The Word Collector

The Word Collector by Sonja Wimmer
Illustrated by Sonja Wimmer
Translated by Jon Brokenbrow
Published by Cuento de Luz
2011

     Luna, whose name means "Moon" in Spanish, was a little girl that lived high up in the sky.  She was passionate about words and collected them. She collected "funny words that tickle your palate when you say them, words so beautiful that they make you cry, friendly words that embrace your soul."  But when she notices that less words are reaching her up in the sky, that people are forgetting all the beautiful words, Luna knows is time to act. "She put all of the words she had in a big suitcase, and set off with them on a journey."  Luna embarks on a journey that will help her spread the power of positive words all over the world.
     The Word Collector is a beautiful picture book, an ode to language and words.  Sonja Wimmer plays with fonts and text placement along the story, making us trace the path of the words along the page.  The changes in type and orientation of the text are complemented by whimsical illustrations that take us to a dreamlike world.  Each page asks to be savored, each detail taken into account. I loved the fact that even after the translation of the text from Spanish to English, there were places where words in Spanish could still be spotted (framed picture that reads "las palabras locas", or a paper airplane made from a Spanish newspaper). There is an addendum where the text is written in a more conventional manner to make it easier to read -good idea to go here first, if you're trying to share it as a read aloud.
     The Word Collector will capture any reader, young and old, who loves language and words. With  lyrical text, beautiful language and illustrations, this is a delightful addition to any home or classroom library.

The Plot Chickens

The Plot Chickens by Mary Jane and Herm Auch

2009

      Henrietta is a hen that loves books.  She checks books out at the library and takes them back to the chicken coop to read the stories aloud to her aunts. One day, Henrietta decides that as much fun as reading is, writing books must be "eggshilarating."  So she checks out a book at the library about writing.  Following the rules she reads in the book, Henrietta writes her own story.  When her finished story is rejected by publishers, she decides to self-publish. The reviews are horrendous, and she's even embarrased to go back to the library. But when she finally does, she discovers that her book has been voted "Best Book of the Year" by the story hour children.  

    The Plot Chickens is a very funny picture book.  The mix of oil paints and digital art make the illustrations pop.  There are dialogue bubbles throughout the story that add little jokes to the main text.  The way Henrietta builds her own story, step by step, following what she reads in the book about writing, makes The Plot Chickens a great book to use as a guide during the Writer's Workshop in the classroom.  It covers the topics of characters, developing the plot (problem and solution) and even using sensory details to make the story better.  Great addition to the classroom library as well as a fun read aloud for home.

The Pet Dragon

The Pet Dragon: A Story about Adventure, Friendship, and Chinese Characters by Christoph Niemann
2008

     Lin is a young chinese girl who received a baby dragon as a gift.  Lin and her pet dragon did everything together: played hide-and-seek, made new friends, played ping-pong, and put on puppet shows.  One day, while playing soccer inside the house, Lin and her dragon broke a vase, so her father placed the dragon in a cage.   The next day the cage was empty and Lin was heartbroken.  She looked everywhere but couldn't find her dragon.  She came to a river and ran into a witch who asked for her help to get across. Lin carried the witch on her shoulders all the way across the river and to thank her, the witch became a giant and helped Lin reach above the clouds.   Up there, Lin found her dragon, all grown up,  playing with other dragons.  The dragon carried Lin back home, and her father, happy to have his daughter back, promised them they could always play together.
     There is something very cool about The Pet Dragon, because Christoph Niemann uses the story as a vehicle to introduce Chinese characters.  Each page has a couple of them incorporated into the illustrations and with their meanings underneath them.  The first page of the book offers a letter from the author with a brief explanation about the use of Chinese characters.  A good book to introduce children to chinese culture and to include in the multicultural classroom.

The Mysteries of Harris Burdick

The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg
1984

     The Mysteries of Harris Burdick is a very special book.  Chris Van Allsburg, author of classic books like The Polar Express, Zathura and Jumanji, opens The Mysteries of Harris Burdkick with a long introdution.  In it he explains that the fourteen pictures we're about to see inside the book belong to Harris Burdick.  Harris Burdick brought the paintings to a children's book publisher explaining that each painting belonged to a different story and that if the publisher was interested in more, he would bring the stories the following day.  But he never came back and he was never heard from again.  And that's the mystery. Are those seemingly unconnected pictures Burdick's? or is Van Allsburg telling a story?
     The pictures are all in black and white and each one is accompanied by a title and a caption.  For example, the text "A Strange Day in July: He threw with all his might, but the third stone came skipping back" accompanies a gorgeous picture of a boy and a girl standing by a lake shore with the boy holding a pebble in his hand.  Each picture is a wonderful launching pad for our imagination.  This is a fantastic book to use in the creative writing classroom.  In fact, there is a special edition (The Mysteries of Harris Burdick (Portfolio Edition)) which offers loose pages of each "prompt" and picture which can be displayed around the classroom.  At home, you can spend hours coming up with different stories for each image.  This is a book you have to own.

A Book

A Book by Mordicai Gerstein
Illustrated by Mordicai Gerstein
2009

     Not a very catchy title, right?  But once you read A Book, you'll understand why it just works.  A couple of weeks ago I was reading We Are in a Book by Mo Willems to my son and I had to explain to him the role of the reader: the characters in the book only come alive when you, as the reader, "reads" them.  This same concept appears in A Book.  Its characters are asleep while we keep the book closed and wake up as we start reading them.
     A Book, is an existential story at its core.  There is a family of characters: mom, dad, boy, girl, cat and dog.  All of them with a story written about them. All except for the young girl, who wonders "Everyone has a story but me. What's my story!"  The girl then takes us on a journey through different classic stories and genres on her quest to find her story.
     The way the story is presented is very clever and original.  It's visually captivating and tons of fun.