Me…Jane awarded Caldecott honor

Me…Jane illustrated and written by Patrick McDonnell; published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc., New York; 2011.

With her stuffed chimpanzee, Jubilee, a young Jane Goodall explored the world around her.  From her backyard, she dreamed of living in Africa among its creatures.  One day, she awoke to find her dream was realized.

I read this book then set it aside for a few days.  My initial reaction was that the illustrations were remarkable but the story lacked appeal for children.  Then I reread it.  Hmmmm.  A child with a dream.  A child whose hobbies reflect her future endeavors.  And the words that convey her story fit.  This is a book for cuddling up on the couch, reading together, and examining the images.  At the very end of the book, in fairly small type, is this Art Note:

This page features a cartoon that Jane Goodall made of her life in the forest at the Gombe Stream Game Reserve.  Readers will also find two facing pages of drawings and puzzles that Jane herself created when, as a young girl, she led a club called the Alligator Society.  Throughout the book, ornamental engravings from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are included, collectively evoking Jane’s lifelong passion for detailed, scientific observation of nature.

Aha!  McDonnell’s illustrations further portray the young Jane.  I think it would be lovely to tell children that the things that interest them now, the things they are passionate about, will help drive them toward their future selves.  Maybe that’s a great starting point to encourage journaling or even creating collection boxes.

Now  about the illustrations….  The cover appears to be the cover of a scrapbook or photo album, with pseudo-binding and corner protectors.  Each page is treated like a page in a scrapbook.  Almost all of the left-hand pages appear to be stamped with fading ink in shapes that would be in a collection of rubber stamps intended for children; the text is printed on this page, in a font and ink style that invokes a typewriter with a worn ribbon.  Then the corresponding right-hand page is an image rendered in India ink and watercolors.  McDonnell has captured the essence of the young zoologist for us.  By the final pages, photos of Dr. Goodall and biographical information, including a message from her, are included to remind us that this is her story.  That this child-dreamer with a penchant for exploring grew up and made her dreams reality.  In her message, Jane encourages us all to get involved to help make “the world a better place for people, animals and the environment” by joining a local Roots & Shoots group.  The end pages invoke African textiles which let us know as the book starts, and reminds us as the book ends, that this is the book about a zoologist working in Africa.

Newbery, Caldecott winners announced

ALA and ALSC announced the winners and honorees for the 2012 Youth Media Awards.  The most famous of these are the Newbery and Caldecott medals.  A complete list of winners, honorees, and descriptions of the criteria for all awards is available at the ALSC website: http://www.ala.org/alsc/2012-alsc-book-and-media-award-winners.

Newbery Medal:

Dead End in Norvelt written by Jack Gantos, published by Farrar Straus Giroux

Newbery Honor Books

Inside Out & Back Again written by Thanhha Lai, published by HarperCollins Children’s Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers

Breaking Stalin’s Nose written by Eugene Yelchin, published by Henry Holt and Company, LLC

Caldecott Medal:

A Ball for Daisy illustrated and written by Chris Raschka, published by Schwartz & Wade Books, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

Caldecott Honor Books

Blackout illustrated and written by John Rocco, published by Disney/Hyperion Books, an imprint of Disney Book Group

Grandpa Green illustrated and written by Lane Smith, published by Roaring Brook Press, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing

Me…Jane illustrated and written by Patrick McDonnell, published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

2013 Arbuthnot Honor Lecture:

Michael Morpurgo

Batchelder Award:

Soldier Bear written by Bibi Dumon Tak, illustrated by Philip Hopman, translated by Laura Watkinson, published by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

Batchelder Honor Book

The Lily Pond written by Annika Thor, translated by Linda Schenck, published by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award:

Kadir Nelson, author and illustrator of Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans, is the King Author Book winner. The book is published by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

King Author Honorees

Eloise Greenfield, author of The Great Migration: Journey to the North, illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist and published by Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers; and Patricia C. McKissack, author of Never Forgotten, illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon and published by Schwartz &Wade Books, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

 Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award:

Shane W. Evans, illustrator and author of Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom, is the King Illustrator Book winner. The book is a Neal Porter Book, published by Roaring Brook Press, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings Limited Partnership.

King Illustrator Honoree  

Kadir Nelson, illustrator and author of Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans, published by Balzar + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement:

Ashley Bryan

Storyteller, artist, author, poet and musician, Bryan created his first children’s book in first grade. He grew up in the Bronx and in 1962, he became the first African American to both write and illustrate a children’s book. After a successful teaching career, Bryan left academia to pursue creation of his own artwork. He has since garnered numerous awards for his significant and lasting literary contribution of poetry, spirituals and story.

Pura Belpre (Illustrator) Award:

Diego Rivera: His World and Ours written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh, published by Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of ABRAMS

Belpre (Illustrator) Honor Books

The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred illustrated by Rafael López, written by Samantha R. Vamos, published by Charlesbridge

Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match/Marisol McDonald no combina illustrated by Sara Palacios, written by Monica Brown, published by Children’s Books Press, an imprint of Lee and Low Books Inc.

Pura Belpre (Author) Award:

Under the Mesquite written by Guadalupe Garcia McCall, published by Lee and Low Books Inc.

Belpre (Author) Honor Books

Maximilian and the Mystery of the Guardian Angel: A Bilingual Lucha Libre Thriller written and illustrated by Xavier Garza, published by Cinco Puntos Press

Hurricane Dancers: The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck written by Margarita Engle, published by Henry Holt and Company, LLC

Carnegie Award:

Children Make Terrible Pets produced by Paul R. Gagne and Melissa Reilly Ellard, Weston Woods Studios, Inc.

Theodore Seuss Geisel Award:

Tales for Very Picky Eaters written and illustrated by Josh Schneider, published by Clarion Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Geisel Honor Books

I Broke My Trunk written and illustrated by Mo Willems, published by Hyperion Books for Children, an imprint of Disney Book Group

I Want My Hat Back written and illustrated by Jon Klassen, published by Candlewick Press

See Me Run written and illustrated by Paul Meisel, published by Holiday House

Sibert Medal:

Balloons over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade written and illustrated by Melissa Sweet, published by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Sibert Honor Books

Black & White: The Confrontation between Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth and Eugene “Bull” Connor written by Larry Dane Brimner, published by Calkins Creek, an imprint of Boyds Mills Press, Inc.

Drawing from Memory written and illustrated by Allen Say, published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.

The Elephant Scientist written by Caitlin O’Connell and Donna M. Jackson, illustrated by Caitlin O’Connell and Timothy Rodwell, published by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Witches!: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem written and illustrated by Rosalyn Schanzer, published by National Geographic Society

Congratulations to all winners and honorees!

ALSC publishes 2011 Youth Media Award winners and honorees

ALSC has posted the winners of the 2011 Youth Media Awards (in the children’s categories) on their website: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/2011medawardwin.cfm

Congratulations to all winners and honorees!

Congratulations!!!

ALA’s 2011 Youth Media Awards were announced this morning.  The complete list is not yet published, but you can view the titles here: http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/heavymedal/2011/01/10/youth-media-awards/.

Congratulations to Newbery Medalist Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool and Caldecott Medalist Erin E. Stead for A Sick Day for Amos McGee.

Congratulations also to Grace Lin’s Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same!, a Theodor Seuss Geisel honoree.  David Ezra Stein was a Caldecott honoree for Interrupting Chicken.

Lion and Mouse tale of heroes in all sizes

The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney; published by Little, Brown and Company, New York; 2009.

Jerry Pinkney’s wordless book is a masterpiece.  I don’t use that term loosely.  I don’t think I’ve used it at all in a review.  In retelling this Aesop fable, Pinkney chose to set the story on the Serengeti Plains of Africa.  His watercolor and colored pencil illustrations vibrate off the page as if affected by a heat mirage.  Sometimes a glance, sometimes a set of the mouth, tells the story.  The end pages lead us into life on the Serengeti and send us out of the story with lion and his family.

In between, the stories of two heroes are told simultaneously, and on occasion, their stories cross.  We know when we are following lion’s tale because he and his illustrations are larger than life, spilling off the pages; his royal grandness is expressed in excess.  He overflows the front cover with his regal being.  His rich gold tones and even the set of his mouth assure us that this is the king of the beasts.  But what is he glancing at?

As a contrast, the inconsequential life of mouse is told in small boxes which lend a sense of tension to his story and his existence.  Lion’s visage on the front cover is glancing at the back cover where little mouse sits tucked in the grasses of the Serengeti Plain.  Mouse seems to be smiling, and looking with–could it be?–gratitude at the benevolent king.  But don’t be fooled.  Mouse is as much the hero of the story as lion.

Although the book is wordless it is not without sound.  Pinkney added sound effects where appropriate to the story.  The ominous “who who whoooo” of the owl adds drama to mouse’s opening scene.  Even the tiny “scratch scratch” of mouse gnawing through the ropes that have entrapped lion help the story progress.  I could almost smell the sun-warmed grass on the plain, since Pinkney did such a remarkable job incorporating sight and sound.

Aesop’s tale is a story of kindness and courage.  Pinkney has captured the very essence in this Caldecott Medal winner for 2010.  It is, of course, a must-have for any library, as it is a Caldecott winner.  However, it’s value lies in its very being.  In a story time, guide the children to tell the story based on what they observe in each picture, on each page.  Perhaps, with older children, following this book with the story as told by Aesop would be interesting, allow them to compare and contrast the stories: their rendition, Pinkney’s intended story, and the original fable.  I think it would also be terrific to create a take-home box that includes a collection of Aesop’s fables, this title, and even Pinkney’s retelling of some of Aesop’s other tales.  A pathfinder to accompany the box may include the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s collection of Aesop’s fables (http://www.umass.edu/aesop/), a website with all of the fables in one place and a little history of Aesop himself.

Special delivery

Henry’s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine, illustrated by Kadir Nelson; published by Scholastic, New York; 2007.

Henry “Box” Brown was a remarkable man—discontent with his life as a slave, he took his future into his own hands and mailed himself to freedom.  As remarkable as the story is, and it is told with clarity and compassion by Levine, it is the illustrations of Kadir Nelson that give expression to the emotion of the terrible but wonderful journey.  Brown’s life as a slave is presented in images that appear almost like an antique craqueleur finish.  When he reaches freedom, the images radiate off the pages with clarity.  Perspective is important in Nelson’s pencil/watercolor/ oil images too—from a close look at the addressing of Brown’s box to the claustrophobic look at the cramped quarters inside the box.  Nelson’s artistry was recognized as this book won a Caldecott Honor and was an ALSC Notable Book.

I would prominently display this book in multiple instances, including as Black History Month. I would also include this in pathfinders for parents and teachers.

You say goodbye, but I say hello

The Hello, Goodbye Window by Norton Juster, illustrated by Chris Raschka; published by Michael DiCapua Books, Hyperion Books for Children; 2005.

Juster’s story is narrated by the grandchild and Raschka’s surreal illustrations seem to have been created by the same child.  The wonderful story of grandparents’ love and encouragement of imagination would be a great recommendation for a read-aloud on Grandparents’ Day at school or for a multi-generational program at a public library.

I would encourage the children to create their own pictures of what they see in their own hello-goodbye windows (with the help of their Nannas and Poppies too!).

Intro to woodcutting with an interesting rhythm

Once a Mouse…a fable cut in wood by Marcia Brown; published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster; New York; 1961.

The placement of Brown’s woodcut images on the page, in addition to the spare images themselves, tells the story without need for text.  However, the text itself, including the unorthodox breaking of sentences across pages, tells the story in a unique rhythm.

I would definitely refer this book to an elementary art teacher to read and then introduce potato or apple printing to younger students and linoleum carving/printing to older students.

What’s your first wish on the magic pebble?

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig; published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; New York; 1969.

Believe it or not, as many times as I’ve used Steig’s books in read-alouds (especially Pete’s a Pizza) I have never read this book.  I’m so glad I read this cautionary tale (be careful what you wish for!) and even happier that I got toexperience Steig’s watercolor images.  Although they appear simple, the expressions on the animal’s faces tell the story without needing the text.

I would use this book in read alouds and ask the children questions, such as “What would you wish for to avoid the lion?” or “If you found a magic pebble, what’s the first wish you’d make?”

Song and Dance Man

Song and Dance Man by Karen Ackerman, illustrated by Stephen Gammell; published by Dragonfly Books published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.; New York; 1988.

The most remarkable aspect of Gammell’s illustrations are the use of shadows.  As the grandchildren arrive at Grandpa’s house at the beginning of the book, their shadows appear dark behind the curtains on the door.  But as the story progresses and Grandpa becomes the song and dance man of his youth, the shadows come alive with color.  The story is wonderful but would not be as striking without the colorful words colored-penciled into the illustrations.

I would use this as a read-aloud with middle-elementary aged students then ask them to use colored pencils to draw their own impressions of the song and dance man.  This might be a good book to refer to an art teacher.