Review - Lowriders in Space by Cathy Camper {Multicultural Children's Book Day}

I'm so excited to be one of the co-hosts for this year's Multicultural Children's Book Day! This event, begun in 2014 by bloggers Valerie Budayr of Jump into a Book and Mia Wenjen of Pragmatic Mom, aims to promote diversity in children's books by shining a spotlight on multicultural titles and all they add to the world of kidlit. It's a very necessary and also super fun way to emphasize that diverse titles help you #ReadYourWorld in your homes, schools and libraries.

As part of the event, I'm sharing our thoughts about the graphic novel Lowriders in Space by Cathy Camper (note: I received a copy of the book for review purposes, but all opinions are my own). I have really been looking forward to reading this one thanks to a lot of prepub buzz on social media. And I'm thrilled to say that Lowriders in Space not only lived up to all that buzz, but even exceeded it in my estimation!

Lowriders in Space blends lots of threads, making it a perfect choice to hand to all sorts of kids, whether they are interested in cars, Mexican-American culture, or outer space. The story revolves around three characters: Lupe Impala (wolf/dog-human hybrid?), El Chavo Flapjack (octopus) and Elirio Malaria (mosquito). What, you don't think this is the most logical choice for characters? I didn't either, but Camper makes it work beautifully, as she demonstrates how this crazy crew blends their mad skills to restore an old car into a lowrider and win a car competition.

The car has to be something really special to win the contest -- no ordinary lowrider's going to get the top prize, which the friends desperately want so they can open their own garage. Fortunately, the gang hits on just the thing when they add rocket boosters. Unfortunately, the three artists and their car wind up in outer space, where they'll need all their wits and ingenuity not only to trick out their ride, but also to make it back home to earth in time to make it to the contest.

Camper's creativity is what sets Lowriders in Space apart from ho-hum graphic novels that crowd the shelves. I love the way she makes all these disparate elements merge into one cohesive story that kids will fly right through. There's plenty of Mexican-American slang as well as car culture and astronomy terms woven throughout, and Camper includes a glossary at the end to define any terms young readers might not know. It's especially great to have not only a diverse cast but also a female mechanic as the main character - big points for turning stereotypes on their heads, Ms. Camper. And the illustrations by Raul the Third make Lowriders in Space sing. This is art that's vibrant yet accessible, deliberate yet casual, and most of all the kind of thing kids will want to emulate themselves. Kudos to a talented team -- Lowriders in Space is graphic novel GOLD. Can't wait to read more of the Lowriders adventures!

Activity: Try out our Lowriders in Space Word Search!

Sprout's Bookshelf is honored to be part of Multicultural Children's Book Day this year. Here's the full list of 2015 co-hosts:

Africa to America

All Done Monkey

The Educators' Spin on It

Growing Book by Book

InCultureParent

Kid World Citizen

Mama Smiles

Multicultural Kid Blogs

Sprout's Bookshelf

Many thanks to Chronicle Books for providing a copy of Lowriders in Space for us to review!

2015 Sponsors for Multicultural Children's Book Day:

MCCBD’s 2015 Sponsors include Platinum Sponsors: Wisdom Tales Press, Daybreak Press Global Bookshop, Gold Sponsors:  Satya House,  MulticulturalKids.com,   Author Stephen Hodges and the Magic Poof, Silver Sponsors: Junior Library Guild,  Capstone Publishing, Lee and Low Books,  The Omnibus Publishing. Bronze Sponsors:Double Dutch Dolls, Bliss Group Books, Snuggle with Picture Books Publishing,  Rainbow Books,   Author FeliciaCapers,   Chronicle Books   Muslim Writers Publishing ,East West Discovery Press.

30 Days of Diverse Picture Books - Fire! Fuego! Brave Bomberos by Susan Middleton Elya

It's Day 6 of our 30 Days of Diverse Picture Books. How have you been celebrating Picture Book Month? I hope it's by sharing great titles with kiddos, or even just reading some yourself (or to the cat. . .we won't judge!)

Tonight's pick is one that Sprout's super obsessed with lately - Susan Middleton Elya's Fire! Fuego! Brave Bomberos. It's not surprising that he loves this book, since one of his favorite things about kindergarten is his weekly Spanish class. And Bomberos is tons of fun to read, so I'm glad to have it in heavy rotation.

Elya's done something really terrific with this book in that she mixes the Spanish throughout without subsequently translating the words. That's great for an emerging reader like Sprout, as it teaches him to interpret the unfamiliar words through the context and pictures. It also makes Bomberos more appealing to bilingual readers, who must cringe at every book that uses a Spanish phrase and follows that right up with English phrase. It also makes the text flow a lot better and doesn't take away from the fun (though there's a glossary with pronunciation guide at the end - super helpful.)

Bomberos is lively and exciting, just right for kids who want to get into the action of firefighting. And thanks to Dan Santat's sly touches with the illustrations (we really love the expressive animals!), this is one picture book that works all the way around. Muy bueno!

Fire! Fuego! Brave Bomberos by Susan Middleton Elya, published by Bloomsbury

One Old, One New - Picture Books About Construction

**Trying out a new feature here on the Bookshelf - a review that combines my thoughts about a classic along with those about a newer title, with a particular eye towards diversity. Like this type of thing? Let me know in the comments!**

It's kind of amazing how much kids change over the span of just a few years. I've been thinking about this the last few days, because Sprout's the V.I.P. in his kindergarten class this week and we've just made an "All About Me" poster for him to share. So, of course, that meant going through a whole lot of old photos to sort out the ones he wanted. And remembering all the different phases he's gone through thus far, noticing how the obsessions come and go, and which ones have remained (dinosaurs - all about the dinosaurs!).

Besides those prehistoric critters, an affinity for machinery has definitely hung in with Sprout. He's not as manic about trains as he once was, but we still go out of our way to pass by the tracks when we can, and every trip through a construction zone is cause for celebration. (Recently they excavated some gas tanks at a station near our home - you should have heard the excitement when we rode our bike past a huge hole with an excavator *inside* the hole!)

So, picture books on construction have been a staple since Sprout joined our family. One of the first we read him was Virginia Lee Burton's Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel. Now let me just say, I love that book, and so does Sprout. Hubs read this to him just about every single night for the first year or two he was in our family - waaay before he understood the words or story, when he was still learning English even, and he was riveted by it. A lot of that was the pictures, I think, and really that's hard not to be moved by. Hello, there's even a picture of Mary Ann digging the basement for the town hall and she's way down in the hole - not unlike that excavator we saw last week!

But of course, being published so many years ago, Mike Mulligan is a whitewash. And while I don't think there's anything wrong with reading a construction book like that to kids, it's nice to know that now there are much more inclusive choices being published, like the new title by Sally Sutton, Construction. This is the latest in a series of heavy-equipment themed titles by Sutton (read our review of Roadwork). While the story is a lot simpler than Mike Mulligan, there is a definite plot kids will follow, as the project is gradually revealed (spoiler alert: they're building a library! Woot woot!).

Construction showcases Brian Lovelock's trademark realistic style, which will feed young fans' cravings for up-close shots of big rigs and building equipment. (Nice glossary at the back too, when your kiddos want to know more.) Best of all, though, this title features not only racial diversity among the workers, but also gender diversity, with a female site director and a number of men stocking the library shelves. Way to go Sutton and Lovelock - I adore seeing roles reversed in such a way.

So while I'd definitely recommend Mike Mulligan -- there's a reason that it's hung around for so long, after all -- I also suggest adding in an updated perspective on building with Construction. Both great fun!

Night Light by Nicholas Blechman

Concept books are critical, as most teachers and librarians will tell you. They present the building blocks of learning in the context of various subjects, designed to appeal to all the interests young children can dream up. But let's be honest here: most concept books are mind-numbingly boring for the adult, and sometimes even for the child. I mean, how many ways can you present the ABCs or colors or opposites and still make them engaging? Most of us grit our teeth and suffer through even the most dull concept book, because we know the subjects are important for our emerging readers.

But every once in a while you find an author who's taken a familiar concept and reimagined it in a whole new way. These are the concept books librarians dream of, due to the likelihood that they are going to stick in a young child's brain and reinforce the message more strongly than their more mundane counterparts. Think of Eric Carle's 1,2,3 to the Zoo, for example - if you read this one as a child, I'll bet the images of animals and the zoo train are etched in your memory. For my money, a book like that beats a simple count-the-flowers book any day.

And such is the new book by designer and artist Nicholas Blechman, Night Light. The premise is familiar -- seeing vehicles performing their jobs -- but here it's united with the concepts of counting and opposites to add a layer of learning to the reading experience. Overlaying each object with a completely black spread interrupted only by a few diecut holes allows the author to conduct a guessing game with kids, each answer being another vehicle. For the first spread, readers are asked, "1 light, shining bright?", and given a glimpse of the answer through one strategically placed peek-a-boo hole. The answer comes on the following page - train, which is illustrated through bold colors and the use of stylized graphics that are both vintage and fresh. Each new number gives a new opportunity to guess, and kids will love not only trying to deduce the answer, but also seeing how the peek holes are put to use in the reverse (for that first spread, the hole becomes the train tunnel - clever, no?).

Like the best concept books, Night Light is deceptively simple, and that's why I think it's effective. Kids who love things that go will be especially charmed by Blechman's work, so don't limit this one to just the youngest readers. Sprout's obviously beyond the need for counting books, but he was still quite taken by the conceit here, and loved figuring out the answers, most of which were a total surprise. And, in a nice touch, the book comes full circle at the very end, where we see that the boy reading the book is picturing himself in the driver's seat of each vehicle. Very meta!

Add this one to your library list, or pick up a copy for a baby shower or birthday gift. Because -- trust me on this -- here's a concept book even adults will enjoy looking at again and again.

Night Light by Nicholas Blechman, published by Orchard Books
Ages 1-3
Source: Library
Recommended

(For more fresh and retro concept books, check out authors like Laura Vaccaro Seeger, Michael Hall and Lois Ehlert.)

30 Days of Picture Books - Machines Go to Work in the City by William Low

Here we are at Day 14 of Picture Book Month. Today I'm thinking about experience. Picture books allow us as readers to go all sorts of places we ordinarily wouldn't go, either because we wouldn't think of it or just because we haven't been yet. Sure, some of these places are fantastic and Narnia-esque, but a lot of picture books help us visit destinations that are quite familiar. Truthfully, I'm hard pressed to say which is more of a thrill for a young child. I know Sprout's far more interested in riding a train than he is in flying on a dragon!

So far in my parenting career, I've learned something very important: machinery of all sorts holds a peculiar sway over a certain subset of boys (and girls). I've often joked that someone should write a field guide to construction vehicles, a Sibley guide to tractors and trucks if you will. And with today's pick, William Low's Machines Go to Work in the City, we have something pretty close, at least for the common types of machinery you see every day in an urban environment.

In this lively title, readers get to experience big rigs and gear up close and personal, thanks to Low's fantastically detailed realistic illustrations. Each page shows a machine and then poses a question, the answer to which comes when you open the flap on the accompanying page. Sprout likes the vacuum truck, a type of rig we'd never seen in action. He loves that he can flip down the big flap and see the construction worker guiding the vacuum tube to pump out the water -- really fascinating stuff for my little engineer. The final spread is a real showstopper: as we watch an airplane take off over the city, we can open up the flaps to have a full-page illustration of the plane soaring into the sunset. Beautiful stuff - and if you look closely, you can pick out the other machines that Low spotlights in the city streets below.

For those of us who don't live in the big city (and probably even some who do) getting a birds' eye view of construction equipment at work is pretty darn exciting. The illustrations here are just incredible, colorful and bursting with life as well as diversity. As we snuggle together on the couch, it's pretty great that Sprout can imagine being an iron worker or a train engineer, all through the pages of this action-packed thrill of a picture book.

Machines Go to Work in the City by William Low, published by Henry Holt and Company