REVIEW: Thank You Bear by Greg Foley

Thank You Bear by Greg Foley, Viking, 2007.

2008 Charlotte Zolotow Award Winner

This is the greatest thing ever! Have you ever had that experience? You saw something or found something and said I know who’d like this. It will be a hit. Then reality (in the form of other people’s opinion) sets in. “That’s not so great,” they tell you. They are naysayers. Party-poopers. Wet blankets. Some refer to them as toxic people. These "friends" tell you they are being practical. Come on, let me dream a little!

That’s what Thank You Bear is about. Bear finds something he thinks a friend will like, but others don’t see it that way. Read the book to find out how Bear's dream turn out.

Thank You Bear is a great experience into how to hold on to our dreams, even when other people put them down.  It is a simple read with engaging illustrations, and as we would want, has a happy ending.

About the Author/Illustrator: Greg Foley hails from Austin, Texas. He attended the Rhode Island School of Design, and now works in Greenwich Village. Thank You Bear, and a number of other Greg Foley's follow-up books are in many languages -- because the tell universal stories.

This is a one of a series of reviews of Charlotte Zolotow picture book winners. 

For more about Alan Elliott, go to his website, www.alanelliott.com

Review of Moon Plane by Peter McCarty

Review of Moon Plane by Peter McCarty

Henry Holt

2006 Charlotte Zolotow award winner

What a delightful book full of imagination!   How many times have you seen an airplane flying overhead, and wondered about the people inside, where they were going, and what they were doing. There is something romantic about flying. As the young boy sees a plane overhead, he wonders. But his wondering isn't limited to a normal flight. No. He can fly the moon plane, get out and walk around, and fly above the craters. But the dream only lasts a while. When a plane goes up, it must come down, and so the boy returns to earth, and to his home and family. The (almost) black and white drawings give a sense of mystery and nostalgia–- a perfect fit for the story.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Peter McCarthy, an author and illustrator born in Connecticut in 1966, had a childhood full of imagination. He first considered a career of math and science, but he also liked to draw. The lure of illustrating captured him (with encouragement from friends) and he entered the School of Visual Arts in NYC in 1992. His first major illustration came in 1995 with Night Driving. From that point on, he’s made his mark and received a number of awards along the way, including the   Charlotte Zolotow award for Moon Plane in 2006.

For more about Alan Elliott visit www.alanelliott.com

Review of My Best Friend by Mary Ann Rodman

Review of   My Best Friend by Mary Ann Rodman, Illustrated by E. B. Lewis.

Viking.

2006 Charlotte Zolotow Award Winner

Every summer millions of kids learn to swim at public pools or at organizations like the YMCA. I used to go every weekday at 8am for the “free swim” at our local public pool. Almost every day there were the same kids – and some of them became friends.

My Best Friend is about six year old Lily who wants to be friends with seven year old Tamika. But Tamika has her own friend. Lily tries everything she can think of to make friends with Tamika, but nothing works. She’s disappointed. Keesha wants to be friends with Lily, but Lily ignores her. (Irony?) Eventually Lily and Keesha become friends.

This is a great story of reality. Someone once said that kids should be disappointed at least once every day to get them used to the real world. That may be a little harsh, but learning to deal with disappointment and move on is a - real good  life skill.  This story illustrates the hurt of disappointment, the recovery through realization, and the joy of moving on. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mary Ann Rodman is known for her award winning YA novel Yankee Girl selected as one of the "25 Books All Young Georgians Should Read." Although she’s lived a number of places, she is one of those wonderfully gifted writers with a compelling southern voice and story. She currently lives in Georgia and has followed My Best Friend with a number of other picture books.

Review of Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes

Review of Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes

Scholastic, Inc

2005 Charlotte Zolotow Award Winner

Rarely would a black and white children’s picture book make it into production nowadays. But Kitten’s First Full Moon works perfectly because of the story. Anyway, what is cuter than a little kitten? And it’s a curious kitten at that. This story has everything going for it from the cover. The author had me on the first page. Kitten sees the moon and thinks it is a bowl of milk in the sky. She tries all manner of ways to get to it – most of them ending in (humorous) disaster. Kitten is inventive and determined in her quest of the sky milk-bowl. Of course, she never reaches the milk in the sky, but the ending is as satisfying as a bedtime warm glass of – you know what.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kevin Henkes (born 1960) is an author illustrator who has more than 40 books in his portfolio. Not only has he won the Zolotow award with Kitten, it also won a Caldecott Medal, and he’s been nominated for a Newbery. He’s written and illustrated for his entire career. 

For more about Alan Elliott visit www.alanelliott.com

Review of What James Likes Best by Amy Schwart

Review of What James Likes Best by Amy Schwartz

Atheneum Books for Young Readers

2004 Charlotte Zolotow Award Winner

James and his parents take several trips to visit people and places. At each place James experiences things to do, people to meet and play with, and sights. After each visit the question asked is "What did James like best?" The answer is left to the reader which gives plenty of opportunity for a child to guess what James liked, to use his or her imagination, and to even think about what they liked best. The illustrations are simple and clear – showing the various modes of transportation as well as the people and things James encounters.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Amy Schwartz’s first picture book, published in 1982, was Bea and Mr. Jones, named a Best Children's Book by School Library Journal and one of the year's 100 Best Children's Books by the New York Public Library. She started her career in fine art, but as she was doing illustrations, stories popped into her head and she began writing and illustrating them. At last count, since her first book she has written and illustrated 11 books and illustrated 9 more.


For more about Alan Elliott visit www.alanelliott.com

Review of Farfallina and Marcel by Holly Keller

Review of Farfallina and Marcel by Holly Keller

Greenwillow Books

2003 Charlotte Zolotow Award Winner

Farfallina and Marcel is a book about friendship. It is also about change.  Farfallina is a caterpillar who makes friends with a little gray bird named Marcel. They learn to play together and become fast friends. But one day Farfalinna doesn’t feel right. She climbs up into a tree and doesn’t come down. Marcel waits for her but finally has to carry on with his own life, disappointed in losing a friend. However, Farfallina is not lost, she is in her cocoon. When the time arrives Farfallina comes out of her cocoon as a butterfly. She searches for Marcel, but does not find him. She only sees a big beautiful goose in the lake. When she strikes up a conversation with the goose they discover what has happened – they have both changed, and they renew their friendship again.

Holly Keller is an author and illustrator born in 1942 who got degrees in history before turning to illustration. Her first books were published in 1981, Cromwell's Glasses and Ten Sleepy Sheep. She’s received a number of awards including the Library of Congress Book of the year, Best Book of the Year, School Library Journal, and others. She has authored or illustrated over 60 books.

For more about Alan Elliott visit www.alanelliott.com

Review of Clever Beatrice: and the Best Little Pony by Margaret Willey

Margaret Willey, Clever Beatrice: and the Best Little Pony. Illustrated by Heather Solomon.

Atheneum.

2002 Charlotte Zolotow Award Winner

Clever Beatrice is a folktale where the smart and inventive Beatrice is able to outwit a mischievous gremlin called a lutin. When strange things start happening to her best pony, Beatrice solicits the help of the local bread maker who is also known to explain all kinds of mysterious happenings. He agrees to help Beatrice. As it turns out, Beatrice has all the best ideas and the baker adopts them as his own. Together they are able to solve the mystery of the pony and catch the lutin. This isn’t the first Beatrice story – it is one of several where Beatrice shows her cleverness in solving a problem. Each story shows how inventive and clever thinking can be used to solve even the most mysterious puzzle. Girls and boys will benefit from these stories because they show how to not give up, but to come up with solutions to problems.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  Margaret Willey grew up in Michigan, the oldest of eleven children. She began her children’s book writing career with The Bigger Book of Lydia in 1983. Another of her tales is The 3 Bears and Goldilocks, told from the bear’s perspective. Margaret also writes YA books the recent (2012) novel Four Secrets.

For more about Alan Elliott visit www.alanelliott.com

The Night Worker by Kate Banks. Pictures by Georg Hallensleben (2000)

Farrar Straus Giroux

The 2000 Charlotte Zolotow Award Winning Children’s Picture Book

Every night Alex’s father goes to work. On most nights as his father puts Alex to bed he asks his father “Take me with you.” One night his father says “Come on.” Alex gets a hard hat, and sees all kinds of workers in the night streets as they head toward a construction site. At the site, Alex watches the big machines move dirt, mix cement, and prepare a foundation for a big skyscraper. Alex wants to help, and his father puts him on a big yellow loader where he gets to push some levers. When a whistle sounds, it’s to take a break.  Alex’s father takes him back home and he crawls into bed and dreams of being a night worker.

Kate’s words and description of the adventure are exciting and comforting at the same time – as father and son bond. The illustration by Hallensleben are almost elementary drawings, but effective in setting the mood for the night adventure.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kate Banks was born in 1960 in Maine and attended Wellesley College and Columbia University. She’s written 30 children’s picture books and has received numerous awards on a number of her books. Besides the Zolotow Award, she’s also received awards from the New York Times, School Library Journal, Parent’s Magazine, and more.

For more about Alan Elliott visit www.alanelliott.com

Review of Lucky Song by Vera B. Williams

Lucky Song by Vera B. Williams

Greenwilliow Books

The 1998 Charlotte Zolotow Award Winner

Evie is about to have a great day. She wants to do something and, after getting dressed,  that something turns out to be flying a kite, with help from grandpa. It flies into the wind and Evie sees how high it can fly. Her mother looks admires the kite. The day progresses back at home where grandma has supper ready. Sister welcomes her home with a warm hug and her father makes the day complete by singing her a song about everything she’s done.

This is a great family time book that is like comfort food. Not every day is a perfect day where everything goes right, but there are some of those days, and this book celebrates one of those. The father’s song recaptures the experience from the beginning. Isn't it great fun to remember such a day, and to know that some stories are ones that comfort and make us happy.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Vera B. Williams is a writer and illustrator born in 1927. She is best known for her book A Chair for My Mother published in 1982. She has authored fifteen books and illustrated three more.  Other awards include as a nominee for the 2004 Hans Christian Andersen Award and as recipient of the 2009 NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature.

For more about Alan Elliott visit www.alanelliott.com

Review of Snow by Uri Shulevitz

Snow by Uri Shulevitz

Square Fish

1999 Charlotte Zolotow Award Winner

Snow is a wonderful story of how a village is transformed from gray to white. Paralleling the village’s transformation is a transformation of people from curt and pessimistic to happy and cheerful. 

The illustrations follow this conversion using changing colors and facial expressions. The hero of the story is a little boy who is optimistic about the snow from the first flake. If there is a message here it is to not pay too much attention to the nay-sayers. Believe in what you believe, and hope for a change from gray yuck to white smiles.

In addition to being a Charlotte Zolotow Award winner, Show also has these honors: American Library Association Notable Children's Books, Booklist Editors' Choice, Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon Award, Caldecott Honor Book,), Golden Kite Award Winner, New York Times Outstanding Books of the Year, Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year, School Library Journal Best Books of the Year. It captures a child’s indomitable optimism from the start, even when others try to cut him off.  The illustrations convey the mood as it changes from plain and nothing into wonder and happy.

I like this book because the child does not give up in the face of pessimism.  He never gives up his hope. Something good is about to happen, he hopes, he knows, he expects. And he is rewarded as the snowflakes begin to multiply. Of course all of our wishes don’t come true,  but the book somehow makes it clear that there are people who can’t or won’t believe something good is about to happen, while the child retains his expectation. It is a story that, I think, helps us see the “glass half full” rather than the “glass half empty.” 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Uri Shulevitz was born in Warsaw in 1935. His family fled from Poland during World War II and settled in Paris in 1947. He moved to New York in 1959. Uri began drawing at the age of three and combined it with storytelling by drawing comic books as a child. He studied painting at the Brooklyn Museum Art School and soon started illustrating books. His first book was The Moon in My Room in 1963.  His 1969 book The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship won a Caldecott Medal. He has since written or illustrated (or both) over 40 books. They include three Caldecott Honor Books (The Treasure, Snow, and How I Learned Geography.)

For more about Alan Elliott visit www.alanelliott.com

Review: When Sophie Gets Angry – Really, Really Angry…

When Sophie Gets Angry – Really, Really Angry… by Molly Bang, The Blue Sky Press (1999).

2000 Charlotte Zolotow Award Winner

Sophie is a little girl happily playing with a stuffed monkey when her big sister comes along and tells her that it is her turn to play with the toy. When her mother tells her that it is sister’s time to play with the toy and the big sister snatches the toy away, Sophie gets angry. She yells and throws a tantrum. She is so angry she runs and runs, and cries. In the woods she begins to notice the trees and birds singing. She climbs into a tree and feels the breeze in her hair. She finds comfort, calms down, and returns home where it is warm and cozy.

This book is full of lively color – in both writing and illustration. Sophie yells a red roar and almost explodes like a volcano, and the illustrations fit the emotions perfectly.

Every parent who’s seen a temper tantrum will relate to this book. For many parents, a child's tantrum makes us angry and frustrated as well. For Sophie, she is able to deal with the anger -- to find a solution in herself, which is what we hope as parents our children will learn to do.

Since I grew up near a creek with woods, I can relate to running there and finding solace. You can be alone and (hopefully) discover when something you thought was a big issue is not worth being angry about. My only concern is Sophie's running away. For some kids, there may not be a safe place to do that.

Children will relate to this book because they are learning to deal with emotions, and they will see themselves, and perhaps siblings and friends, in Sophie's experience.

When Sophie Gets Angry allows parents to talk to their children about dealing with anger. We all face anger issues from time to time. If we can learn to resolve our anger within ourselves that is a good thing. Maybe someday we can even learn to control that initial outburst of anger and not have to scream a red, red roar.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Molly Garrett Bang was born in 1943 and grew up in Baltimore. She graduated from Wellesley with a degree in French and went to Japan to teach English. She served a stint as a reporter but turned to children’s books and had her first book The Goblins Giggle, and Other Stories published by Scribner in 1973 (as author and illustrator). She’s written and illustrated two dozen books and is the illustrator on more than another dozen. Molly is the recipient of many awards including three Caldecott Honor Books for  The Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher (1981), Ten, Nine, Eight (1983) and Sophie (2000). One of her most recent awards is The Lucy Daniels Award for "outstanding contributions to children's literature that supports social and emotional health" in 2011.

For more about Alan Elliott visit www.alanelliott.com

Reviewing the Best Children's Picture Books

What criteria are used to review a children’s picture book? 

For the books that will be reviewed in this blog, I intend to look at them in several ways:

1. What story does the book tell? What are the key elements of this story that makes it stand out – its humor, moral, surprise, wit, imagination, etc?
2. How do the illustrations compliment the story?
3. To make it into publication a story must have some spark of imagination. What do I think is the spark that caught the eye of the publisher, and would catch the imagination of the reader?
4.  How does this story speak to children? Does it make them laugh, question, or understand something? Is it scary or comforting? Why would a child like this? Would they want to read it (or have it read) again and again?
5. Is there something that makes this book unique?
6. Finally: Why would you want to read this book to your child? What makes it so special?
7. Summary:  How I would describe and recommend this book to a friend.

My intention is not to critique the books and say this one is bad and that one is good (although I may like some better than others.) If a story has made it through the maze of publication, there has to be some reason it got this far… so I approach each book wondering why it “made the list” and why I would want to read it to a child.

For more about Alan Elliott visit www.alanelliott.com

Top 17 Award Winning Children's Picture Books

Reviewing The Charlotte Zolotow Award-Winners

There are tons of great children's picture books on the market, but there are a select few that get chosen for special recognition. These are the Charlotte Zolotow Award Winners.

Most children's book libraries will have some or most of these books on their shelves. In a quest to look at what makes a book stand out from the many published each year, my goal is to review all of these award-winning books. In the next few months I'll give you my take on their content with an eye toward what made them outstanding. (If you would like to contribute a review of one of these books, please contact me at baldwriter~atsign~alanelliott.com.)

The Charlotte Zolotow Award is a yearly award presented to the author of the best picture book text published in the United States in the preceding year. This award is administered by the Cooperative Children's Book Center, a children's literature library of the School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison and is considered a top award for children’s literature.

The books, listed by year of award are:

2014    Snicket, Lemony. The Dark. Illustrated by Jon Klassen. Little, Brown.

2013    Woodson, Jacqueline. Each Kindness. Illustrated by E. B. Lewis. Putnam.

2012    McDonnell, Patrick. Me … Jane. Little, Brown,

2011    Rukhsana Khan, Big Red Lollipop. Illustrated by Sophie Blackall. Viking.

2010    Carmen Tafolla, What Can You Do With a Paleta?,  Illustrated by Magaly Morales. Tricycle Press, 2009.            

2009    Bob Graham, How to Heal a Broken Wing. Candlewick Press, 2008

2008    Greg Foley, Thank You, Bear. Viking, 2007.  

2007    Peter McCarty, Moon Plane. Henry Holt, 2006.       

2006    Mary Ann Rodman, My Best Friend. Illustrated by E. B. Lewis. Viking.

2005    Kevin Henkes, Kitten's First Full Moon. Greenwillow Books / HarperCollins.           

2004    Amy Schwartz, What James Likes Best. A Richard Jackson Book / Atheneum.

2003    Holly Keller, Farfallina & Marcel. Greenwillow / HarperCollins.     

2002    Margaret Willey, Clever Beatrice: An Upper Peninsula Conte. Illustrated by Heather Solomon. Atheneum.           

2001    Kate Banks, The Night Worker.  Illustrated by Georg Hallensleben. Frances Foster Books/Farrar, Straus and Giroux.           

2000    Molly Bang, When Sophie Gets Angry -- Really, Really Angry.... Blue Sky/Scholastic.

1999    Uri Shulevitz, Snow. Farrar, Straus, Giroux.

1998    Vera B. Williams, Lucky Song. Greenwillow. 

The Twitch of a Sniper's Finger

Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial

This week I watched a lot of original film footage of the D-Day invasion and heard old soldiers talk about the horror of those days. As I worked in my garden I thought about those young boys on the beach or behind enemy lines who lived with the realization that at any time a bomb might fall from the sky, and kill them instantly.  They never knew if a sniper might be targeting them through a scope, and with a twitch of a finger snuff out their life. These young men would have given anything to be at home mowing their yard or planting flowers. But they had a job to do, and they did it without question and with courage. For some of these young soldiers, their war job ended in death. My father served as a soldier in the war (a Marine.) He made it home okay, and that’s why I’m alive today. But there were so many babies that were never born, so many families that were never started. What would those babies have become? Would they have been teachers, doctors, scientists who found cures for diseases?  We can never know.

There are precious little thanks I can give to those young soldiers who now rest in a foreign land beneath seas of white crosses and stars. They lost their lives so I could plant periwinkles in my back yard. Seventy years later I can do my best to remember them, to thank those who served and survived, and honor them with tributes, and so I do.  

Alan Elliott

Takeover: A Free Short Story

Putting things into Perspective

We live in a big universe. Do you realize how big it is? I can’t comprehend it’s size, and I doubt anyone else can either. Scientists have put the edge of the universe at more than 90 billion light years away.  Since the universe continues to expand at an enormous rate – it continues to move that edge farther and farther away. Is there a limit? Some astronomers think that the “blank” area is infinite. How can that be? Where are we anyway? We have to be somewhere don’t we? There has to be some limit doesn't there?

Let’s think about this for a moment. According to scientists, if there really is infinity out there, it means that every possible thing can and will happen.  Infinity means no limits to the possibilities. It means that there are other people, other worlds, other everything and someone identical to you (and I) reading (or writing) this blog. Does that give you the heebeegeebees?

If you don’t like the infinite universe theory there is the string theory that our universe is but one of an infinity number of universes (there’s that infinite again.) Personally, it seems if the first one is true, and everything can happen, then the second one can be included in the first one… ad infinitum…

Now let’s go back the other way. Think about how small out universe in this vast expanse. Think about how small our planet is in this universe. Think about how small we are on this planet. Think about how small molecules or atoms are in our body. Think about the fact that we have no real clue how small the smallest thing can be. Is there infinity in that direction too? Perhaps we in human form are occupying space the middle of all of the infinity of sizes.

My point is not astronomy. It is perspective. As a writer we are creating universes. Even non-fiction books create some kind of “bubble of knowledge.” We can never create anything near the vastness of the real universe. (I suppose J.R.R. Tolkien created one of the most complex literary universes.)

It seems to me that our written creations are universes in themselves. Maybe a part of the string theory. Maybe somewhere out there what we write is really coming true. If there is infinity of possibilities, this must be true. So what I have just said is true, and what you have recently written is taking place perhaps some billions of light years away. Odd, when you think about it. Downright odd.

Alan Elliott

Takeover: Free Short Story

Mozart's Requiem

Here is a script I wrote for a performance of Mozart's Requiem. I had some requests to make it available, so here it is. Feel free to use is, but please include a reference to this work

A Script for the Mozart Requiem

Alan C. Elliott

Speaker 1: The requiem mass is an ancient service of worship that began in the 2^nd century to celebrate the life of faithful Christians. Beginning in the 8^th century, the mass took on a musical form. The word “Requiem” means rest in Latin, and most of these masses are written in that language.

Speaker 2: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died on December 5, 1791 leaving the composition for his Requiem unfinished. Using his partially completed orchestral scores and his musical sketches on scraps of paper, other composers filled in the blanks to allow us to experience the genius and glory of this work.

Speaker 1: Although many versions of the Requiem mass have been written over the centuries, Mozart’s is considered the most influential contribution to this musical form.

Speaker 2: Mozart’s Requiem has been performed in honor and memory of many important figures throughout history including Fredric Haydn, Frédéric Chopin, and John F. Kennedy.

Speaker 1: In music and words, the intent of a Requiem is to take the listener to the sacred throne of God, seeking rest, solace, and understanding about this journey we call a lifetime. In it we celebrate our transition from this temporary earthly form into an eternal life with Him.

Speaker 2: As we listen to this music tonight, let these words of remembrance become our own prayer:

Speaker 1: We begin this sacred journey with a prayer of supplication -- a Kyrie: Lord, Have Mercy on us…

Speaker 2: May Your light shine on us in the same way your grace has saved those who have gone before…

 I. Introitus: Requiem aeternam (choir and soprano solo)

  

II. Kyrie eleison (choir)

Speaker 1: A trumpet will sound and summon all to God’s throne, where everything will be made known. Death will marvel as God’s creatures arise.

Speaker 2: And even though we are miserable beings and all that we have done in life is revealed in Your light of truth; have mercy on us; grant us forgiveness of all our sins.

III. Sequentia (text based on sections of the Dies Irae):Dies irae (choir)

Tuba mirum (soprano, contralto, tenor and bass solo)

Rex tremendae majestatis (choir)

Speaker 1:  The curse of sin is rebuked and now we are with those who are blessed. Humbly and meekly we pray for healing. Tearfully we recognize our guilt, and thankfully we accept your mercy.

Speaker 2: Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory, free your children from punishment, from the deep pit and the mouth of the lion, and bring us into the holy light that you promised to Abraham and his seed.

Recordare, Jesu pie (soprano, contralto, tenor and bass solo)

  

Confutatis maledictis (choir)

Lacrimosa dies illa (choir)

Speaker 1:  As an offering to you O Lord, we give You our sacrifices and prayers of praise.

Speaker 2: Accept them on behalf of those souls whom we remember today. Let those who have loved you pass from death to life eternal.

IV. Offertorium: Domine Jesu Christe (choir with solo quartet)

Speaker 1: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts; Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest.

Speaker 2: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

Versus: Hostias et preces (choir)

V. Sanctus:

Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth (choir)

Speaker 1: O Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

Speaker 2: May everlasting light shine upon your saints, O Lord, Grant us eternal rest, and may everlasting light shine upon us…

Together: For You are eternally merciful.

Benedictus (solo quartet, then choir) 

VI. Agnus Dei (choir)