Earlier this week I was delighted to see an updated version of Children Just Like Me arrive at the library. It's visually appealing, just like it's predecessor, large sized, with less text so it has a cleaner feel and is more accessible to younger readers. There is also a free activity guide with a template for children to create their own "Children Just Like Me" page and other ideas -- now to plan a library program!
Children Just Like Me (UNICEF/Dorling Kindersley) 1995 has always been one of my favorite books. It was the first book I knew of that highlighted the everyday lives of contemporary children from around the world. Not folktales (which I also love), but real children and their interests, which wonderful photographs and what I've come to think of as that DK look. And it has aged very well -- I still bring it out for displays (I didn't realize quite how old it was!)
Earlier this week I was delighted to see an updated version of Children Just Like Me arrive at the library. It's visually appealing, just like it's predecessor, large sized, with less text so it has a cleaner feel and is more accessible to younger readers. There is also a free activity guide with a template for children to create their own "Children Just Like Me" page and other ideas -- now to plan a library program!
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Enchanted Air by Margarita Engle Atheneum, 2015 Based on the author's own childhood, this poetic memoir recounts summers spent with her mother's extended family in Cuba, until 1960, when everything changed. Revolution. Communism. The Cuban Missile Crisis. Engle's descriptions of the Cuban landscape -- the air, the land, the food -- is truly enchanting. It definitely makes me want to visit Cuba! Her feelings of being torn between the two places, of wondering where she belongs, of longing for family are beautifully conveyed and ones that many children (immigrants, refugees, or Americans from various backgrounds) will be able to relate to. On what would be the last childhood visit, a yet to be born foal is designated as belonging to Margarita and her older sister. A horse she only gets to see in a photograph. (as a horse lover as a child, this episode struck a particularly emotional chord with me!). A few favorite excerpts: From "What Am I?" At school, all the teachers and students seem angered by Cuba. WHAT ARE YOU? they ask. It's a question that requires fractions, and I don't like math. Do I have to admit that I"m half Cuban and half American, or should I go even further, and explain that Dad's parents were born in the Ukraine, part of Soviet Russia? Or am I just entirely American, all the fractions left behind by immigration from faraway nations? p. 43 --------------------------- Refuge The ugliness of war photos and the uncertainty of TV news join the memory of FBI questions to make me feel like climbing into my own secret world. Books are enchanted. Books help me travel. Books help me breathe. When I climb a tree, I take a book with me. When I walk home from school, I carry my own poems, inside my mind, where no one else can reach the worlds that are entirely completely forever mine. p. 54 And isn't the cover image by Edel Rodriguez amazing? Reading the World: Cuba What a delight it is to return to a faraway island for those who have been wondering about the uncertain fate of the Steiner sisters. Deep Sea by Annika Thor, is the third in a series that chronicles the story of two Jewish refugees from Austria living in Sweden during World War II. Deeply committed to her education, sixteen year old Stephie studies hard to fulfill her dreams of being a doctor. At the same time, her younger sister Nellie grows more distant and she hears from her parents less often. Postcards from the camp are confined to a strict thirty word limit and even some of these precious words are censored -- blacked out so Stephie cannot read them.
Stephie does quite a lot of growing up and finding herself in this volume. Her friend from the island, Vera, is in Goteborg, but they are clearly headed in different directions. We learn about Aunt Marta's own daughter and her tragic death. Sophie meets other Jewish refugees and visits the Jewish Children's home in downtown Goteborg. She makes the difficult decision to leave the Protestant church she had joined for Aunt Marta's sake and gets closer to her Jewish culture. Stephie comes to the heartbreaking realization that life will never be the same for her family again -- this is something the reader has known, and deep down, Stephie has probably known but not completely acknowledged to herself. Even when the war is over (which still seems quite far away with German submarines plying the coast of Sweden), things won't be the way they were. This understated tone seems very Swedish to me. There is much deep emotional content, but it's not all spelled out. There is so much depth in between the relatively straightforward lines of the story -- of what is actually going on with Vera, between Stephie's favorite teacher and her girl friend who visits for the summer, and within Stephie as she tries to reach out to Nellie but also sees a distant past and future that will be strikingly different. I believe there is one more book in Thor's quartet about the Steiner sisters. I'm tempted to try to learn Swedish so I can go ahead and find out what happens to Stephie. Thank you Delacorte Press for bringing these books across the ocean and please be working on the next one! ---------------------------------- Deep Sea by Annika Thor was translated from the Swedish by Linda Schenck. Delacorte Press, 2015. Originally published in Sweden in 1998. Companion to A Faraway Island (Batchelder Award) and The Lily Pond (Batchelder Honor). Leo shows off his brand new red bike in the schoolyard, but crashes into Kenny, who's sitting inside a cardboard box. Turns out Kenny has quite an imagination (which the reader might be able to guess from his wild hair!) The box turns into a race car, then a basket on top of the back of an elephant . . . and on and on. Though Leo argues with him, Kenny steadfastly stands by his imaginings. His tall tales draw the attention of other kids who all want to play in the box. Fortunately, there's even room for Leo.
The Box was first published in Belgium and Holland by Clavis Uitgeverij, Hasselt- Amsterdam in 2012; translated into English from the Dutch by Clavis Publishing (no translator listed), New York, 2012. Wild-haired Kobe becomes Kenny in translation. What was most striking to me about The Box is the rather unusual media, which are photographs of clay and cloth figures, created digitally with Photoshop. They are very distinctive, with expressive faces and gestures that I think children will appreciate. You can see more of Axel Janssens illustrations on his website, Strange Days: http://www.strangedays.be/illustrations.html My Happy Life by Rose Lagercrantz, illustrated by Eva Ericksson. Translated by Julia Marshall. Gecko Press, 2013. First published in Sweden in 2010. This is one of the sweetest books I've ever read. It's not saccharine, or over the top, just gentle and true to the perspective of a six year old. Dani has a happy life . . . when she can't fall asleep, she counts the times in her life she has been happy. She's nervous about the start of school, but soon makes a new friend. A best friend. She has a warm relationship with her father; her mother has died. This is handled very directly and matter of factly, not a focal point or big issue - which is refreshing. It's sad, but not overpowering. The big crisis (such as it is) is when her best friend moves away. From Dani's perspective, this is huge. The letters back and forth between the two friends are wonderful. A book about the loveliness of everyday life. A great first chapter book with appealing illustrations, generous pace between the lines of text, which is of relatively large size, and a nice overall design/feel to this book. Just look at this cover . . . it exudes happiness! I Lived on Butterfly Hill by Marjorie Agosin, with illustrations by Lee White. Translated from the Spanish by E.M. O'Connor. Atheneum, 2014. Eleven year old Celeste lives on Butterfly Hill in Valparaiso, Chile, with her parents, grandmother and Nana Delfina, who cares for them all. She loves to sit on the roof and look at the stars at night, and leaves her window open to see and hear the pelicans that greet her each morning. The city built on hills next the ocean is described in such detail you'll feel like you have been there. Celeste travels to school by cable car . . . when the old creaky cars are working that is. She also visits poorer neighborhoods of her city after a rainstorm with her parents, who are doctors. But Celeste's life changes dramatically when the president of her country is assassinated and a dictator takes over. The colorful murals on her school walls are whitewashed, the pelicans no longer greet her, people begin to disappear, and her parents become targets. She is sent far away to Maine to stay with her Tia Graciela. Though it is so very different from Chile, Celeste learns English, becomes friends with another refuge, Kim from Korea, and makes a home for herself. And some things remind her of home: the lighthouse, the stars in the sky. After two years, the dictator dies and Celeste returns to Chile. Much has changed and her parents have not yet returned, but Abuela Frida and Nana Delfina are there, and her friends Christobal and Marisol are thrilled to see her. With Christobal, Celeste sets out on an unusual journey, searching for her father. The time and names in this book are deliberately unspecific. It seems to be 1973, when Pinochet takes over Chile after Allende's assassination. But he is only referred to as the Dictator, and his rule lasted much longer than two years. Perhaps Agosin is kinder to her character than life was to her (Agosin's family left Chile when Pinochet took power.) The upheaval in Chile and the disappearance of thousands of people is hauntingly true. The book clearly notes it is a work of fiction. It's an odd mix though . . . historical fiction that is only partly historical fiction. I would love to hear others thoughts on this. And it is unusual as well for a book first published in the US to be translated from Spanish. Does anyone know of any other books that this is true for? Is this book also available in Spanish? Agosin's language is beautiful; I was not surprised to learn she is a poet. The story has a bit of magical realism that is characteristic of much Latin American writing . . . something that feels a bit unusual to me but I think I'm learning to recognize and appreciate. I loved this book for its strong characterization of place, especially of the city of Valparaiso -- I *almost* feel like I've been there and definitely would love to go. Celeste's experiences of change, of being an exile, of trying to fit in, learning to love a new place while missing home, were also a strength of the book. "Maybe once you are an exile, you always are an exile. Always missing somewhere else, always carrying a bit from here and a bit from there, and always with a bit of a broken heart." p. 280. Today is a very somber anniversary: 20 years ago the genocide in Rwanda began. As hard as it is to remember, it's equally important, imperative, that we do remember. So I wondered if there were children's books from or set in Rwanda and decided to try the International Children's Digital Library, which is an amazing resource of children's books from around the world that are not available in print in the United States. There are four books from Rwanda, three of which are in the language Kinyarwanda. One, Tamari of Tamarinda, is in English, written by Ignatius C. Musonza, illustrated by Kabalisa Théogène (Editions Bakame, 2005). Tamari is a beautiful but lazy girl who lives on the colourful island of Tamarinda. She spends her days singing to the bees and butterflies. When an ugly grey wizard takes the islands colors and Tamari too, she must learn to take care of herself. Her friends the bees help her return home with the island's colors. A tale of finding oneself, discovering strength, and the return of beauty to a place seems appropriate. Mira in the Present Tense, which I reviewed last week, includes a character from Rwanda, a boy who was orphaned and adopted by English aid workers. When Mira's parents learn of her research into Rwanda, they are concerned -- at what age do you inform children of such nightmares? And how do you do so? I don't have firm answers here, just questions. If you know of other books by authors from Rwanda or set in the country, please let me know! Mira in the Present Tense by Sita Brahmachari. Albert Whitman, 2013. Originally published in England as Artichoke Hearts.
Okay, I admit it. I picked this book off the shelf because it had a pretty cover. Interesting to see it next to it's British counterpart -- different title (which you understand when you read the book) and very different feel to the cover. What do you think? The book takes place during one month of twelve year old Mira's life. And how much can happen in just a month! Mira's beloved grandmother Josie is dying of cancer, and doing her best to make a peaceful exit. Death is a subject we all face, a real part of life, but is seldom given such open treatment in American literature for children. Letting go is hard, remembering is both joyous and painful, and all of these differing, mixed emotions are experienced through Mira's eyes. At the same time, Mira is changing too: getting her period, finding her own voice in school, having a crush on a boy (who also likes her!), negotiating friendships. Mira has a younger brother and baby sister, loving but a but busy parents who also have lives and worries of their own. There is no huge crisis or conflict -- the drama of everyday life is what drives the story. Mira's voice is young and fresh and honest. There is also a definite sense of place. The family takes Josie to her seaside cottage in Suffolk for a last visit. And Mira and her father visit the Tate Modern and stroll along the Embankment in London. "Looking at the buildings on the Thames, what I notice for the first time is that they all fit in. Even buildings like the Gherkin fit exactly into the space. Buildings can do that. They can be one great big family where all the generations are alive at the same time, as long as they're looked after properly. The great-great-grandparents like Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament or St. Paul's Cathedral living side by side with their distant relatives,the Wibbly-Wobbly Bridge, the Gherkin, the Millennium Wheel. Instead of some of them dying off before the next generation's born, they just live here getting to be a bigger and bigger family. I wish humans could do that." (p. 123) Gobble You Up! is a folktale from the Rajasthan region of India. The art is by Sunita, who is from Datasooti village in Rajasthan. The artform is called Mandna and is practiced only by women, handed down from mother to daughter. A wonderful endnote explains this unusual and striking technique. The story is based on one that Sunita remembers her grandfather telling, in which a greedy jackal swallows one animal after another and brags about it in a repetitive refrain before getting his due in the end. The story was translated into English by Susheela Varadarajan and then put into rhyme by Gita Wolf. The rhyming text makes this story especially suited for reading aloud. The book is handmade,silkscreened on thick kraft paper with a distinctive smell, features that book lovers will appreciate. Published by Tara Books, 2013. Pippi Longstocking (by Astrid Lindgren, 1945) is one of the most iconic characters in children's literature. She's a staple in her home country, with an amusement park, plays, movies, and more. Astrid Lindgren is a national treasure, and today the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award is one of the most prestigious honors in children's literature, and one of the few prizes with a monetary component. Pippi is one of the best know characters from another country in the United States. Pippi has been translated into 64 different languages, including three English translations (two in the 1950s, by Florence Lamborn in the United States and Edna Hurup in Great Britain and one in 2007 by Tiina Nunnally). Pippi Longstocking presents the episodic adventures of the strongest girl in the world. She’s almost an orphan: her dead mother is an angel, occasionally peeking through a hole in the sky to check on her daughter, and her father was lost at sea (though Pippi is convinced he’s alive and well, living as a King of the Natives on an island in the South Seas.) Until he is found, she’s living in Villa Villekulla, a house on the outskirts of a small Swedish town, with her monkey, Mr. Nilsson, and her horse. At first the townspeople think she needs an adult to look after her, but Pippi manages to avoid going to a children’s home by outwitting the policemen and she maintains her freedom. She lives just outside the bounds of the town, and similarly, on the bounds of society. Pippi generally does exactly what she pleases and sees no reason to do otherwise. After hearing about Christmas Vacation, she tries going to school, but that doesn’t last long. Money is not an issue, as Pippi has a chest of gold coins to draw upon whenever she needs it. The two children who live next door, Tommy and Annika, are thrilled when Pippi moves in. They go on many adventures with Pippi, who makes everything an adventure -- even scrubbing the floor! |
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