Esme Raji Codell, Author . Hyperion $15.99 (192p) ISBN 978-0-7868-0793-2
In her first book for children, the author of Educating Esmé: Diary of a Teacher's First Year
shows a keen understanding of classroom dynamics, a finely tuned ear for preadolescent voices and a lively, original wit. Her feisty narrator,...
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Esme Raji Codell, Author . Algonquin $18.95 (531p) ISBN 978-1-56512-308-3
Codell (Educating Esme) has amassed an exuberant treasure trove for parents who want to help their children develop a love of reading. A strong believer in reading aloud, Codell gives an admiring nod to the work of Jim Trelease (The Read-Aloud...
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Esme Raji Codell, Author, Phylicia Rashad, Read by , read by Phylicia Rashad. Listening Library $18 (, unabridged, two cassettes, 3.5 hrs., $18 ISBN ) ISBN 978-0-8072-1720-7
Rashad brings humor, poignancy and a dash of sass to her interpretation of Codell's debut novel about a talented but drifting student who finally has her eyes opened by an unorthodox teacher. Sahara Jones lands herself a spot in the Special...
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Esmé Raji Codell, illus. by Elisa Chavarri, S&S/Aladdin, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4169-9086-4
A small boy isn't quite ready for bed, so his mother runs through six familiar fairy tales in checklist form. The Three Little Pigs is boiled down to "Sticks?" "Yes." "Straw?" "Yes." "Bricks?" "Yes." "Solar panels?" "Nooooo!" Rushing through the...
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Esme Raji Codell, Author, LeUyen Pham, Illustrator . Hyperion $14.99 (133p) ISBN 978-0-7868-5509-4
The author of Sahara Special
eloquently expresses memories of her own fifth-grade year in this volume of loosely connected vignettes set in 1979. Readers who savor details will relish Codell's descriptions of her Chicago neighborhood,...
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Esme Raji Codell, Author, LeUyen Pham, Illustrator , illus. by LeUyen Pham. Hyperion $16.99 (53p) ISBN 978-0-7868-5179-9
Taking her inspiration from A Christmas Carol
, Codell (Sahara Special
) spins out the journey of Scroogemacher, a Jewish sweatshop owner in the early 20th century. His guides are the Rabbis of Hanukkah Past, Present and Future—the last, much...
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Esme Raji Codell, Author, Drazen Kozjan, Illustrator , illus. by Drazen Kozjan. Hyperion $14.99 (170p) ISBN 978-0-7868-0965-3
Codell (Sahara Special
) concocts some playful twists to familiar fairytales and conventional morality in this uneven story about a misfit witch. Hunky Dory, witch in training, is at the top of her class in charm school. Her mother has high hopes of
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Esm%C3%A9 Raji Codell, illus. by Jennifer Plecas. Abrams, $16.95 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4197-0007-1
Lulu is living proof that one can be both girly and athletic. "Lulu messed with makeup./ Lulu played with dolls./ But most of all, our Lulu liked to shoot her basketballs." Her male schoolyard peers won't let her play, so Lulu takes matters into her
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Esm%C3%A9 Raji Codell, illus. by Lynne Rae Perkins. Greenwillow, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-06-145515-5
Born in 1774, John Chapman is better known now as Johnny Appleseed. "Why should we remember him today, more than two hundred years later, and call him a hero?" asks Codell, distilling the answer into five tenets Chapman lived by: "Use what you have.
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Esmé Raji Codell, illus. by Sue Ramá. Greenwillow, $15.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-06-145518-6
Seldom has the question “What will preschool be like?” been answered in such detail. Codell (The Basket Ball) and Ramá (Daddy Adventure Day) divvy up the answer into 13 areas, including expected behavioral topics (manners, sharing, cleanup) and...
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Esme Raji Codell, Author, Esme Raji Codell, Read by , read by the author. Listening Library $19.95 (0p) ISBN 978-0-307-20648-0
The author of Sahara Special
returns with this collection of colorfully and carefully detailed anecdotes from her grade-school years, circa 1979 Chicago. Whether she's hurling eggs from her apartment balcony (with encouragement from her mother)
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Esme Raji Codell, Author, Esme Raji Codell, Read by Highbridge Company $18.95 (0p) ISBN 978-1-56511-336-7
Portions of Codell's diary of her experiences as a first-year teacher in a Chicago inner-city elementary school were first aired on WBEZ radio, in that city, as part of its Life Stories series. Subsequently rounded out into a book, the material...
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Esmé Codell, illus. by Elisa Chavarri. S&S/Aladdin, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4814-4036-3
Codell and Chavarri reprise the irreverent conceit of 2011’s Fairly Fairy Tales, offering condensed versions of six nursery rhymes. Rhymes like “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep” and “Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary” appear in their full, traditional forms,...
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