Picture books

Finding My Dance by Ria Thundercloud, illustrated by Kalila J. Fuller

~ Janet Dawson ~ 3 Comments

Published by Penguin Workshop

Summary:  The author introduces herself on the first page as Wakaja haja piiwiga, meaning “Beautiful Thunder Woman” from the Ho-Chunk Nation in Wisconsin and the Sandia Pueblo in New Mexico.  She loved dance from the time she received her first jingle dress and began dancing in the powwow at the age of 4.  At 13, she started learning other forms of dance–modern, tap, jazz, ballet–and became a professional dancer after graduating from high school.  Sometimes the restraints of classical dance felt wrong to her, though, and she felt like an outsider.  She has returned to her roots, dancing the eagle dance with a set of eagle wings and now has a daughter of her own.  Remembering how people used to say her name wrong, she corrects those who mispronounce her daughter’s: “Every time someone says our names, they are speaking a language that still exists, and a culture that we still honor, despite many attempts to wipe it out forever.”  40 pages; grades 1-5.

Pros:  This beautiful story will resonate with anyone who is trying to find their place in the world.  It celebrates both dance and indigenous cultures, with lovely illustrations filled with gorgeous colors that play with light, shadows, and patterns.

Cons:  No back matter.

Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement by Angela Joy, illustrated by Janelle Washington

~ Janet Dawson ~ 3 Comments

Published by Roaring Brook Press

Summary:  Beginning with Mamie Till’s decision to bring her son Emmett’s body home to Illinois after his horrific murder in Mississippi, the story goes back to trace Mamie’s life to that point.  A smart, hardworking girl who graduated at the top of her high school class, Mamie married an abusive man, escaping the marriage with her son.  Emmett was visiting family in Mississippi when he was murdered by white men who believed he had violated Jim Crow laws when interacting with the wife of one of the men at a store.  The sheriff planned to quietly bury Emmett’s body, but Mamie insisted on bringing him home and having an open casket funeral.  Photos were widely published, giving impetus to the civil rights movement.  After Emmett’s death, Mamie remarried, went to college, became a teacher, and continued to work for civil rights until her death in 2003 at the age of 81.  Includes notes from the author and illustrator, a playlist, a glossary, a timeline, and a list of sources.  64 pages; grades 3-7.

Pros:  This is a powerful book, both the free verse text and the cut paper illustrations.  The tone is appropriately somber, but also inspiring, showing Mamie’s love for her son, her grief, and her incredible resilience.  A Coretta Scott King Award contender for sure. 

Cons:  The narrative may be somewhat confusing to readers who aren’t familiar with Emmett Till’s story.  They might want to start with the back matter.

Action! How Movies Began by Meghan McCarthy

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Simon and Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books

Summary:  This whirlwind tour of the movie industry faithfully reproduces scenes from a huge variety of films, including Saturday Night Fever, The Gold Rush, Nosferatu, Star Wars, and many, many more.  There’s a quick history of various film technologies that led to silent movies and then talkies.  The influence of one film upon others is shown through the illustrations, most fascinatingly with Metropolis.  Racism is briefly touched upon, showing how it affected Josephine Baker’s career, and comparing this with a scene from Black Panther, a blockbuster with an all-Black cast.  “Movies will continue to inspire us for generations to come,” McCarthy concludes, “and we have all the inventors, actors, writers, and directors to thank.”  Includes additional information about the MGM lion, female film editors, the beginnings of Hollywood, the disappearance of Louis Le Prince (which could be a whole book itself), makeup in the silent era; also a bibliography of books, websites, and other sources.  48 pages; grades 2-7.

Pros:  I know this probably sounds like a random mishmash of information, but somehow Meghan McCarthy makes it work as a fascinating read, and the illustrations are phenomenal.  All the characters have her trademark bug-eyed expressions, but they are amazing renditions of so many famous scenes from film history.  If I were on the Caldecott committee, I’d give this a close look.  

Cons:  If you’re a Thomas Edison fan, prepare to be disillusioned.

Sal Boat: A Boat by Sal by Thyra Heder

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Published by Harry N. Abrams

Summary:  Sal loves the water and dreams of having a boat of his own.  Being a kid, though, he can’t buy a boat, so he decides to build one.  He scavenges materials from wherever he can find them: the garage, a builder’s castoffs, the marina’s dumpster.  Word soon gets around, and everyone has questions to ask and advice to offer.  But Sal is an independent kid, and he knows what he wants.  He finds a secluded spot and starts to build.  Before long, though, one thing becomes apparent: Sal’s boat looks like a house.  But Sal stubbornly clings to the notion that it’s a boat.  Disaster strikes when it’s time to launch the boat.  Try as he might, Sal can’t get it into the water.  He’s just about to destroy the whole thing when he hears, “Wait!”  His family, neighbors, and friends have shown up, ready to get to work.  At last, Sal’s boat is afloat, and he can enjoy a solitary sail…surrounded by the canoes, kayaks, and rowboats filled with all the people who helped him.  48 pages; ages 4-8.  

Pros:  This winning story with enchanting illustrations shows the power of determination and independence…and also accepting help when you need it.  The final picture is a lovely celebration of community.

Cons:  This would be a great read for Talk Like a Pirate Day, but unfortunately, you’ll have to wait another 364 days for it to come around again.

The Animal Toolkit: How Animals Use Tools by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page

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Published by Clarion Books

Summary:  The introduction defines a tool as “an object that an animal manipulates and uses to affect its environment, another animal, or itself.”  Many of us probably know that certain kinds of apes and monkeys use tools, but what about the corolla spider that uses stones to build its web, or the bottlenose dolphin that catches fish in a shell?  Or, creepily, the black kite that will carry a burning stick from a wildfire to start a fire in another area to flush out prey (I wish I could unsee the cute quorra fleeing the flames).  Each page has a cut paper illustration with a brief paragraph of information; additional information on each animal is provided at the end, along with a bibliography.  32 pages; grades K-5.

Pros:  By now you know of my deep and abiding love for all things Steve Jenkins (and Robin Page for that matter), and here you have another fascinating book to wow elementary kids.

Cons:  Still experiencing grief and denial over the fact that Steve Jenkins passed away earlier this year.

The World’s Longest Licorice Rope by Matt Myers

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Random House Studio

Summary:  Through luck and an assortment of odd jobs, Ben collects a bagful of nickels.  Deciding what to spend them on takes some consideration, but he finally succumbs to a salesgirl with what she claims is the world’s longest licorice rope (costing just one nickel).  “How long is it?” asks Ben.  “How long is the world?” the girl replies.  Determined to find out, Ben starts chewing.  Everywhere he goes, the girl is there to sell him (for a nickel) whatever he needs to continue the journey: a boat, snowshoes, even a carrot suit to outsmart a hungry lion.  Finally, just as he is getting tired, Ben runs into Jimmy, a boy on the other end of the licorice rope who also paid a nickel.  The girl tells them that for one more nickel, they can become friends.  The two boys burst out laughing, because, they say, “Friends are free!”.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  This quirky and unpredictable book would make a great writing prompt to share where you might go with the world’s longest licorice rope.  The end makes a great case for exploring the world with a friend or two.

Cons:  The very tiny font.

This Is a School by John Schu, illustrated by Veronica Miller Jamison

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Published by Candlewick

Summary:  “This is a school.  This is a kid.  This is a kid in a class.  This is a class in a hall.  This is a hall in a school – WELCOME!”  As school starts, kids learn that school is a place to learn and discover, to make mistakes, and to find out what they’re good at.  The school becomes a community that grows, transforms, and cares about each other.  The school community is made up of all sorts of people: teachers, students, principals, and staff, and each one of them is an important part of that community.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  A wonderful back-to-school book that celebrates many different aspects of school through both the text and the illustrations.  A good companion to Alexandra Penfold’s All Are Welcome and a perfect springboard for discussing classroom and school communities.

Cons:  I should have reviewed this before school started. 

Black Boy, Black Boy: Celebrate the Power of You by Ali Kamanda and Jorge Redmond, illustrated by Ken Daley

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Published by Sourcebooks Explore

Summary:  A Black man and boy walk together on a colorful path that takes them past Black heroes from the present and past, like Colin Kaepernick (football player), Elijah McCoy (inventor), and William Goines (first Black Navy Seal).  Famous men like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Barack Obama are also on the path, which ends with the man encouraging the boy to believe in himself and work hard so that he can have his own adventurous journey.  The final page shows the boy off and running down the path on his own, with the men from the book watching him and cheering him on.  Includes brief information of the nine men mentioned in the book.  40 pages; grades K-4.

Pros:  An empowering book for Black boys that would make an excellent choice for a Black History Month read-aloud and belongs in all libraries for any time of year.  Here’s hoping there will be a Black Girl companion book.

Cons:  The rhyming felt a little forced, making me wonder if rhyming text was the best choice for this book.

Some Bodies by Sophie Kennen, illustrated by Airin O’Callaghan

~ Janet Dawson ~ 2 Comments

Published by Sleeping Bear Press

Summary:  “Our bodies can get us from here to there/When we have big feelings, it’s our bodies that share.  So bodies are useful, you’ll surely find/but they’re also unique–one of a kind!”  The rhyming text and illustrations explore all sorts of different bodies.  Size, color, wheelchairs, prosthetics, glasses, tattoos, top surgery, hair, and the amount covered by clothing are all touched upon in a light-hearted body-positive way.  The author is an elementary school teacher who based the book on questions and comments she’s heard in the classroom, and she includes some sample scripts for answering children’s questions, encouraging adults to have those conversations in a positive manner.  32 pages; ages 3-8.

Pros:  Both the text and the illustrations celebrate all kinds of bodies in a way that will both engage young children and encourage them to talk about what they notice about their own bodies and others’.  

Cons:  Although one of the sample questions is “Why is that man fat?” fat people are not represented in the illustrations.

Pip and Zip by Elana K. Arnold, illustrated by Doug Salati

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Published by Roaring Brook Press

Summary:  Bored by the pandemic’s stay-at-home orders, a family of four goes for a walk around the lake.  They’re surprised to find an egg floating in the water, and even more surprised when they find a second one half-buried in the mud.  They take them to their neighbor, Ted, who seems to be some sort of wildlife rehabilitator.  He explains that ducks sometimes don’t know what to do with their first eggs, and he lends them an incubator to see if they will hatch.  After a long month of waiting, both eggs hatch, and the family names the ducklings Pip and Zip for the sounds the eggs make when they open.  Ted helps them raise Pip and Zip until they learn to fly, then accompanies them to the lake to release them back into the wild.  On the last page, the family and their neighbors are out and about again, unmasked, sharing stories about their adventures.  Includes an author’s note about her family’s experiences on which she based this book and information about what to do if you find a duck egg, including several websites.  48 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  A fun family story that shows that joy and adventure can be found even during a dark time and includes a good environmental message.  I had never heard of Doug Salati before this year, but he seems to be launching a promising career.

Cons:  The real pandemic lasted a lot longer than this fictional one seemed to.