By Angela McAllister. Illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke. Clarion Books. Bitsy is a small periwinkle-colored stuffed bunny who falls out of her owner's pocket on one golden autumn afternoon. She doesn't know how she will find her way home until a big, shambling (although sleep-deprived) brown bear steps out from behind a tree. Bear delays turning in for his long winter's nap to carry Bitsy home on his back, but soon after she arrives, a heavy snowfall begins. Courageous Bitsy then goes back outdoors to return Bear's favor, with some help from a group of caring woodland animals; and in the Spring, the two friends visit once again.
This book's story line is better
than many, but what makes it outstanding are British illustrator
Tiphanie Beeke's dreamlike, mixed-media watercolors. Ms. Beeke,
when given a chance to display her empathy and creativity fully,
is one of the finest illustrators working today. Recommended.
(Ages 3-7)
Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars: Space Poems and Paintings
Written and illustrated by Douglas
Florian. Harcourt. Children's poetry is the most searched-for
category among this review's titles, and there is very little
in the way of astronomy poems available, so I'm including this
rather laconic selection. Mr. Florian capably traverses the solar
system, and provides mixed-media collage with planet-shaped cutouts
on several pages, but the overall feel of both the verse and
artwork suggests that the book might be better suited to older
readers. (Ages 5-adult)
Written and illustrated by Keith
Baker. Harcourt. Popular author/illustrator Keith Baker (his
Little
Green, also from Harcourt, is still searched for frequently
by readers of this website) returns with his own adaptation of
the nursery rhyme. As "the clock struck one...it's time
for fun!" and the adventure is off. As each hour is struck,
a different animal parades past a tall black grandfather clock
as a little mouse perched on a ledge orchestrates the proceedings
(my favorite animal is the porcupine that strolls by at nine
p.m.). As the hours pass, the day draws to a satisfying conclusion,
a starry nighttime sky appears (the nighttime scenes are the
book's most distinctive), and the little mouse contentedly settles
into bed, overseen by a benevolent moon. (Ages 3-6)
By Eve Bunting. Illustrated by
Jeff Mack. Harcourt. Veteran children's author Eve Bunting is
well-matched with illustrator Jeff Mack in this gentle, very
humane story for younger children. Against a warm backdrop of
rolling country hillsides, farm animals hurry as fast as they
can to watch a fuzzy chick emerge from its egg. The assembled
calves, ducks, piglets, goats, hens, and roosters convey a cheerful
welcome and reassuring sense of belonging to the new arrival.
(Ages 3-5)
By Kristine O'Connell George. Illustrated by Kate Kiesler. Clarion Books. This wonderful series of poems celebrates many different aspects of trees throughout the year - from the bare branches of midwinter to evergreens felled in a snowstorm. author Kristine O'Connell George's verses and illustrator Kate Kiesler's sturdy Americana are especially well-matched in Old Elm Speaks, and the book does a marvelous job at conveying the pleasure of unstructured, all-the-time-in-the-world wandering and observing that is missing from many children's titles. Commemorate Arbor Day, view a close-up of squirrels in early-summer "major tree traffic," hear a tree branch against a wooden window pane on a midsummer night, watch a lone maple shoot emerge in a fall pumpkin patch, and more. Recommended. (Ages 5-adult)
By Katherine Paterson. Clarion Books. This historical novel depicts the protracted and violent 1912 strike by mainly Italian-immigrant textile workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts. The story's viewpoint alternates between that of Rosa Serutti, a pious, studious, shy sixth-grader; and that of Jake Beale, a calculating, illiterate, thirteen-year-old who has escaped from a horrendously abusive father.
Rosa's mother Alba is the head of the Serutti household after her husband perishes in a mill fire. Rosa is not by nature a partisan or activist, and she observes from the sidelines as her mother and older sister Anna (who had to leave school to help support the family) assume a leadership role in the strike. Katherine Paterson skillfully depicts the tension between Rosa's longing to blend in unobtrusively and not cause trouble (as urged by her pro-management schoolteacher, Miss Finch) and her sense that her family is not being treated justly.
Bread and Roses, Too appears to be meticulously researched (although Ms. Paterson cautions that the "Bread and Roses" strike slogan itself may not be factual): as the cry "Short pay! All out!" resounds through Lawrence's streets, charismatic IWW leader Joe Ettor becomes involved; national labor leaders Big Bill Haywood and Elizabeth Gurley Flynn also make appearances.
Many of the strikers' children are eventually sent away from Lawrence until conditions become safer; Rosa and Jake (who is burdened by something on his conscience) travel by train to Barre, Vermont, which itself has a thriving population of Italian-immigrant stonemasons. Elderly Mr. and Mrs. Gerbati take the two children into their home (Mr. Gerbati owns his own stonemasonry and is an exemplary employer); while Rosa returns to Lawrence at the strike's end, Jake's fortune changes decisively and he stays behind in Barre.
This website doesn't usually feature
authors as well-known as the venerable, best-selling Katherine
Paterson, but Bread and Roses, Too is outstandingly crafted
- a gripping, dramatic read with a very welcome focus on Italian-American
history that is too often missing from both children's and adult
titles. Recommended. (Ages 10-14)
By Catherine Reef. Clarion Books. Catherine Reef does an excellent job of depicting the sometimes-unconventional life of poet E. E. Cummings in this stylishly produced biography for older children, filled with nostalgic black-and-white photos from the early years of the twentieth century. Edward Estlin Cummings was born into an old-line New England family (his father was a Harvard sociology professor turned Unitarian minister at a Congregationalist church) and was himself awarded bachelor's and master's degrees in English from Harvard. (I found Ms. Reef's description of Cummings's early years and education the most interesting part of the book.)
Cummings (also a semi-professional visual artist) was drawn to a bohemian lifestyle as a young man and retained that lifestyle, centered in New York's Greenwich Village, throughout his life. He wasn't able to attain the stability and long-term commitment of his parents' marriage, and appears to have been vacillating in his turbulent personal life. Ms. Reef's focus is not directed toward Cummings's poetry itself, but schoolchildren doing research will find this book a thorough treatment of the poet's life. (Ages 10-14)
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