30 Days of Diverse Picture Books - Ruby's Wish by Shirin Yim Bridges

It's Day 20 of our 30 Days of Diverse Picture Books. The National Book Awards were presented last night, and I was thrilled to see Jacqueline Woodson take home the honor for her spectacular memoir Brown Girl Dreaming. It is seriously magnificent, people - review coming when Picture Book Month is at an end.

Tonight's pick is one that often ends up on best-of lists, and for good reason - Ruby's Wish by Shirin Yim Bridges, like Woodson's Brown Girl Dreaming, honors a connection to the past and all those who've paved the way for future generations. Bridges tells the story of her grandmother, Ruby, a little girl growing up in China during a time when education was the province of boys, not girls. Ruby loves the color red, and she loves to learn, even putting in extra hours doing her domestic tasks just so she doesn't have to give up her studies when all the other girls do. And her grandfather sees Ruby's dedication and rewards it in a way that's most unusual for girls of that time period.

Ruby's Wish shines with the pride and love a granddaughter has for her grandmother, a message that young readers will no doubt find inspiring. Sophie Blackall rendered the exquisite watercolors for the book, and her art captures the time and place beautifully, as well as providing a gentle backdrop for the relationship between grandfather and granddaughter. (That cover - just amazing, no?) Modern readers may be surprised to learn of the restrictions on education - it's a great way to talk about how those limits continue in many countries, and discuss what we as global citizens can do to help broaden education worldwide.

Ruby's Wish is a stand-out addition to any home or classroom library. Read it for inspiration and history, in equal measures.

Ruby's Wish by Shirin Yim Bridges, published by Chronicle Books

Picture Book Review - Lemonade in Winter by Emily Jenkins

Ooooh boy, does it seem like winter around here! In the Northwest that's more about rain and gray days than it is about snow, though Sprout is convinced it's going to snow ON CHRISTMAS and he will be super disappointed if (when?) it doesn't. And since he's been a little snow-obsessed these past few weeks we've been reading a bunch of books about wintry climes. Think penguins, polar bears, sledding, snowmen and of course our favorite Ezra Jack Keats classic (which honestly we just read all year round).

The other thing that's a running theme in the Kinser household these days is counting. Sprout is counting everything of late, with relish, and can actually get up to thirty, more or less accurately. Watching him learn these building blocks of knowledge is so exciting for us -- it's like having a front row seat to a pretty amazing discovery. The thrill for him in understanding how the numbers come together, and recognizing a pattern, is just palpable, and I love seeing this.

So with these two obsessions in mind, I was pretty thrilled to bring home today's pick, Lemonade in Winter: A Book About Two Kids Counting Money. This quirky picture book is written by Emily Jenkins, who happens to be the author of one of our big favorites from earlier this year, What Happens on Wednesdays. And it's illustrated by G. Brian Karas, who we also adore -- so, win-win right from the get-go.

Beyond that, how can you not be charmed by a book whose premise is siblings who, bored one very cold and snowy day, decide to have a lemonade stand. Yup, a for-real, on-the-corner, ice-cubes-and-all lemonade stand. Though Mom and Dad try to dissuade Pauline and John-John, the kids are determined. And so they count out money for supplies, mix up their product and hit the streets -- in parkas and earmuffs, no less -- chanting their slogan: "Lemon lemon lime, lemon LIMEade! / Lemon lemon lime, lemon LEMONade!" (Catchy, no?)

This tale of young entrepreneurship is not only fun, it's a great learning experience to boot. (Just skip over the subtitle when you read it to your kiddos -- without it the "learning part" will just sneak right up on them!) At every turn, Pauline is educating her young brother about counting money, how many coins make up a dollar and how they can make back their initial supply investment. You don't see that kind of thing too often in a book that is this accessible to the younger crowd, so kudos to Jenkins for including it. And then there's the perserverance both kiddos show. When business is slow, as you might expet it to be when you're selling cold drinks in wintertime, the siblings come up with creative ways to boost their sales. Plus -- huge bonus in my book -- there's a truly multicultural cast of characters here, which we see as we meet the various members of Pauline and John-John's neighborhood. Love that!

In the end, is Pauline and John-John's project a success? Well, you'll have to be the judge of that. But what I can tell you, with certainty, is that this is a picture book that's not only whimsical and bursting with community, but that's solidly based in math and counting skills as well. And in whatever season you read this amusing story, you're bound to get your money's worth!

Lemonade in Winter by Emily Jenkins, published by Schwartz and Wade
Ages: 3-6
Source: Library
Sample: "'Maybe nobody is on the street,' says Pauline, after a bit. 'Maybe nobody will want cold drinks.' / 'I'm on the street,' says John-John. 'I want them.' He grabs a cup of limeade. / 'Don't drink too much,' Pauline warns. 'It's fifty cents a cup.'"
Recommended

30 Days of Picture Books - On Earth by G. Brian Karas

It's Day 5 of Picture Book Month, and it's Nonfiction Monday, so today what's on my mind is information. Facts, if you will. We don't always stop to think how much cold hard data comes at us in the form of the picture books we read as kids, but it's a lot, really. For little ones, a picture book might be their first introduction to dinosaurs, to air travel, to plants and trees. We've certainly read some stellar nonfiction on these topics and many others. In fact, Sprout learned most of the names of fruits and veggies from a terrific picture book on the subject, and to this day, every time we go in the produce section together, he chants, "Broccoli, cauliflower, shout it out!". (Okay, so we get a few looks.)

Lots of times bookstores and libraries keep picture books they deem "nonfiction" in a separate section from your Splat the Cats or your Fancy Nancys. So it requires a bit more looking around to find these kinds of titles, but it's worth it. Sprout pores over a large format book on (what else) trains I brought home, and he's learned so much from it that I swear he can instantly identify each different type he sees.

Today's choice is from the nonfiction shelves -- On Earth by G. Brian Karas. We checked this title out because we'd been having discussions about seasons and time change, and I needed a little backup to explain the whole notion in a simple way. I wanted something that would give an overview of the basic concepts, but not in a dry or boring fashion. The great thing about picture books is you can generally find multiple titles on a topic, selections suited to different age ranges so you can choose what's appropriate.

On Earth fills the bill nicely, as Karas explains the rotation of the Earth and movement around the sun, and how that impacts our seasons. With large format paintings brushed with just a hint of whimsy, he demonstrates how the weather is different according to what time of year it is, and also discusses the passage of time. Best of all, he carefully explains that there's a difference in seasons between the Southern and Northern hemispheres. The page illustrating this just blew Sprout's mind -- "snow up here but sun down there?" -- but it gave us a chance to talk about how his family in Ethiopia experiences different conditions because they are closer to the Equator. I'm always pleased when we can make connections between life here and life in his birth country, an opportunity that comes up frequently when we read together.

"On earth we go for a giant ride in space, spinning like a merry-go-round." This is the first sentence of Karas's excellent picture book, and one that I think represents factual titles quite well. Obviously you'll want more detail if reading to an older child. But the ability of a skilled author to translate complicated concepts into a succinct bit of imagery relatable to a young child is quite impressive.

Next time you're looking for information, don't just head for the computer -- give the picture book shelves a browse, and see how you can help your child learn and connect with books at the same time.

On Earth by G. Brian Karas, published by G.P. Putnam's Sons

Picture Book Review - Rain School by James Rumford

One of the things you learn very quickly when you're in the process of an international adoption is that much we take for granted in the United States runs a bit differently in other countries. Electricity, for instance, isn't always a guarantee for many reasons, and so communication via email or even telephone can be quite difficult. That's especially true during certain periods of the year. In Ethiopia, during the height of the rainy season (roughly August through late September/early October), the courts actually close down. It's just too hard to do business, to get around to where people need to be and to be assured that the lights will be on when they do get to work. For Americans, this can be incredibly frustrating; for Ethiopians, it's an inconvenience that is just part of daily life. Not good, not bad, just a feature of what you have to do.

And that's pretty much the premise of Rain School by James Rumford, the notion of working around the seasons in order to get things done. The book takes place in Chad, where Rumford and his wife were stationed while in the Peace Corps. The storyline was inspired by Rumford's encounter of the ruins of a primary school in one village, a school made from mud that was destroyed during the rainy season. The experience fixed itself in Rumford's mind, and years later he used it as inspiration for a bold and evocative picture book.

So too goes the story of Rain School, where incoming students learn that the first lesson is one of construction, as they must assemble their own school building from the ground up. Working together, the younger students learn how to make mud bricks, drying them in the sun until they are ready to be used in the construction. Built around a simple wooden frame, the school also features mud desks, wood stools, and a simple thatched roof. Once the school is assembled, the students gather inside to begin. They find that the learning process is accomplished in much the same way, by first acquiring the building blocks to literacy (learning to recognize and write letters), and then gradually adding to that structure through the other lessons the teacher shares.

At the end "(t)he students' minds are fat with knowledge", and the teacher is bursting with pride. Not much longer, the rains come, and the school the students worked so hard on is reduced to nothing. But the school has served its purpose for that year, as the lessons are carried forward by the students into the next year of learning - and building - the Rain School.

This is a sensitive, deftly written title, one that celebrates the ingenuity of individuals to accomplish their goals. Rumford clearly has great admiration for the Chadian people, which comes through in this story of perserverance. Let's be honest, many of us would give up, wouldn't we? But the ability of the citizens to recognize the value of education is clear, and even the youngest student is willing to work hard to build the school because the payoff is great. I love the students' enthusiasm, particularly Thomas, a new student at the beginning of the book who by the end is a "big brother", anxious to teach others what he learned the year before. And I love that this is a story where no one swoops in to save the day, but where the residents of the village take on all the work themselves.

Rain School is an excellent look at what learning is like in other countries, but at its heart, it's about community and the strength of everyone pulling together as a group. Pair with books like The Weber Street Wonder Work Crew by Maxwell Newhouse or Rent Party Jazz by William Miller for other looks at community and the power of togetherness.

Rain School by James Rumford, published by Houghton Mifflin
Ages 3-8
Source: Library
Sample: "Thomas arrives at the schoolyard, but there are no classrooms. There are no desks / It doesn't matter. There is a teacher. 'We will build our school,' she says. 'This is the first lesson.'"
Recommended

Bonus: fascinating interview with James Rumford from Paper Tigers

Preschool Bound

Much as I hate to say it, my baby is growing up. Suddenly he's all kid and we've left the infant and even toddler years behind. Yep, folks, we've got us a little man in the house, God help us.

Part of this now-I'm-a-big-boy process has meant moving him from his beloved in-home daycare to a more formal preschool environment. This means bye-bye to his familiar, more laid-back routine and hello to a structured program. It's a blessing in a lot of ways (not least because we really needed five-day-per-week care) but like every other transition it requires a bit of advance preparation on our part.

Bibliotherapy, if you must know.

As with every other phase in our lives, when we found a preschool for Sprout I immediately zipped off to the library in search of books to help walk him through what this change was going to mean. And fortunately I found some great titles that were really helpful in beginning to think about how his day was going to be structured, what kinds of activities he'd likely be doing and just what being a "big boy preschooler" actually meant.

First up is My Preschool by Anne Rockwell. Rockwell is a legend in kidlit, with books on just about every topic and transition kids experience. In this entry, a preschooler explains his day, walking the reader through all the fun things he gets to do and how his school works. This was a great one to start out with for Sprout, as it introduced concepts like circle time and sharing, choice time and music. Sprout likes the part where the kids do yoga, especially the boy in tree pose ("That's silly, Mama! He's not a tree!"). Rockwell also touches on the conflicts that inevitably arise at school, when our hero's block tower gets knocked over by his friend Will. The incident is swiftly and satisfyingly resolved, and the kids head outside for playtime. Like all of Rockwell's work, My Preschool rings with clarity and simplicity, and its smudgy monoprint art strikes just the right note.

Little School by Beth Norling has a more diverse focus, following 20 little ones throughout their day at preschool. This one has a great representation of diversity, with children of multiple ethnicities depicted engaging in all the usual preschool activities. I love the fact that each child's experience is unique and yet they are all experiencing the same basic framework of art, play time, story time, etc. Norling presents every one of the kids as an individual and shows how the program they are in develops and builds their day. This one's practical, too - even bathroom time is included, in a tasteful way. Colorful and full of detail, we loved looking at this one together. (NOTE: this is an older title and not widely available for purchase; check your library or used bookstore!)

And though the notion of taking turns wasn't unfamiliar to Sprout, we felt he needed to understand that in preschool, no one gets their way all the time. For that we turned to Sometimes You Get What You Want by Meredith Gary, illustrated by Lisa Brown. In this simple yet effective title, a pair of siblings experiences school together. Each spread presents two scenarios: in one, the child gets what he or she wants, while in the other, he or she goes along with the group. For example, "Sometimes your friends want to do what you're doing. Sometimes they want to do something else." This quiet but affecting title really got Sprout to thinking, and we have revisited it a couple of times since preschool began. Slowly he's realizing that it's all right if things don't always go his way, that he'll get a turn, though it isn't always soon enough (it's a work in progress).

If you've got a little one starting a new school this fall, consider conducting a little bibliotherapy of your own. Books can present great opportunities to see behaviors being modeled, and to soothe apprehensions about what a typical day will be like. Best of all, they open up the chance to dialogue with your kiddo about what preschool means - and they might just make everyone feel a little more at ease with this whole growing-up scenario.