Picture books

Fascinating: The Life of Leonard Nimoy by Richard Michelson, illustrated by Edel Rodriguez

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Alfred A. Knopf

Summary:  Leonard Nimoy grew up in a four-room apartment in Boston’s West End, the son of Russian immigrants.  He got his first taste of acting at a Jewish settlement house.  By the time he was 17, he knew he wanted to be an actor.  Heading to Hollywood where he drove a taxi (he once gave John F. Kennedy a lift), Leonard built a moderately successful career in movies and television.  His life changed in 1965 when he got a call from Gene Rodenberry, asking him to play the alien Spock in his new series Star Trek.  Initially concerned that the pointy ears and weird haircut might ruin his career, Leonard made the fortuitous decision to take the part, and the rest is science-fiction history.  A final note (“The Rest Is History”) gives more information about Nimoy, including his lesser-known careers as a photographer, writer, and musician.  An author’s note tells of Michelson’s close friendship with Leonard Nimoy.  40 pages; grades 1-5.

Pros:  An engagingly-written biography of a man who, in fact, lived long and prospered, rising from a poor immigrant childhood to success in many arenas.  The stories about Nimoy flow together well to tell his story, and the illustrations do a good job of portraying Leonard/Spock.  Readers will enjoy learning the origin of Spock’s famous four-finger salute.

Cons:  The pallette for the illustrations is kind of drab.

A Poem for Peter: The Story of Ezra Jack Keats and the Creation of The Snowy Day by Andrea Davis Pinkney, pictures by Lou Fancher & Steve Johnson

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Published by Viking

Summary:  Andrea Davis Pinkney’s poetic homage weaves together biographical information about Keats with the story of the creation of his most famous book.  Born Jacob Ezra Katz, the son of Polish immigrants, the artist grew up in a poor Brooklyn neighborhood with a father who faced job discrimination and a mother whose secret dreams of becoming an artist never came to fruition.  Young Ezra loved art and won an art school scholarship, but when his father died of a heart attack the day before his high school graduation, his school days were over.  He was helped by the New Deal’s WPA, and went on to become a comic book artist before moving to children’s book illustration.  When he was asked to write and illustrate his own book, he thought of a little African-American boy whose picture in Life magazine had hung on Keats’s wall for many years.  This boy became Peter and the book was The Snowy Day.  Back matter includes “Ezra’s Legacy” with more information about the books that celebrated city life and the people from different cultures who lived there, and “Keats, the Collage Poet”, explaining how the verse narrative used for this book reflects Keats’ collage style of art.  60 pages; grades 2-5.

Pros:  A beautiful celebration of a life and a book, illuminated with illustrations inspired by Ezra Jack Keats’s art.

Cons:  I find the poetic biographies are a hard sell with the elementary crowd.

 

A Voyage in the Clouds: The (Mostly) True Story of the First International Flight by Balloon in 1785 by Matthew Olshan, illustrated by Sophie Blackall

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Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux 

Summary:  On the morning of January 7, 1785, Dr. John Jeffries and his dog Henry, and Monsieur Jean-Pierre Blanchard and his dog Henri, set off to be the first to travel from one country to another in a hot air balloon.  Jeffries was an Englishman financing the trip and Blanchard was an experienced pilot from France. Their dislike for each other showed up almost immediately when Blanchard wore a weighted vest to try to convince Jeffries that the balloon would be too heavy for both of them.  Jeffries discovered the trick, though, and insisted that they both make the voyage.  Partway through, the balloon began to sink, and the two men had to put aside their differences to make it to France.  They dumped everything they could out of the basket, including their clothes, but their descent wasn’t reversed until they both relieved themselves over the side.  Their safe arrival marked the beginning of a beautiful friendship.  An author’s note separates the facts from a few of the liberties taken in the story.  40 pages; grades K-4.

Pros:  A humorous piece of history, impeccably illustrated by last year’s Caldecott medalist Sophie Blackall.  Kids will get a big kick out of the picture of the two men clad in their old-fashioned drawers peeing over the side of the balloon basket.  The cartoon bubble dialog brings the events to hilarious life.

Cons:  Definitely a mix of fact and fiction, so be sure to read the author’s note.

Panda Pants by Jacqueline Davies, illustrated by Sydney Hanson

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Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers

 

Summary:  A young panda is sure he wants pants, and works to convince his dad.  His dad counters each one of his points until the two come upon a scarecrow…wearing pants.  The young panda quickly relieves the scarecrow of his trousers and puts them on, even though they’re a bit too large.  Suddenly, the two pandas are confronted by a growling wild cat (leopard? tiger?) who has been stalking them on their walk.  Thinking quickly, the young panda grabs a watermelon and uses his new pants as a slingshot, then gives them away to an admiring rabbit who has seen the whole thing.  As they walk on, his dad asks him why he gave his pants away, and his son replies that he doesn’t want pants anymore.  He wants shoes.  32 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  A fun mentor text for teaching persuasive writing in the primary grades.  Who can resist pandas and bunnies?

Cons:  Not enough black around the pandas’ eyes.

Are You an Echo? The Lost Poetry of Misuzu Kaneko narrative and translation by David Jacobson, Sally Ito, and Michiko Tsuboi; illustrated by Toshikado Hajiri

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Published by Chin Music Press 

Summary:  Born in a Japanese fishing village in 1903, Misuzu Kaneko was fortunate enough to receive more education than most of her female contemporaries.  She worked in her mother’s bookstore and published her poems in magazines.  Then she made the unfortunate decision of marrying one of the bookstore clerks who was abusive, unfaithful, and passed on a devastating disease to Misuzu.  She divorced him, but when he insisted on full custody of their daughter (a right given to fathers only at that time in Japan), Misuzu committed suicide.  The first half of the book tells the story of her life, and the second half is a collection of her poems, written in both Japanese and English.  An author’s note and translators’ note explain the careful work and research that went into creating this book.  64 pages; grades 2-7.

Pros:  This might be the most moving book I have read in 2016.  Misuzu Kaneko’s life was ultimately tragic, but her poetry reveals a beautiful spirit who saw life and hope in ordinary objects around her.  Her poems are accessible to kids, yet infused with deeper meaning.  The gorgeous illustrations should receive Caldecott consideration.

Cons:  I was unprepared for the shock of reading about Misuzu’s suicide.

Nanette’s Baguette by Mo Willems

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Published by Hyperion Books for Children 

Summary:  Nanette is a young frog who is in for a big day—she gets to go the bakery and buy the baguette.  She leaves the kitchenette and is out the door.  On her way, she sees Georgette, Suzette, and Bret, who is with his pet, Antoinette.  Soon she arrives at Baker Juliette’s, where she gets the best baguette yet.  But on the way home, the warmth and wonderful smell prove too much for Nanette, and she eats the entire baguette!  Plagued by guilt, she considers taking a jet to Tibet, but decides instead to return home and confess all.  Her mother is quite forgiving, and back they go to the bakery together to pick up another baguette.  So don’t fret.  Or sweat.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  Mo Willems keeps his fingers firmly on the preschool pulse.  Goofiness informs all the illustrations and the multiple “—et” rhymes will keeps kids in stitches.

Cons:  The conspicuous absence of Chet from DeSmet.  Not to mention Janet.

A Hat for Mrs. Goldman: a story about knitting and love by Michelle Edwards, illustrate by G. Brian Karas

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Published by Schwartz & Wade Books 

Summary:  When Sophia was a baby, her neighbor Mrs. Goldman knit her a hat.  Now that she’s older, she likes to make pom-poms to decorate Mrs. Goldman’s creations.  Her friend is always knitting for others, giving them warm hats, mittens, and sweaters.  She calls knitting her mitzvah, or good deed.  When Sophia goes walking with Mrs. Goldman and her dog Fifi, she notices that Mrs. Goldman doesn’t have a hat.  Snow accumulates on her hair, and her ears turn pink or red, depending on the temperature.  Wanting to rectify the situation, Sophia pulls out her knitting needles and tries to remember what Mrs. Goldman taught her about knitting.  She finally finishes a hat, but it’s full of holes.  Fortunately, Sophia thinks of all those pom-poms she’s made, and creates a whole bunch of them to cover up the holes.  She rushes next door to give  her gift to Mrs. Goldman, who declares it Sophie’s mitzvah and happily wears it every day on her walks with Fifi.  Includes instructions for knitting a simple hat and making a pom-pom.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  A simple but heartwarming story.  Mrs. Goldman’s knitting is an expression of love for her, and she passes this on to Sophie.  G. Brian Karas learned how to knit to make his illustrations accurate, and he perfectly captures Sophie’s efforts with the knitting needles.

Cons:  My own knitting failures haven’t had this happy of an ending.

Giant Squid by Candace Fleming, illustrated by Eric Rohmann

~ Janet Dawson ~ 5 Comments

Published by Roaring Brook Press 

Summary:  Millions of them may live in the oceans, growing to a length of 40 feet or more, yet very little is known of the giant squid.  Scientists first saw a living one in 2006.  Much of what is known about these creatures comes from studying their remains inside sperm whales, whose stomachs can contain thousands of the indigestible squid beaks.  The poetic text of this book tells what little is known of the giants, illustrated with dark undersea paintings that show glimpses of different parts of them.  The final two-page spread is a labeled drawing of the squid’s body.  After that, an author’s note, “The Mysterious Giant Squid” gives more scientific information, and there’s a substantial list of print and online resources.  40 pages; grades K-5.

Pros:  One of my favorite parts of this “job” is learning about topics like the giant squid.  It is amazing that so many of these giant creatures have remained elusive for so long.  The pictures really capture the feel of their deep undersea home, and the author’s note is fascinating.

Cons:  Using the last eight pages to illustrate how the squid’s ink helps protect it (including a few mostly black pages) seemed like a little too much.

Preaching to the Chickens: The Story of Young John Lewis by Jabari Asim, illustrated by E. B. Lewis

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Published by Nancy Paulsen Books

 Summary:  Growing up in Alabama, young John Lewis waned to be a preacher. His mama always said, “Work hard and trust in God.”  John loved going to church and found it easy to trust in God.  Working hard took a little more effort.  There was plenty of work to do on the farm where his family lived and grew cotton.  John was put in charge of the chickens on the farm.  After he had fed them and put fresh straw in their nests, he would pretend he was the preacher at church and that the chickens were his congregation.  He even baptized them with water from a syrup can.  When a man offered to trade with his family for one of John’s chickens, he convinced his family to trade other goods instead.  Many years later, John would go on to speak before huge crowds and stand up for those who couldn’t speak for themselves, as a leader of the Civil Rights movement.  An author’s note gives more information about John’s life as an adult.  32 pages; grades 1-5.

Pros:  An interesting slice-of-life look at a boy who rose from an impoverished childhood to do great things for others.  The paintings by award winner E. B. Lewis capture life on the farm.

Cons:  Although the author’s note lists some of Lewis’s accomplishments, there’s not really enough biographical information for a full report on his life.

Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat by Javaka Steptoe

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Published by Little, Brown, and Company 

Summary:  Jean-Michel Basquiat grew up in Brooklyn with a mother from Puerto Rico and a father from Haiti.  His childhood was filled with art, both his own works and what he saw around him.  His mother was artistic and regularly took him to art museums.  There were also difficult times for Jean-Michel.  He was in a serious car accident at the age of eight, and spent months recovering.  During that time, his mother brought him a copy of Gray’s Anatomy, which helped him learn to draw the human figure.  A few years later, his mother’s mental illness drove her to leave the family.  Jean-Michel left school and moved to New York City, where he continued to pursue his art in a number of unconventional mediums, including graffiti.  He lived his dream of being a famous artist until his tragic death in 1988 at the age of 27 from a heroin overdose. An author’s note gives more biographical information. 40 pages; grades 1-5. 

Pros:  The story of Basquiat’s life is told in brief, lyrical text, illustrated with beautiful collages inspired by the artist’s work.  The artwork is sure to receive some Caldecott consideration.

Cons:  There are some pretty adult topics covered in this book targeted for elementary students.  Also Basquiat’s work isn’t included anywhere in the book.