Jin Jin the Dragon by Grace Chang; illustrated by Chong Chang.

Children enter the world of the Chinese dragon here, very different from the European dragon tradition that many may already be aware of.  Jin Jin hatches from an egg and is not sure what type of creature he is.  As he meets different animals, he finds he has much in common with them.  He has the scales of a fish, the claws of an eagle, the body of a snake.  In order to find out what he really is, he journeys to see Old Turtle and Crane who should be able to help him.  On the way readers get a taste of Chinese lettering as well as Chinese culture.  Finally, when he reaches his destination, Jin Jin fully understands what being a dragon is all about.

Lovingly written and illustrated by siblings, this book is a glimpse into another culture where dragons are kind, curious and enchanting.  Both the text of the novel and the illustrations are more personal than most books, something that contributes to its authenticity.  The book has the feel of a traditional picture book while still being modern and accessible. 

Recommended for children to understand a different type of dragon and learn about another culture.  This is perfect to use for Chinese New Year, but should not be limited to that.  Appropriate for younger elementary children ages 6-8.

Emily’s Tiger by Miriam Latimer

Emily doesn’t want her hair cut, doesn’t want to eat her carrots and is really angry when she doesn’t get to be the clown’s assistant at a birthday party.  And when Emily gets angry, she turns into a real tiger.  Roar, teeth and all.  It takes her wise grandmother who also has a temper of her own to teach Emily how to tame her inner tiger. 

The strength of this book is in the analogy of anger with being a tiger and being out of control.  Any of us with bad tempers (and I am definitely included in that group) completely understand that tempers not only flare but sometimes go beyond that and we turn into something entirely different.  Children will really relate to this comparison and will see that they are not alone.  I also appreciated the fact that Emily does not give up her tiger side.  Instead she tames it and learns to control it.

The art in the book fully supports the analogy as well, as the tiger Emily bounds across the pages, roars directly at the reader, and generally behaves badly.  Equally as powerful are the images where Emily is controlling herself but still enjoying being a tiger. 

Recommended for all children, not only those who roar.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

The Best Story by Eileen Spinelli, illustrations by Anne Wilsdorf.

The Red Brick Library was having a contest for writing the best story.  So the main character heads home and asks her various family members what makes a story the best.  She incorporates each idea, including lots of action, humor, and romance.  She ends up with a jumbled story, until her mother tells her the the best story is the one that comes from the author’s heart.  She sits down and writes a completely new story about the things she loves, and no longer worries about whether she will win the contest or not because she is so proud of her story.

Spinelli has created a book that really talks to children about how books are written and how stories are created.  She accomplishes this without being didactic at all, instead using humor to make her point.  Wilsdorf’s cartoony illustrations also help set the tone of lightness in the book, filled with manic action and bright colors.  The final point that writers must write what they know and love is powerfully done, but not too much so.  The end nicely balances with the rest of the book.

Recommended for writing units in elementary school and for sharing in story times.  It might also be an interesting book to pair with an author visit and lead children to ask questions about the process of writing. 

I Am a Dancer by Pat Lowery Collins, illustrations by Mark Graham.

Collins has created a poem here that dances, springs, swirls and entrances.  Her words capturing movement and dance echo, offering inspiration to children and insight into the meaning of being a dancer.  Here is one stanza that grabbed my attention:

I am a dancer to the

steady drip-blip of rain,

the whisper of trees,

music carried on the air.

What a magical way to bring poetry and symbolism to children.  Using things that they see and hear every day, but making it deeper and stronger and adding meaning.

Graham has created paintings to go with the poem that also dance and move.  For me, the most spectacular is the autumn double-spread where the glory of golden autumn days is captured. 

This enchanting picture book works perfectly.  Highly recommended for children age 4-7.

The Vowel Family: a Tale of Lost Letters by Sally M. Walker, illustrations by Kevin Luthardt.

As Pm and Sm Vwl start their married life together they realize that something is missing.  Vowels!  When their twins Alan and Ellen were born, suddenly A and E entered their speech too.  But something was still missing.  The second set of twins, Iris and Otto, added I and O. But it isn’t until Ursula was born and Aunt Cyndy is around that words suddenly work.

This book must be read aloud (but don’t attempt it in front of a group without some prep time) to get the humor of the missing vowels.  Reading the first few pages is confusing and funny.  Just try to figure out how to pronounce the sentence, "Tlkng s vr hrd." 

Walker’s text adds to the fun and eventually bounces along merrily once vowels enter the picture.  She has selected words that can be pronounced with difficulty and to a certain extent can even be decoded and understood.  Luthardt’s illustrations add to the silliness of the book.  Children will immediately see the humor of the situation, will love hearing a reader stumble over nonsense words, and will even learn something in the process.

Recommended for young readers age 5-7 who will enjoy the joke most of all.

Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai by Claire A. Nivola.

This
picture book tells the true story of Wangari Maathai, winner of the
2004 Nobel Peace Prize.  When she was growing up in Kenya, the country
was covered in green hills, trees, and crops.  But when she returned
back home after college, she discovered that the greenery was gone,
people were struggling and starving and the trees had been chopped
down.  The entire country had moved from small family farms to large
agricultural plantations.  So she went to work to restore her homeland
and bring back the trees, the clean water, and the food supply.  Change
did not come quickly, but by getting the women of Kenya to start making
small changes at home, they began to plant trees and change Kenya
forever.

Nivola’s language is what really makes this book work. 
She simultaneously moves the book along at a brisk pace but also allows
the words and images to linger momentarily.  So as we learn about how
Kenya used to be, we are given this gem of writing:

In
the stream near her homestead where she went to collect water for her
mother, she played with glistening frogs’ eggs, trying to gather them
like beads into necklaces, though they slipped through her fingers back
into the clear water. 

This isn’t a lecture on how
healthy ecosystems should be.  Rather it is a moment, a captured image,
a time when things were so right that they didn’t need explanation. 
Readers, especially children, will know that intuitively.  If you have
the wonder of frog eggs, you have clean water and a healthy ecosystem. 
Also notice Nivola’s grace with phrasing.  Her words beg to be read
aloud and when they are, they glide smoothly and tell the story
effortlessly.

Her art is also winning.  Featuring primarily
large vistas of Kenya, they demonstrate just as much as the words the
damage done to the environment.  Again and again we are shown Wangari
Maathai as part of that expanse, part of the community, one of many
workers, never alone, isolated or individual.  Nivola manages with her
art to set her message in stone about the power of change, of heart, of
womanhood.

Highly recommended for classroom use in grades 3-5.  
The perfect book to take out for Arbor Day, Earth Day, or any day when
vistas, trees and hard work are needed.  It works well as a read-aloud
for older children who will start to ask themselves about the clearing
of land in our own country and the damage it may be doing.

Stuck in the Mud by Jane Clarke, illustrated by Garry Parsons.

Early one morning, a hen notices that one of her chicks is stuck in the mud.  She pushes and shoves, but can’t get the chick out and then finds herself stuck too!  One by one, more animals join them stuck all together in the mud.  All push and strain to get unstuck, but all are trapped.  All except one!  The little chick who started the mess!

The art here is so funny and inviting.  Done in a cartoon style that will make small children right at home, it is perfectly paired with the zany text that will have children even more at home.   The text is pitch perfect, reading aloud so easily that it fairly skips along.  This is the perfect book for a toddler story time where children will love to shout out the animal names and join in the straining to push and pull the animals out of the mud.

Highly recommended for ages 3-6.  Have a muddy good time!

My Friend the Starfinder by George Ella Lyon, illustrated by Stephen Gammell.

Ready yourself for a true story that defies belief.  A girl meets am old man who tells her amazing stories.  He starts by telling her of seeing a star fall and then heading into the fields to where it landed.  He picked up the star and took it home.  Then there was the time he found himself at the end of a rainbow, doused in colors.  Readers at this point will think they are in the middle of a magical picture book story, but in the author’s note, Lyon tells us that she knew this man.  What a perfect way for it all to end.  In truth.

Lyon’s language here is gorgeous and often breathtaking.  She starts out with plain and simple wording that gets caught in the story and expands, filling the book with metaphor and wonder.  And to make it even more wonderful, she does it a second time and readers will feel just as captured and amazed as the first time.

Pair her deft language with Gammell’s art and you get a book that fairly sings with color and story.  Gammell uses his loose art to perfectly capture the connections between people and the singular moments we find ourselves in. 

Highly recommended, this picture book is a welcome addition to any library collection.  It should be shared with children and then they should be given time to hear your stories of wonders that have happened to you and to share their own.  A chance to share and connect is the perfect ending to this book.

Ladybug Girl by David Soman and Jacky Davis.

First, let me just applaud this book for not being PINK and SPARKLY.  Instead it is red and sparkly and has a girl who is a spunky individual.  Lulu’s parents are busy and her big brother is playing baseball with his friends, so that leaves her to find her own fun along with her dog Bingo.  Lulu spends the day outside in the backyard, running, saving ants from boulders, crossing puddles that could contain sharks, and building a fort of her own. 

Captured in the illustrations are her sense of self and freedom.  Lovely to see in a book for girls, Lulu is not squeamish and has a vivid imagination that keeps her more than busy enough while everyone is busy.  The illustrations are full of movement, breeze and joy.  They capture a day spent outside alone and the fun that can be found there. 

Highly recommended as an antidote to pink sparkly books.  This book could serve as a primer for modern children finding good old-fashioned fun in their own backyards.  Recommended for ages 5-7.