PICTURE BOOK - Infinity and Me by Kate Hosford

Illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska

2012, Carolrhoda Books, Minneapolis (a division of Lerner Books)

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating: 3.99 - 814 rtings

My rating: 4

Endpapers endless numbers black on gray

1^st line/s:  "The night I got my new red shoes, I couldn't wait to wear them to school."

My comments:  Infinity has always been a tough concept for me to wrap my mind around.  In this book, a little girl inquires of different people what they think of when they think of infinity.  The illustrations are really interesting and different.  I'm planning to use this book as the perfect  introduction to a quick program for kids that's an inquiry about infinity.

Goodreads:   When I looked up, I shivered. How many stars were in the sky? A million? A billion? Maybe the number was as big as infinity. I started to feel very, very small. How could I even think about something as big as infinity? Uma can't help feeling small when she peers up at the night sky. She begins to wonder about infinity. Is infinity a number that grows forever? Is it an endless racetrack? Could infinity be in an ice cream cone? Uma soon finds that the ways to think about this big idea may just be . . . infinite.

PICTURE BOOK - The Longest Night: A Passover Story by Laurel Snyder

Illustrated by Catia Chien

2013, Schwartz & Wade Books

HC & price

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating: 3.84 - 102 ratings

My rating: 4

Endpapers:  Front: Very dark blue sky
Back:  Light Blue morning sky

1^st line/s:  "Every morning with the light
Came another day like night."

My comments:  This is a Jewish story, read and interpreted by a non-Jew, but a non-Jew who worked in a Hebrew Day School for 12 years and loved to learn all the stories and traditions of Judaism.  This story is written in couplets, with lovely rhythm in most places.  It tells the story from the point-of-view of a Jewish slave girl through the plagues and parting of the sea.  The language is beautiful, and when slowly and digested I loved it.  I was not a fan of the illustrations, and I hate saying that, but they were what I call "vague" illustrations.  Not abstract, but with a sense of abstractness.  I love abstract painting, but I like more detail in my picture books.  Personal preference, apologies to Ms. Chien.

Goodreads:  Here's a picture book for all Jewish families to read while celebrating Passover. Unlike other Passover picture books that focus on the contemporary celebration of the holiday, or are children's haggadahs, this gorgeous picture book in verse follows the actual story of the Exodus. Told through the eyes of a young slave girl, author Laurel Snyder and illustrator Catia Chien skillfully and gently depict the story of Pharoah, Moses, the 10 plagues, and the parting of the Red Sea in a remarkably accessible way. 
          "Evocative and beautiful... flawlessly evokes the spirit of the Old Testament story," raves Publishers Weekly in a starred review. This dramatic adventure, set over 3,500 years ago, of a family that endures hardships and ultimately finds freedom is the perfect tool to help young children make sense of the origins of the Passover traditions.

PICTURE BOOK - My Name is James Madison Hemings by Jonah Winter

Illustrated by Terry Widener

2016, Schwartz & Wade Books
Goodreads rating: 4.26 - 151 ratings

My rating: 5

Endpapers Front:  Brown / Back: Dark Green

Illustrations:  Acrylic on Bristol board.  Fantastic.

1^st line/s: "My mother, Sally Hemings, was herself born into slavery, as had been her mother, my grandmother Elizabeth."

My comments:  Here is a picture book for older readers (we need more of them!) that doesn't tiptoe around the truth.  Yippee, Jonah Winters!   Beautifully told from the point-of-view of James Madison Hemings as a child, he tells how he feels to be "owned" by his father, treated a bit better than the other slaves at Monticello, but nowhere near like Jefferson treated his white grandchildren.  Terry Widener's illustrations are right-on, perfect for the text.  Usually Jonah Winter's mother, Jeanette, does his illustrations, but as much as I LOVE her work, I really like the way this book is presented as a whole. It was a brave topic to be tackled for a children's picture book and Jonah Winter did an admirable job.

Goodreads:  Here’s a powerful historical picture book about the child of founding father Thomas Jefferson and the enslaved Sally Hemings. 
          In an evocative first-person account accompanied by exquisite artwork, Winter and Widener tell the story of James Madison Hemings’s childhood at Monticello, and, in doing so, illuminate the many contradictions in Jefferson’s life and legacy. Though Jefferson lived in a mansion, Hemings and his siblings lived in a single room. While Jefferson doted on his white grandchildren, he never showed affection to his enslaved children. Though he kept the Hemings boys from hard field labor—instead sending them to work in the carpentry shop—Jefferson nevertheless listed the children in his “Farm Book” along with the sheep, hogs, and other property. Here is a profound and moving account of one family’s history, which is also America’s history.
          An author's note includes more information about Hemings, Jefferson, and the author's research.

PICTURE BOOK - The Great Spruce by John Duvall

Illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon

2016, GP Putnams Sons

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  3.72 (122 ratings)

My rating:  4

Endpapers:  FRONT:  Pineforest green with sprills, bugs, owls, birds, and even a mouse and a snail scattered across the page.
BACK:  Same pine forest green with sprills, but with ornaments instead of fauna.  Clever!

Illustrations

My comments:  I have, in recent years, fretted quite a bit about the huge coniferous tree that has been cut each year to adorn Rockefeller Center at Christmastime.  This well-written book gives a grand message about ecology without being preachy.  Cleverly done, Mr. Duvall!  I loved the illustrations, they reminded me of some of the Golden Books I read as a child.  Not just for Christmas, but for the whole year through.

Goodreads:  Together with his grandpa, a young boy finds a way to save his favorite tree in this heartwarming Christmas tale
           Alec loves to climb trees—the little apple trees, the wide willow trees, even the tall locust trees. But his favorite is the great spruce, with its sturdy trunk and branches that stretch up to the sky. Alec’s grandpa planted it as a sapling years and years before Alec was born, and every Christmas, Alec and his grandpa decorate the tree together, weaving tinsel and lights through its branches, making it shine bright.
           But one day, a few curious men from the nearby city take notice of Alec’s glistening great spruce, and ask to take it away for their Christmas celebration. Though it’s a huge honor, Alec’s heartbroken at the idea of losing his friend. With great courage and creativity, Alec comes up with a plan to save his favorite tree in this joyful holiday tale.

POETRY PICTURE BOOK - Flutter & Hum by Julie Paschkis

Aleteoy y Zumbido: Poemas de Animales
Illustrated by the author

2015, Henry Holt & Co.

HC &$17.99

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating: 4.03

My rating:  5

Endpapers: Green

Title Page Single page, decorated with animals from the poems

My comments:  Ah, Julie Paschkis.  One of my all-time favorite illustrators.  And in this gorgeous picture book, she wrote all the poems, too - in two languages!  Some of them just sang out to me.  Others didn't.  She wrote them first in Spanish, then translated to English.  Her illustrations are luscious.  A feast for the eyes.  The few poems that weren't fives for me sounded GREAT in Spanish, even though I couldn't understand a word!

Goodreads:  All sorts of animals flutter and hum, dance and stretch, and slither and leap their way through this joyful collection of poems in English and Spanish. Julie Paschkis's poems and art sing in both languages, bringing out the beauty and playfulness of the animal world.

Snake
Slithering
through
the grass
the sinuous snake
is writing
a slippery poem
with his body.
But his alphabet is
too simple.
He only knows
one letter:
sssssssssss.

Crow
On this gray day
on the gray street
the black crow caws.

He hops,
        stops,
          and stares
at a yellow umbrella --
the only sun shining
today.

Owl
The moon is a lantern
in the branches.
A shimmer.

A shadow whistles
through the grass.
A whisper.

Out of the darkness
an owl hoots.
An echo.

The night train
is leaving.

PICTURE BOOK - Knit Your Bit: A World War I Story by Deborah Hopkinson

Illustrated by Steven Guarnaccia

2013

HC $16.99

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating: 3.80

My rating: 3.5

Endpaper: five WWI era photos of children - mostly boys - knitting

Illustrations: a little too Tin-Tinny for my tastes....

1^st line/s: "When Pop went to be a soldier, I wanted to go with him."

My comments:  I'm drawn to picture book about knitting and quilting, and this historical fiction - about World War I - is a good one!  I'm not drawn to these illustrations, though (apologies to Mr. Guarnaccia).  Yes, boys can knit, too!  Check out:  Knitting for Charity at knittingforcharity.org!

Goodreads:  Mikey’s dad has left home to fight overseas during World War I, and Mikey wants to do something BIG to help. When his teacher suggests that the class participate in a knitting bee in Central Park to knit clothing for the troops, Mikey and his friends roll their eyes—knitting is for girls! But when the girls turn it into a competition, the boys just have to meet the challenge.
                                  Based on a real “Knit-In” event at Central Park in 1918, Knit Your Bit shows readers that making a lasting contribution is as easy as trying something new! 

Dizzy - Jonah Winter

Illustrated by Sean Qualls
Arthur A. Levine Books, Scholastic, 2006
HC $16.99
48 pages
Rating: 4
Endpapers: Chocolate brown
Cover: pinks and brown
Quite eye-appealing

Dizzy Gillespie invented Bepop. And Jonah Winter tells his story creating bepop with his words!

"On certain nights
he'd elbow the piano man
off the bench
and play the keyboard with his left hand
and the trumpet with his right

The older musicians --
they soon got tired
of these shenanigans --
they wanted him fired!

'Not a chance," said the boss,
"this kid's a WIZ -- '"

What a great read-aloud! Follow along on a map - South Carolina to Philadelphia to Ney York, then, listen to a piece of his music! It'll stay with kids a long time.

The illustrations flow across the pages like the music, like the words.

(Winter wrote this book while snapping along to "Night in Tunisia" and "Salt Peanuts") There's additional biographical information in the author's note at the end of the book.)

The Wishing Tree - Roseanne Thong

Illustrated by Connie McLennan
Shen's Books, 2004
32 pages
Rating: 5
Endpapers: Gold & beige decorated Chinese designs

I spent an hour browsing and reading in the Martha Cooper Library on Catalina - a small public library I rarely get to visit. The local neighborhood holds many cultures, and there are many kids' books in different languages here. In other words, a great multicultural find.

There's a huge banyan tree in Ming's hometown where his grandmother would always take him to make a wish for the lunar new year. She would purchase a Ng Bo Dip (Five Treasures Pile), a stack of decorated red and yellow papers. After writing a wish, the papers were rolled into a scroll, secured with string, and attached to a large mandarin orange. When ready, this was flung high into the banyan wishing tree.

For many years Ming and his grandmother enjoyed this yearly custom, until, when Ming was nine, his wish was not fulfilled and his grndmother's sickness does not get better. She dies. The rest of the story deals with grief resolution in a positive, helpful way.

Each two page spread is beautiful with an edge-to-edge illustration on one side and the text is usually within a pale-colored box that looks like paper. The same one inch Chinese patterns found on the endpapers are "seals" at the bottom of the page.

Fantastic explanation in the Author's Note at the end of the book.

Included are directions for making your own Ng Bo Dip and a black and white WISHING PAPER page to photocopy and use as the five pages.

Perfect addition to my 4th grade China study!

Water Hole Waiting - Jane Kurtz & Christopher Kurtz

Illustrated by Lee Christiansen
Greenwillow Books, 2002
$15.95 then, $17.99 now
32 pages
For: pre K - 4th grade
Rating: 4.5
Endpapers: Yellow

Lots and lots and even more lots to say about his book. The story, the writing, the illustrations, are all wonderful. There is only one teeny-tiny weakness for me, and I bet if I read it a fourth and fifth time that won't appear a weakness anymore. More on that in a minute.

The story: Monkeys (apparently they are vervet monkeys) wait at a water hole as many animals who live with them in the East African savannah approach for their own drinks. We see hippos, zebras, a crocodile, a lion, elephants, and even a giraffe take their turns soothing their thirst.

Figurative language: Wow. Lots. And lots. And lots more:
Personification:
"morning slinks onto the savannah"
"the silence pokes monkey's ear"
"the sun cartwheels slowly up the sky"
"sun climbs the sky like an acrobat" (throw in a simile!)
"sun bristles, bright and round"
"sun somersaults down the sky"
"evening slinks across the savannah"
"evening sighs"

Alliteration here and there:
"heat sizzles the savannah, heavy on the monkey fur."

Metaphor:
talking about a crocodile: "the log sinks back and waits"

Snazzy words, including great verbs:
slinks, plops, grunts, foraging, nibble, prance, parched, splay...

The illustrations: Lovely. Just lovely. We are taken to the savannah. There's no white at all, just lovely scenery completely covering the page. Love it.

My only negative view: the rhyming here and there is a bit to haphazard for me. Almost like it's thrown in, and in places forced into rhyming when it's not really a rhyme. Oh well. The rest of the book certainly makes up for it. Give me more of these Kurtz siblings and Mr. Christiansen's artwork!

Gugu's House - Catherine Stock

Clarion Books, 2001
$14.00 (probably more, now)
32 pages
For: kids, cool book
Endpapers: Black and white African designs covering the entire pages

Set in Zimbabwe, Catherine Stock tells the story of a real-life woman that she has known for many years, Mrs. Kosa. She changes the story, now told from the point-of-view of a granddaughter visiting her grandmother.

We first encounter beautifully-designed endpapaers, elegant black/gray and white designs. The two-page title shows a bus traveling through the Zimbabwe landscape, brown scrub with mountains on the horizon. The next two-page spread begins the story, of Kukamba folliwing Gugu home, suitcases on their heads. And then we see Gugu's home - a rambling house/compound decorated with brightly-painted mud and dung sculpted animals, walls painted black and blue and green with amazing African designs. We spend time with the two of them, learning how to create the paints, shape new animals, paint designs wherever they please. But at night when the men come home from their undernourished cattle and the women come home from thei wilting crops, spirits are low. Gugu tells stories to cheer everyone up.

And then the rains come. They pour down for days, finally nourishing the fields and animals. However, Gugu's home has become a muddy brown mess, all the colors and sculptures washed away. Gugu takes Kukamba out to see the wildflowers and growth that have appeared because of the rain. And they are able to begin again decorating Gugu's house in any way they desire.

This has messages for kids and messages for people like me. Live in your home the way you desire. Decorate for yourself, not for others. Create beauty around you that is YOUR kind of beautfy. Don't be afraid. Go for it. Although I wish I could build mud and dung walls around my property wherever I wanted! Don't think that'd be possible here....not to many dung piles handy.....

This is a great introduction to African designs. Time to discover more of Catherine Stock.....

A Party in Ramadan - Asma Mobin-Uddin

Illustrated by Laura Jacobsen
Boyds Mill Press, PA 2009
$16.95
32 pages
Rating: 4
Endpapers: Neighborhood homes morning/evening

This is the story of fasting on Ramadan and the acceptance a young girls finds when she is invited to a birthday party by her non-Muslim friends. This first day (ever?) of fasting is not easy, but the benefits and the evening meal are worth it.

Lovely soft illustrations emphasize and illustrate without being preachy.

An author's note discusses Ramadan and about wearing the Hijab (head covering.)

John Brown: His Fight for Freedom - John Hendrix

Abrams Bks for Young Readers, 2009
$18.95
40 pgs
for: 3rd grade upward
Rating: 4
Endpapers: Dark Reddish-Brown

I've been to Harper's Ferry, West Virginia many times. Not only is it a small (and quaint) town, but it is also a National Historical Park with fascinating history. It sits on a piece of land where WV, VA, and MD all come together, and where two rivers, the Potomac and Shenendoah, converge. And it is famous for John Brown. But all the information I ever knew about this man was foggy. An abolitionist, yes. But some have called him a madman. A very controversial one. So I was greatly excited to find this book.

It certainly looks like John Hendrix has researched thoroughly and well. He has written - and beautifully illustrated - an intelligent history, making John Brown human, and giving the facts of his thinking and crusading. In a two-page Author's Note he gives his feelings about John Brown, his beliefs and reactions. I found it extremely interesting.

John Brown hated the idea of slavery. He hated the idea that all men were NOT equal. He took it as his life's mission to try to do something to stop slavery in the United States. Although there was an instance in Kansas where, in acute frustration, he was involved in killing people, that does not seem to be a major part in his overall quest. All he wanted to do was stop slavery by amassing by creating an army of black and white believers that could help. Creating an army certainly means war, but I think he realized that it would not be a bloodless fight. Harriet Tubman was one of his biggest supporters and allies!

This book gives a reader great insight into the murky history of John Brown. I liked and appreciated it a lot. And the illustrations - pen and ink with an acrylic wash - greatly added to the telling of this story.

Yatandou - Gloria Whelan

Tales of the World: Mali, Africa
Illustrated by Peter Sylvada
Sleeping Bear Press, 2007
Rating: 4
Endpapers: White

Rusts and golds dominate this story, told in the first person by a young girl from Mali. The women in the village spend many hours each day pounding....pounding....pounding....the millet to make grain - at least three hours of pounding for one day's worth. Water is carried on the women's heads from a well. Many onions are grown to eat and sell at market. Andy they raise goats. It's work from dawn 'til dark - until the women earn enough to obtain a contraption that will immediately turn the millet to grain.

In an author's note we discover that thees grinding machines are "multifunctional platforms" that come from the U. N. Development Program and have been placed in over 350 African villages. Fascinating! I should read this to my student government in preparation for our upcoming P2P. I went to the website provided, http://www.ptfm.net/, but it looks as if this program is no longer functioning? I will have to do some further research.

Gloria Whelan also divulges in her author's note that part of the proceeds from this book will go to BwB (Building with Books) which helps kids in the U. S. and in Mali.

Let There Be Peace on Earth - Jill Jackson & Sy Miller

Illustrated by David Diaz
Tricycle Press (Berkeley) 2009
$18.99
24 pgs. & cd
Rating: 4.5
Endpapers: Batik illustrations - snowflakes and circles, showing different symbols of peace from around the world

This seems to be a year that old folk songs are being turned into lovely picture books. Peter Yarrow's done a couple really recently and tonight I bumped into this one. Who can't love this song -- its simple words and memorable tune? Written in 1955, the words are now renewed in this eye-popping picture book.

The last few pages are informative - about the songwriters, the creation of the song, the actual score of the song, and interesting explanations for 12 different peace symbols. These are fascinating - from the Japanese crane (and mention of Sadako Sasaki) and middle Eastern pslm trees to Scandianvian misteltoe and the Chinese ying and yang - clear and simple information to take in, to share.

David Diaz continues to keep me enthralled. I've drooled over his illustrations before - his pleasing colors and designs completely cover the pge. They were "rendered in Adobe Illustration and Photoshop." How?

Georgia Rises - Kathryn Lasky

A Day in the Life of Georgia O'Keeffe
Illustrated by Ora Eitan
Melanie Kroupa Books, FSG, 2009
$16.95
Rating: 3.5
32 pages
Endpapers: 11 squares of illustrations of Georgia O'Keeffe in various daily activities - mainly outdoors.

This book is, indeed, about a ficticious day in the life of Georgia O'Keeffe when she was in her 70"s, living alone at her home in the New Mexican desert. She lived simply, waiting for the light to change, enjoying the joy of natural color and flowers and the shine of light on the bones she picked up in the desert.

Kathryn Lasky researched this (she calls it historical fiction) by reading many of O'Keeffe's letters and visiting Abiqui, O'Keeffe's home in the New Mexican desert. Her writing is eloquent and tells the story of O'Keeffe's life, her activities, her thinking, quite perfectly. I can so see it.

I wasn't enamored of the illustrations, although the cover was eye-catching and they do grow on me more and more as I look at them. The cream colored pages give the book a soft desert-y glow, but either the font type or color made it very difficult for me to read. And the page of gray font in the lavender sky seems almost invisible. Granted, I'm blind as a bat - but I'm reading this sitting in a sharply-lit library.....

This is a very nice addition to my collection of Georgia O'Keeffee picture books.

An interesting author's note and list of resources is included.

Building on Nature - Rachel Rodriguez

The Life of Antoni Gaudi
Illustrated by Julie Paschkis
Henry Holt & Co., 2009
$16.99
32 pages
Rating: 4.5
Endpapers: Mustard, with lighter colored stenciled pomegranites and vines
Author's Note


Antoni Gaudi was an architect, born in 1852, that devoted his career to the city and surroundings of Barcelona at the turn of the century. Apparently, these magnificent creations are the number one tourist draw to that city. I wonder if you can make it as a tourist there with no Spanish?

This was all new information for me. Fascinating, spellbinding information. I've spent a couple of hours online since reading the book, looking up photos and more information (some links can be found at the end of this short review). Gaudi had an unbounded, creative enthusiasm for line and swoops and thinking outside the box-of-the-norm, creating from nature and the world around him. Apparently, he was even somewhat of an ecologist, reusing materials. Mosaics! Glass! Swooping metals. I really must go to Barcelona now. Never had any desire before this......

I have quite a fondness for Julie Paschkis' illustrations in both Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal and Night of the Moon -- and I do enjoy the illustrations in this book.....but I don't think they quite do justice to the fantastic architectural achievements of Antoni Gaudi.

"Gaudi's buildings curve and arch. They sparkle and glitter and whisper with joy."

His first big project, as described in the book, is the Vicens House (Casa Vicens). There's a photograph of it here. Wow. There are some great photos of the crypt at Colonia Guell here. And check out the incredible design of Casa Batllo here and here (this site is quite something, even accompanied by music). You can see the waves and swells of Casa Mila here, and take a tour of the unbelievable Park Guell here. And Gaudi's ultimate Holy Family Church can be seen - from many different angles- here.

Finding Lincoln - Ann Malaspina

Illustrated by Colin Bootman
Albert Whitman & Co., 2009
$16.99
32 pages
for: all kids - elementary especially
Rating: 4.5
Endpapers: med. brown
Author's Note

This is an essential book to share with kids. This took place just 50 years ago. This is not ancient history. It's heartbreaking. What were people thinking??? Segregation??? A very difficult happenstance for me to fathom at all.

Louis walks past the public library every day - but he is not allowed to enter. It's for WHITES ONLY.

He wants to find more information on Abraham Lincoln. The only way is to find a book that might have the information. The small collection of books that's been gathered in the church basement has nothing relevant. So he takes a huge chance and walks into the library. He is berated and asked to leave immediately. But one librarian whispers to him to come back the next day after five. He does, and she sneaks him in, finding him just the right book.

Okay, so libraries became desegrated in the mid-60's...and not without fights and injuries. What is wrong with people? I just don't understand, I never will...and I guess I don't want to!

Great story telling. Lovely illustrations that really capture the thoughts and "essence" of people on their faces. This is a wonderful book....but how sad that it had to be written!

Heroes and She-roes - J Patrick Lewis

Poetry
Poems of Amazing and Everyday Heroes
Illustrated by Jim Cooke
Dial Books for Young Readers, 2005
40 pages
for: elementary school kids (and all the rest of us, too)
Rating: 5
Endpapers: Avocado

Poems of heroes in general. Poems about specific heroes. Heroes that I didn't know about. Heroes I never really thought about. There are so many heroes in our lives to consider. This is book to help kids - and us all - remember that!

Each of the 21 poems has information about the person or event that is the subject of the poem, which makes the book even more interesting. The illustrations are portraits: witty, colorful. I can picture an overhead for each page or double page to greet the kids in the morning as they enter the classroom, for reflection, journaling, even handwriting, and of course, for plain old enjoyment!

Heroes and She-roes

Give thanks to the he- and she-roes
Who will turn upon a dime
When occasion calls for action ---
And be there in half the time.

Roll red carpets out for she-roes
And to heroes raise a toast
For extraordinary courage ---
Yet you’ll never hear them boast.

Lend your hand to he- and she-roes,
To the valiant and the brave,
To those simple people know by
Two simple words: The gave.

The Elementary School Teacher

A teacher is a person
Unafraid
To get the third degree
From Second Grade!

Teachers are pathfinders, guides, truth-seekers, champions, role models, and guardians. Some of the greatest heroes and she-roes can be found in classrooms.


(I had to include this. It makes me feel really good...and reminds me of the many teachers and mentors that have helped create the teacher that I am today.)

The Organizer

Cesar Chavez
Migrant Labor Organizer, 1927-1993

Cesar was a peaceable fighter
With his back against the wall.
He was the David to Goliaths,
One worker against them all.

Up from the Mexican culture,
He rallied migrants to unite
And challenged consumers to boycott
Five years for the grape pickers’ plight.

Cesar won and lost many battles
But never resorted to arms,
And the carried the torch for La Causa
Across California farms.

Poor migrants, whose harvest was hunger,
Depended on him to be strong,
To ignite the fight and fight for right
And everywhere right the wrong.


Here are the other subjects included:

The Seeker (Helen Keller)
The Explorers (Meriwether Lewis & William Clark)
The Unknown Rebel (Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China, June 5, 1989)
The Wonder Dog (Togo, Alaska, 1925)
The Little Angel of Colombia (Alabeiro Vargas, Columbia South America) REALLY INTERESTING!
The Peacemaker (Mohandas Gandhi)
The Nun (Sister Jeannette Normandin)
The Great One (Roberto Clemente) Includes some unknown-to-me information
The Bareback Rider (Lady Godiva) No kidding - talk about fascinating...
The Preachers (MLK, Jr. & Mahalia Jackson)
The Riveter ("Rosie the Riveter)
The Journalist (Ida Wells-Barnett)
The Soldier (Joan of Arc)
The Steadfast (Rosa Parks)
The Immigrants
The Child Laborer (Iqbal Masih) Whoa! This'll make me dig deeper...


Wonderful. Should be in every 3-6th grade classroom!

A Gift - Yong Chen

Boyds Mills Press, 2009
$16.95
32 pages
Rating: 4
Endpapers: Red

A simple story.

I live 3000 miles away from my family, but I don't have to cross an ocean to get the them. I live in the same country and am surrounded by the same cultural stimuli as them. Not so for the mother of the protagonist in this lovely picture book.

Amy's mother's family lives in China - far away from Amy's American home. It's really difficult being so far from loved ones, but there are certain times that are even more difficult. For Amy's mom, the Chinese New Year is one of those times.

A package and a letter arrive from China. The mother's siblings, working together, have created a beautiful dragon pendant from a lovely found piece of stone. It's a beautiful gift within a loving, far-flung family.

Note" Red is the color of luck in Chinese tradition. For Amy to hang her pendant from a red string is a sign of live and a wish for luck.

Illustrations are realistic, large, many complete cover the page. The appear to depict the Chinese culture well.

Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal - Paul Fleischman

A Worldwide Cinderella
Illustrated by Julie Paschkis
Henry Holt & Co., 2007
$16.95
32 pgs.
Rating: 4,5
Endpapers: Aqua & avacodo world map showing 17 locations that are included in the story - bordered
Author's Note

I'm quite enamored of Paul Fleischman's work (I'm trying to forget that he wrote The Dunderheads), and this beautiful Cinderella does not disappoint. One of the reasons I love Fleischman's writing so much is that you never know exactly what to expect - he always has a clever take on things. Well, this Cinderella draws from 17 different countrys' adaptations of the story. So you'll be reading along, and get a page split into halves, or thirds, or quarters: And on the girl's feet appeared a pair of glass slippers (France)...diamond anklets (India)...sandals of gold (Iraq)....

The colors! The artwork! The book design! All my favorites are included, which make the visual enjoyment of this story even more wonderful. The fairly small amount of text is written in small white boxes that are framed by batik-looking backgrounds. Paschis uses designs and motifs from each of the various cultures that she's depicting. The illustration for each is placed in a rectangle above the text, and she includes as much information from the country as possible. The only thing that never changes is Cinderella's face.

Clever. Visual. A wonderful Cinderella. Read it after you've shared a few of the many, many available that tell the story from another culture's point of view.