Tag Archives: fantasy

PPBF – A Story About AFIYA

Posted on December 4, 2020 | 3 comments

Today’s Perfect Picture Book is one of a handful of picture books included in the New York Times’ list of top 25 children’s books of 2020. I think you’ll agree that it deserves this honor!

Title: A Story About AFIYA

Written By: James Berry

Illustrated By: Anna Cunha

Publisher/Date: Lantana Publishing/2020

Suitable for Ages: 3+

Themes/Topics: fantasy, nature, multicultural, poetry

Opening:

Afiya has fine black skin that shows off her white clothes and big brown eyes that laugh and long limbs that play.

She has a white summer frock she wears and washes every night that every day picks on something to collect, strangely.

Brief Synopsis:

Each day, as young Afiya ventures forth, the wonders of nature that she experiences imprint themselves upon her white dress.

Links to Resources:

  • Decorate a white sheet or other cloth or paper with the scenes of nature you experienced today;
  • Do you have a favorite outfit? Why is it your favorite? Draw a picture of yourself wearing this outfit;
  • Read and enjoy poems about winter.

Why I Like this Book:

Poetic language and dreamy illustrations combine to chronicle the wonders of nature as experienced by a young black girl, Afiya. On the title page, readers learn that Afiya (Ah-fee-yah) is a Swahili name that means health.

Like a young child’s mind, the “white as new paper” dress transforms each day, bearing the imprints of all that Afiya explores and enjoys, from colorful flowers to tigers at the zoo. And as a child’s mind resets after a good night’s rest, so, too, does the dress become a blank slate each morning, after Afiya has washed it each night.

I love the pure joy expressed in the text and the soft illustrations. Afiya almost appears to dance off of the page. I also find the focus on nature so refreshing.

If you’re looking for a picture book to help you forget about our current stress-filled times, I highly recommend A Story About AFIYA.

A Note about Craft:

James Berry (1924-2017) was a celebrated Jamaican poet who lived most of his adult life in Britain. In his text, I think he utilizes the white dress as a metaphor for an inquisitive child’s mind, that soaks up the wonders of nature each day and is washed clear each night, ready to absorb more of nature’s refreshing tonic the following day.

This Perfect Picture Book entry is being added to Susanna Hill’s Perfect Picture Book list. Check out the other great picture books featured there!

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PPBF – The Secret of the Tattered Shoes

Posted on January 10, 2020 | 11 comments

Sometimes when events in my own life or on the world stage get me down, there’s nothing better than retreating into a fairy tale – a fantasy world filled with princesses, heroes, and magic. And when that tale is a collaboration between an award-winning British author and an award-winning Iranian illustrator, I know that I’m in for a treat (and a welcome respite from the divisions that threaten our world), and that you are, too.

Title: The Secret of the Tattered Shoes

Written By: Jackie Morris

Illustrated By: Ehsan Abdollahi

Publisher/Date: Tiny Owl Publishing/2019

Suitable for Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: fairy tales, #OneStoryManyVoices, magic, fantasy

Opening:

A soldier, weary from war, wandered the land. His heart was heavy, troubled by all he had seen and much that he had done, in the name of the king.

In a forest, rich with the green light of sunlight through emerald leaves, he met a woman. He was a hollow shadow of a man. She brimmed with light and life.

Brief Synopsis:

With the help of a wise and kind woman, a war-weary soldier accepts a king’s challenge to discover why the shoes of his 12 daughters are worn out each morning.

Links to Resources:

  • Do you have a favorite fairy tale or nursery rhyme? Try changing one thing in the story – a character or the setting, perhaps, and see how that changes the ending;
  • The Secret of the Tattered Shoes is based on a very old fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Read that story and discuss how the two differ. Why do you think Morris made the changes she did?
  • Watch the book trailer.

Why I Like this Book:

A war-weary soldier meets a woman in the woods. She tells him of a mystery in need of solving by a hero, and she presents him with advice and a gift to help in the quest. When the young man arrives at the castle, he meets a king who needs to know why his daughters’ shoes are worn thin each morning, even though the girls are locked in their chambers each night. The quest: to discover the secret. The stakes: succeed and the soldier is free to marry the princess of his choice and inherit the kingdom and its riches; fail and he forfeits his life.

Like the fairy tale on which it is based, The Secret of the Tattered Shoes combines mystery, magic and a quick-thinking hero. It’s a child’s story, so the adults know in advance that our soldier will survive and solve the mystery and that love will prevail. I won’t spoil the story by sharing how the hero prevails and how he reacts when he does.  Suffice it to say that anyone tired of damsels-in-distress stories will be pleased to read Morris’ version and to learn of the soldier’s choice at the end.

Not only does Morris’ text read like a fairy tale of old, but Abdollahi’s mesmerizing and richly-coloured collaged illustrations transported this reader to a faraway land where magic is possible, and kindness and love prevail.

A Note about Craft:

This is a fairy tale retelling and I heartily recommend that writers read the original and Morris’ version side by side. When I did so, I was surprised to see that in many places Morris tracked the original quite closely. But there were subtle changes, including starting with the forest scene rather than a recounting of the mystery and changing “old woman” in the woods to “a woman”, thus rendering her less witch-like, although clearly someone with magical powers. Even the surroundings seem life-giving and capable of restoring the weary soldier. Could it be that love prevails better in the refuge of the sylvan wilds than in a gilded court?

Learn more about the independent UK publisher, Tiny Owl Publishing, Morris and Abdollahi. See my reviews of three of Abdollahi’s books, When I Coloured in the World, A Bottle of Happiness, and Thinker: My Puppy Poet and Me. The latter two are also international collaborations, building bridges between creators from different cultural traditions and showing readers how the world can be better when we work together.

This Perfect Picture Book entry is being added to Susanna Hill’s Perfect Picture Book list. Check out the other great picture books featured there!

 

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PPBF – Boat of Dreams

Posted on October 25, 2019 | 6 comments

Today’s perfect picture book has been on my “to review” shelf for a while now, awaiting the right time to review it. It’s not about refugees, those affected by immigration bans, or even by an author from a region affected by war. But its haunting illustrations, focus on journeys, and ambiguous storyline make it a perfect read as leaves begin to fall in the northern hemisphere, nights grow longer, and imaginations run wild.

Title: Boat of Dreams

Written & Illustrated By: Rogério Coelho

Publisher/Date: Tilbury House Publishers/2017

Suitable for Ages: 4 and up

Themes/Topics: wordless, aging, dreams, journeys, imagination, fantasy, loneliness

Opening: (from jacket flap)

How does an old man with an umbrella come to live on a desert island, his only companion a seagull? Ho do a boy and his cat come to live in an apparently deserted city? Are the man and the boy separated only by distance, or also by time? Are they the same person – the boy dwelling in the man’s memory? Between them, in a stoppered bottle, floats a piece of paper on which the man draws a flying boat and the boy imagines himself aboard.

Brief Synopsis: A fantastical, wordless picture book in which an older gentleman draws a ship and sends it to a young boy who adds himself to the picture, and then visits the man.

Links to Resources:

  • Design your own ship;
  • Plan a visit to an older relative or friend. How will you journey there? What will you do once you arrive?
  • Draw a picture for an older relative or friend of something you’d like to do with her or him;
  • Start a “chain” picture, with each person in the chain adding something to the original artwork until, at the end, you have a masterpiece created by two or more persons.

Why I Like this Book:

With its haunting, sepia-toned, intricate images and ambiguous storyline, Boat of Dreams is a wordless picture book that has stayed in my mind long after each reading.

As the story begins, an elderly man on a seemingly deserted island finds an empty piece of paper in a bottle. He draws a detailed flying boat and launches his creation into the sea by setting it afloat in the bottle. When an unnamed young boy living somewhere in an unnamed city finds the picture on his doorstep, he adds himself and his sidekick cat to the image. Either dreaming while asleep or actually journeying in this fantastical tale, the boy and his cat visit the gentleman, hand him the completed drawing, and then depart, leaving the picture behind, fastened to the wall above the man’s bed.

Coehlo never reveals who the two characters are or whether they’re one person at different stages of life. We never know where the story occurs, or if the journey actually happens. But the reader does know that two seemingly lonely people come together to create a piece of art that reflects both of them.

I personally would like to believe that the boy and the older man are grandson and grandfather, separated by distance but drawn together by a love of each other and creativity. I view the story as a way to show how togetherness is possible, despite distance or possibly even political barriers.

What’s wonderful about Boat of Dreams is that it’s open to interpretation, so children reading it may come to a different meaning that speaks to them.

A Note about Craft:

Whether the title refers to an imaginary journey undertaken while asleep, whether the aspirations of the young boy culminate in the life of the older man, or whether the older man is reflecting on the hopes he felt as a boy, I think the title, Boat of Dreams, is an apt one. I also think Coehlo’s use of color to indicate moods, from sepia to shades of blue, serves as a tool to further his storytelling and alert the reader to important happenings in the story.

Visit Coelho’s website to view more of this Brazilian illustrator’s work.

This Perfect Picture Book entry is being added to Susanna Hill’s Perfect Picture Book list. Check out the other great picture books featured there!

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Perfect Pairing – of Picture Books about New Homes

Posted on October 8, 2019 | Leave a comment

Moving house is such a difficult transition for adults and kids, so when I found two recent picture books about moving, I just had to pair them!

Ella Who?

Author: Linda Ashman

Illustrator: Sara Sanchez

Publisher/Date: Sterling Children’s Books/2017

Ages: 4-8

Themes: moving, making friends

Short Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Mom . . . there’s an elephant in the living room.
It’s moving day—and look who slipped in the door: an elephant! But when a little girl tries to tell her family about their unusual guest, the distracted grown-ups just say, “Ella WHO?” Even as children giggle at the girl’s adventures with the smallish pachyderm, and at the fun, recurring refrain, they’ll relate to the poignant theme about making—and sometimes letting go of—new friends.

Read a review at Gathering Books.

 

Wallpaper

Author & Illustrator: Thao Lam

Publisher/Date: Owlkids Books, a division of Bayard, Canada/2018

Ages:  3-7

Themes: moving, making friends, fantasy, courage

Short Synopsis (from Goodreads):

New from the creator of Skunk on a String comes Wallpaper, a wordless picture book in Thao Lam’s signature paper collage style. It tells the story of a young girl whose family moves into a new house. Outside, she can hear other kids playing, but she’s too shy to say hello. So she picks at the old wallpaper in her room―revealing an entryway to a fantastic imaginary adventure world behind the walls.

Read my review.

I paired these books because they both feature main characters who are in the process of moving into a new home. In Ella Who? the unnamed main character finds a baby elephant among the boxes and potted plants, but her family is unable to see this new friend. In the wordless Wallpaper, the unnamed main character uncovers worlds hiding beneath the wallpaper in her new bedroom. Both books address the desire of children who have recently moved to find friendship in their new neighborhoods with fantasy and fun.

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PPBF – Wallpaper

Posted on September 27, 2019 | 6 comments

I discovered today’s Perfect Picture Book while reading a blog post at Gathering Books. The title and cover intrigued me, and, luckily, I was able to obtain a copy through the interlibrary loan network (what would we do without it!).

Title: Wallpaper

Written & Illustrated By: Thao Lam

Publisher/Date: Owlkids Books, a division of Bayard Canada/2018

Suitable for Ages: 4-7

Themes/Topics: moving, making friends, fantasy, courage

Opening:

Blah-blah, blah-blah-blah, blah-blah

Brief Synopsis: In this virtually wordless picture book, a young girl struggling to adapt to a new home and neighborhood discovers a fantastical world hidden under the wallpaper of her new bedroom.

Links to Resources:

  • Sometimes we all feel shy or afraid. What scares you? What do you do when you’re scared or feeling shy?
  • Design a wallpaper pattern for your bedroom;
  • Create a collage with wallpaper scraps.

Why I Like this Book:

Moving is one of the more difficult transitions anyone can undertake. And for a shy person, as the unnamed main character in Wallpaper undoubtedly is, it’s even more difficult. When she notices children playing in a tree house near her window and waving at her, the poor girl is too shy or frightened to wave back. Instead, she enters a world that she uncovers hidden within layers of wallpaper in her new bedroom. There she discovers a monster. A lively chase entails until the young girl discovers that if a monster can be a friend, perhaps the children in her new neighborhood can be friends, too.

Because it’s virtually wordless, Wallpaper will be a wonderful read together story that creates an opportunity to discuss overcoming the fear of something that is unknown or different, including moving to a new home, neighborhood and school. For those who haven’t experienced a move, it hopefully will help them empathize with new neighbors and classmates and welcome them.

Illustrated with bright, intricate collages, Wallpaper invites readers to marvel at what may lie hidden below the surface of wherever they may find themselves.

A Note about Craft:

I’m not an illustrator, and I’m always in awe of the emotions an illustrator can evoke via pictures. By limiting the text to a few sounds only, I think Lam enables readers to tell the story via their own words, and perhaps, in doing so, share what’s troubling them.

Visit Lam’s website to view more of her work.

Owlkids Books is a Canadian publisher that “publishes entertaining, unique, high-quality books and magazines that nurture the potential of children and instill in them a love of reading and learning — about themselves and the world around them.”

This Perfect Picture Book entry is being added to Susanna Hill’s Perfect Picture Book list. Check out the other great picture books featured there!

 

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Perfect Pairing – Visits the Library Lions

Posted on August 6, 2019 | 3 comments

I live in the New York metropolitan region and have had the pleasure of visiting the New York Public Library and seeing the lions who are the stars of this pairing. For those who aren’t able to visit New York City, I think these books, read together, will introduce you to this amazing duo who welcome readers into this wonderful library.

 

Lost in the Library: A Story of Patience & Fortitude

Author: Josh Funk

Illustrator: Stevie Lewis

Publisher/Date:

Ages: 5-7

Themes: New York Public Library, library lions, fantasy, imagination, rhyming

Short Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Steadfast Fortitude and curious Patience are waiting every morning to greet visitors of the Library.

That is until, one early morning, when Fortitude finds Patience is missing. The city is about to awake, and the lions absolutely must be in their places before the sun rises. Now, Fortitude must abandon his own post to find his best friend in the Library’s labyrinthine halls.

Read a review at Kirkus Reviews.

 

The Night Library

Author: David Zeltser

Illustrator: Raul Colón

Publisher/Date: Random House/2019

Ages:  3-7

Themes: New York Public Library, grief, magic of books, library lions, fantasy, imagination

Short Synopsis (from Goodreads):

The Polar Express meets The Night at the Museum in this fantastical picture-book adventure about the magic of books and libraries, perfect for book lovers of all ages!

After a young boy goes to sleep upset that he’s getting a book for his birthday, he’s visited in the night by Patience and Fortitude, the two stone lions who guard the New York Public Library. Soon, he’s magically whisked away from his cozy home in the Bronx, and the two mighty lions show him the wonder of the library. There, the inquisitive Latino boy discovers the power of books and their role not only in his own life, but also in the lives of the people he loves.

Raul Colon’s gorgeous, rich art creates an immersive world in this book about books, which is sure to capture the imaginations of kids and adults and inspire them to grab their library cards and dive into the worlds of stories.

Read a review at The Picture Book Buzz.

I paired these books because they both feature the two famous lions that flank the entrance of the main branch of the New York Public Library: Patience and Fortitude. But while the focus of Lost in the Library is the pair of lions, a young boy who has stopped reading because he misses his deceased grandfather is the main character of The Night Library.

Looking for similar reads?

See my pairing of two other picture books featuring stone lions that come to life.

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