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April 2020 (and beyond): What Picture Books Are You Reading During Shelter-in-Place?
message 151:
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Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs
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May 09, 2020 07:16AM
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You really do need to read this. It fits perfectly as an inter-generational story. I just wish it were better known. But do not get tempted by the kindle edition, it is annoyingly user unfriendly and with minuscule writing.
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So, in companionship to the NF book Vultures I found the gorgeous Anna and the Baby Buzzard on Open Library. At 48 pp, it's a bit long to be considered a 'picturebook' but it is short, a good fit for families with young children or early independent readers, and it has lots of wonderful pictures. I totally recognized Anna and Carl, descendants of Swedes. Turkle is an under-appreciated illustrator.
Helga Sandburg is a under-appreciated author, too! To think that I never knew that Carl had a daughter who wrote! Can you imagine growing up with the author of Rootabaga Stories and "Arithmetic" (http://www.yourdailypoem.com/listpoem...)? Some of Helga's other works are OL and I am adding them to my list.
So, yeah, turkey vultures are often known as buzzards (though of course true buzzards are something else). Sandburg's book is almost a memoir, as she was an active animal lover who raised a baby vulture when she was a girl, and who influenced at least some people to realize how necessary and, yes, beautiful they are. Nowadays of course the birds are protected and it would be illegal to do this, but spending the summer with Glory, Anna, and her family is a wonderful way to spend about half an hour!
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Maybe I am being just a bit (and perhaps even much more than a bit) too curmudgeonly here, but honestly, why should Andrea Beaty point out in her Ada Twist, Scientist that young Ada asks questions (and attempts scientific experiments) not simply because she is intelligent, not because she is curious and desires to find out the required information and knowledge she lacks and wants to know, but seemingly only and solely because she is somehow and supposedly meant to be a scientist?
For yes indeed, it is obviously and in reality NOT just children who as toddlers, who at a young age pepper their parents with question after question about their surroundings, about their world (and who try to discover things about their world through testing boundaries, through experimentation and imagination), who will grow up to be scientists. And for Andrea Beaty in the presented verses of Ada Twist, Scientist to repeatedly point out that, well, only scientifically inclined youngsters would actually and and fact be asking questions (would somehow be intelligent and curious enough to be posing the necessary questions and get actively involved in their world), that is in my humble opinion both insulting and totally majorly denigrating to and for those of us who are NOT scientists, who have other but yes indeed equally important and necessary interests (and of course careers).
And most certainly, as someone with a PhD in German literature, who indeed also asked her parents very many intelligent and curious questions as a toddler, I actually have found Ada Twist, Scientist rather majorly problematic at best and indeed quite disgustingly with a tendency to be massively offensive to and for children who might not be all that interested in the sciences, whose interests and likes might lie like mine did in the humanities, in the social sciences, in the arts etc.
Because even though the author has likely not in any manner intended for this, in Ada Twist, Scientists, it sure does (personally) feel as though Andrea Beaty somehow wants to single out the sciences as somehow being more special and more important. And as such, even though Ada Twist, Scientist is definitely textually fun and encouraging and that David Roberts' accompanying artwork does indeed present a visually engaging aesthetic mirror to and for Andrea Beaty's printed and featured words, I for one have truly and really found Ada Twist, Scientist at best uncomfortable on a personal level, and yes indeed, I also do consider Ada Twist, Scientist (and by extension author Andrea Beaty) as rather obviously and deliberately putting some careers and interests on a pedestal and above certain others, being judgmental towards children whose interests and strengths might not be all that science and math oriented.
Thus and as someone with a career in the humanities, I definitely will call this out as being rather if not even majorly inappropriate, and especially so in a picture book geared towards young children (not to mention that the lax acceptance of Ada's parents with regard to their daughter's occasional but heavy destructiveness as she is trying to do her experiments and the like is also rather troubling, as while it is of course important for parents to encourage their children's creativity and thirst for knowledge, the free-for-all portrayed by Andrea Beaty as being so inherently positive in Ada Twist, Scientist definitely makes me personally cringe and consider Ada's parents as just a bit too permissive).
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But the fact is we need more scientists, and we need everyone to be more understanding of how science works and appreciative of the role science plays in our lives. Even people who stick to the humanities & artists need to be curious about how the world really works. I wish the book had made that more clear and not offended.
We need to counter anti-vaxxers, and creationists, and astrologers, etc. Not just because of the harm they do directly, but the ignorance they perpetuate. Any book that supports that goal, even if imperfect, gets my vote.
I'll have to reread it to see what I think of the destructiveness. I don't recall that it bothered me.
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But the fact is we need more scientists, and we need everyone to be more understanding of how ..."
Focussing on science is not really the issue here, it is the author saying that Ada asking questions automatically makes her a scientist, as if only children who are scientifically inclined will ever be asking questions and be curious.
Yes, I do admit that we need to promote the sciences but not at the expense of the humanities, and I for one have found the atittude that Ada is curious and thus automatiocally a scientist really personally insulting, as it does feel as though Beaty is saying that those of us not in the sciences will of course not ask questions etc.
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Honestly, while Anne Rockwell does (I guess) present a sweet enough little bit of basic and simple storytelling fluff about a family going on an autumn excursion to pick (to harvest) apples and pumpkins, there is really (in my opinion) nothing contained in either the featured text or the accompanying illustrations of Apples and Pumpkins that has in any manner managed to lastingly and truly wow or impress me (and no, even as a young child, I would have found Anne Rockwell's presented narrative of Apples and Pumpkins much too frustratingly lacking in verbal description and Lizzy Rockwell's artwork as too cartoon-like and one dimensionally stagnant, with especially the depicted facial features of both the family and the farmer feeling aesthetically devoid of even rudimentary expressiveness).
Informative enough with regard to how at many so-called do-it-yourself farms, people pick and gather their own produce (like the apples and pumpkins of the book title), there is nevertheless just not in any manner enough information, there is simply not sufficient depicted and described details that are of interest being textually shown in Apples and Pumpkins except truly just the very bare minimum. And yes, even in a very simple picture book about a family going out to pick apples and pumpkins and then to carve a pumpkin for Halloween, the bare minimum is just not really enough for me to rank Apples and Pumpkins with more than two stars at best. For while there is of course nothing problematic found within the pages of Apples and Pumpkins (unless of course you are amongst those who consider the entire concept of Halloween as something evil and satanic), personally, I just have not found myself in any way really enjoying either Anne Rockwell's printed words or her daughter Lizzy's artwork (and thus, my ranking for Apples and Pumpkins will naturally also reflect that this book really has been at best rather a major disappointment).
Shelter in place is OVER! The libraries are reopening for curbside pickup on a city by city basis. The catch is we're limited to books on their shelves but they're not accepting returns so um what are we supposed to read? I'll have to get some picture books to have on hand.
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My local library system is still closed and I am kind of glad, as when we do go out for groceries, we still see far too many not bothering even with physical distancing.
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Have you read Creepy Carrots! with them?
message 161:
by
Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs
(last edited May 10, 2020 04:24PM)
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Manybooks wrote: "."Have you read Creepy Carrots! with them?
Yes! I bought it for my nephew when he was a little younger. I liked Creepy Pair of Underwear! better but that one was brand new at the time and I couldn't get it used.
I found lots of zombie books at the city library. Today nephew surprised me by mentioning Winnie the Pooh! <3 <3 I have THOSE books, of course! I bet my sister has never read them to the kids. I will have to read them next time. Today was too nice to stay indoors. The kids played outside and we walked around the neighborhood.
Nephew #2 is reading on his own already (Kindergarten) so I'm sure he would like some picture books to read. Non-scary ones for him. He likes space and animals/nature, dinosaurs, NOT zombies. They've been listening to podcasts before bed instead of reading.
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Have you read Creepy Carrots! with them?
Yes! I bought it for my nephew when he was a little younger. I liked Creepy Pair of Underwear! better but that one wa..."
I really liked Next Stop Neptune: Experiencing the Solar System (although it is dated in so far that Pluto is still considered to be a planet, but I really like how the author tries to explain distances by using driving a car). And if your nephew likes cars, I found Roy Makes a Car both engaging and funny, a retelling of an African American folk tale collected by Zora Neale Hurston.
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I am going to have to disagree with you there. There are many scientists who believe in creation or intelligent design of the universe, earth, animals, humans, etc. I personally believe in countering evolutionists with their origin mythologies, circular reasoning, and lack of fossil evidence.
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Maybe I am being just a bit (and perhaps even much more than a bit) too curmudgeonly here, but honestly, why should Andrea Beaty point out in her Ada Twist, Sc..."
I had a much more favorable response to this book. I, too, am sensitive about the promotion of science over arts/humanities so I can see where you are coming from there. I personally didn't pick up on anything negative here, but that was just my take. In many ways, I felt that it spoke to the notion of all children being "scientists" to some degree -- they are naturally curious, experimental, etc. etc.
It's interesting you called out the parents allowing her to engage in destructive behavior. I am usually sensitive about that, too, but again I didn't pick up on anything here. Maybe I was just in a good mood when I read it ;-) I do think children need boundaries and to show respect, but I also do think sometimes children can be a little too confined just for the sake of order/cleanliness etc. especially because modern life keeps them indoors so often where messes are more of a "big deal" compared to them experimenting and getting messy outside. So, perhaps I am a little more tolerant than some parents about messes -- as long as the children help clean them up ;-)
But, really, it's been a few years since I read this so the specific incidents in the book are not really fresh in my mind.
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Hooray! I hope you are able to get some good books. This is the same system we have with only being able to get books that are currently on the shelf at that branch and no returns but so far I have been able to request several very good books that are ready to be picked up this week. The problem is I'll max out if we aren't able to return books soon so I do hope that will be allowed in the near future (and also it will put more books back into circulation which is needed, too). I hope you can find some appealing books for your little gremlins ;-)
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Maybe I am being just a bit (and perhaps even much more than a bit) too curmudgeonly here, but honestly, why should Andrea Beaty point out in..."
I just had a very negative reaction to parts of the story. And while I liked how supportive the parents were, if I had a child who had not spoken a word by the age of three, I would have worried.
I do have Roy Makes a Car on the boys' wish list but the libraries nearest me don't own it so I can't get it until they resume moving books between libraries. Younger nephew won't like that solar system book. He knows Pluto isn't a planet and there's a brand new planet recently discovered! He told me! He said "I'm not lying! Look it up!" I did and he was correct.
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Roy Makes a Car is definitely fun.
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My boys liked Curiosity: The Story of a Mars Rover. Big Book of Rockets and Spacecraft was also a big hit -- lots of fold-out pages so the rockets look huge. These are both more advanced than beginning readers but could be nice for read-aloud.
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Mission to Pluto: The First Visit to an Ice Dwarf and the Kuiper Belt is also excellent, but it might still be a bit too advanced for your sons or for QNPoohBear's nephews but it is something to keep in mind.
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Thank you!
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Thank you!"
It was a five star book for me and you know that I am picky.
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My 6 year old nephew can handle advanced if someone reads with him. He just doesn't like the scary stuff his cousin is into. He's very precocious! Every time I have a conversation with him, I have to ask "HOW old are you?!" because his conversation is so sophisticated. He may have read some of these suggestions. I see their city library has them. That library is doing curbside pickup so I can send my brother and sister-in-law recommendations.
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As a young child, I did not mind scary texts, but I did mind scary pictures, so I am glad that my exposure to the Brothers Grimm was having my mother read from an unillustrated anthology and not picture books with potentially scary illustrations of Rumplestilzchen etc.
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Although there is nothing really all that novel and exciting about Little Goblins Ten (which is basically just a typical Halloween-based picture book adaptation of the traditional Over in the Meadow song), I certainly and smilingly have found the combination of Pamela Jane's adapted lyrics and Jane Manning's accompanying artwork both sweet and engaging, never in my opinion potentially too creepy and frightening, and indeed especially visually providing a fun introduction to all things Halloween for the very young (but of course, if you actually do consider Halloween as a no-no, as something inherently evil and uncanny, Little Goblins Ten should probably be avoided).
And yes, with Little Goblins Ten it is in fact Jane Manning's illustrations that have made me rank this with four stars. For while the author's, while Pamela Jane's verses are basically just a standard adaptation of Over in the Meadow, Jane Manning's pictures are totally and delightfully detailed and full of colour and expressiveness (and not to mention that the pictures of the galavanting baby goblins, witches, skeletons, dragons etc. also provide fun counting practice of the numbers from one to ten). Highly recommended, albeit that yes, I certainly would have enjoyed Little Goblins Ten just a trifle more, if at the back of the book, Patricia Jane had also provided the musical score and perhaps even the original lyrics for Over in the Meadow, as while so very many picture book adaptations of the latter seem to exist, the majority of them sadly do not bother including the original (and I do think that this is somewhat of a shortcoming).
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I will say first and foremost that I totally hate hate hate with every fibre of my being anyone who thinks and believes that banning and censoring books is anything other than undemocratic and dictatorial Stalinism and Nazism (and that yes, as a person of German background, there indeed is a very good and necessary reason for me to react this absolutely negatively towards ANY AND ALL attempts at censorship and book banning and I will also not ever consider my animosity towards this with either guilt or contrition).
And with regard to And Tango Makes Three, in my opinion (and yes, this is only my personal opinion, but I do stand by it), if you really think that reading a beautifully illustrated and tenderly recounted picture book story about two male penguins hatching an egg and raising the resultant chick is either promoting homosexuality or could even (oh horror) turn children into homosexuals then from where I am standing you probably have your own deep issues with sexual identity. Because well, when I was reading and enjoying And Tango Makes Three I just enjoyed the presented narrative for what it is and always will be (and indeed, even if the two male penguins might have been homosexual, even that possibility is in my opinion rather insignificant as homosexuality is a biological and zoological fact which does at times tend to happen and no matter what the anti same sex relationship crowd might claim to the contrary).
Finally, I also have no issues with those readers who do not enjoy And Tango Makes Three and yes (albeit a bit grudgingly) I also do think that within one's family, parents do have and should have the right to monitor and yes even to ban books they consider inappropriate. However, that does NOT and should NOT mean that you should also have the right to impose your reading restrictions and censorship ideas on others, that while you do have the right to limit your own children's reading choices, this is as far as it should ever go.
I read And Tango Makes Three back when E was a toddler. It was the #1 banned book the year she was born so I HAD to read it. I didn't understand why it was banned. It's based on a true story about two male penguins that raised an egg to a chick together. It's a cute story and has nothing to do with sex and sexuality. People who ban books don't actually READ them. They just hear about the basic premise and flip a lid based on little information or misinformation. I think E liked the book but I don't remember if she sat still long enough to listen to it. Her baby doll enjoyed it when I read it to her LOL! "Beebee (baby)" was very good at sitting still and quietly listening.
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I hope you'll enjoy it, though there is no mention of dinosaurs that I recall. There is another book by the team, Seashells: More Than a Home, which we also enjoyed though I think I liked "Feathers" better.
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Exactly, just like Black Beauty was banned in South Africa during apartheid because of the title and the moronic government stooges who banned the book did not even realise that it was a story about a black horse.
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In my opinion, those who have tried to get And Tango Makes Three (and other books) banned are mirror images of the Nazi book burners of the Third Reich.
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I must add this to my to-read pile and I do think that Kate Messner works better for me with non than with fiction as I really did not enjoy Breakout, but have so far liked all of the non fiction picture books by her that I have tried.
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I love her non-fiction picture books. I've only read Sugar and Ice in terms of her novels and it was okay but not wow, IMO
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I have a few downloaded and on my to read shelf but the first one I tried, the above mentioned Breakout, I really did not enjoy writing style wise.
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I still (and yes, even years later) cannot even remotely fathom that Bill Martin Junior's classic and universally beloved by young children Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? was actually and in fact categorically banned in 2010 by the State Board of Education in Texas because its (and not really sorry at all or feeling in any manner contrite about being insulting and denigrating here) obviously brainless members (and in particular board member Pat Harding, who also made things much much worse and herself look absolutely and utterly ridiculous by repeatedly and vocally trying to justify herself) somehow and in error believed that Bill Martin Junior was the same author, was the same Bill Martin of the University of Chicago who in 2008 penned an academic textbook called Ethical Marxism: The Categorical Imperative of Liberation (a book I have actually read, and no, it did not turn me into a raging Communist either, Ms. Harding).
I mean, banning children's books is bad enough anyhow as well as it being totally undemocratic and dictatorial (read Stalinist, Fascist), but really for those extremist right-wing Texas ignorants who were obviously infesting the State Board of Education like dangerous parasites to ban and to forbid Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? from being used and displayed in Texas schools because they were obviously not able to figure out that the author of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and the author of Ethical Marxism: The Categorical Imperative of Liberation were different Bill Martins (and especially since Bill Martin Junior had died in 2004 and the other Bill Martin did not even pen his ethical Marxism book until 2008), this just so totally and painfully shows that the Texas Board of Education's members who insisted on Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? being removed from schools are either not able or not willing to adequately research authors or the books they write. And really, how is the Texas Board of Education's 2010 banning of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? any different from when in the South Africa of apartheid, Anna Sewell's classic horse autobiography Black Beauty was banned by government bureaucrats because they thought the novel was about people with darker skins being beautiful (and of course, this could not be accepted, and without the bureaucrats even bothering to read Black Beauty, it was banned).
But then again, perhaps Pat Harding actually did read Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and thought (after reading the author's name and freaking out, even if in error) that there indeed is some kind of hidden and insidious left wing propaganda present and ready to hurt young children in Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, that perhaps Eric Carle's illustration of that big red bird signify a support of Russian Communism, of Leninism and that the yellow duck's colour could be considered as being a positive nod towards Chinese style Communism, to Maoism? I mean, who knows, and while I am of course being majorly tongue in cheek here, it is indeed pretty darn surprising and woefully disgusting how many strange reasons for banning books especially book banners in the USA and in staunchly Social Conservative areas seem to regularly come up with and vehemently support (and democracy, my foot, as Social Conservatism is far far too often politically Fascist and also even quite majorly akin to Stalinism and Leninism at its extreme).
message 191:
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Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs
(last edited May 13, 2020 08:12AM)
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Oh my goodness, yes! I loved Ruth Heller's books when I was a kid. I have read some to my sons but we haven't made it through all of them yet. This is a great reminder to see what else I can find :-)
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I still (and yes, even years later) cannot even remotely fathom that Bill Martin Junior's classic and universally beloved by young children B..."
Well, this ignorant Texan loves that book and used it frequently in story times. I guess I was so ignorant that I thought it was a book to introduce pre-school children to some of the basic different colors. I even made it into a magnet board story and let the little ones put the individual animal pieces on the board for me.
Incidentally, I don't even remember hearing or reading about TBE wanting to ban the book. I was still working in the library at that time, and I don't know why I was completely unaware of the controversy.
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I still (and yes, even years later) cannot even remotely fathom that Bill Martin Junior's classic and universally beloved b..."
I am glad you like me loved the book. I still cannot imagine anyone banning the book. And really, even if the book had been written by the same author who wrote that book on Marxism (which obviously was not the case), there is nothing in Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See? to warrant any type of concern.
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I still (and yes, even years later) cannot even remotely fathom that Bill Martin Junior's classic and universally beloved b..."
I have to admit that I actually checked online after hearing this, as the whole story sounded so ridiculous but there were sadly rather many stories verifying it.
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I believed you about the incident. I must have had my head in the sand or something to miss it. Or, maybe I heard about it, then completely forgot about it; that's also possible.
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I believed ..."
Well, it is the kind of horrid story one would rather want to forget, no?
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What an interesting and indeed also majorly inspiring and encouraging story is The Secret Subway. And yes, I totally and absolutely appreciate how Alfred Ely Beech decided to simply ignore the politicking and the often and generally haphazard rules and official obstacles of 19th century New York City and to build, to construct his secret subway totally on the sly so to speak (and well, how typical for shopkeepers to originally be so very much against and opposed to an underground train system, although I do actually understand that building owners would have had their doubts about how safe tunnelling underground might be for foundations and the like). A fun and engagingly told story, Shana Corey's presented narrative is both informative and entertaining, sure in my opinion to retain children's interest either while The Secret Subway is being read aloud or indeed, if independent readers are perusing it by and for themselves, with Red Nose Studio's, with Chris Sickels' artwork (consisting of three dimensional polymer clay figurines full of expressivity and colour) providing an in my humble opinion just about perfect accompaniment to and for Shana Corey's equally thus narrative.
However, even though I have most definitely totally found the combination of text and images in The Secret Subway both a textual and a visual treat, what in my opinion truly makes The Secret Subway shiningly and glowingly stand out is the absolutely marvellous in every way supplemental details and information section, consisting not only of Shana Corey's informative author's note complete with both book and internet sources but also an expansive and enlightening sojourn into how Chris Sickels' created the illustrations for The Secret Subway. And while of course, one can still totally enjoy The Secret Subway without considering, without reading the author's and the illustrator's notes, both do in my opinion provide the absolute icing on an already very much delicious reading cake.
And yes, the only reason that instead of five stars, I am in fact ranking this Kindle edition of The Secret Subway with but three stars is that for one the illustrations especially do look a trifle blurry and much too small and that for two, having to constantly zoom in to be able to adequately and comfortably read the presented narratives (both in the text proper of The Secret Subway and yes, in particular with the author's and the illustrator's notes) really does tend to rather get monotonous and annoying. Therefore, while I do in fact very highly recommend The Secret Subway in my humble opinion, the Kindle version really does not do sufficient justice to either Shana Corey's printed words or to Red Nose Studio's, to Chris Sickels' artwork.
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