The Painter and the Wild Swans (1986)

The Painter and the Wild  Swans by Claude Clement (1986) is an enlightening story about an artist’s very existence as a serious painter. Frederic Clement painted the unusual illustrations. Only now, after reading the story and gazing at the pictures several times do I see swans disguised as snow peaks in the cover art.

Teiji  was a painter who lived in a village in Japan. He was the very best of painters. “No one could equal him in capturing the beauty of the tiniest shrub, the most delicate grass, or the iris nearly in bloom.” One day, Teiji saw a flock of swans, and his life changed. Clement’s paintings capture this change brilliantly. Teiji  leaves his successful life, takes only his brushes, paints, and paper, and travels in search of the swans. This is a  fateful artistic journey. 

The story seems to appear on each page in English and in Japanese. It  ends with a poem written in English and in Japanese. 

The Story of Ferdinand (1936)

The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf (1936) has been a favorite for a long time! The drawings by Robert Lawson are equal to the text in their expressive simplicity. Every page has lots of white space, giving the printed words and black-and-white drawings powerful effect. Ferdinand is a peaceful, solitary bull from day one. He’s born this way. While his peers are culturally appropriate (running, jumping, and butting their heads) Ferdinand walks to a distant tree to sit and smell the flowers. I love that his mother is concerned, but respects his nature. Accidents happen in life, and so it is that Ferdinand finds himself in the bullring. Ferdinand is Ferdinand, despite this setting.

Eating the Alphabet: Fruits and Vegetables from A to Z (1989)

 Eating the Alphabet: Fruits and Vegetables from A to Z by Lois Ehlert (1989) is a brilliantly colorful paperback that opens with a rhyme. Then it simply fills each page with huge pictures of foods. I just heard on a podcast that Sesame Street not only taught children the alphabet, but also taught them to love television. I'm grateful to alphabet books for teaching children to love reading. The vocabulary in this book is in upper and lower case. There’s back matter with definitions for each word. For example, “The apricot is probably native to China and has grown in Central Asia and Europe for centuries.”

Wrigley Field from A to Z by the Chicago Cubs Wives (2005)

 Wrigley Field from A to Z by the Chicago Cubs Wives (2005) reminds us that alphabet books are ubiquitous. The illustrations are signed, perhaps by the wives of the Chicago Cubs players. “A is for Addison Street, the address of Wrigley Field.” This is a really fun book. At the back of the book are the signatures of the Chicago Cubs players. The inside back and front covers are designed to collect more signatures. Proceeds from the sale of the book “benefits Cubs Care, which supports programs such as Chicago’s Children’s Memorial Hospital.”

The Wall (1990)

In The Wall by Eve Bunting (1990), a young child and his father search for a name on the Vietnam War Memorial. They are looking for the name of his grandfather. When they find it, his father makes a tracing of it and then stands there, head bowed, for a long time. A war veteran with both legs amputated rolls up in a wheelchair and says hello. An older couple hug one another. A class of young children visit the wall with their teacher. I cried before making it to the last page. Ronald Himler's illustrations capture the seriousness of the story and the characters.

Old stone walls crisscross the region where I live. Some run alongside paved roads. Some hide within forests. While walking my dog, I encountered a man stealing stones from a wall. I was in a mood and confronted him, “Is that your wall!?” He said no. I walked on as he lifted the smallish stones into the back of his station wagon. It was a section of wall beyond my own, not easily identifiable as belonging to anyone. Neighborhoods near me are sliced by fences that are essentially walls. Six-foot tall, white, vinyl fences keep children in and strangers out of back yards. My own picket fence provides visibility, yet is intended to keep wildlife on one side and my dog on the other. I’ve heard much talk about building a wall to keep people out. I haven’t heard any mention of how walls also keep people in. 

Shake Rag from the Life of Elvis Presley (1998)

 Shake Rag from the Life of Elvis Presley by Amy Littelesugar (1998) is an example of why I read picture books. I hadn’t known about Elvis Presley’s childhood. His family lived on the poor side of town, and Elvis was called white trash by school kids. Shake Rag was a place, a place mostly inhabited by Blacks. It’s where Elvis heard the blues sung by his neighbors. It’s where he observed and then joined in the singing with the traveling Sanctified Church. Eventually, his family moved to Memphis, and, in 1954, nineteen-year-old Elvis auditioned for Sun Records. When he sang songs he learned in Shake Rag, history was made. Paintings by Floyd Cooper are both realism and dreamlike, a real bonus. 

Amazing Grace (1991)

 Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman (1991)  has over 30 resources on the TPT platform, so it seemed like a book I should read. The cover art portrays Grace as a happy, friendly child anyone would want to meet. Caroline Binch’s illustrations deliver on that promise. Grace fills the book with authentic enthusiasm. The first several pages show an child with imagination, a self-starter. So when she must transform her creative play into a real life performance, we know she will succeed. But how? She, like all of us, benefits from a role model. Her grandmother finds one. And Grace is amazing. 

A Story A Story An African Tale Retold (1970)

 A Story A Story An African Tale Retold and Illustrated by Gail. E. Haley (1970) won a Caldecott medal. I don’t create TPT lessons for stories retold anymore, but the medal prompted me to read the book. The pictures look like block prints. The story is about how clever Ananse, the Spider man, purchased all the stories from the Sky God. The price was Osebo (the leopard-of-the-terrible-teeth), Mmboro (the hornet-who-stings-like-fire), and Mmoatia (the fairy whom-men-never-see). The story is about how Ananse managed to capture all three, thus bringing the the golden box of stories back to earth.

King Bidgood's in the Bathtub (1985)

 King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub by Audrey Wood (1985)  is a visual spectacle that earned a Caldecott honor. The text is simple and repetitive; it’s the illustrations that are a challenge. Don Wood’s imagination turns this simple story into a feast for the eyes. A young page cries for help in getting his king out of the bathtub and several elaborately dressed people come to the rescue: a knight, the queen, the duke, and members of the court. None are successful. Instead, they end up in the tub with the king. And the tub is the site of battle, lunch, fishing, and dancing. Words don’t do justice to Wood’s pictures of the bathtub. Readers need to see for themselves - find out, in the end, the obvious solution to the problem.

Jumanji (1981)

 Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg (1981) became a famous story. It’s a frightening story in which the black and white drawings create just enough distance from reality to also make it fun. Van Allsburg isn’t looking to scare readers; he’s into mystery and surprise. Judy and brother Peter find a board game in the park. They take it home to play while their parents are out. The messages on the squares of this game translate into real life scenarios, beginning with the attack by a lion. It’s an ingenious plot made perfect by Van Allsburg’s thoughtful illustrations. This book received the Caldecott Medal. In a YouTube video of a talk Van Allsburg gives for Politics & Prose, he recalls being genuinely surprised by the award. Here is a true artist who worked to express his own ideas. He was one of the lucky ones who also received popular acclaim.

*I Have a Sister, My Sister is Deaf

 I Have a Sister My Sister is Deaf  by Jeanne Whitehouse shows the impact of deafness upon a young child’s activities: talking with friends and family, playing outdoor games, and responding to environmental sounds. However, my resource focuses on the relationship of the sisters. For example, the older sister must adjust play to meet the needs of her young, hearing-impaired sibling. At the beginning of the book, she helps her sister learn single words. By the end of the book, she realizes that life entails a vast number of hearing experiences. Whitehouse’s implicit theme is the contrast in how these two girls experience the world.

Deborah Ray’s illustrations are black and white drawings. They capture the lives of these two sisters with minimalism and precision.  

There’s no mention of early intervention for hearing impairment. Whitehouse published this book as an adult in 1977; I wonder what was available for her sister when they were both young children.  When I post this resource on March 31, 2025, I don’t find any other lessons on TPT for this book.

This book is read aloud online by Read Alouds with Haruka.

My Picture Book Talk for this story is here.