Picture Book Roundup - January 2015 edition

Some new picture book favorites!  A fairytale, a toddler book, and poetic nonfiction.  Enjoy!

• Jones, Ursula. 2014. The Princess Who Had No Kingdom. New York: Albert Whitman. Ill. by Sarah Gibb.

A beautiful princess, a pony, a red umbrella and red tights.  This is the girls' empowerment fairytale that you've always wanted. Be who you are; love who you are. If the illustrations in this one do not enchant you, you have no magic in your soul.  (So glad that this one made the leap across the pond!)

• Savage, Stephen. 2015. Supertruck. New York: Roaring Brook.

While tow truck and fire truck are out performing rescues, mild-mannered and bespectacled garbage truck "just collects the trash." It takes a snowstorm and an attachable snow plow to turn him into Supertruck! Simply told and simply illustrated for a young audience, this is a story of doing your job simply because it's the job that needs to be done. I like it! 

Note: Despite its snowstorm theme, this one should be popular for the 2015, "Every Hero Tells a Story" summer reading theme.

• Sayre, April Pulley. 2015. Raindrops Roll. New York: Beach Lane.

A beautifully photographed, poetic look at rain - what it does and where it lands and how we see it. Simple, gorgeous science,

It thuds.
Makes mud.
It fills.
It spills.

Have a great week, and don't forget to check out the posts on the Nonfiction Monday blog.

Imaginative Inventions - a review

Harper, Charise Mericle. 2011. Imaginative Inventions: The who, what, where, when, and why of roller skates, potato chips, marbles, and pie and more! New York: Little Brown.

Cherise Mericle Harper is the author of the very popular Just Grace and Fashion Kitty series, as well as one of my personal favorites, Pink Me Up. In Imaginative Inventions, she turns her talented hand to nonfiction.

In 3-6 paragraph rhymes, she features the history of fourteen inventions, including  doughnuts, high-heeled shoes, eyeglasses and animal cookies.  The "Piggy Bank" was a particularly interesting invention,

In the Middle Ages
pots were made from pygg.
It was an orange clay
that wasn't hard to dig.

When someone had some money
to save or hide away,
they kept it in their pygg jar
for a future rainy day.

Some potter probably said,
after giving it some thought,
"What if I take my fine pygg clay
and make a pig-shaped pot?"

Well, soon the other potters
who formed and shaped the clay
were making jars in piggy shapes
just like they do today.

Humorous, brightly-colored acrylic paintings accompany each entry, and are a mixture of folk art, caricature and comic styles.  The double spread illustrations are framed on three sides by a quilt motif of related illustrations (shoes, doughnuts, etc.) and the fourth side has a border featuring facts - Who, Where, When, and more.

Sources are not included, however, Imaginative Inventions is not intended as a research tool, but more as a source of fun or an introduction to inventions.  Many teachers assign projects on inventors.  This would be a fun read-aloud to inspire further investigation.

Visit Cherise Mericle's great website!

(I can't wait to see her upcoming book If Waffles Were Like Boys - what a great title!)
Another review @ Rasco from RIF

Today is Nonfiction Monday and the host is Apples with Many Seeds.

All Aboard! Elijah McCoy’s Steam Engine

Kulling, Monica. 2010. All Aboard! Elijah McCoy’s Steam Engine. Ill. by Bill Slavin. Ontario, CA: Tundra.

One of the things that I love about reviewing children’s nonfiction is the number of new things that I learn every day.  Today I learned a little-known, but interesting and inspirational life story, as well as an interesting tidbit of etymology, the origin of the phrase “the real McCoy.”

Get on Board!

we hear our conductor
singing low
the song she uses
to let us know
now is the time
to get on board...

the midnight train
runs underground
we hide and pray
not to be found
we risk our lives
to stay on board...

So begins All Aboard! But All Aboard! is not the story of the Underground Railroad, rather it is the culmination of the Underground Railroad's greater purpose - a self-determined, productive life, lived out in  freedom.  Elijah McCoy was the son of slaves who escaped to Canada on the Underground Railroad. His determined and hardworking parents saved enough money to send Elijah to school overseas, where he studied to become a mechanical engineer. 

He returned in 1866 to join his family in Michigan.  Though he may have been free, his opportunities were not equal.  Despite his education, he was only able to secure work as an "ashcat," feeding coal into the firebox of a steam engine for the Michigan Central Railroad,

What a letdown! Elijah knew engines inside and out.  He knew how to design them.  He knew how to build them.  He also knew the boss didn't think much of him because he was Black.  But Elijah needed work, so he took the job. 

Still, Elijah persevered in his job while his mind, trained in engineering, sought to find a solution to the miserable job of "grease monkey," the boys (including Elijah) who oiled all of a train's gears when they frequently seized up due to friction and lack of lubrication.  Trains of the time were typically stopped every half hour or so for greasing.  After several years, Elijah invented (and patented) an oil cup, which was used successfully  to keep the trains running.  Travel by train became faster, safer, and more efficient.  He continued to invent throughout his life, eventually filing 57 patents!  Others tried to copy Elijah McCoy's oil cup, but none were able to match his success. 

When engineers wanted to make sure they got the best oil cup, they asked for the real McCoy.

All Aboard! Elijah McCoy's Steam Engine is an obscure but inspiring story, made particularly poignant by the juxtaposition of his parents' Underground Railroad experience, and his own experience working for the Michigan Central Railroad.  The dialogue is invented and there are no references cited, however, the engaging story is simply told in a manner that makes complex topics like the inventive process and racism accessible to young readers.  All Aboard! is short enough that it can easily be read aloud to a classroom or storytime for older children.

 The book's pen and watercolor illustrations are colorful, and full of life and expression; the reverse side of the dust jacket doubles as poster. The cover design, however, does not showcase the Slavin’s work in the most favorable manner and gives the book a rather dated appearance. The design was likely chosen to match the series format.  Don't judge this book by its cover. All Aboard! Elijah McCoy’s Steam Engine is the second book in the Great Idea series.

All Aboard has been nominated for the Cybils, Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards,  in the nonfiction, picture book category.  You can nominate books in many categories until Oct. 15th.  (Be sure to read the eligibility rules first!)

Review copy received from publisher. 

It's Nonfiction Monday and today's host is Madigan Reads.
Check out all of today's posts.
(I'll be hosting again on Nov 8)
Share |






First page of US patent 129,843 for Improvement in Lubricators for Steam-Engines
(from Wikimedia Commons)

 

The Unsinkable Walker Bean

Let me start by stating that I was a slow convert to graphic novels, but the captivating artwork and stories of great First Second titles like American Born Chinese and Robot Dreams, as well as Random House's, Stone Rabbit, and Atheneum's Amelia Rules have won me over. I've become a fan of graphic nonfiction as well, with Gettysburg, Zeus: King of the Gods, and the 9/11 Report topping my list of nonfiction favorites.

Advance Reader Copy


Reinier, Aaron. 2010. The Unsinkable Walker Bean. New York: First Second (:01).

Walker Bean's is a seafaring family.  His grandfather and father are members of the navy. Walker is a young inventor who has been regaled by his grandfather with legend and song of an ancient and prescient skull that resides at the bottom of the ocean, guarded by two aquatic beasts. Walker is thrust into a dangerous adventure when his grandfather finds and then succumbs to the accursed skull; and is then double-crossed by Walker's father who seeks to gain from its unusual powers and value.  Walker must unravel the mystery of the legend to save his grandfather's life.  With the help of Shiv, a young pirate deckhand and grudging assistance from the girl, Genoa, a fearless pirate, Walker embarks on a remarkable and dangerous journey to return the skull to its beastly owners.

The dark colors of The Unsinkable Walker Bean (chosen by colorist Alec Longstreth from a limited palette inspired by old, richly colored, but faded picture books) are a complement to its dark and dangerous story line. Only Walker's blond hair and the crisply inked dialogue stand out immediately from each panel.  Other details emerge slowly from the dark holds of ships, the night skies, and the depths of the ocean.  Sketches of plans, inventions, charts, and musical notation add depth to Aaron Reinier's detailed illustrations and story. Panels per page are varied from a single, double-spread rendition of a fiery confrontation at sea to an action-packed page of ten panels.

The story of The Unsinkable Walker Bean takes as many tacks as a ship sailing upwind. Enemies become friends and new dangers emerge as Walker follows the ever-changing course his grandfather began, traveling by pirate ship to remote islands and dockside shantytowns. The multiple story lines of Walker's quest, Genoa's strange behavior, the duplicity of Walker's father, and the motivation of a mysterious doctor, combine with the supernatural Merwitch sisters of the deep, to create a complex story rich in details - even including a fabled language written in runic characters.  The breakneck pace of action may have readers may scrambling back through the pages to re-examine a scene, but seaworthy or time-tested graphic novel fans will likely take it all in stride.  For everyone else, it's all part of the high seas, high stakes adventure of The Unsinkable Walker Bean.

Rumored to be part of a trilogy, Walker Bean leaves plenty of questions to be answered in future installments
Due out in August 2010. 
Ideal for 5th - 8th grade.
  

(I won this copy of The Unsinkable Walker Bean from First Second Publishing while participating in a Booklist webinar, "Let's Get Graphic: Kids' Comics in Classroom and Libraries"  Click if you're interested in viewing the archived webinar. It's about 1 hour.) 

Share |

A Whole Nother Story

Soup, Cuthbert Dr. 2009. A Whole Nother Story. New York: Bloomsbury.

How can one resist a book that sports a sock puppet named Steve on its cover?  A Whole Nother Story is a madcap chase involving the brilliant scientist, Mr. Cheeseman, his "three attractive, polite, relatively odor-free children," Pinky, their physic hairless dog, government agents (known only by their initials - Atich Dee and El Kyoo), international spies (including a chimpanzee with a fondness for pet fish), corporate villains, and of course, Steve.

The story is narrated by Dr. Cuthbert of the National Center for Unsolicited Advice, who, at various times, interrupts his narrative with unsolicited advice, such as his "generous advice on gift giving,"

All gifts are not created equal.  Historically speaking, there are good gifts and there are bad gifts.
Good gifts: A bottle of champagne, a box of fine Belgian chocolates, the Statue of Liberty.
Bad gifts: A bottle of shampoo, a box of fine Belgian matches, the Trojan Horse.
...
So, be it a new hat, a box of matches, or a giant wooden horse full of bloodthirsty Trojans, the thing you should remember above all else when giving someone a gift is to make certain that you are not giving him something that might provide nosy government agents with information as to your whereabouts.

Oops!

Ethan Cheeseman, his sons Jough Smythe and Gerard LaFontaine, his daughter, Magenta-Jean Jurgenson, their dog Pinky, and Steve, the "snarky" sock puppet, are the owners of a nearly-operational time machine - the LVR.  Can they keep it away from their pursuers, decipher the missing launch code, and travel back in time to save the children's mother?  Perhaps they can, with a little help from a traveling circus and a cowboy poet.

A Whole Nother Story is a slapstick, sci-fi adventure for readers who appreciate truly silly humor.
(264 pages)