British poet, Judith Nicholls, has compiled a wonderful book of poems for children called Someone I Like: Poems About People(illustrated by Giovanni Manna.) I discovered Nicholls’ work through The Children’s Poetry Archive, a wonderful website chock-a-block with recommendations of poetry for children. In Someone I Like, Nicholls has assembled poems by various authors that look at human relationships in ways that children can identify with. There are poems about friendship and about one’s parents. There are poems about siblings, and about aunties and grandmothers. What I liked about the poems was how emotionally frank many of them were. In “Urgent Note to My Parents,” the child speaker says:
Don’t ask me to do what I can’t do
Only ask me to do what I can
Don’t ask me to be what I can’t be
Only ask me to be what I am
The accompanying illustration of a fed-up looking girl in overalls with a pencil in one hand and a sheet of paper in the other is very fitting! In reading this book to my daughter, we were able to explore terrains of emotion that were new and sometimes surprising. Poems, for example, about broken friendships and about a girl who tells her granny “you’ll have to be dying soon” were arresting and provocative. Such poems engage the reader and require a response, and that is what good poetry should do for parent and child alike. Compiler Nicholl understands this notion deeply and brings her experience as a poet, parent and grandparent to bear on her lively selections.
Someone I Like is published by an innovative press called Barefoot Books. Their vision is to produce books that “celebrate the world’s diversity, encourage children’s independent spirits, and build their enthusiasm for reading, creativity and discovery.” Someone I Like certainly fulfills that vision!
The marketing material we received from Orca, along with our review copy of the book, says: “For the future to be better than the past, better than the present, we must equip our children with an understanding of the world around them and encourage faith in their ability to bring about change.” The latest issue of PaperTigers heartily echoes their sentiment, and One Peace encapsulates it perfectly: by telling the stories of youth who have taken leadership roles, it inspires young readers to take their own steps toward world peace. Told through art, poetry, quotations, and photographs, the book includes profiles of Farlis Calle, who started Colombia Children’s Movement for Peace; Craig Kielburger, three times nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work with Free The Children, an organization he founded at age 12; Kimmie Weeks, who established Voices of the Future, Liberia’s first child rights advocacy group, and many more.
The idea for the book, which has been included in the 2008 Smithsonian Notable Books for Children list, came during a presentation, when Wilson was asked by a child “why children are taught about war but not peace.” One Peace was, ultimately, her response. But she has more to say about the matter: her plan is to write a series of books about “building a more peaceful and just world under the guidance of our wise children.” Hurray for that!
To read about Janet Wilson’s painting of the activists’ portraits, check here. And for more of her artwork, take a peek at her PaperTigers gallery.
My son’s introduction to mysteries was by way of Canadian writer Marty Chan. Beginning with The Mystery of the Frozen Brains followed by The Mystery of the Graffiti Ghoul and then finally with The Mystery of the Mad Science Teacher, my son has followed the erstwhile adventures of ten year old Marty in his French Canadian town in Alberta with great interest. Marty is the only Chinese kid in his prairie town. This makes him very self-aware. In Graffiti Ghoul, he says:
Being the only Chinese kid at school already made me stand out like a beach ball on a snow bank. My black hair and darker skin made me different from the rest of the kids, and my classmates teased me almost every day. They called me a math geek. They claimed I ate cats. They said Jackie Chan was my uncle. None of it was true, but that didn’t stop them from making nasty rumours about me.
One might chuckle now reading this, feeling Marty’s comments to be dated, but in fact, this kind of racial teasing was pretty common-place for many of my generation of Asians growing up in the predominantly white prairie provinces of Canada. One couldn’t help then but feel like an alien — an idea which Chan makes much of in the first of his series: The Mystery of the Frozen Brains. Marty feels so conspicuous in his town that he actually begins to believe that he might be a space alien. He and his new-found friend Remi even go out in search of a space ship.
For my son, Marty Chan’s books are entertaining stories of a boy trying to solve mysteries in his town, but for me as a parent, reading Chan’s books reminded me of what growing up Asian in North America was like. Thanks, Marty Chan, for rendering an ‘alien’ existence in such a pleasurable way for both parent and child!
This past Monday was Louis Riel Day, a holiday for the province of Manitoba where I live. Louis Riel was Metis. The Metis are an indigenous group of Canadians historically formed from the union of French Canadian men (primarily the voyageurs) and aboriginal women. The Metis are a distinct aboriginal group in Canada. They have a common history and culture, and a unique language known as Michif. Traditionally, they populated the areas of the western Canadian provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Louis Riel Day is celebrated here alongside a week long winter festival called Festival du Voyageur.
Recently I was given a number of children’s books by Pemmican Publications Inc. This press is committed to promoting the Metis culture and heritage. One of the books from their Michif Children’s Series is called Thomas and the Metis Cart. It was written originally in English by Bonnie Murray (illustrated by Sheldon Dawson,) and translated into Michif by Rita Flamand. Through the Michif Children’s series of books, the Michif language is being revived and shaped for use to be read now by a younger generation. Thomas and the Metis Cart is about a boy named Thomas who is given a class science project to build something on wheels. Thomas decides he would like build a replica of a Red River cart, an important transportation vehicle used by the Metis in settling the west. As his father helps him build the replica, Thomas finds out more about the cart and his Metis history.
Louis Riel Day and the Festival du Voyageur celebrate an aspect of my city and province’s history and culture. What festivals and holidays do you have in your locale that celebrates its past? Are there books about them? Do tell!
A few days ago, my daughter asked to go to the library to get a book about Valentine’s Day. As a result, we came home with not one, but four great titles that have added to both our understanding and fondness of the celebration.
I love how Valentine’s Day—any day, really—provides plenty of opportunities to build on a child’s love of books. “Kids Heart Authors” day, happening today in bookstores throughout the country, is a testament to that, making the most of the celebration by bringing kids together with the books and authors they love.
In lieu of such incredible opportunity (no “Kids Heart Authors” events near us, unfortunately), our library books do a pretty good job of satisfying our book hunger and keeping us connected through reading: Valentine’s Day, by Clyde Robert Bulla let us know that most scholars believe that this “love-focused day leapt gleefully from the Roman holiday Lupercalia, a festival celebrated more than 2,000 years ago to mark the beginning of spring,” and told us how the tradition spread to other countries. Barbara Samuels’ Happy Valentine’s Day, Dolores, allowed us to bask in the deliciously complicated glow of sisterly love; Valentine’s Day, by Anne and Lizzy Rockwell, brought us close to a group of students making valentine’s for a classmate who is visiting family in Japan, and our favorite of the four books, Gilbert Oscar Twyman’s Stoneheart: The Real Valentine’s Day Story, introduced us to a two-year old girl who transforms a gloomy kingdom into a land of happy and loving people. Oh the power of children and the power of books …
For more reads about this special celebration see here and here. Happy Valentine’s Day to all!
Lee & Low Books, an independent children’s book publisher focused on diversity, has announced the winner of the New Voices Award Honor for 2008 – Hayan Charara of Houston, Texas- for his poignant story, The Three Lucys.
The Three Lucys explores the realities of war from the perspective of Luli, a young Lebanese boy whose most beloved possessions are his three cats, all named Lucy. Returning home with his parents after a visit with his aunt and uncle, Luli discovers that conflicts between people can change some things forever. But in the end, Luli also learns to hope for a future in which change is possible as differences are put aside. Mr. Charara’s writing is honest and lyrical and captures a strong sense of place. The Three Lucys is based on the experiences of the author’s younger brother during the month-long war in Lebanon in the summer of 2006.
A first-generation Arab American born in Michigan, Mr. Charara is a poet, editor, and teacher. While this is his first foray into writing for children, Mr. Charara’s work for adults has appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies.
Lee & Low Books established the New Voices Award in 2000 to encourage writers of color to submit their work to a publisher that takes pride in nurturing new talent. The award reflects the company’s mission of meeting the need for stories that children of color can identify with and that all children can enjoy. “When we started the company, there was a lot of interest in books focused on diversity,” says co-founder Tom Low, “but most of the titles were folktales about exotic people from distant lands. We felt strongly that it was important to have books with a contemporary setting that reflect how we live today.”
Sally sent the link to this new video to us all by email – it made me laugh so much, I just had to try and put it onto the blog. I say try because I’ve never uploaded a video before but here goes…
I love the way video is becoming more and more a way to promote new books: all these wonderfully imaginative authors create some pretty wonderful footage – and this has to be one of the best yet! It’s actually a spoof documentary made by picture-book writer Jarrett Krosoczka. There are lots of other authors/ illustrators in it and they must have had a lot of fun making it – spot the Blue Rose Girls, and the reference to Fuse #8, high in the celebrity stakes!
Jarrett unveiled it last week at the US SCBWI conference in New York, where he gave the opening address. In his blog posting about it he makes this very thought-provoking observation:
I was excited to hear Mr. Gantos speak. I would say I’ve never seen him speak, but that wouldn’t be a complete truth. I saw him speak when I was in the 3rd grade. He visited my school and I remember this clearly – he walked by my desk, pointed to my drawing of Rotten Ralph and said, “nice cat”. That had a profound impact on me.
Cloudscome has already picked it up, and she got it from Miss Rumphius Effect, who challenges us to name everybody before the credits roll…
I’m not sure this is quite the thing for those kids of an age to be reading the book, though – the irony was a bit wasted on my two and they were more inclined to take the whole thing literally… But silly me, of course Jon Sczieska pretends to be an answer phone whenever he doesn’t want to speak to someone!
Little Elena’s papa is a glassblower. Elena wants to be just like him. But Elena is too little and moreover, a girl. “Who ever heard of a girl glassblower? ” Papa says. Little Elena gets mad. She decides she will prove her father wrong. And so begins the story of Elena’s Serenade by Campbell Geeslin. Elena dresses up as a boy and heads off to Monterrey where all the great glassblowers are to learn the craft of her father. Along the way, she meets some interesting characters — burro, coyote, and roadrunner — who encourage her in her quest. Above her are the movements of the heavens embodied in the beautifully illustrated figures of the sun, El Sol, and the moon, La Luna.
Elena’s Serenade is the story of a girl’s quest for a vocation. A not atypical motif, the book however, stands out for its wonderful and evocative illustration, reminiscent of the work of Mexican artists such as Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Illustrator Ana Juan depicts the Mexican landscape with startlingly vivid and colorful imagery. The repeated reading of this story to my daughter — she liked this book and wanted it reread to her often — served to enhance my appreciation of this illustrator’s art. Elena’s Serenade was published in 2004 and received a Parent’s Choice Recommended Award. Judging from my own daughter’s reception of this book and my delight in repeated readings of it, I can see why this book has such appeal. I hope you can find it in your local library for I, too, recommend it as a parent’s choice! Incidentally, this book fits in well with other Hispanic-themed children’s books and if you are looking for more titles in this vein, please do check out PaperTiger’s Hispanic Heritage Month reading list for 2008.
It all began with a Twitter and spread across the country in no time! Author Mitali Perkins put her idea on techology that some of us have yet to understand and from New England to the Pacific Northwest, independent bookstores, children’s authors, illustrators, and the young readers who love them are coming together on February 14 in a grand celebration.
It’s happening in New England, in New York (both in the city and across the state), in Seattle, (where, in independent Northwest style, they’ve rechristened the celebration Kids Heart Books), and in Los Angeles. By the time this post goes up, heaven only knows how many more bookstores, and writers, and illustrators–in how many more cities–will have joined this absolutely amazing union that brings together all facets of the kidlit world!
Among the number of authors and illustrators who will be flocking to their neighborhood bookstores are Grace Lin, Karen Cushman, Kevin Hawkes, Cynthia Lord, David Yoo, Jamie Hogan (illustrator of Rickshaw Girl) and Mitali Perkins. In New England alone, over 160 authors and illustrators are turning out to meet their readers in their favorite bookstores.
Is this happening in your town? In your neighborhood bookstore? It’s not too late. Join the party that was started with Mitali’s Twitter, or help to start one–there are still 11 more days until February 14. Make it possible for a child–or you yourself–to heart an author–or an illustrator–and their books on Valentine’s Day!
Aki and the Fox by Akiko Hayashi is a delightful tale of travel and adventure set in Japan. Little Aki is about to visit her grandmother in the countryside. She will travel with Kon, her favorite stuffed fox. Kon has been with Aki ever since she was born and knows her well. Typical of much travel in Japan, the two board a train to get to their destination. When it is lunch time, Kon goes out to buy box-lunch bentos for the two of them and doesn’t come back. Poor Aki, what will she do? This is but one of a series of adventures the two have together before they arrive at Aki’s grandmother’s house in the evening.
One of the pleasures of reading this book to my daughter was re-living the experience of train travel in Japan. Hayashi’s colorful illustrations evoke well the experience of riding a train in the country, from the wobbling between the seats in the aisle while the train is moving, to watching the scenery go by, to buying and eating the bentos. My daughter was struck also by how little Aki resembled her second cousin; it is always such a delight to see children identify something from their own life with a situation and characters in a book.
Akiko Hayashi is a well known children’s book writer and illustrator in Japan. Aki and the Fox is the English translation of her Japanese book entitled Kon to Aki. She has a deft and delightful touch; her illustrations do much to enhance the story as well as give scope to her wide-ranging talent as an artist. The book has also been variously translated as Amy and Ken Visit Grandmaand may also be searched under that title.
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British poet, Judith Nicholls, has compiled a wonderful book of poems for children called Someone I Like: Poems About People (illustrated by Giovanni Manna.) I discovered Nicholls’ work through The Children’s Poetry Archive, a wonderful website chock-a-block with recommendations of poetry for children. In Someone I Like, Nicholls has assembled poems by various authors that look at human relationships in ways that children can identify with. There are poems about friendship and about one’s parents. There are poems about siblings, and about aunties and grandmothers. What I liked about the poems was how emotionally frank many of them were. In “Urgent Note to My Parents,” the child speaker says:
Recently I was given a number of children’s books by 
