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.
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.
Summary: A man, woman, and boy start building on the first page with bricks…two, four six. People and bricks multiply with dizzying speed from there until the end of the book: molding and baking the clay to make bricks, mixing mortar, and building, building, building. Schools, malls, government buildings: all are built with millions and billions of bricks. Finally, at the end, “The work is nearly done, the cleanup has begun, let’s count the bricks we didn’t use, all together—one!” 32 pages, ages 4-8.
