Picture books

Works of art

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Time to Make Art by Jeff Mack (Henry Holt and Co., 48 pages, grades K-5). A girl poses a variety of questions about art to artist. “Does it have to be perfect?” she asks Michelangelo, as he puts the finishing touches on the Sistine Chapel. “You can make your art any way you want,” he replies. “What if I can only draw stick figures?” she wants to know, to which a Paleolithic cave artist answers, “Then draw stick figures!” Colors, feelings, art materials, and subjects are all covered in a way that opens up art to everyone, with reinforcement from famous artists. Those artists all get thumbnail descriptions in the back, listed in the order they appear in the book.

This is both an excellent introduction to art history and an inspiring invitation to create art. The illustrations are cute, and it’s fun to try to identify the artists and their works. A few more resources for further exploration would have made a nice addition.

The Sunflowers: Vincent van Gogh’s Search for Beauty by Zahra Marwan (Feiwel and Friends, 40 pages, grades K-4). Vincent van Gogh’s favorite things to paint are sunflowers, which seem like happy spots of color in the gray city of Paris, even if they’re considered an inelegant subject for art. When he meets fellow artist Paul Gauguin, the two bond over the vibrant colors of each other’s paintings. Vincent moves from the city to a little yellow house in Arles, France, where he finds happiness that’s reflected in brighter, more colorful art. Some of his art finds its way onto the walls of his house, as he prepares for a joyful reunion with his friend Paul. When Paul arrives, he feels welcomed by the powerful paintings of sunflowers, and “He could feel the way it is to have a real friend.” Includes an author’s note with some additional information about Vincent and some thoughts about how art can be a powerful bond in creating friendships. This is a lovely celebration of art, friendship, and following your own heart, illuminated with van Gogh-inspired illustrations. It’s definitely not a biography, and I was sorry there wasn’t more biographical information in the back matter.

I heard about this book at the same time I learned of another biography about Vincent van Gogh, The Vincent van Gogh Atlas by Nienke Denekamp and René van Blerk, illustrated by Geert Gratama, Thames and Hudson, 160 pages, grades 5-8). I don’t know if it’s because this book was originally published in Europe, but I have struggled (unsuccessfully so far) to get it through interlibrary loan. From what I’ve read about it, it sounds like a real work of art filled with maps, letters, and reproductions of van Gogh paintings. I hope you will have greater success obtaining it than I have!

The power of pets

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Just Like Millie by Lauren Castillo (Candlewick, 40 pages, ages 4-8). The narrator deals with anxiety after she and her mother move to a new home. She feels safest playing alone in her room and gets nervous meeting new people or being in new situations. When Millie, a rescue dog, comes to live with the family, the girl starts to feel a little more comfortable interacting with people and their dogs on their walks. On a trip to the dog park, another girl and her mother sit near them. Inspired by Millie’s friendliness, the narrator suggests that they go say hello. “And just like Millie, I made a friend..”

Luigi: The Spider Who Wanted to Be a Kitten by Michelle Knudsen, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes (Candlewick, 40 pages, ages 4-8). When a big, hairy spider takes up residence under the sofa of an old house, he’s surprised when the woman living there mistakes him for a kitten and names him Luigi. Before long, Luigi discovers he enjoys the free food, warm bed, and fun playtime that come with being a kitten. But he worries that Betty won’t want him if she finds out what he really is. When her friends come over for game night, Luigi is sure the jig is up, but he does his best to look catlike. His little spider heart sinks when he overhears one of the friends asking Betty why she adopted a spider, and he retreats back under the couch. The next day, though, Betty tells him that, while she enjoyed pretending that he was a kitten, she always knew he was a spider. She likes him just the way he is and invites him to go back to his spidery ways. Luigi is thrilled to have both a new home, a new friend who accepts him for what he is, and the prospect of being able to eat bugs again.

These two engaging picture books celebrate the joy of pet ownership. I discovered both of these titles (as well as several more that will be included in upcoming posts) on the Goodreads mock Caldecott list, so they both feature outstanding illustrations. Millie is a simple story with an adorable dog and an extremely satisfying ending, while Luigi is a funny tale by the author and illustrator of Library Lion that gets resolved with a nice message of acceptance.

National treasures

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Golden Gate: Building the Mighty Bridge by Elizabeth Partridge, illustrated by Ellen Heck (Chronicle Books, 60 pages, grades 2-5). The two children of a lighthouse keeper observe the creation of the Golden Gate Bridge from their house. Told in second person narration (“You leap out of bed–how did you forget? Today’s the day work begins on the Golden Gate Bridge”), the text includes plenty of construction details and emphasizes the seemingly impossible nature of the project. As the kids grow older, the foreman gets to know them and sometimes includes them in some aspects of construction, like the day they get to ride the elevator to a height of 700 feet above the water. Finally, on May 27, 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge is open to the public, and crowds of people, including the two children, walk across the bridge, where “the word impossible seems like nothing at all.” Includes an afterword with additional information.

Great Lakes: Our Freshwater Treasure by Barb Rosenstock, illustrated by Jamey Christoph (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 40 pages, grades 2-5). Beginning with the history of the five Great Lakes, formed by the melting of a huge glacier that covered more than half of North America, the narrative shifts to the present importance of the lakes. Not only are they home to many species of plants and animals, but they contain almost all of the surface freshwater in North America. Although they are essential in supporting humans, we’ve done our best to poison and pollute them. In recent years, work has been done to protect them, and readers are invited to investigate how they can help preserve these national treasures. Includes messages from the author and Kathleen Smith, an indigenous woman from the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, information about the Center for Great Lakes Literacy, and a list of sources.

Both of these books are chock full of fascinating information, well supplemented by beautiful, detailed illustrations, that will help readers better understand two famous American landmarks. Although they are both picture books, each one contains quite a bit of text and somewhat technical information, making them better choices for older elementary and middle school readers.

Master storytellers

~ Janet Dawson ~ 2 Comments

As Edward Imagined: A Story of Edward Gorey in Three Acts by Matthew Burgess, illustrated by Marc Majewski (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 48 pages, grades 2-5). In Act 1, we meet a young Edward Gorey, who learned to read when he was 3 and devoured books, including Dracula at the age of six. This led him to create his own spooky stories, something that he continued to do when he moved to New York City as an adult (Act 2). Not only did he write his own stories, but he illustrated other writers’ books and gained his greatest fame designing the sets for the Broadway adaptation of Dracula and creating introductions to PBS’s Mystery! series. With money earned from those projects, Gorey headed to Act 3, purchasing a house on Cape Cod where he continued to write, draw, and work with local theaters. Edward always led life on his own terms, whether that was wearing green toenail polish as a child, attending nearly every performance of the NYC Ballet for twenty years, or keeping six cats at Elephant House on the Cape. Includes an author’s note, additional resources, and chronology.

Kids may need to be introduced to Edward Gorey’s work, but they will undoubtedly embrace his spooky illustrations and books, and perhaps be inspired to live life to the beat of their own drummer, as Edward Gorey most definitely did. I first learned of Gorey through John Bellairs’ books, which were only briefly mentioned both in this book and when I visited the Edward Gorey Museum on the Cape; this seems like an unfortunate oversight.

The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien by John Hendrix (Harry N. Abrams, 224 pages, grades 7-12). C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien both suffered early childhood losses but also had mystical experiences of joy as children, often associated with reading myths and fairy tales. After horrific experiences fighting in the trenches of World War I, they both became Oxford dons, where they developed a delightful friendship based on their mutual love of myths and interest in religion. A lifelong Catholic, Tolkien encouraged the agnostic Lewis to follow his spiritual longings, eventually leading Lewis to a dramatic conversion to Christianity. Each supported the other in his writing, and it’s pretty clear that neither the Chronicles of Narnia and especially The Lord of the Rings would have existed without the influence of their friendship and the literary group The Inklings which grew out of that relationship. The main chapters are interspersed with comics featuring a lion and a wizard traveling through the landscapes of Tolkien’s and Lewis’s life, and a poignant final chapter imagines the two men, who sadly had a falling out in the last decades of their lives, reuniting for one last conversation before moving into the great beyond. Includes extensive additional information about mythology, as well as an author’s note about his research, notes, a bibliography, and an index.

As someone who is both a John Hendrix fan and was an obsessive enough fan of C.S. Lewis to actually write a biography of him, I was excited to see this new book. Although it bills itself as a graphic novel, the amount of information far exceeds most of that genre. The lion and wizard segments are in comic format, while the rest of the book is more like an illustrated text. The emphasis is on the friendship between the two men and how their common love of mythology influenced their literary masterpieces. I was a bit disappointed that Lewis’s relationship with Janie Moore, which lasted for decades and had a huge impact on his life, was pretty much left out of the story. Additionally, some of the information about mythology got a bit too dense for me, and I imagine many young adults will have the same experience. Nevertheless, this is a rich story of an extraordinary friendship between two men who changed the landscape of fantasy literature and left behind books that are still beloved today.

How to move on

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Mistakes That Made Us: Confessions from Twenty Poets by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mercè López (Carolrhoda Books, 40 pages, grades 2-5). Twenty children’s poets reveal mistakes they made as kids and the lessons they learned from them. Some are funny, like Darren Sardelli’s glue on the toilet seat prank that ultimately made him a little less impulsive, others are more poignant, like Kim Rogers’ silence when she, a Native girl, was made to participate in the Land Run reenactment at her Oklahoma elementary school. And many of them, like scoring a goal for the other team or cutting your hair due to peer pressure are things that readers will relate to, whether they are children or adults. Each poem is accompanied by a paragraph in which the author tells a little more about the incident and what they learned from it.

These would make great writing prompts for kids to explore their own mistakes and what they learned from them. They’re also just fun to read and realize that we all share similar experiences, and the best thing to do when a mistake is made is to admit it, ask for forgiveness if necessary, and move on.

How to Pee Your Pants*: *The Right Way by Rachel Michelle Wilson (Feiwel and Friends, 32 pages, ages 3-6). It happens: you get caught up in what’s going on in class, you drink too much lemonade at lunch, or maybe you fall asleep, and the tried-and-true methods of crossing legs or holding your breath fail you. So what happens when you pee your pants? The owl protagonist offers some humorous ideas, including hiding the evidence, calling for help, or shooting a rocket into space in the hope that an alien will stop by with some dry clothes. If you find yourself in the embarrassing position of having to sit on bubble wrap while waiting for a change, remember that adults may have forgotten what it’s like to pee your pants (they’ll remember in a few years). The number one (pardon the expression) rule is this: if you come across someone else in a similar situation, remember to be the friend that you wish you had when you peed your pants.

We’ve all been there (and reading this book, you’ll realize you may be there again some day), and this funny and reassuring look will help kids get past what can be a humiliating experience, and remind everyone to be kind if it happens to someone else.

A final pair of books about voting before the big day

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Show Up and Vote by Ani DiFranco, illustrated by Rachelle Baker (Rise x Penguin Workshop, 48 pages, ages 4-8). A young girl looks back at the end of Election Day, recalling how she was reluctant to go out on a rainy November morning, but her mother told her that they were on a mission. At the polling station, the girl recognizes friends and neighbors, realizing that voting is a community event. In the voting booth, she watches her mom make her selections, and as they finish, the two of them imagine people across the country doing the same thing. Proudly wearing their “I voted” stickers, they walk home, and the girl sees her neighborhood with new eyes, as a place where people work together to create a community, and “showing up to vote is how it all starts.”

Singer and songwriter Ani DiFranco has created an accessible introduction to voting and Election Day with rhyming text (and no capital letters) that reads kind of like a folk song and colorful illustrations that resemble retro posters. Readers will learn a bit about voting and be empowered to get involved in their communities.

Represent: The Unfinished Fight for the Vote by Michael Eric Dyson and Marc Favreau (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 256 pages, ages 12 and up). Dyson and Favreau continue their exploration of American history that they began in Unequal with this story of voting rights from the founding of the United States to the present. There are inspiring narratives about Black, female, Latinx, and Native activists who worked to get the vote for their communities, alongside less inspiring ones such as how white women largely refused to help Black and Native women once they had secured their own right to vote. And there are downright depressing ones that continue to this day like the Citizens United Supreme Court decision that has encouraged huge amounts of spending across the political spectrum and the gerrymandering of districts for political gain. The list of “People-Power Ideas” at the end (get rid of the electoral college, expand the House of Representatives, introduce ranked-choice voting, among others) seem commonsensical yet depressingly unlikely to happen. There are also ideas for student activism, a voting rights timeline, additional resources, and an index.

I found this book both extremely depressing and surprisingly hopeful, seeing that our current threats to democracy are actually part of a centuries-long plot to keep voting and power concentrated in the hands of a few. The struggles that have ensued to give more people the right to vote have resulted in torture, imprisonment, and murder, yet ordinary people have persevered and often ultimately met with success. Seeing ourselves as part of this long history rather than poised at some do-or-die moment gives me a glimmer of hope to continue the struggle.

Reminder: I have an Election Day and Voting Rights book list if you’re looking for more. I haven’t had a chance to add these two books yet!

Home for the holidays, part 2

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

At Our Table by Patrick Hulse, illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 40 pages, ages 4-8). At our table, there is room for everything and everyone: old traditions, new friends, a crowd of people, but also quiet. There’s room for giving thanks for food and for the first (Native) farmers and for the Earth that supports us. There’s room for mashed potato mountains, trying new foods, second helpings, and lots of room for dessert. And at the end of the day, there’s a place to rest and feel loved and grateful. Includes a note from debut author Patrick Hulse and Chickasaw Nation illustrator Madelyn Goodnight sharing their own memories of Thanksgiving and envisioning some new interpretations for the holiday.

This book perfectly captures what I consider to be the spirit of Thanksgiving, focusing on family, food, and gratitude. As we move away from the traditional, racist history of the holiday, I hope, along with the author and illustrator, that we can reimagine it in the ways they’ve set forth in this book.

One Foggy Christmas Eve by Kerilynn Wilson (Greenwillow Books, 40 pages, ages 4-8). The persistent protagonist is determined to get to Nana and Papa’s for Christmas Eve, despite thick fog that surrounds everything. When her parents say they can’t go, she ties a flashlight to her dog’s head and tries anyway. But the thick fog is scary, and they both end up back at home. Her next attempt is to string Christmas lights over everyone, an idea that her parents decide is worth a try. They set out together, but soon a wind carries off her homemade present, and she’s left alone in the spooky darkness. Then what to her wondering eyes should appear but a herd of glowing reindeer. They guide her back to her parents, and everyone arrives safely. Nana and Papa don’t mind that there’s no present; the girl’s story becomes a gift to everyone as they gather cozily by the Christmas tree.

An enchanting and occasionally eerie Christmas tale with luminous pictures that contrast the dark fog and the lights that pierce through it. It’s hard to know what’s real and what’s imaginary, but everyone will agree with the final sentence that “stories light the way.”

A long trip, a packing blip, and numbered pages that flip

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Jonty Gentoo: The Adventures of a Penguin by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler (Scholastic Press, 40 pages, ages 4-8). Although Jonty has a happy life at the zoo, he’s intrigued by the stories his aunts tell him about life at the South Pole. One night, Jonty slips through a hole in the fence and heads off on a polar adventure. He sees some poles, like a flagpole and a tent pole, but they don’t seem quite right. Finally, he discovers the ocean and swims until the water starts to grow cold. He finally makes it to the pole…only to learn that it’s the North Pole! A tern offers to guide him south, and they set off together, the tern flying and Jonty swimming. Some scientists on a boat help him make it through the last leg of his trip, and Jonty is thrilled to discover a place with penguins galore. He soon finds his place among the gentoos, and the tern is able to notify his aunts that Jonty has found happiness at the South Pole. Includes additional information about Arctic terns and Gentoo penguins.

This rhyming story from the creators of The Gruffalo has catchy text and colorful cartoon-style illustrations that beautifully portray the landscapes and animals that Jonty encounters as he travels around the globe.

A Moving Story by Beth Ferry and Tom Lichtenheld, illustrated by Tom Booth (HarperCollins, 40 pages, ages 4-8). Pete and Tiny may be big bears, but they’re gentle movers who take extra care with their clients’ possessions. So when the littlest panda discovers that her pet turtle has gone missing, the bears know what they have to do: unpack everything they’ve just loaded onto the moving van. The turtle is nowhere to be found, although the panda parents appreciate the effort, and the truck is repacked. As Pete and Tiny start to drive away, they hear a sound coming from their lunchbox. it’s the turtle! The bears get a big hug from the little panda, “because nothing and no one was too big to wrap up tight and treat just right.”

The team behind Stick and Stone have created another feel-good story that emphasizes kindness and going the extra mile that will prove reassuring to kids facing a move. Pete and Tiny have an admirable work ethic, and the whole packing/unpacking/packing again ordeal is rendered perfectly with illustrations depicting various perspectives including an aerial view of everything unpacked.

Animal Countdown by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (Neal Porter Books, 32 pages, ages 3-8). Page 1 has the word “ten” printed on a background that looks like a watery animal habitat. A window cut on a flap of the facing page shows a small rectangle that looks like the number 10. Lift the flap to find ten sea otters. The countdown continues to one, introducing numbers, number words, and ten endangered animals. End matter gives additional information about each one, as well as a list of five additional resources.

Seeger’s work is always beautiful and creative, and kids will have fun trying to figure out the animals that are hiding behind the flaps. Unfortunately, the flaps make me think the book itself may become an endangered species in a public library.

Home for the holidays

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Merry Christmas, Zoo by Lisa Eickholdt and Lola M. Schaefer, illustrated by Laura Watkins (Chronicle Books, 40 pages, ages 3-8). Inspired by “The Night Before Christmas,” this rhyming story shows how the zookeepers prep for Christmas, making gifts for the animals and decorating the zoo. When Santa arrives, they’re ready, and they help him load up his sleigh. An aerial view shows the right jolly old elf making deliveries, and then the action zooms in on the animals enjoying their presents. At the end of the night, Santa calls out a “Merry Christmas, Zoo!” before flying on his way. Includes information about how zoos create holiday gifts for animals designed to stimulate them both physically and mentally.

Add this adorable book to your holiday reading list. Kids will love seeing the illustrations filled with all their favorite animals and will be curious to say what they get for gifts. The end matter adds interesting information and invites readers to volunteer or donate to their local zoo. Just to add a Grinch/Scrooge note, zoos always make me a little sad, no matter how festive the occasion.

An Anishinaabe Christmas by Wab Kinew (Onigaming First Nation), illustrated by Erin Hill (Tundra Books, 48 pages, ages 4-8). As Baby and her family head to the Rez to celebrate the winter solstice, she learns some Anishinaabe words and how they help describe their holiday celebration. Kookom and Mooshom (grandparents) are waiting on the Rez. Giiwedaa means “let’s go home,” and home can be a place you live now, or a place you came from, like the Rez is for Baby’s parents. Miigiwe means “giving away”, something that the Anishinaabe people celebrate when they give each other gifts. When Baby and her parents finally arrive, everyone gets out drums and goes outside to sing a song about home, family, and wintertime. Includes an Anishinaabe glossary and a note about how Anishinaabe people include both Christmas and solstice traditions in their winter celebrations.

This affectionate family story introduces a few words and cultural practices of the Anishinaabe, including those around December holidays, and does a good job explaining how home can mean different things. I wish Baby had been given a slightly less infantilizing name, as she was old enough to have made a gift for her grandparents at school.

Dragon into Monday morning

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Bakery Dragon by Devin Elle Kurtz (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 48 pages, ages 4-8). Ember loves gold, but he’s too small to terrorize villagers into giving it to him like the other dragons do. He’s excited when he sees a glimmer of gold in the distance until it turns out to be street lamp. Discouraged, he falls asleep, but when a raging storm hits, a kind baker invites him inside. Ember proves a natural at kneading dough and shaping loaves, and the baker rewards him with a sack of fresh bread. Back home, the other dragons can’t believe how good bread tastes and offer Ember a share of their gold if he can get them more. The whole group of them show up at the baker’s door, led by Ember, and pour out a bag filled with their stolen gold. Before long, dragons and humans are happily living side by side, with everyone having enough gold AND bread.

This is some good old-fashioned storytelling with enchanting illustrations that feature an adorable little dragon and mouth-watering pictures of bread. I can’t wait to share this with kids; it would make a great gift or addition to any library. I did feel like the baker was overlooking a sustainable source of energy to bake her bread with dozens of fire-breathing dragons showing up on her doorstep.

Dragon for Hanukkah by Sarah Mlynowski, illustrated by Ariel Landy (Orchard Books, 40 pages, ages 4-8). Hannah tells readers about the gifts she’s gotten so far for Hanukkah: a dragon named Nerry from her parents on the first night, a rainbow from Bubbie on the second night, a full treasure chest from her aunt on the the third. Now it’s the eighth night and time to clean up for the guests who will soon be arriving. As Hannah tidies up her room, readers can see that the dragon is stuffed, the rainbow was created with markers, and the treasure chest is full of Hanukkah gelt. Cleaning up produces some toys to donate to others, all part of the eighth night–the most magical night–of Hanukkah. The last two pages have Nerry asking questions that Hannah answers to give readers more information about the holiday.

A fun Hanukkah read-aloud just right for younger kids, who will enjoy seeing the ordinary objects in the illustrations that Hannah has created magical stories about. The additional information at the end is an enjoyable way to learn more about Hanukkah.