Matthew and the Midnight Tow Truck (1989)

Matthew and the Midnight Tow Truck by Allen Morgan (1989) sure is fun--if you can set aside a fear of strangers. This story about a young boy helping out a tow truck driver in the middle of the night is a delight. Matthew plays with his tiny tow truck and cars right before dinner. After dinner, he can’t find one of his vans. Poor Matthew. He and his mother search the house but cannot find it. Matthew must go to bed and look for it the next day. Then, at night, Matthew wakes up and discovers that a tow truck driver needs his help. This, of course, is actually a dream. It would make a cute story all by itself. Nevertheless, it leads to the discovery of his missing van. Art by Michael Martchenko fits this book perfectly. I wish the cover art showed the truck driver’s face. Instead it’s in shadow, making the story look a bit scary. 

The Lost Music: Gustav Mole’s war on noise (1991)

The Lost Music: Gustav Mole’s war on noise by M. Twinn (1991) is a bit overwhelming. Gustav Mole is a mole and a composer. Where he lives is becoming a noisy neighborhood. “An urban sprawl of new dwellings and factories filled every gap in the landscape. . . Gustav could scarcely concentrate on his compositions.” And his four children stopped playing their instruments. They listened “to the Stoney Crows on their personal stereos.” They ate fast food and attended concerts in the stadium. One day, the members of C.A.L.M., Campaign for All Lovers of Music, asked Gustav for help. So Gustav sets out on a world tour with his children. They meet musicians in France, Hungary, Africa, and more. His family listens to many, many instruments until, at long last, they agree to play their own again. The end of the story is a World Festival of Music, a Bill of Silence, and a Manifesto for Music. Pictures by Kathryn Meyrick fill every page and successfully meet the challenge of showing a large number of musical instruments.

*The Art Room (2002)

 *The Art Room by Susan Vande Griek (2002) is a poetic story rendered gorgeous by Pascal Mileli’s illustrations. Just look at the breathtaking cover art! Magnificent. This setting is the early 1900s.  On the first page, a mother and her two children read a newspaper ad for Miss M. Emily Carr’s art classes. It's the book jacket that says this story is about “famous Northwest Coast painter Emily Carr.”  When I search for Granville Street, Google Maps takes me to Vancouver, BC, Canada. The narrative consists of long, musical sentences. In Miss Carr’s art room “We perched on stools while Sally perched on Miss Carr; and we copied casts of hands, heads of friends, as ‘out artist’ danced and sang her way through the room, pointing out, rubbing out, aching, naying or demonstrating, getting us to make paint fly and paper come alive.” It’s a story of a day spent in art class and it’s simply magical. 

*When Angels Sing: The Story of Rock Legend Carlos Santana (2018)

 *When Angels Sing: The Story of Rock Legend Carlos Santana by Michael Mavin (2018) is a powerhouse. This is a biography of Carlos Santana’s life, told directly to him.  For example, the first line is, “When you were born, your tía abuela called you el cristalino, the crystal one.” It’s a desperately difficult life. It begins with listening to his father play the violin. As Carlos grows, he tries several instruments without success. “But it was a way to make money, so your father forced you to learn more songs. Mozart. Brahms. Polkas. Boleros. gypsy music.” Then one day Santana hears a guitar and his parents get one. “It was battered and bruised and beautiful.” And the chronology continues in the rich colors of Jose Ramirez’ illustrations. Ramirez embeds dates into the pictures to help provide a timeline. A thread throughout the story is Santana’s fear of never being good enough for angels to sing in his music. This inner drama finds resolution quite separate from his multiple public awards. 

Brothers of the Knight (1999)

 Brothers of the Knight by Debbie Allen (1999) is a fun story about the 12 (yes, 12) sons of The Reverend Knight. They sneak away every night for some harmless fun. Their father is "a very good man, a leader in the community, who preached a powerful sermon every Sunday." A subtle, but key, characteristic is that he doesn't allow his congregation to "do too much shoutin'. Thought it was undignified." The Reverend is puzzled by the children's messed up shoes every morning. A series of housekeepers cannot solve this puzzle. Then, a small woman dressed in bright colors and carrying very heavy luggage, shows up on their doorstep. You guessed it: enter a Mary Poppins type personality. Her name is Sunday, and like Mary, she's privy to a little magic. Unlike Mary, she leaves but then returns. Kadir Nelson's illustrations are energetic. I love how he creates 12 personalities for the 12 boys. A fun feature of this story is that the narrator is the family dog. 

Come to the Ocean's Edge (2003)

 Come to the Ocean's Edge by Laurence Pringle (2003) is another book that basks in the beauty of the beach. The first page is a foggy dawn. We begin the day with a peek at gentle waves close to shore, larger waves far away, and gulls as shadowy forms flying "like ghosts in the mist." Turn the page and the sun begins to shine. "Sanderlings race a wave up, up on the beach." Soon a few people arrive and explore the tide pools. When families leave at the end of the day, illustrator Michale Chesworth reveals sea life below the ocean's surface. And then, it's a new day. "Once again the cries of gulls, the rhythm of waves, and the scent of sea air call people to the edge of something vast, wild, and mysterious." When I first came upon a book like this one, I was enchanted. Some artists render the multi sensory experience of the ocean so well. Chesworth does fine work with this limited text. To experience the ocean's edge is a gift.

*The Scarecrow's Hat (2001)

 *The Scarecrow's Hat by Ken Brown (2001) is an ingenious story. The title and cover art beckon the reader without a hint of what the story is about. It doesn't take long to figure out Chicken's brilliant plan. And Brown's splendid watercolor paintings fill the pages with personality. Chicken covets Scarecrow's hat. Scarecrow says says they would trade the hat for a walking stick any day. Chicken happens to know that Badger has a walking stick. And so the pattern repeats itself. Badger would love a ribbon. Chicken knows someone with a ribbon. And so on. We meet Crow, Sheep, Owl, and Donkey. Everyone gets what they want. Except Duck. Duck isn't going to get the hat that Chicken worked to hard to get.