Picture books

The Bravest Man in the World: A Story Inspired by Wallace Hartley and the Titanic by Patricia Polacco

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Published by Simon and Schuster

Image result for patricia polacco bravest man in the world

Image result for bravest man in the world polacco

Summary:  When young Jonathan complains about practicing piano, calling it a “sissy” pastime, his grandfather tells him a story of a musician he describes as “the bravest man in the world”.  It turns out that, as a child, his grandfather inadvertently became a stowaway on the Titanic.  There, he had a string of incredible luck, getting mentored by violinist Mr. Hartley and cook Mrs. Weeks.  After a few lessons from Mr. Hartley, the boy got a chance to play for John Jacob Astor, who invited him to study at the Institute of Musical Art.  He’d live with Mrs. Weeks in New York. Alas, everyone’s jubilation was short-lived; that night the ship sank, and the boy barely escaped, with the haunting notes of “Nearer My God to Thee” played by the ship’s orchestra, including Mr. Hartley, serving as the soundtrack to the disaster.  Includes an author’s note about Wallace Hartley and his violin, which survived the sinking. 56 pages; grades 2-5.

Pros:  Titanic history  buffs will appreciate this tale of life on board the luxury ship, as well as an account of the sinking.  As usual, Patricia Polacco tells a story designed to tug at the heartstrings.

Cons:  I confess I’m not a huge Polacco fan, generally find her books verbose and mawkishly sentimental.  Check and check on this one. Also, it seemed pretty unrealistic that the boy’s fortunes could turn around so dramatically in the few days the Titanic was at sea.

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At the Mountain’s Base by Traci Sorell, illustrated by Weshoyot Alvitre

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Published by Kokila

Image result for at the mountains base traci sorell

Image result for at the mountains base traci sorell

Summary:  “At the mountain’s base grows a hickory tree.  Beneath this sits a cabin. In that cabin lies a cozy kitchen, where a stove’s fire warms.”  Around that stove, a family gathers and sings. They’re thinking of another woman in their family who is a pilot, away at war, but praying for peace.  Includes an author’s note about American Indian and Alaska Native women who have served in wars. One pilot in particular is profiled, Ola Mildred Rexroat, who was the only Native woman among 1074 Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) in World War II.  32 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  A brief, but beautiful poem celebrating Native women pilots and the families who support them.  Traci Sorell’s first book We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga was a Sibert honor book last year.

Cons:  Although the poem is lovely, I didn’t really understand it until after I read the author’s note.

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Unicorns 101 by Cale Atkinson

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Published by Doubleday Books for Young Readers

Image result for unicorns 101

Image result for unicorns 101

Summary:  Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about unicorns is presented in the style of a nonfiction science book.  Their scientific name is Betterthan horsicus, they weigh 40,000 gummy bears, and they poop cupcakes–which is why you’ll never see a unicorn at a bake sale.  In fact, it’s pretty rare to see one anywhere, because unicorns are masters of disguise. Readers get a few challenges to see if they can spot the unicorn in different illustrations.  They’ll also learn some unicorn history, different types of unicorns, and what the horn is made of (50% magic, 45% mystery, and 5% sugar). The reward comes on the last page, with the Unicornius Scientificus Diploma, showing complete knowledge of unicorn science.  32 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  Any unicorn fan will love getting a chance to learn more about this magical creature.  The illustrations are colorful and eye-poppingly busy. There’s plenty of humor in both the text and pictures.  This could be a great writing prompt for kids to create their own “scientific” descriptions of other mythological animals.

Cons:  Although this could be a good way to introduce nonfiction text features, it could be confusing to kids trying to sort out the differences between fiction and nonfiction.

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The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family by Ibtihaj Muhammad with S. K. Ali, illustrated by Hatem Aly

~ Janet Dawson ~ 2 Comments

Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Image result for proudest blue amazon

Image result for proudest blue hatem

Summary:  Faizah is excited about her first day of school.  She has a new backpack and light-up shoes. But most exciting of all is that her older sister Asiya is starting sixth grade and wearing hijab for the first time.  Her scarf is blue, just like the sky and ocean. When the girls get to school, they go their separate ways, but Asiya is on Faizah’s mind throughout the day. She draws a picture of two girls in hijab having a picnic.  Later, she sees her sister on the playground at recess and hears a boy say, “I’m going to pull that tablecloth off your head.” Asiyah runs off with her friends, and Faizah remembers their mother’s advice, “Don’t carry around the hurtful words that others say.  Drop them. They are not yours to keep. They belong only to those who said them.” At the end of the day, the two sisters walk home hand in hand. Includes author’s notes about her own experiences that inspired this story with characters named for two of her sisters.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  This beautifully illustrated story celebrates wearing hijab while at the same time showing the reality that girls face when they make this transition.  Readers interested in learning more about Ibtihaj Muhammad can read her excellent memoir Proud: Living My American Dream.

Cons:  There’s always that one bully.

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Between Us and Abuela: A Family Story from the Border by Mitali Perkins, illustrated by Sara Palacios

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Published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux

Image result for between us and abuelaImage result for between us and abuelaSummary:  A little girl tells the story of her family’s trip to the border to visit her abuela who lives in Mexico.  It’s a special day near Christmas called La Posada Sin Fronteras when the people of San Diego and Tijuana work to gather people from both sides of the wall that separates the two countries.  It’s exciting to visit abuela, whom they haven’t seen in five years.  The girl has brought a scarf she made, but the guards won’t let her pass it through the fence.  Her little brother has drawn a large picture of Mary and Joseph, but the fence’s holes are too small for him to give it to abuela.  When he starts to cry, his sister has an idea.  Using knitting needles and yarn, she turns the picture into a kite that flies over the wall to the cheers of spectators on both sides.  Abuela picks up the picture, and then starts the trip back to her home while the girl and her family head back to theirs.  Includes an author’s note with additional information about La Posada Sin Fronteras. 40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  A heartwarming story that would make a unique Christmas read-aloud and could lead to some interesting conversations.

Cons:  The whole event looks like a fun party, and the sadness that the family can’t be together isn’t really touched upon.

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Here and Now by Julia Denos, illustrated by E. B. Goodale

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Published by HMH Books for Young Readers

Image result for here and now amazon denos

Summary:  Readers are invited to notice where they are as they are reading the book.  While they focus on their bodies (“You are sitting, or you are standing, or you are wrapped up in a bed. Under your bum, under your feet, is a seat, a floor…”), there are countless activities going on around them.  Underground there are earthworms and fossils. Earth is spinning through space, and so are you. People and animals are all around, working, playing, eating, healing, and having ideas. And all the while, “right here, right now, YOU are becoming.  Isn’t it wonderful?” Includes an author’s note about meditation and how she came to write this book. 40 pages; ages 4-10.

Pros:  A great read for any kind of mindfulness activities, or to help a restless group of kids center and calm down.  The illustrations feature a recurring, multicultural cast of characters doing things that most kids will recognize from their everyday lives.  There could be all kinds of follow-up activities as kids notice themselves and the world around them.

Cons:  Some additional resources on mindfulness and/or meditation for kids would have been helpful.

If you would like to buy this book on Amazon, click here.

 

 

The Scarecrow by Beth Ferry, illustrated by the Fan Brothers

~ Janet Dawson ~ 2 Comments

Published by HarperCollins

Image result for scarecrow beth ferry

Summary:  Scarecrow is good at his job, which means none of the animals come near. He has no friends until one spring when a baby crow falls nearby.  Scarecrow picks up the crow and makes a nest for him in the bib of his overalls. The two become friends until the bird grows up and flies away.  Scarecrow’s heart is broken as he stands in the field through the long fall and winter. But the next spring, an adult crow is back, this time with a mate.  Before long there’s a new nest of babies inside Scarecrow’s overalls. The last wordless page shows Scarecrow surrounded by not only crows, but some of the other animals as well.  40 pages; ages 3-8.

Pros:  The rhyming text tells a poignant story about opening up your heart to others; the illustrations are Fan Brothers perfection and should be considered for a Caldecott.

Cons:  I still am not clear on whether the Fan Brothers can win a Caldecott.  They appear to have grown up in the U.S., but live in Canada now, with dual U.S./Canadian citizenship.  And the Caldecott criteria is that the award goes to a citizen or resident of the U.S.  It seems like splitting hairs to say they’re ineligible, but I think I’ve read that that’s the case. 

If you would like to buy this book on Amazon, click here.

An early collaboration by the Fan Brothers.

16 Words: William Carlos Williams and “The Red Wheelbarrow” by Lisa Rogers, illustrated by Chuck Groenink

~ Janet Dawson ~ 2 Comments

Published by Schwartz and Wade

Image result for 16 words william carlos williams and the red wheelbarrow

Image result for 16 words william carlos williams and the red wheelbarrow

Summary:  “Look out the window. What do you see?” After this invitation to the reader, the author tells the story of Dr. William Carlos Williams, a physician who enjoyed scribbling poems on his prescription pad or as notes to his wife.  When he looked out the window of his New Jersey office, he saw his neighbor, Thaddeus Marshall, working in his garden or carrying his vegetables to market in a red wheelbarrow. Williams wrote about what he saw in the poem “The Red Wheelbarrow”.  “Those sixteen words do not describe Mr. Marshall’s chicken coop, or the train rattling nearby. They do not describe Mr. Marshall hefting that wheelbarrow, or the aches and pains he suffers from stooping to care for his plants. They do not describe Mr. Marshall’s life of work or caring or love.  But somehow they say just that.” Includes an author’s note, bibliography, and a list of six other poems by Williams. 40 pages; grades 2-6.

Pros:  I wasn’t super excited at the prospect of reading a picture book about William Carlos Williams, but this tells a gentle, beautiful (and beautifully illustrated) story that also shows how an ordinary man fit poetry into his everyday life.  It makes his poetry accessible to even early elementary students. This would be a perfect read-aloud in conjunction with Sharon Creech’s Love That Dog, which includes “The Red Wheelbarrow” as one of the poems the class studies.

Cons:  No photos of either Williams or Marshall. 

If you would like to buy this book on Amazon, click here.

Image result for red wheelbarrow william carlos williams

Alfred’s Book of Monsters by Sam Streed

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Published by Charlesbridge

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Image result for alfred's book of monsters sam streed

Summary:  Alfred loves looking at the terrible creatures in his monster book, like the Nixie and the Black Shuck.  What he doesn’t love are the delightful tea times his aunty provides every day. Finally, Alfred hits upon a solution.  He writes a letter, puts it in an envelope, and leaves it at the entrance of the town cemetery. The next day, there are a few additional guests for tea, “And they all had a terrible time.”  The last page shows a dazed and disheveled aunty and a smiling Alfred, still reading his book. 32 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  Hand this to those kindergarteners who ask for a scary book.  The illustrations have a gothic feel to them, and Alfred is a worthy successor to Where the Wild Things Are’s Max.  

Cons:  I would have enjoyed seeing more than three monsters from Alfred’s book.

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Fly! by Mark Teague

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Published by Beach Lane Books

Image result for fly mark teague

Image result for fly mark teague

Summary:  A young bird and its parent engage in wordless dialogue in this story about getting up the courage to leave the nest.  After feeding its offspring endless worms, the parent is ready for the youngster to fly. But they have different ideas about this, especially when the little bird leaves the nest and tumbles straight to the ground.  Readers see their communication as pictures in cartoon bubbles; the older bird tries to convince with pictures of soaring eagles and flights to Florida, while the younger one imagines riding in an airplane, traveling in a hot-air balloon, and biking to Florida.  Finally, the real threat of becoming an owl’s dinner convinces the kid to try again, and both birds end up happily back in their nest as the moon rises over them.

Pros:  I learned about this book in a recent edition of one of my favorite Caldecott predictors, and while I’m not sure it’s quite medal-worthy, it is a lot of fun.  Sometimes wordless books can be confusing, but this is one that even the youngest readers will enjoy.

Cons:  The parent seemed overly indulgent of its slightly bratty child.

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