Neville

Neville by Norton Juster

Illustrated by G. Brian Karas

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade

2011

     He has just moved into a new neighborhood.  He wasn't happy to be there. "Nobody had asked him about moving." And they told him he would love it. "That's what they always said when they knew he wouldn't love something."  So now he would have to face going to a new school and having no friends. And "that was the worst part, no friends." His mother told him to take a walk around the block. "Like you can make new friends just by walking down the block." But he did anyway. And the he stopped, took a deep breath, and shouted at the top of his lungs: NEVILLE.  Over and over. Until other children joined him and started calling out "Neville" along with him. Soon, they were all talking and wondering where this boy Neville might be, looking for him and imagining what he must be like.  Who's Neville?  As he walks back to his new home, the boy has to admit the day turned out to be a lot better than he had first thought...

     I love Neville.  I've been a lifelong fan of Juster (The Phantom Tollbooth is one of my all time favorites), and Neville did not disappoint me in the least.  He captures the feelings of a new kid on the block perfectly: the fears and the frustrations of not being totally in control of certain life changing decisions.  The ingenuity of Neville to find new friends will delight readers of all ages.  The illustrations by Karas are a perfect companion.  Great read aloud! One of my favorites this year (I could read the first two pages over and over again...wait, I did).

Robot Dreams

Robot Dreams by Sara Varon
2007

     Robot Dreams is an almost wordless graphic novel.  A dog receives a build-yourself robot in the mail.  After putting it together, the dog and the robot become inseparable, going to the library, watching movies and reading together.  On a trip to the beach, the robot is not quite sure about swimming in the ocean, but the dog convinces him.  They have a great time playing in the water, but once dried, the robot realized he's now unable to move.  Not quite sure what to do, the sad dog leaves his friend behind laying on the sand.  As the summer days end, and the beach closes for the season, the dog begins his quest for a new friend, still missing the robot and feeling guilty about what happened.  Meanwhile, the robot lays trapped on the beach, dreaming of freedom while being abused by the weather and other characters, eventually being dismembered and thrown out into a scrapyard.  A raccoon who was trying to fix a radio, uses the robot parts to complete his project.  Alive as a radio now, Robot sees his old friend outside his window, walking by with a new robot he has built.  Robot plays his music loudly and the dog unconsciously and unknowingly reconnects with his old friend as he walks away humming the song Robot has just played for him.
     Robot Dreams is one of the most surprising graphic novels I've ever read.  It's bright and cheery illustrations didn't prepare me for the depth of feelings it provoked.  There is friendship, loss and abandonment, longing, guilt and acceptance.   It's a really quick "read" but I guarantee you it will stay with you long after you've finished it.  Just wonderful!

A Grand Old Tree

The Grand Old Tree by Mary Newell Depalma
2005

     My son loves to make up stories. He's 4, so his stories are either really short or they go on and on and on.  Last week, he got in the car and said, "Once upon a time, there was an old tree. Then it died. But then a young tree came and sang to him and he was alive again."  I tell you all this, because I just read The Grand Old Tree and it made me think of his story again.
     "Once there was a grand old tree. Her roots sank deep into the earth, her arms reached high into the sky." She lived for many seasons, flowering, bearing fruit, sowing seeds, and shedding her leaves. "She basked in the sun, bathed in the rain, swayed in the breeze." Her children spread far and wide. Eventually she got too old, dried out, fell down to the ground, "and snow gently covered her."  While she no longer flowered or sowed seeds, she was still home to many creatures and her trunk became one with the soil.  "Today the roots of her grandchildren sink deep into this earth. Their arms reach high into the sky."
     The Grand Old Tree is the story of the circle of life as experienced by a tree.  The illustrations are bright and in some cases, mingle with the words to form concrete poems.  The text is very accessible for the K-2 groups and offers a good introduction to the life cycle.

Peaceful Pieces

Peaceful Pieces: Poems and Quilts About Peace by Anna Grossnickle Hines
2011

Peaceful Pieces is a collection of poems that explores the theme of peace from different points of view and perspectives. There are poems about world peace, inner peace, peace between siblings, friendship, and peace with environment and the world around us. There are some very memorable poems, like "Soldier Daddy" about a boy hoping for his father's swift return from war soon. Or "Weapons," a poem about the destructive power of hurtful words:

"I've shot daggers from my eyes
At those I momentarily despised.
I have never fired a gun
but want to learn
to hold my tongue"

There are acrostic poems, free verse poems and rhyming poems. There are many examples of similes and metaphors as well as a beautiful poem that personifies Peace, which make this a greate poetry book to utilize in the classroom. The illustrations are gorgeous quilts. There is also some biographies at the end of the book about world history makers who are examples of peacemakers. Great addition to any classroom library.

These Hands

These Hands by Margaret H. Mason
Illustrated by Floyd Cooper
2011

     Joseph's grandpa is telling him all the things he used to be able to do with his hands:  tie a triple bowline knot in three seconds, "make the ivories sing like a sparrow in springtime," "pluck the ace of spades right out of thin air," "throw a curveball faster than a dive-bombing honeybee."  But there was something he wasn't able to do as a young man: he was not allowed to mix the bread dough at the Wonder Bread factory.  He was only allowed to clean the floors and work the line at the factory, but he couldn't make the bread because of the color of his skin.  So he joined hands and voices with others during the civil rights movement and now, "any hands can touch the bread dough, no matter their color."
     These Hands is a beautiful book.  It manages to be tender in the way it shows the grandfather and Joseph's relationship and at the same time it exposes a little known historical fact about the discriminatory practices at the Detroit Wonder Bread factory.  I love the change in point of view that takes place half way through the book.  We first hear the grandfather's voice sharing how he can help Joseph learn to do those thing he could do as young man. Then, we hear Joseph's voice sharing all the things he has learned to do thanks to his grandfather's guidance.  "Now I can do all that," he tells his grandfather.  It's a very uplifting picture book that should be shared at home and in the classroom.  There is a lot of figurative language examples to share with the students as well as the historical background.  The illustrations by Floyd Cooper are, as usual, works of art.  This is one of the most beautiful and moving books of 2011.

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox
Illustrated by Julie Vivas
1984

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge was a young boy who lived next door to and old people's home. He knew all the old people that lived in that home, but "his favourite person of all was Miss Nancy Alison Delacourt Cooper because she had four names just as he did." They were good friends and Wilfrid shared all his secrets with her. One day, he overhead his parents talking about the fact that Miss Nancy had lost her memory. Not quite sure what a memory is, Wilfrid embarks on a quest to figure it out with the help of all the people at the old folk's home. He gathers different definitions of memory from all his friends. A memory is something: warm, from long ago, that makes you cry, that makes you laugh, "something as precious as gold. Wilfrid then collects items that fit each description and brings them to Miss Nancy.
This is one of the sweetest picture books I've ever read. I love the connection between the young boy and the old folks. Wilfrid's friendship with each one of them is memorable and the illustrations are gorgeous. It also has one of the most beautiful final images: "and the two of them smiled and smiled because Miss Nancy's memory had been found again by a small boy, who wasn't very old either." One for the favorite's shelf and a great one to discuss memories and memoirs.

Mattland

Mattland by Hazel Hutchins and Gail Herbert
Illustrated by Dusan Petricic
2008

     "Matt had moved three times with his family and this was the worst place of all."  The ground was muddy and full of building scraps.  The doors to all the houses where closed and "there was no one he knew."  Matt was feeling frustrated, even angry.  As he picks up a stick he feels like breaking it, throwing it, like "hitting something with it. But the stick felt comfortable in his hand, and instead, Matt drew a line in mud."  It is this simple act of creation, of drawing a line in the mud, that becomes the turning point in Matt's new life.  "Rain had fallen that morning. The earth was full to overflowing and the line filled with water." As Matt witnesses the water moving through his line, he names it Snake River.  As the line connects to a puddle, he founds Turtle Lake. And just like that, little by little, we see Matt create a whole miniature landscape. Hutchins and Herbert do a fantastic job describing with detail, each of Matt's new creations. Petricic's illustration grow in detail and color as well, until we are presented with Mattland, full or roads, buildings, rivers, railroads, fences...
     Mattland is such a wonderful story, its language and illustration so poetic, that I'm having a difficult time not wanting to just quote whole passages.  Matt's isolation during his creative process is interrupted by an "outsider," a girl that "had not been invited" to be part of his creation.  She brings him a Popsicle stick to help him. Later on, "the outsider was back with four pine cones and an empty berry container." They don't exchange words, but soon she's back with enough finds that she needs both hands to hold them.  Matt finds a place for all those things.  Then, the rain begins to fall again and water starts to overtake the town they've created. "Matt and the outsider rushed to save things, but all was about to be lost, when suddenly...help arrived from unexpected place."  At this point, the illustrations help us see many pairs of hands pushing the ground and using found objects to create "dams, dikes, and deep canals" guiding the waters away.  "The rain stopped. The water calmed. The sky cleared. And shinning boats appeared on Turtle Lake."  The last image we see of Matt, is his smiling reflection on Turtle Lake surrounded by other kids' faces, his new friends.
     What a touching, memorable book!  I loved Mattland!