Snook Alone (2010)

 Snook Alone by Marilyn Nelson  (2010) is about an intelligent, loyal dog stranded on an island when his owner must flee a rapidly approaching tropical storm. Nelson is an award-winning poet, and it’s obvious that she chooses each word of this story with great care. After we learn about Snook’s daily routine in the first half of the book, we watch him adapt to his new island surroundings. A canine sense of smell reveals drinking water. But his keen hearing does not perceive his human friend’s voice in the wind and waves—until near the end, when his memory of  hearing “good dog” fills him with love.

 Timothy Basil Ering’s illustrations add vitality to the text. Snook and his friend, Abba Jacob, appear as devoted comrades. His limited palette and artistic skill effectively depict the emotional extremes of joy and loneliness. The reunion is visually thrilling. 

 The text is not easy; the illustration is fine art; Snook’s longing is intense. These three attributes make this book appropriate for the older student. Nelson and Ering explain their  collaboration at the 2010 National Book Festival.

 Snook Alone is read aloud by Marissa Cilento in two parts: Part 1 and Part 2.

My Picture Book Talk for this story is here. 

Forest Has a Song (2013)

 Forest Has a Song by Amy Ludwig Vanderwater is a collection of 26 poems that describe a young girl's experience walking in a forest. The poems have only a few challenging vocabulary words. The poems often flow in an easy rhythm. Most stanzas appear in lines from one to five words long. Robbin Gourley’s bright colorful illustrations show plant, animal, and bird life in all four seasons. This book reminds us that forests can be places to connect with nature.   

 In my opinion, the title of this book combined with the cover art asks readers to explore the earth’s woodlands. The title of the first poem is “Invitation”; a forest breeze and waving trees signal, “I'm here. Come visit. Please?” We find song in the forest, song made up of natural languages that Vanderwater helps us appreciate in lyrical verse. The last lines of the book are “I am Forest. Remember I am here.”

Warning: In the poem “Wintergreen”, Child tastes a wintergreen plant. It may be important to tell readers never to eat plants without the permission of a knowledgeable adult.

This book is read aloud online by Wednesday with Wendy.

My Picture Book Talk lesson for this book is here. 

Timothy Tib (2001)

Timothy Tib by Liz Graham-Yooll is a page-by-page description of the many characteristics of the cat we see beneath the title. He’s walking toward us, tail raised in friendly greeting (Cox). On the left side of each two-page spread is story and a pencil sketch; on the right side is an oil painting of Timothy Tib. Each page of text has only two sentences.  The first sentence presents as two lines that rhyme, so students are exposed to both rhyme and lengthy sentence structure. The second sentence is italicized and summarizes the previous rhyme, usually with an adjective. For example, ”And sometimes he will stare for hours at lizards hunting in the flowers. Timothy Tib is a curious cat.” A painting puts the three lines of text in picture form. This book can function as an English lesson in disguise.

 At first glance, this may look like a book for young readers because the print is large and the text sparse. But there’s nothing childish here. This is my favorite kind of book for the older student who struggles with reading. The language is appropriate for any age and the illustrations are fine art.

This book is read aloud online for the young child by gnidraham, The older student may enjoy a documentary about domestic cats by Pets & Vets.

 My Picture Book Talk lesson for this story is here. 

Wabi Sabi (2008)

 

Wabi Sabi by Mark Reibstein is a skillful tale about “a way of seeing the world that is at the heart of Japanese culture”. The main character is a cat named Wabi Sabi. This is the story of her journey to learn the meaning of her name. It’s written with both prose and haiku—in “the haibun form, where short prose passages set up each haiku.” Reibstein provides backmatter and translations of  14 Japanese haiku that appear throughout the book.

The collage art by Ed Young is exceptional. His  illustrations are wabi sabi artworks; unfortunately, they lose a bit of their potency on the flat page. Many thanks to BooksVideosTV for introducing us to Young, his art, and specifically, an account of how he created art for this book. The older student and adult will benefit from reading Mark Mitchell’s blog for more information. 

This magnificent book is read aloud by Read Aloud with Ms Caudle .

 After reading wabi sabi: the japanese art of impermanence by Andrew Juniper, I interpreted Wabi Sabi’s journey as representing the tea ceremony. Juniper writes that participants in the tea ceremony “leave  their petty world behind”, perhaps the city that Wabi Sabi passes through.  He references “livid autumn colors of maple leaves”, which we see in Young’s illustrations. I now see the wise, old monkey as the tea master. “The perfect clarity of mind and seamless movements of the master evoke a hypnotic effect in the participants, who then can become one with the mind and spirit of the tea master.” (Juniper 40) After the tea ceremony, Wabi Sabi understands the meaning of her name.

A little research into haiku reveals controversy over how it’s taught requiring a specific syllable structure. The English haiku in Wabi Sabi all have the 5 – 7 – 5 syllable form. Translations of the Japanese haiku free readers from this structure and allow them to attend to on other aspects of the poetry.

My Picture Book Talk for this story is here.

Fly Away Home (1991)

 Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting (1991) is a story about a homeless family. Andrew and his dad live in an airport. Dad designs each day to avoid notice by airport security. It's 1991, so airport security is a couple of men in blue uniforms, not a plethora of security cameras, metal detectors, and x-ray equipment. Andrew introduces us to other people who live in the airport. Those  who get noticed get caught. He shares his life of blending in with the crowds and hustling for some change. Ronald Himler's paintings capture the sadness and frustration of being trapped in this desperate life.

This resource is a complete rewrite of the one I published in 2021. This revision is exclusively about the people. I do not reference the little brown bird or ponder the larger issue of housing. The purpose of this lesson is to meet the homeless.    

This book is read aloud online by Tara LaPorte.

My Picture Book Talk lesson for this story is here. 

The Easter Egg Artists (1976)

 The Easter Egg Artists  by Adrienne Adams (1976) celebrates the energy and creativity of youth. The first page sets up a subtle drama: will Orson help his parents with painting the hundreds of Easter eggs they decorate each year? As his parents examine his unfinished flower design on an easel in their studio, Orson is playing outside. Father Abbot labels him an immature rabbit. Mother Abbott implies Orson is motivated by recognition. But the story shows that a different kind of task holds Orson’s attention. When he stands on the tail of a plane, on the roof of a house, and at the side of a bridge,  Orson’s perseverance is admirable. He is enthusiastic, not about flower designs, but about his own comic Easter eggs.  And they’re so popular, his parents must order hundreds more eggs for him to decorate.

Why does the story end with Orson painting a flagpole? Is it because he has grown up, as his parents suggest? Or has Orson discovered joy in tasks that better suit his high energy level and creative vision? 

This book is read aloud online by Laurie on Safari.

My Picture Book Talk lesson for this story is here.

Grandpa's Muisc: A Story About Alzheimer's (2009)

 Grandpa’s Music: A Story About Alzheimer’s by Alison Acheson is a glimpse into the progressive disease called Alzheimer’s. 

Young Callie’s family welcomes her grandfather into their home to take care of him. Grandpa begins his stay by working in the garden, helping with dinner, and playing the piano. Over the course of about a year, Grandpa’s gardening skills decline, and he begins to forget the lyrics to his favorite songs. He even forgets where the piano is. Callie is a compassionate granddaughter who helps Grandpa, sometimes with joyful humor. Bill Farnsworth illustration paintings soften the harsh reality of living with Alzheimer's.

This is not a story about the stress her parents may feel caring for two children and a parent. It’s not a story that lingers on the details of how difficult life must be in many areas of Grandpa’s life. All we need to know is that Alzheimer’s does not completely steal Grandpa’s music. He may forget the lyrics, but his fingers remember how to play the songs.  When he moves out of the family home and into “a place with doctors and nurses”, he sees a piano and sits down to play. Then, Callie and Grandpa sing their own made-up songs.

This book is read aloud online by Evening Star.

My Picture Book Talk lesson for this book is here. 

It is here on Classful.