Juan Felipe Herrera’s THE UPSIDE DOWN BOY

Posted on 04/23/2013

THE UPSIDE DOWN BOY (Children’s Book Press, 2000) is a picture book in verse – bilingual, Spanish and English – by California’s poet laureate, Juan Felipe Herrera and illustrated by Elizabeth Gomez.

Juanito is bewildered by his new country, his new neighborhood, and especially, his new school. Everything feels upside down.  His father reassures him: 

“Don’t worry, Chico… Everything changes. A new place has new leaves on the trees and blows fresh air into your body.”

Juanito is not convinced:  “I don’t speak English… Will my tongue turn into a rock?”  For Juanito, it feels like his tongue does turn into a very heavy rock.

A caring teacher and his loving family help Juanito regain his voice through poetry, art, and music. Juan Felipe Herrera’s delightful language and the colorful illustrations of Elizabeth Gómez capture every child’s experience of feeling scared, maybe cold as stone, when facing a new experience.  Not only a wonderful picture book of poetry, The Upside Down Boy is a special opportunity to read in both English and Spanish.

Juan Felipe Herrera and The Most Incredible & Biggest Poem on Unity in The World

In March of 2012, Juan Felipe Herrera was appointed the Poet Laureate for the state of California. As poet laureate, Herrera reached out to the community to help him compile “the most incredible & biggest poem on unity in the world”. Herrera launched a Facebook page dedicated to compiling all contributions: “Put your Unity into Action – write a poem for unity – or a phrase or a line. All languages, bilingual too – to create one collective poem for all to see.”  Everyone, help create the largest poetry project about unity that has ever been attempted. More information can be found HERE.

Herrera also gives tribute to the Newtown, Connecticut, shooting tragedy through another community poetry project.  He is calling for contributions to a Newtown Poetry Wall in honor of those who were killed: “Let’s put our efforts into ending violence wherever it may rise.”

Add your voice to these unique projects and be a part of history. Mail your words to:

Juan Felipe Herrera

University of California, Riverside

4143 INTS

900 University Ave.

Riverside, CA 92521

My Father’s Arms Are a Boat

Posted on 04/22/2013

My Father’s Arms are a Boat, by Stein Erik Lunde, illustrated by Oyvind Torseter. A little boy, unable to sleep, crawls into his father’s arms on a quiet winter’s night. Will his mother come back? the boy asks. “No, not from where she is now,” his father says, and then the wise man carries the boy, warmly wrapped, outside to look at the starry, eternal night, while a red fox roams quietly through the towering, silent spruce. There is loss here, but there is tremendous love and, finally, great hope. Everything will be all right.

Lunde’s poetic, gentle picture book was awarded the Norwegian Ministry’s Culture Prize for the Best Book for Children and Youth and nominated for the 2011 German Children’s Literature Award. Torseter’s remarkable illustrations in cut paper and watercolor are spare and moving. One of Norway’s most acclaimed illustrators, Torseter has been nominated for the 2012 ALMA Award and the Hans Christian Andersen Award.

SWEETHEARTS OF RHYTHM

Posted on 04/21/2013

SWEETHEARTS OF RHYTHM: The Story of the Greatest All-Girl Swing Band in the World 

What a picture book – written in verse with toe-tapping words that sing across the page, by Marilyn Nelson, and illustrated with collage, colors, and scraps of historical photographs, plus musical notation by Jerry Pinkney.

This important part of America’s musical history – and Black history – was nearly forgotten.  The  International Sweethearts of Rhythm began as a response to the NEED for music  – especially up-lifting, swing music – during the dark time of Depression, Dust Bowl, and World War II.  The men were off fighting, including most musicians.  People’s souls needed music.  Could women – Black women – belt out jazz and swing tunes on trumpets, saxophones, slide trombones, guitar, and drums?  You bet they could!

Nelson’s syncopated poetry jives alive with Pinkney’s layered watercolors in this look at the famous all-girl African-American swing band that toured the U.S., breaking attendance records, from 1937 to 1946. Nelson speaks in the voices of the band’s instruments.  Pinkney used two voices in his illustrations, one over-lays the other.  He presents authentic images of the women and the band, the audience and the swing dancers, but he also “interprets the times”: World War II, Victory Gardens, rations, the Japanese internment camps, the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and Jim Crow. One by one, Marilyn’s poetry speaks for the sound of the instrument and calls up the rich wail of swing music with varied meters, rhyme schemes, and free verse.

A chronology of the Sweethearts’ history enhances the poetry, informs the reader, and offers a depth of information as well as descriptions from both the illustrator and poet about how the ideas for this book unfolded.

(Published by Dial Books, 2009)

What’s Your Question for the Librarian’s Corner?

Posted on 04/18/2013

We at the Librarian’s Corner have tried to answer the most Frequently Asked Questions we could think of that our readers might ask. Using the ReaderKidZ search function, you can access them by typing in FAQ (or FAQs). We’ve covered everything from awards and banned books, to poetry and wordless books and enticing reluctant readers.

Hooray for ReaderKidZ Librarians Jeanette Larson and Kristen Remenar who share their expert book picks with us month after month and answer our FAQs to date! Librarians rock.

We know, however, there are more inquiries out there. If you have a question about reading or children’s books we haven’t covered, let us know via the contact page, or even leave it in the comments section below. Jeanette or Kristen will give it a shot. If you want to know about writers’ procrastination techniques, cleaning bathroom tile grout (which IS a procrastination technique), or cheap Paris hotels, I could weigh in.

Thanks for stopping by.

The Way I Feel by Janan Cain

Posted on 04/17/2013

Not too long ago, ReaderKidZ received an email from Laura G. of Chicago. She had a suggestion for a book she’s enjoyed and felt others would, too.

Here’s what she said:

I am not sure if you have come across or read the picture book The Way I Feel by Janan Cain. Her books are beautifully illustrated and help kids identify and talk about feelings and behaviors. I’ve recommended them to our teachers as a way to facilitate conversations,  especially with all the unfortunate and sad news that kids hear about. She now has beautiful prints of six emotions from the book.  This may be something teachers would find helpful for their rooms or libraries. 

We love hearing from our readers. Thanks, Laura!

How about you? What are some of your favorite kids’ book recommendations?

Librarian’s Corner: More Flavors of Poetry

Posted on 04/16/2013

Poetry doesn’t have to be “roses are red, violets are blue…” As David Lubar wrote in his novel, Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie, “There are as many types of poems as there are types of food. As many flavors, you might say. To claim you don’t like poetry because you hate ‘mushy stuff’ or things you don’t immediately understand is like saying you hate food because you don’t like asparagus.”

April is National Poetry Month, but don’t save these wonderful books for just one month – share them all year long!

For the youngest readers:

Once I Ate a Pie written by Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan Charest, illustrated by Katy Schneider (HarperCollins, 2006) Animal lovers will adore these short, sweet dog poems. My favorite is about a terrier: “Wupsi”
“My name is Wupsi, but they call me ‘cute.’
‘Who’s cute?’ they ask, smiling.
I cover my eyes with my paws and pretend to sleep.
‘Who’s cute?’ they call again.
I run to them. I can’t help it.
I am cute.”

For the transitional readers:

frankcake
Frankenstein Takes the Cake Which is Full of Funny Stuff Like Rotting Heads and Giant Gorillas and Zombies Dressed as Little Girls and Edgar Allan Poe. The Book, We Mean – Not the Cake written and illustrated by Adam Rex (Harcourt, 2008) You can tell just from the title how over-the-top ridiculous this collection of monster-themed poetry is. From “Off the Top of My Head: the Official Blog of the Headless Horseman” whose first post is “Please Stop Staring at My Delicious Head” to “Dracula, Jr. Wants a Big-Boy Coffin”, all your favorite monsters are here in fantastically funny form.

 

For the older readers:

salting the ocean
Salting the Ocean: 100 Poems by Young Poets selected by Naomi Shihab Nye with pictures by Ashley Bryan (Greenwillow, 2000) Celebrated poet Naomi Shihab Nye taught classroom poetry workshops for over 30 years and this is a collection of works from 100 young poets in grades one through twelve.  Most of the poems are free-verse, personal and imaginative. It’s a tribute to and an inspiration for the poet found in all of us, no matter what our age.

Steam Train, Dream Train

Posted on 04/15/2013

STEAM TRAIN, DREAM TRAIN by Sherri Rinker, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld (Chronicle, 2013)

From the bestselling team that created Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site, Steam Train, Dream Train invites readers aboard the mighty dream train as it cling-clang-squeals into “Night Falls.” While monkeys juggle cargo, and kangaroos work – and bounce – the night away, elephants converge on tankers with buckets of paint, and polar bears “chill out” with a midnight snack in the reefer box.

Sometime near dawn, the animal crew,weary and tired from their busy evening, fall into bed. In no time at all, they’re tucked in tight, and the dream train is huffing and chugging down the track again. This soothing twist on the usual bedtime story will be a favorite among many young readers.