Picture Books

No!

| Tasha

No! by David McPhail

A young boy sets out to deliver a letter and on his way is faced with all sorts of war actions including bombing, troops, and tanks.  When he is bullied by a larger boy, he speaks out and stops it.  This nearly wordless picture book only has a single word, repeated three times in different tones.  The illustrations in McPhail’s classic style paired with the single word make this a very powerful book about the power of one voice, one word, one person.

I am a fan of wordless books because so often as here illustrations can say volumes more than a page of text.  McPhail has created a book that talks of war more powerfully than many long treatises on the topic.  Even better, this war is accessible to children who can understand the horror being shown but then will be amazed and relieved at the power of a dissident.  I especially appreciate the final pages in the book which show the tools of war being used in peaceful ways.  Lovely.

Recommended as a book to start a discussion.  This is not a story time book but one that should be used when talking about war and peace in depth or for a family to read together and discuss. 

Folklore Retold

| Tasha

Rapunzel by Rachel Isadora.

Hansel and Gretel by Rachel Isadora.

I have to applaud Rachel Isadora’s efforts to recreate well-known European folk tales and set them in Africa filled with African characters. I have recently read her Rapunzel and Hansel and Gretel which are clever, simply written and lovely.  Isadora doesn’t try to change the core of the story, leaving that just the same.  But the setting is changed and every element of the illustrations reflect their new setting in all of its colorful glory.

Isadora has done much more than insert people of color into these stories.  She has managed to distill the stories to their essence, offering very simple version of the stories that read aloud very well.  Her illustrations are collages of paper that are brilliantly colored and will project wonderfully to a crowd.  With people of color or not, these stories are some of the most child-friendly versions I have seen.  Isadora also has created two of the most fearsome witches I have seen in a long time.  Truly terrifying with their green eyes or skin and wild hair, these women are fearsome in a wonderful, shivery way.

Highly recommended for reading to classrooms of children who have missed the basic folklore, these books are beautiful, great to read aloud and have a unique cultural story to tell.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

One Giant Leap

| Tasha

One Giant Leap by Robert Burleigh, paintings by Mike Wimmer.

In this stunning picture book, Wimmer’s remarkably realistic and expressive paintings are paired with Burleigh’s evocative and powerful verse.  Together the two capture the feeling of the moonwalk for Americans in 1969.  Children who have long known we reached the moon will be caught up in the drama of the landing and the uncertainty of the astronauts’ safe return. 

Burleigh’s poetry dances with a rhythm and deft pacing.  When readers are holding their breath with the tension, the poems come to a near halt too.  When readers are celebrating the accomplishment the poetry races, lifts, and spins.  Wimmer’s paintings are equally successful as they capture views that couldn’t be seen, scenes that were never viewed before.  They too are filled with realism, fear, and continually hope.

A masterful pairing of paintings and verse, this book soars.  Highly recommended for classrooms talking about the moon landing as well as children who are interested in space.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Little Chick

| Tasha

Little Chick by Amy Hest, illustrated by Anita Jeram.

This is a picture book that creates a world with just a few words, great characters, and wonderful illustrations.  Little Chick has three stories in this book.  One involves a small carrot, the second a stubborn kite and the third the wonder of stars.  Hest works with repetition that links all three stories together as well as a gentle style that is happy and warm.  The two characters of Little Chick and Old-Auntie (a big hen) are classic and yet fresh here.  The relationship between the two is lovely to read as Old-Auntie understands Little Chick and gently guides her to try another way. 

Hest has just the right amount of text here which is presented in a nice big font.  The book reads aloud well and though it has three stories in it is the length and size of a regular picture book.  Jeram’s illustrations are light, energetic and simply delightful.  They capture the vivacious little bird, the security and stature of the hen, and the beauty of garden, hillside and night while retaining their fresh light approach.

The perfect spring book, these stories are classic, gentle and lovely.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

I’m Your Peanut Butter Big Brother

| Tasha

I’m Your Peanut Butter Big Brother by Selina Alko

A boy wonders what his new sibling will look like when he/she is born.  With his parents the colors of semisweet dark chocolate and strawberry cream milk, there are many colors that his new sibling could be.  And what about hair, lips, nose and eyes?  So many combinations are possible!

This book is written with such love and attention to detail that it sings.  Not only a lovely book for mixed-race families, but a book for all families who all have differences and similarities that should be embraced.  Alko writes about colors in a way that brings them to life, we know just what a “jelly-bean smile” is like, what “ginger cookie brown” is and one of my favorites: “cinnamon sand castle.”  This speaks to the myriad of colors, shades, and hues humans come in.  It is a thrilling world of acceptance and love.

One of my favorite memories as a children’s librarian was traveling to ALA with the daughter of an African-American co-worker.  She and I bonded on the trip and she spent an evening looking at my skin, talking about how we were the same and different.  My freckles and moles set me firmly apart!  But some of them were almost her skin color.  This book brought that sweet moment out of my memory bank.  For that alone, it was a treat to read.

Share this with all the families at your library.  It is one to be shared with new older siblings but also one that can lead to great discussions and even greater acceptance in our children.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Chicken Little

| Tasha

Chicken Little by Rebecca Emberley and Ed Emberley.

We all know the story of Chicken Little. Bonked on the head with an acorn, loses his grip and heads out to tell everyone of the horror that the sky is falling.  He gathers a group of feathery friends who believe him and then meets up with the fox who knows just how to take advantage of the opportunity presented to him.  The only question with any new edition of the story is whether Chicken Little lives on in the end.  Let me reassure you that here he does, so it is fine to use even with sensitive toddlers and preschoolers.

What makes this book a great version of the story is that the words are kept to a minimum and even with those few words there is a lot of humor.  Each bird has his or her own little sound that they  make, from Chicken Little’s EEP! to Loosey Goosey’s ONK!  And take a look at that cover, Emberley’s art is zany, colorful and almost kaleidoscopic at times.  It perfectly matches the tone of the text. 

A winning version of this classic tale, this may just be the best read aloud version I have seen.  The art will project well to a large crowd too.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

The Man Who Lived in a Hollow Tree

| Tasha

The Man Who Lived in a Hollow Tree by Anne Shelby and Cor Hazelaar.

An Appalachian folk tale is turned into a charming picture book with this title.  Harlan Burch was a man who lived in a hollow sycamore tree.  He was a carpenter and knew immediately when he saw the grand hollow tree that he wanted to make it his home.  He lived there for years and years, planting trees.  Then something magical happened and he began to get younger.  He courted and wed and had a brood of children who all lived in the family tree.  And there he lived and lived and lived for a good long time.

The folklore is woven in the very cloth of this tale.  Repetition and rhythm tie it even more firmly to oral storytelling.  Shelby has done a wonderful job of telling a tale simply but with style.  Hazelaar’s illustrations are acrylic on linen which make them feel quilted, adding to the resonance of the book.  Additionally, she included small quilting squares in each of the illustrations that help tell the story.

A friendly and warm folk tale that reads well aloud, this book is ideal for an Arbor Day story time or for any green or Earth Day unit.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Hello, My Name is Bob

| Tasha

Hello, My Name Is Bob by Linas Alsenas

Bob is a very quiet bear.  His favorite things are counting toothpicks, humming and mostly sitting.  His best friend Jack is the opposite.  Jack likes roller coasters, dancing and adventure.  But the two of them can still be best friends and very different. 

The differences between the two bears are vivid and make for a funny and interesting juxtaposition.  We all have a bit of Bob and some Jack in us.  There are small touches that make the book very clever and funny, including the end papers each painted by one of the bears.  Bob’s boring activities are livened up by Jack and then when Jack is exhausted they are moving at just Bob’s speed. 

Clever illustrations and a friendly message make this book a winner.  Children will enjoy the dramatic differences between the two friends.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Red Sings from Treetops

| Tasha

Red Sings from Treetops: a Year in Colors by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski.

Move through the seasons with the colors built into verses dedicated to a color and the season.  Delight in the fact that spring is more than just green as Sidman weaves all of the colors into spring some in quite surprising and insightful ways.  The whimsical paintings of Zagarenski also offer a complexity and uniqueness to the title.  This is much more than spring being green and filled with flowers.  Here spring is red with cardinals, white with lightning, blue sky, yellow goldfinches, and pink with baby birds.  Summer, autumn and winter follow each with all of the colors found and celebrated in different ways. 

Sidman’s poetry will pull the reader into the book, offering lovely moments such as the yellow of summer:

Yellow melts

everything it touches…

smells like butter,

tastes like salt.

Isn’t that summer captured in a color?  And that is just one color in one season.  The senses are involved in this color book, as is rhythm and a sense of the actual season itself.  It is a picture book that allows you to think of the colors you associate with a season, the unexpected, the small touches.  I can see this being used in an art class to inspire students to paint more than the usual colors for seasonal pieces as well as a very successful poetry picture book for use in general classes.

Appropriate for ages 5-8, this book will work best with time afterwards for discussion because it will have everyone buzzing with new ideas.