June Reads - 2021

[Kristen]

[[author:Sharon Langley|17270942]book:Bedtime for Sweet Creatures|37572178] by Nikki Grimes and illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon.

On Wings of Words: The Extraordinary Life of Emily Dickinson written by Jennifer Berne and illustrated by Jennifer Berne.

The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver written by Gene Barretta and illustrated by Frank Morrison.

A Ride to Remember: A Civil Rights Story written by Sharon Langley and illustrated by Amy Nathan.

Could any of these titles win the Caldecott award? What did you think of them?

[Laura]

I love, love, love all of these titles. I am calling it for Bedtime for Sweet Creatures. This title and The Kind and Caring World of Fred Rogers By Matthew Cordell and Swashby by the Sea by Beth Ferry are my top three picks for the 2021 Caldecott. These are the kinds of books children will want to read. Well written, original, entertaining and beautiful. How I hope the 2021 Caldecott winners will be filled with books that are important but also that children will love. This is my review of Bedtime For Sweet Creatures from January:
It is only January but Bedtime for Sweet Creatures will be one of my favorite picture books of 2020. The rhythm and illustrations are perfection. The book begs to be acted out. The illustrations are so interesting and lovely. I find myself reaching for this title over and over. It is a picture book stand out.

[Beverly]

Bedtime for Sweet Creatures
I loved this sweet bedtime story. I really liked how the illustrator juxtaposed the realistic looking humans with the highly stylized, patterned animals. In my opinion, the text and illustrations meshed perfectly, with an adept intermingling of the real and imaginary.
Now that I have a hard copy in my hands, I can see the cut paper and collage in the illustrations, which give the illustrations a rich texture that was not apparent from the YouTube video.

[Beverly]

A Ride to Remember
I liked this fascinating memoir of an incident in Civil Rights history. But I loved Cooper's soft, fuzzy illustrations that I thought were a perfect accompaniment to the story.

[Carol]

Laura wrote: "How I hope the 2021 Caldecott winners will be filled with books that are important but also that children will love." A point very well made!!!

[Beverly]

On Wings of Words
I thought the watercolor and gouache illustrations did a wonderful job of depicting Emily's love of nature, especially, the scenes of nature in her silhouette and in her eyes. I also liked the depictions of her riding a grasshopper and riding a butterfly; and emerging from a rose. So, I think the book does a great job of melding text and illustration together.

[Carol]

A Ride to Remember makes my top five list for Caldecott. Before reading the book, I wondered why the fuzzy look to the art. Upon reading this most informative story about a Civil Rights Movement in Baltimore at an Amusement Park in the late 1960s, I see the importance of the muddled look to the illustrations. This story is "looking back" at a hard, important successful time in history that opened up a fun amusement park to all families, all colors, all races. However, we do not, yet, have a clear view of the issue. - Nice approach to illustrating the story

[Beverly]

Carol wrote: "A Ride to Remember makes my top five list for Caldecott. Before reading the book, I wondered why the fuzzy look to the art. Upon reading this most informative story about a Civil Rights Movement in..."

I have read many books illustrated by Floyd Cooper, and that soft, fuzzy illustration style is his signature style. He uses it in all the books he illustrates.

[Beverly]

The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver
Frank Morrison illustrates this book with beautiful oil paintings, but most (not all) of the people depicted look somber and unsmiling. This doesn't detract from the illustrations, I just wondered about his choice of expression. He also does a fantastic job of depicting the woods which young George love to visit, and in which he studied many types of plants. I loved that the author included this statement regarding George's "secret garden": "In his mind, the garden was a true gift from God, whom he called the Great Creator." Wonderful biography.

[Beth]

I just had the opportunity to reread both Bedtime and Wings of Words and loved them even more the second time through.

Bedtime for Sweet Creatures is now in my top 3, primarily because it inspires the imagination of a child, and I truly believe that, if my children were still young, they would be clamoring to hear this read to them almost every night. I've always enjoyed Nikki Grimes's poetry, and it complements the illustrations so successfully that the words and pictures seem organic and fluid and completely natural. Plus, it's so true to life and full of joy and love. What's not to like?!

I also find On the Wings of Words to be a gorgeous celebration of words and thoughts and imagination. The text seamlessly weaves in Dickinson's words, and the illustrations are stunning testaments to the poet's abstract and symbolic visions. I think this would be an equally-strong contender for the Newbery because it is so well-written and will encourage young readers to seek out Dickinson's poems and respond to her words with pictures of their own. It opens so many vistas in one's mind, just as Dickinson's poems do.

[Ellen]

I just got ahold of Bedtime for Sweet Creatures and love the story, mood, facial expressions, and patterned, colorful, imaginative animals. Grimes and Zunon make defiant bedtime behavior so sweet and tolerable... and maybe that is why this mother seems unbelievably patient.

The bold, colorful illustrations of The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver are intoxicating.

A Ride to Remember: A Civil Rights Story is especially accessible for children because it captures injustice through the eyes of a child asking fair, curious questions, accompanied by soft, welcoming, safe illustrations. I like how Beverly describes them as "soft, fuzzy" above.

I think these are all strong contenders.