Poetry Picture Book - A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood by Fred Rogers

The Poetry of Mr. Rogers
Illustrated by Luke Flowers

2019, The Fred Rogers Company

HC $19/99

143 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  

My rating:  3
Endpapers:  pale blue with scrolling words from his poetry.

My comments:  Well.....this is going to be a wonderful book for a lot of people.  IMHO the illustrations are rather bland and old-fashioned, and Mr. Rogers' poetry wasn't exactly the gretest.  But it keeps alive the memory of the man and his wonderful television show.  However, his poetry from the show doesn't translate into book form in the best way.

Goodreads:  The New York Times Best Seller 
           For the first time ever, 75 beloved songs from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and The Children's Corner are collected in this charmingly illustrated treasury, sure to be cherished by generations of children as well as the millions of adults who grew up with Mister Rogers

Things Are Different

You never know the story

By the cover of the book.

you can't tell what a dinner's like

by simply looking at the cook.

It's something everybody needs to know

way down deep inside

that things are often different

than the way they look.

When I put on a costume

to play a fancy part

that costume changes just my looks,

it doesn't change my heart.

You cannot know what someone's thinking

by the picture you just took

'cause things are often different

from the way they look.

I can totally imagine chanting and acting the following out at a Toddler Time or a Preschool Storytime:

Doing Song

Clap your hands

Blow a kiss

Make a face

Like this!

Snap your thumbs

Shake your head

Make-believe

You're in bed.

Blink your eyes

Stretch your arms

Stank up straight

Look for farms.

Her's the horse (Neigh!)

Here's the cow (Mooo!)

Here's the sheep (Baaa!)

You can bow.

Here's the duck (Quack, quack!)

Here's the cat (Meow!)

Here's the dog (Bark!)

Here's your hat.

Wave goodbye

Drive the car

Throw the ball

Throw it far.

Eat your meal

Sing a song

Brush your teeth

Hear ding-dong!

Hug your pillow

Click the light

Hug youself

Say goodnight.  (Goodnight!)

It's an Ugly Day

It's an ugly day

made of mugly gray

it's a sit-down-by-the-fire

and be snuggly day

It's a cloudy day

and a dowdy day

It's a play-some-Chinese-checkers

read-out-loud day.

It's a day to cuddle up

with chocolate cookie

hook a rug or knit --

'Cause it's an ugly day

made of mugly gray

it's a better-wear-your-sweater

and by snuggly day.

If we pop us some corn

and have cinnamon toast

I'd say we'd made the most

Of an ugly day.

PICTURE BOOK - We're All Wonders by R. J. Palacio

Illustrated by the Author

2017, Alfred A. Knopf

32 pgs.
Read 7/7/17

Goodreads rating:  4.15 - 1142 ratings

My rating: 4.5

Endpapers Bright Red

1^st line/s: "I know I'm not an ordinary kid."

My comments:  I've read the original chapter book thrice - twice aloud to a group of 3rd and 4th graders.  Their discussions about the book were marvelous and right-on.  This book is a simplified version, focusing on the "be nice to everyone" aspect.  Much of our discussion was "try not to stare," there's a really cool person on the inside. Let's face it, there's a certain shock of first seeing someone that looks really, really different.  It's hard not to stare. That's what I think the Ms. Palacio is trying to say. I don't think it's sappy at all (as some reviewers have suggested).  It's a good starting place to begin conversations with younger kids and/or kids who haven't read the original chapter book about how not to hurt other people's feelings, especially when you're caught off guard.  Ms. Palacio's illustrations are bold and colorful.  I like it a lot.

Goodreads:  The unforgettable bestseller Wonder, soon to be a major motion picture, has inspired a nationwide movement to Choose Kind. Now parents and educators can introduce the importance of choosing kind to younger readers with this gorgeous picture book, featuring Auggie and Daisy on an original adventure, written and illustrated by R. J. Palacio.
          Over 5 million people have fallen in love with Wonder and have joined the movement to Choose Kind. Now younger readers can meet Auggie Pullman, an ordinary boy with an extraordinary face, and his beloved dog, Daisy.
          Countless fans have asked R. J. Palacio to write a book for younger readers. With We’re All Wonders, she makes her picture-book debut as both author and artist, with a spare, powerful text and striking, richly imagined illustrations. Palacio shows readers what it’s like to live in Auggie’s world—a world in which he feels like any other kid, but he’s not always seen that way.
          We’re All Wonders may be Auggie’s story, but it taps into every child’s longing to belong, and to be seen for who they truly are. It’s the perfect way for families and educators to talk about empathy and kindness with young children.

PICTURE BOOK - Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch - Eileen Spinelli

Illustrated by Paul Yalowitz

1991 Aladdin Paperbacks

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating: 4.43

My rating: 4.5

Illustrations:  "The illustrations in this book were first drawn with ebony pencil on Bristol plate paper and then colored over with Derwent color pencils.  Because the artist is right-handed, he starts on the left side of the paper and moves to the right so that the picture won't smudge.  The paper is very smooth, and only the artist knows where that mysterious texture comes from."  Cool.

1^st line/s:  "Mr. Hatch was tall and thin and he did not simle.  Every morning at 6:30 sharp he would leave his brick house and walk eight blocks to the shoelace factory where he worked.  At lunchtime he would sit alone in a corner, eat his cheese and mustard sandwich and drink a cup of coffee.  Sometimes he brought a prune for desert."

My comments:  I'm going to use this for Annatude/ Owning Up/ Character Education immediately.  It will follow up perfectly with "being present."  It's SO easy to brighten up someone else's day.  Just a hello, a smile, a good word, a tiny gift, holding a door open for someone with a grin.  Kids are sometimes (umm...frequently) so absorbed in their own worlds that they don't realize how much little things make a huge difference.  This book with bring that idea home...LOUD, HARD, and FAST! (And although this takes place because of a valentine's day gift, it really isn't a valentine's story.)

In-Class Follow-up:   I will follow this up with brainstorming little ways that we can make days better for people.  Then we'll brainstorm (individually) people that have done kind things for us, or that are just great people in our lives.  I'll pull out some cool, cute stationary and we'll write notes to them and MAIL them, too!

When I read this book, I'm going to end with this poem by Bruce Coville:

Ripples

No one acts in isolation
And no act leaves the world the same.
Words and gestures ripple outward,
What shores they reach we cannot name.

All our lives end in a riddle --
A mystery without an answer,
For even gone we ripple on,
Like a dance without the dancer.

Did you extend a friendly hand?
Did you lift a battered spirit?
The one you helped helped someone else
Ah! Now we're getting near it.

That second someone dropped despair
Did not give in, instead revived
To teach, to love, to fight, to dare,
And what you've done lived on, survived.

On and out the circle widens,
Past all hope of comprehending.
The slightest touch can change the world
Healing, helping, lifting, mending,

Actions last for generations
Our fathers' mothers mold our hearts.
We in turn shape all that follows;
Each time we act, a ripple starts.

       ~Bruce Coville

Goodreads:  One wintry day, a postman delivers a mysterious package with a big pink bow to a lonely man named Mr. Hatch. "Somebody loves you" the note says.
          "Somebody loves me!" Mr. Hatch sings as he dusts his living room. "Somebody loves me!" Mr. Hatch whistles as he does his errands in town. "But who, " Mr. Hatch wonders, "could that somebody be?"
          After some time, Mr. Hatch discovers just who his secret admirer is and, in doing so, enjoys the biggest surprise of his life!

The Can Man - Laura E. Williams

Illustrated by Craig Orback
Lee & Low Books, 2010
$18.95 (they keep going up!)
32 pages
Rating: 4
Endpapers: clay-colored wash over linen/board

Mr. Peters used to live in the same apartment building as Tim, but with the loss of his job and income he is now homeless. He spends his days digging through trash cans to find empty soda cans he can redeem for a nickel apiece. He's now called "the Can Man" by everyone.

Tim badly wants a skateboard, but even with his birthday coming, his parents can't afford one. After watching the Can Man, he decides he'll earn money for a skateboard in the same way.

I wonder if young readers will figure out that what Tim's doing is unfair to the Can Man. I was getting more and more bothered - as I know I was supposed to. Mr. Peters is a lovely man who even helps Tim transport his bags of cans to the redemption center.

Well, of course Time comes through - he ends up giving all his can earnings to the Can Man, who badly needs a winter jacket as the cold season approaches. And (final SPOILER) on his birthday, Tim finds a used but newly painted skateboard on his front step.

Most of the illustrations cover 3/4 of the 2-page spread, edge to edge, with a vertical edge of white where the words are printed.

A great book to talk about!