Magic Trash

A Story of Tyree Guyton and His Art

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday 

hosted today by The Children's War

Charlesbridge

(pub. 10.1.2011)  32 pages 

A uthor: J. H. Shapiro
  and Illustrator: Vanessa Brantley-
                        Newton

C haracter: Tyree Guyton

 

O verview from the jacket flap: 

     "Vacant lots. Abandoned houses. Trash - lots of trash. Heidelberg Street was in trouble!
     Tyree Guyton loved his childhood home - that's where his grandpa Sam taught him to 'paint the world.' So he wanted to wake people up ... to make them see Detroit's crumbling communities.
     Paintbrush in hand, Tyree cast his artistic spell, transforming everyday junk into magic trash. Soon local kids and families joined Tyree in rebuilding their neighborhood, discovering the healing power of art along the way.
     Tyree Guyton, a sculptor and painter, founded the Heidelberg Project, located on Detroit's East side, in 1986. For the last twenty-five years, his art and community activism have inspired people to see how art can create positive change in their lives." 

 

T antalizing taste: 

     "His mama didn't earn enough money sewing and cleaning to buy new shoes, much less bikes and balls. So he zapped fun into amazing junk that others tossed away.
      Popsicle sticks became boards to build a house. The cap soared like a rocket ship. The wheel bounced, spokes jumping. Dots danced.
     Let rockets fly!
     Board tower high.
     Bounce, jump, and dance, magic trash!"


and something more:   Here's a great photo of Tyree and Jane at the Heidelberg Project in Detroit which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.  I love hearing about the story behind the story -- what inspired the author to write the book.  On her website, Jane Shapiro explains that when she was living in East Lansing, Michigan, she "discovered Tyree Guyton's art at the Kresge Art Museum [which is now closed, but a new museum at Michigan State University will open this Spring], and began writing Magic Trash."  As I too am a school group docent at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, I was interested to learn that Jane is currently a docent at the Portland Art Museum.  Sharing time with children in art museums is definitely a great place to get story ideas!

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Back of the Bus

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday 

hosted today by Wrapped in Foil

Philomel Books (Penguin)
(pub. 9.1.2011)  32 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Aaron Reynolds
     and Illustrator:  Floyd Cooper

C haracter:   Rosa Parks

O verview from the publisher: 
         "It seems like any other winter day in Montgomery, Alabama. Mama and child are riding where they're supposed to - way in the back of the bus. The boy passes the time by watching his marble roll up and down the aisle with the motion of the bus, until from way up front a big commotion breaks out. He can't see what's going on, but he can see the policeman arrive outside and he can see Mama's chin grow strong. 'There you go, Rosa Parks," she says, "stirrin' up a nest of hornets. Tomorrow all this'll be forgot.' But they both know differently.

           With childlike words and powerful illustrations, Aaron Reynolds and Coretta Scott King medalist Floyd Cooper recount Rosa Parks' act of defiance through the eyes of a child - who will never forget."

T antalizing taste: 

     "I take out my marble
       and start to hide it in my squeezy-tight fist.
       But instead, I hold it up to the light
       right out in the open.
       That thing shines all brown and golden in the sunlight,
       like it's smilin', I think.
       'Cuz it ain't gotta hide no more."


and something more:   I've always guided my students to read the dedications in books, and Back of the Bus has a touching one from Aaron Reynolds: "To my parents, Paul and Barbara Reynolds, who taught me to believe in myself."

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The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday 

hosted today by Capstone Connect

Dial Books for Young Readers (Penguin)

(pub. 1.19. 2012)  32 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: William Kamkwamba
                  and Bryan Mealer
     and Illustrator:  Elizabeth Zunon

C haracter: William Kamkwamba

 

O verview from the jacket flap: 

         "Heroes can be any age. When William Kamkwamba was fourteen years old, living in a drought-ravaged area of Malawi in Africa, he pursued a dream that brought electricity and running water to his desperately poor village.
        William had always been interested in how mechanical things work, and after poring over old science textbooks, painstakingly teaching himself English so that he could understand them, he became determined to build a windmill [that would bring] electricity to his home and eventually life-saving water to his village.
         Lyrically told and gloriously illustrated, Williams' story shows how - no matter how young you are or how huge the challenge - creativity, determination, and hard work can help save your world." 

 

T antalizing taste: 

     "He dreamed of building things and taking them apart, 
       like the trucks with bottle-cap wheels parked under his bed
       and pieces of radios that he'd crack open and wonder,
       If I can hear the music, then where is the band?"

and something more:   For the first book honoring Black History Month, I chose The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind because it's illustrated by Liz Zunon, the incredible artist who illustrated the book I wrote, My Hands Sing the Blues - Romare Bearden's Childhood Journey.  Liz again creates evocative art using oil paint and cut paper collages.  Although it's difficult to choose, one of my favorite illustrations in this book is the page that's similar to the cover.  But instead of showing the boy with eyes open on a bright day with the functioning windmill as on the cover, this illustration shares the moment when William, with his eyes gently closed, imagines the possibility of the swirling windmill "pulling electricity from the breeze and bringing light to the dark valley." So beautiful!
      Visit Liz's website to see a photo of children in Malawi, William's village, holding books sent to them by Pearson's We Give Books Campaign. 
       This past Saturday, Liz participated in the The 20th Annual African American Children's Book Fair in Philadelphia with a host of other amazing authors and illustrators. 

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Betsy Ross

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday 

hosted today by Wendie's Wanderings

Holiday House

(pub. 9.12.2011)  32 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Becky White
     and Illustrator:  Megan Lloyd

C haracter:   Betsy Ross

O verview from the jacket flap: 

"Betsy ripped.
Rip, rip,
Seven rich,
Crimson strips.

Inch by inch, bit by bit, Betsy Ross clips, dips, and stitches.
What is she making?"

T antalizing taste: 

"Betsy snipped.

Snip, snip.

Thirteen stars.

Zip, zip.

Betsy dipped.

Dip, dip.

Indigo dye.

Drip, drip."

and something more:   In Betsy Ross, Becky White's sparse text (64 words) and Megan Lloyd's "dyed, clipped, and stiched" illustrations perfectly convey the essence of Betsy Ross' creation of the American flag.
And the Author's Note includes a discussion of the stars that I hadn't heard before: "According to legend ... George Washington made a pencil sketch for the flag in 1776 ... each star having six points. However, Betsy Ross thought that five-pointed stars would look nicer.  When George Washington said that this type was too difficult to cut, Betsy Ross showed him how to cut a five-pointed star with a single clip of her scissors." The back matter then gives step-by-step instructions of how to fold paper or fabric, and then with one snip of the scissors "Make Your Own Betsy Ross Star." I think I'll see if the second graders in the class in which I volunteer want to try it!

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She Loved Baseball

The Effa Manley Story

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday 

hosted today by The Swimmer Writer

Harper Collins Childrens

(pub. 10.19.2010)  32 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Audrey Vernick
     and Illustrator:  Don Tate

C haracter: Effa Manley

 

O verview from the jacket flap: 

         "Effa Manley always loved baseball. As a young woman, she would go to Yankee Stadium just to see Babe Ruth's mighty swing. But she never dreamed she would someday own a baseball team. Or be the first—and only—woman ever inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

         From her childhood in Philadelphia to her groundbreaking role as business manager and owner of the Newark Eagles, Effa Manley always fought for what was right. And she always swung for the fences." 

 

T antalizing taste: 

     "As Effa grew up in Philadelphia in the early 1900s, America grew up too. Bold new music - jazz - blared and folks stepped out in strange new shoes called sneakers... [In] 2006... Suttles and Mackey - and ten other Negro League players - were finally inducted into the Hall of Fame.  Effa would have been so proud.  Something else happened that day - something amazing. Effa was inducted along with them!....  On Effa's gravestone it says: "SHE LOVED BASEBALL.  In 2006, baseball proved it loved her back."

and something more:   The teacher activity guide for She Loved Baseball - The Effa Manley Story posted on Audrey Vernick's website proposes an interesting activity for students:

"Effa grew up in the 1920’s listening to a new kind of music—jazz—
and sneakers were all the rage. If someone were to write a
biography about your life, what kind of music would be mentioned? What
about a fashion trend? Draw an illustration of yourself like the one Don
Tate created of Effa listening to jazz music. In the background, add some of your favorite things that are popular in today’s culture."

What type of music would accompany your biography?  I think I would have different music for different phases of my life. 

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. HOLIDAY

And, in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day today, The King Center Imaging Project’s website – www.thekingcenter.org/archive – will go live today.  The King Center Imaging Project is a digitization effort to preserve and make publicly available the tens of thousands of documents from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other key figures and organizations from the Civil Rights Movement housed at The King Center.

On the King Center site, Coretta Scott King writes that "The Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday celebrates the life and legacy of a man who brought hope and healing to America. We commemorate as well the timeless values he taught us through his example — the values of courage, truth, justice, compassion, dignity, humility and service that so radiantly defined Dr. King’s character and empowered his leadership. On this holiday, we commemorate the universal, unconditional love, forgiveness and nonviolence that empowered his revolutionary spirit."

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The Flying Machines of Alberto Santos-Dumont

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday 

hosted today by Great Kid Books

Abrams Books for Young Readers

(pub. 9.1.2011)  32 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Victoria Griffith
     and Illustrator:  Eva Montanari

C haracter: Alberto Santos-Dumont

 

O verview from the jacket flap: 

         "When the Wright Brothers were gliding in the air over Kitty Hawk, a charming Brazilian named Alberto Santos-Dumont was making his own mark on the history of flight. Alberto loved floating over the crowded streets of Paris in his personal flying machine called a dirigible... In the early 1900s, Alberto had the skies to himself. But he wanted to fly farther and faster than his dirigible could take him... After several years of hard work, Alberto was ready to try out his new flying machine, which had been transformed from a balloon to a box with wings! ... Beautifully illustrated and full of little-known facts about the history of aviation, this book will enlighten young readers about who really flew the first airplane!"

 

T antalizing taste: 

     "'I tell you,' said Alberto ... 'these machines will mean the end of all wars. Once people are able to fly to different countries, they will see how much we have in common. We will all be friends.'"

and something more:   I had never hear of Alberto Santos-Dumont, and I was fascinated by the back story of The Fabulous Flying Machines of Alberto Santos-Dumont.  Victoria Griffith explains in her Author's Note that it began with "an unremarkable response to an unremarkable question."  Victoria had asked her daughter what she had learned in school one particular day, and her daughter had answered, "'We learned how the Wright Brothers invented the airplane.'"  Victoria explains that she "was unprepared for [her] Brazilian husband's reaction. 'That's ridiculous!' he exclaimed, horrified. 'Everyone knows that Alberto Santos-Dumont invented the airplane.'"  Victoria, a correspondent for fifteen years to the UK's Financial Times "was intrigued [and] decided to find out more and discovered that the claim to the invention remains controversial."  I'm so glad Victoria has shared Alberto's story and his contribution to history.

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The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday 

hosted today by Jennifer at Jean Little Library

Philomel Books (Penguin Young Readers Group)

(pub. 10.24.2011)  32 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor and illustrator: Eric Carle

C haracter: a boy (and the artists, Franz Marc and Eric Carle)

O verview from the jacket flap: 

"In this book, a child paints a blue horse. Then, with growing confidence, the young artist joyfully paints a series of other animals in bold, unrealistic colors and forms... Through his eloquent pictures and an almost wordless text, Eric Carle will inspire young artists everywhere to use their imaginations. They don't have to 'stay within the lines.' And there certainly are no 'wrong' colors. Here is a book to give all children confidence in their own creativity!"

T antalizing taste: There are only about 50 words in this book, and these are my favorite: "I am a good artist." 

and something more: In The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse, Eric Carle's homage to not only Franz Marc, but his childhood art teacher is so touching.  The back cover explains that, "Eric Carle was born in the United States but grew up in Germany, where he spent his boyhood during World War II.  There, his high school art teacher secretly showed him works by the so-called 'degenerate artists.' These artists, banned by the Nazi regime, were actually the leading masters of modern and abstract art, among them Franz Marc, whose work was not permitted to be shown in public."

       The note at the end of the book explains that when Eric Carle's art teacher, Herr Krauss, secretly showed him some of the forbidden art, he explained,  "'I like the freedom and loosesness in the way you draw and paint ... but I am only permitted to teach realistic art.'"  Eric Carle pays tribute to his art teacher, "My green lion, polka-dotted donkey and other animals painted in the 'wrong' colors were really born that day seventy years ago." Thank you, Herr Krauss, for sharing the banned art with Eric Carle -- oh, how I love the art of his picture books!

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