in Boston, Massachusetts, the loudest and biggest and longest concert began as a celebration of the end of the Civil War. Thought up and executed by Patrick S. Gilmore, whom this book is about, this event marked a turning point of peace in our nation's history....

When I picked up The Great Unexpected, I certainly did not know what to expect. After just a few pages, however, I knew that I would love Naomi and her best friend, Lizzie, who enters into the scene with a silly "lar dee dar" warbly sing-song voice that left me...

I have got to say: We are living in the glory days of picture books. When I look at the offerings at the library of decades past and compare them to what comes out these days, there is no comparison. And The Grudge Keeper is a perfect example of the...

I truly enjoyed this book, not just because of the lovely illustrations, depicting the colorful and mysterious ways women in West Africa adorn themselves with the malafa, but also because of the message: the malafa is not seen as oppressive to most women who wear them. What we in the...

Although I think this book suffers from the lack of a good cover, what is inside is definitely worth reading and exploring with your children--especially in the summertime, when everything is hot and stifling! It was so interesting to learn about the ways different animals--several I...

I am definitely a girl who LOVES poetry. And color. And this book is a wonderful combination of the two. Going through each season with absolutely gorgeous, whimsical illustrations, Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter are all lovingly explored and meditated upon through each and every poem. The selections are just...

The timing of this little guide coming into my hands was just perfect. My oldest has been interested in the ocean since the age of two, and she just keeps asking more and more questions and seeking out more information on oceans (she has another pop-up book she's been getting...

After reading just one of Cathryn and John Sill's About Habitats books (Oceans), I became a huge fan. I was excited and not let down in the least by this newest edition to their educational About Habitats series. Each painting is painstakingly done and, quite simply, beautiful. As in the...

What a lovely addition to our library! This vibrantly illustrated book follows a little boy named Oskar around 18th-century Vienna as he searches for the perfect gift for his mother on her birthday. He meets various famous characters as he makes trade after trade in order to arrive at...

The Freedom Maze is a stunning work, the result of 18 years of research and writing. From it's endearing main character to it's slight fantastical time-travel elements to it's shining glory, Sophie's coming-of-age story, it should become a classic. It has such educational value and such touching and heart-warming characters...