What does it mean to be present? (2010)

      What does it mean to be present? by Rana DiOrio, illustrated by Eliza Wheeler (2010), is a quick read published by Scholastic. It's a clever attempt to introduce a profound concept. The first few pages grab the reader's attention: “Does it [being present] mean sharing something at show and tell? No. Does it mean wrapping yourself up? No!" After that, most of the book defines "present" rather broadly by providing examples. 

     I like the examples of time: focusing on the now instead of what’s next, waiting patiently for one’s turn, savoring your food (using the stereotypical orange slices). There’s also references to touch, hearing, taste, and breath. I wonder what children think about the suggestion “... closing your eyes and being still enough to hear your inner voice.” Other pages in the book strike me as tangential to being present: treating new experiences as opportunities and gratitude for family and friends. 

     Eliza Wheeler's illustrations seem consistent with other generic scholastic publications. They are crisp and pleasing. I expected more faces of color amongst the children. But she succeeds in showing a happy lifestyle. 

Nasreen's Secret School (2009)

     Nasreen's Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan by Jeanette Winter (2009) is expertly crafted to include a lot of content. The first two pages are an "Author's note" -- content of this story was actually written by someone in Afghanistan. The jacket flap says this book is "based on a true story." To me, this means it's impossible to know how closely Winter's version adheres to the original. Nevertheless, it's a gripping tale with insightful illustrations. 

     This is a Global Fund for Children publication. This organization contacted Winter to request she base a book on "a true story from one of the groups they support." Winter was drawn to "an organization in Afghanistan that founded and supported secret schools for girls during the 1996-2001 reign of the Taliban." She gives statistics to highlight the role of women before Taliban rule and a full page to the life of women and girls after, from 1996-2001. So, immediately upon opening this book, readers are confronted with a stark reality. This book is not for the sensitive stomach. 

     Nasreen's age is not given, so the story suitable for the older reader who values picture books. It's told from the point of view of Nasreen's grandmother. She knows the life of art and culture that existed prior to the terror of Taliban rule. If the second illustration of soldiers with guns entering the city of Herat isn't frightening enough, Winter shows us a soldier abducting Nasreen's father, and later, a soldier finding the secret school. Winter shows us how a burqa completely covers a woman's body when Nasreen's mother leaves home to search for her husband, "even though going out alone in the streets was forbidden for women and girls." Winter tries to depict life under extremist rule. 

     Nasreen sits at home all day because girls cannot go to school. It's a sad and lonely existence and she  responds with silence. Her grandmother's "worry is deep." Grandmother learns of a secret school and takes Nasreen there. "Luckily, no soldier saw us."  The school is a room in someone's home. Boys distract soldiers that go near the school. When a soldier demands to be let inside, he sees "a room filled with girls reading the Koran." The girls are clever. Eventually, Nasreen makes a friend.Then, she smiles, talks, and begins learning. 

     Winter's text has enough linguistic complexity to make the reader think. "A full moon passed our window many times as Nasreen and I waited." So how long is that? Grandmother remained religious in the face of extremism. "Please Allah, open her eyes to the world," she prays on Nasreen's first day of school. "Windows opened for Nasreen in that little schoolroom." What does this mean? There's a handful of challenging vocabulary too. 

     The illustrations in this book are exquisite. This story about windows to the world has illustrations inside square borders, as if the reader is looking through windows into Nasreen's world. Black clouds in a red sky appear in several scary scenes. Brightly colored patterns represent the characteristic fabrics of Afghanistan and contrast starkly against solders' fatigues. When I Googled Afghanistan clothing, I learned that much of it is embroidered! Purple mountains show that Herat is in a mountainous area of the world, and a quick research of the region describes the value of its location over centuries. 

     It would be easy to say that Nasreen is the main character in the story. But reread the book several times, and the main character is revealed to be the grandmother. She describes the setting, the problems, attempts to address her granddaughter's situation, success - and her heartfelt satisfaction. She still waits for the return of Nasreen's parents but "the soldiers can never close the windows that have opened for my granddaughter." The grandmother's expression on the final page is worth a thousand words. 

   

     

Scribble Stones (2019)

     Scribble Stones by Diane Alber (2019) is a shallow story with cartoonish characters, though it will fill a fun slot in a young child's reading list. And when children are looking for something to do, it may inspire a craft activity as well. Alber dedicates this book to her children "Who love to play with a giant stone pile in the backyard..." 

     Once upon a time, there's a pile of small roundish stones in shades of gray. They're waiting to learn their destiny. "Some would be landscaping, and some a stone pet." The main character is the last one picked (a familiar childhood disappointment) and then learns he becomes a paper weight. This dull existence changes when colorful "scribbles" and "a splatter crew" tumbles into the scene (without explanation). Somehow a short stack of paper grows into a tall pile of colorful pages called art. Like children, the scribbles and splatters tantrum when the clean white paper is used up.

"We knew that this pile was getting too tall! There is no more paper! We have used it all!" 

 Stone to the rescue.  In a few pages time, colorful stones are traveling the planet "All because of a paper weight with a will and a way!" 

     Why does the paperweight get credit for the magical appearance of color in his life? And where do the additional stones come from? He (the stone is gendered male) doesn't choose his colors and his travels are without agency. At the beginning of the story, the rocks are awaiting their destiny, so where is the will? OK, maybe I'm sounding ornery. But young children learn about life by reading and rereading books like this. And to me, this story combines a lot of predestination with a thin excuse for self-congratulation. 

     When I visit Diane Alber's website, I wonder if good story-telling is the point. What she's got is a business.

*Uno's Garden (2006)

    Here I am blogging about another book by Graham Base, Uno‘s Garden (2006). As with his other books, this one is crowded with illustrations. The difference is, this one has fanciful creatures. It's a tale of environmental degradation and resurgence but it's also is a book about math. On the final page, Graham Base explains how subtraction, squares (multiplying a number by itself), and doubling result in dramatic quantitative changes. 

     Uno enters a forest and decides to live there. The forest is full of natural wonders which are identified and counted on the right-hand page of each two-page spread. At the very beginning of spring, when Uno arrives, we see 10 Moopaloops,100 plants, 0 buildings, and 1 Snortlepig.  With the passage of time, come more human inhabitants. We meet more delightful creatures. 

     Sadly, with more people come more buildings, and when a railway is built we see 32 buildings, 16 plants, 4 Gondolopes, and 1 Snortlepig. Hunters, scientists, and construction workers arrive, and before long there are 128 buildings, only 4 plants, 2 Pricklebacks, and 1 Snortlepig. The city continues to grow until there are 0 animals, 0 plants, and 512 buildings. 

     The ending is not bleak. “The city crumbled, forgotten. The Snortlepig grew old and died. So did Uno.”, but Uno’s children and grandchildren bring the world back to life. 

 Another masterpiece by Graham Base.

The Cookie Maker of Mavin Road (2020)

     I had high hopes for The Cookie Maker of Mavin Road by Sue Lawson (2020) because it was published by Candlewick Press; however, it’s a simple story that sounds vaguely familiar. It reminds me of A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip and Erin Stead.

     The main character in both stories is a kindly old man. Amos McGee works at a zoo; he gives special attention to the animals. In The Cookie Maker,  Benedict Stanley bakes cookies for his neighbors. Amos McGee and Benedict Stanley both become ill. When their absences are noticed, their kindness is returned. When “an aching and snuffling Benedict Stanley shuffles to bed… There are no bike cookies after a ride without training wheels. And no ambulance short bread with cherry lights after a tumble from a roof.” The other neighbors speculate about why free cookies no longer appear. When they realize it is Benedict Stanley, they come together to care for him and his home. 

     What sets this book apart from A Sick Day for Amos McGee is the implication that the neighbors did not interact with one another prior to the appearance of cookies. Benedict Stanley changed the culture of the neighborhood. The illustration styles are dramatically different. Liz Anelli’s illustrations are a bit dark, but fun in the style of contemporary illustration.