Grandfather's Journey

Written and Illustrated by Allen Say

Published by Houghton Mifflin Company

Grandfather's Journey is an inspirational memoir that tells the story of a man who had emotional ties to two places, continents away from each other. Allen Say tells the story of his maternal grandfather as a young boy until the end of his life, stopping to explain when his mother and himself were born, but ultimately coming back full circle to tell the reader that he is just like his grandfather in his longing for Japan and California.

I see this book as a personal photo album. It is like you are looking into a photo album of Say's ancestry. The illustrations are so much like old photographs. It is amazing the way that Say has captured the detail of photography from the early twentieth century until the late twentieth century. Also, his interpretation of the style of clothing from that vast period of time is also impressive. I wouldn't be surprised if he sketched some of the illustrations from actual family photographs.

As for the text, it is very enjoyable and extremely sentimental. Say is a great story teller, tugging at the reader's heart, drawing you into feeling the longing that he and his granfather shared for those two places. I think between the illustrations and the text, the book takes on a life of its own, grabbing hold of your emotions and putting you into the shoes of Say's grandfather.

I think this book is a great addition to have to any lesson about memoirs because it is a true to life story that anyone can relate to. That longing feeling that children might have when they leave their grandparents house is an experience that children can relate to with the longing felt by the characters in the book. I think this type of book is great for students to expand on and perhaps take the viewpoint of the grandfather, writing a short story about how the grandfather felt when he had to leave California or Japan. This type of creative writing gives students a chance to explore their own personal feelings and practice putting themselves into the shoes of a character in a text, thinking analytically about the text.

The Wizard

Written by Jack Prelutsky

Illustrated by Brandon Dorman

Published by Greenwillow Books

About two weeks back I was looking through the children's section of the library, minding my business, when this lovely book caught my eye. It was on the return cart waiting to be put back. I knew Jack Prelutsky as a children's poet, so I was perplexed to see his name on the cover of a picture book. Well, I opened up the book and was pleasantly surprised.

Here is one of Jack Prelutsky's poems brought to life by the help of an amazing illustrator, Brandon Dorman. If any kid complains that poetry is boring, he sure hasn't seen this book. Ever since I brought it home from the library, my two sons want to read it almost every night before bed. The rhyming text and vibrant illustrations help to really set your imagination wild with magical thoughts about wizardry and magic.

Prelutsky has a knack for setting the mood with his descriptive language, and Dorman runs with the creativity by creating two-page spreads of the wizard's tower, filled with burning candles, potions, black cats, crows, spider webs, ancient books, a portrait of Medusa, etc. The list could go on and on. One of the most wonderful things about this book is that you can go back and look at each sprawling illustration and find many things that you did not see before.

The thing I love most about this book is that it is poetry, literally, come to life by these wonderful illustrations. It is not to give Dorman full credit for the book, but the poem could not live on as it does in this book if it were just words on a blank page, like poetry sometimes is. It think this book would be a wonderful way to introduce students to poetry, especially young ones. It will get their feet wet with the text by slowly weaning them away from illustrations. Young audiences are so used to picture books, that I'm sure the move to pictureless poetry can be a little boring for them. So, as a teacher, I would use definitely use this book as a prelude to a poetry unit. It would also be a great activity to have students draw their own illustrations of a poem that doesn't have illustrations. This book could really get kids motivated for doing that.

Rapunzel

Retold and Illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky

Published by Dutton Children's Books

Paul Zelinsky is a rare children's book author and illustrator, but I believe a very special one. The illustrations in this book are some of the best I've ever seen. The detail and beauty are stunning. After reading through the book once, I went back over and over again, looking through the pages at the amazing artistry. I stopped to wonder how I could possibly get one enlarged and framed. I was so intrigued I had to look up how Zelinsky created these wonderful illustrations.

Zelinsky used a technique called "grisaille." With this technique, he first painted in grays and browns as an "underpainting" with watercolor paints. Then, he used transparent oils to color with, after sealing the paper so the oils would not soak through. This is the same technique used by Renaissance painters, like Raphael, except with watercolors instead of an egg yolk based tempera. (http://www.paulozelinsky.com/paul-faq.php)

After I looked this information up, I went back through the artwork again and was amazed even more. If you look closely, you can see the underpainting under the skin of the characters, under the pale walls. This effect is what adds to the detail of expression and depth of the characters faces, hands, and gestures.

Zelinsky definitely captured the essence of the Renaissance, with Italian landscaping, architecture, and wardrobe. I also read that he researched quite a bit to be accurate about these points. (http://www.paulozelinsky.com/paul-faq.php)

Getting to the actual story, I was really impressed by the accuracy of it. Zelinsky does not spare any detail and at the back of his books he tells much about the folktale he retells. He educates the reader about different Grimm editions of the story and different versions from Italy and France. Hence, the Italian landscape and architecture he chose to paint for the books illustrations.

I think this book would make a great addition to a unit on different versions of Rapunzel. While doing a search at Barnes and Noble's website, I came across pages and pages of different takes on Rapunzel. There is an African version by Rachel Isadora, and there is, of course, the original by the Grimm Brothers. Also, the French and Italian versions that Zelinsky gives homage to in his version. With so many versions of Rapunzel, there could be a great unit study of character analysis, comparing and contrasting, main idea, etc. Also, Rapunzel has enough romance, action, and drama to make anyone a fan, so most students should enjoy it.

If there is anything else to love about this book, it is that I love the way Zelinsky does not hold back the frightening details of the story. He retells the story of the sorceress, making her crazed and scary, hovering over Rapunzel's father when he steals the plant, cutting off her hair with sharp scissors, and throwing the prince from the tower. Between the words and paintings, this book is haunting and grand. I am so happy I came across it and I am buying a copy for myself!

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

Written and Illustrated by Mo Willems

Published by Hyperion Books for Children

Text begins right away when you open the front cover of the book, before you can even read the title. There is a bus driver with a speech bubble addressing the reader not to let the pigeon drive the bus. Then, through the book, the pigeon that we meet asks, then begs to drive the bus. He becomes increasingly agitated until he completely loses it, and then the bus driver comes back and thanks the reader for not letting the pigeon drive the bus.

This book is incredibly funny and endearing. The reader gets to take on the responsibility of telling the pigeon "no, he cannot drive the bus," while the pigeon takes on the role of the child. Mo Willems has captured the dream of every child who ever became frustrated at grown-ups telling them "no." This is a position that any kid would love to be in, the roles are reversed and the kids are now in charge. Also, children can definitely relate to the pigeons feelings about not being allowed to do what he wants. So this book is a great text-to-self read. Plus, it is just plain funny to see that pigeon freak out!

Mo Willems' illustrations are simple yet he completely tells the story with them. His stark backgrounds give real focus to the pigeon and how he's feeling. Willems really seems to understand what children like and how they feel, and children like the artwork because it is easy for them to understand also. Sometimes less is more, and I believe Willems really hit the nail on the head with the drawings in this book. Also, giving speech bubbles to the pigeon really helps to give the pigeon human qualities, helping children to relate more.

Goin' Someplace Special

Written by Patricia C. McKissack

Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

Published by Aladdin Paperbacks

'Tricia Ann is a young girl making her first journey alone to the big city. She is going to a place where she is always welcomed, regardless of race. However, along the way, she is reminded of the inequalities of her race by signs posted telling her where she can sit, and rude, racist people to remind her of her place in society at that time in the 1950's south. She is discouraged, as any young girl would be with that kind of rejection, but 'Tricia Ann remembers her grandmother's words with the help of a kind old stranger: "You are somebody, a human being-no better, no worse than anybody else in this world." With that, 'Tricia Ann treks on and arrives at her special destination where all people are welcome, the public library.

This book is an amazing journey through the eyes of a young black girl in the 1950's south. Everything that she feels is depicted so poignantly through the words and illustrations. This book has helped me to realize the relationship that the illustrations have to the text. I do not believe this book would have the same effect if not for the amazing illustrations. There is one part in the book where 'Tricia Ann encounters her first setback on her journey alone, which is a sign on the bus that says "colored section." The tone of the book changes on this page, and we, as readers, begin to realize the pain in 'Tricia Ann's heart because it is amazingly detailed by the illustration on the page. 'Tricia Ann is walking toward the back of the bus and her face is turned around to look at the reader, with the sign hanging above her, and her expression is so telling that it is as if we are on the bus with her, feeling her sadness.

Considering that this book depicts the story and feelings of a young girl experiencing segregation in the 1950's south, I would use this book in my classroom for students learning about segregation and the Civil Rights Movement. This book meets the New York State Social Studies Standards for standard 1 (History of the United States and New York), and standard 5 (Civics, Citizenship, and Government). As a teacher, I believe it is very important to help students relate what they are learning to the real world. This book not only tells about how segregation affected the south and it's people, but it has wonderful illustrations of what the time period looked like: the clothes people wore, what cars looked like at the time. It can be a great lesson in U.S. History and English Language Arts as well.