*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.

Doctor Rabbit's Lost Scout (1979)

 Doctor Rabbit's Lost Scout  by Jan Wahl (1979) is a frightening drama made less harrowing by the Wahl's choice of animal characters. A collection of young wildlife are on a camping trip with their troop leader, Doctor Rabbit. On the first page, Doctor Rabbit sits outside a tent, a full moon in the night sky, while his charges sleep inside. The text reads, "Summer's night shimmered. Lightning bugs glowed like soft silver buttons. Tall grasshoppers danced while their skinny legs sang like fiddles." Then, a sleepwalker leaves the tent. "It was Spotty Chipmunk, walking with eyes staring open." Miss Mouse, the scout nurse, follows him--until she doesn't. In the darkness, he's lost. All the members of the troop wake up and join the hunt for Spotty. It takes much longer to find him than I expected. I began to worry that they wouldn't. But, of course, they do, thank goodness. I like Cyndy Szekeres illustrations. She captures happiness, fear, worry, grief, and then jubilation on all the little furry faces.

*Mr Archimedes’ Bath (1980)

* Mr Archimedes’ Bath by Pamela Allen (1980) is a brilliant book. There’s very little text and it’s in a large font. That’s ok because the pictures tell the story. Mr Archimedes puts “just a little water in the bath, as he always did, and this time he measured the depth.” He’s wondering why water spills out of the tub when he and his animal companions climb in. When they all climb out of the tub, the water level drops. Each animal takes turns not joining the others in the tub, and yet, the water still rises. He finally figures out that they are the ones making the water level rise and fall. “The friends had so much fun that night, jumping in and out, making the water go up and down, that they made more mess than ever before.” This is the Arcimedes’ principle.

The Tower of Life (2022)

 The Tower of Life: how Yaffa Eliach rebuilt her town in stories and photographs by Chana Stiefel (2022) is a true story. At the beginning of the book, we meet Yaffa as a young girl living in a small Jewish town called a shtetl. Life is good. Yaffa’s grandmother is one of the town photographers who took photographic portraits of many residents. “And on the eve of each Jewish New Year, people from all over Eishyshok would mail their treasured photographs to their families around the world with greetings for good health and happiness.” Then the German tanks and motorcycles arrived. Yaffa and her family escaped. Eventually, she married and moved to America where President Jimmy Carter asked her to help build a memorial for the Holocaust. Yaffa traveled the world searching for photographs of the former residents of her town. At back of the book is an illustration of Yaffa’s “Tower of Life “ in the US Holocaust Memorial Museum with references. Susan Gal’s illustrations present Yaffa’s story in somber colors that capture the seriousness of history.