30. Rosa

Another book illustrated by Bryan Collier...I know, I just can't get enough. Also, it was written by Nikki Giovanni, the editor of book #27. Rosa (2005), as you can imagine, is a biography of Rosa Parks. I know what you're thinking...aren't there already a lot of them? Yeah, there probably are, but what I loved about this one is that is tells a slightly different narrative than what is traditionally portrayed. Giovanni does not present Rosa as a tired woman who didn't want to get up because her feet hurt. That notion seems to invalidate Rosa as a political activist, instead positioning her as a bystander who had had a long day. Which is kind of disempowering if you think about it...she was more than that.


Collier's signature watercolor and collage shines in this books as well as all the others. Notable on the cover are the gold flecks surrounding her head, almost in the shape of a halo. The fact that Collier positions her eyes just above the bottom edge makes it obvious that we are to look at her, to see this story through her eyes. Those eyes are not tired, they are strong and ready for change. The policeman staring at her just makes her inner strength that much more powerful. Collier reveals the reason why he used a lot of yellow hues in his illustrator's note-- 'I wanted the reader to feel in that heat a foreshadowing, an uneasy quiet before the storm.' To him she is a 'radiant chandelier, a light that illuminates all our many pathways'. Collier's collages include important elements of the time, including a newspaper article about Emmitt Till (that one man is reading on the bus), the teenager brutally murdered in Mississippi not long before these events. Collier is always deeply aware of how the elements in his collages tell an important story as well. One particularly effective opening is one where the reader must fold back the pages to reveal a 4 page bleed representing many of the marches that went on in the Civil Rights Movement. 


Giovanni's words complement Collier's illustrations...she tells us about Rosa's work as a seamstress and her thoughts and feelings that day. The reader gets a sense of what was going on in Rosa's head as she makes her fateful decision that day. With a quiet strength, 'she was not going to give in to that which was wrong'. Giovanni says that she was tired, but not of working, instead she was tired of the injustice and segregation. The story is crafted in such a way that you feel you are a fly on the wall, listening in to secret conversations and participating in the scene. So many picture book biographies are told with a separated, objective stance. This one lets you step right in and see how Rosa's brave act created 'an umbrella of courage' for others to stand under and continue the cause of fighting for civil rights. This version of Rosa Parks' biography is one that I feel will inspire children more and empower them to exert a quiet courage in their lives.

19. Cherish Today: A Celebration of Life's Moments

I'm sure you're all familiar with this Dr. Seuss classic. I read it every year on the last day of school to my students. I still use the copy that I received as a gift when I graduated from high school. Even with all of Dr. Seuss' crazy scenarios and invented words, kids still understand the message. It is about the future...to expect difficult times and failure, but to in the end know who you are and how wonderful you are and that you will succeed.

But that's not the book I am reviewing...I am reviewing Cherish Today written and illustrated by the husband and wife team of Kristina Evans and Bryan Collier (remember him?). 

 

This book is also about the journey toward the future, but instead of focusing on where you end up going, it is more about the getting there. The book urges you to cherish the moment you are in and the road you are traveling. Though the book features an African-American girl and her journey, this book is for anyone as they are about to make their way through life.

The text is written in a style similar to Dr. Seuss, with a rhythmic, poetic quality. 

"You've accomplished your goals

And you're well on your way.

The future's tomorrow-

Cherish today!"

Evans' story is not of a chronological tale of a girl growing up (in fact, she doesn't age at all). Instead it is the advice that a loved one gives about the road ahead of her. There will times when things are hard and you aren't always the best, but the love and support of your friends and family will always be behind you. This book is like an updated, more realistic version of Dr. Seuss' classic. I could see giving it to any child/graduate about to go off on a new adventure. It is a sweet book full of love and caring.

Collier's signature watercolor and collage style adds to the thoughtful words. The muted palette of browns, greens, and blues ground the story in reality. Even the yellows are not too vibrant-- Collier wants to portray the landscapes and scenes with a sense of realism and give it sincerity and feeling. He continues to put balloons as a motif throughout the book, sometimes acting as a guide for the girl, sometimes representing the paths that each person chooses to take as they are 'set free'. 

The title page, endpapers and publishing pages feature a theme of blue and skies, often representative of freedom. As you go through the double page bleeds, you notice that Collier has an attention to detail in order to make the book as realistic as possible-- he even includes a clip chart in the classroom scene! The collage is so well positioned that it melds together and creates a unified scene on every page. We follow the girl along on her journey, each page turn showing us where she is headed next. His play with light and shadow help create the mood of the story, not excited, not sad, but contemplative. The only surrealism he allows to creep in is on the page where the advice tells the girl to think of those who came before her -- Collier paints some faces into the tree trunks, signifying those important people.

I probably would have never heard of this book if I hadn't studies Bryan Collier. I loved it and will gladly substitute it in for Oh, the Places You'll Go! on the last day of school. Everyone needs to be reminded that life can be hard, but in the end cherish today...even I need that reminder sometimes.

11. Dave the Potter

I found this book after beginning an illustrator study on the incredibly talented Bryan Collier (I will be reviewing a few more of his books later on in the blog). It was written by Laban Carrick Hill in 2010 and won the Caldecott Honor Award and the Coretta Scott King award. 

The book tells the story of a slave who lived in South Carolina and was trained in the art of pottery making. He was skilled and educated (against the law, he was taught to read and write), which led him to inscribe poetry into each of his creations.


While the text is largely a sequence of Dave's pottery making process, it is full of beautiful imagery and language. Hill stresses the action in his words (mixing, throwing, kicking, pinching, squeezing, etc), connecting us to the character and his creations. The simple lines remind the reader of Dave's poems...short, but full of power and meaning. The verse is almost rhythmic. It was Hill's figurative language that pulled me in the most.

"With a flat wooden paddle

large enough to row 

across the Atlantic,

Dave mixed clay with water..."

"Like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat,

Dave's hands, buried

in the mounded mud

pulled out the shape of a jar."

Collier's illustrations are a complement to Hill's words. They use a mixture of watercolor and collage. The palette of earthtone colors emphasizes Dave's connection to the land and clay. Collier positions Dave in powerful images-- the strength of his hands, the determination in his face, the pride in his eyes. Collier also takes us around his workshop, detailing the materials he used and the step-by-step process he took to make the pottery. He keeps the story moving along with a variety of full page spreads (that slightly cross the gutter and end in a jagged outline). In addition, there is a fold-out page in the middle of the book that includes 4 gorgeous panels of Dave working the clay. Collier captures the light and shadows of Dave in his workshop and makes the texture so realistic that we feel like we could reach out and mold the clay as well. Collier also has unique borders on each page that look like he ripped a strip of paper containing the words and laid it over the landscape of the pictures. It is an intimate, realistic glimpse into the life of a talented man who maintained hope and beauty in the midst of oppression.


The end of the book reminds us that this incredible story is actually an informational text about a real man-- it includes a photograph of his pottery, some biographical information, a few of his poems, and a bibliography of where to find more information about Dave. In the classroom, you could use the book in a study of important African American figures, slavery and resistance to oppression, art, etc. It teaches the values of perseverance and dignity in the face of injustice. The book rarely dwells on the fact that he was a slave, though, because he was much more than that...in fact the title reminds he was an artist, then a poet, and lastly a slave. After reading the book, children will probably become fascinated by the idea of pottery-making-- a great jumping off point for an art activity. Finally, this book would be great for studying imagery and figurative language.