PICTURE BOOK - We've Got the Whole World in Our Hands by Rafael Lopez

The words are from a traditional spiritual, pronouns changed

Illustrated by Rafeal Lopez

2018, Orchard Books, NY

HC $17.99

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.05  - 274 ratings

My rating:  5, the illustrations!!!
Endpapers: front:  white, daytime, rolling yarn
back:  black, nightime, rolling yarn continues on to the stars....

1^st line/s:  "We've go the whole world in our hands"

My comments:  "Nay-sayers" don't even make me roll my eyes anymore, they just make me laugh.  How can you not love this book?  It's joyful, its message is beautiful - we're all connected and in many ways - no matter our ethnicity, our humanity, or our place in the world.  Its roots in the original spiritual are still there, so changing the pronouns includes everyone, doesn't omit a soul.  You can believe in god, any god; or you don't have to.  Rolled-out multi-colored yarn connects everyone and everything.   Just believe in the simple idea that we're all connected and depend upon each other.  The illustrations are just gorgeous.  What a wonderful book to look at, to share, and to SING!

Goodreads:  Award-winning illustrator Rafael López brings new life with his adaptation of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands," saluting the lives of all young people. The rhythmic verse and repetitive emphasis on "we" and "our" encourages inclusive communities and the celebration of unity and diverse friendships all around the world.
i"We've got you and you got me in our hands.
We have the whole world in our hands."/i
Come and read along and sing along as we celebrate the magic of unity. From the rivers to the mountains to the oceans and to the sea -- we've got the whole world in our hands. 
As an added bonus the sheet music is included in the back of the book for piano, guitar, and recorder for classroom, library, and home sing-alongs.

Man Gave Names to All the Animals - Bob Dylan

Illustrated by Jim Arnosky
Sterling, 2010
$17.95 - with CD of Dylan singing the song
32 pages
Endpapers - a gorgeous green wash

The 170+ animals drawn in this magical book completely cover each page in spectacular color. Mr. Arnosky can certainly paint animals! Kids will spend hours pouring over every double-page spread. And they can do it while listening to the song.

"Man gave names to all the animals
In the beginning, in the beginning,
Man gave names to all the animals
In the beginning, long time ago."

Dylan wrote the song in 1979. Why don't I seem to know it?

There are lots of beautiful picture books being produced right now to accompany special songs. (My favorite is still It's a Wonderful World (Louis Armstrong's song, illustrated by Ashley Bryan). Think Let There Be Peace on Earth, The Marvelous Toy, All God's Critters, and Forever Young.

Too Much Kissing - Alaz Katz

(And Other Silly Dilly Songs About Parents)
Illustrated by David Catrow
"Ages 3-7"
Margaret K. McElderry Bks, 2010
$16.99
32 pgs.
My rating: 3.5
Endpapers: Dark blue

14 two-page spreads that include a poems about mom and dad that go to the tune of a well-known (mostly well-known) song. Funny and fun. For example:

They're Full of Beans
(to the tune of "Take me Out to the Ballgame"

Mom and Dad just drink coffee.
They both live on caffeine.
Each has a pot before starting work,
while at their jobs they are on auto-perk,
and it's brew, brew, brew after dinner.
It's like a java monsoon!
It's no wonder they haven't slept
a wink since June!

Mom and Dad just drink coffee ---
extra strong, no decaf.
Every week they each brew twenty pounds.
Coffee pot broke, so the just ate the grounds.
And if they don't stop drinking coffee,
I fear that someday they will
want to pack up all our stuff
and move to Brazil!

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?

The Marvelous Toy - Tom Paxton

Illustrated by Steve Cox
Includes a 4-song CD
Imagine! A Peter Yarrow Book
$17.95
24 pgs.
for: ages 3-5
Rating: 4.5
Endpapers: a mesmerizing blue/aqua shooting-star filled sky

Magical. Every page is magical.

I've been a Tom Paxton fan for a zillion years. Seen him in concert four or five times. He's funny, clever, and quite politica (he doesn't miss anything)l. A very cool guy. And I've heard this song dozens of times - including live. So I sang along as I read. The book follows the words to the song, showing a father giving a cool new toy to a son...and ending with this same son, now grown, passing it along to his own son. The gorgeous bright-blue toned illustrations are a blast to ingest.

This is a yummy book - a great gift for a young child - with four Paxton songs included! ! !

(And I see that not only did Paxton get a Life Achievement Grammy this year, he has a new album (Comedians and Angels) out. Bravo, Tom Paxton!)

Our Abe Lincoln - Jim Aylesworth

An Old Tune with New Lyrics
Illustrator: Barbara McClintock
for: Young kids
Rating: 5
2009
$16.99

A class is putting on a play about Abe Lincoln, accompanied by simple words to the thune of "The Old Grey Mare." I sang the words as I read from page to page. The following is from the middle of the book:

Friend Abe Lincoln go sent of to Washington
........Sent of to Washington
........Sent off to Washington
Friend Abe Lincoln got sent too to Washington
........Many campaigns ago.
Kind Abe Lincoln then led as the president
........Led as the president
........Led as the president
Kind Abe Lincoln then led as the president
........Many cruel days ago.

Simple. You get the picture. It tells the story of Abraham Lincoln simply, first facts for younger kids to have and hold and take with them through life.

There's no white - pale yellow instead - one full page is a framed illustration, the facing page has the stage curtains on top and side with additional drawring across the bottom, beneath the lyrics.

Very, very nice.

Sleepsong - George Ella Lyon

Illustrator: Peter Catalanotto
For: very young
Published: 2009
Rating: 4
$16.99
Endpapers: Mustard

Mom, Dad, and small daughter prepare for bed on the top portion of the page, while animals in the natural world are depicted sleeping in the gray-lavender tones on the bottom portion of the page. Separated by an inch of sunset, the words dance across the page.

"Everthing yawns -- Shh shh -- When night comes on -- Shh shh
Hen on her roost -- cat on the bed -- you in may lap
Sleepyhead."

The music is included at the end and you can even hear it at georgeellalyon.com

All God's Critters - Bill Staines

Illustrator: Kadir Nelson
Published: Jan. 2009, Rating: 4.5
Read: B&N 1/31/09
Endpapers: Black

Full page illustrations of large, fun, extremely whimsical animals - there are even two pull-open pages that show all the animals, arms over shoulders, kicking their feet like the Rockettes and, with heads thrown back, singing for all they're worth.
The music and lyrics are on a 2-page spread in the back.

This is a joyful book. It's too bad that a CD is not included, but it IS on Bill Staines"The Happy Wanderer" cd for kids that was released in 1993. I've seen Bill Staines perform three times, I think. He's great. And he yodels, too!

Forever Young - Bob Dylan

Illustrator: Paul Rogers
For: Everyone, especially aging hippies
Published: Sept 23, 2008
Rating: 5 Now on my WISH LIST
Read: Oct. 5, 2008
Endpapers: White: FRONT has an illustration of Dylan with a sign: "Dig Yourself", BACK is the rear of a red VW bug (seen in the book) with bumper sticker: "Don't Look Back"

I want a poster of this book.

As we read the lyrics to this well-known song, we are treated to illustrations that not only follow Dylan's life, but are full of details and tidbids of many of his other songs and the times. Depicted are the famous places of the 60's folk scene, as wll as some of the personages. Nostaligic but not old-fashioned, I poured over the illustrations with gusto (or at least as much gusto as can be displayed in a busy Borders' cafe).

There's lots of negative white space surrounding the illustrations (which I usually don't like), but it works beautifully. This is for sure going to be on my wish list - and I'm writing to Atheneum/Simon and Schuster to see about a poster. They should have included a CD!

Mmmmmmm mmmmmmm good.

Turn! Turn! Turn! - Pete Seeger

Illustrator: Wendy Anderson Halperin
For: Kids
Pub: 2003
Rating: 4/5
Finished : Aug. 11, 2008
includes CD with two songs

Last year, while creating curriculum for fifth graders on the literature of ancient Israel, I decided to find readings from the Old Testament and teach them using a musical approach. I remembered the Byrds' song Turn! Turn! Turn! and have found two picture books depicting it. In 1961, Pete Seeger took the words from Ecclesiastes, originally written in 250 BCE and translated into English in London in 1607, and set them to music. Wendy Anderson Halperin takes those words and creates a double page spread to illustrate each coupling of verse. All illustrations are contained within a huge circle and drawn using watercolors. BEAUTIFULLY drawn. I poured over each of them, looking at details and admiring Halperin's vision for each of the phrases. There was one drawback for me, however. To be able to view each illustration correctly, I had to keep turning the book this way and that, upside-down and sideways. It's a fairly large book with a dustcover, and it started to drive me crazy. Otherwise, it was quite lovely.

There is a full page note in the back of the book from Pete Seeger, explaining how he created this now-very-popular song. Sheet music is included, as well a CD that contains Pete Seeger's version along with the Byrd's slightly different one. It's fun to see the difference and listen to both sets of voices sing this song.