Picture books

Becoming Bach by Tom Leonard

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Published by Roaring Brook Press

Summary:  From the time he was born, Johann Sebastian Bach was surrounded by music (and also, apparently, by people named Johann).  His whole family–many of whom, incidentally, were named Johann–made music, so much so that in his part of Germany, musicians were called bachs.  His parents died when he was young, and he went to live with his oldest brother, Johann Christoph (traveling with another brother, Johann Jacob).  There, he learned by copying music and playing a great variety of instruments, until he was able to express his many deep emotions through his own compositions.  The final two pages of the book show the music coming from his organ as beautifully colored floating designs, traveling through time to contemporary listeners.  An author’s note gives additional biographical information.  40 pages; grades 1-5.

Pros:  Spare text, told in Bach’s voice, is gorgeously accompanied by illustrations which also convey information about his life.

Cons:  Too many characters named Johann.

This House, Once by Deborah Freedman

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Summary:  The door was once a huge oak tree.  The stones were once underground.  The window was once sand that melted into glass.  A page of text and an illustration briefly explain where different parts of a house came from.  Each is followed by a two-page spread showing the materials in their original natural form.  A cat explores this outside world, meeting up with a bird, frog, turtle, and squirrel before coming back inside the cozy house.  The author’s note to readers tells about her New England home and asks, “Where do you live?  What was your home, once?”  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  The dreamy illustrations will get readers thinking about the building materials of their houses and how they connect to the natural world.

Cons:  Seemed like a cold night for the cat to be out of the house.

The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, A Young Civil Rights Activist by Cynthia Levinson, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Summary:  Growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, nine-year-old Audrey Hendricks heard talk of civil rights marches from dinner guests Martin Luther King, Jr., Frederick Shuttlesworth, and James Bevel.  Audrey was eager to get involved, feeling the unfairness of having to use a dirty water fountain, getting worn-out books at school, and riding the freight elevator at the department store.  When Jim Bevel called on young people to “fill the jails” by protesting, Audrey eagerly signed up.  The youngest member of the march, she was quickly arrested with other kids and teens, and put in jail, where she stayed for a week.  With bad food, an uncomfortable bed, and mean guards, it was a tough time for Audrey, but she was proud when, on the fifth day, she learned there was no more room in the jail.  Their mission was accomplished, Audrey and the others were released, and two months later, Birmingham removed segregation laws from the books. Includes an author’s note giving more information about Audre, a timeline, and a recipe for the “hot rolls baptized with butter” that Audrey enjoyed for her first meal out of jail.  40 pages; grades 1-5.

Pros:  Cynthia Levinson draws on her research from We’ve Got a Job, her longer book on the Birmingham Children’s March, to tell this fascinating story for younger readers.  Kids will connect with Audrey and be inspired by her courage and positive attitude.

Cons: It’s pretty unbelievable that a nine-year-old spent a week in jail in 20th-century America.

Chee-Kee: A Panda in Bearland by Sujean Rim

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Summary:  Chee-Kee worries about fitting in on Bearland when he and his family move there from the Island of Coney.  There are all different types of bears in Bearland, but no pandas.  Chee-Kee’s kite looks different, his hat looks different, and in all his bamboo-chewing life, he has never seen a fork.  One day, while Chee-Kee is watching some other bears play soccer, he sees their ball get stuck up in a tree.  He knows just what to do: using string from his box-shaped kite, he ties together several sticks of bamboo, and pole-vaults to the top of the tree.  The last two-page spread shows an idyllic scene in Bearland with the pandas wearing sunglasses and skateboarding, and some of the other bears flying a box-shaped kite and fishing with bamboo poles.  An author’s note tells of her own struggles as the daughter of Korean immigrants, trying to fit into American society.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  What a great–and timely–message about the contributions of all cultures to a diverse society.  Told in simple language with cute illustrations (they’re pandas, for heaven’s sake, of course they’re cute), this story will appeal to the youngest readers, but provides opportunities for discussions with older ones.

Cons: Once again, key information–in this case, the author’s note–was printed on the back cover, partially covered by the taped-down library book jacket.

What Will Grow? By Jennifer Ward, illustrated by Susie Ghahremani

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Published by Bloomsbury USA Children’s

Summary:  A dozen seeds are introduced with rhyming couplets and illustrations (“Shiny, brown.  Bumpy crown.  What will grow?  Oak tree.”)  Most of the seeds have the rhyme on the left-hand page with the plant shown on the right, but four have pages the fold out, up, or down to reveal the plant.  The final couplet is, “Dark, deep, fast asleep.  What will grow?” showing hibernating animals under the snow, followed by, “My garden!” over two pages of a colorful collection of plants blooming under a rainbow.  All 12 seeds are shown at the end, along with the time to sow them, steps for planting, and when it will grow.  The final two pages show four stages from seed to plant.  40 pages; ages 3-6.

Pros:  This follow-up to What Will Hatch? is a perfect springtime introduction to gardening for young readers.

Cons:  This seems like it could be a fun, interactive guessing game, except that eight of the plants are shown on the same page as the question.

Trudy’s Big Swim: How Gertrude Ederle Swam the English Channel and Took the World by Storm by Sue Macy, illustrated by Matt Collins

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Published by Holiday House

Summary:  When Gertrude “Trudy” Ederle emerged from the water on August 6, 1926, she became both the first woman to swim the English Channel and the fastest person, shaving almost two hours off the previous record.  Admittedly, she was a superstar swimmer, having won three Olympic medals and set 29 records in events ranging from 50 yards to half a mile.  But she was also a product of her time, riding the wave of women’s increased participation in sports and freedom that allowed her to wear a two-piece bathing suit very different from the head-to-toe coverage women swimmers had to put up with just a generation earlier.  Trudy’s swim made her a celebrity, and the final illustration shows her resting on her hotel bed, surrounded by the four ham sandwiches she ate after her swim, with newspapers carrying her story pressed against the windows.  An afterword gives more details about the swim and Trudy’s life afterward (she completely lost her hearing by age 22, taught swimming to deaf children for many years, and lived to the age of 98), and there are plenty of additional resources listed.  40 pages; grades 1-5.

Pros:  As someone who has read America’s Champion Swimmer by David S. Adler to many classes, I thought there was little need for another picture book biography of Gertrude Ederle.  But veteran sportswriter Sue Macy has brought the story to life magnificently, placing it in the historical context of American women, propelled by getting the right to vote, enjoying greater freedoms and opportunities.  The illustrations have a you-are-there boldness that add a lot to the text.

Cons:  Endpapers giving a timeline of 1920’s sports history will be covered by the taped-down dust jacket of library books.

Ribbit by Jorey Hurley

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Published by Simon and Schuster

Summary:  The life cycle of a frog is described through illustrations and one word of text per page.  It begins with “Wait”, as two frogs swim near a mass of eggs, and ends with “Ribbit”, as one of the hatchlings, now an adult, finds a mate. In between, the eggs hatch, a tadpole transforms into a frog, and that frog catches an insect and hibernates in the mud.  An author’s note gives more information about frogs and their life cycles.  40 pages; ages 3-7.

Pros:  Young children will love the bright, clean illustrations depicting the frog and its environment around a pond.  The single words convey a lot of information.

Cons:  A list of books and/or websites about frogs would have been a nice addition.

Antoinette by Kelly DiPucchio, illustrated by Christian Robinson

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Summary:  Antoinette, the precious poodle from Gaston, is happy living with her bulldog brothers.  Rocky is clever, Ricky is fast, and Bruno is strong.  But Antoinette hasn’t discovered any special gift of her own.  Every day, Antoinette’s family meets up with Gaston’s to play in the park.  One day, a problem arises: young Ooh-La-La has gone missing, last seen chasing a butterfly.  All the dogs join in the search, but it is Antoinette who refuses to give up, following the scent all the way to the museum.  Even when a guard yells, “No dogs allowed!”, Antoinette persists, and arrives just in time to save Ooh-La-La from chasing the butterfly off the edge of a high statue.  Antoinette has discovered her gift, and she continues to use it into adulthood, becoming one of Paris’s most famous police dogs.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  Kids who have loved Gaston will not be the slightest bit disappointed with this sequel.  It’s billed as part of the series Gaston and Friends; we can only hope for more to come in the near future.

Cons:  Ooh-La-La = not too bright.

Grand Canyon by Jason Chin

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Roaring Brook Press

Summary:  A man and his daughter take a backpacking trip through the Grand Canyon, learning about the geological history as they go.  Starting at the bottom, they study the rocks and fossils of each layer traveling upward to discover what Earth was like in the past.  The girl imagines herself in different eras, with illustrations showing what the canyon looked like in those times.  Small cutouts in some pages give preview peeks as to what’s ahead on the next page.  Borders of many of the main illustrations show the flora and fauna that live at the different levels within the canyon.  The final two pages of the main text open up into an amazing four-page spread of the “the grandest canyon on Earth.”  Back matter includes quite a bit more information on the Grand Canyon, as well as a long list of sources and some books for further reading.  56 pages; grades 2-7.

Pros:  Jason Chin produces another natural history masterpiece, with illustrations so lifelike they almost look like photographs.  The pages are packed with information, both in the text and the pictures and diagrams.  Readers will want to be on the next flight out to Arizona to experience the Grand Canyon for themselves.

Cons:  While extremely informative, the text isn’t always quite as engaging as the illustrations.

Life on Mars by Jon Agee

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Published by Dial Books

Summary:  The narrator has arrived on Mars, where he is looking for signs of life.  By the third page, a giant creature has peeked out of his hole, but the young astronaut never sees it.  He bemoans Mars’s bleak landscape, while the beast follows close behind.  He leaves behind a chocolate cupcake in a box that he brought to offer any living beings he might find.  Thinking he has lost his spaceship, he climbs a mountain (the creature’s head) to get a better view.  Right before boarding, he finds the cupcake box he had discarded.  When he decides to have a treat on the way home, he discovers the cupcake has mysteriously disappeared.  32 pages; ages 3-8.

Pros:  This would be great to pair with Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, as both have visual clues that allow the reader to know more than the characters in the story.  The story is simple, but the illustrations will have kids laughing.

Cons:  The creature seems lonely.