The Glorious Flight, Across the English Channel with Louis Bleriot by Alice and Marin Provensen
1984 Caldecott Medal
I like learning about history through picture books and this one tells the story of a real early aviator, a Frenchman by the name of Louis Bleriot, the first person to fly across the English Channel.
Told in sweet quant pictures (reminds me somehow of one of my favorite author/illustrators Barbara Cooney) and a simple text. We learn about his family . . . a wife, four children, a cat and a cockatoo; and we hear about his invented airplanes, starting at Bleriot I and ending with Bleriot XI, the one that flew across the English Channel.
I can't really imagine building airplanes, and then flying them, as a back yard enterprise! Sort of like if NASA was being run in a neighbors basement down the street. It's fun to think about a time when that's how things happened and a person who was inspired to figure something like that out with his own ingenuity by trail and error.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Friday, March 2, 2012
Lon Po Po
Lon Po Po, A red riding hood story from China by Ed Young
Caldecott Medal 1990
No question, the illustrations are beautiful. I love Ed Young and he has been a prolific illustrator of children's books, and often the author as well (as is the case here.) He has received a Caldecott medal or honor three times! The pictures are a mix of water color and pastels. They have a curious way of being soft and details at the same time. Each page the illustration is divided into panels, I enjoy this reference to Asian traditions. It's not my favorite story, but the pictures are stunning.
This book is not for the faint of heart! He depicts the scariness of the wolf very dramatically and the children in the book look really frightened. Plus, the children manage to use their wits and survive, so it all ends well for the children. . . but not so much for the wolf, and for animal lovers these drawings are also pretty scary.
I appreciate the author dedicating the book this way: "To all the wolves of the world for lending their good name as a tangible symbol for our darkness."
Caldecott Medal 1990
No question, the illustrations are beautiful. I love Ed Young and he has been a prolific illustrator of children's books, and often the author as well (as is the case here.) He has received a Caldecott medal or honor three times! The pictures are a mix of water color and pastels. They have a curious way of being soft and details at the same time. Each page the illustration is divided into panels, I enjoy this reference to Asian traditions. It's not my favorite story, but the pictures are stunning.
This book is not for the faint of heart! He depicts the scariness of the wolf very dramatically and the children in the book look really frightened. Plus, the children manage to use their wits and survive, so it all ends well for the children. . . but not so much for the wolf, and for animal lovers these drawings are also pretty scary.
I appreciate the author dedicating the book this way: "To all the wolves of the world for lending their good name as a tangible symbol for our darkness."
Song of the Swallows
Song of the Swallows by Leo Politi
1950 Caldecott Award
This is a sweet story about a boy Juan and an old man named Julian, the bell ringer and gardener of the Mission of San Juan Capistrano, in California, and the swallows that arrive there every spring. There are illustrations on every page, and then every once in a while big full color illustrations that cover two pages. Two songs are included as well.
I enjoyed it very much. I appreciated the author/artist being well ahead of his time in honoring various ethnic communities in his home state of California in his books for children. I'd like to learn more about him. What I've learned so far is that he was born in the US, to an Italian family. They returned to Italy when he was 7 and he spent the rest of his childhood in Europe. He came to Los Angeles when he was about 22 and lived and painted there for the rest of his life. He was a devote Catholic and the affinity he had for the Mexican American mission communities I think was based in that common heritage. Song of the Swallows is a tender story of friendship and seasons and connection with nature and although it is not a religious story it does have a touch of the sacred in it.
1950 Caldecott Award
This is a sweet story about a boy Juan and an old man named Julian, the bell ringer and gardener of the Mission of San Juan Capistrano, in California, and the swallows that arrive there every spring. There are illustrations on every page, and then every once in a while big full color illustrations that cover two pages. Two songs are included as well.
I enjoyed it very much. I appreciated the author/artist being well ahead of his time in honoring various ethnic communities in his home state of California in his books for children. I'd like to learn more about him. What I've learned so far is that he was born in the US, to an Italian family. They returned to Italy when he was 7 and he spent the rest of his childhood in Europe. He came to Los Angeles when he was about 22 and lived and painted there for the rest of his life. He was a devote Catholic and the affinity he had for the Mexican American mission communities I think was based in that common heritage. Song of the Swallows is a tender story of friendship and seasons and connection with nature and although it is not a religious story it does have a touch of the sacred in it.
Saving Shiloh
Saving Shiloh by Phyliss Reynolds Naylor
This is the third book in the series starting with Newbery award winning Shiloh. I am really glad we read all three, in a row, and I recommend doing exactly that. The entire story (from book one) takes place in a span of less than one year in the life of eleven year old Marty. It really is one story and the end of the third book really leaves you in a satisfying place.
The thing that I admire most about this author is the way she explores the complexity of issues which we often try and make black and white. In this story the broken life of Judd Travers begins to mend. And it ends on a very hopeful note.
This is the third book in the series starting with Newbery award winning Shiloh. I am really glad we read all three, in a row, and I recommend doing exactly that. The entire story (from book one) takes place in a span of less than one year in the life of eleven year old Marty. It really is one story and the end of the third book really leaves you in a satisfying place.
The thing that I admire most about this author is the way she explores the complexity of issues which we often try and make black and white. In this story the broken life of Judd Travers begins to mend. And it ends on a very hopeful note.
How Full Is Your Bucket? for kids
How Full Is Your Bucket? for kids by Tom Rath and Mary Reckmeyer
no awards that I'm aware of
This is a great book about feelings and supporting one another. I read it to my kids and I could tell that they "got it" from their behavior that day.
Basic idea is that we all have a bucket (which the kid in this book starts literally seeing floating above his head and other people's heads). When something happens that makes us feel good, our bucket fills up a little, when something happens that makes us feel bad, the water drips out.
Felix, the star of this book, figures out how this works. "The strange thing was that for every drop he helped put in someone else's bucket, he felt another drop in his own bucket."
no awards that I'm aware of
This is a great book about feelings and supporting one another. I read it to my kids and I could tell that they "got it" from their behavior that day.
Basic idea is that we all have a bucket (which the kid in this book starts literally seeing floating above his head and other people's heads). When something happens that makes us feel good, our bucket fills up a little, when something happens that makes us feel bad, the water drips out.
Felix, the star of this book, figures out how this works. "The strange thing was that for every drop he helped put in someone else's bucket, he felt another drop in his own bucket."
Useful imagery for talking about feelings. I recommend it.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Bright Path
Bright Path: Young Jim Thorpe by Don Brown
no awards that I know about
Jim Thorpe competed in the 5th Olympic Games in 1912. His score in the decathlon remained unbeaten for 20 years. His score in the pentathlon was never equaled.
But his "training" for these events consisted of running around on the Oklahoma plains, helping out on the farm, and running away from the Indian boarding schools that he was sent to! He hated these schools that were military strict and designed to "break" Indian children from their culture. Once Jim ran off moments after being dropped off at school by his father and arrived home BEFORE his dad reached home on horse back!
Pick up football games were the bright spot in the drudgery of boarding school, but his beginnings as a world class athelete happened entirely by accident when in 1907 he happened by the track team at Carlisle and noticed that none of the high jumpers could clear the bar. He asked if he could try--- and cleared it on the first try, dressed in overalls! He was asked to join the team and suddenly this young man who was unhappily struggling through school was a star athlete.
There are a few pages of authors notes and bibliographic information at the end of book. Here I learned that because of Jim's playing baseball in a minor minor league one summer when school was out at Carlisle, the Olympic Committee stripped him of his medals and his name was stricken from Olympic records. Since receiving the gold medal was "the proudest moment of my life" according to Jim himself, I can't imagine the emotional impact that must have had on this young man.
He played professional sports for a time after leaving school --- baseball, football and even basketball. When he retired from professional sports he worked at various odd jobs and died of a heart attack at age 64, in 1953. It wasn't until 1973 that the Olympic Committee restored Jim's amateur status and presented replica's of Jim's gold medals to his children.
The heartbreaking info in the end notes are NOT presented in the picture book, which is a story that celebrates this remarkable athlete.
no awards that I know about
Jim Thorpe competed in the 5th Olympic Games in 1912. His score in the decathlon remained unbeaten for 20 years. His score in the pentathlon was never equaled.
But his "training" for these events consisted of running around on the Oklahoma plains, helping out on the farm, and running away from the Indian boarding schools that he was sent to! He hated these schools that were military strict and designed to "break" Indian children from their culture. Once Jim ran off moments after being dropped off at school by his father and arrived home BEFORE his dad reached home on horse back!
Pick up football games were the bright spot in the drudgery of boarding school, but his beginnings as a world class athelete happened entirely by accident when in 1907 he happened by the track team at Carlisle and noticed that none of the high jumpers could clear the bar. He asked if he could try--- and cleared it on the first try, dressed in overalls! He was asked to join the team and suddenly this young man who was unhappily struggling through school was a star athlete.
There are a few pages of authors notes and bibliographic information at the end of book. Here I learned that because of Jim's playing baseball in a minor minor league one summer when school was out at Carlisle, the Olympic Committee stripped him of his medals and his name was stricken from Olympic records. Since receiving the gold medal was "the proudest moment of my life" according to Jim himself, I can't imagine the emotional impact that must have had on this young man.
He played professional sports for a time after leaving school --- baseball, football and even basketball. When he retired from professional sports he worked at various odd jobs and died of a heart attack at age 64, in 1953. It wasn't until 1973 that the Olympic Committee restored Jim's amateur status and presented replica's of Jim's gold medals to his children.
The heartbreaking info in the end notes are NOT presented in the picture book, which is a story that celebrates this remarkable athlete.
Black and White
Black and White by David Macaulay
1991 Caldecott Medal
This is one of those rare books that actually redefines "book" for me. I would put The Invention of Hugo Cabret in this category, and this one.
It starts with a WARNING "This book appears to contain a number or stories that do not neccessarily occur at the same time. Then again, it may contain only one story. In any event, careful inspection of both words and pictures is recommended."
Then, each two page spread is devided into four sections. And in each section a story is told in pictures and a few words. The top left hand corner . . . the story is about a train and a boy riding on the train. The lower left hand corner is a story about a family--- two parents, two kids and a dog. The top right hand corner there are a bunch of people waiting at a train station. The lower right hand corner the story is about an escaped convict and some cows.
These four stories move forward each in their own frame with no particular need for one another. BUT. . . . like the warning says. . . invite CAREFUL inspection.
I read this to Makayla and we over spent our reading time by a good 30 minutes with out even being the slightest bit aware of it. The experience of this book is wonderfully absorbing and fun. We finished it and immediately tried to sell it to everyone else in the house!
1991 Caldecott Medal
This is one of those rare books that actually redefines "book" for me. I would put The Invention of Hugo Cabret in this category, and this one.
It starts with a WARNING "This book appears to contain a number or stories that do not neccessarily occur at the same time. Then again, it may contain only one story. In any event, careful inspection of both words and pictures is recommended."
Then, each two page spread is devided into four sections. And in each section a story is told in pictures and a few words. The top left hand corner . . . the story is about a train and a boy riding on the train. The lower left hand corner is a story about a family--- two parents, two kids and a dog. The top right hand corner there are a bunch of people waiting at a train station. The lower right hand corner the story is about an escaped convict and some cows.
These four stories move forward each in their own frame with no particular need for one another. BUT. . . . like the warning says. . . invite CAREFUL inspection.
I read this to Makayla and we over spent our reading time by a good 30 minutes with out even being the slightest bit aware of it. The experience of this book is wonderfully absorbing and fun. We finished it and immediately tried to sell it to everyone else in the house!
Duffy and the Devil
Duffy and the Devil retold by Harve Zemach, pictures by Margot Zemach
1974 Caldecott Medal
This is a folk tale in the rumpelstiltskin vein. Duffy makes a deal with the devil--- he'll do her spinning and knitting for her for three years, but at the end of three years, he gets to take her away. . . unless she can guess his name. Since Duffy doesn't in fact know HOW to knit or spin, and has hired herself out to do exactly those things, she ends up entering into the bargain!
I liked the story, it has colorful language, including some fun words that I'd never heard before, but just SOUND like what you supoze they meant. It all ends well, and with a hilarious twist that both my children (ages 10 and 7) had a huge laughing fit over!
1974 Caldecott Medal
This is a folk tale in the rumpelstiltskin vein. Duffy makes a deal with the devil--- he'll do her spinning and knitting for her for three years, but at the end of three years, he gets to take her away. . . unless she can guess his name. Since Duffy doesn't in fact know HOW to knit or spin, and has hired herself out to do exactly those things, she ends up entering into the bargain!
I liked the story, it has colorful language, including some fun words that I'd never heard before, but just SOUND like what you supoze they meant. It all ends well, and with a hilarious twist that both my children (ages 10 and 7) had a huge laughing fit over!
Friday, February 10, 2012
Shiloh Season
Shiloh Season by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
sequel to the 1992 Newbery Medal Winner Shiloh
Also won several Children's Choice awards in various states.
After reading Shiloh out loud to my son Jabu age 10, I looked up the other two books in the series and checked them out of the library.
In some ways I liked Shiloh Season even more than Shiloh. It wasn't quite as action packed, but had some great conversations between Marty (the 11 year old boy telling the story) and "Doc" the doctor that patched up his dog. The author is especially good at delving into moral ethical issues that don't fall neatly into black and white, right and wrong.
In this book Judd Travers is drinking hard and even scarier than he was in the first book.
Marty keeps reaching to build a bridge between his family and Judd despite everything that has happened. And in fact the whole mountain community comes forward to help Judd out in a time of need.
Doc has told Marty that "people have to learn kindness, just like you have to learn to tie your shoes." And Marty has quizzed a vet in town about whether dogs as mean as Judds could ever be nice dogs again; the vet thinks, yes, that it wouldn't be easy, but step by step they could learn to trust someone. Marty tries to put this into practice with Judd himself, hoping by showing him kindness he might learn a little bit of it.
Nice book. I'd recommend it. And we're keeping on with the last book in the series starting bed time tomorrow!
sequel to the 1992 Newbery Medal Winner Shiloh
Also won several Children's Choice awards in various states.
After reading Shiloh out loud to my son Jabu age 10, I looked up the other two books in the series and checked them out of the library.
In some ways I liked Shiloh Season even more than Shiloh. It wasn't quite as action packed, but had some great conversations between Marty (the 11 year old boy telling the story) and "Doc" the doctor that patched up his dog. The author is especially good at delving into moral ethical issues that don't fall neatly into black and white, right and wrong.
In this book Judd Travers is drinking hard and even scarier than he was in the first book.
Marty keeps reaching to build a bridge between his family and Judd despite everything that has happened. And in fact the whole mountain community comes forward to help Judd out in a time of need.
Doc has told Marty that "people have to learn kindness, just like you have to learn to tie your shoes." And Marty has quizzed a vet in town about whether dogs as mean as Judds could ever be nice dogs again; the vet thinks, yes, that it wouldn't be easy, but step by step they could learn to trust someone. Marty tries to put this into practice with Judd himself, hoping by showing him kindness he might learn a little bit of it.
Nice book. I'd recommend it. And we're keeping on with the last book in the series starting bed time tomorrow!
Sunday, February 5, 2012
The Man Who Walked Between the Towers
The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein
2004 Caldecott Medal
I love this book. First of all, I'm partial to street performers and circus arts and this story features Phillipe Petit, the french tight rope walker, and his famed high wire walk between the towers of the World Trade Center in 1974.
I think I had heard of this man on a tight rope between sky scrapers in NYC, but to hear the details of it was SO much better than this single image of a man walking a wire.
First of all the towers were 1/4 mile high. The tallest buildings in New York City.
Second of all he didn't just walk between the towers. He was out there for almost an hour, walking dancing, running, and even kneeling in a salute. He even lay down to rest.
Finally, it was completely against the law and when he came off the wire he held out his hands for handcuffs, but this was only after the police had been shouting at him for an hour!
The towers were not quite complete when he did this. He dressed up as a construction worker and some how got a 440 pound reel of cable to the top floor, carrying it up the last 180 stairs to the roof. Other friends were on the other tower. They tied a thin strong line to an arrow and shot it across to Philippe, 140 feet away. They worked all night to secure the cable.
The pictures include two fold out pages giving the feel of how NYC must look from 1/4 mile up--- for Phillipe, "happy and absolutely free"; and what Philippe must have looked like from the street--- "It was astonishing. It was terrifying and beautiful. A quarter mile up in the sky someone was dancing."
I love this part:
"Officers rushed to the roofs of the towers. 'You're under arrest!' they shouted through bullhorns. Phillipe turned and walked the other way. Who would come and get him?"
You'll be glad to know that when the case came to court he was sentenced to perform in the park for the children of the city!
OK, so this would be a GREAT story under any circumstances. But this book was written in 2004 after 9/11 and the towers he walked between are already gone. The poignancy of this gives the story a deeper context that makes it a very memorable story, and kicks it into my "favorites" category!
2004 Caldecott Medal
I love this book. First of all, I'm partial to street performers and circus arts and this story features Phillipe Petit, the french tight rope walker, and his famed high wire walk between the towers of the World Trade Center in 1974.
I think I had heard of this man on a tight rope between sky scrapers in NYC, but to hear the details of it was SO much better than this single image of a man walking a wire.
First of all the towers were 1/4 mile high. The tallest buildings in New York City.
Second of all he didn't just walk between the towers. He was out there for almost an hour, walking dancing, running, and even kneeling in a salute. He even lay down to rest.
Finally, it was completely against the law and when he came off the wire he held out his hands for handcuffs, but this was only after the police had been shouting at him for an hour!
The towers were not quite complete when he did this. He dressed up as a construction worker and some how got a 440 pound reel of cable to the top floor, carrying it up the last 180 stairs to the roof. Other friends were on the other tower. They tied a thin strong line to an arrow and shot it across to Philippe, 140 feet away. They worked all night to secure the cable.
The pictures include two fold out pages giving the feel of how NYC must look from 1/4 mile up--- for Phillipe, "happy and absolutely free"; and what Philippe must have looked like from the street--- "It was astonishing. It was terrifying and beautiful. A quarter mile up in the sky someone was dancing."
I love this part:
"Officers rushed to the roofs of the towers. 'You're under arrest!' they shouted through bullhorns. Phillipe turned and walked the other way. Who would come and get him?"
You'll be glad to know that when the case came to court he was sentenced to perform in the park for the children of the city!
OK, so this would be a GREAT story under any circumstances. But this book was written in 2004 after 9/11 and the towers he walked between are already gone. The poignancy of this gives the story a deeper context that makes it a very memorable story, and kicks it into my "favorites" category!
My People
My People by Langston Hughes, illustrated by Charles R. Smith Jr.
2010 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award
This book features a poem by Langston Hughes illustrated with photographs of black people. The poem is short and simple--- only 33 words! But written in the 1920's when the words must have meant a lot, celebrating the beauty of the black people inside and out. The black and white photography that illustrates the poem are lovely, moving, silly, beautiful, young and old and you wanna like all the people in the book.
2010 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award
This book features a poem by Langston Hughes illustrated with photographs of black people. The poem is short and simple--- only 33 words! But written in the 1920's when the words must have meant a lot, celebrating the beauty of the black people inside and out. The black and white photography that illustrates the poem are lovely, moving, silly, beautiful, young and old and you wanna like all the people in the book.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Grandaddy's Place
Grandaddy's Place by Helen V. Griffith, pictures by James Stevenson
no awards that I am aware of
I liked this book a lot. It is an illustrated chapter book. I read all four chapters in one sitting to my daughter this evening. It actually feels more like a picture book, but it does have four "epsisodes". It's a story about a girl visiting her grandaddy for the first time, along with her mom. The conversations between Janetta and her grandaddy are pretty perfect somehow. The author has those voices "down" and it completely charmed both Makayla (age 7) and I.
I actually tell the story this author tells in her book Georgia Music. And so it was fun to find this "prequel" to that. I love the connectedness depicted so well between grandaddy and Janetta. And we laughed pretty much on every page. But the kind of laughing that comes from just enjoying the people rather than from hearing a joke.
Here's an example:
After dark Momma and Grandaddy and Janetta sat out on the steps. The mean-looking cat wasn't anywhere around. Janetta hoped the wasps were asleep. She was beginning to feel sleepy herself. Then a terrible sound from the woods brought her wide awake.
"Was that the mule?" she asked.
"That was just an old hoot owl singing his song," said Grandaddy.
"It didn't sound like singing to me," said Janetta.
" If you were an owl, you'd be tapping your feet," said Grandaddy.
*****
Anyhow, I'd recommend this one! Enjoy!
no awards that I am aware of
I liked this book a lot. It is an illustrated chapter book. I read all four chapters in one sitting to my daughter this evening. It actually feels more like a picture book, but it does have four "epsisodes". It's a story about a girl visiting her grandaddy for the first time, along with her mom. The conversations between Janetta and her grandaddy are pretty perfect somehow. The author has those voices "down" and it completely charmed both Makayla (age 7) and I.
I actually tell the story this author tells in her book Georgia Music. And so it was fun to find this "prequel" to that. I love the connectedness depicted so well between grandaddy and Janetta. And we laughed pretty much on every page. But the kind of laughing that comes from just enjoying the people rather than from hearing a joke.
Here's an example:
After dark Momma and Grandaddy and Janetta sat out on the steps. The mean-looking cat wasn't anywhere around. Janetta hoped the wasps were asleep. She was beginning to feel sleepy herself. Then a terrible sound from the woods brought her wide awake.
"Was that the mule?" she asked.
"That was just an old hoot owl singing his song," said Grandaddy.
"It didn't sound like singing to me," said Janetta.
" If you were an owl, you'd be tapping your feet," said Grandaddy.
*****
Anyhow, I'd recommend this one! Enjoy!
Hondo and Fabian
Hondo and Fabian written and illustrated by Peter McCarty
2003 Caldecott Honor
Well, I have to admit, I was kind of disappointed in this one. It's a simple story about a dog (Hondo) and a cat (Fabian) and their day. The illustrations are soft colored pencil drawings, and they are pleasing, but not earth shatteringly wonderful or anything. I did appreciate the gentle humor in both the text and the illustrations; both my daughter and I liked the page with the cat having fun unrolling the toilet paper. Maybe if I had a younger person to read this to, it would have gotten better reviews. My youngest is 7 and she didn't object to the story, but didn't love it either. I think a pre-schooler might like it better, especially a pre-schooler with a dog and a cat in the house!
2003 Caldecott Honor
Well, I have to admit, I was kind of disappointed in this one. It's a simple story about a dog (Hondo) and a cat (Fabian) and their day. The illustrations are soft colored pencil drawings, and they are pleasing, but not earth shatteringly wonderful or anything. I did appreciate the gentle humor in both the text and the illustrations; both my daughter and I liked the page with the cat having fun unrolling the toilet paper. Maybe if I had a younger person to read this to, it would have gotten better reviews. My youngest is 7 and she didn't object to the story, but didn't love it either. I think a pre-schooler might like it better, especially a pre-schooler with a dog and a cat in the house!
Friday, February 3, 2012
Princess Grace
Princess Grace by Mary Hoffman, illustrations by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu
no awards that I'm aware of
I love this story because I live with a "princess" and I'm always trying to find ways of balancing her interest in princesses and princess stuff with other messages that add up to an empowered self concept!
This book has a great message about princesses actually being more than the disney version.
Grace is featured in other books by Mary Hoffman and is a spunky African American girl. Hmmmm, actually Mary Hoffman is from England, so "African British"????? I don't know the term!
Anyhow, I recommend the Grace books in general. And if you're in need of a "princess antidote" at your house, this is a good pick!
no awards that I'm aware of
I love this story because I live with a "princess" and I'm always trying to find ways of balancing her interest in princesses and princess stuff with other messages that add up to an empowered self concept!
This book has a great message about princesses actually being more than the disney version.
Grace is featured in other books by Mary Hoffman and is a spunky African American girl. Hmmmm, actually Mary Hoffman is from England, so "African British"????? I don't know the term!
Anyhow, I recommend the Grace books in general. And if you're in need of a "princess antidote" at your house, this is a good pick!
Golem
Golem story and pictures by David Wisneiwski
1997 Caldecott Medal
This is a haunting story about the persecution of the Jews in Prague in the laste 1500's. A time when violence against the Jews was common place. Jews were forced to live in walled in ghettos and forbidden the protection of the law.
This story tells about a rabbi who created a giant out of clay, the Golem, and brought him to life to protect the Jewish people.
The book also has a detailed "afterward" (directed at adults not children) telling more about the history of the time.
The detailed paper cut illustrations are absolutely beautiful.
It's not a light read and my 10 year old said he didn't like it. The story on the other hand is RICH in discussion topics. . . everything from religious persecution, to the power of humans to create things that are beyond our power which then "come alive" and cause destruction, to the history of the Jewish people, to the closing line "Perhaps, when the desperate need for justice is united with holy purpose, Golem will come to life once more."
1997 Caldecott Medal
This is a haunting story about the persecution of the Jews in Prague in the laste 1500's. A time when violence against the Jews was common place. Jews were forced to live in walled in ghettos and forbidden the protection of the law.
This story tells about a rabbi who created a giant out of clay, the Golem, and brought him to life to protect the Jewish people.
The book also has a detailed "afterward" (directed at adults not children) telling more about the history of the time.
The detailed paper cut illustrations are absolutely beautiful.
It's not a light read and my 10 year old said he didn't like it. The story on the other hand is RICH in discussion topics. . . everything from religious persecution, to the power of humans to create things that are beyond our power which then "come alive" and cause destruction, to the history of the Jewish people, to the closing line "Perhaps, when the desperate need for justice is united with holy purpose, Golem will come to life once more."
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Our Gracie Aunt
Our Gracie Aunt by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Jon J Muth
no awards that I know about, but the Author has received LOTS of awards for other books, including the Caldecott, Coretta Scott King and Newbery.
I'm writing about this book because my daughter Makayla LOVES this book and has had me read it over and over again. It's a picture book about two kids who's mom has left them alone for days and a social worker comes and takes them with their Aunt. It's told from the point of view of the younger child, the little brother.
My kids are adopted and I think it gave Makayla a place to wonder about her own story. I appreciate picture book stories about "real life" situations that kids find themselves in, and books that help my kids sort out various pieces of their own life story. Even though my children were both adopted as infants it still provided a good open welcome for lots of questions and discussion!
no awards that I know about, but the Author has received LOTS of awards for other books, including the Caldecott, Coretta Scott King and Newbery.
I'm writing about this book because my daughter Makayla LOVES this book and has had me read it over and over again. It's a picture book about two kids who's mom has left them alone for days and a social worker comes and takes them with their Aunt. It's told from the point of view of the younger child, the little brother.
My kids are adopted and I think it gave Makayla a place to wonder about her own story. I appreciate picture book stories about "real life" situations that kids find themselves in, and books that help my kids sort out various pieces of their own life story. Even though my children were both adopted as infants it still provided a good open welcome for lots of questions and discussion!
The Wednesday Surprise
The Wednesday Surprise by Eve Bunting
no awards that I'm aware of
I loved this book. Eve Bunting is a pretty amazing author. She has written GOBS of books (I'm quite sure it's more than 100) and I have enjoyed several of her picture books. She takes on challenging topics like the Vietnam Memorial (The Wall) or anti Arab prejudice (One Green Apple) or surviving the German concentration camps (One Candle) or a riot in the inner city (Smoky Night).
She has other books that are easy readers or chapter books or retelling of Folk Tales, but it's these sensitive picture book stories about children in relation to real live situations that I'm most familiar with and stay with me. She's won a bunch of honors and awards, but one of them that she herself holds dearest was a "Heal the World" award given to her by an elementary school.
The Wednesday Surprise falls in the category of a well told picture book story about a sensitive subject. I don't want to spoil the surprise! But it's a wonderful story and I recommend it!
no awards that I'm aware of
I loved this book. Eve Bunting is a pretty amazing author. She has written GOBS of books (I'm quite sure it's more than 100) and I have enjoyed several of her picture books. She takes on challenging topics like the Vietnam Memorial (The Wall) or anti Arab prejudice (One Green Apple) or surviving the German concentration camps (One Candle) or a riot in the inner city (Smoky Night).
She has other books that are easy readers or chapter books or retelling of Folk Tales, but it's these sensitive picture book stories about children in relation to real live situations that I'm most familiar with and stay with me. She's won a bunch of honors and awards, but one of them that she herself holds dearest was a "Heal the World" award given to her by an elementary school.
The Wednesday Surprise falls in the category of a well told picture book story about a sensitive subject. I don't want to spoil the surprise! But it's a wonderful story and I recommend it!
Walking Home Rosie Lee
Walking Home to Rosie Lee by A. LaFaye, illustrated by Keith D. Shepherd
no awards that I know about, but it was published in 2011, so there might be some coming still! I think it's worthy myself!
This story takes place right after the civil war, when slaves were set free. "War's over. Government say we free. Folks be on the move. Getting the feel for freedom. Not me. I'm looking for my mama, Rosie Lee."
So many families were separated during slavery and the war. Rosie Lee had been sold away from her children, and now her boy Gabe set off to find her. It is a well told story about a slice of history that there aren't as many stories about.
I like this picture book A LOT and would heartily recommend it.
no awards that I know about, but it was published in 2011, so there might be some coming still! I think it's worthy myself!
This story takes place right after the civil war, when slaves were set free. "War's over. Government say we free. Folks be on the move. Getting the feel for freedom. Not me. I'm looking for my mama, Rosie Lee."
So many families were separated during slavery and the war. Rosie Lee had been sold away from her children, and now her boy Gabe set off to find her. It is a well told story about a slice of history that there aren't as many stories about.
I like this picture book A LOT and would heartily recommend it.
Even an Ostrich Needs a Nest
Even an Ostrich Needs a Nest, Where Birds Begin by Irene Kelly
Winner-NSTA (National Science Teachers Association) Outstanding Science Trade Book, 2010
(a new award category for me!)
I loved this picture book! It talked about all kinds of birds nests and is wonderfully illustrated. I love fun facts and this book is full of them. . .
• The Blue-footed Booby places her warm, webbed feet over her eggs to keep them toasty.
• Baby Bald Eagles grow up in simple nests made of layered sticks. These nests are GIGANTIC, up to ten feet wide and weighing two tons. . . That's as heavy as a car!
• Palm Swifts build vertical nests. The female uses saliva to glue feathers to the underside of a palm leaf. She even flues her eggs to the nest!
Really just about every page has something that makes me happy to know!
Winner-NSTA (National Science Teachers Association) Outstanding Science Trade Book, 2010
(a new award category for me!)
I loved this picture book! It talked about all kinds of birds nests and is wonderfully illustrated. I love fun facts and this book is full of them. . .
• The Blue-footed Booby places her warm, webbed feet over her eggs to keep them toasty.
• Baby Bald Eagles grow up in simple nests made of layered sticks. These nests are GIGANTIC, up to ten feet wide and weighing two tons. . . That's as heavy as a car!
• Palm Swifts build vertical nests. The female uses saliva to glue feathers to the underside of a palm leaf. She even flues her eggs to the nest!
Really just about every page has something that makes me happy to know!
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline
Chirstopher Award 2007 for children ages 8-10
I loved Because of Winn Dixie and so I've been interested to read any other books by Kate DiCamillo and nearly everything she's written has won an award or honor of some kind. But so far, nothing has topped Winn Dixie for me.
There were cool things about this story. But it didn't pull me in and swallow me up as I like a book to do. It's a story about a toy rabbit made of china and it's adventures. And through it's adventures, from the bottom of the sea, to the depths of a garbage dump, on the road with a hobo, and so on, it's journey of love and loss and gathering the courage to love again.
It's got a little essence of Velveteen Rabbit. Maybe because his adventures with each person is somewhat distinct it is more a series of stories than one big story, and the big frame that kept it a novel rather than being a series of stories, just didn't quite work for me.
I'm interested to know what others think since I think it's a well loved book! It just didn't really grab ME.
illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline
Chirstopher Award 2007 for children ages 8-10
I loved Because of Winn Dixie and so I've been interested to read any other books by Kate DiCamillo and nearly everything she's written has won an award or honor of some kind. But so far, nothing has topped Winn Dixie for me.
There were cool things about this story. But it didn't pull me in and swallow me up as I like a book to do. It's a story about a toy rabbit made of china and it's adventures. And through it's adventures, from the bottom of the sea, to the depths of a garbage dump, on the road with a hobo, and so on, it's journey of love and loss and gathering the courage to love again.
It's got a little essence of Velveteen Rabbit. Maybe because his adventures with each person is somewhat distinct it is more a series of stories than one big story, and the big frame that kept it a novel rather than being a series of stories, just didn't quite work for me.
I'm interested to know what others think since I think it's a well loved book! It just didn't really grab ME.
Monday, January 23, 2012
The Patchwork Path; a Quilt Map to Freedom
The Patchwork Path; A Quilt Map to Freedom by Bettye Stroud, illustraed by Erin Susanne Bennett
no awards that I know about
I liked this book. I thought, surely it is on one of these award lists. But I didn't find it anywhere, but I recommend it!
It tells the story of a girl named Hannah, learning to quilt "The year I turned ten, Mama taught me to make a special quilt. . . . But Mama wanted me to learn more than just how to sew. While we stiched, she told me a secret. 'Each pattern holds a special meaning,' Mama whispered. 'Hannah, this quilt will show you everything you need to know to run to freedom.'"
And Hannah eventually uses this quilt as a map to freedom. . . . leaving in a drenching rain, hiding under the floor of a church, staying with Quakers, and finally making it to Canada.
Makes me want to sew a quilt.
I liked the art work in this book too. The quilt square patterns are shown and the illustration style is bold and colorful like a quilt.
Love, Louise
no awards that I know about
I liked this book. I thought, surely it is on one of these award lists. But I didn't find it anywhere, but I recommend it!
It tells the story of a girl named Hannah, learning to quilt "The year I turned ten, Mama taught me to make a special quilt. . . . But Mama wanted me to learn more than just how to sew. While we stiched, she told me a secret. 'Each pattern holds a special meaning,' Mama whispered. 'Hannah, this quilt will show you everything you need to know to run to freedom.'"
And Hannah eventually uses this quilt as a map to freedom. . . . leaving in a drenching rain, hiding under the floor of a church, staying with Quakers, and finally making it to Canada.
Makes me want to sew a quilt.
I liked the art work in this book too. The quilt square patterns are shown and the illustration style is bold and colorful like a quilt.
Love, Louise
Marching With Aunt Susan
Marching With Aunt Susan; Susan B. Anthony and the Fight for Women's Suffrage
by Claire Rudolf Murphy, illustrated by Stacey Schuett
no awards yet, but I'm predicting there will be some! It was published in 2011, so we'll see what happens.
I really enjoyed this picture book. It is written from the point of view of a girl named Bessie who gets to meet "Aunt Susan" Susan B. Anthony, hear her speak and get involved in the Suffrage movement. Bessie was a real little girl who lived in Berkley California in 1896. In fact the story is based on fact very closely. But still a good STORY (in other words my 7 year enjoyed the book too!)
The author had the opportunity to read real letters exchanged between Bessie's Aunt Mary and Susan B. Anthony and she says "I wanted to find a real girl to write about and eventually I found the Keith-McHenry-Pond papers at The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkley. Inside boxes and cartons were Bessie's journals, newspaper articles about her family's hiking, and the suffrage collection of her aunt, Mary McHenry Keith. My hand shook as I read letters from my hero Susan B. Anthony to Aunt Mary."
There is a nice collection of supporting material and links to further resources at the end of the book including a photo of the real Bessie.
Love, Louise
by Claire Rudolf Murphy, illustrated by Stacey Schuett
no awards yet, but I'm predicting there will be some! It was published in 2011, so we'll see what happens.
I really enjoyed this picture book. It is written from the point of view of a girl named Bessie who gets to meet "Aunt Susan" Susan B. Anthony, hear her speak and get involved in the Suffrage movement. Bessie was a real little girl who lived in Berkley California in 1896. In fact the story is based on fact very closely. But still a good STORY (in other words my 7 year enjoyed the book too!)
The author had the opportunity to read real letters exchanged between Bessie's Aunt Mary and Susan B. Anthony and she says "I wanted to find a real girl to write about and eventually I found the Keith-McHenry-Pond papers at The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkley. Inside boxes and cartons were Bessie's journals, newspaper articles about her family's hiking, and the suffrage collection of her aunt, Mary McHenry Keith. My hand shook as I read letters from my hero Susan B. Anthony to Aunt Mary."
There is a nice collection of supporting material and links to further resources at the end of the book including a photo of the real Bessie.
Love, Louise
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Jimi Sounds Like a Rainbow; A Story of Young Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Sounds like a Rainbow; A Story of Young Jimi Hendrix by Gary Golio, illustrated by Javaka Steptoe
2011 Coretta Scott King Illustator Award
I enjoyed learning more about this legendary electric guitar player and innovator, still considered by many to be the greatest guitarist in musical history. This picture book tells about his life, growing up knocking about the city of Seattle in difficult circumstances, but drawn to art and music and wondering if he could play the sounds and colors of his world on a musical instrument. Trying first on a one string ukele in the house, and later on a $5 guitar.
Self taught, couldn't read music and rose to incredible fame in about four years time.
The pictures are cool colorful drawings/collages.
The story does not tell about his death at age 27, but there is a thoughtful afterward that does tell about the end of his young life as a result of a bad mix of prescription drugs and alcohol and gives resources for getting help and learning more about drugs and addiction. The author is a clinical social worker who has worked with lots of people on issues of substance abuse and addition.
2011 Coretta Scott King Illustator Award
I enjoyed learning more about this legendary electric guitar player and innovator, still considered by many to be the greatest guitarist in musical history. This picture book tells about his life, growing up knocking about the city of Seattle in difficult circumstances, but drawn to art and music and wondering if he could play the sounds and colors of his world on a musical instrument. Trying first on a one string ukele in the house, and later on a $5 guitar.
Self taught, couldn't read music and rose to incredible fame in about four years time.
The pictures are cool colorful drawings/collages.
The story does not tell about his death at age 27, but there is a thoughtful afterward that does tell about the end of his young life as a result of a bad mix of prescription drugs and alcohol and gives resources for getting help and learning more about drugs and addiction. The author is a clinical social worker who has worked with lots of people on issues of substance abuse and addition.
The House of Sixty Fathers
The House of Sixty Fathers by Meindert DeJong
1957 Newbery Honor Book
I loved this book! It is based on a real life experience of the author from his time as a soldier during World War II. This is the first book I've read by this author, but I'm excited to see that he has FIVE books on the Newbery list, so I'm excited to find the rest!
The story follows a small boy, Tien Pao, lviing in China during the Japanese occupation during Word War II. Tien Pao's village was burned and his family managed to escape and traveled up river to the city of Hengyang. Then, left alone on their sanpan while his parents went to work, the boat comes loose of it's mouring and Tien Pas is swept down the river and into Japanese territory.
Together with his pig (yes, his PIG!) he travels on foot through the mountainous country of occupied territory, survives on what he can find, narrowly avoids capture and gun fire, and is actually starving by the time he finds real help. Which he does find. And the story ends, against all odds, very happily.
This is an action packed story set in a brutal war time and there is much tension, some violence, and a lot of courage and struggle in Tien Paos' journey. I found myself telling it (in my own words not reading it) to my children in installments as I read the book, and they were mesmerized. It's a compelling story; the kind you don't want to put down. It's my next read aloud pick for my 10 year old son, who likes a story with plenty of action and excitement.
NOTE 1/16/2012: Jabu (the 10 year old son) and I are half way through and he is loving it!
Together with his pig (yes, his PIG!) he travels on foot through the mountainous country of occupied territory, survives on what he can find, narrowly avoids capture and gun fire, and is actually starving by the time he finds real help. Which he does find. And the story ends, against all odds, very happily.
This is an action packed story set in a brutal war time and there is much tension, some violence, and a lot of courage and struggle in Tien Paos' journey. I found myself telling it (in my own words not reading it) to my children in installments as I read the book, and they were mesmerized. It's a compelling story; the kind you don't want to put down. It's my next read aloud pick for my 10 year old son, who likes a story with plenty of action and excitement.
NOTE 1/16/2012: Jabu (the 10 year old son) and I are half way through and he is loving it!
Monday, January 2, 2012
Jane Addams Children's Book Award BOOK LIST
Jane Addams Children’s Book Award
Winners and Honor Books
1953-2011
2011
Books for Younger Children - Winner
Emma’s Poem: The Voice of the Statue of Liberty
Written by Linda Glaser with paintings by Claire A. Nivola. Houghton Mifflin Books for
Children/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2010.
Books for Older Children - Winner
A Long Walk to Water: Based on a True Story
Written by Linda Sue Park. Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2010.
Honor Books for Younger Children
Ruth and the Green Book
Written by Calvin Alexander Ramsey with Gwen Straus. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. Carolrhoda
Books/Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., 2010.
Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down
Written by Andrea Davis Pinkney. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. Little, Brown Books for Young
Readers/Hachette Book Group, 2010.
Honor Books for Older Children
The Ninth Ward
Written by Jewell Parker Rhodes. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers/ Hachette Book Group, 2010.
Birmingham Sunday
Written by Larry Dane Brimner. Calkins Creek/Boyds Mills Press, Inc., 2010.
2010
Books for Younger Children - Winner
Nasreen’s Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan
Written and illustrated by Jeanette Winter, Beach Lane Books/ Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing
Division, 2009.
Books for Older Children - Winner
Marching for Freedom: Walk Together, Children, and Don’t You Grow Weary
Written by Elizabeth Partridge. Viking/Penguin Young Readers Group, 2009.
Honors Books for Younger Children
Sojourner Truth’s Step-Stomp Stride
Written by Andrea Davis Pinkney. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. Disney-Jump at the Sun Books, 2009.
You and Me and Home Sweet Home
Written by George Ella Lyon. Illustrated by Stephanie Anderson. Richard Jackson Book/Atheneum Books
for Young Readers, 2009.
Honors Books for Older Children
Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream
Written by Tanya Lee Stone. Candlewick Press, 2009.
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice.
Written by Phillip Hoose. Melanie Kroupa Books/Farrar Straus & Giroux/Macmillan Publishing for
Children, 2009.
2009
Books for Younger Children – Winner
Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai
Written and illustrated by Claire A. Nivola. Frances Foster Books/Farrar Straus Giroux/ Macmillan
Children's Publishing Group, 2008.
Books for Older Children – Winner
The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom
Written by Margarita Engle. Henry Holt Books for Young Readers/Macmillan Children's Publishing
Group, 2009.
Honor Books for Younger Children
The Storyteller's Candle/La velita de los cuentos
Story/Cuento Lucía González. Illustrations/Illustraciones Lulu Delacre. Children's Book Press, 2008.
Silent Music: A Story of Baghdad
Written and illustrated by James Rumford. Neal Porter Book/Roaring Brook Press/Macmillan Children's
Publishing Group, 2008.
Honor Books for Older Children
The Shepherd's Granddaughter
Written by Anne Laurel Carter. Groundwood Books/House of Anansi Press, 2008.
Ain't Nothing But a Man: My Quest to Find the Real John Henry
Written by Scott Reynolds Nelson with Marc Aronson. National Geographic, 2008
2008
Books for Younger Children - Winner
The Escape of Oney Judge: Martha Washington’s Slave Finds Freedom
Written and illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully. Farrar Straus Giroux, 2007.
Books for Older Children - Winner
We Are One: The Story of Bayard Rustin
Written by Larry Dane Brimner. Calkins Creek/Boyds Mills Press, 2007.
Honor Book for Younger Children
One Thousand Tracings: Healing the Wounds of World War II
Written and illustrated by Lita Judge. Hyperion Books for Children, 2007.
Honor Books for Older Children
Rickshaw Girl
Written by Mitali Perkins. Illustrated by Jamie Hogan. Charlesbridge, 2007.
Elijah of Buxton
Written by Christopher Paul Curtis. Scholastic Press/ Scholastic, Inc., 2007.
Birmingham, 1963
Written by Carole Boston Weatherford. Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press, 2007.
2007
Books for Younger Children - Winner
A Place Where Sunflowers Grow
Written by Amy Lee-Tai. Illustrated by Felicia Hoshino. Children’s Book Press, 2006.
Books for Older Children - Winner
Weedflower
Written by Cynthia Kadohata. Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster Children’s
Publishing, 2006.
Honor Books for Younger Children
Night Boat to Freedom
Written by Margot Theis Raven with pictures by E. B. Lewis. Melanie Kroupa Books/Farrar Straus &
Giroux, 2006.
Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship & Freedom
Written by Tim Tingle. Illustrated by Jeanne Rorex Bridges. Cinco Puntos Press, 2006.
Honor Books for Older Children
Freedom Walkers
Written by Russell Freedman. Holiday House, 2006.
Counting on Grace
Written by Elizabeth Winthrop. Wendy Lamb Books/Random House Children’s Books/Random House,
2006.
2006
Books for Younger Children - Winner
Delivering Justice: W. W. Law and the Fight for Civil Rights
Written by Jim Haskins. Illustrated by Benny Andrews. Candlewick Press 2005.
Books for Older Children - Winner
Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX, the Law that Changed the Future of Girls in America
Written by Karen Blumenthal. Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster, 2005.
Honors Books for Younger Children
Poems to Dream Together/Poemas para soñar juntos
Written by Francisco X. Alarcón. Illustrated by Paula Barragán. Lee and Low Books, 2005.
Honors Books for Older Children
The Crazy Man
Written by Pamela Porter. Groundwood Books/House of Anansi Press, 2005.
Sweetgrass Basket
Written by Marlene Carvell. Dutton Children’s Books/Penguin Young Readers Group, 2005.
2005
Books for Younger Children - Winner
Sélavi, That is Life: A Haitian Story of Hope
Written and illustrated by Youme. Cinco Puntos Press, 2004.
Books for Older Children - Winner
With Courage and Cloth: Winning the Fight for a Woman's Right to Vote
Written by Ann Bausum. National Geographic, 2004.
Honor Book for Older Children
The Heaven Shop
Written by Deborah Ellis. Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2004.
Honors Books for Younger Children
Hot Day on Abbott Avenue
Written by Karen English, with collage art of Javaka Steptoe. Clarion Books, 2004.
Henry and the Kite Dragon
Written by Bruce Edward Hall, with paintings of William Low. Philomel Books/Penguin Young Readers
Group, 2004.
Sequoyah: The Cherokee Man Who Gave His People Writing
Written by James Rumford, translation into Cherokee by Anna Sixkiller Huckaby. Houghton Mifflin Books
for Children, 2004.
2004
Picture Books - Winner
Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez
Written by Kathleen Krull. Illustrated by Yuyi Morales. Harcourt Children's Books, 2003.
Books for Older Children – Winner
Out of Bounds: Seven Stories of Conflict and Hope
Written by Beverley Naidoo. HarperCollins Children's Books, 2003.
Picture Book Honors
Girl Wonder: A Baseball Story in Nine Innings
Written by Deborah Hopkinson. Illustrated by Terry Widener. Anne Schwartz Book/Atheneum Books for
Young Readers, 2003.
Luba: The Angel of Bergen-Belsen
Written by Michelle R. McCann. Illustrated by Ann Marshall. Tricycle Press, 2003.
Honor Books for Older Children
Getting Away with Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case
Written by Chris Crowe. Phyllis Fogelman Books/Penguin Books for Young Readers, 2003.
Shutting Out the Sky: Life in the Tenements of New York 1880-1924
Written by Deborah Hopkinson. Orchard Books/Scholastic, Inc., 2003.
Special Commendation
The Breadwinner Trilogy: The Breadwinner (2000), Parvana's Journey (2002), and Mud City (2003)
Written by Deborah Ellis. Groundwood Books/Douglas & McIntyre.
2003
Picture Books - Winner
Patrol: An American Soldier in Vietnam
Written by Walter Dean Myers. Illustrated by Ann Grifalconi. HarperCollins, 2002.
Books for Older Children – Winner
Parvana's Journey
Written by Deborah Ellis. Groundwood Books/ Douglas & McIntyre, 2002.
Honor Book for Older Children
The Same Stuff as Stars
Written by Katherine Paterson. Clarion, 2002.
When My Name Was Keoko
Written by Linda Sue Park. Clarion, 2002.
Picture Book Honors
¡Si, Se Puede! Yes We Can! Janitor Strike In L.A.
Written by Diana Cohn and illustrated by Francisco Delgado. Cinco Puntos Press, 2002.
The Village That Vanished
Written by Ann Grifalconi. Illustrated by Kadir Nelson. Dial, 2002.
2002
Picture Books - Winner
Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Written by Doreen Rappaport. Artwork by Bryan Collier. Jump at the Sun / Hyperion, 2001.
Books for Older Children - Winner
The Other Side of Truth
Written by Beverley Naidoo. HarperCollins, 2001.
Picture Book Honors
Amber Was Brave, Essie Was Smart
Written and illustrated by Vera B. Williams. Greenwillow / HarperCollins, 2001.
Honor Books for Older Children
A Group of One
Written by Rachna Gilmore. Henry Holt, 2001.
True Believer
Written by Virginia Euwer Wolff. Atheneum / Simon & Schuster, 2001
2001
Picture Books - Winner
The Composition
Written by Antonio Skármeta and illustrated by Alfonso Ruano. Groundwood, 2000.
Books for Older Children - Winner
Esperanza Rising
Written by Pam Muñoz Ryan. Scholastic Press, 2000
Picture Book Honors
The Yellow Star: The Legend of King Christian X of Denmark
Written by Carmen Agra Deedy and illustrated by Henri Sorensen. Peachtree Publishers, 2000.
Honor Books for Older Children
The Color of My Words
Written by Lynn Joseph. A Joanna Cotler Book / HarperCollins, 2000
Darkness over Denmark: The Danish Resistance and the Rescue of the Jews
Written by Ellen Levine. Holiday House, 2000.
Walking to the Bus-Rider Blues
Written by Harriette Gillem Robinet. A Jean Karl Book/Atheneum /Simon & Schuster, 2000.
2000
Picture Books - Winner
Molly Bannaky
Written by Alice McGill. Illustrated by Chris K. Soentpiet. Houghton Mifflin, 1999.
Books for Older Children - Winner
Through My Eyes
Written by Ruby Bridges. Scholastic Press/ Scholastic, Inc., 1999.
Picture Book Honors
A Band of Angels: A Story Inspired by the Jubilee Singers
by Deborah Hopkinson. Illustrated by Raúl Colón. Anne Schwartz / Atheneum, 1999.
When Sophie Gets Angry -- Really, Really Angry...
Written and illustrated by Molly Bang. The Blue Sky Press/Scholastic, Inc.,1999.
Honor Books for Older Children
The Birchbark House
Written and illustrated by Louise Erdrich. Hyperion, 1999.
Kids on Strike!
Written by Susan Campbell Bartoletti. Houghton Mifflin, 1999.
1999
Picture Books - Winner
Painted Words / Spoken Memories: Marianthe's Story
Written and illustrated by Aliki. Greenwillow, 1998.
Books for Older Children - Winner
Bat 6
Written by Virginia Euwer Wolff. Scholastic Press/Scholastic, Inc., 1998.
Picture Book Honors
Hey, Little Ant
Written by Phillip and Hannah Hoose. Illustrated by Debbie Tilley. Tricycle Press, 1998
i see the rhythm
Written by Toyomi Igus. Illustrated by Michele Wood. Children's Book Press, 1998.
This Land Is Your Land
Words and music by Woody Guthrie. Illustrated by Kathy Jakobsen. Little, Brown, 1998.
Honor Books for Older Children
The Heart of a Chief
Written by Joseph Bruchac. Dial, 1998.
No More Strangers Now
Written by Tim McKee. Photographs by Anne Blackshaw. A Melanie Kroupa Book/DK
Ink, 1998.
Restless Spirit: The Life and Work of Dorothea Lange
Written by Elizabeth Partridge. Viking, 1998.
1998
Picture Books - Winner
Seven Brave Women
Written by Betsy Hearne. Illustrated by Bethanne Andersen. Greenwillow, 1997.
Books for Older Children - Winner
Habibi
Written by Naomi Shihab Nye. Simon & Schuster, 1997.
Picture Book Honors
Celebrating Families
Written by Rosmarie Hausherr. Scholastic, 1997.
Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story
Written by Ken Mochizuki. Illustrated by Dom Lee. Lee & Low, 1997.
Honor Books for Older Children
The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child
Written by Francisco Jimenez. University of New Mexico Press, 1997.
Seedfolks
Written by Paul Fleischman. Illustrated by Judy Pedersen. HarperCollins, 1997.
1997
Picture Books - Winner
Wilma Unlimited
Written by Kathleen Krull. Illustrated by David Diaz. Harcourt Brace, 1996.
Books for Older Children - Winner
Growing Up In Coal County
Written by Susan Campbell Bartoletti. Houghton Mifflin, 1996.
Picture Book Honors
The Day Gogo Went to Vote
Written by Elinor Batezat Sisulu. Illustrated by Sharon Wilson. Little, Brown, 1996.
Honor Books for Older Children
Behind the Bedroom Wall
Written by Laura E. Williams. Milkweed, 1996.
Second Daughter: The Story of a Slave Girl
Written by Mildred Pitts Walter. Scholastic, 1996.
1996
Books for Older Children - Winner
The Well
Written by Mildred D. Taylor. Dial, 1995.
Picture Books - No award given.
Honor Books for Older Children
From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun
Written by Jacqueline Woodson. Blue Sky / Scholastic, 1995.
On the Wings of Peace: Writers and Illustrators Speak Out for Peace
in Memory of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Clarion, 1995.
The Watsons Go to Birmingham -- 1963
Written by Christopher Paul Curtis. Delacorte, 1995.
Special Commendation
The Middle Passage: White Ships, Black Cargo
Written and illustrated by Tom Feelings. Dial, 1995.
1995
Picture Books - Winner
Sitti's Secrets
Written by Naomi Shihab Nye. Illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. Four Winds Press, 1994.
Book for Older Children - Winner
Kids at Work: Lewis Hine and the Crusade Against Child Labor
Written by Russell Freedman. Clarion, 1994.
Picture Book Honors
Bein' with You This Way
Written by W. Nikola-Lisa. Illustrated by Michael Bryant. Lee & Low, 1994.
Honor Books for Older Children
Cezanne Pinto
Written by Mary Stolz. Alfred A. Knopf, 1994.
I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This
Written by Jacqueline Woodson. Delacorte, 1994.
1994
Picture Books - Winner
This Land Is My Land
Written and illustrated by George Littlechild. Children's Book Press, 1993.
Books for Older Children - Winner
Freedom's Children: Young Civil Rights Activists Tell Their Stories
Written by Ellen Levine. G.P. Putnam's, 1993.
Honor Book for Older Children
Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery
Written by Russell Freedman. Clarion, 1993.
Picture Book Honors
Soul Looks Back in Wonder
Poems selected and illustrated by Tom Feelings. Dial, 1993.
1993
Picture Books - Winner
Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky
Written and illustrated by Faith Ringgold. Crown, 1992.
Book for Older Children - Winner
A Taste of Salt: A Story of Modern Haiti
Written by Frances Temple. Orchard, 1992.
Picture Book Honors
Mrs. Katz and Tush
Written and illustrated by Patricia Polacco. Bantam, 1992.
Honor Book for Older Children
Letters from a Slave Girl: The Story of Harriet Jacobs
Written by Mary E. Lyons. Scribners, 1992.
1992
Winner
Journey of the Sparrows
Written by Fran Leeper Buss with the assistance of Daisy Cubias. Lodestar, 1991.
Honor Book
Now Is Your Time! The African-American Struggle for Freedom
Written by Walter Dean Myers. HarperCollins, 1991.
1991
Winner
The Big Book for Peace
Edited by Ann Durell and Marilyn Sachs. Dutton, 1990.
Honor Books
The Journey: Japanese-Americans, Racism and Renewal
Painting and text by Sheila Hamanaka. Richard Jackson / Orchard, 1990.
The Middle of Somewhere: A Story of South Africa
Written by Sheila Gordon. Orchard, 1990.
1990
Winner
A Long Hard Journey: The Story of the Pullman Porter
Written by Patricia and Fredrick McKissack. Walker, 1989.
Honor Books
Number the Stars
Written by Lois Lowry. Houghton Mifflin, 1989.
Shades of Gray
Written by Carolyn Reeder. Macmillan, 1989.
The Wednesday Surprise
Written by Eve Bunting. Illustrated by Donald Carrick. Clarion, 1989.
1989
Winners
Anthony Burns: The Defeat and Triumph of a Fugitive Slave
Written by Virginia Hamilton. Alfred A. Knopf, 1988.
Looking Out
Written by Victoria Boutis. Four Winds Press, 1988.
Honor Books
December Stillness
Written by Mary Downing Hahn. Clarion, 1988.
The Most Beautiful Place in the World
Written by Ann Cameron. Illustrated by Thomas B. Allen. Alfred A. Knopf, 1988.
Rescue: The Story of How Gentiles Saved Jews in the Holocaust
Written by Milton Meltzer. Harper & Row, 1988.
1988
Winner
Waiting for the Rain: A Novel of South Africa
Written by Sheila Gordon. Orchard Books/Franklin Watts, 1987.
Honor Books:
Nicolas, Where Have You Been?
Written and illustrated by Leo Lionni. Knopf, 1987.
Trouble at the Mines
Written by Doreen Rappaport. Illustrated by Joan Sandin. Crowell, 1987.
1987
Winner
Nobody Wants a Nuclear War
Story and pictures by Judith Vigna. Albert Whitman, 1986.
Honor Books
All in a Day
Written by Mitsumasa Anno. Philomel, 1986.
Children of the Maya: A Guatemalan Indian Odyssey
Written by Brent Ashabranner. Photographs by Paul Conklin. Dodd, Mead, 1986
1986
Winner
Ain't Gonna Study War No More: The Story of America's Peace Seekers
Written by Milton Meltzer. Harper & Row, 1985.
Honor Book
Journey to the Soviet Union
Written by Samantha Smith. Little, Brown, 1985.
1985
Winner
The Short Life of Sophie Scholl
Written by Hermann Vinke. Translated from the German by Hedvig Pachter. Harper & Row, 1984.
Honor Books
The Island on Bird Street
Written by Uri Orlev. Translated from the Hebrew by Hillel Halkin. Houghton, Mifflin, 1984.
Music, Music for Everyone
Written and illustrated by Vera B. Williams. Greenwillow, 1984.
1984
Rain of Fire
Written by Marion Dane Bauer. Clarion/Houghton Mifflin, 1983.
1983
Winner
Hiroshima No Pika
Words and pictures by Toshi Maruki. Translated from the Japanese. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1982.
Honor Books
The Bomb
Written by Sidney Lenz. Lodestar / Dutton, 1982.
If I Had a Paka: Poems in Eleven Languages
Written by Charlotte Pomerantz. Illustrated by Nancy Tafuri. Greenwillow, 1982.
West Coast Honor Book
People at the Edge of the World: The Ohlone of Central California
Written by Betty Morrow. Bacon, 1982.
Special Recognition
All the Colors of the Race
Written by Arnold Adoff. Illustrated by John Steptoe. Lothrop, Lee and Shepard, 1982.
Children as Teachers of Peace
Written by Our Children. Edited by Gerald G. Jamplosky. Celestial Press, 1982.
1982
Winner
A Spirit to Ride the Whirlwind
Written by Athena V. Lord. Macmillan, 1981.
Honor Books
Let the Circle Be Unbroken
Written by Mildred D. Taylor. Dial, 1981.
Lupita Mañana
Written by Patricia Beatty. Morrow, 1981.
1981
Winner
First Woman in Congress: Jeannette Rankin
Written by Florence Meiman White. Julian Messner, 1980.
Honor Books
Chase Me, Catch Nobody!
Written by Erik Haugaard. Houghton Mifflin, 1980.
Doing Time: A Look at Crime and Prisons
Written by Phyllis Clark and Robert Lehrman. Hastings House, 1980.
We Are Mesquakie, We Are One
Written by Hadley Irwin. Feminist Press, 1980.
1980
Winner
The Road from Home: The Story of an Armenian Girl
Written by David Kherdian. Greenwillow, 1979.
West Coast Honor Book
Woman from Hiroshima
Written by Toshio Mori. Isthmus, 1979.
Special Recognition
Natural History
Written by M. B. Goffstein. Farrar Straus Giroux, 1979.
1979
Winner
Many Smokes, Many Moons: A Chronology of American Indian History through Indian Art
Written by Jamake Highwater. Lippincott, 1978.
Honor Books
Escape to Freedom
Written by Ossie Davis. Viking, 1978.
The Great Gilly Hopkins
Written by Katherine Paterson. Crowell, 1978.
1978
Winner
Child of the Owl
Written by Laurence Yep. Harper & Row, 1977.
Honor Books
Alan and Naomi
Written by Myron Levoy. Harper & Row, 1977.
Mischling, Second Degree
Written by Ilse Koehn. Greenwillow, 1977.
Special Recognition
Amifika
Written by Lucille Clifton. Illustrated by Thomas DiGrazia Dutton, 1977.
The Wheel of King Asoka
Written and illustrated by Ashok Davar. Follett, 1977.
1977
Winner
Never to Forget: The Jews of the Holocaust
Written by Milton Meltzer. Harper & Row, 1976.
Honor Book
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Written by Mildred D. Taylor. Dial, 1976.
1976
Winner
Paul Robeson
Written by Eloise Greenfield. Illustrated by George Ford. T.Y. Crowell, 1975.
Honor Books
Dragonwings
Written by Laurence Yep. Harper& Row, 1975.
Song of the Trees
Written by Mildred D. Taylor. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. Dial, 1975.
Z for Zachariah
by Robert C. O'Brien. Atheneum, 1975.
1975
Winner
The Princess and the Admiral
Written by Charlotte Pomerantz. Addison-Wesley, 1974.
Honor Books
The Eye of Conscience
Written by Milton Meltzer and Bernard Cole. Follett, 1974.
My Brother Sam Is Dead
Written by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier. Four Winds, 1974.
Viva la Raza!
Written by Elizabeth Sutherland Martinez and Enriqueta Longeaux y Vasquez.
Doubleday, 1974.
1974
Winner
Nilda
Written by Nicholasa Mohr. Harper & Row, 1973.
Honor Books
A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich
Written by Alice Childress. Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1973.
Men Against War
Written by Barbara Habenstreit. Doubleday, 1973.
A Pocket Full of Seeds
Written by Marilyn Sachs. Illustrated by Ben Stahl. Doubleday, 1973.
1973
Winner
The Riddle of Racism
Written by S. Carl Hirsch. Viking, 1972.
Honor Book
The Upstairs Room
Written by Johanna Reiss. Crowell, 1972.
1972
The Tamarack Tree
Written by Betty Underwood. Illustrated by Bea Holmes. Houghton Mifflin, 1971.
1971
Jane Addams: Pioneer of Social Justice
Written by Cornelia Meigs. Little Brown, 1970.
1970
The Cay
Written by Theodore Taylor. Doubleday, 1969.
1969
The Endless Steppe: Growing Up in Siberia
Written by Esther Hautzig. T.Y. Crowell, 1968.
1968
The Little Fishes
Written by Erick Haugaard. Illustrated by Milton Johnson. Houghton Mifflin, 1967.
1967
Queenie Peavy
Written by Robert Burch. Illustrated by Jerry Lazare. Viking, 1966.
1966
Berries Goodman
Written by Emily Cheney Neville. Harper & Row, 1965.
1965
Meeting with a Stranger
Written by Duane Bradley. Illustrated by E. Harper Johnson. Lippincott, 1964.
1964
Profiles in Courage: Young Readers Memorial Edition
Written by John F. Kennedy. Harper & Row, 1964.
1963
The Monkey and the Wild, Wild Wind
Written by Ryerson Johnson. Illustrated by Lois Lignell. Abelard-Schuman, 1961.
1962
The Road to Agra
Written by Aimee Sommerfelt. Illustrated by Ulf Aas. Criterion, 1961.
1961
What Then, Raman?
Written by Shirley L. Arora. Illustrated by Hans Guggenheim. Follett, 1960.
1960
Champions of Peace
Written by Edith Patterson Meyer. Illustrated by Eric von Schmidt. Little Brown, 1959.
1959
No Award Given
1958
The Perilous Road
Written by William O. Steele. Illustrated by Paul Galdone. Harcourt, Brace, 1957.
1957
Blue Mystery
Written by Margot Benary-Isbert. Translated from the German by Richard and Clara Winston. Illustrated
by Enrice Arno. Harcourt, Brace, 1957.
1956
Story of the Negro
Written by Arna Bontemps. Illustrated by Raymond Lufkin. Knopf, 1955.
1955
Rainbow Round the World
Written by Elizabeth Yates. Illustrated by Betty Alde. Bobbs-Merrill, 1954.
1954
Stick-in-the-Mud; A Tale of a Village, a Custom, and a Little Boy.
Written by Jean Ketchum. Illustrated by Fred Ketchum. Cadmus Books, E.M. Hale, 1953.
1953
People Are Important
Written by Eva Knox Evans. Illustrated by Vana Earle. Capitol, 1951.
What is the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award?
The Jane Addams Children’s Book Award is an annual award that honors children’s books of literary and
artistic merit that invite children to think deeply about peace, social justice, world community and
gender and racial equality. The Jane Addams Peace Association has presented the Jane Addams
Children’s Book Award since 1953. The association is the educational arm of the Women's International
League for Peace and Freedom founded by on April 28th in 1915 with Addams as its first president. The
Awards are announced each year on April 28. Information about the Addams Award can be found at
www.janeaddamspeace.org or by contacting the
Jane Addams Peace Association,
777 United Nations Plaza, 6th Floor,
New York, NY 10017
(212) 682-8830
japa@igc.org
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