Brick By Brick

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Amistad (Harper Collins)

(pub. 12.26.12) 32 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Charles R. Smith Jr.

     and Illustrator:  Floyd Cooper

C haracters: slaves

O verview from the publisher's website: 

      "The president of a new country needs a new home, so many hands work together as one.  Black hands, white hands, free hands, slave hands. In this powerful story of the building of the White House, Coretta Scott King Award winners Charles R. Smith Jr. and Floyd Cooper capture the emotion and toil that created this incredible structure, the home of our president. The White House was created by many hands, several of them slaves, who will be remembered throughout history for their extraordinary feat..."

T antalizing taste: 

"Slave hands build
and slave hands save
shillings to be free
and no longer a slave.

Slave hands count shillings
with worn fingertips
and purchase freedom
earned brick by brick."

and something more: The back matter of Brick by Brick provides additional powerful information about the building of the White House: "Slaves endured a snake-infested island and mosquito swarms to dig up the stones needed for the walls of the house. They endured hour after hour of cutting and trimming wood, often until their hands were bloodied or deformed. The work was hard on the body, especially the hands."   

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Little Red Writing

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Chronicle  Books
(pub.9.24.2013) 36 pages 

A True Tale with 
A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Joan Holub
           and Illustrator: Melissa Sweet

    

C haracter:  Little Red Writing (a pencil)

O verview from the jacket flap: 

      "Once upon a time in pencil school, a teacher named Ms. 2 told her class, 'Today we're going to write a story.' 
     'Yippee!' said the birthday pencil.
     'Slammin'!' said the basketball pencil.
     'Sharp!' said Little Red.
     So begins a hilarious and exuberant retelling of 'Little Red Riding Hood,' in which a brave little red pencil finds her way through the many perils of storytelling, faces a ravenous pencil sharpener (the Wolf 3000) ... and saves the day."

T antalizing taste: 

"Once upon a time in pencil school, a teacher named Ms. 2 told her class, 'Today we're going to write a story!'

[On the blackboard]
STORY PATH

1. Idea, characters, setting
2. Trouble
3. Even bigger trouble
4. Fix the trouble 

and something more: Oh! I would have so loved to have used this book, Little Red Writing, when I taught 5th grade writing workshops! It's a story about how to write a story, and the first page sums it up: idea, character, setting, and TROUBLE. I often reminded my students that they needed to write about a conflict, a problem, and not just a list of occurences.  

This book is wonderfully illustrated by Melissa Sweet with her unique, whimsical style. The book has terrific teacher material, and I thought these were fun pencil facts:

"Hymen Lipman received the first patent for attaching an eraser to the end of a pencil in 1858.

The majority of pencils made in the United States are painted yellow.

Author Roald Dahl used only yellow pencils. He had 6 sharpened pencils ready at the beginning of each day and when all 6 pencils became unusable, he sharpened them again."

  
Thank you to Chronicle Books for providing me with a copy of this book!

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Nelson Mandela

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Katherine Tegen Books (Harper Collins)
(pub. 1.2.2013) 40 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor and Illustrator: Kadir Nelson

    

C haracter: Nelson Mandela

O verview from the jacket flap: 

      "One day when Nelson Mandela was nine years old, his father died and he was sent from his village to a school far away from home, to another part of South Africa. In Johannesburg, the country's capital, Mandela saw fellow Africans who were poor and powerless. He decided then that he would work to protect them. When the government began to keep people apart based on the color of their skin, Mandela spoke out against the law and vowed to fight hard in order to make his country a place that belonged to all South Africans.

        Kadir Nelson tells the story of Mandela, a global icon, in poignant verse and glorious illustrations. It is the story of a young boy's determination to change South Africa and of the struggles of a man who eventually became the president of his country by believing in equality for people of all colors. Readers will be inspired by Mandela's triumph and his lifelong quest to create a more just world."

T antalizing taste: 

"Speaking out was against the law
and Nelson was arrested and jailed
for a fortnight with a hundred men.
They danced and sang,
calling the ancestors
to join the fight for freedom

Amandla!
Ngawethu!

... On a small island off the coast
of the southern tip of Africa,
Nelson sat in a tiny cell.
Every day
the world passed him by.
Cold mealies, thin blankets, hard labor.
Nelson hammered rocks into dust, and
read, studied, and educated fellow prisoners.
Days turned into weeks, months, and years.

and something more: I learned from Kadir Nelson's note at the back of the book that Nelson Mandela "was born with the name Rolihlahla, which translates as 'troublemaker.' However, his birth name was changed to Nelson on his first day of school." 
        During his presidential inauguration address to South Africa, "Nelson spoke proudly: 'We understand it still that there is no easy road to freedom. We know it well that none of us acting alone can achieve success... Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all. Let there be work, bread, water, and salt for all. Let each know that for each the body, the mind, and the soul have been freed to fulfill themselves... Let freedom reign.'"  Powerful words!

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Write On, Mercy!

The Secret Life of
Mercy Otis Warren

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Calkins Creek (Boyds Mills Press)
(pub. 3.1.2012) 40 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Gretchen Woelfle

     and Illustrator:  Alexandra Wallner

C haracters: Mercy Otis Warren

O verview from the publisher's website: 

      "Growing up on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Mercy Otis Warren was fortunate to go to school with her brother. When she married Patriot James Warren, Mercy wrote in secret—poetry, plays, and about the events of her time. She wrote of the people she knew, including George Washington and John and Abigail Adams. It wasn’t until Mercy was older that her literary life became known, with the publication of her three-volume history of the American Revolution. This is the first picture-book biography of an intrepid woman chronicler."

T antalizing taste: 

    "Mercy kept house in Plymouth and raised five sons. But she had a secret life, too. When her children were asleep, she wrote poems. She didn't let her schooling fade away...Life was quiet in Plymouth, but in nearby Boston, Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty were raising a ruckus...Soon Plymouth joined the clamor. Mercy named her house 'One Liberty Square.'...Most women would have stayed out of sight, but not Mercy."

and something more: As I've just attended the inspiring SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) Annual Summer conference, I thought it fitting to feature a picture book biography of a female writer. I'm impressed that the author, Gretchen Woelfle, "read thirty years of letters in Mercy's own hand" on microfilm provided to her by The Massachusetts Historical Society. And bravo to editor Carolyn P. Yoder to whom Write On, Mercy! was dedicated because she "encouraged this project from start to finish. For this, her flawless editing, and ongoing friendship she receives this book's dedication." As an author, I'm always pleased to see editors receive the well deserved credit they deserve -- I'm in awe of the guidance, support and just the right touch great editors truly provide to writers.

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You Never Heard of Willie Mays?!

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Schwartz & Wade Books
(Random House)
(pub.1.8.2013) 40 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Jonah Winter
      and Illustrator: Terry Widener

    

C haracter: Willie Mays

O verview from the publisher's website: 

      "He hit 660 home runs (fourth best of all time), had a lifetime batting average of .302, and is second only to Babe Ruth on The Sporting News's list of 'Baseball's 100 Greatest Players.' Many believe him to be the best baseball player that ever lived. His name is Willie Mays. In Jonah Winter and Terry Widener's fascinating picture book biography, young readers can follow Mays's unparalleled career from growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, to playing awe-inspiring ball in the Negro Leagues and then the Majors, where he was center fielder for the New York (later San Francisco) Giants. Complete with sidebars filled with stats, and a cool lenticular cover, here is a book for all baseball lovers, young and old."

T antalizing taste: 

     "You could fill a whole book with all the jaw-droppin' plays Willie made, all the homers he hit, all the bases he stole. But what made 'the Catch' in '54 so special was that millions of people all over America had seen it on TV ... 
      Just look at him: Even as he falls to his knees after makin' that play, his eyes still takin' in the path of the ball - even then, you could see he was mentally still in the game, wantin' to win, never givin' up, ready for more.
     Yessir, in that one moment when Willie made the Catch, he showed the world a new way of playing the game. He changed how people saw his skin. In his own way, he changed the world."

and something more: Today's feature of yet another baseball player biography picture book was inspired by fellow kidlit blogger, Jeff Barger at NC Teacher Stuff. Jeff asked if I knew of any picture book about Willie Mays. Voila! Jeff had recently visited my favorite and local baseball stadium, AT&T Park in San Francisco, and I had mentioned the sculpture of Willie Mays in front of the ballpark.
     I learned that WIllie Mays joined the SF Giants in 1958. Just this past May, Willie Mays celebrated his 82nd birthday and the San Francisco Chronicle posted photos from his career. A living legend and amazing role model!

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Becoming Babe Ruth

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Candlewick Press
(pub. 2.12.2013) 40 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor and Illustrator: Matt Tavares

    

C haracter: Babe Ruth

O verview from the jacket flap: 

      "Before becoming the Babe, George Herman Ruth is just a boy who lives in Baltimore and gets into a lot of trouble. But when he tuns seven, his father brings him to the gates of Saint Mary's Industrial School of Boy, and his life is changed forever.
       At Saint Mary's, George is expected to follow a lot of rules - and he gets to play baseball almost every day. Under the watchful eye of Brother Matthias, George evolves as a player and as a man, when he sets of into the wild world of big-league baseball, his family back at Saint Mary's is never far from his heart.
      Matt Tavares's striking homage ... conveys an important message about honoring the place from which you came."

T antalizing taste: 

"A fire has swept through

Saint Mary's Industrial School for Boys.
Nearly every building has been destroyed.
Babe Ruth has an idea.
He writes a letter to Brother Matthias...
For the final two weeks
of the 1920 baseball season,
the school bank form Saint Mary's
gets to join the New York Yankees
on a road trip across America...
The fifty boys from Saint Mary's
get to go to all the games.
They play a concert in the stands
before each game
and another concert every night...
to help rebuild the place where
the 'Sultan of Swat'
learned how to play baseball." 

and something more: I've been featuring baseball player picture books lately -- must be a summer series!  I like that this story not only pays tribute to the enormous influence of Father Matthias in helping Babe Ruth develop into a star baseball play, but also the focus on the need to practice, practice, practice one's passion. As author/illustrator Matt Tavares explains in the Author's Note: "As a lifelong baseball fan, I've always been fascinated by Babe Ruth. As I researched his life, one thing that struck me was the fact that even the 'Sultan of Swat,' who seemed to possess superhuman abilities, needed lots of help along the way. Becoming the king of baseball took countless hours of practice and plenty of support and guidance from his school and from his teacher and mentor, Brother Matthias." 

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Something To Prove

The Great Satchel Paige 
vs. Rookie Joe DiMaggio

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Carolrhoda Books (Lerner Publishing)
(pub. 1.1.2013) 32 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Robert Skead

     and Illustrator:  Floyd Cooper

C haracters: Satchel Paige and Joe DiMaggio

O verview from the jacket flap: 

      "In 1936, the New York Yankees wanted to test a hot prospect named Joe DiMaggio to see if he was ready for the big leagues. They knew just the ballpayer to call - Satchel Paige, the best pitcher anywhere, black or white.
      For the game, Paige joined a group of amateur African American players, and they faced off against a team of white major leaguers plus young DiMaggio. The odds were stacked against the less-experienced black team. But Paige's skillful batting and amazing pitching - with his 'trouble ball' and 'bat dodger' - kept the game close.
      Would the rookie DiMaggio prove himself as a major league player?
      Or would Paige once again prove his greatness - and the injustice of segregated baseball?"

T antalizing taste: 

    "Satchel was the marvel of the country. He might even have been the greatest pitcher in the world. but because of the color of his skin, he was not permitted to play in the major leagues...
    Satchel decided to throw the nervous rookie [Joe DiMaggio] his 'whipsey dipsey do.'  He started the windmill delivery, kicked his leg high, and hurled the ball. Joe watched the pitch dip and dance - and he swung and missed. He took a deep breath, readied his bat, and steadied his legs for the next serving. 
      Time to cut loose my 'four-day creeper,' thought Satch.
       ... DiMaggio beamed. 'Now I know I can make it with the Yankees. I finally got a hit off Ol' Satch,' he said."

and something more: Just imagine what Satchel Paige could have accomplished if he had been given the same opportunity to join the big leagues as Joe DiMaggio?

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