by Henry "Pajamas" on February 26, 2010
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Before we are out of February’s special spotlight on the contributions and endeavors of African American individuals and culture, we should make sure to note this year’s Caldecott award winner, Jerry Pinkney. His detailed watercolors have won a handful of Coretta Scott King Illustrator awards – literally, he has won five times. His other hand is full of Caldecott Honors, five of those as well, including his most recent Medal for The Lion and The Mouse. Mr. Pinkney has a large body of work illustrating Aesop’s Fables and many other works with African American subjects. He’s a really thoughtful artist; just listen a little of what he has to say in some of these interviews. I was especially rapt with his comments on the Magic in the Line segment, the power of lines to create moods, set rhythms, and define spaces.
Here are some more paintings from Mr. Pinkney to persuse. If you love ‘em, reserve them and borrow them from the library!
Little Red Riding Hood
God Bless the Child
Noah’s Ark
Black Cowboy, Wild Horses
by Henry "Pajamas" on January 29, 2010
Reserve Looking Like Me
What do you see when you look in the mirror? Yourself, sure. But who is that? There’s a lot of answers, which is just what a young, handsome looking dude finds out in this book. As he goes through his day, he meets people in his life and realizes as he meets them that he is something different to each. The meetings take place through lyrical phrases and metaphors written over evocative photographs, each one involving someone holding out a fist that’s met with a BAM! to punctuate the encounter. It’s fun to think of all the relationships you have to other people, and how they see you. The boy reflects “I’m walking tall and/ I’m walking proud./ Looked in the mirror-/ I look like a crowd.”
The author is Walter Dean Myers, who recently won the first ever Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton lifetime acheivement awards this January. The illustrator is his son, Christopher. They make a terrific team.
Reserve Looking Like Me
by Henry "Pajamas" on December 26, 2009
So, I’m kind of nervous for polar bears. They’ve been listed as a vulnerable species since 2006 and reports last year of unusual, exhausting long journeys ending in tragedy make me feel like I’m watching something slow and inexorable unfold like getting near the end of my pile of clean socks. Granted my dwindling footwear isn’t anywhere near as grave as the polar bear’s disappearing habitat (even if there is some similarily in a shrinking pile of white), if you are at all sensitive to the need to this situation, you’ll realize just how dire some people think it is.
What to do? At very least, we can recognize how captivating these creatures are. Imagine what it would be like to be a polar bear! Tasting snow, diving, swimming, eating fish, staying warm in snowstorms, eviscerating seals….though the polar bears that come most quickly to mind are the ones who helped fuel my youth with coke and Klondike bars, there are plenty in picture books. Some have been with us long enough to become familiar, such as Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?. While it’s great to have the limelight of the cover, this book isn’t really about polar bears per se, they are just one animal in a cast. To get a better picture of the polar bear, which I can mean literally when talking about picture books, check out these two new, awesome selections:
My Little Polar Bear simply and gently tells the story of what young polar bears need to know about finding their way in snowstorms and cold ocean waters. It’s really a story about learning confidence and growing into what (eventually) comes naturally.
Baby Polar is much the same story but it shows a love and fun of exploring the neat parts of being a young polar bear. Sliding down hills, eating snow, staying warm with Mama Polar, making tracks in the snow. It’s fun, and the illustrations make me want to be a polar bear too with nuzzle noses and green claws.
by Henry "Pajamas" on October 5, 2009
***JUST SO YOU KNOW*** All of the posts in our book discussion series contain questions and reviews that could possibly reveal parts of the plot you may rather discover by reading the book. Proceed with caution!***
The Book Discussion Series enhances the reading experience by providing a list of interpretive questions compiled by librarians of the Cleveland Heights Univeristy Heights Public Library
Angela Johnson is not to be underestimated. She has a very caring way of depicting characters in very difficult, sometimes dangerous situations. I don’t mean ‘dark alley’ kind of dangerous, but more like the kind of danger that, without some interpretation or way to deal with it leaves you with a very colored, possibly very jaded view of the world. For instance, in this book, fourteen-year-old Marley’s seemingly perfect life in the small town of Heaven is disrupted when she discovers that her father and mother are not her real parents. That’s some pretty serious danger. Ms. Johnson most recently was given a Newbery honor in 2008 for another fabulous book, Feathers. You will find reading anything by her rewarding if not personally moving.
Discussion Questions:
- Why do you think the book is titled “Heaven”? Why do you think the author named the town where the story takes place, Heaven? What is heavenly about the town? What isn’t?
- What is the significance of the postcard on the park bench? What does it tell you about Marley’s family that they would move just because of a postcard and because of the name of a town?
- Marley and her family have found Heaven and stayed there, but her Uncle Jack cannot seem to stay put. Why do you think he travels around so much? Is he running away from something? Looking for something?
- Let’s talk about secrets. Who in this book has secrets? (Momma, Pops, Uncle Jack, Shoogy, Bobby)? What are their secrets? Does anyone not have secrets? Why does Marley not want to ask people about their secrets? Do you like to know people’s secrets?
- What makes a family? Do you agree with what Bobby says about people making too much of parentage? (p. 42-43) Do Marley’s “parents” love her any less than they would have if she had been their own daughter?
- Who’s family is happier, Shoogy’s or Marley’s?
- Why is Shoogy so unhappy in her family? Why do you think she cuts herself? Why does she wear dark glasses and hats to make herself “ugly”? How is she different from her family? Does her family seem a little too perfect?
- Why does Marley like Shoogy’s mom a little bit more when she finds out about the desperate cigarettes?
- How does the truth about Marley’s parents change how she feels about her family? Does it make much of a difference? Does she love them any less? Would you be angry at your parents if that happened to you?
- Why do Pops and Jack name their dogs “Boy” over and over?
- What are the significance of Marley’s dreams? Jack’s dreams? Do you think that dreams are important in life? How are dreams important in a book?
- What did you think of the format of this story? How would you describe it?
- Why are letters important in this book? Is Jack the only one writing letters? What kind of person is he that he writes so many letters? Who does he write letters to?
- How many different kinds of fathers are there in the book? What makes a good father? Is Bobby a good father? Is Pops a good father? Is Jack a good father?
- What do you think of Marley’s parents’ decision not to tell her the truth about her birth parents? Why do you think they made the decision?
- How do Marley’s parents react to her anger? How do Marley’s friends react to her anger?
- Who would you rather have as a friend: Marley, Shoogy or Bobby? Why?
- How are friendship and family portrayed in the book? Which is stronger? Which does Marley value more?
- How would you describe Marley’s relationship with her brother? How would you describe Shoogy’s relationship with her brothers? Why and how are these relationships different?