Tag Archives: kindness

PPBF – The Doll

Posted on August 6, 2021 | 5 comments

Who doesn’t enjoy receiving a gift upon arrival after a long journey? I think everyone appreciates that kindness, including the characters in today’s Perfect Picture Book.

Title: The Doll

Written By: Nhung N. Tran-Davies

Illustrated By: Ravy Puth

Publisher/Date: Second Story Press/2021

Suitable for Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: refugees, kindness, paying it forward

Opening:

Long ago, in a nearby land, there was a young girl whose eyes were deep-ocean blue, whose dimples twinkled like bright mischievous stars.

She was waiting.

Brief Synopsis: A young girl is welcomed to a new land with the gift of a doll, and then, as an adult, she welcomes another young refugee with that same doll.

Links to Resources:

  • Have you ever received a special gift? How did you feel? Draw a picture of that gift or write a thank you note to the giver;
  • The author arrived as a refugee from Vietnam. Learn more about that country;
  • The new arrival fled conflict in Syria. Discover more about Syria (information is all pre-war).

Why I Like this Book:

Based on the author’s own experiences as a Boat Person arriving in Canada from Vietnam, The Doll showcases two acts of kindness separated by decades.

When a young stranger gives a doll to a newly-arrived refugee, the girl feels welcome in her new home. Years later, after reaching adulthood and becoming a doctor, that refugee learns about the conflict in Syria and the suffering of the people there. She remembers how she felt fleeing Vietnam and arriving, with almost nothing, to Canada. She also remembers the kindness of a young Canadian who welcomed her with that special gift, and pays that gift forward, by regifting the doll.

I love how one gift changed the outlook and life of the unnamed main character, as she settled into her adopted country and grew up to become a doctor. I also love how such a kid-friendly object, the doll, symbolizes the kindness shown the main character and that she passes that gift along to a new refugee years later.

I think The Doll is a wonderful new picture book to share with children to show them the enduring power of one act of kindness.

A Note about Craft:

As noted above, The Doll is based on a true story, on events that the author experienced personally. Because she remembered her flight from Vietnam and the welcoming gift that greeted her upon arrival in Canada, I think Tran-Davies is able to demonstrate empathy in a particularly kid-friendly way.

Interestingly, Tran-Davies begins her story not from the perspective of the main character who receives the doll, but on the giver. She then recounts the main character’s gift to the new refugee decades later using parallel structure and even similar words. Also interestingly, the story takes place over decades, something that Tran-Davies manages by, I think, focusing on the two similar gifting scenes.

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 Suitcase

Posted on July 23, 2021 | 2 comments

For many of us, summer is a time to travel. Whether you travel by car, train, or plane, or even if armchair travel is the only trip in your immediate future, no journey is complete unless you carry something along, like the object featured in today’s Perfect Picture Book.

Title: The Suitcase

Written & Illustrated By: Chris Naylor-Ballesteros

Publisher/Date: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/2020 (originally published in Great Britain, Nosy Crow/2019)

Suitable for Ages: 4-7

Themes/Topics: migration, differences, memories, kindness, empathy

Opening:

A strange animal arrived one day, looking dusty, tired, sad, and frightened.

He was pulling a big suitcase.

Brief Synopsis:

When a strange-looking newcomer arrives dragging a large suitcase, the animals wonder why he’s appeared and what he’s carrying in the suitcase.

Links to Resources:

  • Find a spare suitcase or an empty box and fill it with treasures. What did you pack? Why?
  • When you meet a new kid at school or in your neighborhood, how do you help them to feel welcome?
  • Host a tea party for your friends. Better yet, invite a few newcomers to join the party.

Why I Like this Book:

As the story begins, a strange creature arrives carrying a large suitcase. Three friends, a bird, a rabbit, and a fox, question the creature about the contents of the suitcase, which, readers learn, includes a teacup, a table and chair, and even the stranger’s home and surrounding area. Not trusting that all of that could fit in the suitcase, the doubting friends decide to break it open when the creature falls asleep and discover what’s really inside.

I won’t spoil the ending, but suffice it to say that there’s a reason that I included a tea party activity, and that the wordless spread that follows the creature’s awakening may bring tears to your eyes (it did for me).

Naylor-Ballesteros’ pen, ink, pencil, and watercolor illustrations are simple renderings of the characters and appear primarily against white backgrounds. The reader doesn’t really know where the action occurs, just that the strange-looking newcomer has arrived and that his teal coloring and cucumber shape are in sharp contrast to the yellow- and red-hued animals. To avoid dialogue tags and speech bubbles, each creature’s dialogue matches its hue.

Perhaps because of the pared-down illustrations or the simple, limited text, The Suitcase read like a fable to me. Despite the age range noted, I can easily envision children in elementary school role playing this story and discussing how they would feel if a newcomer arrived; whether they would want to examine a stranger’s belongings if given the opportunity; whether they would stop a friend or relative from doing so; and what they thought of the stranger’s reaction to the animals’ behavior.

While the newcomer in The Suitcase appears to be a refugee or migrant, it’s not entirely clear from the story, and it avoids including the difficult backstory that often appears in stories about migrants and refugees. And because of this fuzziness, this story easily could be about any newcomer that looks or acts differently – anything, really, that might cause the original inhabitants to feel distrustful.

The Suitcase is a picture book that I’ve enjoyed reading multiple times, and that I highly recommend for home and classroom libraries.

A Note about Craft:

Rather than populating this story with humans, Naylor-Ballesteros creates an anthropomorphic world with a newcomer differentiated by color and shape. I think choosing animals rather than humans to tell this story adds a fable-like aspect to it. It also gives it more universal appeal, as it avoids rooting the story in a particular place or time.

Note that the title places the emphasis on the newcomer’s belongings and highlights the connections between our possessions and ourselves.

Naylor-Ballesteros utilizes a double-spread dream sequence mid-story to share the newcomer’s backstory. This flashback, while unusual in a picture book, effectively conveys to readers that the newcomer has fled his former home, creates empathy in readers, and provides the perfect set-up to the story’s climax that appears after one of the better page turns I’ve experienced in a picture book recently.

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 Paper Boat: A Refugee Story

Posted on July 9, 2021 | 4 comments

I’m sticking with the theme of boats, as I think summer is the perfect time to read about them. I hope you agree!

Title: The Paper Boat: A Refugee Story

Written & Illustrated By: Thao Lam

Publisher/Date: Owlkids Books/2020

Suitable for Ages: 5-9

Themes/Topics: refugees, journey, Vietnam, ants, wordless, kindness

Opening: n/a

Brief Synopsis: A wordless picture book recounting an escape from Vietnam.

Links to Resources:

  • Tell a story about your family or an adventure you’ve had using only pictures;
  • Learn about the Southeast Asian country of Vietnam;
  • Watch Lam’s YouTube video about the making of The Paper Boat and check out the Author’s Note;
  • Make your own paper boat.

Why I Like this Book:

In this wordless picture book, Lam recounts a story handed down by her mother depicting the family’s journey from Vietnam. In the first frames of the story, ants crawl among family treasures and attack food set out on a table. A young girl sees the ants drowning in soup, and she rescues them.

As symbols of war proliferate outside the family’s home, the girl and her parents flee first to the safety of tall grasses, and then, following a trail of ants, to a boat. Before departing in that boat, the girl and her mother construct a paper boat to save the ants who helped them find the sea.

Leaving one’s homeland to seek safety is difficult for children to understand. And depicting the horrors of a sea journey isn’t easy in a picture book. But by focusing on the kindnesses shown by the young girl and by the grateful ants, Lam makes the topic more kid-friendly. In addition, rather than portraying the humans’ journey in the crowded refugee boat, Lam instead focused on the ants’ journey in the paper boat, before returning, at the end of the story, to a reunion of the ants with the young girl and her family in their new home, safe from the soldiers of their homeland.

I especially love the last spread, that shows the family that fled Vietnam in one apartment surrounded by other apartments filled with many multicultural families.

Lam’s colorful cut-paper collages include so many rich details. The Paper Boat will be a wonderful addition to school and home libraries that is sure to prompt many discussions about why families flee their homelands, how they journeyed to their new homes, and what awaits them there.

A Note about Craft:

I don’t often review wordless picture books as I find that I often need text to follow the storyline. But Lam’s visual narrative, arranged in graphic-novel style with several vignettes to a page, reads like a film, unfolding seamlessly. And I think this particular story works better as a wordless one given the many questions the subject matter undoubtedly will raise in young readers.

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 – Come with Me

Posted on June 5, 2020 | 8 comments

With the barrage of heart-wrenching newscasts these past few months, I think many of us may want to curl up in a ball and try to tune it all out. But neither we, nor our children, can do so. So, what can we do? Today’s Perfect Picture Book may provide a few ideas.

Title: Come With Me

Written By: Holly M. McGhee

Illustrated By: Pascal Lemaître

Publisher/Date: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group/2017

Suitable for Ages: 5-8

Themes/Topics: kindness, overcoming fear, making a difference, diversity

Opening:

All over the world, the news told and told and retold of anger and hatred—People against people.

And the little girl was frightened by everything she heard and saw and felt.

Brief Synopsis: After watching the news on television, a young girl asks her parents what she, a young girl, can do to overcome the hatred and anger evident in the world.

Links to Resources:

  • Think about a few everyday activities you can do to show you care about others. Perhaps it’s including a person from another background or with another skin color in your group, perhaps it’s saying hello to someone who looks or speaks differently than you, or perhaps it’s just a smile on your face for everyone you meet;
  • Describe in words or pictures a time you felt afraid. Why did you feel afraid? What did you do to stop feeling afraid?
  • Describe in words or pictures a time you reached out to someone who looked frightened, lonely, or sad. How did you feel after you did so?
  • Watch the book trailer.

Why I Like this Book:

Written in the aftermath of the 9/11 and Brussels bombings, Come with Me features small, everyday actions that even children can undertake to overcome their own fears and spread kindness in the world. But while these twin aims certainly feature in the book, I think its message goes further: there are small, everyday actions we all can take to make the world better and more inclusive. Whether it’s thinking of others by wearing a mask in public, or wishing strangers a good day, we all can show kindness to others, especially those who may not look, speak, or act the same as we do.

Written from the point of view of a frightened child who doesn’t know what to do, I think Come with Me presents a unique opportunity for adults and even young children to discuss what children see on the television or what they overhear adults talking about, and how to overcome the fear or inaction that can grip any of us.

A Note about Craft:

Come with Me is a low-word count picture book that leaves lots of space for the illustrator to show the small and big ways the unnamed main character shows bravery in the face of fear, and is welcoming of others who differ from her. It’s unclear whether it was the illustrator’s choice to feature what seems to be a multiracial family or a neighbor who seems to be black, but in both cases, there’s nothing in the text that specifies these attributes.

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 Seeks Soup

Posted on January 14, 2020 | 2 comments

It’s winter, here in North America, a season when I often cook soup for supper. But what do those without soup ingredients do? Perhaps, like creatures all over the world, they start with one simple ingredient.

Bone Button Borscht

Author: Aubrey Davis

Illustrator: Dušan Petričić

Publisher/Date: Kids Can Press/1995

Ages: 4-8

Themes: kindness, resourcefulness, Stone Soup, Judaism

Short Synopsis (from Goodreads):

On a dark winter’s night, a poor beggar arrives in town and wanders from house to house seeking food and shelter. But the townspeople–who don’t think they have anything to give–prove to be as cold as weather. Even the caretaker in the synagogue turns him away. Undaunted, the beggar removes five bone buttons from his threadbare coat and announces that he can make a delicious soup–enough to feed the whole town–with just one more button.

Read a review in The New York Times.

 

Quill Soup

Author: Alan Durant

Illustrator: Dale Blankenaar

Publisher/date: Tiny Owl Publishing/2019

Ages: 4-8

Themes: One Story Many Voices, animals, folk tale, generosity, hospitality

Short Synopsis (from Tiny Owl’s website):

Quill Soup is a witty tale about the benefits of sharing our resources, and opening our arms to strangers.

Noko, the porcupine, is very hungry. On arriving at a village, he asks the other animals for some food and shelter. But, despite their full bellies, all the animals say they have nothing to spare. Never mind: he’ll just have to make do and cook a pot of soup from the quills off his back – a soup so tasty even the king likes it. Once the villagers hear of his plan they offer just enough ingredients to make a soup worthy of them all…

This African version of Stone Soup celebrates generosity and kindness – and the message that we can all benefit if we share our resources. It’s part of our One Story, Many Voices series, which explores well-known tales told from different cultural perspectives.

Read my review.

I paired these books because they are both versions of the popular folktale, Stone Soup. Set in eastern Europe in winter, Bone Button Borscht features a beggar who needs one more bone button, a pot, and water to make soup in a village where none of the residents will feed him or bring him in from the cold and even the synagogue caretaker, the shamas, is wary of the stranger and unwilling to help, at first. Set somewhere in Africa, Quill Soup features a cast of animals who, like the villagers of Bone Button Borscht, are wary and unwilling to help a stranger, until he pulls a few quills from his own back to make soup fit for a king. I like how these stories differ in location and some particulars, but both further the message that kindness and sharing help everyone.

Looking for similar reads? Please share your favorite Stone Soup version in the comments.

 

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PPBF – Martin & Anne: The Kindred Spirits of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Anne Frank

Posted on April 12, 2019 | 26 comments

I remember as a child being inspired by the words of the subjects of today’s Perfect Picture Book. As a child, and even as an adult who has taken more than my fair share of history courses, I didn’t grasp the parallels in their lives. I’m so glad that the author of today’s Perfect Picture Book saw these parallels, and wrote this book.

Title: Martin & Anne: The Kindred Spirits of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Anne Frank

Written By: Nancy Churnin

Illustrated By: Yevgenia Nayberg

Publisher/Date: Creston Books/2019

Suitable for Ages: 8-14

Themes/Topics: biography; the power of words; kindness; hope

Opening:

In 1929, two babies were born on opposite sides of the ocean. They never met. They didn’t even speak the same language. But their hearts beat with the same hope.

Brief Synopsis: The biographies of Anne Frank and Martin Luther King, Jr., both born in 1929, and the parallels of their lives and legacies.

Links to Resources:

  • Think of someone who shares your birthday or who was born in the year you were born. How are your lives the same? How do they differ?
  • Anne Frank is known to many because of her diary. Try writing (or drawing) a diary for a week, a month, a year, or forever!
  • One of Martin Luther King Jr.’s most well-known speeches begins, “I have a dream”. Do you have a dream? Describe your dream in words or pictures.
  • Participate in The Kindred Spirits Project, which encourages children and class rooms to discover and share what they have in common with children from other regions, schools or countries.
  • Find more suggestions in the Curriculum/Discussion Guide.

Why I Like this Book:

Utilizing parallel structure, Churnin explores the lives of two well-known historical figures born in 1929: Anne Frank and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Although the two never met, they shared life features, such as being born into loving families but facing hatred at an early age. For King, it was being shunned and being barred from “Whites Only” spaces because of his skin color. For Frank, it was being shunned and being barred from school, first in Germany, from which her family fled, and then in Holland, because of her Jewish faith and heritage. Both King and Frank found their voices as teenagers, King as an orator who spoke of “black and white children playing together in harmony”, and Frank as a diarist who reflected on “how light could brighten the deepest darkness”. Despite the challenges they faced, both remained hopeful of a better world. Frank believed in people’s innate goodness, and King believed in the power of peaceful protest to bring about justice for all.

Churnin traces the lives of these peace builders through to their untimely deaths. But rather than dwelling on their early deaths, she leaves readers with hope, as “no one could kill the way Martin inspired others”, and “Anne’s words will never die”.

Many children’s books have been written about the lives and legacies of Martin and Anne. By pointing out the parallels in their lives and in their hopes in the face of hatred, I think Churnin has brought a new perspective to both of their legacies that will empower children to view their own circumstances with hope and treat others with kindness and love.

Because Martin & Anne involves two storylines in distinct locations an ocean apart, the illustrations play an important role in bringing a sense of unity to the whole. Nayberg’s soft, earth-toned, stylized art works well to convey the worlds of both of these historical figures. Her inclusion of a brighter palette towards the end of the book left me feeling hopeful that King’s and Frank’s legacies will endure.

A Note about Craft:

Although children’s biographies of both King and Frank exist, Churnin brings new life to their legacies by showing the parallels in their lives. For those of us writing picture book biographies, this illustrates that finding a fresh way into a story, even if that way involves combining two biographies into one book, enables authors to explore even well-known figures and contribute to our understanding of them.

Visit Churnin’s website to read more about the inspiration behind Martin & Anne and see her other works.

Visit Nayberg’s website to see more of her artwork.

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 – Thank You, Omu!

Posted on February 1, 2019 | 11 comments

Regular readers won’t be surprised that I maintain a to-be-read list of picture books. I also maintain a stack of to-be-reviewed picture books, and I try to maintain a schedule of reviews that reflect some sort of logic. Today’s selection was on that stack, and I couldn’t resist bumping it up on the review schedule after learning the wonderful news that its creator, Oge Mora, received the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award this past Monday, and today’s Perfect Picture Book is a 2019 Caldecott Honor Book. I wasn’t surprised by this news, and I don’t think you’ll be either, as Mora’s debut picture book truly is a Perfect Picture Book.

Title: Thank You, Omu!

Written & Illustrated By: Oge Mora

Publisher/Date: Little Brown Young Readers, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc./2018

Suitable for Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: kindness; sharing; community; stew; multigenerational; multicultural

Opening:

On the corner of First Street and Long Street, on the very top floor, Omu was cooking a thick red stew in a big fat pot for a nice evening meal. She seasoned and stirred it and took a small taste.

Brief Synopsis:

Smelling Omu’s delicious red stew, neighbors arrive at Omu’s apartment, and she shares with all of them until there’s nothing left.

Links to Resources:

  • With the help of an adult, cook a “thick red stew”;
  • Ask an older relative or friend about special foods they enjoyed preparing or eating as a child. Make, and share, that special food;
  • Does your family have a special name for a grandparent or older relative? Discover the language and meaning of that term, and why your family uses it;
  • View a Book Chat video with Mora.

Why I Like this Book:

Thank You, Omu! is a joyous book of community and caring. Debut author-illustrator Mora shows readers the meaning of that old adage, that “it’s in giving that we receive”, as Omu shares bowl after bowl of her thick red stew.

Readers learn at the outset that Omu (pronounced AH-moo) means “queen” in the Igbo language spoken in parts of Nigeria. To Mora, per an Author’s Note, that term also signifies “grandma.” As is clear in the text and illustrations, Omu is a caring woman, who shares willingly with neighbors and community members until “it was finally time for dinner” but the pot “was empty.” I think kids will relate to Omu’s generous spirit and especially to her feelings of disappointment when she discovers that she has nothing to eat for dinner. I think they’ll especially appreciate the book’s ending (which I won’t reveal here!).

Mora invites readers to experience Thank You, Omu! with all of our senses. “[S]crumptious scent[s]” and a “most delicious smell” of “thick red stew” simmering waft their way to hungry neighbors. I could almost smell and feel the stew on my tongue as I read. Likewise, the visitors showed their hunger by licking lips and watering mouths. Mora illustrates her text with colorful cut-out collage artwork incorporating floral patterns, acrylic paint, pastels, patterned paper, and clippings from old books. I think this conveys an upbeat, joyful feeling. The image of Omu, clad in sunny yellow, radiates, like her sharing disposition, throughout the story.

A Note about Craft:

In an Author’s Note, Mora recounts the memory of her grandmother cooking “what was often a large pot of stew” as she danced and swayed to the radio. She further relates that “[e]veryone in the community had a seat at my grandmother’s table.” It’s clear that not only has this memory had a significant impact on Mora’s life but that she’s recreated that sense of sharing and community in Thank You, Omu! I think because these scenes are etched in Mora’s heart, they resonate with readers. What caring characters fill your memories that can help bring heart to your stories? And what terms, such as Omu, can you use in your writing to add layers, such as multiculturalism, to the story?

The Main Character of Thank You, Omu! is Omu, an elderly woman. So how is this story kid-centric? First, I think children (and adults) like to read about caring elders. I also believe that Omu’s willingness to share is child-like, as she never questions whether her visitors are hungry or whether they don’t have other sources of food. Finally, the first visitor is a young child with whom, I think, kids will identify. Interestingly, he also has the last word of the story (but I won’t spoil it & tell you what that is).

Visit Mora’s website to see more of her artwork and find out about upcoming picture books.

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 – A Drop of the Sea

Posted on December 14, 2018 | 6 comments

From the sea as a Blue Road, as in last week’s Perfect Picture Book (Traveling the Blue Road: Poems of the Sea) to the sea as a dreamed-of destination, I’ve been enjoying quite a few “sea” stories lately. Here’s the latest!

Title: A Drop of the Sea

Written By: Ingrid Chabbert

Illustrated By: Raúl Nieto Guridi

Publisher/Date: Kids Can Press/2018 (originally published in France as Un bout de mer, Éditions Frimousse/2017)

Suitable for Ages: 4-7 (and older)

Themes/Topics: sea; desert; dreams; gift; kindness; intergenerational; aging; book in translation; #ReadYourWorld.

Opening:

Ali lives at the edge of the desert, not far from a hundred-year-old palm tree. He likes climbing it to snack on fresh dates. He never forgets to pick a few for his great-grandmother, too.

Brief Synopsis: Ali’s aging great-grandmother has always wanted to visit the sea. With bucket in hand, Ali journeys to the sea and and back to share the sea with her.

Links to Resources:

  • Fill a bucket with water. Try not to spill any! How far can you carry it? Why is a bucket full of water heavier than an empty bucket?
  • What place do you dream about? Draw a picture or write a description of that place;
  • Think of good deeds you can do for a family member or friend;
  • This story takes place in a desert, where there is little water. Learn about water scarcity and what you can do to help.

Why I Like this Book:

What would you do for someone you love? This question is at the heart of A Drop of the Sea. When Ali learns that his aging great-grandmother has always wanted to visit the sea but is no longer physically able to journey there, he sets off on a two-day journey to the coast, bucket in hand, to bring the sea to her: if she can’t journey there, he’ll bring the sea to her. But carrying a bucket brimming with sea water for two days is no easy task, especially in the hot sun and dry air of North Africa, the setting of the story.

As is evident from the title, Ali delivers mere drops of the sea. And the result? The elderly woman “starts to cry,” not because she is sad or upset, but because “this is one of the most beautiful days of my life!” And Ali? His “heart soars.”

Focused as it is on Ali’s kindness, the grandmother’s dreams, the “failed” attempt, and the reactions, I think A Drop of the Sea is a thought-provoking reminder of what it means to give and receive, to fail and succeed, to grow more infirm or stronger, and of the importance of actions & experiences over objects. In the midst of Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Green Monday and SALE signs accosting us everywhere, perhaps we’d do well to remember that a drop of the sea is all that we, and the children in our lives, need.

Like the text and the setting, Gurudi’s digitally-rendered gouache and pencil illustrations are sparse and evocative. Much of the time, the sand appears more like lined-paper than actual sand, and in one spread, the route of the journey appears as a map underfoot. Is Guridi implying that this story is, in fact, a fairy tale or fable, set down here to make us think about timeless issues of aging, water-scarcity, dreams, and gifts? While I don’t know the answer, I believe the illustrations add an additional layer to discuss after reading  A Drop of the Sea.

A Note about Craft:

As noted above, the title, A Drop of the Sea, almost reveals the outcome of the story. It also, though, is very intriguing, especially when combined with the overwhelmingly simple and beige cover illustration. As authors or editors, we know that we need to weigh the pros and cons of revealing too much or not enough with a title. In this case, I think they made the right choice.

A Drop of the Sea is a simple, straightforward story, with only two characters depicted and little indication of time period, contemporary or historical, or place (we know only that it’s a vast desert, a two-day walk from a sea coast, and we presume it’s North Africa). Clearly Ali does not live alone with his great-grandmother in a vast desert with no other family, friends or neighbors anywhere near. But as these other characters are not essential to the story, the author and illustrator haven’t cluttered the story with them. By leaving others out, I think the author and illustrator have enabled readers to focus better on the issues that matter, namely, the great-grandmother’s dream, Ali’s attempt to fulfill it, and the outcome. What clutters your story, and what can you strip away to enable readers to experience its heart?

Per the book jacket, French author Chabbert has published “dozens” of books, including several picture book collaborations with Guridi. Spanish illustrator Guridi is an “award-winning illustrator of many children’s books”.

Read an insightful review of A Drop of the Sea in CM: Canadian Review of Materials.

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

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PPBF – There’s Room for Everyone

Posted on November 16, 2018 | 7 comments

We celebrated World Kindness Day this past Tuesday. In the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving next Thursday, and family and friends will travel on crowded planes, trains and roads to enjoy festive meals together. With these two special days in mind, I want to share this new Perfect Picture Book.

Title: There’s Room for Everyone

Written & Illustrated By: Anahita Teymorian

Publisher/Date: Tiny Owl Publishing/2018

Suitable for Ages: 4+

Themes/Topics: kindness; sharing; hope; peace

Opening:

Before I was born, there was only a little space in my mummy’s tummy…But there was enough room for me.

Brief Synopsis: As a boy grows from a baby to old age, he reflects on how people and animals interact with our environments and concludes that with love and kindness, “there’s room for everyone”.

Links to Resources:

  • Have you ever been told that there’s no room for you to sit with your friends or play a game with them? Or have you ever told someone that there’s no room for her or him? How did you feel? Think about how you could add a chair, move to a larger table, find another game piece, or otherwise find space for yourself or someone else;
  • Practice being kind, by performing acts of kindness;
  • Visit Teymorian’s studio and see how she makes room for all of her illustrations and stories;
  • Watch the book trailer;
  • In a Message at the back of the book, Teymorian explains how the idea for this book began: she was angry at the images on the television showing people fighting for a piece of land. What makes you angry? What do you do when you’re angry? Draw a picture of something that helps you feel less angry.

Why I Like this Book:

With kid-relatable text and images, Teymorian invites children to think about physical spaces, those they inhabit, like their homes, those that are public, like a library, and those in nature, like the sky, seas, and land. The unnamed narrator notes that there’s enough room in all of those spaces for whatever needs to be there – even for plentiful things, like stars and the moon, for necessary things, like books, and for large things, like giant animals. So why isn’t there enough room for everyone here?

Teymorian shows people arguing over physical spaces, like an elevator or train, or even a bathroom. Some of these arguments are squabbles over a small space, some escalate to armed conflict, and some involve beliefs about which public restroom is appropriate to use.

As the narrator points out, though, he knows a “secret” that he wants to share – and what child can resist a secret! And what parent, caregiver or teacher can resist a picture book with such a positive message: if we love and act with kindness, “there’s room for everyone”.

Photo of interior spread

An author-illustrator, Teymorian spreads her message as much through the vibrant, colorful, full-page illustrations as through the simple text. Using repeated patterns and elongated limbs, Teymorian depicts people, animals and objects fitting into a variety of spaces, discovering room for everyone.

A Note about Craft:

Teymorian utilizes first-person point-of-view that brings an immediacy to the action and that made me feel like I was with the narrator, visiting the many spaces referenced. The narrator also addresses the reader directly, imparting the book’s message in a straight-forward call to join in with “those in the know” and act with kindness and love. This call to action empowers children, I think, to be the change, to ensure that “there’s room for everyone”.

The narrator is a young child through part of the book, but he also grows up and travels the world as a sailor. Although this life-spanning story is unusual for a picture book, I think it works well here as it enables Teymorian to show aspects of life that a child generally would not experience first-hand. The narrator, depicted as a kindly, grandfather-like man at the end of the story, can then also share his secret, discovered through his many years of life and travels.

Teymorian is an Iranian illustrator-author. Read an interview with her here. See my review of Teymorian’s A Bird Like Himself.

There’s Room for Everyone is the first in Tiny Owl Publishing’s Hope in a Scary World series that is intended to “show hope and how to cope with the problems in this scary world in a very simple and subtle and childish way.”

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

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PPBF – Cinderella of the Nile

Posted on June 29, 2018 | 14 comments

Many of us in the US are heading out for the start of the summer holidays this weekend. And what better thing to pack than a good book, especially if that book transports us to a land far away and to a time long, long ago…

cinderellacover350Title: Cinderella of the Nile

Written By: Beverley Naidoo

Illustrated By: Marjan Vafaeian

Publisher/date: Tiny Owl Publishing/2018

Suitable for Ages: 4-8 or older

Themes/Topics: fairy tale; #ReadYourWorld; #OneStoryManyVoices; kindness; love

Opening:

Long, long ago when pirates roamed the seas around Greece, a beautiful baby girl was born in a village to the north. She had eyes like sapphires and fine red curls. The happy parents, who had waited many years for this child, called her ‘Rhodopis’ because her cheeks were so rosy.

Brief Synopsis:

In this retelling of an early Greek version of the Cinderella story, a kind-hearted young girl is transported to a land far from home. There she toils as a slave, until a new owner treats her as a daughter and gifts her red slippers, and a wife-seeking pharaoh falls in love with her.

Links to Resources:

  • Rhodopis traveled from northern Greece, to an island, to Egypt along the Nile River. Trace her journey on a map of the eastern Mediterranean Sea;
  • Read one or more of the Cinderella stories listed below. How are they the same? What’s different?
  • In a forward, One Story, Many Voices, Naidoo writes that “tales change when they are told and retold” as that is the “freedom of the storyteller.” Write your own Cinderella story.

Why I Like this Book:

Like many other young and not-so-young readers, I love fairy tales. I especially love seeing how versions differ across regions and eras, even as the story themes remain the same.

In Cinderella of the Nile, I found several aspects of the storyline that differed from the popular version of my youth. For instance, this story lacks an evil stepmother and a fairy godmother. Instead, Rhodopis begins life with loving parents in a simple village in northern Greece where she herds goats. Then, pirates kidnap her and she enters a life where slave traders and owners determine her fate. Interestingly, she starts life in Europe and ends up as a slave in Africa – opposite to the slave route that most slaves endured, and opposite to the route that many refugees and migrants now travel. The inclusion of piracy, slavery and the reversal of this route will, I think, lead to thought-provoking discussions, especially with older children.

In lieu of a fairy godmother, Naidoo includes a well-known storyteller/philosopher, Aesop, who befriends Rhodopis and counsels her to “bend, not break” when faced with difficulties. That and her kindness to various creatures lead to her meeting, and union with, the princely pharaoh.

The themes of Cinderella, the power of kindness, adapting to one’s circumstances, and love, shine through in Cinderella of the Nile. I think children also will enjoy seeing how this tale features characters of varying skin tones and ethnicities, how a noted storyteller, Aesop, plays a role in the outcome, and how kindness to all creatures benefits Cinderella, even without the flick of a magic wand or the transformation of a pumpkin into a carriage.

Vafaeian’s colorfully rich illustrations not only complement but complete Naidoo’s retelling. With her “fine red curls,” Rhodopis is a focal point of every illustration, standing out even among the vibrant flora and fauna that fill every page.

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Interior spread, reprinted from Tiny Owl’s website

I also love that Cinderella and her pharaoh are an interracial couple, as shown in the last gorgeous spread.

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Interior spread, reprinted from Tiny Owl’s website

A Note about Craft:

Cinderella of the Nile is the first of Tiny Owl Publishing’s One Story, Many Voices series, which showcases the universality of fairy tale themes as evident in many similar stories told by “voices from around the world” that reflect the circumstances of particular times and places. How would you rewrite the Cinderella story, or some other favorite fairy tale, to reflect where and when you live or to better include people like yourself?

Learn more about Carnegie Award-winning author Beverley Naidoo at her website and in this article about Cinderella of the Nile.

Iranian illustrator Marjan Vafaeian also illustrated The Parrot and the Merchant and Bijan & Manije.

Cinderella of the Nile was named one of 10 picture books that promote empathy by book reviewer Mamma Filz. A reviewer in The Telegraph noted how this Cinderella overcame adversity “without a fairy godmother or a fancy frock.”

Read Adelita: A Mexican Cinderella Story and Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal: A Worldwide Cinderella to see how this story changes at differing times and places, even as its themes remain universal.

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

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