Martin & Mahalia: His Words and Her Song

by Andrea Davis Pinkney
illustrated by Brian Pinkney
Little, Brown | August 2013
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(reviewed from galleys) 

Children's book living-legends and husband-and-wife team Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney come together again--this time for a glorious portrayal of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and Mahalia Jackson. This gorgeous and spiritually-worded book begins with separate portrayals of the two subjects and then brings them together, mirroring their relationship in real life. The water color in the illustrations lend a softness and the India ink pen highlights a strength in the images.

Some words and phrases on each page are rendered in a bigger, sans-serif font, allowing for the reader's eye to focus in on what's most important on that page. The water-color-like color of those words keeps them clearly linked to the images. The story uses a metaphor of a road map to invite the reader in before the title page and carries the story along the path towards the Civil Rights era and the path toward a greater freedom for all in the United States. Ending with the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the book is appended with an author's note, an illustrator's note, a list of further reading, a discography of Jackson's work, acknowledgements, and a time line.

This is a picture book, yes. But it is a fine example of why picture books are not always for the smallest readers. While a younger child might appreciate the images and could perhaps sit through an entire reading, this is the kind of book that is meant for older readers. This book invites kids as old as high-school to sit down and dive in. The illustrations add context and a fluidity to an understanding of the impact both King and Jackson had on United States history. This book shows with words and with pictures why the struggle was difficult, yet also vibrant and joyful. And while everyone has heard of King, is everyone familiar with the role Jackson played? I would guess: probably not.

The book opens: YOU ARE HERE. . . . Take the road. Come along. With Martin and Mahalia." I echo this first page. Get this book. Take the road the Pinkneys offer.

All the Awake Animals Are Almost Asleep

by Crescent Dragonwagon
illustrated by David MacPhail
Little, Brown | 2012
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A young child is reluctant to go to sleep, so his Mom tells him about all the awake animals that are going to sleep, too. This alphabet book includes a number of familiar animals (frog, fox) and some new ones (dromedary, ibex). By the end, everyone is asleep, including the reluctant human child.

The rich, warm colors are beautiful and the sunsets, moonscapes, and darkness settings of each of the animals' habitats are rendered realistically. The large, sweeping letters in different colors might be hard for little readers to recognize, but they are more a part of the artwork than anything else, so it still works. MacPhail's animals are lovely as always, and some illustrations include baby animals along with the adults, likely appealing to little readers.

Do you have a small child who never wants to go to sleep? This might be the perfect bed-time book for them (and you!).

Olive and the Big Secret

by Tor Freeman
Templar Books/Candlewick | 2012
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Molly tells Olive a secret and Olive does pretty well not telling anyone until she finally cracks and shares the secret with Joe (she almost told Ziggy!). Joe tells someone and that someone tells someone and pretty soon, word gets back to Molly, who confronts Olive straightaway. It's the classic story of how secrets become not-so-secret anymore.

The mostly spot art and large type is perfect for early readers as well as for younger kids as a read aloud. Hints on the end papers and on the title page give some clues into what the big secret is all about, and work in concert with the back endpapers to confirm it. Heavy glossy paper and lots of white space add to the overall appeal of the design. Freeman's animal characters are endearing (Olive is a cat, Molly is a bunny, Joe is a turtle, and so on . . .).

This is the perfect book about an important lesson without being too heavy handed about it.

Z is for Moose

by Kelly Bingham
illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky
Greenwillow | 2012
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This is one of the stand-out books of the year! (I can hardly believe I've not included it in the Book Pile until now, actually.)

Zebra is organizing all the things that represent the letters of the alphabet as they line up to appear in the book. Starting before the title page, we see Moose holding up the curtain so the reader can have a peek at everyone getting ready. On the copyright page, the stairs and doorway appear and Apple holds Ball's hand (and Ball has its teddy bear). Zebra, with his referee shirt, cap, and whistle, is ready to go.

Apple heads boldly up the stairs and sits on the stage while "A is for Apple" appears below it on the page. (Zebra peeks in to ensure everything is going smoothly.) Things progress just fine through B and C and suddenly, there is Moose, with "D is for Moose" above him, and Zebra charging in telling him, "Moose? NO. Moose does not start with D. You are on the wrong page." Moose departs, right across the gutter into Elephant, who is doing his thing over on the E page. From here, things only go down hill. And then end in a lovely friendship-filled ending just right for a picture book!

When I gave this book to my niece, she howled. She laughed. She giggled. She insisted we read it over and over and over. She brought it to school and insisted the teacher read it to the class. She howled some more. She's 4. I hope every kid who encounters this book gets as much pleasure as Sonia does from it! I think they will. (And grown-ups? You can have a chuckle too!)

Red Knit Cap Girl

by Naoko Stoop
Little, Brown | 2012

This New York Times Best Illustrated Books of 2012 winner is about a small girl who is trying to get close enough to the moon to talk with her. She and her small white bunny try everything to no avail. She asks for help from the wise owl, who isn't much help at all. Finally, she devises a plan which at first seems to fail, but then.

This charming, quiet story is a pleasure and the artwork makes it that much better. Fairly often, I need to check the copyright page to figure out how art was rendered. This time, though, I knew from the start this gorgeous art was done on plywood. The knots and contours of the wood shows through the art and onto the page, lending movement and emotion to each image. In some cases, bare wood has been left as a border, or as a part of the overall illustration. Stoop uses ink, paint, and pencil on the plywood, which lends a multi-layered feel.The matte pages add to the overall aesthetic.

Don't miss this one. Red Cap Girl and White Bunny will share their adventures with your littlest reader!

The Duckling Gets a Cookie?

by Mo Willems
Hyperion | 2012

The latest installment in Willem's pigeon book series involves a very cute little duckling, who, because he possesses some manners, gets a cookie. And of course, along comes the pigeon in all his glory and has a fit because he never gets what he asks for. What happens next is totally unexpected and kind of hilarious. You'll love it. And so will any kid reading alongside you.

The very clever end papers give a hint about the story and as usual, the story starts before the first page, in this case on the copyright page where the pigeon declares: "I do not like the look of that title." This sort of metatextual joke is one of my favorite things about picture books, which can do all kinds of fun things with art.

I think, in 2012, the pigeon is as recognizable to young Americans as Mickey Mouse is. Don't miss his latest story!

Noah Webster & His Words

by Jeri Chase Ferris
illustrated by Vincent X. Kirsch
Houghton Mifflin | 2012

This nonfiction biography picture book about Noah Webster and the creation of the first dictionary is fantastic! Full of great facts and the story of how Webster became the father of the American dictionary, it is written clearly with excellent definitions of fourteen words built right into the story.

From the first page:

"Noah Webster always knew he was right, and he never got tired of saying so (even if sometimes, he wasn't). He was, he said, full of CON-FI-DENCE" [noun: belief that one is right] from the very beginning."

The whimsical drawings bring the story even more to life, and the prodigious use of squiggles in the art bring a "handwritten" quality to all the illustrations. One awesome detail in the illustrations stands out. On a page about how Webster sailed to Europe to use the libraries in there to finish his dictionary, the illustration is of a boat on the ocean. The ocean waves are made of words, all having to do with ships. I only know that because I looked them up! Taffrail, gaff, moonraker, stunsail, tilller, halyard, and more are spread across that ocean and it's a lovely detail!

The book includes a detailed timeline that interweaves Noah Webster's life with important American dates; after all, he was born in 1758 and died in 1843 and during his lifetime, the United States was born. He is buried in New Haven in Grove Street Cemetery next to Yale. The book also includes a longer note about Noah Webster and a bibliography that includes websites.

Biographies are not boring! And this one proves it yet again.

Monsoon

by Uma Krishnaswami
illustrated by Jamel Akib
Farrar, Straus, & Giroux | 2003

It is the end of the dry season in an Indian city and a young girl and her family await the monsoon rains that will wash away the dust and bring renewed life. As they go from home to market to the streets, they wish and hope that the rains will come soon and in just the right amount. Too little rain means difficulty as does too much.

Akib's soft drawings are perfect for both the mood and topic of the book. The family includes the protagonist, a young girl and her younger brother, mother, father, and grandmother. They live in a modern, upper-middle-class home and wear a mixture of Western and traditional Indian clothing. The book introduces a weather phenomenon most American children won't be familiar with and places it in a place that looks both familiar and foreign at the same time.

On the copyright page a brief, helpful glossary explains a few Hindi words not defined in the text. This is a lovely book. Don't miss it's quiet and graceful story. 

Trick or Treat

written and illustrated by Leo Landry
Houghton Mifflin | 2012

As Oliver Ghost makes his way around inviting his friends to his Halloween party, one invitation floats away and ends up in the hands of two children. They come to the party and have a great time, completely unaware they are partying amongst real ghosts, goblins, and witches!

Landry's simple illustrations are absolutely adorable. The Halloween story is unique and different than all the other Halloween stories out there. Get this one for your little ghosts and tricksters this year!

The Obstinate Pen

by Frank Dormer
Henry Holt | 2012

Uncle Flood's new pen arrives while Horace is visiting. He flees as Uncle Flood demands silence to write. He begins, "The following story is all true." But that's not what the pen writes. The pen, who is obviously obstinate, writes, "You have a BIG nose." Uncle Flood tries again. The pen insults him again. So Uncle Flood throws it out the window.

What follows is a stream of adults discovering and attempting to use the pen to no avail and with different reactions. In the end, it is Horace who winds up with the pen, and a surprise. For, it appears, in the right hands, the pen has no need to be obstinate.

This unique and original idea has turned into a fantastically illustrated picture book. It's funny and clever and droll. The characters are entertaining and readers learn quite a bit about each one, which is quite a feat considering the small number of words in a picture book.

Imagine if your pen suddenly started writing whatever it wanted rather than what you wanted. Ask your young readers to imagine it. What might it say? What a fun classroom activity!

Lester's Dreadful Sweaters

by K.G. Campbell
Kids Can Press | 2012

Lester is an anxious little kid, and when Cousin Clara's house is consumed by a crocodile, she comes to stay with Lester's family. She makes Lester a sweater, and it's just dreadful. His parents make him wear it to school anyway. So Lester finds a way to "accidentally" destroy it.

But Cousin Clara keeps making new sweaters and each is more ghastly or repulsive or alarming or terrible. Finally, at Enid Measles's party, he meets a group of people who just love Cousin Clara's sweaters. And they and Clara live happily ever after.

This curiously weird book is a treat. The pencil crayon artwork is pleasing and the story begins in the illustrations on the half title page and title page. The sweaters are ridiculous and Lester wearing them is even more ridiculous--young readers will likely chuckle at the images.

Eight Days Gone

by Linda McReynolds
illustrated by Ryan O'Rourke
Charlesbridge | 2012

The simple, sparse rhyming text in this picture book about the first American landing on the moon in 1969 is utterly perfect for the littlest readers. It tells the entire story of the Michael Collins, Neil Armstrong, and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin's successful trip. The clean, clear illustrations are a brilliant complement to the story. McReynolds and O'Rourke are a fantastic team on this one.

An excerpt:

Swiftly speeding.
Earth ahead.
Ship arriving.
News is spread.

Ocean splashdown.
Heroes seen.
Helicopter.
Quarantine. 

This is another great holiday season buy. Everyone loves the moon!

A Sick Day for Amos McGee

by Philip C. Stead
illustrated by Erin E. Stead
Roaring Brook Press/A Neal Porter Book | 2010

Amos goes to work each morning at the City Zoo, where all his friends wait for him. He plays chess with the elephant, runs races with the turtle, reads with the owl, and more. Then one day, Amos McGee has a cold and takes a sick day. Soon, all his friends have hatched a plan and spend the day with Amos after all.

This absolutely beautiful book, written and illustrated by the Steads, who are husband and wife, won the 2011 Caldecott. It's a quiet story. It's a perfect story. It's one of those classics that will be around when my 2-year-old niece is old and gray and people will still read it to their kids.

Erin's artwork is exquisite. She cuts woodblocks and prints the colored layers of each illustration. Then she draws with pencil on top. I was recently at a conference and got to see her wood blocks--they are so cool!

Pick this one up for all the kids on your holiday shopping list. They'll love it (and you will too)!

This is Not My Hat

 written and illustrated by Jon Klassen
Candlewick Press | 2012

Get your pre-order in now for this awesome follow-up to I Want My Hat Back, Klassen's 2011 Geisel Honor winning, hilariously subversive picture book. The book comes out October 9 and everyone's already excited.

This time around, rather than someone (or something) losing a hat, someone (or something) steals one. And he's pretty darn sure he's going to get away with it handily. As you can imagine, he--well--he doesn't. (It doesn't help that the one guy he sees along the way doesn't hold up his end of the criminal accomplice bargain.)

I won't say anymore, lest I ruin it completely, but suffice it to say this book is as fun and irreverent as Klassen's first. The art is fantastic as usual, in Klassen's signature style, which breaks some rules of picture books (backwards flowing action for instance). And the greens and blacks are as dramatic as the browns and reds were in Hat Back. Klassen's second book is bound to be a winner in many other people's books. 

Drawing From Memory

by Allen Say
Scholastic | 2011

This 2012 Sibert Medal Honor book chronicles Allen Say's personal journey from childhood to adult illustrator and writer. Told in the first person, the book invites the reader to journey with Say from the Japan of his childhood beginning with his birth in 1937 through his struggles with his parents around his chosen vocation to his independent living in an apartment of his own at the age of 12. It continues through his apprenticeship with one of the most lauded Japanese cartoonists to his choice to join his father in the United States.

The book is told through both words and pictures and feels a bit like a graphic novel. At 64 pages, it is picture book for slightly older readers and perfect for discussions about discovery: discovery of self, of meaning, and of family. Say's stories are gifts to children's literature (check out Grandfather's Journey and The Bicycle Man for two of my favorites) and he's known for his nonfiction stories that are largely autobiographical.

Don't miss this book. It's not only beautiful, it's also poignant in a gentle, understated way that leaves room for the reader's own interpretation. A perfect combination.

Clothesline Clues to the Jobs People Do

by Kathryn Heling and Deborah Hembrook
illustrated by Andy Robert Davies
Charlesbridge | 2012

In this delightfully simple book, very young readers are asked to anticipate what job folks do based on the things hanging on their clotheslines. As a letter carrier makes her way from house to house delivering invitations to a party, we meet a chef, an artist, a farmer, and more. Everyone gathers at the end for a good-bye party for the launch of the final neighbor, an astronaut.

The illustrations are bright and basic to allow perfect hints so kids can successfully figure out who they'll meet next. And the text is early-reader ready. I can imagine a kindergarten lesson in which kids are asked to draw their own imaginary clotheslines with hints to their dream job for when they grow up for classmates to guess.


No matter the use, this is a wonderful curl-up-together-and-discover book!

The Relatives Came

by Cynthia Rylant
illustrated by Stephen Gammell
Bradbury Press | 1985

This past summer, my relatives came. My brother donated his house, only a few miles from my parents' house, and couch surfed at friends' for a week. My sister and brother-in-law and my two nieces; a cousin and her husband and their two kids; another cousin (sister to the first cousin) and her husband and their two kids; my aunt (sister to my mother and mother to my two cousins) and another of her grandchildren who belongs to yet another cousin who couldn't make the trip himself; all came to stay. They arrived in two stuffed cars and two different airplanes. A trip to the beach involved three cars and seven car seats. My relatives came, they sure did. And we had as much of a glorious time as the folks in Cynthia Rylant's timeless book.


The anticipation of their arrival, the day they show up, and hugging are all part of relatives coming to stay. "Those relatives just passed us all aroudn their car, pulling us against their wrinkled Virginia clothes, crying sometimes. They hugged us for hours." What lovely words.

The book takes the reader through the visit--eating with so many people to feed, sleeping with a shortage of beds, celebrating together, and the poignant sadness of the leaving when "our beds...felt too big and too quiet." That dull achy feeling at the pit of a stomach after a visit--the physical manifestation of missing someone--Cynthia Rylant hits it right on the head. Gammell's illustrations are soft, rendered in what appears to be colored pencil, adding a lighthearted whimsy to the text. The road they travel is windy and hilly and the car bounces along as if alive. The joy on the faces of each and every relative can remind children that even when the house is crowded and cousin Billy just whupped you a good one, we're all still family. And that's what matters.

Guest Reviewer: Zoe Gets Ready

by Bethanie Deeney Murguia

Arthur A. Levine Books (Scholastic) | May 2012

“On school days, soccer days, and rainy days, someone else always decides what Zoe will wear.” 

But today? “Today is a Saturday, and that means Zoe gets to decide.” With her little sister, a brown and white stuffed horse, and the family dog in attendance, Zoe empties the entire contents of her closet to figure out what outfit is suitable for a day like today. Is it a pocket day? A twirling day? A cart-wheeling, exploring, blending-in, or standing-out day?

As the pile of clothes on the floor grows ever larger, Zoe’s little sister and their pooch end up in all sorts of odd contortions and colorful outfits while Zoe daydreams about what might be. An exploring day requires gloves and shorts, a touch-the-sky day calls for boots, while a standing-out day must obviously be accompanied by a long, red scarf. 

The text is succinct and expressive with a youthful and imaginative voice that makes each page turn exciting. Every spread is a full-page bleed, with colorful illustrations in changing points of view that pull the reader right into the action (inside of Zoe’s head and out). On the penultimate spread, Zoe decides that it’s an everything sort of day, pulls together the perfect ensemble and, be-winged, chases a butterfly into the white background. 

 

Siân Gaetano is, before all else, a reader. She is currently pursuing an M.A. in Children’s Literature at Simmons College (to be finished in  Summer 2013) and working evenings serving the good people of Boston food and beverage.

And The Soldiers Sang

by J. Patrick Lewis
illustrated by Gary Kelley
Creative Editions | 2011

This poignant picture book is about the Christmas truce on Christmas Eve 1914 on the front lines of WWI. Seen through the eyes of a fictional Welsh soldier who sings First Noel in his tenor that night, the paneled art evokes a graphic-novel or war-based comic book feel. The dark palette fits perfectly with the wartime and night-time setting and the story itself offers a look at how peace fits into history.

This one is for the older set. Use it in your 4th through 10th grade classrooms during a general war unit or on a WWI unit. Ask the students to consider how the history is woven through the story with a fictional character at the center -- does it matter if he's not actually real? Will we ever know every soldier who was there that night? Offer it to your child who is curious about war and wants to read everything s/he can get their hands on. Read it yourself. Personally, I didn't get enough WWI history in school to remember the Christmas truce all that well. But now, it'll stay with me forever.

A 2012 Boston Globe-Horn Book Picture Book Honor Award winner, this one will likely be a winner in everyone's mind.

Chuck Close: Face Book

by Chuck Close
Abrams | 2012

This 2012 Boston Globe-Horn Book Nonfiction Award winner brings a group of fifth grade art students into Chuck Close's studio and allows them to ask him questions. Each question begins a section and Close's answers provide the text. A pleasing introduction, four-page timeline, resource list, extensive glossary, and double spread list of illustrations with thumbnails rounds out the text. And best of all, right in the center is a signature of heavy card stock paper cut into thirds and featuring 14 of Close's self-portraits that a reader can flip and match and, in essence, create new art with.

Not being a modern art aficionado, I wasn't entirely clear who Chuck Close is. In a nutshell, he's an artist who paints massive face portraits from small squares of color that form together into shapes. If you stand too close to his art, it doesn't look like anything but colorful squiggles. But step back a few feet or more and there's Philip Glass or Bill Clinton or Close himself looking right at you.

In the text, he explains his background as a kid who struggled with academics, how he started drawing, and how he developed his process. He chronicles his accident leading to quadriplegia in the 80s and how he continued to paint afterwards. He gives advice to budding artists and how his assistants work with him.

This one is great for any kid interested in art. It's about process and about someone who needed an outlet and who shined in one way while struggling in another. And its design is spectacular and it'll be a good addition to your coffee table or the book table in your classroom.