passionately sharing, discussing and admiring children's picture books
Who would have thought that a non-fiction book about the sewer system of London would be so fun and fascinating? Well, this one sure is. An informative and intriguing book about Joseph Bazalgette who helped solve the poop pollution problem in London, The Great Stink by Colleen Paeff, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter, 2021, is a surprisingly excellent picture book. Take a look with me.
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Apparently on theme with both of last week’s books which also relate to something Japanese, today’s book is a love story. It is also a mostly true story about a man and a woman who met, married, and held hope while imprisoned in a Japanese American incarceration camp during World War II. An absolutely beautiful story of finding gifts and miracles in an unjust situation, take a look at Love in the Library by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, illustrated by Yas Imamura, 2022.
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I have a new favorite book. A bold statement to make, but it is in fact, a new favorite. It speaks to the moment currently at hand, this horrid year and more that we as a collective humanity are dealing with and learning from the pandemic. But it will also serve as a reminder and a memory and a memento when this situation is over. This book encapsulates so much of the arc of what we are experiencing and what we all hope to see on the other side incredibly soon. I also hope that it becomes a classic of some sort, a reminder for every generation after this of something that was so big and so awful and so hard that only some of us made it through and are forever changed as a result. This is a stunning book, a this-very-moment book, and a hope-filled book. Please go get this book, for yourself and for everyone you love. We all need it, now and after. Take a look at Outside, Inside by LeUyen Pham, 2021.
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For this 14th day in our Christmas book journey, I bring a picture book about another famous Christmas song; but this time to share its history. Most people probably don’t even take note of the names that often now accompany the sheet music for “Silent Night,” but this is their – and its – humble tale. Here is Silent Night: The Song and Its Story by Margaret Hodges, illustrated by Tim Ladwig, 1997.
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Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers! Last year, I shared one of my new favorite Thanksgiving themed books by Melissa Sweet, Balloons Over Broadway, that celebrates the famous parade and its history. It was again a big hit at this year’s storytime. This year, my mind has been struggling with some different feelings about what used to be a favorite holiday. With my broadening education about the continual stereotyping of Native people in picture books, I’ve become quite disheartened towards typical Thanksgiving picture books with their constant questionable portrayals of “Indians” and misrepresentation of “the first Thanksgiving.” Not wanting to disdain the holiday completely, I am striving to take Debbie Reese’s comment to heart and even beyond books: “Sometimes I think that Thanksgiving books for young children should just focus on things people are grateful for.”
Continue reading “Book Review: 1621, A New Look At Thanksgiving”
There are a lot of things in life that I never stop and wonder where they came from. Occasionally though, I will get curious about a product or a person or even a word. Those moments of curiosity are when it is lovely to discover that someone else already did some research for me and has prepared a presentation of that piece of history in a delightful package called a picture book. For example, on the Fourth of July, I posted a Cooney illustrated edition of “the blue-backed speller” which was created in the late 1700s by Noah Webster. I am very familiar with Webster’s Dictionary, especially when it comes to quick searches for words online. But I’ve really never stopped to ponder who that “Webster” was until that post. Thankfully, someone handed me a great new book that covered a lot of the questions I should have had about a certain Mr. Noah Webster. Allow me to share some newfound knowledge with you today found in this book. Here is Noah Webster’s Words by Jeri Chase Ferris, illustrated by Vincent X. Kirsch, 2012.
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Three Books a Night 