Bye!

So that's it. I'm signing off. I said I was going to review 40 picture books and I did. Along the way, I encountered many others that are worthy, but I just didn't have the time to include them all. Thanks for following along with me. I hope you will find some of them useful for your children or your classroom.


Happy reading!

40. Goal!

Soccer books fly off the shelves in my classroom library. My kids can't get enough of them. So I picked out this book to bring back to my class.


Written by Mina Javaherbin and illustrated by A.J. Ford (2010), it portrays a soccer game among South African boys in their small town. Ajani is so excited because he finally got a brand-new, federation-size soccer ball. Their game was legit now. So excited, they begin playing...but they are also savvy and know that their streets are not always safe. A lookout makes sure that no one will come to steal their ball. When a crowd of bullies comes, they have a plan.


The book is uplifting and the story universal. Kids all over the world, rich or poor, have a love of the game. In fact, in her author's note, Javaherbin talks about how people play football (because that's its real name) in the face of poverty and danger. Football bonds people of the world together and connects them. Football 'makes both young and old feel that they belong, that they matter, and that they can win'. Wanting to write her first picture book about a universal experience, she chose the theme of football.


Told in the first person, most of the text is a play by play of Ajani and his friends' game. There is rhythm in repeated phrases that make it sound almost lyrical. Her style gives movement to the words, as if you were listening to announcers of the game. You feel immersed as a reader in the game and realize why they love it so much-- it helps them forget about the unsafe realities of their world. The kids shouting plays to each other and calling out when something is unfair are completely realistic. It's like I'm standing in the middle of my elementary school playground at recess.


The action of the words made me want to keep turning the page, but the illustrations made me stop.

Ford chooses double page bleeds for his oil paintings, giving us the landscape of the boys' world. From the title page on, we are introduced to the vast blue sky and the dusty-colored homes. The rest of the book follows the same palette, with muted earth tones of browns and oranges. Ford puts a realism into his work, with the lights and shadows of his faces and the attention to detail, down to the cracked walls and hanging clotheslines. The warmth of the boys' faces contrast with the tattered state of their clothes. The most effective aspect of his paintings is his depiction of action. The energy in his work is kinetic-- legs flying, headers in mid-air, arms akimbo. You can even feel it when the bullies come and you see the dust kicked up by their bicycle tires. He also uses interesting angles of vantage point that makes the game more intense. And the joy, the pure joy of playing the game that is evident in their faces is so powerful. They have a determined spirit, and Ford lets it shine.

It is a heart-warming tale of hope and joy in the midst of worry and fear. Which is kind of a metaphor for why I am a teacher. I want to bring happiness and love to students when the world surrounds us with so much hate sometimes. You could use it to teach about bullying or even as a jumping off point to study African culture. This will now occupy a special place in my library.

Remember the World Cup last year? Yeah, I still love this song. Clue for #40.

39. Saving Samantha: A True Story

Everybody loves baby animals, right? And if you saw one injured you would do everything in your power to save it...right? That's what Robbyn Smith van Frankenhuyzen and Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen do. (Please don't make me type their last names again.) They are a husband and wife team who live on a 40-acre farm and sketch and journal all of the wonderful, wild things they see. They have rescued and released many injured and orphaned animals over the years. I'd say that's pretty awesome...kind of sounds like a life I could get used to.


This book is about one of their experiences with wildlife rehabilitation, written by Robbyn and illustrated by Gijsbert. It looks as if he painted oil on canvas and inserted it into the book. You get those wonderful grains that come with the canvas. These paintings show the magnificent landscape of nature that surrounds them, with expansive views of animals in their habitat. Gijsbert also brings us close to see the wounded Samantha and follow her exploits as she frolics and comes back to health. We are almost always outside, so his palette usually consists of blues, greens, browns, oranges, and yellows ('nature tones', if you will). Again I was reminded of masterpieces you see in an art museum, where you want to stand up close and see all of the details. He portrays Samantha's story with such realism that we watch her grow, too. His art is also filled with emotion-- we are excited when we see her grow, but are a little sad when it is time for her to leave and go off on her own.


Robbyn's text matches that emotion. It is mostly written through a chronology of journal entries, but then there are times when narrative description mixes in. That can be a bit confusing at times when it is on the same page, because you are jumping from past to present. The detailed descriptions of Samantha's life are informative and show the bond that grew between humans and fox; at times, though, they can be a bit wordy (at 48 pages, it is much longer than the typical 32). That is not to say that the words aren't interesting, because they are. They teach us what it is like to love an animal and let it go. Plus, the story is just fascinating-- how many of us regular people have ever rescued a wild animal and had it be part of the family? Kids will want to find out what that nature and animal-filled life is like.


This would be a great book for studying ecology or life cycles (you see some of it play out in the book). You could also use it to teach about instincts and learned behaviors...Robbyn had to make sure that Samantha reentered the wild gradually, so that she re-learned and practiced the instincts that she had forgotten. Great text for the older kids, and the illustrations give enough detail that you could 'tell' it to a group of little ones.

#39 coming right up!

38. Dear Fish

Ever wrote a letter to some fish as a joke and had it backfire on you? Well, you're about to find out all that can go wrong. In Dear Fish (2006), Chris Gall crafts a beautiful postmodern/surrealist tale of fish coming to visit. 


Peter Alan didn't mean it when he invited the fish over to his house, but they believed him. Soon all sorts of sea life have invaded his neighborhood--jellyfish, puffer fish, sharks, a blue whale, etc. They move in so seamlessly that the townspeople don't even notice at first-- the baseball player uses the barracuda as a bat, the carpenter uses a sawfish to cut some boards.


Oh, that reminds me...the author uses these fish in quite a 'punny' way, as each creature is put into a situation that plays upon their name (i.e. the 'school' of fish, you guessed it, in the school). These puns are hidden throughout. I think kids would love stumbling upon one and laughing at the joke.


The text is cool...whenever a new sea creature comes into the story, Gall uses some sort of onomatopoeia to introduce them (i.e. "a crash, a smash, a wiggling, and a jiggling"). These would be great moments in writing lessons to talk about figurative language and great word choice. Plus, Gall has the text stand out by changing the color for those words and even making the font match the words.


But I've totally ignored the artwork-- and it is what drew me to the book originally! Gall uses engravings (on a clay-coated board) to create crisp, detailed pictures. I love the way the engraving allows you to see the grain and lines that he carves in. They create such flow and movement in the scenes. Gall then adds in color digitally (and man do those bright colors pop!). Gall's fantasy is well crafted in the images (I'd say he's chasing David Weisner's tail)...the creatures meld seamlessly into the scenes, almost as if they were meant to be there. Characters break the frame and show up in crazy places (the blue whale soars through the air like a blimp). Gall goes back and forth between single page illustrations and ones that cross the gutter but don't quite fill up both pages. Occasionally, he will feature double page bleeds without any text...these fill your eyes with wonder at the craziness (i.e. awesomeness) of the scene. The boldness of the colors and style make it look almost 3-D!


In the end, Peter Alan's second letter convinces them to return to the sea. They are not rude animals, though, and eventually they invite the family to their home. The last scene in the book is a beautiful double page bleed of the boy and his parents in their car, plunging into the ocean with their headlights lighting the way. Wouldn't that be so awesome if we could really do that? Sign me up!

Woohoo!!!

Here is where I say 'THANK YOU!' to Cynthia and Greg Leitich Smith. The last of my reviews are going to come from 3 of the 40 (yes, I said 40!) books they donated to my classroom collection!!! 


So how did this happen? Well, remember when I said they visited a couple of weeks ago? Cynthia then called our professor back and invited us over on our last day of class to eat, drink, and be merry. And that we did...wine, cheese, fruits and veggies, shrimp, cookies...it was awesome!


Then Cynthia and Greg told us the most awesome thing of all...they had 350 new, hardcover books that were taking up space in the attic and they were ours for the taking! I can't tell you how exciting it was to know that I could look through the stacks, see a book I loved, and take it...for free! I know some women have dreams like these for clothing or shoe giveaways, but I have mine about picture books.


When I asked Cynthia what brought on this altruism, she said that publishers always send out books to be reviewed by other authors. She is allowed to keep the copy, but doesn't really have much use for them. So they just sort of collect. While she has made other donations to libraries and shelters, after meeting us, she thought, "Why not give them directly to teachers?" She feels that especially in a recession, when teachers are strapped for cash, why not do her part to support us. I felt honored and so completely grateful.


So now I have two tote bags full of 40 brand-new picture books (did I mention they were hardcover???) to add to my library...multicultural, non-fiction, biography, you name it! There are few words to express my deep gratitude. Thank you for supporting us teachers.