Mark Pett's Wordless Picture Books

I purchase books based on reviews from places like Kirkus and bloggers I trust. Then they arrive at the school and go through the process of cataloging and protection that enables them to weather the storms of circulation. So while I've had these books in my hands numerous times, it isn't till today, when I grabbed them to put on display for next week, that I got around to actually reading them.

All I can say is WOW! Pett's deceptively simple illustrations pack a wallup. 

The Girl and the Bicycle

5 stars

I'm astounded that a wordless picture book can bring me to tears, not just once, but twice. A young girl sees a bike in a window and falls in love with it. She works hard to make and save enough money to purchase it. Eventually she goes back to the store with her little brother, only to discover that the bike has been sold.

Note her dismay when the girl discovers the bicycle is gone. 

The Boy and the Airplane

5 stars

I read this one directly after reading The Girl and the Bicycle. I didn't get as much of an emotional reaction to this one. It's more philosophical and thoughtful. That said, this is still an amazing read. A boy gets a plane as a gift.Then it lands on the roof of his house. I'm not going to spoil the story except to say that he does eventually get it back.

Check out the joy resonating in this illustration of the boy with his airplane. 

All Alone in the Universe by Lynne Rae Perkins

5 stars

This is a beautiful book. School Library Journal called it poignant. I think that might be the perfect word for it. 

I laughed out loud. I got a little weepy. I experienced shivers of pleasure as I read exquisitely written phrases, paragraphs and whole pages, again and again. Here are few snippets.

"I didn't know how to wash away a crumminess that was swimming around in my heart."

"My dance on the pedestal was my friendship with Maureen. I wasn't sure how I had lost my balance and fallen off. Or whether I was pushed. Everyone around me was trying to get me to dance again. The thing was, I hadn't quite given up on getting back up there. I still believed it was the only place where I could be happy."

"I thought Marie could handle whatever came along. I thought of her as someone who did whatever she wanted to. That's what she would have said. She skipped school a lot, and when she did come, no one seemed to care what she did. The principals and teachers at school had already given up on Marie. They hardly even saw her, except as some kind of blemish. She could have stood on her head wearing a burlap bag, and nobody would have noticed all that much. They thought she was stupid. She wasn't stupid." 

Growing up is about making sense of the world and people around you. It's about seeing it and them in new ways. It's about loss. It's about gain. It's about what remains. 

This is the story of Debbie, a young girl, as she enters the process of figuring it out. It begins with the loss of a best friend and ends with a celebration of friendship. In between she grows up a bit, starts to see beyond the surface of things, and moves towards becoming an amazing young woman. 

These characters have become friends of mine. I grew up in the times this book was set in. Debbie could have been my neighbour. I wish I could have known her for real when I was that age. I know we'd still be friends these 45 years later. 

Perkins' writing is so delicate and deft. I am in awe of her ability to reveal, ever so subtly, that how we figure the world out, and what we come to comprehend as true, is predicated on where we start from, and who we are lucky enough to have as our role models. 

It's been a few years since I listened to Criss Cross, the companion to this book. After reading this one and realizing that the books are filled with whimsical illustrations, I think I am going to have to go and reread it with my eyes. 

#IMWAYR January 27, 2015

I love Mondays. After I get home from work, I get to laze on the sofa and learn what other bloggers are reading. If you are wondering what to read next, come join the fun with hosts Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers. 

While other literature has entertained me this week, I've mostly just had energy for picture books. 

5 stars

Sam & Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett

It's a good as everyone says it is. I loved the complicated messages that a group of grade 2/3/4 students took from it. They probably got it better than I did. 

5 stars

If You Want to Find Golden by Eileen Spinelli and Stacey Schuett. 

Just beautiful. I have to remember this title when teachers are doing units on colours or poetry. 

5 stars

I revisited Whitewash by Ntozake Shange

I've used this book with students as part of a critical literacy unit many times. It never fails to move me to near tears, and I am always humbled by the students responses to it. 

4 stars

Cock-A-Doodle Doo, Creak, Pop-Pop, Moo by Jim Aylesworth

"This is the story of a day in the life of an old time farm. I enjoyed the rhythm and rhyming in the language. Brad Sneed's illustrations are both beautiful and fun at the same time. Together, the two of them capture the noisy busy life that once was."

2 stars

Everyone Can Learn to Ride a Bicycle by Chris Raschka 

"I really wanted to love this book, and I think the text is very powerful. The pictures just didn't work for me though."

2 stars

Two by Kathryn Otoshi

"This is another book I wanted to adore and just couldn't. I didn't mind the first part, but then the story got too preachy and out of control. There is nothing better than a simple story well told. Unfortunately, this isn't one of them."

5 stars

Otis's Busy Day by Loren Long

I wish all emergent readers were as entertaining as this one. It has simple text and glorious images.

4 stars

I finished listening to The Familiars by Adam Jay Epstein

This book has been on my radar for a bit. I'd read some good stuff about it, but it wasn't picked up by my readers, so thought I better read it myself. I'm glad I did. Sometimes you need a sweet fantasy with a bit of action. 

Here's a spot of serendipity for you. I no sooner finished this title, than a young boy came to ask if we had it in the library. 

5 stars

brown girl dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

This beautiful book worked for me on so many levels. 

4 stars

Hound Dog True by Linda Urbane

Linda Urbane can really do no wrong in my opinion. She excels in the simple story done well category. In this one, a shy young girl learns to be brave. Although I enjoyed it, it will take me a bit to find just right readers for it. 

Currently,

I've started How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking by Jordan Ellenberg, and I am intrigued by it, but this past week my nonfiction reading has mostly focused on radiation therapy and other cancer related journal articles. 

I'm listening to Paperboy by Vince Vawter and reading, with my eyes, Andrew Smith's Winger.

I hope to get to How to Outrun A Crocodile by Jess keating and All alone in the Universe by Lynne Rae Perkins.

brown girl dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Words Have Power

5 stars

If I were not already a fan of Jacqueline Woodson's work, upon reading this memoir in poetry I would now be completely smitten. I didn't want this book to end. I wanted the experience of her words to resonate with me as long as possible. I wanted to let this journey into a new way of seeing history to just sit with me for a while.

Shortly after I started, I stopped reading. In order to revel in these poems, I needed to dole them out a few at a time. And so, the best part of my day became reading a few more pages of Woodson's work at the end of the day.

Her words take you places
across time and space
to that farm in South Carolina where she worked in the dirt with Daddy
knocking on strangers doors to spread the word
hanging out in the New York neighbourhood with her friends and family.

Her words can be a sharp knife nicking here, pricking there. With each sharp sting, we open up to new levels of consciousness.

Woodson is 10 years younger than I am. We grew up in similar times, but our realities are so very different, we might have been growing up on different planets. From my small, mostly white, town here in Canada, information about what was going on in the world was mediated through newspapers, radio, television and popular music. Outside my relatively secure space, these events and moments were impersonal. In Brown Girl Dreaming, Woodson has connected us. I get to see through her eyes what it meant to be a black girl growing up in America during the 1960's and 70's.


Thank you Jacqueline Woodson for the history lesson. 

If You Want to Find Golden written by Eileen Spinelli Paintings by Stacey Schueett

While searching the shelves for a book today, this one jumped out at me. I opened the first page and fell in.

Colour poems grace the pages as a boy and his mother journey through a city in one day. I love that the city is rich in multicultural images. I love that each colour resonates in the painting. No matter the colour, each page is filled with joy and energy. 

See what I mean in these snippets from the first page?

In each page the confluence of poetry and image come together in exquisite harmony.  

Some days I am deeply thankful for the beauty of picture books. Especially those that remind me of how beautiful my life around me here in my city is. 

#IMWAYR JANUARY 19, 2015

Come join the fun with Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers to find out what other bloggers are reading.

The best part of my reading this past week has been brown girl dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. To say I am loving this book is such an understatement. I've found it to be so delectable, that I'm meting myself out a few pages a day to enable me to savour and extend the experience. The end of the day, when I sit down to absorb a few more of her words, is the best part of my reading life. I already know that I will purchase a copy for myself, and it might be the book I give away as Christmas gifts next year.

I've also finished up a number of picture books and other novels. 

4 stars

Nest by Jora Hurley knocked my socks off. It is an exquisite pairing of image and text. 

5 stars

Loula Is Leaving for Africa by Anne Villeneuve 

"There is so much sweetness in this book. The whimsical watercolor illustrations support the delightful story perfectly. Young Loula is tired of her nasty three brothers and decides to run away to Africa. She gets her directions a bit mixed up but thankfully, the family chauffeur helps her. Their quixotic journey to Africa and back is sure to delight readers of all ages"

4 stars

Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds & Peter Brown
This one is a good read anytime, but I can't wait to share this book with students next Halloween. It is delightfully spooky, but not too scary.

3 stars

Jessica Finch in Pig Trouble by Megan McDonald & Erwin Madrid 
I liked the idea of the story but I wanted more from this one. Unfortunately the language feels stilted, like an old fashioned reader. 

3 stars

How Do Dinosaurs Say I'm Mad? by Jane Yolen & Mark Teague
Like the rest of the books in this series, Yolen and Teague marry text and images to create a fun story with an important lesson. 

5 stars

I finished listening to The Giver by Lois Lowry. I swear it was better this time than the first time I read it. It is a classic: one of those books that stands the test of time. I'm going to be pushing it on all my readers who love dystopian novels.

4.5 stars

I wasn't sure about Noggin by John Corey Whaley, but it became available as a downloadable audiobook from the public library, so I started listening. I worried that Travis Coates' death from cancer might be too close to reality for me. Instead I discovered this book is about living, growing and changing.

5 stars

Not My Girl by Christy Jordan-Fenton & Margaret Pokiak-Fenton illustrations by Gabrielle Grimard
This picture book continues Margaret Pokiak-Fenton's true story as she returns from two years away at a residential school. I believe that everyone, no matter their age, should read these books. 

Aside from reading brown girl dreaming, I'm listening to The Familiars by Adam Jay Epstein & Andrew Jacobson. It's one of those books I've been meaning to get to, but haven't had time. 

What's up next? I keep saying I am going to get back to my nonfiction reading, and I really mean to. I'm spending some time with my mother at the cancer clinic this week, so I'll bring only one of them with me. That will force me to get moving on them.

Not My Girl by Christy Jordan-Fenton & Margaret Pokiak-Fenton illustrations by Gabrielle Grimard

5 stars

I was lucky enough to meet with the authors in an intimate setting at United Library Services one day last spring. They have written a number of picture books and novels based on Margaret Pokiak-Fenton's experience as a girl in residential school and her return home. 

The first part of Margaret's story is told in the novel, Fatty Legs, and picture book, When I was Eight. 

This picture book tells the story of Margaret's return from the residential school where she had been for two years. She arrives home feeling as though "one thousand birds soared through my heart." Then her mother didn't recognize her and called out "Not my girl!" Luckily her father embraces her and gives her back her Inuit name, Olemaun. The next while is difficult as Olemaun has to relearn how to belong in her family and people again. It is a heartbreaking story. 

I'm now going to track down A Stranger at Home, the companion novel that tells this part of Margaret's ordeal. 

Here in Canada, the last residential school finally closed in 1996. In the United States they didn't end until 2007. These books are a perfect introduction to this abhorrent policy as it gives readers an introduction to the evil of these schools, while leaving out some of the more horrific details. 

If you want to learn more about residential schools, click here. 

Noggin by John Corey Whaley

4.5 stars

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. 

Yes I loved Noggin, but that isn't really sufficient to explain my reactions to it. Thankfully I don't feel frustrated and bewildered as I did with Whaley's  Where Things Come Back, but the writing is equally stellar. 

Travis Coates, a 16 year old boy, came back from the dead. While dying of cancer, he opted to have his head removed and cryogenically frozen. Five years later his head was joined to a body, and he returned to the land of the living. 

When he wakes up, Travis feels like he has just had a nap, and expects everyone and everything to be exactly the same as it was. Unfortunately, everyone else has had five years to grieve and get on with their lives. A lot has changed.

This book doesn't have a lot of action. It doesn't have adventure in a traditional sense. It's just the story of a sixteen year old boy, trying to make sense of a life where everything has changed overnight. I don't think this is a problem, but I can see that this will deter some readers. 

At times I wanted the story to move more quickly. There were also times when I wanted to challenge the science and got caught up imagining the real issues that might ensue from such an endeavour. 

But here's the thing, in spite of how bizarre this scenario is, Whaley made me believe in it. 

Change happens to all of us. 

Adolescence is challenging at the best of times. We are forced to deal with a body that sometimes doesn't feel like our own. Relationships with friends and family evolve, mature and sometimes, disappear. 

Then we grow up, move away from our homes, and come back to find ourselves and the people we knew changed again. 

Sometimes change is more profound. A close friend of mine had a traumatic brain injury. As she adjusted she confided, "It's like you wake up one day to find the world is completely different, and you are a not the person you were before." 

All of this is Travis Coates' experience. So while this scenario is fantastic, what Travis has to deal with is almost ordinary. 

Whaley's gift is in his ability to create characters so real you can imagine them living next door to you. I came to care deeply for them. Their interactions with each other feel natural and reasonable. This is how people are with each other. Whaley made me believe so truly in them, that all my other quibbles with the book are irrelevant. 

The power in Whaley's writing in Noggin, is that it puts the reader in the position where we are forced to think more deeply about the ordinariness of our own lives. We can't help but come out the other side without a shift in our awareness. 

Maybe the word for how I feel is transformed.

Nest by Jorey Hurley

I love these crisp illustrations. Each page spread has one word only. Together the image and text appear deceptively simple, yet are loaded with meaning. 

This page, loaded with tension, illustrates the power of this combination.

The book begins with two sharp eyed robins guarding their nest. The rest of the tale takes us through the life cycle of the robins throughout the year.

Here is Jorey Hurley herself, telling you more about her charming picture book. 

#IMWAYR Jan12, 2015

#IMWAYR is a time for connecting with other bloggers about what's been going on our reading lives in the past week. Even if you don't share, it's always exciting to find out what books other readers are into. Check out Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers, and you may find more than a few books to add to your Goodreads list.

Here's the thing I'm becoming more aware of these days. My reading life, that is, what and how much I read, is predicated on what is going on in the rest of my life. And, these days, I'm nearly overwhelmed by the news that my mother has stage four cancer. My concentration for those heavy tomes just isn't there. I'm even having trouble focusing on those titles I thought would be easy. Anything that has a whisper of sorrow just brings that heavy ache I'm carrying around with me to the front of my consciousness. Yet at the same time, reading is also a haven and a refuge.  

To counter that, I've got to continue by telling you about this brief encounter I had with one of our 7 year old boys last week. Just as I was about to enter the staff washroom he stopped me to proudly proclaim, "Guess what Cheriee? I've just found the perfect, just right books for me in the library. It's those Zac Power books." I tell you, it's these moments that I work for. (I added one book to my want to read list just so I can talk to these little boys about them)

So here is my bookish life from this week.

I've been reading new picture books as I finish processing them and getting them ready to circulate. Here are some excerpts taken from my Goodreads reviews.

3 stars

The Story Starts Here by Caroline Merola

I enjoyed the big, bright and bold illustrations in this book. It's a charming tale with a very contrary little wolf who wants to do everything his way. (I swear his character is based on my eldest child at that age) It's fun, especially how his father teaches him a lesson.

4 stars

Have I Got a Book For You by Mélanie Watt

Melanie Watt creates wonderful picture books, and this is one of them. I laughed out loud as Mr Al Foxwood tries to sell his book to the reader. I enjoyed the gentle poke at advertising within the pages. I think all readers will enjoy it, but older ones and adults will appreciate the humour more.

4 stars

Hi! Koo by Jon J. Muth

At first glance these illustrations are exquisite. Looking closer they reveal an endearing humour. (Check out the snowman's face on the first page of Winter and what happens when you watch too much TV.) I enjoyed reading this collection of seasonal haiku, but there were a few that really wowed me.

I fell in love with this book through the first poem:

Autumn,

are you dreaming

of new clothes?

Connected personally with:

Eating warm cookies

on a cold day

is easy

And was blown away by:

Morning crocuses!

winter is old now

and closes her doors

5 stars

Pardon Me by Daniel Miyares

This book is dark and twisted. I can see that some younger children might appreciate it, but it is definitely a picture book for older readers. Miyares' illustrations are flat out gorgeous. I loved the richness of the colours. I loved the integration of the text with the images. I loved that the pages became darker as the story progresses. I can imagine many rich conversations about how the author creates atmosphere and tension.

5 stars

I did actually manage to finish up a few easy novels. After school one afternoon I sat and read Frankie Pickle and the Mathematical Menace by Eric Wight. I loved this book. I'm so glad I accidently purchased two copies. I'm also glad I bought Frankie Pickle and the Closet of Doom. I've added the next in the series to my Kidsbooks shopping cart. On Friday, one of the eight year old boys found this in the display case and wanted to check it out right then. After putting a reserve on it, together we read a bit of Alvin Ho: Allergic to Birthday Parties, Science Projects, and Other Man-made Catastrophes by Lenore Look and LeUyen Pham. After a few pages we were both smiling. Not only was it funny and sweet, it was the perfect introduction to a longer novel for him. I suspect that fans of Alvin will be fans of Frankie. 

3 stars

 I finally finished listening to Loot by Jude Watson. I have come to the realization that Rick Riordan and I have very different tastes in children's literature. I'm not saying it is a bad book, it's just that I had so many issues with it. 

5 stars

I've also finished As Simple as it Seems by Sarah Weeks. Although the mother daughter relationship in Weeks' novel cut close to the bone, I deeply adored this book. 

The Giver written by Lois Lowry and narrated by Ron Rifkin is my new audiobook. So far I'm lovin it. I've started brown girl dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson and all I can say is WOW! 

I'm going to try to get back into my nonfiction reading this week, but I'm making no commitments to anything. 

As Simple As It Seems by Sarah Weeks.

4 stars 

I enjoyed so much about this book. Some writers conjure up characters we are compelled to care about. Other writers invent stories with riveting plots that leave us breathless. And then there are those who imbue their narrative with issues that resonate truths universal in each of us. Sarah Weeks pulls all of this off in As Simple As It Seems.

This lovely middle grade coming of age novel is the story of Verbena Colter. She's graduated from grade five, and is a having a difficult time. Not only is she cranky and moody in general, she's been abandoned by her best friend, Annie, who's gone to spend the summer at a camp with one of the popular girls. In addition to this, Verbena has discovered that she is adopted. Her birth father, her uncle, is doing time for killing someone. Her mother was an alcoholic who didn't stop drinking when she was expecting her. Consequently Verbena has some attributes of fetal alcohol syndrome which account for her small size, learning problems, and some facial features. Just that is a heck of a lot for any kid to process, but Verbena's also struggling with her feelings of embarrassment about her mother's large size and father's age. Because she doesn't think she or her family are normal, Verbena has come to see herself as damaged and evil.

When Pooch moves in next door, Verbena tells him a lie that enables her to be someone else. She knows it is wrong, but this subterfuge allows her to eventually acknowledge, "I was also myself - my old self - the one I'd been before everything had gone wrong. All this time I thought it was only Annie I missed, but what I realized now, was that the person I'd been missing most was me."

When disaster strikes, not only does Verbena have to fess up, she has to dredge up the power within herself to do the near impossible.

This book is a reminder that we are all damaged in some way. Yet while none of us are perfect, that doesn't mean that we aren't worthy of loving and being loved. Ultimately, we are ok just being who we are, all the while becoming the best person we can be.

Loot by Jude Watson

There is a lot to like about this book.

I liked that it is fast paced. There is plenty of action and hairsbreadth escapes. It's got murder, betrayal, and suspense. I liked these characters and wanted them to be safe.

After March's father, a renowned jewel thief, falls to his death during a heist, March's life changes dramatically. He discovers he has a sister, Jules, for start. They end up in in a nasty group home where they connect with Izzy and Darius. The four teens escape and band together to become jewel thieves.

I suspect readers here at Dickens will love these kids and their adventures, but I have some reservations about this book. 

I'm always conscious that stories have power. Even when we know they are fiction, they niggle their way into our lives and mess around with how we interpret the world. Teens, and especially twelve year old kids, need strong trusting relationships with adults. I wish these characters had this kind of support. Most of the adults are portrayed as enemies, or at the very best, unreliable.

I have to admit that I'm generally irked by books where gangs and criminals are glorified, and in this case these kids become successful criminals. Seriously? 

I think I have a high tolerance for accepting unrealistic scenarios in fiction, but to be honest, this one stretched my credibility. I'm ok with the magical components. It's just that what these young teens accomplish, (March and Jules are not yet 13) didn't feel reasonable to me. Neither did the ending.

Ultimately this book was ok, but it wasn't one of those books I couldn't put down. I wanted to find out how it ended, but I'm sad to say that I wanted it to be over so I could go on to something else. That said, I suspect kids will love it for all the reasons I don't.