Picture books

Vincent Comes Home by Jessixa Bagley and Aaron Bagley

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Published by Roaring Brook Press

Image result for vincent comes home amazon

Image result for vincent comes home bagley

Summary:  Vincent has a pretty idyllic life as a ship’s cat, traveling from one place to another and observing them all from the deck.  When he hears sailors talking excitedly about a place called home, Vincent is curious, and hopes to visit it someday.  When that day arrives, Vincent can’t understand what all the fuss is about.  Home looks just like many of the other places they’ve been.  For the first time, he gets off the boat and follows a member of the crew, observing through the window how happy he and the others are in their houses.  The cat realizes sadly he doesn’t have a home; then he hears a familiar song and is reunited with the ship’s captain, who scoops him up and says the magic words, “Let’s go home.”  32 pages; ages 3-8.

Pros:  A charming story about the pleasure of coming home after exciting adventures.  The illustrations are delightful, and cleverly identify the captain by showing a bar of music in the early pages that is used again to recognize him at the end.  A very cool world map shows the ship’s travels from one continent to another.

Cons:  The crew is all male and the member Vincent follows is identified as “a crew man”.

If you would like to buy this book on Amazon, click here.

Grace for Gus by Harry Bliss

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Published by Katherine Tegen Books

Grace for Gus: Bliss, Harry, Bliss, Harry: 9780062644107: Amazon.com: Books

Summary:  In this nearly wordless picture book, Grace is determined to help her friend Gus, the class guinea pig, get a new friend.  After school, she does her homework, eats dinner and helps her dads do the dishes, says good night, then climbs out of her bedroom window, violin in hand.  Her first stop is a subway station, where she opens the violin case and performs; from there, it’s on to Central Park to draw caricatures; finally, she returns to the subway, where she breaks into an impromptu dance routine on the train.  People cheer and give her money for all her efforts, and the next day, she is able to fill the “Gus Buddy Fund” jar in her classroom.  The final page shows Gus with his new guinea pig friend.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  There is so much to look at in this book that will be fun for children and adults.  Look for Woody Allen, Alfred Hitchcock, Donald Trump, Tintin and Snowy, Charlie Brown, and Calvin’s friend Hobbes in the pictures.  Grace herself looks a lot like Marcie from Peanuts.  Keep an eye peeled for other details like a “Jimmy Hoffa Found” headline and the “Tax Relief” billboard behind Trump.  Once is not enough to catch all that this book has to offer.

Cons:  Many of the allusions that adults will enjoy will go right over the heads of most kid readers.

If you would like to buy this book on Amazon, click here.

The Word Collector by Peter H. Reynolds

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Published by Orchard Books

Image result for word collector reynolds amazon

Image result for word collector reynolds

Summary:  Some people collect stamps or coins, but Jerome collects words.  He loves the sight and sound of them.  His collection consists of scrapbooks, in which his words are arranged by category (“Dreamy”, “Scientific”, “Action”).  One day, though, he slips, and his words go flying.  They’re all mixed together, and Jerome discovers he likes them even better that way.  Putting unlikely words together results in poetry; simple words like “sorry” and “thank you” are surprisingly powerful.  At last, Jerome gathers all his words into one big bag, and scatters them into the wind; then enjoys the sight of children running around gathering up his words.  The final endpapers offer this advice from the author: “Reach for your own words. Tell the world who you are and how you will make it better.”  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  This could be used in a variety of ways in an ELA curriculum: vocabulary and poetry come to mind, and I’m sure there are others.

Cons:  The final scattering of words seems pretty messy.

If you would like to buy this book on Amazon, click here.

 

Between the Lines: How Ernie Barnes Went from the Football Field to the Art Gallery by Sandra Neil Wallace, illustrated by Bryan Collier

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Published by Simon and Schuster

Image result for between the lines how ernie amazon

Image result for between the lines bryan collier

Summary:  Growing up in segregated North Carolina, Ernie Barnes wasn’t allowed to go to art museums.  He loved to draw, though, and his mother often took him with her when she worked at a wealthy lawyer’s house so that Ernie could see the paintings hanging on the walls.  In high school, his size caught the attention of the football coach, and he did well enough on the team to earn 26 college scholarships.  After college, he played professionally, but his first love was always art.  In 1964, he quit football to pursue painting full time, eventually winning fame for his portrayal of sports scenes (he was the official artist of the 1984 Olympics) and African Americans that he remembered from his childhood.  Includes an historical note, notes from the author and illustrator, and a substantial list of additional resources.  48 pages; grades 1-5.

Pros:  The large, beautiful illustrations by Bryan Collier pay homage to Ernie Barnes, and include copies of some of his work.  Barnes’s story is an inspiration to follow your dreams.

Cons:  Although a few of Barnes’s works are reproduced with the endnotes, Sugar Shack, one of his most famous that is mentioned several times in the notes, isn’t shown.

If you would like to buy this book on Amazon, click here.

Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Jen Hill

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Published by Roaring Brook Press

Image result for be kind amazon pat miller

Image result for be kind zietlow pat miller

Summary:  When Tanisha spills grape juice on her new dress, the narrator tries to be kind (“Purple is my favorite color”), but Tanisha is too upset to appreciate the gesture.  The narrator wonders what she could have done differently, and reflects on what it means to be kind.  She thinks of kind acts she’s done in the past, like bringing a neighbor cookies or helping around the house.  Sometimes it’s easy (saying thank you), but it can also be hard (sticking up for someone when others are unkind).  In the end, she decides to paint Tanisha a picture, knowing that small kindnesses can lead to much larger ones.  The final illustration shows that her efforts have not gone unappreciated by Tanisha.  32 pages; ages 3-8.

Pros:  A good addition to the character education bookshelf.  Kindness is explained in terms even the youngest reader can understand and discuss.  It’s not clear if the narrator is a boy or a girl, making his/her experiences universal.

Cons:  Tanisha is clearly having a bad day, but she seems a bit ungrateful.

If you would like to buy this book on Amazon, click here.

This Is It by Daria Peoples-Riley

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Published by Greenwillow Books

Image result for this is it daria peoples-riley amazon

Image result for daria peoples-riley illustrations

Summary:  When a young girl sees a sign reading “Auditions Today” outside a dance studio, she gets a pep talk from a shadowy muse.  The silhouette of a similar-looking girl tells her, “Stand up tall./Arch your back./Hold your head high.”  The two of them dance off to Central Park and other places around New York City, the shadow reminding the girl of her love of dancing in free verse: “Listen to the hum of your heart’s song./It will never lead you wrong./Dance on top of this city at the center of the universe.”  The last page shows the girl soaring through her audition.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  Dance aficionados will love the ballet, and others will be inspired to follow their dreams.

Cons:  Well?  Does she get the part?

If you would like to buy this book on Amazon, click here.

Girl Running: Bobbi Gibb and the Boston Marathon by Annette Bay Pimentel, illustrated by Micha Archer

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Nancy Paulsen Books

Image result for girl running pimentel amazon

Image result for girl running pimentel

Summary:  Bobbi Gibb had to wear a skirt to school, and she wasn’t allowed to join the track team.  But when she got home, she headed outside to run as much as she liked.  Bobbi grew up near Boston, and after seeing the Boston Marathon one year, she decided to train.  Running in nurses’ shoes (there were no women’s running shoes at the time), she sometimes covered 40 miles in a day; yet her application for the marathon was rejected with a letter saying “women are not physiologically able to run twenty-six miles”.  Undaunted, Bobbi bought herself a baggy sweatshirt and some boys’ running shoes and snuck into the 1966 race.  Other runners cheered her on, as did spectators along the course.  Despite painful blisters from her new shoes, Bobbi crossed the finish line after three hours and twenty minutes, 124th in a field of over 400 racers.  The final page shows Bobbi leading other female runners across a field emblazoned with the names of other women winners of the Boston Marathon.  Includes an afterword and brief bibliography. 32 pages; grades K-4.

Pros:  Readers will be inspired by Bobbi’s hard work and perseverance in challenging the status quo and achieving her goal.  Unique mixed media collage illustrations often include place names to show the routes that Bobbi ran when she trained and in the marathon.

Cons:  A photo or two with the afterword would have been a nice addition.

If you would like to buy this book on Amazon, click here.

 

Seeing Into Tomorrow: Haiku by Richard Wright biography and illustrations by Nina Crews

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Millbrook Press

Image result for seeing into tomorrow richard wright amazon

Image result for seeing into tomorrow nina crews

Summary:  Twelve haiku poems by Richard Wright are illustrated with collage photographs of African American boys in nature.  Wright’s biography is divided into two parts: an introductory page at the beginning of the book and a more detailed three-page one at the end that concludes with an invitation to the reader to write their own haikus.  The poems are deceptively simple: easy for kids to understand (“So insistently/A crow caws in a spring field/That I want to look”), yet small masterpieces of word artistry. Includes a list for further reading.  32 pages; grades K-5.

Pros:  A perfect introduction to both Richard Wright and the art of haiku, with beautiful photographic collages by Nina Crews (whom I just learned is the daughter of Caldecott illustrators Donald Crews and Ann Jonas), and an age-appropriate introduction to Wright’s life.

Cons:  No photo of Richard Wright.

If you would like to buy this book on Amazon, click here.

 

The Great Dictionary Caper by Judy Sierra, illustrated by Eric Comstock

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Published by Simon and Schuster

Image result for great dictionary caper sierra amazon

Image result for great dictionary caper sierra amazon

Summary:  When the words in a dictionary get bored, they decide to have a parade.  There’s the onomatopoeia marching band (“Clang”, “Crash”, “Boom”), the showy action verbs who jump and spin, and the palindrome family reunion, featuring Mom, Dad, and Bob.  When non-rhyming words angry and orange feel left out, and unruly interjections keep interrupting, Noah Webster has no choice but to herd all the words back into his dictionary.  Words can spin out of control, Mr. Webster says, and Mr. Roget has no choice but to agree (“Yes. True. Verily”).  Includes a glossary that defines all the different categories of words.  40 pages; grades 1-4.

Pros:  Teachers will find a wealth of information about words presented in a fun way that will have kids thinking up their own examples.

Cons:  Without some adult assistance, this book may not be too engaging to kids.

If you would like to buy this book from Amazon, click here.

The Idea Jar by Adam Lehrhaupt, illustrated by Deb Pilutti

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Published by Simon and Schuster

Image result for idea jar lehrhaupt amazon

Image result for idea jar lehrhaupt amazon

Summary:  “This is my teacher’s Idea Jar.  We keep our story ideas in it.”  The narrator explains how ideas can be about anything.  They can be used to create stories that are told, drawn, or written down.  There’s no such thing as a bad story idea.  But if the ideas stay in the jar, they can get bored and rowdy.  So it’s important to keep them under control by using them in stories, where they want to be.  On the last few pages, the class works together, starting with one idea, then weaving in others to create one big story.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  The story jar is sure to find a home in many classrooms.  This would be a good read-aloud to encourage young writers.

Cons:  It looks so easy…just pick an idea, and you will be able to create a story.

If you would like to buy this book on Amazon, click here.