Picture books

Three wordless picture books

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

The Last Zookeeper by Aaron Becker (Candlewick,, 40 pages, grades K-5). As he did in The Tree and the River, Aaron Becker uses a wordless story to deliver a subtle message about environmental degradation with a dollop of hope woven in. The zookeeper of the title is a large robot who looks after animals at a zoo that is spread out over several small islands. In its spare time, the robot enjoys building toy sailboats and floating them in the zoo’s waters. When drenching rains flood the area, the robot figures out a way to build an ark-like sailboat to rescue the animals. They sail through stormy seas until, exhausted, they collapse on a new group of islands. Another robot appears in a hot air balloon, loads up the whole group, and flies them away to a new paradise.

I can’t wait to share this new wordless masterpiece with the many Aaron Becker fans at my school. I know they will spot all kinds of interesting details that I’ve missed in my initial perusing of the pages. Be sure to start with Jane Goodall’s epigraph to set the tone for the story: “Only if we understand, can we care. Only if we care, will we help. Only if we help, shall all be saved.”

First Day of May by Henrique Coser Moreira (Levine Querido, 40 pages, ages 3-8). A girl, bored inside, is excited to hear a forecast for sunny weather as the calendar turns from April 30 to May 1. She rushes outside, where she encounters all sorts of delights: soaring birds, baby animals with their parents, sweet-smelling flowers, and grassy hills to cartwheel down. Finally, adult hands serve her a cup of tea and cover her with a blanket so she can take a peaceful nap in the grass.

Look no further to find a celebration of spring that will delight and engage preschoolers. The book’s small size and multiple panels is just right for the youngest readers and will encourage them to seek out signs of the new season.

One Giant Leap by Thao Lam (Owlkids, 48 pages, ages 4-8). After donning boots and gloves, a young astronaut heads out into a lunar landscape, climbing up and down hills and encountering a variety of colorful creatures. As mysterious white flakes fall from the sky, the astronaut moves inside, revealing a snow suited child entering a classroom filled with other kids who are wearing clothes that match the colors and patterns of the creatures seen on the walk. A final page shows the route taken by the “astronaut” through a snowy urban neighborhood.

I wrote the review of The Last Zookeeper a few days before the other two and have shared that book with a few classes. I’m a little disappointed that it wasn’t quite as engaging as his previous books have been, and I’m now feeling more inclined to move onto One Giant Leap. I think the surprise ending will lead kids back to the beginning to notice how the pictures that are supposed to take place on the moon give hints as to what is really going on.

You might not know it, but these two are poets

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Amazing Animals from A to Z by Cece Bell (Walker Books, 64 pages, grades K-4). In her introduction, Cece Bell writes of her love of animal albums, a collection she’s acquired through the years by scouring thrift shops and antique malls. The heyday of these albums was the 1940’s through the 1980’s, when artistic differences (and toileting issues) between the animals and their human producers led to the industry’s demise. Cece has compiled an A-Z collection of her albums, with the lyrics to a song from each, from “My Aromatic Armpit Is Astonishing to All” by armadillo accordion player Arnie Dillow to “You Snooze, You Ooze” by the Zydeco Zebras. Amazingly, a QR code allows readers to listen to a recording of every song in the book. An “About the Artists” section rounds out the collection, with a paragraph about each musician or band.

This incredibly original, creative, and funny book will have kids laughing and rocking out as they enjoy the animal musicians both on the page and on their phones. I confess that the introduction was so convincing that for a second there I thought such albums actually existed. At the other end of the book, I had a brief moment of concern when I noticed that Tom Angleberger isn’t included in the “About the Author” information, but a quick trip to Wikipedia assured me that children’s literature’s favorite wacky couple is still together.

Poetry Comics by Grant Snider (Chronicle Books, 96 pages, grades 2-5). And speaking of favorites, everyone’s favorite orthodontist-by-day-illustrator (and now poet)-by-night has produced a fun and appealing collection of poems, illustrated comic-style. Divided by season, both the poems and the illustrations are brief meditations on nature, school, and life, both funny and profound. The poems are one to two pages, divided into comic book squares, with a line or two in each box, and illustrated with simple figures and backgrounds.

These would make an excellent introduction to poetry for the primary grades. Older students, even middle schoolers, might enjoy trying their hands at poetry comics of their own. All in all, this is a fun and accessible introduction to poetry.

Birds and dinosaurs

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Brave Baby Hummingbird by Sy Montgomery, illustrated by Tiffany Bozic (Simon and Schuster, 48 pages, ages 4-8). A hummingbird tells his story, beginning with his birth when he and his sister hatch from eggs the size of navy beans. They’re fed every twenty minutes until the day their mother doesn’t return to the nest. Fortunately, they’re rescued and taken to a place where a human, known only as the Voice, takes care of them until they are old enough to survive on their own. Woven into the story are facts about hummingbirds’ food, flight, bodies, and migrations, and more information is given at the end, including the author’s experience with a hummingbird rescue and ways that readers can help these birds. This lovely book provides plenty of information about hummingbirds, illuminated with beautiful illustrations of the birds at every stage of their lives and the colorful landscapes they inhabit.

The Iguanadon’s Horn: How Artists and Scientists Put a Dinosaur Back Together Again and Again…and Again! by Sean Rubin (Clarion Books, 48 pages, grades K-4). Ever since humans first realized that dinosaurs once existed, they’ve been trying to imagine what these creatures looked like. Using the dinosaurs’ fossilized remains, artists have painted and sculpted prehistoric depictions…and generally gotten things completely wrong. A case in point is the iguanodon’s horn, which turned out to be (we think) a thumb spike. Sean Rubin goes through the evolution of ideas about the iguanodon, showing how increased scientific knowledge changed perceptions about what the animal looks like. He speculates on what the next ideas may be, emphasizing the fact that, barring time travel, we will never know for sure. The endnotes give additional information about each two-page spread.

Dinosaur fanatics will love this book, both the fascinating story of how science works and the illustrations, which are at once informative and funny (I liked the cartoon bubbles showing the comments of the various wrong iguanodon models: “I DO look pretty terrible here,” “Seriously. This is embarrassing.” I felt a little bogged down reading the repeated wrong guesses, but I suspect a true paleo fan will find them captivating.

Celebrating spring holidays

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

For those who celebrate Easter (March 31 in 2024): Elijah’s Easter Suit by Brentom Jackson, illustrated by Emmanuel Boateng (Doubleday Books for Young Readers, 32 pages, ages 4-8). Every Easter, Reverend White gives a special “Hallelujah” to the congregant who’s got the most spectacular Easter outfit. Elijah’s determined to win, but the stores around town don’t have anything that looks just right. Feeling defeated, Elijah asks previous winners Mother Green and Deacon Brown for advice. They tell him that Easter’s not about winning a competition, but about new beginnings and remembering their culture. They share how when they were kids, they often wore homemade Easter outfits, not being allowed to shop in local stores. Inspired, Elijah makes an outfit from fabrics that have happy memories for him and wows the crowd on Easter morning with his colorful patchwork suit. Hallelujah!

Verdict: A definite winner with funny illustrations depicting Elijah in a variety of interesting outfits on his shopping spree, but also offering a heartwarming message about community and being true to yourself.

For those who celebrate Eid (on or around April 9 in 2024): The Most Exciting Eid by Zeba Talkhani, illustrated by Abeeha Tariq (Scholastic, 24 pages, ages 4-8). When they spot the new moon, Safa and her family start to get ready for Eid al-Fitr. Safa is excited to wear new clothes, get gifts, and get together with family. In the morning, all her wishes start to come true, and she enjoys her presents, especially a new bike. Her cousin Alissa wants a turn, but Safa doesn’t feel like sharing. Later, Safa’s mother takes her through the neighborhood to distribute gifts, and Safa realizes that sharing is one of the best parts of Eid. After a big dinner at the grandparents’, Safa is ready to go home and ride bikes with Alissa.

Verdict: A cute story that introduces several aspects of Eid, in what appears to be a Pakistani family. It definitely has a Scholastic book club vibe to it, and unfortunately, only seems to be available in paperback.

For those who celebrate Passover (April 22-April 30 in 2024): Afikoman, Where’d You Go? A Passover Hide-and-Seek Adventure by Rebecca Gardyn Levington, illustrated by Noa Kelner (Rocky Pond Books, 40 pages, ages 4-8). Kids at a seder dinner search for the elusive afikoman through every room of the house and yard. Sharp-eyed readers will see the afikoman character hiding on every busy page. He’s finally caught, everyone gets a prize, and dinner continues, but the sneaky afikoman is seen riding away in one of the cars on the last page, wishing everyone, “Happy Pesach!”

Verdict: The bouncy rhyming text and Where’s Waldo style illustrations provide a lot of holiday fun, with details about Passover included in the glossary at the beginning, as well as being woven into the story and pictures. Spell check is telling me that the correct spelling is afikomen, but both the title and the glossary of this book use afikoman.

Parks for everyone

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Cactus Queen: Minerva Hoy Establishes Joshua Tree National Park by Lori Alexander, illustrated by Jenn Ely (Calkins Creek, 40 pages, grades 1-4). Minerva Hoyt grew up in Mississippi, where she loved to play outside and was not afraid to speak her mind. She grew up, got married, and moved to Pasadena, California with her husband. When Minerva needed a break from the city, her favorite place to visit was the Mojave Desert.

Over the years, Minerva watched as people from Los Angeles slowly stripped the Mojave of its cacti, yucca, and Joshua trees to transplant (usually unsuccessfully) to their gardens. To try to preserve this ecosystem, Minerva did something similar, but for a different purpose–she gathered plants from the desert and created an exhibit at the 1928 International Flower Show to raise awareness. Later, she worked to turn some of the Mojave into a national park. There was quite a bit of resistance to this idea from those who thought the desert was a barren wasteland, but Minerva never gave up. In 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the law that created Joshua Tree National Monument. Almost 50 years after Minerva’s death in 1945, President Bill Clinton established Joshua Tree National Park. There’s more information about Minerva, Joshua Tree, and national parks, as well as environmental tips and a bibliography in the back.

Tasha’s Voice by Carmen Bogan, illustrated by Floyd Cooper and Daria Peoples (Yosemite Conservancy, 38 pages, grades K-3). In this companion to Carmen Bogan’s Where’s Rodney? a young girl has a transformative experience in nature, just as Rodney does in his story. Tasha is a new girl in Rodney’s class, so shy that she can’t speak when the teacher calls on her or talk to the other kids in the class. When the class takes a field trip to the park, a ranger shows them around, then lets them explore on their own. An encounter with a small turtle helps Tasha to make two new friends and to finally find her own voice.

Be sure to read the last two pages, which include an interview with Daria Peoples who completed the artwork after Floyd Cooper passed away in 2021. There’s also a brief note about parks that includes websites for Outdoor-Afro and Latino Outdoors.

Enjoy these two books for the last part of Women’s History Month! (Although Tasha’s Voice won’t be out until April). They are a celebration of national parks, the healing power of nature, and making outdoor experiences available to groups, like women and people of color, who may not have always felt welcome there.

How to be lucky

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Lucky Duck by Greg Pizzoli (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 48 pages, ages 3-8). Susan the duck feels unlucky when the roller skates she ordered online are two sizes too big. But she feels lucky when a wolf shows up at her door to tell her she’s won a free pot. Kitchen light burns out and the pickle jar is empty? Unlucky. Free onions, celery, and carrots from the wolf? Lucky. Finally, just as Susan’s luck seems to have completely run out, the tables are turned, and all the unlucky things turn out to be the best kind of luck.

I’ve been reading this book all week to the K-2 crowd, and it’s been a big hit. I’ve paired it with Mo Willems’ That Is Not a Good Idea, another tale of duck vs. canine (fox), which also has a surprise twist near the end. If you want to dig deeper, you can talk about what’s lucky and what’s unlucky, and how those things are subject to change, sometimes depending on how you look at them.

What’s New, Daniel? by Micha Archer. In the third book about Daniel, he meets his grandpa in the park. “What’s new, Daniel?” Grandpa asks. “Um, I don’t know yet,” Daniel replies. “I’ll go find out.” As he gathers the news from his friends in the park–Rock, Blackbird, Duck, Polliwog, Snake, Squirrel, and Butterfly–Daniel remembers things that are new with him, too. He’s learned to whistle, he has a new tooth, and his legs have grown so he can run faster. Back with Grandpa, Daniel gives updates on everyone, including himself, then asks Grandpa to share what’s new with him.

This is a perfect book for spring, with all the changes taking place, and Caldecott Honor artist Micha Archer has created beautiful collage illustrations that capture the blues and greens of a sunny spring day. Kids will be eager to share what’s new with them. What’s lucky? Daniel and Grandpa getting to share this perfect day together and clearly enjoying spending time with each other.

The Book That Can Read Your Mind by Marianna Coppo. (Chronicle Books, 48 pages, ages 4-8). You may remember the trick this book employs from childhood magic sets, one that has apparently been around for hundreds of years. Marianna Coppo introduces a bunny magician (who pulls a man out of a hat) to read your mind. 36 different creatures, sitting in six rows of six, are introduced. You choose one without telling the reader, then tell the reader which row its in. Different rows go to different pages, where the same 36 characters are rearranged. Point out the row again, and you’ll be directed to another page that should reveal which character you picked. There’s an afterword that gives more information about the history of this trick.

The illustrations are adorable, and I’m sure kids will love doing the trick, then showing it to others. However, it is just that, a trick, and once the novelty has worn off, I imagine this book is not one that will enjoy multiple readings. But you’ll be lucky enough to have your mind read by a bunny magician, and then be able to turn around and become a magician yourself.

A train station, a cooking vocation, and news for a new nation

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

A Grand Idea: How William J. Wilgus Created Grand Central Terminal by Megan Hoyt, illustrated by Dav Szalay (Quill Tree Books, 48 pages, grades 1-5). At the turn of the (previous) century, Manhattan was filled with the smoke of trains, not to mention the snarl of traffic they caused, at one point resulting in a crash that killed 15 people and injured dozens more. Chief engineer William J. Wilgus struggled to find a solution, finally proposing the revolutionary idea of moving the trains underground, electrifying them, and building a bigger station.

Another country might have invested some government funding, but in the U.S., the project was taken on by robber baron Cornelius Vanderbilt. Although the winning design was submitted by architectural firm Reed and Stern, Vanderbilt’s cousin owned another company that he insisted be part of the design process. This resulted in 18 months of feuding, but the new design finally emerged. The rest of the book traces the magnificent station, with its amenities that over the years included a movie theater, a hospital, and a ski slope. As planes replaced trains, Grand Central Station was used less. Demolition was on the table, until a group of citizens led by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis campaigned to save and restore it to its present glory. Includes additional information about Wingus and Grand Central Station, along with a timeline and a list of sources.

A Plate of Hope: The Inspiring Story of José Andrés by Erin Frankel, illustrated by Paola Escobar (Random House Studio, 48 pages, grades 1-5). As a child, José Andrés loved to help his parents cook for big gatherings at their home in Spain. Cooking school, a stint on a Navy ship, and a job at a Spanish restaurant prepared him for a move to the U.S., where he quickly rose to become a star chef. But he wanted his cooking to be for everyone, not just for those who could afford to eat in his restaurants.

When he was invited to help after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, José learned to prepare large quantities of local cuisine for people who desperately needed food. This experience gave birth to World Central Kitchen, an organization that travels around the world offering humanitarian food aid. When Huracán María hit Puerto Rico in 2017, José and World Central Kitchen spent three months serving almost four million meals all around the island. They continue to travel around the world, as described in the author’s note at the end, doing work that earned José a Nobel Peace Prize nomination in 2019. There’s also a bibliography.

Amazing Abe: How Abraham Cahan’s Newspaper Gave a Voice to Jewish Immigrants by Norman H. Finkelstein, illustrated by Vesper Stamper (Holiday House, 40 pages, grades 1-5). Growing up in Lithuania, Abraham Cahan loved languages, learning Hebrew, Russian, and Yiddish. He became a teacher and political activist, which eventually forced him to flee to the United States. He added English to the list of languages he spoke, and gradually became fluent enough to begin writing about the experience of Jewish immigrants for American newspapers.

His first love was Yiddish, though, and in 1897, Abe founded Forverts, a Yiddish newspaper which grew to become the largest foreign-language newspaper in the country. In addition to news, the paper helped immigrants adjust to their new home, providing them with detailed instructions about baseball, how Americans set a table, and explanations of democracy and the importance of voting. The author’s note describes how the paper evolved over time, continuing as an online publication to this day. There’s also additional information about Abe and the Yiddish language, as well as a timeline and a bibliography.

I know, I know, March is Women’s History Month! But these three picture book biographies all landed on the library hold shelf for me at approximately the same time, all of them telling inspiring stories about men I knew nothing about who made significant contributions to their communities that continue to this day. All three have excellent illustrations; I particularly liked the endpapers of Amazing Abe that show laundry day in a busy NYC tenement, and the full-circle beginning and ending illustrations of A Plate of Hope that portray José Andrés as a child and an adult cooking large meals over an open fire. Readers will find plenty of additional resources in all three books to continue their research about these men.

Stories from the past to inspire future generations

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

The Last Stand by Antwan Eady, illustrated by Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 40 pages, ages 4-8). A boy tells the story of his grandfather’s farm stand, the last stand in a community where there used to be a whole farmers’ market. Not only does Papa grow food and sell it at his stand, but he delivers to neighbors who can’t get out. The day comes when Papa is the one who isn’t well enough to go to the stand, and the boy has to use his own resourcefulness to keep the business going. Fast forward a few years, and the last page shows the boy grown, Papa apparently having passed away, and another stand re-opened, offering hope that the market can come back again.

I’m thrilled to see a new book illustrated by the Pumphrey brothers, almost as thrilled as I was when they won a Caldecott Honor this year for There Was a Party for Langston. This story harkens back to my favorite book of theirs, The Old Truck, with its empowering themes of Black farmers surviving despite the odds being stacked against them and passing a legacy down to the next generation. Be sure to read the author’s note to learn more about the struggles of Black farmers, as well as offering an acknowledgement of discrimination against other farmers, including women and Indigenous communities.

Tree of Life: How a Holocaust Sapling Inspired the World by Elisa Boxer, illustrated by Alianna Rozentsveig (Rocky Pond Books, 40 pages, grades 1-4). In the Czechoslovakian ghetto of Terezin, a teacher named Irma Lauscher secretly taught children to read, write, and celebrate Jewish holidays. To help them observe Tu Bishvat (The New Year of the Trees), she obtained a maple sapling, putting herself and the prisoner who got it for her at enormous risk. The children shared their water rations with the sapling, watching it grow, until many of them were “taken away on trains to a place that was even worse.” Miraculously, the tree grew and flourished until the end of the war when it was five feet tall. Eventually it grew to sixty feet, and Irma Lauscher, who also miraculously survived, sent seeds from the tree to places around the globe. When the tree finally died in 2007, there were 600 descendants all over the world, including one planted outside New York City’s Museum of Jewish Heritage in 2021.

Elise Boxer’s author’s note also adds context to this story of brave people finding hope in tragedy, and offers additional information about Terezin, a Nazi propaganda camp that sent most of its inhabitants to Auschwitz. It includes the chilling statistic that 90% of Europe’s Jewish children were killed in the Holocaust, serving as a timely reminder of the horrors of war in which the innocent are victims. I hope this will be a contender for the Sydney Taylor award.

Life lessons from this year’s Newbery Medal team

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

I haven’t had the chance to express how thrilled I was that the 2024 Newbery Medal went to The Eyes and the Impossible, which was written by Dave Eggers and illustrated by Shawn Harris. Apparently, these two are not ones to rest on their laurels, as each of them has a new picture book this month.

Soren’s Seventh Song by Dave Eggers, illustrated by Mark Hoffmann (Harry N. Abrams, 56 pages, grades 2-5). Soren is a humpback whale teenager (or the equivalent of that in whale years) who hates the long, droning songs the adult whales sing. After much trial and error, he comes up with his own song, but when he performs it for his peers, they’re not impressed. One even vomits into his underarm (underfin, actually). Does Soren give up? No. He takes the feedback, particularly from his very blunt friend Hans, and makes revisions. Seven revisions, to be exact. And as he travels through the sea singing his seventh song, he notices that the lobsters are grooving, seaweeds are swaying, and barracudas are boogeying. Soren’s hard work finally pays off, and his seventh song becomes the hit whale song of the year.

Although the narration is third person, it reminded me of Johannes’s voice in The Eyes and the Impossible: funny and wise at the same time, with enough confidence to keep going despite multiple setbacks. It’s kind of a long tale, what with the seven songs and all, but I’m still considering reading it to the tough audience of fifth grade. If they don’t vomit into their underarms, I’ll consider it a win.

The Teeny-Weeny Unicorn by Shawn Harris (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 48 pages, ages 4-8). The titular unicorn is sort of the Stuart Little of the unicorn world, significantly smaller than the rest of his family. His much larger siblings use him as a piece in their chess games and make fun of his attempts to cannonball into the moat. Tired of their mocking, he runs off into the lawn, where he eventually comes face to face with an angry gnome. It turns out the teeny-weeny unicorn is much bigger than the gnome, and accidentally put his hoof through the gnome’s expensive sports car. Fortunately, the unicorn family is able to make things right, and readers learn an important lesson: We are all teeny-weeny. We are all giant. And we are all just the right size.

Who can resist a unicorn? Kids will love this story for sure, and Shawn Harris’s illustrations add to the fun. Dave Eggers and Soren teach us to be persistent, and Shawn and the teeny-weeny unicorn offer a lesson in self-acceptance.

Some brave girls

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Small Shoes, Great Strides: How Three Brave Girls Opened Doors to School Equality by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, illustrated by Alex Bostic (Carolrhoda, 40 pages, grades 2-5). Ten minutes before Ruby Bridges entered William Frantz Elementary School on November 14, 1960, three other six-year-old girls, Leona Tate, Tessie Provost, and Gail Etienne, started school across town at McDonogh 19 Public School. Escorted by U. S. Marshals, the girls were in a first-grade class taught by Miss Florence Meyers. Although there were other white students at school that day, they quickly left, leaving the girls as the only three students in the building for the rest of the year.

The girls were heroic, as were their parents, Miss Meyers, and the marshals, who helped them find the courage to keep going and made their first-grade year as normal as possible. Second grade proved a bit easier; after Christmas, about twenty-five new students arrived, and the kids were allowed to go outside for recess. Unfortunately, the girls were sent to a different school the following year, where they experienced bullying, racism, and occasional physical violence from students and even some of the teachers. In the end, the girls “survived and helped change our nation.”

This fascinating book will appeal to kids who are familiar with Ruby Bridges’s story. Leona, Tessie, and Gail were all interviewed for the book, as was one of the surviving U.S. Marshals. The text is quite long, and there’s a ton of back matter: more about school desegregation in New Orleans and Norman Rockwell’s painting based on it, what happened to the three girls when they grew up (two opted for all-Black schools in sixth grade, but all graduated high school, and two finished college.) There are also photos, a glossary, a bibliography, and websites with additional information.

Do You Know Them? Families Lost and Found After the Civil War by Shana Keller, illustrated by Laura Freeman (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 40 pages, grades 1-4). After the Civil War, Lettie and her Uncle Charlie are searching for lost family members. The newspapers are filled with ads, mostly people seeking information about their families, but occasionally someone reporting that a loved one has been found. Lettie holds on to this hope as she saves her pennies and reads the ads aloud to the congregation at church. Finally, she and Uncle Charlie have saved the fifty cents needed for an ad. Weeks go by, until one Sunday, Lettie is able to share the ad from a woman saying she knows their family. “Hallelujah!” rings out through the church, celebrating with Lettie.

This moving historical fiction story of the post-Civil War years weaves some of the real ads into the narrative (the author’s note at the end tells more about them) and doesn’t shy away from stories that don’t end as happily as Lettie’s. The illustrations are beautiful, incorporating the ads and the pennies Lettie saves into the main pictures.