Lily Brown’s Paintings by Angela Johnson, illustrated by E. B. Lewis.

This is one of my favorite picture books of 2007.  It is the story of Lily Brown, a young girl, and her vivid imagination which she expresses through her paintings.  As you read the book, you will see nods to Van Gogh and Gauguin in the illustrations.  There is a child-like quality evident in most of them that is combined with a lack of constraint that is charming.  Lily creates many paintings that she moves into, walks through, and exists in (rather like some of us with great books).  Readers will find themselves drawn into the illustrations too, understanding innately what is being described in the text.

The text of the book is equal to the art.  It expresses the freedom and joy of art, embraces Lily’s self-made worlds, and draws readers into a full understanding of being absorbed by art. 

Highly recommended for elementary art classes or story times about art. 

Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis.

This winningest book of the ALA awards was definitely deserving of each and every accolade. 

Elijah is almost twelve and was born the first free child in Buxton, Canada.  Elijah’s life is filled with nighttime adventures into the forest, fishing using stones, and going to Sunday school and regular school.  The Buxton settlement is filled with people who escaped slavery in the United States and fled north.  They bear the scars, both physical and mental, of their time as slaves.  Elijah is a “fra-gile” child who cries easily, runs when frightened, and tries his best to grow out of it.  He has a trusting soul, despite dealing with the Preacher, who is not really a preacher and has a beautiful revolver with a muddied past.  The book is filled with the rhythm of Elijah’s life in Buxton, until he finds himself caught up in a situation of Preacher’s making and face-to-face with the horrors of slavery.

The writing here is gorgeous.  It reads like a sleepy afternoon spent fishing, where one is lulled into complacency.  But throughout the novel, disturbing things happen to draw the reader back into reality and out of the dream of Buxton.  Curtis has done a masterful job of bringing the settlement and its people to life in small details, turns of phrase, loving discipline, and unique situations.  It is a joy to spend time in this book.  Curtis especially excels at showing rather than telling.  Emotions are conveyed with actions, not narrative. 

But one can’t read about Buxton without the opposite of freedom, slavery, coming into the story.  As jarring as those moments are, as cruel, as evil, they are very necessary for children and readers to understand the entire story of the times.  Elijah is a well-written protagonist who often interprets things through his own lens.  Readers will see beyond that and to the truth of the situation.  The secondary figures of the story are equally well-rendered.  They are unique and interesting, fleshing out the settlement fully.

Highly recommended, this book is appropriate for ages 11-14.  Harsh truths about slavery are revealed and a handy box of tissues is recommended for the ending.