Published by Candlewick

Summary:  Fallon, accompanying her mother to a Port-au-Prince market, wants desperately to carry the panye, the basket her mother and other women and girls carry on their heads.  When Fallon tries to carry it, the panye falls to the floor, and her mother reminds her to be patient: “Little by little, the bird builds its nest.”  After buying food for the family dinner and packing it into the panye, Fallon has another try at carrying it on her head, but before long the vegetables are lying in the road.  Her patient mother loads it back again, and this time Fallon is successful.  Walking tall and proud, she arrives home where she is met with the admiration of her little sister, who is now eager to try carrying the panye.  Includes an author’s note about the panye, Haiti, and her connection (her husband is from Haiti).  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  Fallon and her mother serve as excellent ambassadors to introduce readers to Haiti, beautifully pictured in the colorful illustrations.  There’s also a good lesson in patience and perseverance.

Cons:  I wish there had been translations for the French (Creole?) words in the text and illustrations.

Published by Norton Young Readers

Summary:  In this follow-up to The Old Truck, the Pumphrey brothers show a boat through its years of service as a fishing vessel.  Initially, a boy and his mother (or grandmother) fish in the waters off the coast of an island; as time passes, the boy grows up.  He now fishes alone, and must go further and further out to sea to find fish as the waters around the island grow increasingly polluted.  After a storm at sea, readers see the boat under the water with a hole in the bottom, and a “new sailor” who turns the tide by cleaning up the island.  As he works with others to restore the beach and ocean, readers can see the old boat underwater, gradually decaying and becoming part of the seascape.  On the final page, an old man stands on the island with a young girl, both of them fishing in the coastal waters.  56 pages; ages 4-9.

Pros:  You had me at “book about an old vehicle by the Pumphrey brothers”.  Like The Old Truck, this tells the story of a family and shows the passage of time through the illustrations, created with similar handcrafted stamps.  There is also a subtly conveyed environmental message.  I was hoping for a Caldecott honor for you, Pumphrey brothers, but do not give up…maybe 2022 will be your year!

Cons:  I found the reference to the “new sailor” a bit confusing.  Was it really a new (different) sailor, or the same old one who became like a new person after a near death experience?  I tend to think the latter, but kids may take it more literally.