International Literature for Children...

My final post will discuss international literature for children. 

One international literature award is Hans Christian Andersen Award.  Some refer to this as the “Nobel Prize for children’s literature”.  This international award is given biennially.  One award is given to an author and one is given to an illustrator. 

Another international literature award is Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.  This award was established by the Swedish government in 2002 in honor of Swedish children’s book writer Astrid Lindgren.  The award is given annually and may be award to writers, illustrators, narrators, and/or promoters of children’s literature. 

Another award, the Carnegie Medal is an award given annually in the United Kingdom. 

Ruby Holler is the 2003 Carnegie Medal winner written by Sharon Creech, who is also a Newbery Medal winner also.  Ruby Holler is a place that is beautiful, mysterious, and magical.  Tiller and Sairy, a peculiar older couple live there and two orphan twins are invited to stay with them.  The older couple and the orphan twins are very different people and it is unique to see them grow and become a family.  I found this book interesting and unlike any other book that I have read before.  I loved how this story takes the reader on an adventure and shows how people can grow, become a family, and love one another even though they are different from one another. 

The Canadian Association of Children's Librarians gives an award annually to an outstanding illustrator of a children’s book.  The award is called the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award.   The Award is given for books that are suitable for children up to age 12.  The illustrator must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada to be eligible for the award. 

In 2003, Mélanie Watt’s Scaredy Squirrel won the award.  This is certainly a book to go “nuts” over!   This is actually the first book in a series of books including Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend, Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach, and Scaredy Squirrel at Night.  After reading this one I will need to find the others to read as well.  This book is about a scared squirrel that is afraid to leave his nut tree.  He is so scared that he even has his own emergency kit.   The squirrel has an infectious personality that is very quirky and one that the reader can relate to.

Australia also has an award for illustrators of children’s books.  The Children’s Book of the Year Award: Picture Book is presented annually by the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA).  In 2005, author/illustrator Alison Lester took the award for Are We There Yet?  A Journey Around Australia.  This is a picture book about a family with three children who take a trip around native Australia.  They visit Australia’s landmarks, wildlife, deserts, points of interest, and so much more in this three-month trip with their old camper being pulled behind the car.  This is a great book that gives readers a glimpse of what Australia is like.  The illustrations are interesting, vivid, and feel as if you are right there with them on their journey. 

Diversity: The Bracelet by Yoshiko Uchida

The Bracelet was written by Yoshiko Uchida.  This is a story about friendship, diversity, and extreme racism.  It is about a 2nd grade Japanese American, Emi, who is sent with her family to an internment camp during World War II.  Before Emi leaves, her best friend, who is Caucasian, gives her a bracelet as a parting gift that she says she will never take off.  Unfortunately, the bracelet slips off and is lost.  After frantically searching, with no luck, she realizes that she does not need the bracelet to remember her beloved friend. 

I enjoyed the book and the theme of friendship and how material things are not needed to remember memories and to keep the ones we love with us in our hearts.  The full color illustrations are beautiful and are very realistic.  I also thought that the book showed readers how the Japanese American families suffered during World War II and gave a look at the absurdity and injustice of how these families were treated such as Emi’s.   

I would recommend this book to others and I would love to have it in my classroom collection.  It is a great book that shows history, diversity, and teaches a great lesson of the importance of friendship and family. 

Here are just a few more books (of many) by Yoshiko Uchida

The Dancing Kettle and Other Japanese Folk Tales (1949)

New Friends for Susan (1951)

The Magic Listening Cap: More Folk Tales from Japan (1955)

Takao and Grandfather's Sword (1958)

The Forever Christmas Tree (1963)

Samurai of Gold Hill (1972)

The Birthday Visitor (1975)

Jar of Dreams (1981)

Best Bad Thing (1983)

Picture Bride (1987)

The Lion & the Mouse: Jerry Pinkney

The Lion & the Mouse is the 2010 Caldecott Award winner, by Jerry Pinkney.  The story is based on one of Aesop’s fables.  The story is about a lion that spares a mouse that he had planned on eating.  Later the mouse comes to the lion’s rescue and frees him from a hunter’s trap. 

I can barely find the words to describe this almost wordless book.  It is simply beautiful!  The pictures of this book tells the entire story, there are no words except for a few that are within the pictures.  When I first picked up this book I had no idea that the story is told completely with the pictures. 

The illustrations are breathtaking and are so vivid.  The characters are very expressively illustrated and the gorgeous African landscape is the perfect backdrop.  I can certainly see how this stunning book won the Caldecott Award.  There are not many picture books out there where the story is told completely though the illustrations and the ones that are out there have not seemed to capture my attention as well as this one. 

Jerry Pinkey is a very well-known, award winning children’s book illustrator.  Here are just some of the many titles that he has illustrated....

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

John Henry

The Little Red Hen

The Patchwork Quilt

The Ugly Duckling

Three Little Kittens

The Little Match Girl

Little Red Riding Hood

Book vs Movie: Charlotte's Web

VS

Charlotte’s Web was another one of my favorite books as a child.  Also, as a child I loved watching the animated movie that was produced in 1972.  I remember watching the movie over and over again to the point of being able to recite lines. 

For this entry, because I hadn’t watched it yet, I decided to focus on the more recently produced movie, produced by Nickelodeon and Paramount Home Entertainment in 2006.  This movie does have many similarities.  Both have the same characters (except for an addition of a horse named Ike in the movie that is not mentioned in the book) and same names for each of the characters.  They also both share the same story line about Wilbur, the pig, becoming friends with Charlotte, the spider, and their life in the barn.  Another major shared story line is Fern’s care for Wilbur and Charlotte’s devotion for Wilbur and helping to save him from becoming Christmas dinner. 

One major difference from the movie and the book is that the book does not discuss the incident that happens at Fern’s school.  Wilber is brought to school by Fern without anyone knowing and Wilbur ends up causing commotion and getting Fern in trouble.  Another part that is not included in the book is when Fern’s mother becomes concerned and asks a doctor about why Fern is spending so much time with the animals.  The final major difference between the book and the movie is that in the movie Fern is able to understand the animals as they talk with each other. 

I thought that this 2006 movie was enjoyable to watch, but I personally prefer the novel and the animated movie much more.  I do appreciate the fact that this movie shared many similarities and story lines because the novel is such a classic, beautifully told story. 

Book vs Movie: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

VS  

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, written by Judi Barrett was my absolute favorite book when I was younger!   So, naturally I was ecstatic to watch the movie as well!

Unfortunately, I was very disappointed with the movie.  In this case since the book is a relatively short book I understood that it was going to take some imagination to make it into a full length film, but the movie is certainly just “inspired by” the book because there were many more differences than similarities. 

First the characters in the book and movie are very different.  In the book Grandpa tells his two grandchildren about a town called Chewandswallow who gets all of its food from the sky.  None of these characters are in the movie.  In the movie, the main character is Flint Lockwood, who is a young inventor who creates a machine that turns water into food.  Another main character of the movie is a young weather intern, Sam Sparks.  By the end of the book these two characters fall in love.  Neither of these two characters wer from the book.

Another big difference between the movie and book was the name of the town.  In the book the town is cleverly named, Chewandswallow, where in the movie the town was called Shallow Falls.

The movie is enjoyable to watch and has an entertainment value, but I am disappointed that it wasn’t more like the book.  The book is a classic in my eyes because of its creativity, simplistic nature, and the silly nature of the town of Chewandswallow.   The book will remain my favorite of the two. 

Book vs Movie: Because of Winn Dixie By Kate DiCamillo

 VS 

Because of Winn Dixie is one of my favorite books, so naturally I wanted to watch the movie as well!  Because of Winn Dixie, the book, is written by Kate DiCamillo.  The movie, which shares the same title, was released in August 2005. 

There are a lot of similarities between the movie and the book.  They both share the same story line, a little girl named India Opal that finds a scruffy dog in a Winn Dixie store and then brings him home to stay with her and her father, the preacher.  Also, many of the characters and stories are the same.

However, there are some differences between the two.  First, even though many of the characters in the story are similar, there is one exception.  The landlord of the trailer park where India Opal lives with her father, the preacher, was never mentioned in the book.  The movie portrays the landlord as a man that does not want the dog on his premises, but by the end of the movie he changes his mind about Winn Dixie.

Another major difference is that in the book the preacher tells Opal a lot more information about her mother, but not as much information in the movie.  In the book, her father told Opal exactly ten things about her mom, including that her mother liked to drink. It explained a lot about why her mother left, and although hinted to in the movie, it was really never discussed.

I did enjoy the movie and the book.  I especially enjoyed how they both show love and the importance of friends and families.   

Diversity: Honor Book for the 2003 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award: Rap a Tap Tap: Here's Bojangles: Think of That!

Rap A Tap Tap:  Here’s Bojangles:  Think of That! is a simple picture-book tribute to African American tap dancer, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, who is known as the greatest tap dance of all time. 

The cute, simple “Rap a tap tap – think of that!” phrase is repeated often thought the book which young children would love.  This addition gives a fantastic repetitive, dance sort of rhythm to the book.  Also, there were several instances where the author used smooth alliteration and rhyming words which also make it a fun book to pick up to read. 

The illustrations are bold, attention-grabbing, and go perfectly with the story!  Many of the illustrations are made up of basic shapes with deep colors.

This book shows diversity because it tells about the life of an African American man and how he became famous for tap dancing.  It tells the story of how he started out dancing in the street and then at the end of the book it shows that with his hard work and talent he became a famous dancer.  The book also gives some biographical information at the end of the book.  Bill “Bojangles” Robinson was a great dancer and I learned that during the Great Depression he was the highest paid black entertainer who shared his wealth with the less fortunate friends and neighbors around him.

Again, this is another book that I would recommend to others and it is one that I would like to add to my personal collection! 

Newbery Honor Book: Show Way

This book was a Newbery Honor Book in 2006 and so far it has been the most interesting to me.  It is a historical fiction picture book which tells the story of slavery and how a quilt helped deliver some slaves to safety and freedom.  It takes us through several generations of women to show how the quilt was significant in each period of time.  The reader also learns about the author’s ancestors, descendents, and the vast history of American slavery and racism. My only criticism about the book is that it isn’t long enough or left me wanting more after reading about each generation.  To me I would have liked to learn or read about each generation a little more rather than switching so quickly. 

One of the main things that I enjoyed about this book is that it tells a real story about real people.  The elegant storytelling and the poetic lyrics were original and sired up emotions along with questions and desire to know more.  To be honest is was captivating. 

All I can say about Hudson Talbott’s illustrations is that they are awe inspiring.   To be honest I could try to describe them but my words would not do them justice.   They were beautiful and a great addition to the book. 

This book was impressive and one that I would love to have a copy of.  I would highly recommend it to others.

Newbery Honor: Abel's Island

The first Newbery Honor book that I read was Abel’s Island written by William Steig.  This book tells the story of a newly married mouse named Abel.  Abel and his new wife go on a picnic in the woods and before he knows it, he ends up stranded on an island while trying to save his wife’s scarf during a hurricane.  During the storm Abel gets carried way and wakes up on an uninhabited island by himself.  Accustomed to a life of leisure, Abel tries to be resourceful so he can survive and try to make it back home. 

For me, the first few pages of the story started out a little slow and uninteresting, but that quickly changed.  The story suddenly captivated me and I was not able to put the book down.  I was curious to read on to find out what the clever little mouse would do next when he came head to head with Mother Nature to try to get off the island and back home to his wife, Amanda. 

This book does challenge its young readers with some sophisticated vocabulary, but does so in an interesting way without slowing the story and making it too difficult to read.  It also has an underlying message to never give up trying and try over and over again until you succeed. 

I thought this book is great and one that I will certainly add to my own personal collection.  I would highly recommend it to others! 

Caldecott vs. Newbery

I just featured five Caldecott Award winning books and my next two blog posts are going to feature Newbery Award winners.  Before I do that I want to explain the difference between the two awards. 

The Caldecott and Newbery Awards are both very prestigious, literary awards that are presented annually by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), which is a division of the American Library Association (ALA).  Both awards are given in January and award for the most distinguished American children’s books published within the previous year. 

The Caldecott Awards recognizes the outstanding work of illustrators while the Newbery Awards recognizes the outstanding work of authors.

The Caldecott Medal is given to one book with the most distinguished illustrations contributed to American literature for children and the Newbery Medal is given to the one book with the most distinguished writing contributed to American literature for children that year.   In addition, both the Caldecott and the Newbery award other honorable mentions with Caldecott Honor awards and Newbery Honor awards. 

Caldecot Metal Winner: The House in the Night

The House in the Night, written by Marie Swanson and illustrated by Beth Krommes.  The picture book won the Caldecott Metal in 2009. 

I found that the pictures in this book were gorgeous!  I love the play of the black and white scratchboard illustrations paired with the illuminating bold yellows.  They were just breathtaking! 

However, unfortunately the detailed illustrations were really the only thing I enjoyed about the book.  The simple story never engaged me or grabbed my attention.  By the end of the book I found myself admiring the illustrations rather than reading the words.  I enjoy picture books more when I am captivated by the story and the illustrations, but this one did not do it for me.  Younger children may enjoy the book for the simple, repeated, easy to memorize sentences ("Here is the key to the house.  In the house burns a light. In that light rests a bed.").  It may be a book that children want to read at bed time, but unfortunately it wasn’t one of my favorite picture books which saddens me to say because I found the illustrations so captivating!

Caldecott Medal Winner: Hello Good Bye Window

The 2006 Caldecott Medal Winner, Hello Good Bye Window, is an excellent book with beautiful, vibrant illustrations.  The young narrator tells her story about visiting Nanna and Poppy’s , big house.  She gazes through the kitchen window, which she sees is more than just an ordinary window, it is more like a magical window.  This window is where everything important happens, activities which are mostly ordinary, but are made extraordinary.    This relates with many children and how they view the time spent at their grandparent’s house.  It related especially with me and my memories of when I was younger and those special times that I spent time with my grandparents.  I have some of the simplest, ordinary memories with my grandparents but yet they still stick with me as being extraordinary because of I spent time with them. 

The illustrations are imaginative, colorful and somewhat abstract and child-like.  The illustrations are what first captured my attention.  One of the most interesting aspects about this book is the illustrations and how they portray a racially diverse family.  Interracial families are very common in families today, but are not seen very often in children’s books.  I believe that many children and adults will enjoy reading this book and they will be able to relate to it. 

Caldecott Honor: Coming On Home Soon

Jacqueline Woodson's Coming On Home Soon is an intimate, beautifully well written story about a little girl who suffers from separation from her mother during World War II. 

Ada Ruth’s mother had to go away to Chicago to work during a time of war, when women were needed to take over the jobs of men who went to fight for their country.  Ada Ruth and her Grandmother are left behind to continue on with daily life.  They try to keep their routine and try to find strength in one another.  As the days go on they both long for Ada Ruth’s mother to return.

I can see why this touching story was a Caldecott Honor Book in 2005.  The words are beautifully written and tells a touching story that children can relate to.  It is heartfelt and honest. 

Nonetheless, the illustrator E. B. Lewis should not go unnoticed.  Lewis did a remarkable job capturing the sadness of the story with it’s almost photo-realistic illustrations.  The illustrations themselves are gorgeous, but when paired with the words take on such a deeper meaning.  One of the saddest parts of the book is where the reader sees the girl and her grandmother at a window staring though it waiting for the postman, hoping for a letter from Ada Ruth’s mother.  The text reads, “When the postman goes on by without stopping, Grandma says ‘Hush now.  Don’t start crying.’ But her eyes are sad.  Like she’s wanting to cry too.”  I almost had to grab a tissue myself!  This is one of the best examples that show how many readers can relate to this story.  Many children’s mothers and fathers have to leave home to keep this country safe or take on a job in another area to keep a roof over their family’s head.  They are truly missed by their loved ones.  Even though this book is set during World War II, when I read this part of the book I could imagine thousands of little boys and girls who stare out the window hoping that they too will get a letter from their mother or father.  They wait and hope that that the letter will state that they are coming on home. 

Caldecott Award Winner: Kitten's First Full Moon

 

This book has to be one of the sweetest books that I have ever read!  It was adorable!  Kitten’s First Full Moon is another Caldecott Award winning book.  This book was written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes and received the prestigious award in 2005. 

The entire book is illustrated using blacks, grays, whites, and creams, which is not often seen in children’s “picture books”, but to my surprise was one of the best parts about the book!  The illustrations are understated and simple, but seemed to perfectly capture the innocence of the main character, the kitten.  The illustrations also seem luminous and give a dreamy feel. 

This simple little story captures the sweet struggle of Kitten, who sees her first full moon and because no one has ever explained to her what the moon is, the kitten thinks it's a bowl of milk in the sky.  The kitten chases, climbs, leaps, and tumbles trying to get to that big bowl of milk in the sky, but is not able to get to it.  When she opens her mouth to lick the treat, she ends up with a bug on her tongue.  Then, she launches herself into the air reaching out for the bowl of milk, but just tumbles down the stairs.   The kitten persistently attempts to get to that bowl of milk, but yet is unable to do it.  This struggle gives the underlying message to the readers to work toward their dreams even though it may be a struggle at times, but never give up. 

This story line also relates to innocence and how prior knowledge or lack-there-of often sway readers.  The kitten thought that the full moon was a bowl full of milk when she first saw it.  This is because no one had ever explained what it was, and she related it to what it looked like...a bowl full of milk.  When readers read or experience new things they use their prior knowledge.  If they encounter something new to them they use their prior knowledge to try to put pieces of information together to decipher this new experience and try to put meaning to it.  We, as teachers, often do not take into account children’s innocence and what prior knowledge they have or do not have.  Sometimes we forget to think about what children know and what they do not know.  Also, we forget to think that one student’s prior knowledge may be completely different from another student’s prior knowledge and that can result in completely different thoughts and conclusions.  We should never just assume that students know things just because we, as teachers, or even other students for that fact, have the prior knowledge.  Even though this lesson may not have directly related to the authors purpose and message, it is one of the things that I took away from the book. 

I would highly recommend this book to others and I am anxiously waiting to add this one to my personal library! 

Caldecott Award Winner: My Friend Rabbit

My first few blog posts are going to explore some Caldecott Award winning books.  For those who are not familiar with this award, the Caldecott Medal is awarded each year to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book published that year.  This award is given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) which is a division of the American Library Association. 

I am eager to start this summer reading by catching up on some of these award winning books that I have yet to read. 

This was such a lighthearted story about the friendship between a mouse and a rabbit.  The story begins when Mouse lets his best friend, Rabbit, play with his brand new airplane.  However, trouble isn't far behind when Rabbit tries to launch the plane, it ends up in a tree, too high to reach.  Mouse is clearly upset and in tears because he cannot get his airplane down, but being such a good friend, Rabbit quickly devises a plan. He gathers several other animals over to help.  As each of the animals are piled on top of one another with rhino on top of elephant, hippo on top of rhino, antelope on top of hippo, crocodile on top of antelope, bear on top of crocodile, goose on top of bear, and squirrel on top of goose holding mouse, the airplane is finally able to be reached.  However, more trouble lurks when another disaster happens, the animal ladder collapses sending the animals bouncing every which way.   This results in Mouse left hanging on to the wing of the plane which is still stuck in the tree. Finally the plane is rescued, but trouble emerges again when Rabbit tries to take a plane ride with mouse.

This warm, charming story is such a treasure and gives a great lesson in friendship.  There are very few words thought the book, but yet the Rabbit bouncing from one page to the next keeps the reader’s attention.  My favorite part of the book was of course the illustrations.  They are simply stunning with very bold colors and the equally appealing block print style compliment perfectly.  I would recommend this book to others and I look forward to reading it with my class!

The first book that I read was the 2003 award winner, My Friend Rabbit.  This book was written and illustrated by Eric Rohmann. 

My first post....

I am really looking forward to this blog!  This blog was created for my summer term LME 518 course from Western Kentucky University.  One of our class assignments is to create a Reading Journal Blog that our professor and fellow classmates can read and enjoy.  I would also love to use this blog for my classroom and students.  This would be a great way to introduce new books to my class, reflect and/or revisit books that have been previously read, and to overall create interest and enthusiasm for reading!

This blog will give me a chance to reflect upon my personal reactions to books, discuss my likes and dislikes, comparisons, and to write about my thoughts on how my life may have influenced my reactions to books.  I also hope to gain some new information and insight about what I learn about children’s literature while reading these books. 

I hope you enjoy!

---Shanon M.