Hello again, readers! For this week, I am posting my reading
responses to the second half of the Picture Book assignment for my class, LIS
721 01 Material for Children. Each of the five books below that I evaluate have
been selected from the five columns within the syllabus’ require reading list.
I hope you enjoy!
Perkins, Mitali, and Sara Palacios.
Between Us and Abuela: A Family Story from the Border.
Farrar Straus Giroux, 2023. ISBN 978-0-374-30373-0
Within my first selection of children’s picture books is Between
Us and Abuela: A Family Story from the Border, by Mitali Perkins and
illustrated by Sara Palacios, published by Farrar Straus Giroux. This book is told
in first-person narrative from the perspective of Maria, a young Mexican-American
girl, as she, her little brother, Juan and their mama travel to the U.S.-Mexico
border in order to spend La Posada Sin Fronteras with their abuela, who they
are visiting for the first time in five years. This is a beautiful story about
familial love, creativity, and perseverance in the face of hardships, while
balancing a difficult theme of being separated from loved ones during the
holidays, all told through the lens of a young girl’s point of view. The words
and illustrations on each page reflect a spectrum of emotions ranging from fear,
confusion and sadness at the unfair situation, but ultimately, feelings of hope,
joy and love, as Maria goes on a quest to deliver a present to her abuela, despite
the fence separating them across neighboring nations.
This picture book uses soft textures with geometric shapes and warm colors of red, orange and yellow to invoke the feelings of familial love that Maia, her mother, brother and abuela all share for one another. The picture book depicts the warm of yellow sand contrasted with the cool blues of the ocean on multiple pages, while creating lovely scenery, the large grandness of the beach depicted in the illustrations underline how distant Maria and Juan feel from their abuela in Mexico, even if they are physically close by on the other side of the wall. The illustrations and the artist’s choice of colors, go a long way to express the sadness of the family’s separation and brief visit together, but also convey Maria’s ingenuity and love for her abuela as well. The picture book avoids stereotypes as it tells the story from Maria’s perspective as border policies and politics regarding immigration into North America have negatively affected her ability to visit with family in Mexico. This is a story I would be willing to share with people of all ages and backgrounds, as it is a story about realistic issues regarding modern immigration policies, told from the perspective of a child protagonist is directly being impacted by said polices, and is ultimately a story about unbreakable bonds of love for family, no matter how close or far apart they might be, with a belief in basic human kindness as people on both sides of the U.S. and Mexican border help Maria bring her present to abuela.
Le, Minh, and Dan Santat. Drawn Together. Disney-Hyperion, 2018.
ISBN 978-148476760-3
In my second picture book selection, I have chosen Drawn
Together, written by Minh Le, illustrated by Dan Santat and published by
Disney-Hyperion. This is gorgeous, heartwarming story about a young
Asian-American boy visiting his grandfather for the day, with the story
exploring the grandfather and grandson overcoming a combination of cultural,
generational and language barrio through their shared love of drawing in order
to find common ground and connection. There are few, short sentences throughout
the pages, with the story primarily being told through colorful, increasingly
dynamic illustrations instead. There is little in the way of background
explained, leaving it unexplained how much or how little the grandson knows of
his heritage or his grandfather’s language, but enough is told through the
images on page to convey the feelings of disconnect the grandfather and
grandson feel, with artwork being the bridge which brings them together.
There is variety in cultures depicted, as the book author
and artist create a story based in Vietnamese and Thai-American experiences
through their respective writing and artwork, but is ultimately a story anyone
of any background or walk of life can relate to as the book depicts a near
universal experience of different generations in family struggling to
understand one another, but ultimately find shared interests and through those
interests, find common ground with each other in the end. The story is initially
told in muted earth tones with large, spacious images with minimal details in
the backdrops, highlighting the grandfather and grandson’s disconnection, only
to become increasingly vibrant in a variety of red, yellow, blue and green
color with a mixture of art styles which contrast, but come to blend together
with strongly detailed textures which overwhelm each page as the story
progress, bring to life the relationship the grandfather and grandson are
developing, if not in words, than through actions and illustrations. Drawn
Together is a beautiful story which stresses the value of finding shared
commonalities with our loved ones, whether than focusing on what is different
and highlighting the value of building bridges over gaps, whether cultural or
generational, in order to find human connection and love.
In my third selection, I have chosen I am Every Good Thing by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Gordon C. James and published by Nancy Paulsen Books. This is a powerful children’s picture book, told from a young male, African American perspective, but should be shared with all young readers, as the book combines stunningly realistic illustrations with moving text on each page about finding self-worth, pride and joy in one’s self, their accomplishments, and dreams for the future. Neither the text nor the illustrations distract from one another, but the author and artist contribute in equal importance to the book, their talents working in tandem to create a powerful, positive message about African American identity, self-love and the incredible importance of recognizing each person for who they are, with words of affirmation and encouragement ion each page, with vibrant illustrations accommodating each poetic line by the narrator.
Forsythe, Matthew. Pokko and the Drum.
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2019.
ISBN 978-1-4814-8039-0
For my fourth picture book selection, I have chosen Pokko and the Drum by Mathew Forsythe, published by Paula Wiseman Books and Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. This a fun, whimsical story told through lovely earth tone water color illustrations created by the author, depicting the consequences of the titular Pokko’s march through her mushroom home and woodland community after her parents, her soon-to-be-regretful father and go-with-the-flow mother, gift the young frog child with a drum to play. It’s a delightful story, its humorous plot of Pokko being gifted a noisy toy drum is nicely contrasted with the easy-going earth tone watercolors spread out on white backdrops that are minimalistic at times beyond the characters of interest on the given pages. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves stories with anthropomorphic characters or enjoy stories with fairytale inspirations. I think this good book for young girls to read as well, as Pokko becomes rather assertive after gaining her drum and becomes a inspirational leader in her community after causing a band to form in amongst her neighboring forest animals who follow the sounds of her music.
Kusel, Susan, et al. The Passover Guest. Holiday House, 2021. ISBN 978-0-8234-4562-2
In my fifth evaluation, I have chosen The Passover Guest by
Susan Kusel, illustrated by Sean Rubin and published through Neal Porter Books.
Set in Washington D.C. during 1933, the story follows a young Jewish girl named
Muriel and her parents who receive a visit from the prophet Elijah as Passover
approaches and her neighborhood prepares for the important holiday. This was a
wonderful, heartwarming story. As an outsider to the Jewish faith, community
and culture, it is difficult for me to say whether the story avoids stereotypes
or generalizations. However, writing from an outside perspective, I found it
the story to be a very moving introduction to the traditions of Passover, with
positive themes about the strength in the love of family, love and compassion
for one’s community, pride in one’s heritage and having faith in a higher
power, all told from the perspective of the story’s protagonist character,
Muriel, whose act of kindness and bravery to a stranger during the Great
Depression sparks another act of kindness to her family in return.
The choice of colors in the illustrations, I found, are key
elements of the storytelling. While the book features, particularly in the
beginning, yellow, reds, browns and grey, depicting the state of Muriel’s city
during the 1933s, various shades of blue are the primarily colors highlighted
throughout the story. I found it very interesting how different shades of blue
were used to convey the characters’ emotions and the tone of the story to the
reader, whether it was dark or muted, to convey moods of sadness and despair at
the unfortunate situation of Muriel’s family, only to become much cooler,
calming shades of blue instead as the story reached its happy ending,
highlighting the feelings of warmth, love and happiness within Muriel’s family
and the Jewish community as the neighborhood came together to celebrate
Passover. I would recommend this picture book to any child as introduction to
customs of the Passover holiday and to understanding its importance within the
Jewish culture and faith.
Works cited
Barnes, Derrick. I Am Every Good Thing. Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority, Library, 2019. ISBN 978-0-525-51877-8
Forsythe, Matthew. Pokko and the Drum. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2019.
ISBN 978-1-4814-8039-0
Kusel, Susan, et al. The Passover Guest. Holiday House, 2021. ISBN 978-0-8234-4562-2
Le, Minh, and Dan Santat. Drawn Together. Disney-Hyperion, 2018. ISBN 978-148476760-3
Perkins, Mitali, and Sara Palacios. Between Us and Abuela: A Family Story from the Border.
Farrar Straus Giroux, 2023. ISBN 978-0-374-30373-0
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