When Bob Met Woody

The Story of the Young Bob Dylan

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday hosted today by Capstone Connect
and joins It's Monday! What are you reading? at Teacher Mentor Texts

LIttle Brown & Company

(pub. 5.3.2011) 40 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Gary Golio

     and Illustrator:  Marc Burckhardt

C haracter: Bob Dylan

O verview from the jacket flap: 

      "Bob Dylan is a musical icon, an American legend, and, quite simply, a poet. But before he became Bob Dylan, he was Bobby Zimmerman, a kid from rural Minnesota.

      This lyrical and gorgeously illustrated picture book biography follows Bob as he leaves his North Country mining town, takes on a new identity, and finally strikes out for New York City to pursue his love of music. He then meets his folk music hero, Woody Guthrie, and his life is changed forever."

        

T antalizing taste: 

   "May 1941. 

     Bob floated into this world on waves of sound.

     In the city of Duluth,

     on the shore of Lake Superior,

     in the cold North Country of Minnesota.

     To the music of ships' bells, seagulls' cries,

     and the rhythm of tumbling freight cars, young

     Bob Zimmerman began his life story."

          

and something more: I'm working on a picture book biography idea that connects two people so I've been studying these types of books.

I'm always drawn to the story behind a story, and I was interested to learn the background of this book. Gary Golio, the author of this picture book biography, When Bob Met Woody, writes in the Author's Note: "As a boy, I was always looking for heroes, just as Bob was looking for Woody even before he'd ever heard of him... it was Bob's search for his guiding star that inspired me to write this book."

Gary Golio explains that he did lots of research using books, videos, CDS, "[b]ut only when I read about Bob writing his 'Song to Woody' - using one of Woody's own melodies, a practice common in folk music - did I know where my story was going and why Woody was so important to Bob.  That's when all the pieces fell into place, even though there was still plenty of 'writing work' left to do."

And I liked this Bob Dylan quote: "All I can do is be me, whoever that is."

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Magritte's Marvelous HAT

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday hosted today by Wendie's Wanderings and
joins It's Monday! What are you reading?
at Teacher Mentor Texts

Houghton Mifflin Books for Children

(pub. 4.17.2012) 32 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor and illustrator: D. B. Johnson

C haracter:  Rene Magritte, the artist, imagined as a dog in his surreal world

O verview from the jacket flap: 

       

     "Without pinching his ears or mussing his hair, the hat floats overhead and
helps him to paint. But can Magritte paint without it? Not in a surreal world
where paint can fly and hats can play hide-and-seek.

     ... D. B Johnson creates another masterpiece in this playful exploration

of one of the twentieth century's most celebrated artists, Rene Magritte..."

T antalizing taste: 

       "One bright day in the dark of night, the painter Magritte saw a marvelous hat in a store window.

       When he tried it on, the hat popped up and floated just above his head...

Magritte was excited about his hat. He hurried up to his room and went straight to the picture he was working on."

      For the very first time, painting was easy. His brush danced and the colors sang."

and something more:   The Author's Note says, "You try on a hat that floats in the air and leads you to a place where anything is possible and everything is impossible. This is not the 'real' world. You have entered a 'surreal' world of visual surprises... Ordinary things appear in unlikely places, and the familiar is suddenly very strange." D. B. Johnson's magical surreal illustrations, inspired by Magritte, create a world of fun and surprises. The use of the transparent overlays is such a creative concept to underscore this imaginative story. 

Today I'm giving a tour to a group of 5th graders at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and I will show them Magritte's painting, Personal Values. In this painting, he creates a paradoxical world by changing the proportions of ordinary objects -- such as a gigantic comb resting on top of a bed -- and filling a room with a blue sky and puffy clouds. Impossibly wonderful!

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Silent Star

The Story of Deaf Major Leaguer William Hoy

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday hosted today by Wrapped in Foil and joins It's Monday! What are you reading? at Teacher Mentor Texts

Lee and Low Books Inc.

(pub. 4.1.2012) 40 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Bill Wise

         Illustrator: Adam Gustavson

C haracter: William Hoy

O verview from the jacket flap: 

      "William Hoy loved baseball. Growing up in the 1860s and '70s, he dreamed of one day playing in the major leagues. A far-off fantasy for many boys, fulfilling this dream was even more of a long shot for William, who was deaf... A talented played with a standout record, Hoy is a shining example that success in life should not be measured by differences but by drive and determination."

        

T antalizing taste: 

   "Some children teased William or were afraid to play with him because he was deaf and did not use his voice to communicate. Adults could be thoughtless too, looking down on the boy or ignoring him altogether. Friendly and personable, William was confused, his feelings hurt. Everyone was different in some way. He wondered why people could not accept him as he was." 

and something more: I chose another baseball book for today because our family is in big-time baseball mode with the hopes that the San Francisco Giants will keep rolling. I like the photo at the back of Silent Star of a baseball signed by William Hoy -- there's just something about signed baseballs and signed books. 

The author, Bill Wise, learned about William Hoy when he was a boy, and now he's sharing this inspiring story with another generation of children -- not only readers, but his students. As a former 7th and 5th grade language arts teacher, I'm impressed that Bill Wise teaches 8th grade math and language arts! In an interview about writing and baseball, Bill Wise was asked How do you feel teaching affects the way you put together a story? He answered, "Because I am a teacher, I try to write stories that teach children about determination, tolerance, courage, and pride."

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Play Ball, Jackie!

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday hosted today by ...

Books Together and joins
It's Monday!  What are you reading?
at Teacher Mentor Texts

Millbrook Press (Lerner Publishing)

(pub. 4.11.2011) 32 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Stephen Krensky

      Illustrator: Joe Morse

    

C haracter: Jackie Robinson

O verview from the jacket flap: 

      "April 15, 1947, is a big day for ten-year-old Matty Romano. His dad is taking him to see his favorite team - the Brooklyn Dodgers - on opening day!

        It's also a big day for the Dodgers' new first baseman, Jackie Robinson. Many white fans don't like the fact that an African American is playing in the major leagues. By putting Jackie on the team, the Dodgers are breaking the color barrier. How will Jackie respond to the pressure? Is he the player who can finally help the Dodgers make it back to the World Series?

T antalizing taste: 

   "Matty remembered hearing his grandfather's stories around the kitchen table. Everyone deserved a chance for a better life - his grandfather and Jackie Robinson too."

and something more:  As I'm writing this, my son is watching a San Francisco Giants baseball game. When I ask him about baseball commissioner Bud Selig, my son reminds me that in 2002 he got a baseball signed by him at a Giants' World Series Game. The reason I ask him about the commissioner is because the Author's Note of Play Ball, Jackie ends with this quote by Bud Selig made on April 15, 2004: "[B]aseball's proudest moment and its most powerful social statement came on April 15, 1947, when Jackie Robinson first set foot on a Major League Baseball field."

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A President from Hawai'i

President Barack Obama

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday hosted today by ...
The Swimmer Writer 
and joins It's Monday! What are you reading? at Teacher Mentor Texts

Candlewick Press

(pub. 7.31.2012) 32 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthors: Dr. Terry Carolan and Joanna Carolan
             and illustrator: Elizabeth Zunon

    

C haracter: President Barack Obama

O verview from the jacket flap: 

      "Take a trip to Hawai'i and catch a wave of aloha spirit in this fact-filled tribute to the birthplace of Barack Obama the first president of the United States born here.
       Growing up in Honolulu, young Barack was surrounded by the values of kokua (help), lokahi (unity), and 'ohana (family). Local authors Dr. Terry Carolan and Joanna Carolan bring the rich cultural diversity, breathtaking beauty, and welcoming spirit of the fiftieth state to young ones everywhere, providing a look into President Obama's childhood and the Hawaiian traditions and history that shaped him.
       Vividly painted scenes of the lush Hawaiian landscape by Elizabeth Zunon bring the natural beauty of the Aloha State to radiant life, while public and family photographs and quotations from the president give a firsthand perspective..." 

        

T antalizing taste: 

   "In Hawaiian culture, tradition plays a big part.
     Living with aloha means giving from the heart.
     It is a gesture of aloha to give a flower lei.
     Showing kindness always is the aloha way."

                   "That's why we pass on the values of empathy
                    and kindness to our children by living them."
                    -Barack Obama, Chicago, Illinois, 6/1/08

and something more:  This weekend marked the one year anniversary of the release of the picture book I wrote, My Hands Sing the Blues - Romare Bearden's Childhood Journey, (Marshall Cavendish) illustrated by the incredibly talented Elizabeth Zunon. Liz is not only the illustrator of My Hands Sing the Blues and A President From Hawai'i, but has illustrated three other books this past year --  Lala Salama - A Tanzanian Lullaby by Patricia MacLachlan, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba, and How Many Spots Does A Leopard Have? (An African Folktale). Warmest congratulations to Liz!
         Liz kindly shared with me some of the background for creating the illustrations for A President from Hawai'i: "After a lot of sketching and re-sketching scenes with multiple characters for the book, the publisher decided to simplify the illustrations to allow Obama family photographs to be included in the spreads. I LOVE tropical flowers and landscapes, and this was my opportunity to try and emulate the tactile elements that I imagine take center stage in Hawaii. Many of the tropical flowers that grow in Hawaii also grow in my childhood home in the Ivory Coast (West Africa), so it was a thrill painting and making them out of paper. Note: The flowers on the glossary page (Bougainvillea and Hibiscus) are the flowers that grew on our balcony back home in the Ivory Coast :)"  
         Thanks, Liz, for not only giving an insight into the background of the illustrations, but also sharing your personal connections. I can't wait to share this book with the second graders in the classroom in which I have the privilege of volunteering every week. I know they will love it!

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