Philippe Cousteau and Deborah Hopkinson, illus. by Meilo So. Chronicle, $16.99 (48p) ISBN 978-1-4521-1241-1
In a gently empowering story about grassroots activism and facing problems head-on, environmentalist Cousteau and author Hopkinson (Knit Your Bit) introduce Viv, a shy girl who gets to know her new South Carolina schoolmates and environment though a
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Deborah Hopkinson. Scholastic Press, $17.99 (304p) ISBN 978-0-545-11674-9
Hopkinson puts a human face on the Titanic’s sinking in this riveting nonfiction chronicle of the ship’s collision with an iceberg and the tragic aftermath. She threads together the stories of many passengers and crew members, focusing on a handful...
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Deborah Hopkinson, Author . Scholastic/Orchard $17.95 (134p) ISBN 978-0-439-37590-0
This chronicle of the challenges facing immigrants in New York's teeming tenements effectively employs primary sources to place a personal face on broader historical events, helping children make sense of the impressive statistic that about 23...
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Deborah Hopkinson. Knopf, $16.99 (256p) ISBN 978-0-375-84818-6
Set amid the 1854 London cholera outbreak, Hopkinson’s attention-grabbing story of Eel, an orphan who survives by combing the filthy banks of the Thames for anything he might sell, is a delightful combination of race-against-the-clock medical...
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Deborah Hopkinson. Scholastic Press, $17.99 (352p) ISBN 978-0-545-59220-8
Utilizing interviews and extensive documentation, Hopkinson (Titanic: Voices From the Disaster) reconstructs the stories of those who lived during—and fought against—the Nazi occupation of Denmark. In an easy-to-follow, accessible manner, she...
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Deborah Hopkinson. Knopf, $16.99 (304p) ISBN 978-0-385-75499-6
Rocco Zaccaro, the delightfully earnest narrator of this picaresque novel, never intended to become a “true guttersnipe” on the streets of 1880s New York City. Then again, he never intended to leave Italy until the day his family could no longer...
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Deborah Hopkinson, illus. by Qin Leng. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-06-237330-4
Writing in a warm-humored, matter-of-fact tone, Hopkinson traces Jane Austen’s path from a curious and shy childhood into a quiet adulthood as a practiced and determined author. Hopkinson clearly emphasizes how Austen’s work was, in many respects,...
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Deborah Hopkinson, illus. by Ron Husband. Disney-Jump at the Sun, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4231-2196-1
Hopkinson (Courage & Defiance) offers a graceful fictional recounting of a St. Louis minister’s courageous and clever response to a 1847 Missouri law that prohibited the education of African-Americans. A former slave who worked tirelessly to buy his
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Deborah Hopkinson, illus. by John Hendrix. Random/Schwartz & Wade, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-375-86732-3
Though Charles Dickens’s canon includes more stories about rather than for children, this intimate, fictionalized account of the writer’s boyhood, from the creators of Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek, suggests how his budding literary imagination...
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Deborah Hopkinson, illus. by Steven Guarnaccia. Putnam, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-399-25241-9
Hopkinson (A Boy Called Dickens) again gracefully mines history with this story highlighting a patriotic civilian initiative during WWI. After Pop goes overseas, Mikey scoffs at helping Mama and his sister knit clothing for soldiers: “Boys don’t...
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Deborah Hopkinson, Author, Nancy Carpenter, Illustrator , illus. by Nancy Carpenter. Atheneum/Schwartz $16 (40p) ISBN 978-0-689-81965-0
Prepared to perfection and served up with style, this historical nugget imagines an interlude in the life of cookbook pioneer Fannie Farmer, who, prior to her stint at the Boston Cooking School, worked as a mother's helper. As Hopkinson (Maria
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Deborah Hopkinson, Author, Nancy Carpenter, Illustrator , illus. by Nancy Carpenter. Atheneum/ Schwartz $15.95 (0p) ISBN 978-0-689-84769-1
The creators of Fannie in the Kitchen
present another satisfying slice of Americana in this capricious caper, loosely based on a true story. "My daddy loved growin' apples. And when he got ready to pull up roots and leave Iowa for Oregon,...
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Deborah Hopkinson, Author, Nancy Carpenter, Illustrator , illus. by Nancy Carpenter. S&S/Aladdin $6.99 (0p) ISBN 978-0-689-86997-6
"Prepared to perfection and served up with style, this historical nugget imagines an interlude in the life of cookbook pioneer Fannie Farmer," said PW
in our Best Books citation. "Carpenter's irreverent illustrations spoof...
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Deborah Hopkinson, illus. by Nancy Carpenter. Random/Schwartz & Wade, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-375-86845-0
Hopkinson’s moving epistolary text and Carpenter’s emotionally incisive flashbacks chronicle the evolving relationship between an impulsive second grader and her life-changing teacher. Never doubting the girl’s potential, the unnamed teacher holds...
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Deborah Hopkinson, Author, James Ransome, Author , illus. by James E. Ransome. Random/Schwartz & Wade $16.95 (48p) ISBN 978-0-375-83610-7
A second-person narrative voice places readers at the construction site of (at that time) the world's tallest skyscraper. From the first line, "It's the end of winter,/ and your pop's lost his job," the grim realities of the...
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Deborah Hopkinson, illus. by Raul Col%C3%B3n. Random/Schwartz & Wade, $17.99 (48p) ISBN 978-0-375-85706-5
Combining short excerpts from Annie Sullivan's letters with lyrical prose, Hopkinson (A Boy Called Dickens) succeeds in making the early years of the relationship between Helen Keller and the woman she called Teacher feel newly remarkable. Hopkinson
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Deborah Hopkinson, Author, Raul Colon, Illustrator , illus. by Raúl Colón. S&S/Aladdin $6.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-689-84887-2
In a starred review of this story inspired by a groundbreaking African-American chorus founded in 1871, PW
wrote, "Scenes of the chorus lost in song—voices raised, eyes closed—reveal the courage and heart of these trailblazing...
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Deborah Hopkinson, Author, Raul Colon, Illustrator Atheneum Books $16.95 (40p) ISBN 978-0-689-81062-6
A groundbreaking African-American chorus founded in 1871 inspires this warm and moving picture book. ""Grandma Ella was born into slavery... but no one could chain her voice,"" begins Aunt Beth in response to the girl narrator's request for her...
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Deborah Hopkinson, Author, Carson Ellis, Illustrator , illus. by Carson Ellis. Disney-Hyperion $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4231-1149-8
A healthy dose of pioneer sass helps young Stagecoach Sal nab a notorious thief without firing a shot—she takes Poetic Pete (“the most polite bandit in all of California”) onto the seat beside her, sings him to sleep and delivers...
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Deborah Hopkinson, Author, Bethanne Andersen, Illustrator , illus. by Bethanne Andersen. HarperCollins/ Greenwillow $15.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-688-17398-2
In this affecting collaboration, Hopkinson (Fannie in the Kitchen, reviewed above) and Anderson (Seven Brave Women) use the renewal of nature to echo the cycle of life after two children lose their grandmother. Narrator Mags and her younger brother,
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Deborah Hopkinson, Author, James Ransome, Illustrator Alfred A. Knopf $15.95 (0p) ISBN 978-0-679-82311-7
A compelling story about an African American girl's escape from slavery on a Southern plantation brings power and substance to this noteworthy picture book. When the rigors of cotton-field labor overwhelm Clara, a kindly woman she calls Aunt Rachel...
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Deborah Hopkinson, Author, James Ransome, Illustrator , illus. by James E. Ransome. Atheneum/Schwartz $16 (40p) ISBN 978-0-689-82227-8
Dramatic oil paintings and compelling verse-like prose combine to portray the harsh yet hopeful experience of travel along the Underground Railroad. Hopkinson and Ransome revisit the theme of their first collaboration, Sweet Clara and the Freedom...
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Deborah Hopkinson, Author, James Ransome, Illustrator Dragonfly Books $6.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-679-87472-0
A courageous slave girl plays an unusual part in the Underground Railroad; in a starred review, PW said, ``This first-rate book is a triumph of the heart.'' Ages 5-10. (Sept.)
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Deborah Hopkinson, Author, James Ransome, Illustrator , illus. by James E. Ransome. S&S/Aladdin $6.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-689-87700-1
"Dramatic oil paintings and compelling verse-like prose combine to portray the harsh yet hopeful experience of travel along the Underground Railroad," wrote PW
in a starred review. Ages 5-10. (Jan.)
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Deborah Hopkinson, Author, Terry Widener, Illustrator, D. Hopkinson, Author , illus. by Terry Widener. Atheneum/Schwartz $16.95 (40p) ISBN 978-0-689-83300-7
Widener (The Babe & I; Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man) makes a triumphant return to the baseball diamond with his acrylic artwork—at once playful and emotionally authentic—spotlighting another praiseworthy player from the past. His...
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Deborah Hopkinson, Author, Leonard Jenkins, Illustrator Peachtree Publishers $16.95 (0p) ISBN 978-1-56145-395-5
Hopkinson's (Sky Boys) accessible, conversational narrative relays the little-known story of Oscar Chapman who, as a white boy in racially charged post-Civil War Virginia, was asked by his teacher to select a picture to decorate the bare walls of...
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Deborah Hopkinson, Author, Stephen Alcorn, Illustrator , illus. by Stephen Alcorn. Peachtree $17.95 (32p) ISBN 978-1-56145-473-0
Hopkinson’s (Sweet Land of Liberty
) tribute to Matthew Henson, the African-American explorer credited as being the “co-discoverer” (along with Admiral Robert Peary) of the North Pole in 1909, retells a story gaining traction among
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Deborah Hopkinson, Author, Kimberly Bulcken Root, Illustrator Atheneum Books $15 (0p) ISBN 978-0-689-81052-7
Inspired by stories of real 19th-century lighthouse heroines, this atmospheric book uses a diary format to shape a portrait of a brave and likable girl. The tall-format volume, slender and graceful much like a lighthouse itself, whisks readers to...
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Deborah Hopkinson, Author, Kimberly Bulcken Root, Illustrator Aladdin Paperbacks $6.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-689-83529-2
""Inspired by stories of real 19th-century lighthouse heroines, this atmospheric book uses a diary format to shape a portrait of a brave and likable girl,"" wrote PW. ""The accomplished art underscores the immediacy of the narrative."" Ages 4-9. (Jun
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Deborah Hopkinson, Author, Deborah Lanino, Illustrator Deborah Hopkinson , illus. by Deborah Lanino. S&S/Aladdin $6.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-689-85678-5
"This poetic picture book imagines the childhood of Maria Mitchell, American's first woman astronomer, and will likely ignite further interest in its passionate protagonist," wrote PW. "The artist closes the distance between earth...
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Deborah Hopkinson, Author, Deborah Lanino, Illustrator Atheneum Books $16 (32p) ISBN 978-0-689-81501-0
This poetic picture book imagines the childhood of Maria Mitchell, America's first woman astronomer. Like Hopkinson's previous heroines (Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt; Birdie's Lighthouse), Maria (pronounced ma-RYE-ah) possesses determination, a
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Deborah Hopkinson, illus. by Jen Corace. Disney-Hyperion, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4231-1356-0
Hopkinson (Stagecoach Sal) draws upon Charles Darwin's twin loves of nature and children to pen a playful, fictional account of an experiment the great naturalist might have conducted with his offspring. Initial spreads find the young narrator—Darwin
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Deborah Hopkinson, Author, AG Ford, Illustrator , illus. by AG Ford. HarperCollins/Tegen $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-06-182739-6
With a cover design that echoes that of Jonah Winter's Barack
, also illustrated by Ford, this streamlined picture book–biography of the first lady feels tailor-made to pair with that title. Writing with obvious admiration for the first...
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Deborah Hopkinson, Author, AG Ford, Illustrator , illus. by AG Ford. HarperCollins/Tegen $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-06-189680-4
The creators of Michelle
widen their focus in this affectionate portrait of the Obamas. After describing the family's move into the White House and the various purposes that building serves, the book touches on details of the first family'
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Deborah Hopkinson, Author, S. D. Schindler, Illustrator , illus. by S.D. Schindler. Putnam $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-399-23996-0
With the flair for which she is known, Hopkinson (Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek
) chronicles the early life of John Avery Lomax, a pioneer of folk musicology who got his start collecting cowboy songs. The colorful narrative devotes several spreads to...
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Deborah Hopkinson, illus. by Charlotte Voake. Random/Schwartz & Wade, $17.99 (44p) ISBN 978-0-385-37325-8
As this book’s foreboding title suggests, a guinea pig does not survive its encounter with the future creator of Peter Rabbit—nor do Sally the snake, an unnamed bat, and numerous snails. In her childhood, Beatrix Potter made a habit of capturing...
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Deborah Hopkinson, illus. by Giselle Potter. Random/Schwartz & Wade, $17.99 (44p) ISBN 978-0-385-39017-0
Next to nothing is known about Amelia Simmons, whose American Cookery, published in 1796, was the first cookbook to be written by an American and to incorporate native ingredients. So Hopkinson (Steamboat School) and Potter (This Is My Dollhouse)...
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Deborah Hopkinson, Author, Patrick Faricy, Illustrator , illus. by Patrick Faricy. S&S/Aladdin $3.99 (80p) ISBN 978-0-689-84350-1
Hopkinson (Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt) introduces the Prairie Skies trilogy with this solid chapter book set in 1855. After the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, eight-year-old Charlie's abolitionist parents decide to move their three...
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Deborah Hopkinson, illus. by Don Tate. Peachtree, , $17.95 ISBN 978-1-56145-934-6
In her conversational biography of Carter G. Woodson, whose work led to the establishment of Black History Month, Hopkinson (Ordinary, Extraordinary Jane Austen) acknowledges that he is a hero “we sometimes forget.” It focuses on his Virginia...
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Deborah Hopkinson, illus. by Kristy Caldwell. Peachtree, $18.99 (36p) ISBN 978-1-68263-136-2
Opening with an interactive framing device, this informative biography of the first female presidential cabinet member encourages young readers to appreciate the groundwork laid for modern American workers’ rights. Recounting Perkins’s upbringing...
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Deborah Hopkinson. Scholastic Focus, $7.99 paper (224p) ISBN 978-1-338-36022-6
Hopkinson (We Had to Be Brave: Escaping the Nazis on the Kindertransport) instructs the reader to imagine a deadly disease racing through their city: the streets are deserted, and one’s mother refuses to let one leave the house. It may bear...
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Deborah Hopkinson. Scholastic Focus, $19.99 (320p) ISBN 978-1-338-74616-7
This well-researched work chronicles the experiences of American prisoners of war in the Philippines during WWII, beginning just after the 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor and continuing through the 1945 Cabanatuan prison camp raid. Hopkinson (We Must...
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Deborah Hopkinson. Scholastic Press, $18.99 (272p) ISBN 978-1-338-66058-6
A 13-year-old stumbles upon a royal murder plot in this standout historical novel from Hopkinson (Race Against Death), written in three acts and set in 1582. The literary curtain opens as lute player and aspiring playwright Emilia Bassano—one of...
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Deborah Hopkinson, illus. by Hadley Hooper. Holiday House/Porter, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-8234-4491-5
A spare lyricism pervades this poetic picture book about writing by Hopkinson, which follows a light brown–skinned child attempting to pen a story on a snowy day. Arriving at a cottage with physical objects (“a pencil or two,/ a big eraser,/ your...
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Deborah Hopkinson, illus. by Chuck Groenink. Random House/Schwartz, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-399-55703-3
“One. Only one” begins Hopkinson’s enumeration of facts about Earth and the universe, as relayed by an information-spouting child narrator with tan skin. In acrylic, ink, and digital art that employs myriad textures, Groenink visualizes the narrator
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Deborah Hopkinson, illus. by Jen Hill. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $19.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-06-237332-8
This straightforward picture book biography showcases the hard work that propelled Marie Curie (1867–1934) to success. Though financial challenges and discrimination present obstacles to Curie’s dreams of becoming a scientist, her path clears once...
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Deborah Hopkinson, illus. by Meilo So. Chronicle, $18.99 (68p) ISBN 978-1-4521-7680-2
Following an earlier, similarly structured collaboration by this team (Follow the Moon Home) about a child gaining self-assurance while working on an environmental project, Hopkinson and So introduce a brown-skinned girl whose confidence grows as...
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Deborah Hopkinson, illus. by Paul O. Zelinsky. Random House/Schwartz, $18.99 (48p) ISBN 978-0-593-48003-8
Hopkinson (Only One) and Zelinsky (All-of-a-Kind Family Hanukkah) conjure up a “Cinderella” tale that’s a fizzy blend of traditional storytelling and contemporary perspectives. Ella, as she’s known, is no mild-mannered protagonist; shown with pale...
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Deborah Hopkinson, illus. by Kristy Caldwell. Peachtree, $14.99 (48p) ISBN 978-1-6826-3290-1
This historical chapter book, a series kickoff, stars “a kitten who was always ready to go” in Trim—the real-life cherished ship’s cat of British explorer Matthew Flinders (1774–1814), who captained the HMS Investigator around Australia. After...
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Deborah Hopkinson, illus. by Kenard Pak. Chronicle, $18.99 (56p) ISBN 978-1-79720-013-2
Alternating between descriptive lines and reiterative questions, a second-person narrative voice puts the reader at the center of this taut story set on a still summer night. A child with sleep-rumpled hair is seen upright in bed, their bedroom...
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Deborah Hopkinson, illus. by Nik Henderson. Knopf, $19.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-5934-2681-4
“Welcome to Broad Street, in hot, stinky old London,” begins this enthralling 1854-set work focused on epidemiology, smartly pitched for younger audiences as an intriguing medical mystery. With urgent language and expressionistic drawings rendered...
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ARTICLES
