Waiting for the Whales (1991)

 Waiting for the Whales by  Sheryl McFarlane (1991) earned  the I.O.D.E. Canadian National Book Award. The beautiful paintings by Ron Lightburn won the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Award for illustration. It was the cover art that made me pick up this book. The  pictures throughout the book, like the cover, are soft yet exact. The cover hints at the story. First we meet an old man who lives in a  cedar shingled  cottage on a bluff by  the sea. We read about his simple, lonely life, made joyful by the return of orcas that swim into view. Several pages in, his daughter and granddaughter move in. He teaches his simple life to his granddaughter as she grows from infant to young girl. For me, the paintings make this repetitive story relevant. The illustrations invite the reader to pause with each turn of the page, gaze at the pictures, and consequently ponder the narrative. 

Country Angel Christmas (1995)

 Country Angel Christmas by Tomie dePaola (1995) is exactly what the title says it is. The story takes place in a heavenly countryside. All of the characters, except Saint Nicholas, are Angels. Saint Nicholas visits the country Angels to say this is the year they’ve been chosen to make the Christmas celebration for all of heaven. As the Angels work on preparations for Christmas Eve, three young angels search for a way to help. They are turned away from the kitchen, away from the forest, away from the music room, and even shooed away from helping with the barn animals. When Nicolas arrives on the morning of Christmas Eve, he gives the three little angels and important responsibility. They are delighted and everyone is surprised by how important their contribution is at the end of the story. This is classic Tommy dePaola. The story has relevance and his illustrations safely predictable. 

Walking Toward PEACE: The True Story of a Brave Woman Called Peace Pilgrim (2021)

 Walking toward PEACE: The True Story of a Brave Woman Called Peace Pilgrim by Kathleen Krull (2021) is the astonishing story of Mildred Lisette Norman, who changed her name to Peace Pilgrim. We meet Mildred on the evening she decides to leave her comfortable life and create “ a life that mattered.” She decides to walk 25,000 miles spreading peace. This enormous goal took several years to prepare for. She worked with the elderly, troubled children, and peace activists. She learned survival skills. With only a toothbrush, comb, pen, maps, and copies of her message, she walked. She spoke about peace with everyone she met and became a sought after public speaker. She survived on the kindness of strangers. It took more than one walk across the United States to accumulate 25,000 miles but she did it. A true saint. Annie Bowler’s illustrations are characteristic of 21st century illustration style. Not my favorite.

Nothing But Trouble: The Story of Althea Gibson (2007)

 Nothing but Trouble: The Story of Althea Gibson by Sue Stauffacher (2007) is success story. On the first page we read that Gibson “was is the tallest, wildest tomboy in the history of Harlem.” She played stick ball, basketball, and anything with a paddle. One day, someone recognized her potential and bought her a tennis racket. Gibson's initial attempts at tennis, drew attention. A member of "the ritziest tennis club in Harlem” invited her to learn tennis with all it social complexity. It was a struggle because Althea was nothing but trouble. Nevertheless, she persisted and eventually became the first African-American to win the Wimbledon Cup. This book has an authors note at the back expressing gratitude to the people who helped Gibson become a success story. They recommend her autobiographies I Always Wanted to be Somebody  and So Much to Live For. Also www.altheagibson.com. The illustrations ny Greg Couch capture Althea Gibson’s energy. 

Where Do I Look: A Child's Search for the Grand Canyon (1983)

 I love the layout of Where Do I Look? by Jacque Franklin. This is a large, rectangular paperback with loads of white space on each page. On one page is a huge capital letter to begin a small amount of text. This letter is decorated with gold drawings of plants or features of wildlife. On the opposite page is a black and white photograph by George Huey of wildlife. The goal of this book is to highlight the grand canyon: "squirrels and the pinyon nuts, the deer and the prairie grass, the yucca with its roots in the soil..." 

This story is copyrighted by the Grand Canyoin Natural History Association. 

Flood Fish (1995)

 Flood Fish by Robyn Eversole (1995) is based on a true event which is explained in an Author’s Note at the back of the book. In the outback of Australia’s Northern Territory, the Finke River floods when the rains come. Fish arrive with the floodwaters, and no one knows where the fish come from. Eversole thanks the Northern Territory Conservation Commission for help with this book. The text is brief, only one or two sentences per page.

Thepaintings by Sheldon Greenberg are lovely. The cover art made me pick up this book. We see the vast, flat landscape and feel the blue water that colors the dry, brown desert. The fish are pictured close up and brightly colored. It’s an introduction to narrative nonfiction for the very young reader.

Max's ABC (2006)

 Max's ABC  by Rosemary Wells reads more seamlessly than any other ABC book I've read. The letters are woven into a story. Max is annoyed by ants that scurry up his pants in search of birthday cake. Sister Ruby tries to help, but the ants are having too much fun with Max as their reluctant playmate. They bite the birthday cake, have fun on Max, find an ice pop, and jump into the bath. Max and Ruby try their hardest to get the ants to go away. Wells has adorable characters that make readers smile throughout all of her stories. She succeeded again with the alphabet theme. 

Hello, Harvest Moon (2003)

 Hello, Harvest Moon by Ralph Fletcher was a curious linguistic surprise for me. 

“The crops have been gathered.” This sentence was so bulky that I looked up the past perfect tense online. What I found was the past perfect continuous tense, which is [had]+[been]+[present participle]. This would change the sentence to “The crops have been gathering.” , which makes no sense. For the crops to be harvested over a period of time in the past combined with the passive voice, one is backed up into a clunky corner. 

The second line of the story is similar, “The pumpkins have been picked.” Then, the tense changes mid-paragraph: “The silos are filled to bursting…” The next paragraph shifts again: “But something is staring at the edge of the world.” Fletcher’s grammar throughout the story made it an awkward read for me.

And I didn’t like his imagery. The harvest moon climbing night stairs with silent slippers, didn’t make sense. Nor did I like the word “stain” to characterize the lovely moonlight that Kate Kiesler illustrated in her gorgeous paintings. His language bullied metaphors as in, “Birch trees shine as if they have been double dipped in moonlight.” I can’t remember the last time words of a picture book tripped over one another like they do for me in this story. I must assume other readers will enjoy the story more than I did.

 I adored Kiesler’s pictures. She captured the beautiful glow cast by the huge, round harvest moon upon landscapes, nocturnal creatures, and the main character (a young girl).