A delightful picture book inspired by Queen Rania’s childhood. Lily and Salma are childhood friends who do everything together. All school activities are shared and enjoyed every day. They always eat lunch together. However, they each different lunches. Lily always favored a peanut butter and jelly sandwich while Salma enjoyed a hummus and pita sandwich. Each of the girls thought the other’s sandwich looked rather yucky. For the first time the girls did not eat lunch together. The next day insults flew around the lunchroom. Soon the insults had nothing to do with the food but became something “not so nice to say to the other.” The end result was a food fight.
Charlie is Ryan’s twin and at age three he was diagnosed with Autism. This book presents a very positive look at the life of the twins and their personal achievements. I was especially taken with the page that started; “Charlie has autism. But autism doesn’t have Charlie. If you ever get to meet my brother, you’ll feel lucky to be his friend.”
Carole Weatherford has built a free verse poem quoting from the Beatitudes to delineate the highlights of the struggle African American faced from slavery up to modern times ending dramatically with these words: “Even now I am with the downtrodden and with those who seek uplift. I am holy water in the stream of humanity, Drink, bathe, and be free.”
Ben, a slave in Charleston, taught himself to read. At one point his master was a tailor who sent Ben on errands around the city. By politely asking white men if he was in the correct spot he learned his way about at the same time he was learning to read street and other signs. As the Civil War neared Charleston, Ben’s master fled but not before he put Ben in a prison to await sale after things settled down.
One of the most special books I have seen recently is from the Pop-Up category. This is identified as “A hands-on guide to our amazing planet.” The book is loosely based on a series of questions young readers might ask. For example the first question is “What on earth happened?”And answers “astronomers think that 13.7 billion years ago the whole universe emerged from a tiny invisible dot.” (The Big Bang Theory) This leads to information about the planets, the sun, asteroids and comets.
HOT ROD HAMSTER by Cynthia Lord, pictures by Derek Anderson (Scholastic Press, 2010, $16.99) is an interactive picture book in which a hamster builds a hot rod. The young readers work with him in refurbishing a small green car. As each item is added the author ends the page with ,” Which would you choose?” [...]
Every school library collection should have copies of the series, TALES OF YOUNG AMERICANS, published by Sleeping Bear Press. This Press is an imprint of Gale, a part of Cengage Learning. One of their frequent authors, Gloria Whelan, has an exciting new book, THE LISTENERS , Illustrated by MIKE BENNY (2010, $17.95)
The story revolves around slave children Ella May, Bobby and Sue. Ella May works in the fields from dawn to dusk, but her work does not end after dusk. Then she collects the other two children and they head for their master’s house. Once there they settle themselves on the ground outside the window. Here they have been instructed to listen to the family conversation and report any pertinent information to the other slaves back in the quarters.
A delightfully charming picture book from Chris Wormell, FEROCIOUS WILD BEASTS (Knopf, 2009, $16.99) arrived recently. This little story is truly what I would classify as a standard children’s book. Jack is lost in the forest. Yes, the forest his mother has warned him about numerous times. This place, she says, is where the ferocious wild beasts live, hide and pounce on people. Then they gobble them up.
No matter where one goes today there is talk about going green. Kids as well as adult are bombarded with frightening images of what is in store for our world if we do not immediately take action. Many naysayers are also working hard to distract attention from this problem telling people there is no problem. Educating the very young seems to me one way to get the world’s attention on this problem. EARTH FEELING THE HEAT by Brenda Z Guiberson, illustrated by Chao Wallace, (Henry Holt and Company, 2010, $16.99) does draw young readers attention to the problem the planet is facing.
Another oversized picturebook arriving this week was JANUARY’S SPARROW by Patricia Polacco (Philomel Books Penguin Young Readers Group 2009, $22.99.) This remarkable 96 page treasure needs all the pages to relate a monumental tribute to the Crosswhite family.