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