*Katje the Windmill Cat (2001)

Katje the Windmill Cat by Gretchen Woelfle (2001) is about a famous cat that saves a baby during the Saint Elizabeth’s Flood of 1421. Katje lives  “with Nico the miller in a Dutch village by the sea.” Life is easy. Nico grinds wheat into flower and Katje catches mice. One day, Nico takes a wife and Katje’s life changes. When baby Anneke arrives, she and Katje bond immediately. They play in Anneke’s cradle. But mother Lena disapproves and shoos Katje away with words that foreshadow the drama that follows. Katje moves into the windmill but sometimes sneaks into the house to play with Anneke. Katje and the baby are playing when sea water breaks through the nearby dike and sweeps them both away. 

Beautiful paintings by Nicola Bayley contribute to this well-crafted work of art. She includes blue and white Dutch tiles along the border of most pages. 

My Picture Book Talk lesson for this story is here. 

*The Ice Bear (2010)

 The Ice Bear by Jackie Morris (2010) was a powerful story due to magnificent watercolor illustrations. Power eminates from the cover art; a close-up of a polar bear's face looking directly at the reader. The bear's majestic presence projects from the title page on which Morris paints a profile. Throughout the book we see large paintings of the story's characters in close and intimate. We feel the furry warmth of this bear cuddling with her two babies. We're shocked and afraid when a raven, so large as to extend beyond the boundaries of the page, carries off one of the cubs. The raven drops the cub and it magically transforms into a human infant and a passing hunter scoops it up. Both the human parents and the mother bear are passionate about this human-cub. When the child is seven, the raven returns and tricks the child into wandering back into the wild. The ending is heartwarming. I don't have the cultural knowledge to adequately summarize this story, but I can say it is a beautiful tale. 

Vita Streck och Öjvind (2011)

Vita Streck och Öjvind by Sara Lundberg (2011) is about a young girl who paints white lines. "Vita Streck" is Swedish for "white lines", according to a quick Google--and according to the yellow post-it note on the title page. The entire text of this book was covered with post it notes written in English. There's a mystery! Who provided the English translation, and who took it to the library book sale shelf? 

The translation indicates that the girl's name is Vita. "Vita is someone who walks. Always forward and always painting her lines. The first illustration shows her painting white lines on an very long bridge that connects islands in a vast body of water. There are no cars on this bridge, but many sailboats dot the water. Suddenly she's visited by a young person who's blown by the wind into her can of white paint. This child's feet now create white footprints everywhere, and not in straight lines. They become friends as the visitor questions Vita about her line painting. When the wind blows this person away, Vita realizes her loneliness. When she searches for Öjvind, her lines go hear and there and all about. I didn't understand the ending, so I'll just say it's a happy one. 

The Hungry Fox and the Foxy Duck (1978)

 The Hungry Fox and the Foxy Duck by Kathleen Leverich (1978) is one of many stories with a deceitful fox as a main character. Paul Galdone presents this fox in tattered clothing. It's jacket has patches at the elbows and is secured with a large safety pin. A patch covers a space on the knee of its pants. Both the cover art and title suggests the outcome: the fox looks frustrated and the duck is smiling. Duck lives "on a pond in a field with a fence all around." This text and the accompanying illustration foreshadow events to come. 

One day, a fox shows up and invites the duck to breakfast. This duck is unlike the naive ones I've encountered in other books. This duck smiles and request the fox find a table. "'How can we eat breakfast without a table?' she asked." When fox returns with a table, the duck as more requirements that take the pair through an entire day. At last, the fox is frightened away. Remember the setting? The solution to duck's problem is in the second page. 

Night is Coming (1991)

 Night is Coming by W. Nikola-Lisa (1991) is a story about the sights and sounds at dusk on a farm. The illustrations by Jamichael Henterly are stunning. It amazes me that such beautiful art is available at used book sales for just a few dollars.  The pictures save the bland text. We read about the whippoorwill's song, the smell of hay, the circling hawk, the setting sun. . . 

I Heard Said the Bird (1995)

 I Heard Said the Bird by Polly Berrien Berends (1995) is a unique twist on a story about a new baby sibling. I picked it up because of the cover art, which reminded me of the cover of Earthquack illustrated by Barry Moser. All of Brad Sneed's pictures remind me of Barry Moser. The bird on the cover of this story flies about a barnyard telling the animals "'there's  a NEW ONE coming.'" And so we see a cow, hen, horse, goose, duck, rabbit, pig, and so on. There's only one of each creature and there's very little text.  It's one of those books that make be wonder why the author's name appears above the artist's name. And then, a young boy walks into the barnyard and talks with the animals! He leads the animals to an open window through which then all gaze upon a baby in a crib. I like this kind of illustration, so I think this is a fun book to spend time with. 

Half a World Away (1988)

Half a World away by M.Twinn (1988) is a powerful story of compassion, action, and justice. Illustrations by Arlette Lavie consist of silhouettes which contributes to the book’s timelessness. Children in a land of plenty learn about a land half a world away in which children are sick and hungry. They react to the crisis. They demand that adults do something. “The parents, ashamed, understand at last. ‘You’re right. The time for selfishness is past.’” When enough people demand that the government send help, it does. “We must change the law. Our new policy shall be to help the poor!” With food, medicine, and technical assistance, the land a half a world away flourishes. It’s a story for our time. It’s a story for every time. 

I could not find this book listed anywhere except on Etsy.