See Me Run by Paul Meisel
2012 Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor Book
I will give an honest first impression of See Me Run -- in comparison with other award winning books that I've read, this book is not as impressive. It is not a bad story for very young readers, but (to me) lacks the creativity of other award winners.
Having said that, this book does exhibit many of the characteristics that move forward a good picture book story. The first thing that strikes the reader is the vivid color of the pictures. We know that this story is going to be exciting and fun. It is an outdoor adventure -- the fresh colors indicate a spring or summer day.
There is a lot of movement in the pictures. The dogs "come and come", not just shown running, but actually flying over the hill. Also, we know that they are going fast, by the dogs outstretched legs and lines showing air movement. We know that this is going to be fun & that these dogs are excited! The dogs are shown "smiling", with their tongues hanging out -- we know that they are having lots of fun.
The scene with the mud puddle/lake is one sure to make young kids giggle, with the dogs splashing in the mud, getting thoroughly dirty, followed by "we need a bath" on the next page, in which they clean off in a stream, including one scarf-wearing pup doing the backstroke. This scene is a particularly fun one, in the details such as aforementioned backstroking dog, a beagle who is chasing a fish and several dogs who are doing the dog classic full-body shake.
The fun comes to a sudden stop when the dogs dig up a dinosaur! Their shock is clearly shown in their rounded eyes and sniffing noses -- echoing the text "What is this?" This is one of the strengths of the book -- the way that the pictures clearly support the words, allowing greater comprehension for beginning readers.
This book would be very good for pre-K to 1st grade. Beginning readers will not only enjoy the fun pictures but will also gain confidence by being able to read the simple text.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Friday, September 21, 2012
Me...Jane
Me...Jane by Patrick McDonnell
2012 Caldecott Honor Award
Me...Jane is a wonderful book full of lovely, sweet paintings that reminds us that all great icons were once children who had a dream. Patrick McConnell uses a combination of his own paintings (based upon Jane Goodall's recollections of her childhood), detailed nature plates and Goodall's own childhood nature drawings to bring alive the wonder of nature that sparked Goodall's lifelong passion.
Through the scale and composition of the paintings, nature is shown as real, immediate and an important feature of young Jane's life, not merely the backdrop of her life. Jane is shown as approximately the same size as elements of nature such as animals, making nature and her seem equal and part of one whole. It is clear that the natural world is truly Jane's life force from the earliest age.
The drawings of her beloved chimp doll, Jubilee, are particularly wonderful. Jubilee is consistently shown as approximately the same size as Jane, with life-like expressions, showing that Jubilee is truly Jane's best companion and friends. It reminds me of the Calvin & Hobbes cartoons, in which Hobbes only comes to life in Calvin's presence. As with Calvin and Hobbes, Jubilee is as real to Jane as any human friend. This establishes for the reader Goodall's state of mind, in which she respects and connects to chimps in the way for which she became famous as an adult.
On one of the last pages, McDonnell very effectively switches from his paintings to a photo of young Goodall with chimp -- from fantasy to reality -- as if to say, dreams really can come true.
The text of the book is simple but effective. Words such as "magical, joy, dreamed and curious" create a little girl full of love for the world and aspirations to live her life investigating its wonders. One of my favorite parts is the section in which Jane "...would lay her cheek against its (tree) trunk and seem to feel the sap flowing beneath the bark. Jane could feel her own heart beating, beating, beating." (pp 19-21) It is as if Jane and the tree are part of the same life force. As an adult reading this, it is remarkable to know that Goodall had this connection at such a young age.
I think that this would be appropriate for children in many ranges, from pre-school children who would appreciate the lovely paintings and sweet story, to older children who will not only appreciate the story, but will understand the theme about dreams coming true.
2012 Caldecott Honor Award
Me...Jane is a wonderful book full of lovely, sweet paintings that reminds us that all great icons were once children who had a dream. Patrick McConnell uses a combination of his own paintings (based upon Jane Goodall's recollections of her childhood), detailed nature plates and Goodall's own childhood nature drawings to bring alive the wonder of nature that sparked Goodall's lifelong passion.
Through the scale and composition of the paintings, nature is shown as real, immediate and an important feature of young Jane's life, not merely the backdrop of her life. Jane is shown as approximately the same size as elements of nature such as animals, making nature and her seem equal and part of one whole. It is clear that the natural world is truly Jane's life force from the earliest age.
The drawings of her beloved chimp doll, Jubilee, are particularly wonderful. Jubilee is consistently shown as approximately the same size as Jane, with life-like expressions, showing that Jubilee is truly Jane's best companion and friends. It reminds me of the Calvin & Hobbes cartoons, in which Hobbes only comes to life in Calvin's presence. As with Calvin and Hobbes, Jubilee is as real to Jane as any human friend. This establishes for the reader Goodall's state of mind, in which she respects and connects to chimps in the way for which she became famous as an adult.
On one of the last pages, McDonnell very effectively switches from his paintings to a photo of young Goodall with chimp -- from fantasy to reality -- as if to say, dreams really can come true.
The text of the book is simple but effective. Words such as "magical, joy, dreamed and curious" create a little girl full of love for the world and aspirations to live her life investigating its wonders. One of my favorite parts is the section in which Jane "...would lay her cheek against its (tree) trunk and seem to feel the sap flowing beneath the bark. Jane could feel her own heart beating, beating, beating." (pp 19-21) It is as if Jane and the tree are part of the same life force. As an adult reading this, it is remarkable to know that Goodall had this connection at such a young age.
I think that this would be appropriate for children in many ranges, from pre-school children who would appreciate the lovely paintings and sweet story, to older children who will not only appreciate the story, but will understand the theme about dreams coming true.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Show Way
Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson, Illustrated by Hudson Talbott
2006 Newberry Honor Winner
This book is based upon quilts that were once used to show escaped slave the route to freedom, called "Show Ways". The author & illustrator take the idea of a show way and create a metaphor for our family history and all of the things that happened before us that make us who we are. Each page of the book is designed to look like a quilt. Sometimes images are of various situations in the character's lives, sometimes the images are of things that were happening during a certain time in history. For instance, the pages describing Mathis May being sold and the twins being frightened both contain a backdrop of images of symbols of those times, such as the 1960s Civil Rights movement. Another example of "quilted" images as metaphor are the words of Civil Rights leaders that, when put together, gave strength to the movement.
One particularly effective image is that of a harsh red strip literally tearing apart the quilt of our country, North vs. South, with the slave hunt being the dividing line. The terror, anger and hurt of those times is conveyed without words.
In addition to being a metaphor for various pieces to come together to make the whole of our history and identity, the quilts also symbolize home, family, security and a guiding force. Several times in the book, a scared young girl must only hold onto her quilt piece, given to her by the previous generation, to feel calm, safe & secure. It is as if the quilt piece is literally a bit of wisdom and strength that has been passed from generation to generation. As Ann tells Jacqueline, "All the stuff that happened before you were born is your own kind of show way." We can find strength and direction in our history & family.
This book would be most appropriate for grades 3 and up and would be particularly well suited for a read aloud. There are many phrases that may be unfamiliar to students as well as situations in history that they may not yet have learned.
2006 Newberry Honor Winner
This book is based upon quilts that were once used to show escaped slave the route to freedom, called "Show Ways". The author & illustrator take the idea of a show way and create a metaphor for our family history and all of the things that happened before us that make us who we are. Each page of the book is designed to look like a quilt. Sometimes images are of various situations in the character's lives, sometimes the images are of things that were happening during a certain time in history. For instance, the pages describing Mathis May being sold and the twins being frightened both contain a backdrop of images of symbols of those times, such as the 1960s Civil Rights movement. Another example of "quilted" images as metaphor are the words of Civil Rights leaders that, when put together, gave strength to the movement.
One particularly effective image is that of a harsh red strip literally tearing apart the quilt of our country, North vs. South, with the slave hunt being the dividing line. The terror, anger and hurt of those times is conveyed without words.
In addition to being a metaphor for various pieces to come together to make the whole of our history and identity, the quilts also symbolize home, family, security and a guiding force. Several times in the book, a scared young girl must only hold onto her quilt piece, given to her by the previous generation, to feel calm, safe & secure. It is as if the quilt piece is literally a bit of wisdom and strength that has been passed from generation to generation. As Ann tells Jacqueline, "All the stuff that happened before you were born is your own kind of show way." We can find strength and direction in our history & family.
This book would be most appropriate for grades 3 and up and would be particularly well suited for a read aloud. There are many phrases that may be unfamiliar to students as well as situations in history that they may not yet have learned.
Flotsam
Flotsam by David Wiesner
2007 Caldecott Medal Winner
Writing about Flotsam immediately after an Elephant & Piggie book is an interesting contrast -- one is moved forward by very sparse pictures and words that seem to shout out the story, while another has no words, but lush paintings that clearly convey the story.
First, I love the paintings. They are absolutely beautiful and full of rich details. One could stare at each frame for quite some time, taking in everything that the artist/author has included.
In the first 2 page spread, we "meet" a boy who is engrossed in his own world. The pictures show that he loves to collect & examine things on the beach, as evidenced by the buckets full of shells, seaweed, driftwood and starfish, the old box full of collected sea creatures and the magnifying glass & microscope. One has to be pretty dedicated to bring a microscope to the beach! We know all of this about him without any words of description.
He finds the camera & you know it is old for several reasons -- adults recognize it as an old style and know that it is old from its use of film. Kids can see that it is old from the mollusks/barnacles that have grown on it -- obviously been in the sea for sometime.
I love the series of frames at the photo shop -- the contrast of the teenage clerk that could clearly care less about his film with the 6 frames in which the boy is bored, anxiously awaiting his film to be developed. Did the author/artist purposefully use 6 frames to mark the 60 minutes (broken down into 10 minute increments) that the boy had to wait to get back his film?
After he gets the film developed, the book delves into a mysterious fantasy world. The "photos" of the underwater creatures who have very different lives that what we believe -- Octopi lounging in comfortable living rooms, entire cities made of shells with tiny green "Martian"-like creature inhabitants. And, who is the viewer to suppose took those photos? Is this camera magic, taking photos underwater of its own accord? And, most exciting, the photos of the children who have discovered this camera, from around the world, from all times in the past 100 years.
The boy has an association with those children -- each of them have had the same magical, mysterious experience with the camera. There are no adults involved, this is purely a kid thing -- perhaps only kids believe? Does it only work for kids? And, finally, the circle is closed by him tossing the camera back into the ocean, to be found by a girl on a tropical island.
Without the exquisite details on the paintings, this book could not work. It is through those details that we understand the story and the tone that is being conveyed. For instance, the pictures of the beach are painted in muted colors -- light blues and beiges. We are to understand that this is a calm place. The pictures of the underwater world, in contrast, are vividly colored, showing excitement and mystery. We know that the discovery of this underwater world is very important. However, the paintings are by no means garish. As Tunnell, Jacobs, Young and Bryan point out in their work Children's Literature, Briefly, "Most artistic devices are like cosmetics; they must not be too noticeable or they are not doing their job." (p.38)
The author also uses the pictures to show passage of time, as in the scene with the one hour photo shop as well as in the photos of the children who have previously found the camera -- they go from sepia tones to black and white to the washed out color of the 1950s to the vivid color of recent film.
I think that very young children may enjoy the pictures in this book and may understand some of it, but that it really is a better book for a little older children (1st grade & up), to be read with an adult. By sharing the book with an adult, children will see the more subtle details and can have some of the more abstract or historical ideas explained.
2007 Caldecott Medal Winner
Writing about Flotsam immediately after an Elephant & Piggie book is an interesting contrast -- one is moved forward by very sparse pictures and words that seem to shout out the story, while another has no words, but lush paintings that clearly convey the story.
First, I love the paintings. They are absolutely beautiful and full of rich details. One could stare at each frame for quite some time, taking in everything that the artist/author has included.
In the first 2 page spread, we "meet" a boy who is engrossed in his own world. The pictures show that he loves to collect & examine things on the beach, as evidenced by the buckets full of shells, seaweed, driftwood and starfish, the old box full of collected sea creatures and the magnifying glass & microscope. One has to be pretty dedicated to bring a microscope to the beach! We know all of this about him without any words of description.
He finds the camera & you know it is old for several reasons -- adults recognize it as an old style and know that it is old from its use of film. Kids can see that it is old from the mollusks/barnacles that have grown on it -- obviously been in the sea for sometime.
I love the series of frames at the photo shop -- the contrast of the teenage clerk that could clearly care less about his film with the 6 frames in which the boy is bored, anxiously awaiting his film to be developed. Did the author/artist purposefully use 6 frames to mark the 60 minutes (broken down into 10 minute increments) that the boy had to wait to get back his film?
After he gets the film developed, the book delves into a mysterious fantasy world. The "photos" of the underwater creatures who have very different lives that what we believe -- Octopi lounging in comfortable living rooms, entire cities made of shells with tiny green "Martian"-like creature inhabitants. And, who is the viewer to suppose took those photos? Is this camera magic, taking photos underwater of its own accord? And, most exciting, the photos of the children who have discovered this camera, from around the world, from all times in the past 100 years.
The boy has an association with those children -- each of them have had the same magical, mysterious experience with the camera. There are no adults involved, this is purely a kid thing -- perhaps only kids believe? Does it only work for kids? And, finally, the circle is closed by him tossing the camera back into the ocean, to be found by a girl on a tropical island.
Without the exquisite details on the paintings, this book could not work. It is through those details that we understand the story and the tone that is being conveyed. For instance, the pictures of the beach are painted in muted colors -- light blues and beiges. We are to understand that this is a calm place. The pictures of the underwater world, in contrast, are vividly colored, showing excitement and mystery. We know that the discovery of this underwater world is very important. However, the paintings are by no means garish. As Tunnell, Jacobs, Young and Bryan point out in their work Children's Literature, Briefly, "Most artistic devices are like cosmetics; they must not be too noticeable or they are not doing their job." (p.38)
The author also uses the pictures to show passage of time, as in the scene with the one hour photo shop as well as in the photos of the children who have previously found the camera -- they go from sepia tones to black and white to the washed out color of the 1950s to the vivid color of recent film.
I think that very young children may enjoy the pictures in this book and may understand some of it, but that it really is a better book for a little older children (1st grade & up), to be read with an adult. By sharing the book with an adult, children will see the more subtle details and can have some of the more abstract or historical ideas explained.
There is a Bird on Your Head!
There is a Bird on Your Head! by Mo Willems
2008 Theodore Suess Geisel Award Winner
There is a Bird on Your Head is another great work by Mo Willems. TIABOYH is part of the Elephant & Piggie series, which features very simple drawings of friends Elephant & Piggie. Each book shows the characters in a short, simple situation, drawn in minimal colors (there are only 10 shades in this particular book) with a white background, giving all of the attention to the characters and words. The style is cartoon- like, with all of the text appearing as conversational bubbles over the character's heads.
The simplicity is interesting in two ways. One might think that small children need context to comprehend the story, but children really love these books and seem to understand the very simple situations very well, probably because only one problem is dealt with at a time. It is also interesting that all of the words are portrayed through the character's speech; there is no narrator. The reader must make connections, fill in the "missing" parts and act as their own narrator.
It is perhaps because of the technique that allows the reader to act as the narrator that this book (as I believe of all Mo Willems' books) appeals to adults and children. For instance, when Elephant says "Two birds are making a nest on my head?", this will be read by a child as a simple question that moves story along. Adults may read this line with intonation that shows the absurdity of having a bird make a nest on one's head, making it humorous at another level.
The drawing and use of various fonts and exclamation points is another way that expression is given to the words without use of complicated drawings or scenarios. This technique almost gives the books a "physical" humor that kids love. For instance, on page 46, when Elephant shouts "SOMEWHERE ELSE!", it not only reads as him shouting (yelling seems to be a big hit with kids), but his shouting is so loud, that it literally knocks Piggie over. And, who doesn't love some Chevy Chase - style physical humor?
This and all of the Elephant & Piggie books are very good for read alouds for 3 & up, as well as for beginning readers.
2008 Theodore Suess Geisel Award Winner
There is a Bird on Your Head is another great work by Mo Willems. TIABOYH is part of the Elephant & Piggie series, which features very simple drawings of friends Elephant & Piggie. Each book shows the characters in a short, simple situation, drawn in minimal colors (there are only 10 shades in this particular book) with a white background, giving all of the attention to the characters and words. The style is cartoon- like, with all of the text appearing as conversational bubbles over the character's heads.
The simplicity is interesting in two ways. One might think that small children need context to comprehend the story, but children really love these books and seem to understand the very simple situations very well, probably because only one problem is dealt with at a time. It is also interesting that all of the words are portrayed through the character's speech; there is no narrator. The reader must make connections, fill in the "missing" parts and act as their own narrator.
It is perhaps because of the technique that allows the reader to act as the narrator that this book (as I believe of all Mo Willems' books) appeals to adults and children. For instance, when Elephant says "Two birds are making a nest on my head?", this will be read by a child as a simple question that moves story along. Adults may read this line with intonation that shows the absurdity of having a bird make a nest on one's head, making it humorous at another level.
The drawing and use of various fonts and exclamation points is another way that expression is given to the words without use of complicated drawings or scenarios. This technique almost gives the books a "physical" humor that kids love. For instance, on page 46, when Elephant shouts "SOMEWHERE ELSE!", it not only reads as him shouting (yelling seems to be a big hit with kids), but his shouting is so loud, that it literally knocks Piggie over. And, who doesn't love some Chevy Chase - style physical humor?
This and all of the Elephant & Piggie books are very good for read alouds for 3 & up, as well as for beginning readers.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity
Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity by Mo Willems
2008 Caldecott Honor Book
All of the Knuffle Bunny books show a mix of black
and white pictures and colored drawings, which present a mix of fantasy &
reality. The backgrounds are always photos, with the people and the bunnies
always portrayed in drawings. This shows
that the place is real but the characters are fictional. The stories are set in the city
(specifically, Brooklyn), which I find to be nice, as many children’s books are
set in the suburbs or a small town. However,
the photos show familiar sights that children from many backgrounds will
recognize – a barber shop, school room, and playground. Another fun feature is the family photos
portrayed on across the title page – Mom & Dad’s wedding day, the birth of
Trixie & so on. It provides readers
with a sense of the story of the family, a connection to the previous book (if
readers have read it) and a connection to the type of photos that children may
see in their own homes.
I love that Mo Willems books appeal to both kids
& adults. His books always have both
subtle humor that appeals to parents & broad humor that appeals to
children. The scene in which Trixie realizes that the bunny in her possession is
NOT her Knuffle Bunny is classic – The father’s desperate plea, “Can we deal
with this in the morning?” along with the expressions on dad’s face and the
mom’s raised eyebrow form an unspoken adult conversation in the facial
expressions that most adults will recognize. As mentioned in Children's Literature, Briefly, an artist can use illustrations to provide a subtext that the goes beyond the words of the text (Tunnell, Jacobs, Young, & Bryan, p.32).
There is much in the story that children will
recognize -- the family “in jokes” like the bedtime ritual of “Mommy &
Daddy robots from Planet Snurp!” as well
the pride in their favorite toy or stuffie (and the importance of always having
that “best friend” with you at all times).
There is nice character progression of Trixie and
Sonja from having their bunnies as their main friend to forming friendships
with other children, showing the maturation of the characters.
This book is especially well suited for read-alouds with parents, though 1st grade and up will probably be able to read it on their own.
This book is especially well suited for read-alouds with parents, though 1st grade and up will probably be able to read it on their own.
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