Review: Anna Hibiscus’ Song

Anna Hibiscus’ Song by Atinuke, illustrated by Lauren Tobia.
Kane Miller, EDC, Tulsa, OK, 2011.
Picture book, 36 pages.
Lexile:  500L  .
AR Level:  2.1 (worth 0.5 points)  .
NOTE: This picture book follows the same characters as the chapter books.

Anna Hibsicus is so happy she could burst!  So what can she do to let some of her happiness out?  Well it turns out there are all kinds of things she could do.

Anna Hibiscus’ Song by Atinuke, illustrated by Lauren Tobia. This book was clearly once published by Kane Miller in the USA, so its sudden disappearance is frustrating.

Finally, I got my hands on one of the Anna Hibiscus picture books!  These are out of print in America, and I cannot figure out why.  They were once available through Kane Miller, which in the US is distributed through Usborne.  I tried to order them the same way I ordered the chapter books, but none of the distributors that I contacted were able to get them.  They were clearly once published through Kane Miller in the USA, since the used copy I purchased in the end has that publication information.

Review: Introducing Teddy

Introducing Teddy: a gentle story about gender and friendship by Jessica Walton, illustrated by Dougal MacPherson.
Bloomsbury, New York, 2016.
Picture book, 32 pages.
Not leveled.
NOTE: This is a work of fiction although I’m not reviewing it on Fiction Friday.

The story of a young child’s imaginary friend who transitions.

I appreciated what this book is trying to do, but we still didn’t like it much.  Picture books are hard to write, and Walton has good moments, but at points her text is too wordy.  Not that the text-to-picture ratio is off, but the dialogue in particular betrays an awkwardness and lack of flow.  Minor character Ava is building a robot that reoccurs and complicates the plot for no reason.

Great illustrations could have compensated and elevated this book into a recommended read.  However, the illustration fell flat.  Tilly (the teddy bear who is deadnamed in the title), is the main character here.  Her emotions are crucial to the story, but barring that we should at least feel some empathy for her.

However, Tilly’s expressions are difficult to read.  I had to go over the story several times before finding any cues about her emotions.  Kids aren’t likely to pick up on these nuances.  In our home, the kids didn’t care about this book, and it didn’t meet our goal.

Review: Art from Her Heart

Art from Her Heart: Folk Artist Clementine Hunter by Kathy Whitehead, illustrated by Shane W. Evans.
Putnam, Penguin Young Readers, New York, 2008.
Picture book biography, 32 pages.
Lexile:  AD870L  ( What does AD mean in Lexile? )
AR Level:  5.3 (worth 0.5 points)  .

The life story of noted American folk artist Clementine Hunter, 1886/7-1988.

This book is part of our picture book artist biography series of reviews.  Descended from slaves, Clementine Hunter was a folk artist who was a manual laborer on a Louisiana plantation known for attracting writers and artists.  From the 1940s when she attracted the attention of patrons at the plantation until the late 1980s, she gained in popularity until she was able, at the end of her life, to live independently from the sale of her artworks.

Review: Giving Thanks 1621

Giving Thanks: The 1621 Harvest Feast by Kate Waters, photographs by Russ Kendall, in cooperation with the Plimoth Plantation.
Scholastic, New York, 2001.
Picture book, 40 pages.
Lexile:  620L  .
AR Level:  3.9 (worth 0.5)  .
NOTE:  There is another book by the same title but subtitled “A Native American Good Morning Message.”

A 1621 harvest feast as seen through the eyes of two boys, reenacted at Plimoth Plantation.

I feel it’s important to note that this book is on the former Oyate’s List of Thanksgiving Books to Avoid.  That’s part of why I checked it out from the library instead of buying.  However, I couldn’t find any in-depth reviews, so I decided to look through it myself to see how suitable, if at all, this would be for teaching about the holiday.

Because this is one of the Oyate Books to Avoid, the format of this review will look rather different than most.  I decided to use the 11 Myths about Thanksgiving template to consider this book.  My overall thoughts will follow.  

Review: Trailblazing Pilot

Bessie Coleman: Trailblazing Pilot (Rookie Biographies) by Carol Alexander.
Children’s Press, Scholastic, New York, 2016.
Picture book biography/early chapter book, 32 pages.
Lexile:  600L  .
AR Level:  3.4 (worth 0.5 points)  .
NOTE: Despite the reading level, these are typically used by first and second graders, or read aloud to younger students.

The life of Bessie Coleman, the first female African-American pilot.

Rookie Biographies Bessie Coleman: Trailblazing Pilot by Carol Alexander.

Rookie Biographies is a series of books that use photographs and simple text to inform students about the lives of various historical and modern-day figures.  This series tends to be perfect for second or third graders to read independently, although I’ve also seen them used with higher or lower elementary school students.

Review: Worm Loves Worm

Worm Loves Worm by J. J. Austrian, illustrated by Mike Curato.
Balzer + Bray imprint, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 2016.
Picture book, 28 pages.
Lexile:  not yet leveled
AR Level:  2.0 (worth 0.5 points) .

Worm loves Worm.  So Worm proposes.  They want to be married.  But then Cricket and Beetle and the rest all have their own ideas about what a wedding should look like.  Will Worm and Worm ever be able to just be married?

This book got a lot of attention while marriage equality was still in the news, but the buzz has died down.  Although immigration has replaced marriage equality as the hot topic of the moment, Worm Loves Worm is still a valuable addition to your library.

Review: The Shadow in the Moon

The Shadow in the Moon: A Tale of the Mid-Autumn Festival by Christina Matula, illustrated by Pearl Law.
Charlesbridge, Watertown, Massachsetts, 2018.
Picture book fiction, 32 pages.
Lexile:  640L  .
AR Level:  not yet leveled
NOTE: I received a free copy of this book from the author as a part of the 2019 Multicultural Children’s Book Day, in exchange for an honest review.

The story of a young girl in the modern day celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival, including her grandmother’s telling of the traditional story of Chang’e and Hou Yi.

Our family loves learning about different holidays.  We are Christian and American so you can guess that we celebrate Christmas and Fourth of July.  We’ve been lucky enough to access community gatherings or have friends invite us to many other celebrations, including the Lunar New Year.  But none of us had ever heard of the Mid-Autumn festival before.

Looking for other books on the topic, I could only find a half-dozen books about this specific festival, some of which didn’t have reviews.  There were two by big-name authors – both Grace Lin and Amy Tan have written picture books on the topic.  All of which is a rather lengthy notice that this is a welcome addition to our holiday bookshelf, and sorely needed.

Review: Lion Dancer

Lion Dancer: Ernie Wan’s Chinese New Year by Kate Waters and Madeline Slovenz-Low, photographs by Martha Cooper.
Scholastic, New York, 1990.
Nonfiction picture book, 32 pages.
Lexile:  540L  .
AR Level:  2.9 (worth 0.5 points)  .

The is the story of six-year-old Ernie Wan’s first Lion Dance, which he’s been preparing for since he was three.  For the Chinese New Year, he will perform on the streets of New York City.

Ernie is one-fifth of a loving family.  His father is, according to the dust jacket text, “a kung fu master” so studying kung fu is very important to his family.  (I put that portion in quotes not because I disbelieve his qualifications but because I wasn’t sure if that’s how he would describe himself.  Often the jacket text isn’t written by the author so it’s difficult to tell just how accurate this might be.)

Review: My Brother Martin

My Brother Martin: A Sister Remembers Growing Up with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Christine King Farris, illustrated by Chris Soentpiet.
Simon and Schuster, New York, 2003.
Picture book nonfiction, 40 pages.
Lexile:  970L  .
AR Level:  5.0 (worth 0.5 points)  .

Personal remembrances of Martin Luther King Jr.’s childhood from his older sister Christine.

I debated a lot before buying this book.  Our local libraries didn’t have it and the cover, especially in a small thumbnail version, is just so unattractive.  However, I was hoping for something different from the standard stories, which is exactly what this book delivers.  Luckily the interior art is excellent!

The book does skew a bit toward older readers with denser text and more difficult words like chifforobe, Cyclorama, Auburn, cruelty, bigotry, nourishing.  The main focus here is on MLK’s childhood, specifically on two fronts – both the ways in which he was an ordinary, sometimes mischievous little boy, and the events that shaped his personality.

Martin Luther King’s congregation includes his son MLK, Jr. on pages 28 and 29 of My Brother Martin.

Review: Black Cowboy, Wild Horses

Black Cowboy, Wild Horses: A True Story by Julius Lester, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney.
Dial Books for Young Readers, Penguin, New York, 1998.
Picture book nonfiction, 40 pages.
Lexile:  710L  .
AR Level:  4.5 (worth 0.5 points)  .

One expedition of a cowboy named Bob Lemmons, famed for his ability to bring in herds of wild mustangs solo.

Black Cowboy, Wild Horses: A True Story by Julius Lester, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney.

As a young reader I acquired a childish interest in the West.  Actually, I’m pretty sure it was from Laura Ignalls Wilder (and yes, I now know how problematic that was, and our kids read Louise Erdrich instead).  In adult life, I’ve been learning just how very much was wrong, or omitted, from my early education.  Even so, it was surprising to learn that the common all-white image of cowboys were actually roughly a third Hispanic and that one in four cowboys was African-American.

Luckily there are several diverse books about this, so I can share a much more accurate and sensitive culturally appropriate portrayal of the West with our kids.  Since we love Jerry Pinkney, of course this was our first title.