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Robin Smith

Children's & YAPicture Book

The special place between Mom and me

Feature by Robin Smith

Mother’s Day (or Mothers’ Day, if you have more than one) is the aw-shucks holiday of choice for young children. Teachers go crazy with big colorful cards, painted flowerpots and handprints pressed onto everything that is not nailed down. And the books! Around February, books about mothers start arriving and this year is no exception. Don’t miss these particularly stellar offerings celebrating mothers and their families.

NO ONE LIKE MOM

In the sweet department, we have There’s No One I Love Like You by Jutta Langreuter and illustrated by Stephanie Dahle. Brayden Bunny loves his mom but bristles at some of her rules. When she lets him know it's time to get out of bed, he wishes aloud that he could go and live with his friends. His mother overhears, and soon Brayden tries living at a number of his friends’ houses. Missy Mouse’s house is fun—but messy. The Badger family smells of unwashed badgers. The Squirrel family lives so high up that Brayden instantly knows it will not work out. He loves being with Auntie Grace, but still . . . something is not right. What is missing? Of course, it’s Mommy Bunny’s big hug and her special way of scratching his ears. Dahle’s sweet watercolors, filled with the kinds of details that will invite young readers to slow down and explore, elevate this story beyond the expected. On one spread, the text page is framed with daisy fabric which careful observers will see again on the opposite page as the rug under Brayden’s bed. Lettuce lamps adorn the living room, and Easter eggs hang from the children’s room. This charmer is sure to become a family favorite.

A CLASSIC LULLABY

More sophisticated, but no less loving, is Sean Qualls’ treatment of Langston Hughes’ poem Lullaby (For a Black Mother). Collage and watercolor play well together here, inviting little ones to sleep while introducing them to the poetry of Langston Hughes. Qualls’ palette is calm and filled with overlapping circles, mirroring the repeating nature of the poem itself. The mother is front and center, wearing her lace dress, collaged with words from books. She is always looking right at her beloved diaper-clad baby, which is just where children expect their mother's gaze to fall. I especially loved the winding musical notes with the chubby baby singing in delight. The repeating words, displayed in a pleasing, stylized large font, will invite older brothers and sisters to read right along with baby—always a plus!

MOMS IN THE MILITARY

When I saw Melinda Hardin's Hero Mom, I thought, “Finally, someone has written about mothers in the military.” Magazines and newspapers have been running stories about women in combat, but there has been little to offer for children, who are impacted so much. In this companion book to her earlier Hero Dad, Hardin addresses the issue through the straightforward voice of children. Without much fanfare, the children talk about their mothers as superheroes. Six children, holding six photographs of moms in uniforms, are the narrators of this winning book. The moms fly planes, build buildings, fix and drive trucks, aid the injured and lead a battalion. We see the modern face of the army where moms video chat with their children, taking a little of the pain out of deployment. The children and mothers are painted wearing their uniforms, and both the soldiers and their children are from no particular ethnic group, making this universally appealing. Simple. Direct. Honest. Just like these soldiers.

GIFTS FOR HER SPECIAL DAY

A funny take on Mother’s Day will keep the youngest listeners chuckling and making up their own ideas about What Not to Give Your Mom On Mother’s Day. Martha Simpson and illustrator Jana Christy introduce a sassy little boy with red rainboots and hands on his hips who's ready to let the reader know what Mom does not want for her big day. The fun starts with “Do NOT give her a bucket of big, fat worms . . . unless she is a bird.” The pages that follow are a recitation of a number of items that would work just fine for a dog or spider or salamander with hilarious mixed media illustrations. The mother can hardly contain her glee and later, horror, as her little boy suggests more and more unexpected gifts. Little ones will treat this book as a riddle book, and parents will enjoy making them guess at the punchline on each page. Just hope your children don’t bring you a bucketful of mosquitoes . . . unless you are a bat!

DON'T MESS WITH MOM

The world’s most protective squirrel lives in a heart-shaped hole in the city in David Ezra Stein’s newest offering, Ol’ Mama Squirrel. With a loud “Chook! Chook! Chook!” she lets any creature know that she will protect her babies. It’s hard not to laugh when Stein draws Mama with so many menacing faces and stances, her little arm raised in a fist to scold a dog that got too close or let an airplane know who’s in charge. It's as if she is channeling the classic old man chasing kids off his lawn, only funnier. Readers will see Mama from multiple perspectives, demonstrating that she is always on the job. When one HUGE grizzly bear tries to move in on Mama’s territory, it looks like she might have finally met her match. The babies’ eyes, poking out of their hole, show terror, but Mama knows just what to do. When all the mama squirrels get together to beat back the interloper, the little ones will know for sure that they are always safe as long as their mother is there to protect them! Ink, watercolors and crayons come together in a loose, energetic style, and I know I will never look at squirrels at the park quite the same way again! Chook! Chook! Chook!

Mother’s Day (or Mothers’ Day, if you have more than one) is the aw-shucks holiday of choice for young children. Teachers go crazy with big colorful cards, painted flowerpots and handprints pressed onto everything that is not nailed down. And the books! Around February, books about mothers start arriving and this year is no exception. […]
Children's & YAPicture Book

Baby, look at you now

Feature by Robin Smith

Whether it’s a baby shower or a sip-and-see (for you non-Southerners out there, it’s a gathering where an infant is adored), there is nothing I love more than holding a baby. In lieu of a real baby, I have to settle for books about babies. Lucky for me, there are some adorable new ones to add to my collection.

Melissa Guion’s newest offering, Baby Penguins Love Their Mama!, is one of those books that kids and parents will both love. A mama penguin is busy taking care of her very large family. Between swimming lessons on Monday and squawking on Saturday, it’s no wonder Mama has to take a nap on Sunday. The pencil-and-watercolor illustrations are the stars here—while Mama is playing the role of a modern overscheduled parent, the roly-poly babies are busy making something that Mama doesn’t notice. Follow the pictures and you will discover that these babies know a thing or two about appreciation. When Mama worries about the day when her babies grow up and can do things on their own, the babies assure her that she will always be their Mama. Their heart-shaped present is sure to warm Mama’s heart—and yours.

SPRING BABIES

Il Sung Na’s A Book of Babies is as bright and sweet as its cover, which features a very yellow chick on a rich green background. Spring has come, and all sorts of babies are born. A new duckling explores the world, noticing other animals along the way. Very young readers will learn about these babies: Some have siblings, some have none, some can walk, some have fur and so on. Na’s colorful illustrations, filled with rainbows that pop in unexpected and welcome places (leaves, a lion’s mane, a seahorse’s pouch), are perfect for this dreamy story. Each loving animal family is shown taking care of its young offspring, reassuring young readers about how families care for their own babies. Textured papers, some used as background and others in collage, add depth and interest. In the end, this is a go-to-sleep book, the very best sort of book for babies and their tired parents.

BABY BROTHER

One of the biggest challenges for new families is the birth of a second or third baby, especially when there is a toddler waiting suspiciously in the wings. Dino-Baby, written by Mark Sperring and illustrated by Sam Lloyd, is unabashed in its message about how a toddler needs to behave with a new baby in the house. Opening with an obviously pregnant dinosaur mother, this rhyming and rhythmic story directly addresses a wide-eyed dino-sister who wants to do the right thing for her new little brother. The right thing to do is be quiet when the baby is sleeping, share and be gentle and polite. Adults might like the message, but kids will stay for the humorous, bright cartoon illustrations. They’ll laugh at the father wearing a tie and the dino-baby wrapped in a cuddly blankie.

Keep these books in mind when that next baby shower invitation arrives in the mail.

Whether it’s a baby shower or a sip-and-see (for you non-Southerners out there, it’s a gathering where an infant is adored), there is nothing I love more than holding a baby. In lieu of a real baby, I have to settle for books about babies. Lucky for me, there are some adorable new ones to […]
Children's & YAPicture Book

The bugs and the birds

Feature by Robin Smith

Even if the weather is still cold, it’s time to start thinking about the change in seasons. Springtime means new beginnings and the chance to play outside and appreciate nature. Preschoolers and their parents and teachers will love these three new picture books that celebrate the joys of nature.

Jennifer Ward teams up with master paper artist Steve Jenkins in Mama Built a Little Nest (ages 4 to 8). From the title page, where a cactus is used as a wren’s nest, to the final spreads where the reader realizes that a bed is a nest for a person, the young lap listener can celebrate nests of all sorts. The gently rhyming text (which can be sung to the tune of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”) is easy to follow and is presented in a generous typeface. Smaller type follows later, and this is where the author presents the book’s more scientific information.

Budding bird lovers will find lots to appreciate, from woodpeckers and hummingbirds to cowbirds and penguins. Jenkins’ cut-paper collages, so familiar in many other nature books, are stunning and make excellent use of white space. Ward’s light humor makes these short poems unforgettable: “Daddy built a little nest— / now don’t gross out—with spit. / Who would have thought that spit would make / the perfect place to sit?”

A BUG’S WORLD

Some Bugs (ages 4 to 8), written by Angela DiTerlizzi and illustrated by Brendan Wenzel, is another fine book for the very youngest reader. Bugs—insects and spiders alike—are endlessly fascinating, aren’t they? With the simplest of text and effortless rhyme, DiTerlizzi tells a lot: “Some bugs sting. Some bugs bite. Some bugs stink.” Turn the page for the kicker: “And some bugs fight!” The collage, crayon and paint illustrations show bugs in their natural environments and are sure to bring a chuckle to the reader, no matter how old. Each insect is shown with exaggerated bug eyes (pun intended), often looking directly at the reader. The final page reveals a marvelous surprise: The previous spreads have been close-ups of the child’s backyard, which is now shown in its entirety. Delightful!

GROWING UP

Seeds live in the soil and are reluctant to make their way to the surface in Rooting for You (ages 3 to 5), written by Susan Hood and illustrated by Matthew Cordell. One little green seed (a pea?) is NOT coming out of the earth. Alone with the earthworms and cicadas, he seems nervous and worried. Just like teachers and parents cheer for children, all the little earthy critters cheer on our little pea as he sticks out one little root—and then a shoot, and so on.

The book works regardless of whether young readers recognize the seed as a symbol for new experiences, so it’s no big deal if the message goes unnoticed. Whether your little one is heading for preschool or for college, let her know that you are rooting for her!

 

Robin Smith lives in Nashville, where she teaches second grade, knits and reads, sometimes all at the same time.

Even if the weather is still cold, it’s time to start thinking about the change in seasons. Springtime means new beginnings and the chance to play outside and appreciate nature. Preschoolers and their parents and teachers will love these three new picture books that celebrate the joys of nature.

Children's & YAPicture Book

Mom, can I keep it?

Feature by Robin Smith

Somewhere around a child’s fourth birthday, the whine begins. At first it’s a soft sound, the gentle “aww” whenever anyone walks by with a puppy or friendly dog, and the begging grows with every cat video that pops up on any website. It hits a fever pitch when someone—a neighbor, a relative—gets a puppy or a kitty or a goldfish. Soon, you give in and get a pet. Thank goodness there are some new picture books that are almost as lovable as your new responsibility.

Take some gray felt, pipe cleaners, cotton, beads and nylon thread, plus quite a lot of sewing and gluing and talent, and you, too, could create amazing books like Maggie Rudy. OK, you couldn’t do any such thing, but you can snuggle up to I Wish I Had a Pet and revel in the world that Rudy has created. This time, her main character is a little girl mouse, clad in a yellow calico dress with a purple sash. Clearly, she wants a pet. But which one? She considers all the possibilities, small and large, from roly-polies, beetles and bumblebees to birds, frogs and turtles. Each spread is a marvel of a little mouse world where young children will want to explore all the details.

Through these amazing scenes, Rudy offers wise advice about pet ownership: Get a pet that suits your style, is not too big, doesn’t make you sneeze or is too fierce. You can play with your pet, but it is not a doll. You have to care for it by cleaning it, making it comfy, feeding and watering it. Pick up after it when it makes a mess; exercise it; and teach it tricks. It will be hard to resist the call for a pet after reading this treasure to your pet-starved youngster.

TROUBLEMAKER
If you are trying to stave off the pet pleas, Naughty Kitty! might fit the bill. Coming on the heels of his hilarious Silly Doggy!, Adam Stower outdoes himself with this tale of kitten ownership gone bad. Starting on the end pages, the careful reader will notice some hints of things to come: A striped orange tiger has gone missing, but Lily is much too excited about her new gray kitten to think about that. She wished for a dog, but the kitten is nevertheless quite cute and cuddly—even if he can’t do any tricks. The minute Lily’s back is turned, things go wrong. The runaway tiger sneaks in, makes a huge mess and goes on his way, leaving Kitty to blame. This scene repeats until the little kitty “saves” Lily from the neighbor’s dog, which is clothed in an orange striped sweater.

There’s nothing more fun than being in on a joke, and your lap-listener will love discovering all the sneaky ways Stower has included hints of the tiger’s presence. Who knows—your young reader might be so distracted by the joke, she might forget that she wants a pet. Maybe.

CONE OF SHAME
Puppies Mister Bud and Zorro are back in Mister Bud Wears the Cone. If you have not yet given in and gotten a pet, Carter Goodrich’s hilarious dog stories will test your resolve. This time, a hot spot on Mister Bud’s back is wreaking havoc on Zorro’s schedule and making Mister Bud miserable. When their owner has to leave, Mister Bud has to wear the cone. Adults know how unhappy dogs are when they have to wear the cone, but children will understand Zorro’s glee: Now he can eat all the treats and play tricks on his visually impeded friend. When Mister Bud accidentally smashes a lamp, Zorro waits in anticipation for the owner’s return; he just knows that Mister Bud is in trouble for sure!

These two dogs have so much personality that adults and children alike will have trouble resisting them. Who can choose a favorite? Not me. Uh-oh—now your child will want two pets!

 

This article was originally published in the June 2014 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Somewhere around a child’s fourth birthday, the whine begins. At first it’s a soft sound, the gentle “aww” whenever anyone walks by with a puppy or friendly dog, and the begging grows with every cat video that pops up on any website. It hits a fever pitch when someone—a neighbor, a relative—gets a puppy or a kitty or a goldfish. Soon, you give in and get a pet. Thank goodness there are some new picture books that are almost as lovable as your new responsibility.

Children's & YAPicture Book

New picture books honor powerful moments in black history

Feature by Robin Smith

It’s hard to know what to do about Black History Month. On one hand, it might be the only time of year that schoolchildren will learn about the important moments and people in black history that shaped our country and world. On the other hand, one month seems paltry when there are so many stories. This year, when the news of Ferguson, Missouri, #WeNeedDiverseBooks and #BlackLivesMatter were trending issues that only the most out-of-touch could ignore, we need books about Black History more than ever. Lucky for us, there are some wonderful books out this month.

THE RIGHT TO LEARN
Starting with books for the very young, husband and wife team Lesa Cline-Ransome and James E. Ransome explore the importance of education for newly enfranchised African Americans in Freedom’s School. Attending school in a very simple one-room schoolhouse turns out to be joyful and painful. Joyful because Miss Howard’s gentle and loving teaching inspires all the children to help each other learn and to share their knowledge with their parents. Painful because local white children are cruel as the kids walk to school, and eventually the school is burned to the ground. Though fiction, this is based on many stories and is an important slice of history to share with all children. Ransome’s illustrations, rendered in watercolor, are filled with emotion, extend the gentle text and are respectful of the subject.

CHRONICLING HISTORY
In Gordon Parks: How the Photographer Captured Black and White America, Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrator Jamey Christoph have created a moving volume for young photographers and historians. Adults might know Parks as the first black photographer for Life magazine, but it’s doubtful that children have heard of him at all. They should. His life is fascinating. He was brought back to life by a bucket of ice water after he was thought to be stillborn; he photographed everyone from models and famous people to the most ordinary of folk; he wrote novels, composed music and made movies. The story is told in Weatherford’s clear, understandable and beautiful present-tense prose and is digitally illustrated by Christoph. In one especially evocative spread, we see Parks, with the Capitol building lightly drawn in the background, observing life in the alleys of D.C. where poor blacks lived. They became his favorite subjects to photograph. The story of his famous study of Ella Watson, a D.C. chairwoman, is also beautifully told in words and images. The final line of the book tells it all: “Through Gordon’s lens, her struggle gained a voice. You don’t have to hear her story to know her prayer.” Wow.

A NONVIOLENT VICTORY
I have a friend who grew up in Huntsville during the period that Hester Bass and E.B. Lewis explore in Seeds of Freedom: The Peaceful Integration of Huntsville, Alabama, so I was especially interested to read a longer book about this era. The title refers to the little things that the people of Huntsville did to integrate this small Alabama city, also called in 1962 the “Space Center of the Universe.”

After making reference to the various injustices that black people faced all over America (Jim Crow laws, segregated public spaces and schools, etc.), Bass goes deeper. The first “seed” amazed me: Three black women (a college student, a very pregnant doctor’s wife and a dentist’s wife with her new baby in arms) sat at a public lunch counter and were arrested. The baby’s presence in jail made read news—the kind of news that the city with the space program and funding from the U.S. government could ill afford. Second was as economic boycott of the Huntsville stores for Easter, when everyone, black and white, was known to spend a lot of money on clothes. Instead, they created Blue Jean Sunday, and local merchants lost hundreds of thousands of dollars. For me, the most amazing story came when Governor Wallace closed Alabama public schools rather than integrate. In one private religious school for blacks, 12 white students integrated!

E.B. Lewis’ familiar and emotional watercolors add much to these stories, especially the heart-stopping scene of water hoses turned on Birmingham protestors juxtaposed with a small image of the March on Washington. For children and teachers who are looking for a new and inspiring true story, this gorgeous volume is a must-have.

 

Robin Smith is a second-grade teacher at the Ensworth School in Nashville, Tennessee. She also reviews for Kirkus and The Horn Book Magazine and has served on multiple award committees.

It’s hard to know what to do about Black History Month. On one hand, it might be the only time of year that schoolchildren will learn about the important moments and people in black history that shaped our country and world. On the other hand, one month seems paltry when there are so many stories. This year, when the news of Ferguson, Missouri, #WeNeedDiverseBooks and #BlackLivesMatter were trending issues that only the most out-of-touch could ignore, we need books about Black History more than ever. Lucky for us, there are some wonderful books out this month.

Children's & YAPicture Book

Talented new artists make their marks in picture books

Feature by Robin Smith

Though I have my own favorite illustrators, it is always exciting to see new artists find their way into children's books—and it is a treat to find young illustrators who feel like old friends.

I'm a fan of letterpress and block prints, so my eye was immediately drawn to Kazuno Kohara's stunning illustrations in Ghosts in the House!. With orange, black and white three-color illustrations, Kohara tells the just-right bedtime tale of the little girl in her new (haunted) house. Luckily she is no ordinary girl; she is a witch who knows how to catch ghosts. Young readers will be fascinated to see what the heroine does with the freshly –washed ghost and will snuggle down in their beds with this decidedly un-scary Halloween book that works for any time of year. The woodcuts, with smiling girl and ghosts, sometimes flying out of the frames, are a charming introduction to this special kind of printing. Especially interesting is the way the artist seems to lay tissue-paper ghosts over the illustrations, gently obscuring the amusing scene underneath. I imagine many children will want to try this technique in their own artwork. Let's hope for more from this talented young artist whose vision seems such a delicious throwback.

When I received a copy of Hyun Young Lee's Something for School, I was immediately taken with the round child on the cover, fore-finger lifted to lips as if keeping a secret. Yoon's first day of kindergarten is ruined when the teacher divides the class, "Boys come here, girls go over there." Yoon lines up with the girls, but her classmates, seeing her pants and short hair, push her into the boy group. Frustrated, she crumbles to the floor in tears and cries and cries and cries, all the way through the class picture. Happily, Yoon figures out a way to show she is a girl without compromising, and things turn out well for her and her classmates. The very round, short-legged Korean children fairly bounce through kindergarten. These new illustrations, reminiscent of Taro Gomi (Everyone Poops, etc.), seem just right for today's child. This is a perfect book for children who are starting school.

The School of Visual Arts in New York City has a long, influential line of graduates (Gregory Christie, Lauren Castillo and Jonathan Bean come to mind) who have made their mark on children's books. Three new artists from the school have their first books coming out this fall: Shadra Strickland, Hyewon Yum and Tao Nyeu. It's amazing to think that each of these illustrators did their graduate work at the same school at almost the same time.

Bird is the poignant story of one young boy who uses the power of art to cope with the realities of his beloved brother's drug addiction. Zetta Elliott's tender, understated story of Bird and his older brother Marcus is illustrated with grace by newcomer Shadra Strickland. Capturing the tragic story with her own nuanced paintings and the pencil sketches of the young Bird, Strickland strikes the right chord between serious and joyful. Many spreads have pictures of birds—flying and free—that remind the young Bird that his brother, while no longer on Earth, is flying in Heaven. For Bird's brother has died after a lengthy addiction to drugs. Bird has a grandfather and then an uncle who help him cope and understand the incomprehensible. This is a story that needs to be told, and telling it with illustrations makes it more accessible to younger readers.

At first, Hyewon Yum's remarkable illustrations in Last Night threaten to overwhelm the wordless story of a young girl who retreats to her bedroom where she spends time romping with her stuffed bear. I was so distracted by the beauty and technical pizzazz of the linoleum block prints that I needed to look through the pictures a few times to take in the depth of the story. We start with an angry-faced girl eating her vegetables, and move with her to bed and eventually to the dream world of running away with her bear. The details that Yum is able to wring out of a challenging form—right down to the peeking shadows of moonglow on trees—made me feel that I was in the hands of a master. This paean to Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are will amuse young readers familiar with the story line and allow them to narrate the story themselves. Parents will have a wonderful feeling watching the young girl hug her mother at the end—forgiveness is that sweet.

Gorgeously oversized Wonder Bear has the same dreamlike quality of many wordless picture books. Silkscreened illustrations colored with a bright palette of blues and oranges, straight from Tao Nyeu's M.F.A. thesis, tell the story of magic seeds, a special bear and one ordinary-looking blue and red hat. From this hat come all sorts of wonders: creatures, bubbles in the shape of lions, even flying porpoises! This childhood fantasy of adventure in an oversized format will amuse the young reader as she "reads" the story over and over and discovers new details each time. At times the art reminded me of Wanda Gag's work, with its back lines and graphic elements, and at other times the imaginary worlds of Dr. Seuss seemed to be Nyeu's inspiration. These illustrations, simple and complex at the same time, offer much for the reader who revisits its rich world.

Though I have my own favorite illustrators, it is always exciting to see new artists find their way into children's books—and it is a treat to find young illustrators who feel like old friends.

Children's & YA

Classics of children’s literature

Feature by Robin Smith

Children and their parents are drawn to the silver and gold stickers on picture books. The most important of these stickers designate the Caldecott Medal-winning books. Have you ever wondered where that sticker came from? The Huntington Library Press answers this question with a new offering, Randolph Caldecott's Picture Books. Nineteenth-century British illustrator Caldecott is credited with being the father of the modern picture book, and these reproductions of his published works from the Huntington's ample art collection shows that the credit is well-deserved. Turning the pages of this rich volume is to return to another era, one filled with nursery rhymes and wordplay, fairy tales and poetry. Today's readers have gotten used to seeing saturated colors in picture books, but the technology of earlier times produced subdued but beautiful etchings and watercolors. This delightful collection would be a lovely addition to any family's library.

INTO THE GARDEN
W.W. Norton, creator of many critical editions for high school and college students, brings us the gorgeous The Annotated Secret Garden edited with an introduction and notes by Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina. Her well-researched commentary will add to any reader's knowledge of this classic children's book and its author, Frances Hodgson Burnett. Gerzina is an expert on all things Burnett, having written both a biography of her and the Norton Critical Edition of The Secret Garden. Readers interested in the life of Burnett will devour the introduction, a biography that recounts the soap-opera life that Burnett lived. Her early reading material was mostly penny dreadfuls and the popular magazines of the British household servants Gothic tales and romances. As she matured, moved to Tennessee and began writing short stories for mainstream magazines, her reading preferences and style changed.

The annotated story itself is sprinkled generously with illustrations by the many artists who have interpreted the beloved story of Mary and Colin, the redemptive power of nature, and the ability of a broken spirit to heal and prosper. The annotations themselves, in green type in the side margins, are child-friendly. No three-page treatises on the state of colonial India here just explications of vocabulary and insights into the times. It's hard to reread The Secret Garden without having that familiar lump in my throat when Colin and his father are reunited and Colin, at last, walks on his own two legs to Misselthwaite Manor. Pass the tissues.

FOLLOWING A DREAM
My very favorite book of the season, and one I have already tucked away for a few special friends, is Artist to Artist: 23 Major Illustrators Talk to Children about Their Art. Part advice book, part art book and part peek into the lives of 23 of the most beloved children's book illustrators, this is a volume for all ages. A wonderfully diverse crowd it is, too, from Mitsumasa Anno, Quentin Blake and Ashley Bryan through the alphabet to Jerry Pinkney and finally to Paul O. Zelinsky. Each page contains a self-portrait, a letter from the artist to children who dream of being artists and, behind a deft foldout page, examples of the artist's work.

Especially compelling are the carefully saved bits of art and photographs from the artists' childhoods. Who knew that kindergarten Jane's crayon drawing of Eskimos would lead to the familiar illustrations of Jane Dyer? But perhaps the best gifts contained here are the moving letters of the artists themselves. Never condescending, their words seem directed at the fledgling artist in all of us.

As Maurice Sendak puts it, "it's not that I draw particularly better than other people I've never fooled myself about that. Rather it's that I remember things other people don't recall: the sounds and feelings and images the emotional quality of particular moments of childhood."

The artists encourage young people to create stories and to stick with art, no matter what adults might tell them. Barry Moser puts it best: "So, my young friend, never let anyone tell you that you cannot do something. You can. All it takes and this is a lot is the desire to do it, the persistence to learn how to do it well, the courage to stand strong when people around you are discouraging your dreams." Indeed.

Children and their parents are drawn to the silver and gold stickers on picture books. The most important of these stickers designate the Caldecott Medal-winning books. Have you ever wondered where that sticker came from? The Huntington Library Press answers this question with a new offering, Randolph Caldecott's Picture Books. Nineteenth-century British illustrator Caldecott is […]
Children's & YA

Halloween reading for scaredy-cats

Feature by Robin Smith

While reading about scary things under the bed might not make the fears go away, Joe Fenton's newest, What's Under the Bed?, will give little scaredy-cats something to laugh at. When bespectacled Fred climbs into his bed with Ted, his stuffed bear, it's time to begin his nightly wonderings. "What's that noise? What's that sound? Is there something on the ground?" The black-and-white illustrations, at times punctuated with the imagined monster's colors, are oversized to the point of hilarity – especially the very big head, complete with little hairs. When Fred discovers the object of his fears, he can finally go to sleep . . . or maybe not.

Emily Gravett's new picture book, Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears, is a new twist on the genre. This humorous book is actually about the author's fears, and the pencil-carrying mouse "writing" the story is simply a foil. Starting with arachnophobia and moving to aichmophobia (knives, the kind the farmer's wife used), our little friend faces many fears, common and esoteric. Using found objects, chewed paper edges (thanks to Gravett's pet rat), a muted gray, red and beige palette, and an array of fabulous foldouts, Gravett's portrait of what would frighten a mouse (and a person) is just what the psychiatrist ordered. On each page, she encourages readers to record their own fears. The big reveal at the end will provide a welcome relief and spontaneous laughter.

Silhouettes, coupled with adorable pink-cheeked ghosties, tell Belgian Emmanuelle Eeckhout's amusing tale of misplaced fears with a cheeky touch in There's No Such Thing as Ghosts!. Armed with a butterfly net, a little child (nicely androgynous), ignores Mother's request to stay out of the house down the street because it's rumored to be haunted. "Haunted? There's no such thing as ghosts! But if there is . . . I'm going to catch one!" Our brave Everychild enters the house and finds nothing, but the young reader will see what the ghost chaser is missing on every page. Not scary at all, this little book (the smaller size is very appealing) allows the reader to look carefully at the illustrations, rich in white space and droll details, and discover all manner of hidden things. My favorite was seeing a lineup of ghosts waiting for the bathroom. Yellow, black and pink give the artwork a retro feel, but the story line is timeless.

Patrick Loehr's book about disgusting food, Mucumber McGee and Lunch Lady's Liver, is an amusing ode to unrecognizable cafeteria food. When Mucumber arrives late to lunch, he is treated to a "very special recipe" of Liver Cake. Told in rhymes, the story follows Mucumber, decked out in a suit with a bow tie, as he takes a bite of the cake that he fears might end his life. But, never fear, we learn that, "it won't taste as bad as it looks / Because lunch ladies are usually . . . very good cooks." A dark purple and black creepy tone adds to the fun. Serve it up the next time you are reading aloud to a group of children. They will get the joke, and might even try some new food the next time they go through the lunch line.

Finally, Emily Jenkins looks at a different kind of fear in The Little Bit Scary People. Part bibliotherapy and part kid's-eye-view, this offering will be welcomed by teachers and parents of children who are afraid of the people they meet every day: the skateboarder with an unusual haircut, the principal, the impatient music teacher, a classmate who talks to herself, and even the policeman. Using comforting first person, a redhead with a shy, observant temperament is able to conquer her fears by imagining all these "scary" people at home, with their children and loved ones, living their regular non – scary lives. Jenkins' book provides a nice introduction to the idea of empathy and imagination.

While reading about scary things under the bed might not make the fears go away, Joe Fenton's newest, What's Under the Bed?, will give little scaredy-cats something to laugh at. When bespectacled Fred climbs into his bed with Ted, his stuffed bear, it's time to begin his nightly wonderings. "What's that noise? What's that sound? Is […]
Children's & YA

Rhymes for young readers

Feature by Robin Smith

New readers and listeners love the cadence and predictability of rhymed poems and J. Patrick Lewis is a master of the form. In the hyperbolically titled The World's Greatest Poems, illustrated by Keith Graves he offers an amusing and inventive ride into the world of superlatives. From the kookiest hat to the tallest roller coaster to the highest air on a skateboard and every other nutty record in between, Lewis delights readers with his verbal acrobatics and clever poetic forms. The bouncy rhymes are illustrated with droll acrylic-and-pencil drawings that poke fun at the records that people keep. Here is Lewis' limerick to the world's largest potato: "There once was a tater named spud / Who said to his tater tot, 'Bud, / Remember the size is / What takes Tater Prizes, / So don't be a stick-in-the-mud!' " I can imagine young readers dragging out almanacs and record books to write other record-breaking poetry.

Just for laughs
Oops! by Alan Katz, illustrated by New Yorker cartoonist Edward Koren, indulges in silly rhymes. Katz recently scored a hit with Take Me Out of the Bathtub and this collection promises to appeal to the same audience. Sometimes treading on the edge of what adults would call good taste, Katz proves once again that poetry can be very funny indeed. "Hair? Where?" is told from a mischievous boy's point of view: "Dad says, 'You're giving me gray hair!' / At my behavior / he's often appalled. / But I don't see much / gray hair was up there . . . / looks more like I'm making him / bald!" Katz is all about groan-producing puns and plays on words that will have kids rolling their eyes. When he makes sly references to bodily functions, the surprised reader will laugh out loud. Perfect for sharing with boys.

In combat
Lee Bennett Hopkins, one of the most prolific poets and anthologists in the world, compiles powerful poems about centuries of conflict in America at War, illustrated by Stephen Alcorn. Tracing American history from the Revolutionary War to the current war in Iraq, Hopkins chooses poems from familiar voices like Sandburg and Whitman, Levertov and cummings, but also introduces the gut-wrenching poignancy of poems by Iraqi veterans. Part history book, part art book and all poetry, this volume will be as comfortable in a classroom as on a coffee table. These poems get at the heart of what it means to fight in a war, serve in the military and be affected by war.

Abuzz about bees
Naomi Shihab Nye's new collection, Honeybee is a response, in poems and essays, to the recent news of the honeybee's decline. It seems Nye has always been interested in the language of bees and the news that the bees were ailing inspired this volume. Nye's unique voice for peace and justice, coupled with her unwavering wonder, make her one of my favorite poets. Whether she is writing about the variety of humans at an airport or the return of the frogs' song, Nye seems alive in a way that ordinary people can only imagine. Nye's perspective is the prism of hope and the trust that people can live together in peace. I keep coming back to this phrase from "Missing Thomas Jefferson," "I am looking for the human who admits his flaws / Who shocks the adversary / By being kinder and not stronger / What would that be like? / We don't even know." If you are a newcomer to Nye, start here; then, like a honeybee, dip into the nectar of her many other collections.

New readers and listeners love the cadence and predictability of rhymed poems and J. Patrick Lewis is a master of the form. In the hyperbolically titled The World's Greatest Poems, illustrated by Keith Graves he offers an amusing and inventive ride into the world of superlatives. From the kookiest hat to the tallest roller coaster to […]
Children's & YAYA FictionYAPicture Book

Remembering larger-than-life heroes of black history

Feature by Robin Smith

I love the careful, almost photographic style of illustrator (and now writer) Kadir Nelson and was thrilled to hear that he was working on a history of Negro League baseball for young readers. We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball was well worth the wait. Everything about this book is beautiful, even the copyright and dedication pages, which are lightly printed with quotations from Negro League greats such as Satchel Paige and Buck O'Neil. In my town, there was a baseball card store where former Negro League players used to sit around and tell stories over coffee, while adoring fans looked on. This book has the feel of a grandfather telling stories from way-back-when, during Jim Crow. And what stories they are! In nine chapters, called innings, of course, the stories flow with the cadence of the spoken word . . . and some of the bravado that often goes along with oral storytelling. "Some of those guys would spike their mother if she were blocking home plate." Can't you picture the old guys nodding their heads in agreement?

Though the stories flow in We Are the Ship, it's the artwork that is absolutely stunning. Nelson frames most of the illustrations from a perspective slightly below the level of the subject, as sports photographers often do. That allows the players to appear larger than life, towering over the reader. With its fascinating details about life as a black person in America, from Jim Crow through the current baseball era, this book will appeal to anyone interested in the history of baseball, African Americans and race. With all the talk of steroids and drugs in baseball this year, Nelson reminds us of another time, a time when players played for the love of the game.

A FAITHFUL COMPANION
Night Running: How James Escaped with the Help of His Faithful Dog, written by Elisa Carbone and illustrated by E.B. Lewis, is a true story that Carbone found while researching her young adult novel, Stealing Freedom. It tells the story of James and his dog, Zeus, who eventually make it across the Ohio River to freedom. James worries that Zeus will be a burden on the long trip, but it turns out that Zeus is one special dog one who will sniff out slave catchers, fight off other dogs and even pull his boy out of a river. Another gripping story brought to life with the watercolors of the incomparable E.B. Lewis, who knows how to sniff out a fantastic manuscript himself.

PLAYING WITH PASSION
Biographies are an important part of the books available for young history readers. Piano Starts Here: The Young Art Tatum, by Robert Andrew Parker, tells the story of someone I am embarrassed to say I had never heard of. But that is the magic of the story—I was drawn in from the first page and found myself thinking about Art Tatum for weeks. I went to websites to explore his music and was completely amazed that this jazz pianist, mostly self-taught and nearly blind since birth, found the prominence he did. Written in the first person and illustrated in Parker's familiar filmy watercolors outlined with pen, this biography reveals the author's obvious admiration for his subject. From the time Tatum started playing in clubs in 1926 at the age of 16, his short life spanned the heyday of the Jazz Age through the mid-1950s. Parker's telling makes it all so alive that it is hard not to want to know more. Children often ignore the end matter that is so important in books, but I hope they will read about the author and Tatum in the fascinating endnotes. For the child or adult who has a passion, whether musical or not, and is inspired by others who follow their passions, this would be a welcome gift.

REVISITING A TRAILBLAZER
Most children learn about George Washington Carver in school and are able to connect him with the words "peanut" and "sweet potato." Tonya Bolden explores Carver more seriously in George Washington Carver, a book to accompany a traveling exhibit on Carver from the Field Museum in Chicago. Filled with archival photographs, artifacts and Carver's own scientific drawings, this is a book to slowly savor. Maybe it's because Carver working in his lab reminds me so much of my own grandfather working in his pharmacy, but Carver has always been a hero to me. His dedication to the earth and his reverence for nature will surely resound with ecologically aware students today. I particularly enjoyed the tidbits that Bolden sprinkles into her narrative—Carver saving everything, even string; Carver knitting and doing embroidery; and, my favorite, a photo of Carver taking his early morning walk, specimen case in one hand, a branch in the other, and a flower tucked in his lapel. Reading about the research he completed with the most basic tools renews my admiration for him. Bolden's straight-shooting afterword addresses Carver's detractors (he did not publicly oppose segregation, which put him at odds with some in the Civil Rights movement) and brings him back into the fold of famous scientists. Now, I just have to hope that the traveling exhibit comes to my city (check fieldmuseum.org to see if it's coming to yours).

INSPIRING PORTRAITS
If you're looking for a new reference book on civil rights history for young children, David Adler's newest offering is a good place to start. Heroes for Civil Rights, illustrated by Bill Farnsworth, discusses eight men, two women and three groups of people who fought for civil rights. The heroes are arranged alphabetically, from Ralph Abernathy to Earl Warren. I especially enjoyed revisiting the stories of Fannie Lou Hamer and Fred Shuttlesworth, two lesser-known heroes. Adler includes Lyndon Baines Johnson and Earl Warren to remind children that some white people, too, fought for civil rights. Farnsworth's oil paintings remind me of the formal portraits we often see hung in businesses or schools to honor past presidents and principals. Sepia tones add to the serious presentation. It's hard to look in the eyes of murdered civil rights workers Goodman, Schwerner and Chaney without thinking about their ages—early 20s—the ages of my own children. Simple, spare and easy to navigate, this is a great resource for children who love history.

WHAT LIES BENEATH
Though the horrors of slavery are acknowledged in Jean Ferris' fine young adult novel, Underground, set in the Mammoth Cave region of Kentucky in 1839, they are mostly a thing of the past for Charlotte Brown and her beau, the brilliant cave explorer Stephen Bishop (a real-life figure). Their new owner treats them well, even allowing Stephen to explore and map caves on his own for days at a time. When Stephen brings Charlotte into Mammoth Cave for privacy as he teaches her to read, Charlotte finds a safe place to hide runaway slaves from the slave catchers and their dogs. She also discovers that she loves Stephen and that she has the inner resources it takes to lie in order to protect the runaways.

Though Charlotte and Stephen are the main characters of this novel, Mammoth Cave itself also figures prominently in the story. A beautiful but peculiar place, filled with blind fish, white crickets and sounds that resemble the voices of spirits, the cave seems to have a life of its own. Ferris weaves interesting details about the daily life of slaves into her fast-paced story. Historical information about the Underground Railroad is also seamlessly included in this suspenseful page-turner, as is an overall sense of respect for the cave itself.

I love the careful, almost photographic style of illustrator (and now writer) Kadir Nelson and was thrilled to hear that he was working on a history of Negro League baseball for young readers. We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball was well worth the wait. Everything about this book is beautiful, even […]
FictionWomen's Fiction

A tale of mystery and family from Amy Tan

Review by Robin Smith

Amy Tan's new book, The Bonesetter's Daughter, is full of mystery, suspense, superstition and magic. It is a novel as layered as the bone-filled caves outside Peking, and the clues are as shrouded in dust and history as any ancient archaeological dig.

Ruth Liu is a writer sandwiched between the man she lives with, his daughters and her aging mother. She is also in a race to discover the true story of her mother, LuLing Liu Young, before Alzheimer's disease masks her mother's memories completely. She lives with her boyfriend and his two daughters, ghostwrites self-help books, and manages all the details of her mother's life. She is so busy she almost misses the signs of dementia her mother displays: paranoia, forgetfulness, confusion, anger and depression.

But it is easy to see why Ruth might miss these signs. Her mother has been a paranoid, superstitious, angry woman all her life, convinced that she is living under a curse caused by the suicide and lack of burial of her beloved mute and disfigured nursemaid, Precious Auntie. This character is at the heart of Tan's novel. Who is Precious Auntie? What is her true story?

Ruth believes the answers are in a document, written in perfect Chinese calligraphy by LuLing, that Ruth finds in her mother's house. She does not have the skill or time to translate each of the painstaking characters and hires someone else to sift through the document, much as she is hired to work on other authors' words. The gentleman she hires presents Ruth with the story, told in the words of LuLing and Precious Auntie. The many accounts overlap, contradict and challenge each other, and it is the reader, through Ruth, who has the job of excavating the truth.

Precious Auntie is the daughter of a bonesetter, an important medical profession in her part of China. Part orthopedist and part herb doctor, the bonesetter treats patients with the ground-up bones found in the caves around the village of Immortal Heart. These bones are eventually identified by scientists as "Peking Man," the remains of early humans who lived half a million years ago. Peking Man turns out to be a composite of many bones from many humans, just as the story Ruth so desperately wants to understand is a composite of all the stories told to Ruth through family lore and the written tale from LuLing.

There are many parts to this mystery: Who is LuLing's real mother? What is her name? Why was Precious Aunt's face so horribly disfigured? What stories are lies, told to protect someone else? What happened to Peking Man? Superstitions, curses, oracles, ghosts and spirits all are part of the world Tan spins for us, a world that eventually brings us back to the future and to the superstitions that guide all of us, whether we live in the year 2001 or 801.

The Bonesetter's Daughter is a stirring reminder of the power of love, secrets and family stories. Family histories, even when they have been reinvented and rearranged, have the power to explain, inform and allow forgiveness. As we age and face our own mortality, we might remember the wise words of Precious Auntie, "After all . . . what is the past but what we choose to remember."

 

Robin Smith is a teacher in Nashville.

Amy Tan's new book, The Bonesetter's Daughter, is full of mystery, suspense, superstition and magic. It is a novel as layered as the bone-filled caves outside Peking, and the clues are as shrouded in dust and history as any ancient archaeological dig. Ruth Liu is a writer sandwiched between the man she lives with, his […]
FictionWomen's Fiction

Female friendship, in all its forms

Review by Robin Smith

Female friendships are powerful fodder for many novels. Off Keck Road, Mona Simpson's newest book, is a quirky, free-flowing paean to the vagaries and complexities of female friendships.

The novel opens in 1956 when Bea Maxwell, home from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, drives out to a new housing development to visit with a sorority sister, June Umberhum. The development, off Keck Road, is on the outskirts of Green Bay and is populated with many "ruddy, unminded children. In this deceptively simple novel, a wealthy girl grows up, goes to college, moves to the big city but soon returns home. Along the way, she makes a few friends, deals with her aging parents and makes a living. But in that simplicity lies the truth of most of our lives: we grow up, we go to school, we settle down. But, there is always more to everyone's life, and there is more to the life of Bea and June. Bea comes home and stays home. That's what makes this novel so memorable.

Bea, in her mother Hazel's estimation, could have been popular, could have had boyfriends and could have gone to proms. Why didn't she? Bea is the girl in high school who leads committees, hangs the decorations and gets things done. She seems "oblivious to the whole underworld of flirtation, as if she were missing the receiving wires. Bea also knits. It is not the occasional knitting of the novice or the practical knitting of people in cold climates. Bea sends away to Italy for fine cashmere yarns and knits one complicated garment after another, clicking her way through meetings and long dateless evenings.

In this meandering novel, the story is told through the eyes of many characters at different points in time. There is Shelley, a girl who contracts polio from the vaccine, and Hazel, who muses on her maternal failings. But mostly, we have the complex and unusual main character, Bea, interested in men but woefully deficient in her knowledge of the dances of relationship. She does what she is supposed to: she cares for her parents, forgives her perfect sister, works hard, knits baby gifts and calls on birthdays. In the end, Mona Simpson has written the lives of many women through her Everywoman, Bea. There is enough of her in each of us to make this a memorable story.

 

Robin Smith teaches school in Nashville.

Female friendships are powerful fodder for many novels. Off Keck Road, Mona Simpson's newest book, is a quirky, free-flowing paean to the vagaries and complexities of female friendships.

Fiction

A hero with humanity and humor

Review by Robin Smith

Disobedience. Such a quaint word in this world where children "make bad choices" rather than disobey. But, who is disobeying in Jane Hamilton's fourth novel? Is it mom, Beth Shaw, who is having an affair? Dad, the careful Kevin, who is too involved with school politics and teaching to fulfill his energetic wife's needs? Or is it 13-year-old Elvira, with her eccentric behavior that drains the family of emotional energy? Or, perhaps it is the narrator, 17-year-old Henry who reads, prints, and ponders his mother's private confessional e-mails? Such a rich cauldron.

Henry, bred in the home of socialists and tempered in the fire of eastern college and film school, is shown at age 27, looking back on the events that rocked his family 10 years earlier. His ironic tone and focus move like a handheld camera to each member of his family, but nowhere is his focus clearer than when he is looking at his mother, Beth. To the world and her family, Beth is the perfect earth-mother intellectual. Her passion is her music, and her music is what allows her to meet Richard, a violinmaker, a train ride away in Wisconsin. Henry stumbles upon the evidence of his mother's affair while working on the family computer.

This novel has many appealing aspects: Henry's own first sexual experiences juxtaposed with his mother's affair, his platonic friendship with a classmate, the slices of New England music camp life, the inside look at Civil War reenactments, the torment Beth feels as she becomes the unlikely adulteress, the quiet patience of Kevin Shaw, and the clever insights Henry shares about human relationships. Henry Shaw's voice is sure and true. His sense of humor saves his family's experience from being just another story of emotional crisis. His filmmaker's eye allows us to see others as he saw and think as he thought. His honesty even extends to his treatment of his part in the family drama. Stories told in the first person often present the narrator's point of view as the truth. Hamilton, author of the Oprah selection A Map of the World, does something much more interesting and daring: she allows the narrator to doubt himself.

Henry's humanity and humor allow us to understand and accept the disobediences of those he loves.

 

Robin Smith teaches school in Nashville.

Disobedience. Such a quaint word in this world where children "make bad choices" rather than disobey. But, who is disobeying in Jane Hamilton's fourth novel? Is it mom, Beth Shaw, who is having an affair? Dad, the careful Kevin, who is too involved with school politics and teaching to fulfill his energetic wife's needs? Or […]

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