Boy by Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl's story telling abilities shined through as much through his autobiography as through his fiction works.  Dahl's narrative of his boyhood intrigued me.  I appreciated Dahl's commitment to his writing style.  While reading Boy, I couldn't help but make endless connections to his other authored works.  Dahl's ruthless headmasters reminded me of none other that the dreadful Ms. Trunchbull of Matilda.  And the candy shop of Dahl's walks to primary school pointed to no other book than Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (in fact, Dahl explicitly makes this connection for the reader).

Throughout the pages, Dahl includes pictures and letters from his boyhood that make his stories come to life.  I often found myself staring at one of Dahl's pictures, looking for every detail, just wondering if Dahl knew at six-years-old that he would be a famous author one day.  I often forget that the iconic figures in our lives once had a childhood, too.  How wonderful it is that Dahl wrote this book because young readers can see that Dahl had similar trials, tribulations, and triumphs as they do.  Children can read how Dahl transformed from a "normal" boy into a beloved children's book author.  I hope the opportunity will arise in my future elementary school classroom to read Boy as a class.

Nothing touched me more than Dahl's letters signed "love from Boy."  The inclusion of these letters, seeing Dahl's own handwriting signing "Boy," made the title of the book increasingly significant.

When I checked this out at the library, I saw that a sequel accompanies this book.  Titled Going Solo, the book includes more narratives of Dahl's life.  I am relieved there is a sequel, as Dahl ended Boy writing that his adventures post-high school are "a different tale altogether" that "if all goes well, I may have a shot at telling it one of these days."  And he did! In Going Solo, Dahl, in similar story telling fashion, tells the tales of his days in Africa and as a RAF pilot in World War II.  Due to the subject matter, this book would be more appropriate for middle and high school-aged students.  I can't wait to crack it open!

Chingis Khan by Demi

My favorite period of American History is the Colonial and Revolutionary Periods, and when this week came to read a biography, I immediately gravitated towards the children's biographies on George Washington and Ben Franklin.  Then, I stopped myself.  Surely, not every child in my classroom will pick up a biography on a Revolutionary figure.  So I searched a bit further, scanned the shelves at the library, and my eye picked up on a glimmering gold binding of the biography of Chingis Kahn.

I'm afraid to admit I knew little of the details of Chingis Khan's conquest before reading the picture book biography Chingis Khan.  In fact, the last time I studied any history of the Mongolian Empire was in high school in tenth grade world history.  I was delighted to run across this biography.  Any knowledge I obtained in tenth grade was quickly forgotten, as I had no motivation to commit to memory the details of my history textbook.  Demi, however, presents the conquest of Chingis Khan through an intriguing narrative accompanied by colored-pen illustrations with a symbolic presence of gold.

Chingis Khan, born along the Onon River in 1160, originally was named Temujin.  His father, Yesugei, was the leader of the Great Mongol Clan, which at that time was one of many clans in Mongolia.  Demi shares Temujin's prowess at an early age: archery at five, hunting at six, and the responsibility of the tribe at nine due to the death of his father.  At this point, the illustrations which previously had great usage of a gold pen, now lack the presence of any gold.  For the next several pages, as Temujin struggles to keep his position and his tribe alive, the illustrations are almost monotone.    Not until the Blue Sky God responds to Temujin's prayer to become the most powerful tribe leader of all, does the gold return.  Demi then describes Temujin's rise to power as the leader of one tribe to become the "Emperor of Heaven" controlling all in Eastern ASia as far as the eye can see.

Demi's work has been praised by many.  She has illustrated Hans Christian Anderson fairy tales as well as many books of her own.  Demi's books often provide a great opportunity to present other cultures and countries' histories in the classroom.  Some of her other authored and illustrated titles include The Magic Boat and The Empty Pot.

When the Wolves Returned: Restoring Nature's Balance in Yellowstone by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent

We often think of our nation's national parks as one of the few places protected from human interference.  National parks today have strict no-trash policies, allow for little development, and are havens away from the hustle and bustle of our modern lives.

Yellowstone is one of the national parks we have come to treasure.  In 1872, Congress declared Yellowstone a national park in an attempt to protect, as author Dorothy Hinshaw Patent of When the Wolves Returned writes, the place that "contains more natural geologic wonders than any other place on Earth."  When the park opened, hundreds of people came to visit and camp.  Many came to hunt the wildlife such as elk and deer.  The hunters, however, had a competitor: the wolves.  The park thus hired hunters to kill the wolves to leave more elk and deer for visitors to shoot.  By 1926, all the wolves were gone and elk and deer ran in their largest numbers.  Little did anyone know how crucial the wolves were to the ecosystem of the park's habitat.  In When the Wolves Returned, Patent shares the story of the fall of Yellowstone's precious balance of life and how it was finally restored.

Patent tells a somber story with a subdued narrative stating just the facts.  The reader needs no help to read between the lines.  When the Wolves Returned includes photographs from its first years of Yellowstone's opening contrasted against photographs taken in the 21st century by Dan and Cassie Hartman.  The older photographs, property of the National Park Service, give the reader a look at its first visitors who came in suits and dresses as people once dressed when they took the day for a vacation.  The black-and-white photographs contrast sharply against Dan and Cassie's high-definition, color photographs that enable the reader to grasp the vastness of the beauty Yellowstone contains.

When the Wolves Returned would work wonderfully as a read aloud in a classroom on a unit on ecosystems.  The book concludes with a flow chart tracing the "wolf effect" created in Yellowstone by wiping out the wolves.  The book and concluding chart allow children to being to grasp how much change one alteration in a natural cycle can cause.

Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building by Deborah Hopkinson & James E. Ransome

Sky Boys takes the reader back to the Depression Era through the eyes of a young boy who places his hope in the construction of the Empire State Building, the building so tall "it will scrape the sky."

The boy's father has just lost his job and along with his job all hope of a better tomorrow.  When the boy announces to his father one day that Mr. Raskob will be building the tallest skyscraper in the world, his father replies, Things are so bad, it seems foolish to even try."  But the boy believes in the building and so he watches the construction week-by-week until after just over a year later, the building is officially dedicated on March 18, 1931.

Hopkins uses the boy to present information to the reader about the Empire State Building's construction and the Sky Boys, who climbed higher than ever before to build the tallest building of its time.  Accompanied by James E. Ransom's illustrations, Hopkins explains the four-man system of riveting used on the construction site.  Though a seamless order of "Toss-catch-steady-pound.  Toss-catch-steady-pound." the four-men team placed "one or two rivets a minute, five hundred rivets a day."  While some men riveted, others hoisted limestone, pipes and wires.  And still others crawled, spun, and banged.  Amidst all the fury of construction, Hopkins does not let the reader forget about the dismal job situation through italicized verse at the bottom of each page.  Hopkins sings of the ease of replacing one worker for another who will work for lower pay.

Ransome's illustrations add depth to the sheer scale of the Empire State Building and the sorrows of those without jobs.  Ransome's illustrations include a painting of the 2010 red columns sunk 55 feet into the ground to give the building a solid base, and a week-by-week progression of the building's construction.  Perhaps what is most touching are the facial expressions of the people of Ransome's illustrations.  In one picture depicting the boy dreaming of the building-to-be, the reader sees hoped etched on his face.  In another illustration of unemployed men waiting in line hoping to be employed, the reader can see quiet desperation.  Ransome's medium of oil painting gives the illustrations an antique look that bring the reader into a world of eighty years ago.

The Empire State Building upon its completion on March 18, 1931, was the tallest building in the world.  It held the title for 40 years.  Though the Empire State Building no longer olds the title of tallest building in the word, it remains a powerful symbol of hope for many.   For a complete history on the Empire State Building, visit its official site.

Birds by Nicola Davies

Published as part of a series by Kingfisher Young Knowledge, Birds is a comprehensive resource for children on everything about birds from what exactly a bird is, to how they build thier homes and birds that are in danger.  Each spread includes a full-page photograph zoning in on the feature of the page's topic.  On the spread title "Hardworking feathers," Birds includes a magnificant picture of a macaw with its wings fully spread so children can see every feather that constitutes a bird's wings.  Every page includes bolded words across the footer defining possible new vocabulary for its reader making the text accessible for readers as young as eight-years-old. 

Davies' writing makes Birds a great nonfiction read.  She uses terms and examples that children can relate to.  On the page "Raising babies," Davies includes a section about teamwork writing that "Mom, dad, and a whole team of older others and sisters work teogether to feed teh bee eater babies."  When reading this I immediately imagained a family of my own with older brothers and sisters to help out with the arrival of a new sibling.

At the end of the book, Birds presents crafts projects such as making a bird book or a bird feeder.  These projects allow for further exploration of birds in their natural habitat and create an awareness of our interation with birds.  Overall, Birds is a great read for children as young as eight-years-old to learn the basics of these magnificent creatures!

Some other titles among the Kingfisher Young Knowledge series include:
Animal Homes
Robots
Rocks and Fossils


For science lesson ideas using the books, click here.

Journey into the Deep: Discovering New Ocean Creatures by Rebecca L. Johnson

In Rebecca Johnson's forward of Jounrey into the Deep, I ironically found a direct connection to the book of this blog's previous post, Mars and the Search for Life.  Sylvia A. Earle who wrote the forward of Journey into the Deep writes:

"If aliens came looking for life on Earth, they would probably first dive into the sea...Curiously, humans have only recently embakred on serous exploration fo the sea."

I found this to be a wonderful introduction to the book as it changed my reading from the beginning and how I thought about the sea.  I have spent many times wondering about the mystery of what lies beyond Earth's atmospthere, but rarely have I thought about what lies within the abyss of the ocean.

Using data from the 2010 Census of Marine Life, Johnson introduces the reader to just a fraction of the more than 250,000 species of life in the ocean.  Johnson lays out the book wonderfully, devoting between six and eight pages to each zone of the ocean: shallow edges, open water, deep slopes, the dark zone, abyssal plains. sea moutains, ridges and vents, and the "unfathomable deep."  Each section includes the most recent coloful, full-page photographs taken of marine life.  The photographs are so clearly defined I found myself hesitating to turn the page by touching the corner where a picture of the squidworm laid.  Johnson not only introduces the reader to the sea life of each ocean zone, but the research methods scientiest used to plunge into the depths of the ocean.  In the "unfathomable deep" section, Johnson includes a photograph of the lander, a titanium metal box with a camera in the middle, which is used to take picures of the ocean's deepest ponints where the pressure "is so great it would be like having fifty jumbo jets piled on top of you."  The lander brought, for the first time, video footage of life living almost seven miles beneath the surface!  Journey into the Deep never ceased to amaze me!

Rebecca L. Johnson has written numerous nonfiction science books for children and young adults.  For a complete listing of her works, click here.

Mars and the Search for Life by Elaine Scott

"Life on Mars -- science fiction, right?  Maybe...or maybe not."

After reading the above first lines of the summary on the inside flap of Mars and the Search for Life, I found myself flipping through the book trying to find photographic evidence of that "maybe not."

I was not dissapointed as I imagine no other reader would be.  The 2009 publication has no lack of updated pictures of space or references to pop culture.  Elaine Scott bridges science across time by tracing the development of scientific discovery and the public's interpretations and dreams of it.  The first chapter begins with a picture of a scene from Steven Speilberg's 2005 verson of War of the Worlds contrasted against and illustration of the 1906 edition of the book and a poster from the 1953 film version.  Children reading Mars and the Search for Life will immediately realize the depth to which the question of life on Mars has infiltrated our thoughts -- real and fantasy alike.

Scott breaks down Mars and the Search for Life into eight chapters beginning with the earliest myths of the planets to the latest scientific discoverites of outer space.  The chapters include an abundance of information through page text and picture captions.  The illustrations and photographs can be used in any science classroom to show the development of space engineering while the more advanced text level would be appropriate for readers beginning in fifth or sixth grade.

As would be expected, Mars and the Search for Life does not present any previously hidden evidence about lifeforms living on Mars' surface.  However, in concluding the book, Scott draws a wonderful comparison between our quest for a way to live on Mars and the first humans' quest to find out how to survive on Earth:

"Traveling to Mars, living in an alien world in a cramped habitat, wearing a spacesuit any time you leave the habitat, harvesting water or ice where you find it, growing food in a greenhouse, learning to walk without the pull of Earth's gravity -- none of it will be easy.  But it wasn't easy for the first humans to leave Africa and move out across the plains of Asia and Europe.  It wasn't easy for Ferdinand Magellan to circumnavigate the Earth.  And it wasn't easy for Neil Armstrong to become the first person to step on the surface of the moon.  However, human beings are adventurous creatures, and exploring space is one of the most exciting -- and most challenging -- adventures of all."


Among her nonfiction books for children, Elaine Scott has also authored When is a Planet Not a Planet?  The Story of Pluto

The Castle in the Attic by Elizabeth Winthrop

When I went home for Fall Break, I scoured my bookshelf for a fantasy book.  I came across Elizabeth Winthrop's The Castle in the Attic, which I read for the first and only time many years ago.  I remembered how the world of The Castle in the Attic came to life for me as a then ten-year-old, and could not wait to reread the book to see if the magical world still existed in my mind.

Upon beginning The Castle in the Attic, I found myself to my delight just as absorbed in the chivalry of knights, amazed fire of fire-breathing dragons, and scared by the evil wizard as I had been as a ten-year-old.  In The Castle in the Attic, Winthrop introduces a boy named William who for the past ten years has been looked after and cared for my Mrs. Phillips, the family nanny.  Now that William has grown, Mrs. Phillips is retiring from her position to return to her home country and give William the chance to become more independent.  William will not even permit the idea of Mrs. Phillips leaving.  When Mrs. Phillips gives William her old childhood toy castle and toy knight as a going away present, William gets an idea that will make Mrs. Phillips stay with him forever.

Against Mrs. Phillips' will, and with the help of Sir Simon (the toy knight that came to life upon William's touch), William takes Mrs. Phillips into a the medieval world of the toy castle where he thinks he can keep Mrs. Phillips forever.  However, when William finds out that he has trapped Mrs. Phillips in a situation that can never be reversed, William must take it upon himself to enter the medieval world of the toy castle and save them all.

Winthrop writes a wonderful story of coming of age.  The reader grapples alongside William as he faces becoming an independent boy.  But the reader also celebrates William's triumphs and feels proud of WIlliam's accomplishments as he grows to learn that his ability to learn, love, and live resides within himself.  While Winthrop creates a fantastical world within the toy castle including fire-breathing dragons, an evil wizard, and trips back in time, the story is very much relatable to any child.  As Dr. Johnson said in class, at the root of the success of any fantasy book is believability.  The Castle in the Attic provides just that.

Elizabeth Winthrop has written numerous books for all ages - children and adults alike.  In an interview featured on Winthrop's website, Winthrop said "I'm a restless writer.  I can't seem to stick to one genre or subject. "  In fact, The Castle in the Attic is only one of two fantasy children's chapter books Winthrop has written.  Other than fantasy, Winthrop has explored the genres of realistic fiction and historical fiction through her books.

The Castle in the Attic is accompanied by a sequel, The Battle for the Castle.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Spear

The Newberry Medal wining historical fiction novel, The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Spear, visits seventeenth century colonial Connecticut in a time of redefining identities and questioning virtues.  Kit Tyler, a sixteen-year old-orphan who grew up in Barbados under care of her grandfather, has nowhere to go when her grandfather passes away.  The only living relative Kit knows is her mother's sister whom she has never met, but knows lives in the Connecticut Colony.  When Kit arrives in Connecticut she enters a Puritan community whose culture differs greatly than that of her upbringing.  The one person Kit can confide in is an old Quaker woman who lives near Blackbird Pond.  Everyone in the Puritan community believes the old woman is a witch.  When the community discovers that Kit has befriended her, Kit finds herself being accused of being a witch as well.  The only thing that can save Kit from a full witch trial is the honesty of the community and the loyalty of her friends and family.

In The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Spears gives readers an inside look into the culture of a Puritan community of colonial New England.  Readers as young as fifth or sixth grade can relate to Kit as she grapples with conforming to a new culture while trying to maintain her own identity.  Children can understand the themes of holding true to one's beliefs, of accepting other people's differences, and the importance of community and teamwork.  Spears envelops the reader in Kit's troubles and joys with a language that brings Kit's surrounding and thoughts to life.  Any student would enjoy exploring colonial New England through this novel which bring a very real, believable person to life to whom children can relate.

Olivia Kidney By Ellen Potter

What's the big deal with Olivia Kidney?

While it seemed that practically every elementary school student loved Olivia Kidney, I had never even heard of the Olivia Kidney series by Ellen Potter before our reading class this semester. With the assignment to read a realistic fiction book for our blog (and our later opportunity to Skype with Ellen Potter), I had to take this chance to see for myself what all this ruckus about Olivia Kidney is about.

Once I started reading, it didn't take long for me to become completely absorbed in the crazy apartment building of Olivia Kidney.  One day stranded out of her apartment because she forgot her key,  Olivia is shooed out of the hallway by the old woman down the hallway.  The old woman invites Olivia inside where Olivia meets just the first of her peculiar neighbors.  As the afternoon goes on, Olivia meets a tarot card reader, adventures into a tropical rainforest, escapes from a lady covered in lizards, and makes her first friend with a boy who doesn't even know he is...well, you'll have to read to find out!  Potter's illustrative language and totally outrageous but completely possible plot makes this book wonderful for readers ages eight and up.

About every thirty pages, a full-page illustration by Peter H. Reynolds accompanied the current chapter. The scarcity of illustrations contrasts sharply to the frequency of illustrations in the picture books and collections of poetry and fairy tales we have read. When I read picture books, I first glanced at the illustration before reading the text. Any images I form from reading the text thereafter are based upon the illustration. In Olivia Kidney, however, because no picture was present at the introduction of a character, I formed a mental illustration in my head based on the text I was reading. When the illustration came later showing a picture of the character I had already formed a picture of in my head, I found myself blending my image and Reynold's illustration. Reynold's illustration added depth, reality, and concreteness to my mental picture. I would find myself stopping extra long at the pages with illustrations thinking about all the text that preceded it.  Reynolds uses "pencil and pen - and sometimes a little paint" in his sketches.  For more information on his illustrations, click here.

I am glad I finally know what all the fuss is about with Olivia Kidney.  I can't wait to get my hands on other books from the series and find out Ellen Potter's inspiration behind the lovable, quizzical character of Olivia Kidney.

A Visit to William Blake's Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travellers by Nancy Willard

Nancy Willard's Newberry Medal winning and Caldecott Honor poetry collection, A Visit to William Blake's Inn, is full of rhythm and rhyme, clever lines and intricate illustrations.  Willard was only seven years old when she fell in love with William Blake (1757-1827), an English poet, painter, and printmaker of the Romanic Age.  Willard's babysitter quoted "The Tyger" by Blake as a bedtime story for Willard:

Tyger, Tyger, burning bright

In the forests of the night

What immortal hand or eye

Could frame they fearful symmetry?

Blake's poetry inspired Willard as a young poet and she pays tribute to him by writing fifteen poems about William Blake himself running an inn.  The fifteen poems present an inn full of fantasy complete with a staff of mighty dragons and patient angels.  Throughout the collection, various visitors arrive including the King of Cats and the Wise Cow.  A little boy who arrives find his pillow to be nothing but a shaggy old bear.  In my favorite poem of the collection, "Blake's Wonderful Car Delivers Us so Wonderfully Well," a guest's luggage shrinks "small and pale as envelopes" because "All luggage must be carried flat and worn discreetly on your hat" to fit on the Wonderful Car.  The rhythm of the poems lends to easy and expressive reading while the different rhyme forms present children with a variety of ways to rhyme.

A two-page illustration spread accompanies each poem.  The illustrators, Alice and Martin Provensen, use a gouache technique in their paintings.  Gouache is similar to watercolor but varies in that the pigment is suspended in water rather than mixed.  The illustrations depict William Blake's London of the late eighteenth, early nineteenth century.  Children can have an inside look into another time while listening to the beautiful language of Willard.  The illustrations also provide children with a concrete base to interpret the poem, as Willard's language is often complicated and abstract.

I would recommend this collection of poetry for reading aloud at home or in the classroom.  Children ages nine or older would most love this collection as they can begin to interpret the hidden meanings of poetry.  Children at these ages as well can begin to form poetry of their own using the various rhyming forms of Willard's poetry.

This collection of fifteen poems includes:

William Blake's Inn for Innocent and Experienced Travelers

Blake's Wonderful Car Delivers Us Wonderfully Well

A Rabbit Reveals My Room

The Sun and Moon Circus Soothes the Wakeful Guests

The Man in the Marmalade Hat Arrives

The Kind of Cats Orders an Early Breakfast

The Wise Cow Enjoys a Clous

Two Sunflowers Move into the Yellow Room

The Wise Cow Makes Way, Room, and Believe

Blake Leads a Walk on the Milky Way

When We Come Home, Blake Calls for Fire

The Marmalade Man Makes a dance to Mend Us

The Kind of Cats Sends a Postcard to His Wife

The Tiger Asks Blake for a Bedtime Story

Blake Tells the Tiger the Tale of the Tailor

Tales from Old Ireland retold by Malachy Doyle

Malachy Doyle and Niamh Sharkey bring this collection of seven folk tales from Old Ireland to life.  Doyle, a native of Ireland himself, retells his favorite childhood folk tales with a flowing narrative that captures the reader.  In the introduction, Doyle writes of the connection he feels to the Irish oral tradition and the responsibility to keep these thousand-year-old tales living.  He succeeds in continuing the tradition.

Doyle suggests to the reader that she read aloud as she explores the folk tales because "That's how they work best."  So that I did and I found myself absorbed in twelve brothers' woes of "The Twelve Wild Geese," caught in the soul cages of the Merrow (male mermaid) of the sea in "The Soul Cages," and homesick for Niamh's homeland in "Oisin in Tir na nOg." Doyle includes seven tradition folk tales, including "Fair, Brown, and Trembling," Ireland's version of the Cinderella tale.

Sharkey's illustrations are sprinkled throughout the tales with the occasional full page illustration.  I found her illustrations occupied a perfect amount of space, as I feel the images folk tales ignite should lie mostly in the unique imaginations of its readers.  Sharkey uses oils on a gessoed background which involves painting in layers and waiting until the preceding layer is completely dry to begin the next.  "It's a slow process," Sharkey comments in an interview with Embracing the Child, "but it produces a richness of colors that other mediums would not allow."  In a review of Tales from Old Ireland, Elizabeth Kennedy writes that "The illustrations, while at first glance deceptively simple, are sophisticated in color and design."  It's the sophistication of Sharkey's illustrations that I love, as children's imaginations can take off in a million directions as they interpret the layers of the illustrations for themselves.

Tales from Old Ireland provides a wonderful method to introduce your children or students to the oral tradition of another country.  The pronunciation guide of names used throughout the tales gives the opportunity to introduce children to the musical language of Gaelic.   The concluding sources[ page gives the reader the historical context of each story which can also serve as a tool to introduce students to how we have come to know and share the folk tales we read today.

Doyle in his introduction writes that Irish folk tales "have survived so long because of the great enjoyment they give in both hearing and telling."  Indeed they did for me.  The following tales are the seven tales in Tales from Old Ireland:

The Children of Lir

Fair, Brown, and Trembling

The Twelve Wild Geese

Lusmore and the Fairies

Son of an Otter, Son of a Wolf

The Soul Cages

Oisín in Tír na nÓg

That Book Woman by Heather Henson

When the Book Woman comes to the front doorstep of Cal's Appalachian farm, the last thing Cal will do is ask to borrow one of her books.  He's not a book boy by any means.  Cal fills his days working on his family's Appalachian farm instead of reading like his sister and attending school lessons.  Only Cal's sister is excited for each visit of the Book Woman.

After the Book Woman arrives through a treacherous winter storm, Cal decides he must try out one book to see what the fuss is all about. Under his sister's tutelage, Cal becomes engulfed in the world of reading.  In the spring time when the Book Woman returns, Cal's mother givers her a homemade berry pie "for making two readers outta one."

Heather Henson's tale is a delightful story of how reading can intrigue anyone.  Henson's use of Appalacia's southern dialect adds a special touch touch and even a challenge to the reader to bring out her southern twang.  In teh concluding author's note, Henson writes how her story "Was inspired by the true and coragoes work of the Park Horse Librarians who were known as "Book Women" in the Appalachian mountains of Kentucky."  With regional libraries at our fingertips, I have not often thought about access to free books prior to establishment of libraries.  The Kentucky Book Women have become some of my new heroes.  I am indebted to Henson for introducing this part of history to me.

David Small's soft watercolors somehow capture the sharp features of Cal's discontented face whenever he thinks about reading.  When Henson begins to write about the rain and snow the Book Woman travels through,  Small extends the text through darker illustrations reflecting the Book Woman's difficulty to get through the storms.  It is through Small's illustrations that we see the completed character development of Cal and how he comes to love books.

From the challenged reader who thinks reading is "not cool" all the way to the reader who absolutely loves books, That Book Woman is a joy for all.

Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola

The Caldecott Honor book Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola was one of my favorite folktales of my childhood.  Strega Nona, which means "Grandma Witch," is looking for an assistant to do the chores of her home so she can focus on her magical healing powers.  Strega Nona finds Anthony and tells him "The one thing you must never do, is touch the pasta pot." While Anthony completes his chores well, his curiosity gets the better of him.  At the first opportunity, when Strega Nona travels to another town, Anthony takes the pot!

The story ravels out of control from here.  Before Anthony had tried to tell the other villagers about Strega Nona's magic pot, but no one believed him.  Anthony takes the magic pot to the time square where he is determined to make everyone believe.  Repeating the words of a spell Anthony heard Strega Nona do, Anthony fills the pot with pasta spaghetti mirroring Strega Nona's technique.  The town rushes to the square to see, and there's pasta for all.  But when Anthony tries to stop the pot once everyone has eaten, he can't do it.  Anthony had failed to see how Strega Nona did it.  The town is on the verge of overflowing with pasta when Strega Nona arrives to put a stop to it.  As a punishment for Anthony, Strega NOna makes him eat all the past that overflowed the town.

DePaola presents a humorous story about how curiosity can sometimes get the better of us.  Children will be able to relate to this original folk tale with ease.  DePaolo's watercolor illustrations provide a details beyond the text as Strega Nona uses her magical powers, Anthony cleans the house, and Anthony using the magic pot.  DePaolo reflects perhaps the Renaissance time period in his illustrations

In an article by Consumer Help, B. Redman writes that Stregna Nona was "somewhat inspired by [DePaolo's] own Italian grandmother and her endless servings of spaghetti,"  What a fabulous way to incorporate personal experience into a lesson-giving folktale.

Strega Nona has received numerous awards include the Caldecott Honor, the Horn Book Honor, and has been named an ALA Notable Children's Book.  Many tales have followed the original Strega Nona including Big Anthony, His Story which is the biography of Strega Nona's most troublesome assistant. What."  What a

Agate by Joy Morgan Dey

"What good is a moose?  Agate thinks to himself."

Agate, the awkward moose of the picture book Agate written by Joy Morgan Dey and illustrated by Nikki Johnson, asks himself that question upon meeting all his animal friends.  Agate compares himself to Garnet the crocodile's "lopsided grin," Diamond the giraffe's "long, long, legs," and Sapphire the hippopotamus' ability to stay under water "longer than Harry Houdini." Agate cannot find one good quality within himself.

It just takes a little reassurance from his friends to realize that he is just as beautiful as everyone else.  Like the jewel agate, moose just need a little time to polish the rough outside before his beautiful, crystal-shining core shined bright.

Of all the children's picture books that address the message that it's what on the inside that counts, I find this book a breath of fresh air.  Dey takes a unique approach to this theme by using the rough-surfaced agate stone as a metaphor for a person's physical appearance.  Children learn, as Agate did, that it's not the rough surface that's important, but the crystals inside.

Dey bases the twelve animals of the story on the twelve birthstones.  Aquamarine the penguin represents the birthstone for March.  Pearl the monkey represents the birthstone of June.  This serves as a fabulous introduction to children of gems.  A history of birthstones and a description of each one is even included in the back!  Johnson's illustrations brings each birthstone to life.

The true beauty behind this story lies in the originality and beauty of Nikki Johnson's watercolors.  According to an interview by Minnesota Public Radio, the story stemmed from a set of Johnson's watercolor animal sketches.  Within Johnson's style, one can almost see a child's fingertip-strokes, but Johnson adds a sophistication and detail that keeps the reader looking at the animals for ages.

Agate is a truly wonderful story about self-confidence and that what matters on the inside is what counts.

This is Dey and Johnson's second collaborated work.  They also collaborated on the illustrations of Nightlight by Jeannine Anderson.

Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French

We often talk about how we as humans have become the lion of the jungle when it comes to controlling the animals of our home environment.  Have we ever considered, however, how the animals might be training us?  In the humorous story line of Diary of a Wombat, Jackie French makes children think about how some animals can just outsmart us.

French presents this theme through the daily musings of the wombat, a small, burrowing, bear-like animal that lives only in Australia (for those who have a bit of wombat-mania more information can be found here).  French takes the reader through a week in the life of the wombat, which is more or less a variation of his Monday schedule:

"Morning: Slept.  Afternoon: Slept.  Evening: Ate grass.  Scratched.  Night: Ate grass.  Slept."

Occasionally the wombat decides to burrow holes, scratch at a door to demand his dinner (his human neighbors' carrots) and fight with big, furry creatures (the human's doormat).  The wombat's human neighbors try to fend off the wombat by blocking off holes and boarding off doors, but the humans find themselves giving the wombat more carrots just to stop his ruckus of searching through trashcans in the backyard.  After a week of the battle, the wombat comes to the conclusion "that humans are easily trained and make quite good pets."

Children will have a hoot thinking about the role reversal between humans and their pets.  Perhaps children might have a few stories to relate about new puppies, kittens, or other pets when the animals seemed to be in control.  Diary of a Wombat also presents a great opportunity to talk about one of Australia's most endangered animals, and how humans have affected the species.

Bruce Whatley's illustrations top off the humor.  Whatley creates a rolly-poly huggable wombat who looks completely innocent while sleeping in a ball but up to mischief when he wakes up.  With so little text, Whatley is truly talented as he creates a story that extends beyond the words.   The humans' facial expressions when the wombat digs up their yard all the way to the drawing of the wombat's backside when he's unsatisfied with his human "pets" just will make you laugh and love the wombat even more.

The Association for Library Service to Children named Diary of a Wombat a 2994 Notable Children's Book.  Diary of a Wombat is just one of more than eighty books by Jackie French which includes children's books, adult fiction, and gardening and cook books.

The Elevator Man by Stanley Trachtenberg

What do you want to be when you grow up?  Have you ever wanted to be an elevator man?

Well, Nathan wants to be exactly that.  In a story about changing technology and fulfilling your dreams, Stanley Trachtenberg tells the story of Nathan who wants nothing more than to be an elevator man.  The old-fashioned elevator of Nathan's apartment building requires an elevator operator who Trachtenberg names the Elevator Man.  Nathan dreams of working the elevator one day.  The Elevator Man has dreams, too: he dreams of becoming a doorman.  Just as the Elevator Man's maroon suit attracts Nathan, the white gloves of a doorman attract the Elevator Man.

The opportunity for both Nathan and the Elevator Man to pursue their dreams presents itself in a cladestine manner.  One day the elevator is closed for maintenance and the Elevator Man is gone for weeks.  .When the elevator is finally fixed, Nathan finds the Elevator Man has been replaced by a completely automatic machine.  He has no time though to mourn the loss of his friend, because when Nathan runs outside he sees has become the new Doorman!  And with Elevator Man's new position, that means there's a vacancy in the elevator man position.  Do you have a guess who fulfilled that position?  Yup, that would be Nathan.

Trachtenberg incorporates our changing technological world wonderfully with the plot.  He opens the way for children to think about how technology is changing the work force by exploring how an automatic elevator changed the Elevator Man's job (find link here for lessons about this theme).  Trachtenberg as well shares a story which shows that adults and children alike have dreams which they can fulfill.  When the Elevator Man's position became obsolete, he took the opportunity to pursue the job he had always wanted.  Adult readers can be inspired just as much as child readers to pursue the careers and lives they dream of.

Paul Cox's illustrations brings the 1950s time period alive with his heavy-lined, retro drawings.  The contrast of the heavy figure outlines with the soft water colors that fill the picture give both definition and flexibility to the reader.  The reader might find himself or herself lost in the blending of the watercolors allowing him to give his own definition to the details of the characters.

Trachtenberg first children's picture book proves to be a success by presenting the larger themes of changing technology and fulfilling dreams at a relatable level for children.  Trachtenberg's other works include essays on postmodernism.