Simms Taback and His Bright Creations
01 Jan 2012 2 Comments
in Caldecott Award, Ecology, Folk and Fairy Tales, Picture Books, Winter stories Tags: Joseph Had a Little Overcoat, multicultural literature, Simms Taback
Without Simms Taback’s books, the land of children’s literature would look less colorful, less lively, less creative. One of my favorite stories to tell young ones is the old Yiddish tale of “Something from Nothing,” in which a tailor takes his worn-out coat and makes a smaller garment out of it, and on and on until there’s nothing left (in my version) but a story, which can last forever!
After telling that story, I’d read the group Taback’s cheerful Caldecott-winning Joseph Had a Little Overcoat, holding up each page with its fun die-cut hole so the children could guess what Joseph would make next. This lively picture book, illustrated with watercolors, gouache, pencil, ink and collage, provides a banquet of buttons, bright scraps of fabric, petite photos of flowers, all popping out from the pages’ dark background. Listeners get to peep through smaller and smaller holes, as the items — a vest, a tie, etc. — diminish in size.
Based on the Yiddish song “Hob Ich Mir a Mantl,” or “I Had a Little Overcoat,” which Taback loved as a boy, this book belongs in EVERY child’s school or home library. Not only does it make for a rousing read-aloud, its evocation of Eastern European shtetls provides a link to a rich culture. And the message of making the most of whatever you have is a timely and important one for us all. Educators or parents can tap this little treasure for lessons in recycling, music, social studies, art, and reading, especially in teaching the skill of prediction. Taback includes the lyrics to the song that inspired the story.
Sadly, Simms Taback died of pancreatic cancer last Sunday. He has bequeathed us his bright, unforgettable books to share with children:
Related articles
- Simms Taback, Author of Wry Children’s Books, Dies at 79
(nytimes.com)
Following Patient Butterflies
22 Aug 2011 6 Comments
in Folk and Fairy Tales, Insects, Nonfiction, Picture Books, Summer Tags: Butterflies, Dianna Hutts Aston, Gerardo Suzan, insects, Judy Sierra, Margarita Engle, multicultural literature, Outdoors, Sylvia Long, Victoria Chess, Virginia L. Kroll
As I sit on my back porch reading, I often look up to watch the world flutter by at a languid pace. I’m surrounded by a border of overgrown abelia bushes that arch and bloom, luring silent hummingbirds and graceful Eastern Tiger Swallowtails. 
I stretch in the blessed shade and marvel at the strong wings that come this way each summer.
Aston, Dianna Hutts. A Butterfly Is Patient. Illus. by Sylvia Long. Chronicle, 2011.
Poetic text and bright, detailed watercolors lift this informative nonfiction book to lofty heights. Employing the same accessible format of their two previous winners, An Egg Is Quiet and A Seed Is Sleepy, this talented duo trace the insects’ development from egg to flight. Along the way, readers will learn how butterflies and moths differ, as well as facts about metamorphosis, pollination, camouflage, and migration. Young and old will succumb to the temptation to pore over Long’s lifelike close-ups of dozens of caterpillars and butterflies, clearly labeled without detracting from the beauty of each winged creature. “A butterfly is creative,” the author notes. So is this lovely book, fine as wing scales “stacked like shingles on a roof.” Recommended for ages 7-10.
Engle, Margarita. Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian. illus. by Julie Paschkis. Holt, 2010.
“Each year, the sky fills with summer birds. Many people call them butterflies. Everyone believes that these insects come from mud, as if by magic. I disagree.” In the Middle Ages, people believed insects were evil. Maria Merian, a brave German girl born in 1647, defied her culture’s conception of nature and its expectations for women. Intrigued by butterflies, she observed their life cycle and carefully painted the insects and their habitats. The illustrator’s vivid jewel tones and profusion of vines and imaginary creatures evoke the passionate nature of this remarkable woman, copies of whose prints now live in the world’s art museums. Engle’s concluding note provides additional details on Maria Merian, who went on to become a scientist, artist and world explorer. Educators can use this fine picture-book biography for a bevy of cross-curricular activities and discussions. For ages 7-10.
Kroll, Virginia L. Butterfly Boy. illus. by Gerardo Suzan. Boyds Mills, 2003. 
This tender story features young Emilio and his invalid grandfather, who find delight in a flock of red admiral butterflies. The boy senses his abuelo is “smiling inside, even though his mouth could no longer show it.” Emilio is able to get near the bright insects, inspiring his neighbor to call him “Butterfly Boy.” During the winter, he reads in a book that the butterflies are attracted to white surfaces, such as their garage wall. Emilio’s excitement upon their return in the spring turns to dismay as he sees his father is painting the garage blue. What can he do? Emilio snatches his white shirt from the clothesline and puts it on — and the red butterflies flock to him. Like Abuelo and his family, readers will find reason to smile when reading this sensitive story enlivened by Suzan’s bright, playful watercolors. Ages 5-8.
Sierra, Judy. The Beautiful Butterfly: A Folktale from Spain. illus. by Victoria Chess. Clarion, 2000. 
Make room for laughter with Sierra’s lilting variant of a Spanish folktale that features a lady butterfly courted by a motley procession of suitors. A cricket arrives first, wanting to marry her. The butterfly poses this crucial question: “And if I do marry you, how will you sing to our babies?” The cricket’s annoying click fails the test. Next, the frog comes to woo. His ugly “Croo-AH!” just won’t do. Finally, a mouse, with a soothing “ee-ee-ee-ee-ee,” is the perfect choice. Unexpectedly, though, Mouse falls into a pond and is eaten by a fish. Sierra comes to the rescue here; realizing this conclusion saddened children, she researched the story’s variants and discovered some endings that involved underwear. Butterfly and everyone who hears the news mourns, some in outlandish ways. The turning point comes when the king runs around in his royal underwear. Even the fish laughs — and out pops the mouse. Don’t miss this one! Ages 6-8.
A Storm Called Katrina
01 Aug 2011 1 Comment
in Historical fiction, Picture Books Tags: Colin Bootman, Harry Shearer, Hurricane Katrina, multicultural literature, Myron Uhlberg, New Orleans, Ninth Ward of New Orleans
Uhlberg, Myron. A Storm Called Katrina. Illus. by Colin Bootman. Peachtree, 2011.
“Don’t you worry now,” Mama told Louis. “After some huffin’ and puffin’, Katrina will blow away and land up the coast just like all those other hurricanes.” What no one anticipated, however, is that the hurricane that landed August 29, 2005, would break the levees and alter the landscape and even the language of New Orleans.
By focusing on the experiences of a particular fictional family, Myron Uhlberg renders a moving story built around that event and its chaotic aftermath. The narrator is ten-year-old Louis, named after the legendary jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong. As the storm rattles his darkened bedroom window, Louis hugs his shiny brass cornet and somehow feels better.
At last the rain stopped, but when Daddy opened the door the next day, something worse appeared: water seeped in. With no time for packing or planning, Louis and his parents join others desperate to escape their inundated neighborhood. Louis snatches his precious horn from the coffee table before leaving.
Realistic, well-chosen details suffuse the oil paintings by award-winning artist Colin Bootman, who also illustrated Uhlberg’s picture book Dad, Jackie and Me. He situates the family’s simple, well-loved abode in its neighborhood of shotgun houses of many hues, lived in by people of various races, but mostly by other African-Americans. He captures the folks’ worried expressions and especially the family’s care for each other as they venture through flooded streets, holding hands.
Employing a striking palette of deep marine blues and mutable shades of turquoise, Mr. Bootman immerses readers in a watery world where normalcy vanishes. Can a porch become a boat? Can streets become rivers? Can a neighborhood disappear in one day? Such is the stuff of nightmares or Alice-in-Wonderland fantasies – or of the real world that families such as Louis’s encountered that day. Brightness occasionally pierces the illustrator’s dark images – the glint of Louis’s cornet, a dazzling, blue sky; an artificial Christmas tree drifting by, ornaments still attached; and most troubling to Louis, a lost dog with a red ball. Mama, Daddy, and Louis keep floating on a piece of someone’s torn-off porch, unable to care for the pup.
As the waters rise, so does the tension. Louis grabs a broom to help steer their “lifeboat.” Who wouldn’t wonder what might lie beneath those murky waters? The author hints at the existence of dead bodies in the water, as Louis’s broom hits a pile of clothes. Mama quickly covers his eyes and tells him not to look.
The family’s tortuous journey takes them to the higher ground of the Superdome, where multitudes of people are crowding the gates. The bewildering bigness of the Dome, its white roof punctured by storm winds, comes across in Mr. Bootman’s painting of the family surveying the football field from their perch in the distant stands. In a story filled with irony, the family’s predicament seems even darker in the stadium that when floating on the bit of porch.
Yet, Mr. Uhlberg does not offer us a story of helpless victims. Children will thrill to the quick thinking of Louis, who comes up with the perfect solution when Daddy loses sight of the family. And, interestingly, thanks to Mama’s decisiveness, the family eschews the yellow schoolbuses that finally arrive to take the stranded elsewhere.
The author and illustrator beautifully balance this troubling tale with just the right amount of optimism. Even the dog with the red ball has reason to yelp with joy, as it gets to join Louis and his parents on their way back home. Adults will no doubt notice the vague, muted horizon confronting the family and will wonder how they will cope with the obstacles ahead. The simple answer evoked by Mr. Bootman’s concluding image is this: by putting one foot in front of the other.
The somber facts of the flooding that killed 1,800 people show up in the author’s note, along with three photographs relevant to the picture book. The author’s suggestions for additional books and websites will prove helpful for young researchers.
A portion of the proceeds from sales of A Storm Called Katrina will be donated to the Norman Mayer Library, which is being rebuilt in the Ninth Ward neighborhood of Gentilly, New Orleans, the setting for this story.
Reprinted by permission of NYJournalofBooks.com
Related articles
- LSU faulted for firing prof critical of post-Katrina construction (chron.com)
- The Big Uneasy: A Film by Harry Shearer. “Natural disaster? You don’t know the half of it.” You must see this moving documentary on the mind-boggling mistakes of the Army Corps of Engineers, who built the levees that didn’t do the job. Thanks for this eye-opening film — and thanks for coming to my little city, Harry!
- POGO (Project on Government Oversight): Release the Hounds. Here’s an update on a whistleblower interviewed in Shearer’s recently released film The Big Uneasy.
A Thorn for the Greedy
04 Apr 2011 9 Comments
in Folk and Fairy Tales, Picture Books Tags: Armenia - folklore, Lucine Kasbarian, Maria Zaikina, multicultural literature
Kasbarian, Lucine. The Greedy Sparrow: An Armenian Tale. Illus. by Maria Zaikina. Marshall Cavendish, 2011.
The Greedy Sparrow is a joy to read aloud, from its traditional opening, “Once there was and was not,” to its humorous ending. In her debut picture book, Kasbarian draws on memories of her father telling her this old folktale, first written down by the Armenian poet Hovhannes Toumanian. Kasbarian’s clear-eyed and nuanced retelling makes for an appealing tale for young children.
The simple plot follows a sparrow that gets a thorn in its foot. He flies until he finds a baker, whom he asks to pull the thorn out. After she agrees “with pleasure,” the sparrow flies away, without even thanking the helpful baker. The baker flings the thorn in the oven and gets back to her work. Soon, the sparrow returns, with an angry-looking brow this time, demanding the baker hand over the thorn. Befuddled, the baker says she’s thrown it in the oven. If she can’t return the thorn, she must give him her fresh bread, he insists. Realizing that the sparrow will not listen to reason, she hands over some fat, round lavash.
Now the sparrow’s looking cheerful as he holds onto his undeserved reward. He meets a shepherd tending his sheep and asks politely enough if he will watch his bread. The shepherd, as did the baker, responds, “With pleasure!” As with all the characters, Zaikina uses thick black outlines and colors that gain texture from oil paint and layers of wax. Dialogue floats inside cartoonish balloons that emerge from each speaker. The shepherd, like the other characters in this book, wears traditional Armenian clothes — in this case, black wool, trimmed in red.
The Greedy Sparrow has an authentic flavor that distinguishes it from many picture books aimed at ages 4 to 8. The illustrator joins the author in pumping fun and telling details into this book. Zaikina’s palette exudes folksy, bright colors and images, including a range of traditional Armenian clothing styles for the various characters. Kasbarian roots her retelling in its homeland by her spare words, her traditional opening line, and her inclusion of specific Armenian customs and landmarks, such as Mount Ararat, encountered in the course of the sparrow’s wanderings.
Back comes the sparrow, demanding his bread from the shepherd – who has eaten it. This time, the bird demands a sheep instead. As did the baker, the shepherd sees “it was no use arguing” and gives in to his demands. If the ridiculous nature of this request doesn’t make the reader laugh, the illustration with the small bird carrying off a rotund sheep will.
Somehow the bird flies with the sheep over Mount Ararat and Lake Van to reach the island of Aghtamar, where an outdoor wedding reception is in full swing. The illustrator portrays a lively scene: brightly-garbed dancers link arms, and musicians strum a davul and a zurna, instruments common at traditional Armenian weddings. Then there is the wedding party seated at a table laden with jugs of wine, platters of shish-kabob, and mounds of purple grapes. If only Zaikina had chosen to integrate these two pages as one spread, the scene would have more visual impact. Still, she gives readers much to enjoy. A highlight of the book’s illustrations is the scene showing the bride in her traditional Armenian wedding gown of vivid green, red, and white, a dress the author says resembles her own. The next time we glimpse that lovely gown the bride is riding off with the bird – the tradeoff for the sheep they decided to slaughter for the feast.
As they reach the Arax River, they meet a minstrel playing his lute. Again, the pattern continues. The bride is sharp enough to escape when she sees the musician so entranced by his tune. The arrogant sparrow demands the lute and, again, gets his way.
How smug he looks as he lands on a thorny branch and tilts up his chin. There he perches, serenading himself with his brand-new bragging song about all he has managed to trick people into giving him. His pride gets the better of him, though, when he rocks just a little too much and at last gets his just reward – a thorn in his foot.
The tale of a self-centered character who gains nothing by cheating others is one that children and adults will relish. Kasbarian provides a fine discussion/activity guide on her Web site.
For More Armenian Folktales 
Hogrogian, Nonny. One Fine Day. Aladdin, 1971. Ages 4-8. Not every Caldecott winner makes for a great read-aloud, but this fine cumulative tale is a don’t miss. A greedy fox steals an old woman’s milk and must make amends in a series of trades.
Marshall, Bonnie C. and Virginia Tashjiian. The Flower of Paradise and Other Armenian Tales. Libraries Unlimited, 2007. Recommended source for educators and folklorists, this collection of 50 tales includes such tales as “The Invincible Rooster” and “Seven Stars.” Cultural info and a bibliography included.
For More on Armenia
Kasbarian, Lucine. Armenia: A Rugged Land, An Enduring People. Dillon, 1998. Well-researched, illustrated, and organized, Kasbarian presents a fascinating portrait of her ancestral homeland. Part of the Discovering Our Heritage series, the book includes fast facts, maps, details on the Armenian Genocide of 1915, the people’s legends and holidays, as well as info on Armenians in the U.S. and the changing nature of Armenia, now that the former Soviet republic is again independent. Also included: appendices on the Armenian language and on embassies in the U.S. and Canada; a glossary, a bibliography, an index, as well as a table of contents.
Leave Room for Pecan Pie
20 Feb 2011 Leave a Comment
in Picture Books Tags: E.B. Lewis, Floyd Cooper, grief, Hudson Talbott, Jacqueline Woodson, multicultural literature, new sibling, prejudice, Sophie Blackall, World War II
I’ve been marveling at Jacqueline Woodson’s finely wrought fictio
n for years, so it seems fitting that I feature her in this fourth of four posts on outstanding African-American authors or illustrators. Her latest picture book, Pecan Pie Baby (Putnam, 2010), is another treat. Mama’s little Gia isn’t wild about having a new baby in her family. In fact, all the fuss about that “ding-dang baby” is just plain annoying. When Mama says the baby’s wanting some pecan pie, Gia says, “Well, … I love pecan pie. And you love pecan pie. So that baby’s just being a copycat!” Sophie Blackall’s ink and watercolor illustrations clearly portray the child’s worried, sometimes exasperated expression. At Thanksgiving, engulfed in the family’s incessant talk of “baby this and baby that,” Gia explodes: “I’m so sick of that DING-DANG BABY!” Sent to her room, a teary little Gia sits alone on her bed. The illustrator’s perspective of looking down on Gia from a distance captures her forlorn mood. Later, Mama comes upstairs and tells Gia how she’ll miss those special days shared by just the two of them — just the message she needed to hear. The night ends with cuddles and a plate of pecan pie for all three. Growing families will find this a sweet, reassuring book to share with children ages 4 to 7.
More Timeless and Touching Picture Books …
Coming on Home Soon. illus. by E.B. Lewis. Putnam, 2004. Ages 6-9. Set during World War II, Ada Ruth’s mom has left to seek work. She’d heard “they’re hiring colored women in Chicago since all the men are off fighting in the war.” Her grandmother tries to comfort Ada Ruth, but it’s just not the same. Lewis’s lovely watercolor paintings capture the changing emotions of the girl as she waits. One full-page illustration shows her sitting in an old-fashioned hardback chair, gazing out the window at the snow and trying to recall her mother’s smell: “like sugar some days.” A little black stray kitten arrives and gives Ada Ruth some comfort. The pet stays nearby as she and her grandmother listen to news on the radio. Ada Ruth prays for the soldiers who won’t return anytime soon. And she thinks proudly of her mama, washing the trains up in Chicago. At last, Mama’s long-awaited letter arrives with much-needed money and with the words Ada Ruth has craved: she’s coming on home soon.
The Other Side. illus. by E.B. Lewis.Putnam, 2001. Ages 6-9. 
In this sensitive story, there’s a split-rail fence that separates a rural black community from the white. Young Clover lives in a yellow house on one side of the fence; a new girl, Annie, lives on the other. Clover watches red-headed Annie sit on the fence and stare. She watches as Annie plays in puddles. Finally, she gets up the nerve to approach her. The girls introduce themselves and smile. When Annie tries to persuade Clover to climb the fence and sit with her, Clover says, “My mama says I shouldn’t go on the other side.” Annie’s heard the same warning. “But she never said nothing about sitting on it,” she counters. So begins the friendship between the two girls who shared the fence and watched the “whole wide world” around them that summer about 50 years ago. In time, Clover’s friends join the two. Lewis’s double-page watercolor shows a line of six girls, hot and tired from jumping rope. “Someday somebody’s going to come along and knock this old fence down,” Annie says. Clover agrees. This simple, powerful picture book, with its metaphor of the fence, resonates with children. The Other Side provides the perfect opportunity to discuss prejudice and how it walls us off from the wider world of friendship and respect.
Show Way. illus. by Hudson Talbott. Putnam, 2005. Ages 8-12. What should each generation bequeath to the next? Follow the trail of two needles with “thread dyed bright red with berries from the chokecherry tree” to discover one family’s history from a Virginia plantation to freedom. A quilt showed the slaves the way out, and eventually “the words became books that told the stories of many people’s Show Ways.” This unusually designed book, with its cut-out cover, bright collages, and images of quilt squares won a 2006 Newbery Honor for its writing, a rare occurrence for picture books.
Sweet, Sweet Memory. illus. by Floyd Cooper. Putnam, 2000. Ages 5-8. Sarah mourns the loss of her beloved grandfather. As she recalls Grandpa in his garden, she finds some comfort in his words: “The earth changes. Like us, … a part of it never dies. Everything and everyone goes on an on.” This sweet book reminds us of how we can hold loved ones in our heart of memories.
Ashley Bryan’s Bright and Beautiful Books
14 Feb 2011 7 Comments
in Biographies/Autobiographies, Folk and Fairy Tales, Music, Picture Books Tags: Ashley Bryan, Coretta Scott King Award, Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, multicultural literature, Regina Award, respect
d author/illustrator by opening Ashley Bryan: Words to My Life’s Song (Atheneum, 2009). This engaging autobiography shines with light, color, and love. Bryan, 87 and still thriving, invites us to hear his story, enlivened with his own poetic language and with a potpourri of photographs that reveal his childhood world, his family, his artwork, his Bronx neighborhood, his parents’ home back in Antigua, as well as his life on Little Cranberry Island, off the coast of Maine. We get a sense of how he evolved as an artist; one touching painting shows him as a wide-eyed child, book in hand, staring out the window at night. Images of birds — which filled the family’s living room — and the echoes of his mother singing will pop up in Bryan’s books, as shown in the illustrations reproduced in this book. Bryan’s childhood was punctuated by drawing, painting, reciting poetry, and listening to the Bible stories his mother read to him and his siblings. He recalls how they were the first black family to join the pretty St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church — where he would one day design a stained-glass window over the altar, showing a magnificent, dark and honey-hued image of Jesus rising from the tomb. After high school, he went, portfolio in hand, to a prominent art institute. A representative there told him his artwork was the best he had seen and that “it would be a waste to give a scholarship to a colored person.”
Of Ashley Bryan’s nearly three dozen books, which do you like best? One of my favorite read-alouds for children ages 7-9 is Beautiful Blackbird.
All Things Bright and Beautiful. Atheneum, 2010. All ages. Bryan’s cheerful illustrations make this lovely old hymn by the Irish woman Cecil F. Alexander come alive. The vibrant cut-paper collages celebrate the diverse people, animals, and plants that fill our multicolored Earth. An illustrator’s note and musical notation are included in this richly rendered interpretation, which should be considered the definitive version of the several children’s editions that have been published. 
One Snowy Day a Groundhog Met a Fox
23 Jan 2011 4 Comments
in Folk and Fairy Tales, Holidays, Peace stories, Picture Books, Poetry, Winter stories Tags: Barbara McClintock, Carmen Segovia, Christian Birmingham, Cornelius Van Wright, Deborah da Costa, Douglas Florian, Francisco Alarcon, Groundhog Day, Hans Christian Andersen, Jacqueline Martin, Jim Aylesworth, Jon Nelson, Mark Cassino, Maya Christina Gonzalez, Melissa Stewart, multicultural literature, Naomi Lewis, Snow, Susan Blackaby, Wilson Bentley, Ying-Hwa Hu
Blackaby, Susan. Brownie Groundhog and the February Fox. Illus. by Carmen Segovia. Sterling, 2011.
Ages 4-7.
If you’re seeking a whimsical read-aloud for Groundhog’s Day, you’ve found it. Brownie Groundhog and the February Fox sparkles with wit and sly charm. Brownie is a clever groundhog that meets a hungry would-be predator on a cloudy February 2nd. The fox tells her, “Hold still…. I’m trying to eat you for breakfast.” Brownie’s flip response is that it’ s simply too late for breakfast. The two find they both hate to wait. Brownie suggests the fox work up an appetite by clearing the snow off the pond. Segovia’s humorous image shows the fox putting his fluffy tail to good use. Alas, after all that effort, it’s too late for lunch, says Brownie. Then the tricky groundhog leads the fox to a tree and winds her scarf around and around the fox, binding him to the trunk.
Brownie’s little heart is touched, though, as she hears the fox’s plaintive cries. She decides it’s time to share what’s in her basket: cocoa and cinnamon toast. The crumbs attract a robin — the first sign of spring! The two new friends leave for home, pondering their next adventure. The illustrator’s note describes how Segovia first conceived of this engaging character one winter as she sketched a groundhog. Her wintry palette, splashed with the fox’s red, is as refreshing as that impromptu picnic.
Enhance a snowy story with the cold facts, perfectly described and displayed in 
Cassino, Mark and Jon Nelson. The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter’s Wonder. Chronicle, 2009. Ages 4-9. You’ll be singing songs of snow, glorious snow after reading this snappy little informative book. Cassino and Nelson reveal the scientific nature of snow by using an accessible format featuring a brief fact in a large type size, then giving details in smaller text. Readers will learn of the three major types of crystals (star-shaped, plate and columnar), as well as other interesting facts. (It’s the molecular structure of water that creates the six-sided crystals, for instance.) The superb illustrations include both spectacular photographs that beg to be shared and Aoyagi’s ink and watercolor diagrams that show how a crystal develops from a speck of soil, pollen, or other substance, and then develops into an intricate six-sided beauty. Also noteworthy are the clear instructions on catching and examining snow crystals — just the trick for getting readers to venture outside to explore wintry wonders.
More and More Snow …
Alarcon, Francisco X. Iguanas in the Snow and Other Winter Poems. illus. by Maya Christina Gonzalez. Children’s Book Press, 2001. Ages 7+ Fresh poems, often written from an unusual perspective, grace bright and beautiful pages showcasing poems in both Spanish and in English.
Andersen, Hans Christian. The Snow Queen. Trans. and retold by Naomi Lewis. Illus. by Christian Birmingham. Candlewick, 2008. Ages 8-10. Don’t miss Andersen’s most beautiful fairy tale, a source of inspiration for C.S. Lewis and other fantasy writers. Of the many versions available, Lewis’s is the one you want. This memorable wintry tale begs to be read aloud: “The cloak and cap were made of snow, and the driver ah, she was a lady, tall and slender and dazzlingly white!” Gerda’s dear friend Kay is kidnapped by the Snow Queen and held in her palace, where “the walls were of driven snow, and the doors and windows of cutting wind.” Gerda sets out on a treacherous quest to save Kay. Barrett’s watercolor-and-pencil illustrations capture the dreamy, sometimes frightening aspects of Andersen’s brilliant story.
Aylesworth, Jim. The Mitten. illus. by Barbara McClintock. Scholastic, 2009. Ages 3-6. This dynamic duo has produced a lively version of the beloved Ukrainian folktale, in which more and more animals cram into an almost ever-stretching mitten. McClintock’s energetic illustrations created with ink, gouache, and watercolor provide the perfect wintry touch.
da Costa, Deborah. Snow in Jerusalem. illus. by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu. Albert Whitman, 2001. Ages 6-8. 
Two boys live in Jerusalem, but they have never met. Avi lives in the Jewish Quarter, while Hamudi lives in the Muslim Quarter. To their surprise, they discover they have both been caring for the same stray white cat. The cat knows no boundaries, and leads the boys to friendship — as unexpected as snow in Jerusalem. If you don’t have this book, get it! Children love the story, which provides wonderful opportunities to discuss conflict in the Middle East and the nature of friendship and trust.
Florian, Douglas. Winter Eyes: Poems and Paintings. Greenwillow, 1999. Fun for all in these brief, whimsical poems, enlivened with Florian’s witty paintings.
Photo of a snow crystal by Wilson Bentley
Martin, Jacqueline. Snowflake Bentley. Houghton, 1998. Wilson Bentley of Vermont first discovered how to photograph snow crystals, as described in this modern classic picture-book biography. Also explore the Snowflake Bentley web site to see his astounding photographs such as the one at left.
Stewart, Melissa. Under the Snow. illus. by Constance Rummel Bergum. Peachtree, 2009. Where do the ladybugs go when it’s cold? What about the bees and the centipedes? Stewart explores winter aspects of such habitats as a field, a forest, a pond, and a wetland. Bergum’s watercolor paintings reveal the animals’ world beneath the snow and the world above, where people skate on frozen ponds and deer forage for food. Use this simple informational book to amaze and to enhance winter story times. Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12, 2010
Whipple, Laura, ed. A Snowflake Fell: Poems About Winter. illus. by Hatsuki Hori. Barefoot Books, 2003. All ages. This lovely collection of wintry poems by such poets as Nikki Giovanni, Jane Yolen, David McCord, Barbara Juster Esbensen, and Ted Hughes, explores the season in all its dazzling glory. Hori’s evocative pastel and watercolor paintings add to the frosty fun.
A Time for Peace
13 Dec 2010 5 Comments
in Holidays, Peace stories, Picture Books Tags: Christmas, compassion, Epiphany, Kwanzaa, multicultural literature, Nativity, World War I
McCutcheon, John Christmas in the Trenches.
Illus. by Henri Sorensen. Peachtree, 2006.
If you’ve ever heard the song “Christmas in the Trenches” by folksinger John McCutcheon, you will remember it. It’s become part of my Christmas tradition after hearing it on a local college radio station in ’84. McCutcheon has adapted his touching song about the Christmas Truce of 1914 for this picture book and CD for older children. The story’s narrator is an elderly man named Francis, who tells his grandchildren of the unique Christmas he experienced as a young soldier in WWI. The soldiers in the trenches were bored and homesick on Christmas Eve. Suddenly, they heard German voices singing Christmas carols. The English soldiers decided to join in on “Silent Night,” an act that inspired a German soldier to cross No Man’s Land with a white flag and a Christmas tree. The two sides called a temporary, informal truce. Sorensen’s atmospheric oil paintings highlight the unexpected night of peace with a double-page spread showing the soldiers and the battlefield. Included are an author’s note, music notation, and a CD with the title song and “Silent Night/Stille Nacht,” along with a reading of the story. This sensitive picture book won a 2007 Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People. For older children who want to learn more about the event, show them Jim Murphy’s Truce: The Day the Soldiers Stopped Fighting (Scholastic, 2009). Murphy gives an accessible overview of WWI and focuses on how peace was briefly restored when troops defied orders and met their enemies in the barren land between the trenches. Archival photographs, maps, and artwork help children understand the events.
More Beauties of the Season … and Share Your Favorites by Leaving a Comment!
Climo, Shirley. 
Cobweb Christmas: The Tradition of Tinsel. Illus. by Jane Manning. HarperCollins, 2001. Ages 6-9. Charming story of a kind old lady who gets to experience a little Christmas magic, thanks to some spiders. Manning’s bright illustrations provide interesting perspectives and a warm spirit.
Cunningham, Julia. The Stable Rat and Other Christmas Poems. Illus. by Anita Lobel. Greenwillow, 2001. Cunningham’s original poems explore the Nativity from the perspective of the animals that gathered there. Lobel’s lovely paintings capture the mystery of the season.
Daly, Niki. What’s Cooking, Jamala? Farrar, 2001. You can’t eat friends! That’s why Jamala decides to save her chicken from going into the pot for the Christmas meal. This delightful Yuletide tale features the same lively South African township characters that populate Daly’s previous Jamala stories.
dePaola, Tomie. The Legend of Old Befana. Voyager, 1989. Why do Italian families exchange gifts on January 6, Epiphany? You’ll know after reading this spirited story of a grandmotherly woman who must “sweep, sweep, sweep” and misses out on seeing the Christ child.
DiCamillo, Kate. Great Joy. Illus. by Bagram Ibatoulline. Candlewick, 2007. “Where do they go at night?” Frances wonders. Every day she sees an organ grinder and his monkey perform across the street from her home. In the midst of her preparations for her role in her church’s Christmas pageant, Frances decides to stay up late one night so she can see where the man and his monkey go. That’s when she discovers they live on the street. Wanting to help, she invites him to come see the pageant. Anxious during the presentation, she has trouble getting out her lines … until she sees him enter the church. Then she cries out “I bring you tidings of Great Joy!” DiCamillo’s sensitive story, set in WWII, balances optimism and realism and is enlarged by Ibatoulline’s magnificent acrylic gouache paintings.
Medearis, Angela Shelf. Seven Spools of Thread: A Kwanzaa Story. Albert Whitman, 2004. Engaging, original tale of seven bickering brothers in Ghana. When their father dies, his will says they must spin seven spools of thread into gold in one day — with no arguing. When the brothers start to work together, they combine their different-colored spools of thread to create beautiful multicolored cloth, the first their village has seen. They sell the Kente cloth to the king for gold. Along the way, the story weaves in the seven principles of Kwanzaa. Minter’s linoleum block-print illustrations evoke the vitality of African village life.
Potter, Beatrix. The Tailor of Gloucester. Warne. “No more twist!” Meet the mice who save the day for a kind old tailor living in the “time of swords and periwigs.”
Rawlinson, Julia. Fletcher and the Snowflake Christmas. Illus. by Tiphanie Beeke. Greenwillow, 2010. Here’s another lighthearted picture book by this talented duo, featuring the sweet fox Fletcher and his forest friends.
Rylant, Cynthia. Silver Packages: An Appalachian Christmas Story. Illus. by Chris K. Soenpiet. Scholastic, 2001. A special train rumbles through Appalachian coal-mine country, bringing gifts to the children. Will Frankie get the doctor’s kit he’s longing for?
Watson, Wendy. Holly’s Christmas Eve. HarperCollins, 2002. Children love this thrilling adventure featuring the lives of Christmas ornaments. The brave toys must find a way to rescue Holly’s arm after it is gobbled up by the monstrous vacuum cleaner.
Novels to Read Aloud
Don’t miss the wonderful Father Christmas scene in C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe or, for something hilarious, join the horrid Herdmans in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson. For girls ages 8 and older, consider the classic Little Women, in which the March family celebrates a special Christmas.
The Gift of a Goat
07 Dec 2010 Leave a Comment
in Peace stories, Picture Books Tags: empathy, generosity, Habitat for Humanity, Heifer Project, Juvenile nonfiction, multicultural literature
McBrier, Page. Beatrice’s Goat. Illus. by Lori Lohstoeter. Aladdin, 2004. Ages 7-10.
One way to counteract the “gimme” culture is to share a story about generosity and gratitude. Set in Uganda, Beatrice’s Goat shows how Beatrice and her family must struggle to survive. The family cannot afford to send Beatrice to school. Instead, she must help her mother watch the younger children, tend the chickens, and grind the cassava flour.
Then news comes that a charitable organization has given them a goat. Beatrice will be responsible for taking care of Mugisa, an apt name meaning “lucky gift.” Before long, Beatrice is able to sell the goat’s milk and even to drink it herself. And then, to her surprise, her mother is finally able to afford to send Beatrice to school in her brand new uniform. After Mugisa gives birth to two kids, there’s even enough money to put a new metal roof on their house. Loestoeter’s acrylic illustrations are warm and engaging, as is this special story based on the account of an actual family helped by the Heifer Project.
Other Books That Touch on Philanthropy
DiSalvo-Ryan, Dyanne. A Castle on Viola Street. HarperCollins, 2001. Ages 7-10.
Fleming, Candace. Boxes for Katje. Farrar, 2003. Ages 8-10.
Milway, Katie Smith. One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference. Kids Can, 2008. Ages 9+
Mortenson, Greg. Listen to the Wind: The Story of Dr. Greg and Three Cups of Tea. Dial, 2009. Ages 8-12.
Nivola, Claire. Planting the Trees of Kenya. Farrar, 2008. Ages 7-10.
Rubel, David. If I Had a Hammer: Building Homes and Hope with Habitat for Humanity. Candlewick, 2009. Ages 10+
Shoveller, Herb. Ryan and Jimmy and the Well in Africa That Brought Them Together. Kids Can, 2006. Ages 8-10.
Weatherford, Carole Boston. Dear Mr. Rosenwald. Scholastic, 2006. Ages 7-10.
Bright Lights, Little Hero
30 Nov 2010 3 Comments
in Holidays, Picture Books Tags: Barbara McClintock, Eric A. Kimmel, Hanukkah, multicultural literature
Kimmel, Eric A. When Mindy Saved Hanukkah. Illus. by Barbara McClintock. Scholastic, 1998.
Can children ever get enough of stories with small heroes? Of Kimmel’s many finely crafted picture books, this is one of his best. Mindy and the rest of the pint-sized Klein family live behind the walls of the Eldridge Street Synagogue in New York. When resourceful Papa goes on his quest for a candle they can melt into tiny candles for their menorah, he meets with near-disaster. “A fierce Antiochus of a cat” pounces on him. Leave it to brave little Mindy to save the day! A huge part of the fun of this exciting story is Barbara McClintock’s humorous, detailed ink and watercolor paintings, evoking century-old styles and interesting aspects of the historic synagogue. I can’t imagine a more enjoyable way for children to discover the reasons for Hanukkah.
More Great Hanukkah Read-alouds
Kimmel, Eric. Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins. Holiday House, 1994. Hershel of Ostropol arrives at a village where the people can’t celebrate Hanukkah because their synagogue has been overtaken by goblins. Hershel is brave and bright enough to outwit those goblins, though, in this thrilling story brought to life by Trina Schart Hyman’s spooky illustrations, which won a Caldecott Honor.
Krensky, Stephen. Hanukkah at Valley Forge. Illus. by Greg Harlin. Dutton, 2006. Inspired by facts, this quiet, moving story features a young Jewish soldier explaining Hanukkah to George Washington and sharing with him a thirst for freedom. Atmospheric watercolor paintings capture the contrast between the cold Pennsylvania winter and the soldier’s glowing candlelight.
Kroll, Stephen. The Hanukkah Mice. Marshall Cavendish, 2008. A girl’s new dollhouse is the perfect place for a family of mice to celebrate Hanukkah.
Manushkin, Fran. Hooray for Hanukkah! Random House, 2001. “I am bright, but I could be brighter!” Young children will be charmed by this lighthearted Hanukkah story told from the perspective of the menorah.
Polacco, Patricia. Trees of the Dancing Goats. Simon & Schuster, 1996. 
Based on the author’s childhood, Polacco shows how Trisha and her family prepare to celebrate Hanukkah. When Trisha visits her neighbors, she finds them bedridden with scarlet fever instead of decorating for Christmas. Then Grampa comes up with a surprising way to cheer up their neighbors. The plan involves a lot of work and sacrifice, but it will make for a holiday for all to cherish.
Rosen, Michael J. Elijah’s Angel: A Story of Chanukah and Christmas. Harcourt, 1992. Touching story of a friendship between nine-year-old Michael and the elderly African-American Elijah, who gives the boy one of his carved wooden angels. Should a Jewish child keep such a gift?
Singer, Isaac Bashevis. Power of Light: Eight Stories for Hanukkah. Farrar, 1990. Thoughtful, uplifting stories for children ages 10-14.
