Picture Book Review - A Picnic in October by Eve Bunting

As I'm typing this, we're hearing about Hurricane Sandy hammering the East Coast, specifically the Northeast. So far it appears that all our friends and loved ones are safe, hunkered down somewhere and riding out the storm. It seems a little surreal to be writing about a book set in New York, knowing that so many are experiencing a day that's far outside the norms for October weather. Here's hoping everyone is doing well and reading books by candlelight!

And what's better to share as a family than a picture book by the always magnificent Eve Bunting? I've written before about how much I love her sensitive, thoughtful titles, and A Picnic in October is no exception. In this intergenerational story, we meet a family who is headed out to Liberty Island for a very special birthday picnic. Tony's not too thrilled about it, though it's a yearly tradition - he thinks it would be much better to do something else for Grandma's birthday, or maybe to have a picnic in the summertime. But "this is the way Grandma wants it," Tony's mom says, and so that's what the family does.

Gathering all their picnic gear, including chairs, blankets and loads of food, the family makes their way to catch the ferry to the Statue of Liberty's home grounds. Tony's cousins think this is a silly tradition too, especially since Grandma and Grandpa act so sappy in the ferry line. But all the way out to the island Tony can't stop thinking about his encounter with a lady and her family who were also waiting - with not much English, she didn't understand how the boat routes worked - and he's relieved when he sees that they made it on to the island as well, and are staring up at Lady Liberty. "The way they stand, so still, so respectful, so. . . so peaceful, makes me choke up." And suddenly Tony can see what his grandmother must feel, and why coming to this place is the only way she'll celebrate her birthday.

Once again, Bunting delivers a touching and heartfelt portrait of a family touched by immigration and their connection to their heritage. This is a realistic take on a family story -- it makes sense that the youngest generation wouldn't be as connected to the grandmother's feelings, but the representation of Tony seeing his grandmother's emotions personified in another family, from another place, is thoughtfully handled. The illustrations by Nancy Carpenter mirror the tone of the tale perfectly, as the soft brush strokes of the paintings reveal the emotions on every family member's face. Some spreads feel especially powerful - as we look down on the family picnicking in the sun at the statue's base, we get a sense of the enormity of this symbol in the lives of Tony's loved ones, and so many others.

This is an older title, as you'll note when you glimpse the NYC skyline, with the twin towers still very much in evidence. But the themes of family, patriotism and memory are perennial, and the story reads just as relevantly today as it did when it was first published, thirteen years ago. Share this with your kids for a discussion about immigration and identity - pair with books like Dan Yaccarino's All the Way to America or Jane Yolen's Naming Liberty for more stories about families coming to America but keeping ties to their past.

A Picnic in October by Eve Bunting, published by Harcourt Brace & Company
Ages 5-9
Source: Library
Sample: "The next ferry comes and we manage to squeeze on. I watch for the woman and her family, but they don't make it onto this boat. I hope they don't give up."
Recommended

Bonus: a video interview with Eve Bunting from Reading Rockets

Picture Book Review - Oscar's Half Birthday by Bob Graham

I first encountered Bob Graham's work eons ago as a bookseller, when his title "Let's Get a Pup!" Said Kate was newly published. The book resonated with me for a lot of reasons - the nontraditional vibe about the family (tattoos! nose rings!), the really-real household environment (clutter and all), the fact that the family ends up with not one dog but two. It was one of those I bought and stuck away for my own kiddo, someday.

Fast forward to today when I actually do have my own wee one, and what do you know, Bob Graham's one of his favorite author/illustrators. We've read not only Kate, but also Graham's April and Esme, Tooth Fairies and most recently (and repeatedly) A Bus Called Heaven, which can and probably will be the subject of its own post. How this talented man hasn't received more awards and accolades I'll never know - just to pick up one of his titles is to be transported into a world where the prosaic and magical intersect in the form of angelic toddlers with messy hands and fairy godmother-esque grandmas bearing chocolate cakes. The books Graham creates are equal parts unique and comforting, the kinds of experiences you never knew you always wanted.

One of my personal picks from among Graham's excellent catalog of titles is 2005's Oscar's Half Birthday. It's fair to say that this one probably stands out because of its multiracial family - Mom's dark-skinned with braids, Dad's light-skinned with a soul patch, and the kiddos, Millie and Oscar, are a beautiful blend of both. We don't have enough of this in kidlit, and it's especially nice that the family just is, no mention of skin color necessary, thank you very much. I love how deftly Graham mixes in diversity with all of his titles, like a pinch of spice that livens up the whole concoction.

But beyond the broad color palette, Oscar's Half Birthday is just a solidly built piece of children's literature. Oscar's having a half-birthday party - mostly because no one can wait for his real birthday - and that forms the central plot of this cozy tale. Mom and Dad and Millie pack up picnic fixings and set out for a hilltop park, pushing Oscar in his stroller and led by Boris the dog. Along the way there are adventures, none too scary but just thrilling enough: squawking gulls overhead, a train rocketing down the tracks, a meandering path through the woods as Oscar slumbers. One really feels that the journey is most of the adventure. At last the family makes it to the hilltop and finds the perfect picnic place. Suddenly the family's circle has expanded to take in a whole crowd of bystanders, and all join in the chorus of "Happy Birthday" to Oscar.

Like so many of his other works, Oscar's Half Birthday celebrates not only family and camaraderie but also community and the place we all have in one another's lives. That all the characters are drawn to the birthday celebrations seems natural, simple and perfect. And the ending is pitch-perfect too. After the action on the hilltop, Graham brings his characters back to their comfy apartment home, for the tried-and-true ritual of bath and cuddles for Millie and Oscar, a little slow dancing for Mom and Dad.

Reading this together at bedtime is like slipping into a pair of favorite pjs, soft and familiar. There's something new to look at each time through, so much detail for Sprout to examine and exclaim over. It affords us plenty of chances to talk about our own day's activities, the perfect key-down to another busy day of fun and family.

Oscar's Half Birthday by Bob Graham, published by Candlewick Press
Ages 3-7
Source: Library
Sample: "Near the top, the path goes through woods. They listen to the wind in the trees and the drone of distant traffic. Boris chases rabbits. / Oscar frowns in the dim light -- six different expressions on his face in the time it takes a leaf to fall."
Highly recommended

Bonus: Author Suzy Becker on her visit to Bob Graham, from Publisher's Weekly (file this under "things about which I am profoundly jealous")

Let Us Eat Cake!

May's a festive month around our household: two birthdays, Mother's Day, and the anniversary of the day we became a family. This year we're throwing a big shindig for Sprout's third birthday, and the excitement is really starting to build, with lots of talk about cake, presents, cake, decorations, cake and friends who are coming. Oh, and cake - did I say cake?

Sprout's kind of obsessed with the birthday cake this time around. I blame Betty Bunny. Just about every night the book of choice is Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake by Michael Kaplan. I can completely understand why: it's funny and clever, populated by some fantastic characters (our favorites: wiseacre brother Bill and Betty Bunny herself, a real "handful") and full of the kind of real dilemmas kids face. Like, for instance, how you handle it when you want to eat chocolate cake for dinner and Mommy insists on healthy dinner first. (I'm pretty sure Betty Bunny's solution, throwing veggies at her siblings, is probably not the best.) Preschoolers will gobble this one up as surely as Betty Bunny makes short work of her chocolate cake, and the ending is guaranteed to get a laugh every time. Luscious!

If Betty Bunny can't get enough cake, Sugar's on the other end of the spectrum. In Emily Jenkins' Sugar Would Not Eat It, Leo's newly adopted cat Sugar gets hungry, so Leo offers her a piece of his leftover birthday cake. But Sugar refuses, and the more Leo cajoles, the less interested Sugar becomes. In desperation, Leo solicits advice from everyone in his neighborhood. But nothing he tries seems to work: not getting mad, not punishment, not limiting her to only four bites. At last the hungry kitty makes her own preferences clear, and Leo finally realizes that for cats, maybe birthday cake isn't the meal of choice. The illustrations by Giselle Potter add just the right amount of whimsy - we especially love Sugar's vibrant blue fur. A great message here for picky eaters and their parents!

Who Made This Cake? by Chihiro Nakagawa was a hit for Sprout right from the cover - a huge crane and loads of little workmen getting ready for a big project. Turns out the tiny workmen are taking on a massive project: making a birthday cake for a full-size human boy. Think Gulliver and the Lilliputians. This is a resourceful bunch, and they've got plenty of heavy equipment to help with the job: diggers and backhoes, tractors and dump trucks, and an enormouse flatbed to transport the cake pan to the oven. Pumper trucks spread the icing, and a helicopter loads in the final touch, a giant sign reading "Happy Birthday". For little ones obsessed with trucks, trains and all things construction, here's an ingenious twist on the birthday theme. We love it!

Cake-themed reads are fun no matter what time of year your birthday falls. But be forewarned: these delicious titles might just drive you to crack out the baking pans!