The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Author: Brian Selznick
Illustrator: Brian Selznick


Comments:
What a captivating masterpiece! The Invention of Hugo Cabret is part picturebook, part novel. As the work is inspired by the film maker, Georges Méliès, the illustrations serve as shots, for action or close-up, which usually require pages of words to fully describe. Selznick's sketches can be as closely analyzed as his prose, and the alternating of illustrations and text gives the book its flow.

Copyright: Scholastic Press, 2007
Age level: 9-12
Format: Chapterbook, Picturebook
Genre: Historical Fiction, Wordless
Multicultural/International: French
Award: 2008 Caldecott Award
Location: Personal Collection
Rating: * * * * *

Walk Two Moons

Author: Sharon Creech


Comments:
By telling the story of her friend Phoebe, Sal discovers the mystery behind her mother's disappearance and her father's sudden move. Sal's story is interrupted with details of the trip she is taking with her grandparents to see her mother. Along this journey she not only learns to deal with loss but also that things are not always what they seem.

Copyright: HarperCollins Publishers (September 1996)
Age level: 12 and up
Format: Chapter book
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fictiotn
Multicultural/International: Native American
Award: Newbery Medal, Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts (NCTE), Bulletin Blue Ribbon (The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books), School Library Journal Best Book, ALA Notable Children's Book, Sequoyah Young Adult Book Award (Oklahoma)
Location: Personal Collection
Rating: * *

Bud, Not Buddy

Author: Christopher Paul Curtis

Comments:
Despite his terrible circumstances as an orphan, Bud is an engaging character, especially with all his rules. You get a real feel about the impact of the Great Depression, especially on African Americans. The story also include an example of how African American art seems to thrive during times of difficulty.

Copyright: Random House Children's Books, 2004
Age level: 9-12
Format: Chapter Book
Genre: Historical Fiction
Multicultural/International: African American
Award: Coretta Scott King Award
Location: Peabody Library
Rating: * * * * *

Anne Frank

Author: Josephine Poole
Illustrator: Angela Barrett
Comments:
The Diary of Anne Frank was one of my favorite books as a girl. This picturebook puts Anne's diary in context, and would be a good read aloud for even a middle school classroom preparing to read her diary. This book can help readers understand some of the causes of WWII and series of actions that lead to the holocaust. Ultimately, it makes historical events accessible to children because the book is based on Anne's perspectice.

Copyright: Red Fox, 2007
Format: Picture Book
Age Level: 10 and up
Genre: Nonfiction, Biography
Multicultural/International: Jewish
Awards: Child magazine's Best Children's Book Awards 2005
Location: Peabody Library
Rating: * * * * *

Iguana in the Snow and Other Winter Poems

Author: Francisco X. Alarcon
Illustrator: Maya Christina Gonzalez


Comments:
Alarcon pens concise poems that directly relate to the experience of children, especially Hispanic readers. Each poem is printed in English and Spanish and uniquely incorporated into the illustrations. This allows the two languages to be compared and lends itself to choral readings. This book is set in San Fransisco and explores topics like the Delores Mission, barrios, the pier, bilingual school, Las Posadas songs, migrant life, Sequoias, and first snows.

Other bilingual titles by Alarcon include:

• Poems to Dream Together: Poemas Para Sonar Juntos
• From the Bellybutton of the Moon/Del Ombligo de la Luna : And Other Summer Poems/Y Otros Poemas de Verano
• Angels Ride Bikes/Los Angeles Andan En Bicicleta : And Other Fall Poems/Y Otros Poemas de Oto
• From the Other Side of Night/Del otro lado de la noche : New and Selected PoemsAnimal Poems of the Iguazu/Animalario del Iguazu
• Laughing Tomatoes/Jitomates Risuenos : And Other Spring Poems/Y Otros Poemas de Primavera

Copyright: Children's Book Press; Bilingual edition (March 10, 2005)
Age level: 4-8
Format: Picture Book
Genre: Poetry and Verse
Multicultural/International: Hispanic, bilingual text
Location: Peabody Library
Rating: * * *

Hoops

Author: Robert Burleigh
Illustrator: Stephen T. Johnson

Comments:
In this free verse jam about basketball, the illustrations express just as much of the action as the stanzas. The pick-up game is transformed into a body of water, a fox, a hawk, and a thicket through Burleigh's figurative language. Even middle-schoolers studying poetry would enjoy this picture book.

Copyright: Laurel Leaf, 1983
Age level: Young Adult
Format: Picture Book
Genre: Poetry and Verse
Multicultural/International: Urban, African American
Awards: An ALA Notable Children's Book, A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, A New York Public Library's 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing
Location: Peabody Library
Rating: * * *

The Boy on Fairfield Street: How Ted Geisel Grew Up to Become Dr. Seuss

Author: Kathleen Krull
Illustrator: Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher


Comments:
This biography of Dr. Suess is sure to relate to young readers in many ways. Ted Geisel is a first generation American teased about his German heritage, especially during wartime. He loves animals, parades, doodling, and movies. This biography traces his childhood and his struggle to become "successful" by doing what he loves.

This book could prompt students to conduct their own author study. Before reading this book, students can imagine questions that they would ask Dr. Suess if they could meet him, and then they can seach for the answers in the text. Reading groups could also discuss the term "success" and what it means/meant for Ted to become successful.

Copyright: Random House Books for Young Readers; 1 edition (January 13, 2004)
Age level: 9-12
Format: Picture Book
Genre: Biography
Multicultural/International: German-American
Location: Peabody Library
Rating: * * *

The Watertower

Author: Gary Crew
Illustrator: Steven Woolman
Comments:
Watertower experiments with formatting and illustrating multiple perspectives. The book shifts from landscape to portrait orientation and you end up rotating the book as you read. This spiral motif is incorporated into the illustrations. However, the story itself seems to lack that appeal. Two boys go swimming in a water tower, and one loses his pants, so the other runs home to get them. The theme that emerges is more illustrated than verbal: fear of the unknown and the anxiety of waiting.

Copyright: Crocodile Books (September 1999)
Age level: 9-12
Format: Picture Book
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Multicultural/International: Australian
Awards: The Children's Book Council of Australia: Picture Book of the Year
Location: Peabody Library
Rating: * * *

A Caribbean Dozen: Peoms From Caribbean Poets

Author: Edited by John Agard and Grace Nichols
Illustrator: Cathie Felstead


Comments:
Thirteen Caribbean poets share their work for children in this collection which is divided into sections by author. Each section includes each author's autobiography, and a variety of folk art aptly illustrates each poem. Many poems address issues of bilingualism and biculturalism by incorporating dialogue and juxtaposing cultural experiences. Common poetic techniques include free verse, the use of refrains, brief lines, and couplets. Other topics include school, family, animals and nature.

Copyright: Walker Books Ltd, 1996
Age level: 9-12
Format: Picture Book
Genre: Poetry and Verse
Multicultural/International: American, Canadians, and Brits from the Caribbean
Location: Peabody Library
Rating: * * *

In Daddy's Arms I Am Tall

Author: Robin Miles and Charles Turner
Illustrator: Javaka Steptoe

Comments:

"When you follow in the path of your father, you learn to walk like him." - Ashanti Proverb

This collection of poems celebrates that father's role in African American families, in both work and play. Most interesting, however, is the mixed media technique which Steptoe uses to create his illustrations. Examine the images and you can find coins, barretts, apple seeds, buttons, beads, mesh, ribbons, butterfly wings, and sea shells. Steptoe calls these materials "found objects" which also include scraps of tin seiling, salvaged floor boards, and real fish. To put the image together, he uses torn paper technique, cut paper, applique, collage, and painting.

Copyright: Lee & Low Books, 2001
Age level: 4-8
Format: Picture Book
Genre: Poetry and Verse
Multicultural/International: African American
Awards: Coretta Scott King Award
Location: Peabody Library
Rating: * * *

Star Walk

Author: Seymour Simon
Illustrator: Photos from National Optical Astronomy Observatories and NASA

Comments:

In Star Walk scientific poetry from the past is brought to life with dazzling imagery made possible only by recent technology. Pieces of verse are paired with astronomy images not to explain each other, but to enrich each other. Simon suggests: "Try reading the poems slowly and looking at the acompanying photograph for a long while." Captions for photos are also included to explain the content of the picture. He hopes that this book will encourage readers to write or draw about their scientific ideas of space.

Additionally, Simon does not confine the scope of his work to canonized white, male scientists. He included the work of female scientists as well as the perspective of various Native American tribes.

Copyright: William Morrow, 1995
Age level: 10 and up
Format: Picture Book
Genre: Poetry and Verse
Multicultural/International: Native American
Location: Peabody Library
Rating: * * * *

One Leaf Rides the Wind

Author: Celeste Davidson Mannis
Illustrator: Susan Kathleen Hartung


Comments:

"The Japanese garden is a restful place removed from the cares and worries of everyday life."

This is a counting book that takes the form of haikus. A note of Japanese gardens and Haiku poetry is included at the end, and Hartung says that in English the Japanese form was not strictly followed, which seems to be the current trend in American's Haiku. Hartung also notes that Haiku should be recited in a single breath, which add to the restful vibe of the Japanese garden.

Aside from teaching counting and Haiku, the poems also include footnotes about cultural aspects such as the Shinto and Buddhist religions, shih tzu guard dogs, padoga and teahouses. The illustrations, oil paint glases on sealed paper, enhance this sense of culture. Each Haiku and accompanying illustration guides your through the garden, and the collection ends with a bird's eye view of where you have been.

Copyright: Puffin, 2005
Age level: 4-8
Format: Picture Book
Genre: Poetry and Verse (Haiku, Counting)
Multicultural/International: Japanese
Awards: IRA Children's Book Awards
Location: Peabody Library
Rating: * * * * *

Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom

Author: Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrator: Kadir Nelson


Comments:
Weatherford weaves three voices throughout Moses: the narrator, Harriet Tubman, and God. Weatherford used Harriet's own narrative to learn about the kinds of prayers that sustained her throughout her journey along the underground railroad. The change in typeface denotes these changes in voice, and the book can turn into a reader's theatre or choral reading.

Definitely worthy of the Caldecott award, Nelson's illustrations capture the darkness and anguish of the journey north. The sculpted facial expressions of Harriet Tubman speak volumes and conveys the yearning of her spirit.

Copyright: Hyperion Book, 2006
Age level: 4-8
Format: Picture Book
Genre: Poetry and Verse, Historical Fiction, Biography
Multicultural/International: African American
Awards: Caldecott Honor & 2007 Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration; A New York Times Bestseller; NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for Children
Location: Peabody Library
Rating: * * * * *

Remember the Bridge: Poems of a People

Author: Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrator: Carole Boston Weatherford

Comments:
What began a Weatherford's graduate photo essay has now become a poetic textbook in African American history for children. The more Weatherford researched and discovered photographs and artwork, the more inspired she was to commit that history into poems. The sense of history and culture to be gleans from this collection is so rich! Weatherford's message for her young readers is "Remember!"

"The bridge is men and women,
famous and unknown,
leaving paths of memories,
timeless stephhing stones."

Copyright: Philomel, 2002
Age level: 9-12
Format: Picture Book
Genre: Poetry and Verse, Historical
Multicultural/International: African American
Awards: North Carolina Juvenile Literature Award; Teachers' Choices, International Reading Association; Notable Book, National Council for the Social Studies; Notable Book of the English Language Arts; Bank Street College Best Children's Books of 2003
Location: Personal Collection
Rating: * * * * *

Dear Mr. Rosenwald

Author: Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrator: R. Gregory Christie


Comments:
Weatherford learned about Rosenwald schools from her parents who experienced them first hand. Julius Rosenwald, second-generation American and president of Sears, donated millions so African American communities could build their own schools. In a series of poems, from the perspective of the student Ovella, Weatherford shows how the project of building these schools strengthened the community and gave generations young and old a hope for a better tomorrow. Historically, Weatherford communicates well the African American experience during the Reconstruction era after the Civil War and Emancipation. R. Gregory Christie's folk art emphasizes the sense of culture that the poems seek to instill.

Copyright: Scholastic, 2006
Age level: 7-10
Format: Picture Book
Genre: Historical Fiction, Poetry and Verse
Multicultural/International: African American
Awards: SCBWI Golden Kite Honor for Picture Book Text, NAACP Image Award Finalist, IRA Notable Books for a Global Society, Notable Book: National Council for the Social Studies
Location: Personal Collection
Rating: * * * *

Freedom on the Menu

Author: Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrator: Jerome Lagarrigue
Comments:
Carole Boston Weatherford recognizes the important impact that picture books about the Jim Crow era can make on new generations. She writes,"Without context for the freedom struggle, young people fail to fathom segregation’s brutality and inhumanity and the incredible sacrifices necessary to win equality. ... Through the lens of historical fiction, recent picture books for middle readers not only expose hatred and inequities but also show how ordinary people persevered and overcame."

This book attempts to relate complicated civil rights issues from a child's perspective. It shows how the average person and the average child is can fight against discrimination and experience social change.

Copyright: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2005
Age level: 9-12
Format: Picture Book
Genre: Historical fiction
Multicultural/International: African American
Awards: North Carolina Juvenile Literature Award, Bank Street College Best Children's Books of 2005, North Carolina Children's Book Award Finalist, Notable Book, National Council for the Social Studies
Location: Peabody Library
Rating: * * * *

Before John Was a Jazz Giant

Author: Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrator: Sean Qualls
Comments:
Great for developing readers, this book looks at the musical influences of John Coltrane's childhood. Not only are the colorful illustrations engaging, but the verse can also be acted out or read aloud together. Weatherford's Author's Note gives a more detailed biography of John Coltrane and a list of recordings for selected listening and books for further reading.

Readers can discuss their own talents and how they developed with the option of preparing their own talent biography. By using the biographical information in the Author's Notes, readers can also create a timeline of Coltrane's life events.

Copyright: Henry Holt, 2007
Age level: 4-8
Format: Picture Book
Genre: Biography, Poetry and Verse
Multicultural/International: African American
Location: Peabody Library
Rating: * * *

Sidewalk Chalk Poems of the City

Author: Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrator: Dimitrea Tokunbo



Comments:
Carole Boston Weatherford captures the essence of growing up in the city through her 20 short, haiku-like poems. Quintessential city references include double dutch, shoeshine men, corner bebop groups, boomboxes, basketball courts, marts, laundromats, and barbershops.

Tukunbo's illustrations are done in pencil and water color and have an embossed look in which the children look somewhat blurred from far away but greatly detailed in close-up shots. Just as the illustrations feature a variety of children and families in the city, so does the book's theme relate to readers from any city. Certain elements like farmer's markets, church, and strays also overlap with the rural experience.

Copyright: Wordsong, 2001
Age level: 9-12
Format: Picture Book
Genre: Poetry and Verse
Multicultural/International: African American, urban
Location: Peabody Library
Rating: * * * *

The Boy, The Bear, The Baron, The Bard

Author: Gregory Rogers
Illustrator: Gregory Rogers
Comments:
When a boy visits the Globe theatre in London and puts on a special cape, he's transported back in time. Unfortunately, he interrupts one of Shakespeare's performances and the chase ensues and embroils a bear and a baron. This is a wordless book with a graphic novel form. The sequence of events can be scanned quickly or closely analyzed.

Copyright: Roaring Brook Press, 2004
Age level: 4-8
Format: Picture Book
Genre: Historical Fiction / Science Fiction
Multicultural/International: Set in London, England
Awards: Longlisted 2005: Quill Awards (US) in the best Children's Book of the Year Category;
Shortlisted 2005 : Children's Book Council Awards, Younger Readers;
Shortlisted 2005: 53rd APA Book Design Award Best Designed Children's Picture Book A
Location: Lookybook
Rating: * * * * *

I, Matthew Henson, Polar Explorer

Author: Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrator: Eric Velasquez


Comments:
Through free verse, Carole Boston Weatherford shares Matthew Henson's struggles, perseverance, and ultimate successes since the age 13. The illustrations (done in pastel on Wallis paper) bring the events to life on the page. Weatherford not only tells of Henson's determination to achieve despite discrimination but also a bit of the Inuit culture and their legend of Kokoyah, the Devil of the North. Weatherford's Author's Note explains the difficulty of gaining acknowledgement for discoveries. In discussion, readers can analyse the conflicts and resolution laid out well throughout the work.

Copyright: Walker Books, 2007
Age level: 9-12
Format: Picture Book
Genre: Biography
Multicultural/International: African American
Location: Peabody Library
Rating: * * *