*Pink and Say (1994)

 Pink and Say is painful. It is written "To the memory of Pinkus Aylee." Patricia Polacco begins with a note: "Sheldon had been injured in a fierce battle and was left for dead in a muddy, blood-soaked pasture somewhere in Georgia. He was a mere lad of fifteen. . . . He was rescued from this field by another lad who had also been separated from his company." And then, Polacco begins the harrowing tale of two young soldiers in the civil war. It is a gut-wrenching story told with compassion. Sheldon Russell Curtis survives a confederate prison. A White boy, he returns home, recovers, and lives a long life. Pinkus Aylee, a Black boy, saw no future--he was hanged.

Carl's Christmas (1990)

 Carl is one of the greatest dogs ever. Alexandra Day proves this to be true in Carl's Christmas (1990), another of her wonderful wordless picture books. Carl and baby are on the town Christmas Eve and no one seems to think this is odd. I smiled when the Irish terrier Paddy was on the sidewalk outside a shop as Carl and baby emerge with a Christmas basket. Like Paddy, Carl and baby donate to help the needy. Carl and baby race home to wait for Santa, and sure enough, he shows up! It's another marvelous book from the Carl series. 

Making Friends (1987)

 Mr. Rogers lived in a world of possibility, didn't he? In Making Friends (1987), he begins with an author's note: " One of life's greatest joys is the comfortable give-and-take of a good friendship. It is a wonderful feeling not only to have a good friend but to know how to be a good friend yourself." With photographs by Jim Judkis (His name is not on the cover.), Fred Rogers explains the basics of interpersonal interaction. It's a book for the young and for the old who will read it aloud to others. Sometimes, it's refreshing to look at life in a straight-forward, how-to way like this. If only reality were so simple. 

The Very Busy Spider (1984)

What is the message in Eric Carle's The Very Busy Spider?  (1984)  Is this a retelling of the Aesop's fable The Ants and the Grasshopper? The very busy spider doesn't respond to multiple invitations to play because she's too busy building her web. Carle displays his vibrant animals as, one by one, they ask spider to eat grass, run in the meadow, jump on the rocks, and so on. Readers watch spider's web emerge thread by thread throughout the book. In the end, the rooster crows, "'Want to catch a pesty fly?'" The fly appears on every page, buzzing around every creature. After celebrating the beauty of birds and animals, there is no respect for the fly. The spider catches the fly. Carle spares us the reality of what happens to the fly next. The spider never does get time off because she's so exhausted at the end of her day. She's probably quite lonely as well. 

The Farmer in the Dell (2009)

 This thin classic from Scholastic, The Farmer in the Dell (2009), represents the key to language for some children because it combines music and words. The music is on the last page. The words show children how sentences are made by using a sentence frame: "the _____ take a ______." Children practice short-term memory skills by filling in the sentence frame differently based on what came before. The song is anchored by sound play in the chorus with "Hi-ho, the Derry-o." Steve Simpson's illustration add action. This book for reading,  singing, and dancing.

*The Junkyard Wonders (2010)

 Patricia Polacco is my new favorite author. In The Junkyard Wonders she celebrates the children in Room 206, the children in Mrs. Peterson's class. They are excluded from the mainstream classrooms for a variety of reasons. The rest of the school laughs at these children. But Mrs. Peterson encourages them to work together, pooling their talents to accomplish goals. "Gibbie had tics and shouted for no reason sometimes, but his father was a professor of engineering and Gibbie loved to build things--boy, was he smart." This class is nicknamed the junkyard. Ironically, this class takes a field trip to a junkyard to scavenge for odds and ends that could be used to build things. (Two children in The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages does the same and are similarly ridiculed.) Polacco ends with an author's note describing the career successes of several students in this story. Her postscript adds punch to an already powerful story. 

*My Grandmother's Clock (2002)

 Geraldine McCaughrean's My Grandmother's Clock (2002) is a timeless treasure. Here's the first line: "IN MY GRANDMOTHER'S house there is a grandfather clock, but it does not go. The hands on its big face never move." The clock is never repaired because there are so many other ways to measure time. Grandmother teaches us to pay attention to natural notions of time. McCaughrean's text is poetic. Grandmother says, "I can judge the age of the morning by the shadows shortening under the magnolia tree. By the time the shadows are long again, the day is nearly fully grown." Ahhh, doesn't this just invite us to take off our watches, turn off our laptops, and put down our cell phones? The large size of this book gives Stephen Lambert lots of room to fill with soft pictures of a gentle way of life. Moments become days become seasons become centuries. "Well, the stars tell us that Time's just too big to fit inside any watch or clock--even the one in the hall." 

Dancing with the Indians (1991)

 Dancing with the Indians (1991) by Angela Shelf Medearis has a note from the author on the last page. "My great-grandfather, John Davis, escaped from slavery around 1862. He traveled to Okehema, Oklahoma . . . The Seminoles . . . accepted my great-grandfather as a member of their tribe." Medearis goes on to say that her grandfather and his family traveled to Okehema twice a year to take part in a week-long Indian powwow. This book is inspired by her ancestors' experience. Her text is in rhyme and reads easily: "Seminoles rescued Grandpa, making him their friend, calling him blood brother, Black and Indian. Each year we go to visit, honoring those he knew, joining in the dancing, watching what they do." Readers get a glimpse of the Ribbon Dance, rattlesnake dancing, and the Indian Stomp Dance. Samuel Byrd's illustrations fill many pages with people dancing from a variety of perspectives. A feeling of energy, excitement, and power emanates from this book. 

A House for Hermit Crab (20010)

Eric Carle has a way with story. So it is with A House for Hermit Crab, a story that merges a simple fact about hermit crabs with a larger lesson--appreciation for ocean inhabitants. When Hermit Crab encounters a group of snails on a rock, we learn that "They grazed as they went, picking up algae and bits of debris, and leaving a neat path behind them." Mr. Carle is world renown for the kaleidoscope of color in his illustrations. This book meets that expectation with fish, sea anemones, starfish and more that live along the ocean floor. 

Are You My Mommy? (1990)

This is one of the first children's picture books I ever bought. Carla Dijs captures a classic theme with large, bright illustrations in Are You My Mommy? (1990) "Baby Chick has just hatched and is looking for her mommy." The stage is set for Baby Chick to meet Mrs. Cat, Mrs. Rabbit, and others as it searches for Mrs. Hen. This is a short book  and only the heads of motheranimals pop up. Each encounter appears in white space without context. But, somehow, this very basic book is a winner. Opening this book brings back pleasant memories which makes it one of my all-time favorites. 

The Furry Animal Alphabet Book (1990)

In The Furry Animal Alphabet Book, you'll learn what animal begins with the letter X! Did you know that there's another animal besides the yak that begins with Y? I bet you don't know what a Zorilla is. Jerry Pallotta and Edgar Stewart's book of facts and illustrations will awaken a reader's interest in wildlife. "Jackrabbits are hares that have really long ears. . . .The big ears help them to hear even the slightest sounds. The ears also act like a car radiator to cool them off when it is hot out." Each page of this paperback features a letter and an animal. The letters are in upper and lower case. The animals look realistic; however, they have little environmental context. Despite the variety of perspectives on how to teach reading, I feel alphabet books like this one continue to invite children in to investigate the written word. 

The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher (1986)

Beatrix Potter's dapper Mr. Jeremy Fisher (1986) has a troublesome time fishing for minnows. This stately frog dresses for the rainy weather, digs up some worms, and heads out on his lily pad boat. "He had the dearest little red float. His rod was a tough stalk of grass, his line was a fine long white horse-hair. . ." Despite his careful preparations, disaster strikes, and he vows to never go fishing again. He recovers from the traumatic adventure and, that evening, serves his friends a roasted grasshopper with ladybird sauce instead of fish. This is a frightfully fun fantasy from Beatrix Potter.

Love Bugs (1995)

 Love Bugs: A Pop-Up Book By David A. Carter (1995) is a gleeful 3D show of affection. The pages pop with cherubs, hearts, chocolates, roses--and yes, bugs. The insects have colorful curlicue antennae, wide friendly eyes, and loving wishes. Beside a lacy, pink heart are the words, "I love you so much I really can't eat, but maybe you're hungry so sweets to the sweet." Mr. Carter's charming book will make any reader smile. 

Where Is Ben? (1990)

 I just loved this book when my child was young. Where is Ben (1990) illustrates the multi-tasking mothers perform for their children: baking, teaching, and playing. Marisabina Russo's text is repetitive, but not tedious. The words roll of the reader's tongue because they can easily participate in the narrative, both physically and verbally. Ben's mother is making an apple pie. She graciously blends this activity with Ben's need for attention. We learn the steps of baking and enjoy a game of hide-and-seek at the same time with this patient and thoughtful parent. Russo's child-like illustrations are as welcoming as this mother's gentle persona. 

I Love You Mouse (1976)

I Love You Mouse (1976) may be an introduction to how love manifests in life. John Graham draws upon two things familiar to children, animals and homes. Each two-page spread begins with "I love you, _____". The blank is filled in with a different animal each time.  A young child completes the scenario a home they would find for each animal. A few don't exactly make sense, such as ". . . if I were a dog I'd build you a kennel." No, if you were a dog, you couldn't built a kennel, but it's the sentiment that counts. On the final pages, the first person references not the child, but their parent, which is out of sync with all the prior pages. Maybe I'm being picky, yet, for me, these incongruences interrupted the smooth flow of comprehension. Tomie dePaola's drawings add to the feeling of youthful earnestness. 

*Mama, I'll Give You the World (2006)

I was surprised by the ending of this store, and that makes Mama, I'll Give You the World  (2006) a fun read.  Roni Schotter's narrative and Saelig Gallagher's illustrations add to this joy. I smiled all the way through Luisa's view of her mother's world. After school, Luisa's bus drops her at the door to the Walter's World of Beauty. Her mother and all the other hair stylists greet her warmly. Luisa even knows her mother's favorite customers. After finishing her homework, "Luisa takes out her scissors, her glue, and her paper and does what Mama does--cuts and colors and curls--portraits of the customers." I love how many of the pictures are huge one- and two-page spreads filled with light and happiness. This book received the Platinum Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Book Award.

*When Stories Fell Like Shooting Stars (1996)

 Valiska Gregory 's When Stories Fell Like Shooting Stars (1996) is a powerful book about the consequences of choice. "Long ago, when Earth was new and Sky was black as printer's ink, two stories fell like shooting stars . . ." Stefano Vitale's illustrations evoke a mystical sense of ancient history. The first story describes Fox's response to sun tumbling into a tree. It is a selfish, power-grabbing response that leads to destruction. The second story describes Bear's response to the moon falling to earth. Bear's response is compassionate. Animals cooperate to return the moon to the sky, and the world is at peace. A portion of the proceeds of this book is donated to The Carter Center.