Library (and Bookstore) Round-up #14

Mini-reviews of what we're reading now.

The dough rises.  And rises.  And rises.

The Duchess Bakes a Cake by Virginia Kahl.  Introduced to us by our awesome, well-read, 12-year-old babysitter, this rhyming story "scans," as they say.  The Duchess goes a wee bit beyond her natural abilities and decides to bake a "luscious, light, delectable cake."  Although her mistakes with yeast and the hijinks that ensue are the subject of many a book (see my review of Bembelman's Bakery, published more than 20 years after this one, which was first published in 1955), this story is utterly delightful, made more so by the perfect rhymes and amusing drawings.

Jumping Penguins by Marije Tolman.  An assortment of utterly random, bizarre and perfectly fascinating animal facts accompanied by whimsical, watercolor illustrations.  You want to know how far caterpillars can throw their poop?  Then this is the book for you.

Old Henry by Joan W. Blos.  Henry's house doesn't look like everyone else's on his block.  And apparently there is no neighborhood association to force him to mow his lawn or mend his fence.  Billed as a book about different people learning to live in harmony, I saw this more as a comforting book for the messy among us and an ode to how important community is.

Arthur and the Sword by Robert Sabuda.  Retold by Robert Sabuda and illustrated in his distinctive stained-glass style, this version was an excellent introduction to the folktale of King Arthur.  It is, however, the story only of Arthur and the sword - it does not tell the further tales of King Arthur and his court. 

 Wild by Emily Hughes.  After quite a bit of hype I was disappointed by this book.  The story of a child who is left in the woods and raised by animals, found by people and returned to "civilization," and, unable to adapt, returned to the forest, was, in my opinion, lacking in plot.  I can't see this one appealing to kids.

One Grain of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale by Demi.  This is a beautifully illustrated version of a folktale which teaches the mathematical concept that doubling causes numbers to grow incredibly quickly.  The illustrations and folktale setting may even entrance the math phobic!

Brush of the Gods by Lenore Look, illustrated by Meilo So.   This picture book by Lenore Look, author of the chapter book series Ruby Lu (enjoyed by my older daughter last year), captivated my 6-year-old.  Using the limited available knowledge about the life of the famous Chinese painter Wu Daozi, Look tells a story about the power of art, as Wu's paintings, in her telling, literally come alive.

Christina Katerina and the Box by (well-known children's book editor) Patricia Lee Gauch.  Another favorite of my kindergartener about the power of imagination.  A forgotten classic, its place usurped recently by other books of the same ilk such as Not a Box by Antoinette Portis and The Nowhere Box by Sam Zuppardi.

Forever by Emma Dodd.  This plotless promise of unconditional love from a mama polar bear to her cub is set against an Arctic landscape which is brought to shimmering life with shiny foil illustrations.  A bit gimmicky, but I fell for it anyway!

When Jessie Came Across the Sea by Amy Hest.  In this beautiful story about a Jewish immigrant to America, a grandmother's bond with her granddaughter cannot be severed by time or distance.  An object - here a wedding ring - represents home, family, and history.  Other books with these themes include Patricia Polacco's  The Keeping Quilt and The Blessing Cup and Dan Yaccarino's All the Way to America: The Story of a Big Italian Family and a Little Shovel. 


My Name is Yoon by Helen Recorvits.  Another touching immigrant story about the power of names and family history. 

What are you reading?

Three Must-reads for Thanksgivukkah

Although this year's Chanukah-Thanksgiving convergence is rare indeed, Jewish-themed Thanksgiving books are not as rare as one might think.  These two are some of the best Thanksgiving books - actually, the best books - around.  And for good measure, I added a third, non-Jewish, but still immigrant-focused Thanksgiving book.

In Rivka's First Thanksgiving, the title character, a Jewish immigrant from Eastern Europe, tries to convince her family to celebrate Thanksgiving. She tries to explain to them that Thanksgiving is a purely secular holiday, but they require that she seek permission from the rabbi.  When he denies it, Rivka writes a letter admonishing him, explaining that the pilgrims came to America for religious freedom, just as she and her family did.  The rabbi takes her case to what is essentially an appeals court of rabbis, who grant their blessing.  The rabbi then joins Rivka's family for Thanksgiving and says a special prayer thanking G-d for "the wisdom children give us."  I love lots of things about this book, including the strong heroine, but since we are such a letter-writing family, that is one aspect that speaks to me in a special way.  A lovely book, but beware the mention of pogroms and violence back in Eastern Europe.

Molly's Pilgrim (which I've written about this novella before as an anti-bullying text) is, like Rivka's First Thanksgiving, about how modern immigrants are pilgrims seeking religious freedom.  When Molly is required to make a clothespin doll of a Pilgrim (big "P") for class, her mother helps her by dressing the doll the way they dressed in the "old country."  When Molly's classmates make fun of her, her teacher not only defends her, asserting that coming to this country for religious freedom is the very essence of Thanksgiving and that Molly and her family are indeed (small "p") pilgrims, she explains that Thanksgiving actually has its roots in the Old Testament holiday of Sukkot, something I never knew.  (By the way, author Barbara Cohen is also the author of my favorite Passover book, The Carp in the Bathtub.)

Duck for Turkey Day focuses more on how immigrants, once here, make Thanksgiving their own.  When Tuyet, a Vietnamese immigrant, tries to convince her family to serve turkey, not duck, for Thanksgiving, and fails, she tearfully confesses the truth to her teacher.  To her surprise, her classmates join in, sharing what they ate for the holiday, with their meals including things like rice and beans and not a turkey among them.  I couldn't include a photo of this book as I lent it to my daughter's kindergarten class, in which, out of 20 families, 13 countries or cultures are represented!

What multicultural Thanksgiving books are your favorites?

Library (and Bookstore) Round-up #12

Mini-reviews of some of the books we currently have checked out of the library or purchased recently.

Big princess.  Tiny king.

The Tiny King by Taro Miura.  There is something just incredibly charming about this book.  The illustrations are, as you can see, truly delightful.  I wish a toy company would sell blocks to resemble those seemingly used to "build" the tiny king's castle.  The story, about a lonely, tiny king, who marries a big princess, with whom he has 10 (size unspecified) children is a gentle tale about love seeing past physical differences and how material riches and power cannot take the place of family and love.  But it is never didactic. I love how the background changes from black to cheerier colors, as in the two spreads at below, as the king becomes surrounded with people who love him and whom he loves. 

Sad king.
Don't you wish they sold blocks like these?

Happy king.
I still want those blocks.

Bembelman's Bakery by Melinda Green.  The predictability of this tale of what happens when children are left to their own devices, only enhanced, rather than diminished, my daughter's enjoyment of it.  As soon as the mother instructed the children not to get in trouble while she was gone for a few hours, my daughter gleefully exclaimed, "Trouble!"  And as soon as the children determined to bake bread, she delightedly exclaimed, "Uh-oh!  Messy!"  But all turns out well in the end.  A shame this one is out of print.

What Is Part This, Part That? by Harriet Ziefert.  When I pulled this book off the library shelf, drawn to the bold, primarily primary colored art, I knew immediately that the illustrator had to be Tom Slaughter and I was right.  The art is done in his trademark style, not just reminiscent of but a cousin or even a sibling to that in Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow?  I was surprised to see the authors were different, because both books pose sorts of riddles.  Here though, the rhyming riddles are more metaphysical, reminding us that a conversation with a friend is "part listen" and "part say" and that a bath is "part wash" and "part play."  With flaps adding to the fun, this is a great read-aloud. 



Here I Am, story by Patti Kim, pictures by Sonia Sanchez.  The art in this wordless book about a young boy who is unhappy and even angry when he emigrates from Korea to the United States is beautiful but I could not follow the story and in fact, got certain plot points completely wrong.  I had to read the note at the end to understand that the red, cherry-like item the boy grasps is a seed from his homeland and I was sure that the boy had thrown it out the window at a little girl playing on purpose, rather than dropping it accidentally as the author writes at the end.  I think a wordless book is a failure (a strong word, I know) if the author intends it to tell a particular story and that story is not made clear from the pictures.  I am also a bit mystified that the "story" (not the text, as there is none) is by Patti Kim but the art by Sonia Sanchez.  Of course, without text there is still a story, but I can't remember any other wordless book where there is an author as well as an illustrator.  Perhaps that split accounts for the fact that I found the storytelling unsuccessful.  Is the failure on my part (entirely possible!!), or the book's?

The Bear's Song by Benjamin Chaud.  I love this book!  Here the reader follows a papa bear who follows his cub, who is following a bee, into the Paris Opera House (where they cause quite a stir) and finally, to the beehive and the honey he's been seeking.  The illustrations, on over-sized pages, are filled with detail and it is fun to search for the bee on every page.  A story of parental love and the new trend of urban beekeeping - quite a combination! 

London

New York

Dot to Dot by Malcolm Cossons.  The stories of a grandmother and granddaughter who share a birthday and a name (Dot) but who live an ocean apart are told from each of their perspectives - just flip the book over!  A sweet book about inter-generational bonds and modern, far-flung families. 

The Favorite Daughter by Allen Say.  In this, another winning autobiographical picture book from Allen Say, his daughter is torn between her American and Japanese heritages.  But she also grapples with a school art assignment, in which she has to depict one of the most-depicted structures ever, especially in her hometown, the Golden Gate Bridge.  Her father guides her through both challenges with his gentle wisdom.  With two photographs of his actual daughter, one as a toddler and one as a young adult, punctuating Say's artwork, this book is very special. 


The Cat at Night by Dahlov Ipcar.  This beautiful book alternates scenes of how and what we see at night with what a cat sees.  Just gorgeous. Unfortunately, not a single one of her books is available for borrowing from the NYPL.



What have you and your kids been reading?