Winterberries and Apple Blossoms: Reflections and Flavors of a Mennonite Year by Nan Forler illustrated with paintings by Peter Etril Snyder (Tundra Books, 2011)  takes the reader month by month through a calendar year in an Old Order Mennonite girl’s life.   Old Order Mennonites are a religious community that live in and around the Waterloo region in southern Ontario.  Similar to the Amish, they live simple lives with very few modern conveniences.  They do not own cars nor computers or televisions.  They work on farms, making their living on what they grow and sell.

Naomi is the young girl from whose perspective the reader views her world.  Each month is written about in poems.  For example, January opens with a poem called “The Quilting Bee.”

Matilda Martin and Edna Bauman
Mam and Lucinda and me –
my first time quilting with the women.
Noisy greetings as we settle in around the quilt frame,
then silence as each begins.

A lovely painting of Naomi stitching amongst the women is depicted on the facing page. And so the months go, poem by poem, Naomi’s life unfolding before the reader. A Mennonite girl’s life is clearly different from a boy’s — in May’s poem “The Bicycle” for example, we see Naomi covertly attempting to ride her brother’s bike and suffering for it (she crashes, her skirt getting caught in the greasy chains) but two months later in “The Ball Game” we see Naomi whack the baseball well past the older boy’s reach even though they had moved in field expecting her to be a weak hitter.

I liked the pacing in this book. The poems are slow and thoughtful like the kind of lives these children live in their pastoral farm communities. And the paintings that depict the life are easily as bucolic and delightful as the poems.  And as an added bonus, there are recipes at the back of the book, one for each month celebrating the seasonal culinary delights of the community.

Poetry Friday this week is hosted by Elaine at Wild Rose Reader.

Who does the reading to your child at night?  Mommy or Daddy?  And what books do they choose to read?  In our household, it’s mainly me who does the night time reading ritual with my daughter, but on occasion my husband has done the bedtime reading.  Of course, he picks different books than me and for today’s post, I’m featuring a book he’s been working on steadily with my daughter titled To Kill a Queen: An Elizabethan Girl’s Diary 1583-1586 by Valerie Wilding (Scholastic Canada, 2005)  This book is one in a series of Scholastic titles — the My Story collection — of girls living through historical events like the Great Plague, the Blitz, and the Irish Famine.

To Kill a Queen features an Elizabethan girl named Catherine Anne Lumsden, the 12 year old daughter of a former lady-in-waiting on Queen Elizabeth the I, Lady Matilda Lumsden and Sir Nicholas Lumsden, a secret agent in the service of the Queen.  With such a family so close to the Queen, it’s not surprising that they become embroiled in the intrigues of the court of the day, including a plot to kill the Queen.  So what happens to our dear diarist, Catherine?  Well, I don’t know since I’m not the one reading the book to her!  Since my husband is an English professor, specializing in the literature close to the period covering this book, I could see why he selected this title for his choice of a bedtime read.  How does my daughter like the book?  I assume she likes it well enough, but by now, she is quite used to her parents, particularly her mother, foisting interesting and unusual reads on her!  This doesn’t prevent her from voicing her opinions on the matter.  She came home one day wanting us to read the popular The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins to her and so when Daddy went shopping recently, he picked up a copy for her to read to her at night.

Who does the bedtime reading in your household?  And what books do you or your spouse choose to read?

Cynthia Weill, illustrated with folk art by Artisans from Oaxaca,
Colores de la vida: Mexican Folk Art Colors in English and Spanish
Cinco Puntos Press, 2011.

Ages: 2+

Hypnotic. The word is hypnotic. A deep green lizard with a jolting yellow band around its neck leaps off the light green page – literally. Green / verde. Two white polar bears curve into the even whiter page, fine black lines of their fearsome claws made bold by the painter’s brush. White / blanco. From full-color spread to full-color spread, Cynthia Weill uses hypnotic photographs of folk art figures from artisans from Oaxaca to illustrate the beauty, art, and vibrancy of the Colores de la vida, colors of life, in an unforgettable book as much about the wonder of the ways we can imagine the world around us as about names of colors.

Anyone who has had the pleasure of reading ABeCedarios (2007) or Opuestos (2009) will recognize the stylized, vibrantly-painted Oaxacan figures arranged in sets of twos and threes on each spread of marbleized papers in the same hues. Like her previous two books in the highly successful “First Concepts in Mexican Folk Art” series, Author Cynthia Weill brilliantly illustrates the theme of the book – colors – using folk art from other nations and culture. Using friendships formed and connections made during her time in Mexico as a Fullbright scholar, Weill employs artisans from across Oaxaca, both aspiring and well-known, to create the ceramic, tin, wood-carved and papier-mâché figures used.

Colores de la vida supplies minimal text, placing only a single word, the color name, printed in its namesake hue in English and Spanish. This lack of explanation or words, including what the animals actually are, reinforces the irresistible draw between viewer and animal figure. What are those extraordinary winged yellow figures heralding irrepressible glee as an egg hatches a third figure near them. A dragon? Another mythical figure? Each page captures a sense of wonder, of the vibrancy of color, the imagination of the artist, the name of the hue. Colors take life in this small picture book, perfect for small hands, in an astonishing pairing of visual intimacy and artistic joy that make this one of the most distinctive recent books on color – in English or otherwise.

Sara Hudson
April 2011

One of my roles here on the PaperTigers blog is that of Eventful World Coordinator. On the 1st day of each month I post our calendar of children’s book-related events and the majority of my weekly posts focuses on kid lit events happening around the world. From the Philippines to Canada to Australia to Mexico, there are lots of events to attend, vicariously enjoy, or simply be inspired by! I often say that if I ever win the lottery I may just spend a year traveling the world and going from one kid lit event to another. If there is ever an event happening in your area that you think our readers would like to know about, please send me an email ( corinne(at)papertigers.org ) and I would be pleased to include it on our monthly calendar and perhaps do a feature post about it.

Earlier this week I received an email from Joanna Dozier at the North Carolina Museum of Art (Raleigh, NC, USA) in which she wrote “I am pleased to share with you the North Carolina Museum of Art’s most recent exhibition and upcoming spring family festival that celebrate the works of award-winning author, artist, and teacher Ashley Bryan.

As you may know, with a recent Coretta Scott King award and recognition from the New York Public Library, Ashley Bryan is a top name in the world of children’s book authorship and illustration. His work draws upon African American traditions and folklore, blending rhythms of the oral tradition in his writing with a wide range of colorful mediums in his art.

This April, the NCMA presents two exciting opportunities to recognize Bryan’s work, as well as commemorate the release of his two new volumes of spirituals, Walk Together Children and I’m Going to Sing, published by Alazar Press:

On April 15, the NCMA opened Rhythms of the Heart: The Illustration of Ashley Bryan, an exhibition that features Ashley’s original preliminary pencil drawings, watercolor sketches, and completed woodblock prints, ultimately presented in his stunning award-winning books. The exhibition will run through the summer, closing on August 19.

On April 22, the NCMA hosts the  free Spring Family Festival: 
Rhythms of the Heart with music making, art workshops, dancing, and singing, as well as a special appearance by Bryan.”

For  more information visit the North Carolina Museum of Art website by clicking here.

April is National Poetry Month and is a busy time for poets.  I’m off myself to Edmonton for the Edmonton Poetry Festival and am looking forward to reading my poetry there and hearing other poets read.   One organization in Canada that is for poets (and of which I’ve recently become a member) is the League of Canadian Poets.  In 2001 for National Poetry Month, the League launched a website called YoungPoets.ca whose objective is to increase the profile of Canadian poetry amongst young people.  This year Young Poets Week runs from the 15-21st and during this time, young poets can get a chance to have their poetry critiqued by an older mentor on-line as well as have the opportunity to post poetry videos on an on-line forum available on the site.  Do cruise the Young Poets website and have a look around.  In the Teacher’s Lounge, many of the offerings are available also in French (in keeping with the bilingual nature of our country!)

Poetry Friday this week is hosted by Diane at Random Noodling.

There’s much ado about the Titanic these days what with the 1ooth anniversary of its sinking this year.   On the Canadian book website 49th Shelf, blog contributor Kerry Clare has compiled a short list of Canadian titles about the famous liner and its sinking.  Three of the selected titles are children’s books — That Fatal Night by Sarah Ellis (in the Dear Canada series, Scholastic Canada, 2011), Deadly Voyage by Hugh Brewster (in the I am Canada series, Scholastic Canada, 2011) and Children of the Titanic by Christine  Welldon (Nimbus Publishing, 2012.)   If you’re at all interested in the disaster and wanting to read of it and about it with your kids, then do check out these titles!

This morning I got an e-mail from SCBWI member and children’s book writer Naomi Kojima about an on-line library of children’s picture books called One More Story.  This site is offering a free week’s trial of stories from their on-line library.  Their sample book is Pete’s Pizza by William Steig whom I just wrote a post on so I checked it out.  A very funny book and well presented indeed.  For those of you entering the world of reading to your children on-line and/or on the IPad or IPhone or other kind of tablets, this might be a good time to try this library out.  Naomi Kojima’s work is also available — check it out on the Orange Shelf; her title is Singing Shijimi Clams (Kane/Miller, 2006.)

Right now, my daughter and I are working through Abel’s Island (Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1976) by American children’s book author William Steig.   Unlike Steig’s other picture books, this is a novel in chapters.  It is illustrated by Steig in his characteristic style, featuring a mouse named Abel.  Abel is a happily married creature who one day, after a glorious picnic with his wife Amanda, is washed away by a violent rainstorm onto an island.  Stranded there, he must find a way to escape while surviving day-to-day on his little tract of land.  Although the plot of the story revolves around Abel trying to find a means to return to his happy domestic life in the city, the deeper import of this tale is what Abel discovers about himself by being alone.  He begins to question himself:

Was it just an accident that he was here on this uninhabited island? Abel began to wonder. Was he being singled out for some reason; was he being tested? If so, why? Didn’t it prove his worth that such a one as Amanda loved him?

The existential questioning aspect of this book I found fascinating and compelling. The enormous challenge for this mouse to get back to the civilization he knows and loves was something I was able to point out to my daughter on our walks through our local park where a creek meets the river in our city.   There are some sandy islands in the river and I told my daughter that being stranded on one of those islands was comparable to Abel’s situation in the book.  She could then appreciate the difficulty of Abel’s struggle.  She certainly feels for Abel and is curious most evenings to know what will become of him.

I’m a big fan of Steig’s picture books — a few of which I’ve read to my son — but reading this little gem of a novel to my daughter has been a real pleasure.  My daughter was mildly surprised at hearing that Steig was the creator of the original Shrek and kept plying me with questions about the book (which of course is quite different from the movie!)  Have you read any Steig books to your child?  What Steig book is your favorite?

Sunny Seki, author-illustrator,
Yuko-Chan and the Daruma Doll: The Adventures of a Blind Japanese Girl Who Saves Her Village
Tuttle, 2012.

Age: 5 and up

Sunny Seki’s latest children’s book is set 200 years ago in the village of Takasaki, 90 miles from Tokyo, just after a devastating volcanic eruption of nearby (and still active) Mt. Asama. Yuko-chan, Seki’s spunky little fictional heroine, is a blind orphan, cared for by the monks at Daruma Temple there.

Yuko-chan’s intelligence, compassion and complete lack of self-pity are evident early in the story. She knows all about how Daruma (Bodhidharma to westerners) brought the Buddha’s teaching to China. Daruma was famous for continuing to meditate even after his arms and legs became numb. He exhorted followers, “If you fall seven times, you must pick yourself up eight times! You need strong faith, and the belief that you can accomplish your goals!”

The indomitable Yuko-chan, inspired by Daruma’s words, helps deliver food to bereft villagers who have lost their homes and farms. One day, she notices that her tea gourd always returns to upright after being dropped, and she likens it to Daruma, never giving up. She gets the villagers to begin painting gourds with Daruma’s famously fierce face. The Daruma dolls quickly gain popularity. Her ingenious idea provides a new livelihood for the community.

Takasaki is in fact famous today for its Daruma dolls. Visitors purchase the dolls with the eyes blank. They paint in one eye when they make a wish or vow and add the other when their goal is achieved. Actually an old tradition with a murky history, the eye painting has been criticized in recent years by Japanese organizations for the blind. Perhaps their protest inspired Seki’s story; it’s poetically appropriate that his vision-impaired little girl would resolve a village crisis with goal-inspiring, blank-eyed Daruma dolls.

Award-winning author-illustrator Sunny Seki brings the feisty and adorable Yuko-chan vividly to life in word and image. He captures the simple beauties of nature and the rustic built environment of the time as well. A Japanese translation follows the English text on each page, with hiragana (phonetic) symbols printed in superscript so novice Japanese readers can more easily follow the story. The back matter gives additional information about Daruma and the Daruma doll tradition. Tuttle’s expert design and high production quality further enhance the experience of Yuko-chan and the Daruma Doll. Its impact will deepen with repeated reading.

Charlotte Richardson
April 2012