My Bibi Always Remembers - Perfect Picture Book Friday

     I'm so excited that Perfect Picture Book Friday time is back!
     I read 10-15 picture books a week from my library, but it's impossible to "stumble upon" all the good ones. My fellow reviewers are an invaluable asset. A huge thank you to Susanna Leonard Hill for organizing this resource for readers and writers!

     Last week I participated in a new book release blog tour. I don't always "double up" and use the book for Perfect Picture Book Friday. While there are a lot of good books out there, not all of them make the cut. :)
     But last week's does. If you didn't read last week, I'm talking about a new book from the awesome author and illustrator team of Toni Buzzeo and Mike Wohnoutka.
     Regular blog followers of mine may remember that I reviewed the last offering by this team, JUST LIKE MY PAPA last September. I get the feeling that we ought to just put the author and illustrator's name on the Perfect Picture Book Friday list!

TITLE: My Bibi Always Remembers

AUTHOR: Toni Buzzeo

ILLUSTRATOR: Mike Wohnoutka

PUBLISHER: Disney Hyperion Books, Sept. 2014

INTENDED AGES: 3-5

THEMES: Animals, grandparents, Africa

Opening Line: RUMMMMBLE!
                      Thirsty little Tembo hears her Bibi across the wide, parched plain.

Synopsis: An easily distracted young elephant follows the herd as it searches for water. The oldest grandmother elephant carries the knowledge and skill to lead "the way to wet."

Why I like this book: Elephants fascinate me. My family are long-time supporters of The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. I've never been to Africa or Asia to see these creatures in the wild and I have a hard time wrapping my head around the concept of the vast space these creatures need to live as they should. I love the book's message about passing knowledge from generation to generation. The author stole my heart on the second spread when she wrote that the elephants were coming "one by one, step-step, searching for wet." The illustrations aren't overly fussy, but small details, like dust devils in the distance, transported me to the elephants' world. Be
Note: This is a Disney book, so I felt a Bambi-like moment of terror when Tembo wanders away and the illustration appears backlit by the setting sun with lions and hyenas in the foreground! Luckily, the problem resolves on the next page. Whew! The combination of anthropomorphism and reality worked well for me.

Activities/Resources: Ms. Buzzeo provides extensive materials to accompany her books. You can find Common Core teaching guides and activities , including a cool Reader's Theater Script on her website.
If you want to learn more about the plight of elephants in the wild, back matter in the book steers readers to the Amboseli Trust for Elephants at www.elephanttrust.org. General information about elephants can be found in many places including National Geographic's website and the kid-friendly Animal Fact Guide.
There are an equally large number of elephant craft choices out there. The paper plate elephant contributed by Leanne Guenther to DLTK's Crafts for Kids blog made me smile.

Other blogs with information and interviews for this new book:

·         The Children’s Book Review – Author Guest Post

·         Momma Drama – Author/Illustrator Interview and Review

·         Book Rock Betty – Review

·         Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers – Author/Illustrator Guest Post and Review

·         As They Grow Up – Review

·         Susan Heim on Parenting – Review

·         Kid Lit Frenzy – Author Guest Post

·         Mundie Kids – Author/Illustrator Interview

·         The Power of One Writer – Author Interview

·         There’s a Book – Review

And FINALLY, download a completely adorable card to make for grandparents from the author's website here. Just download and fold!

As a disclosure, an early advance copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
This review is part of PPBF (perfect picture book Friday) where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. Along with tons of writing wisdom, she keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books. #PPBF

RAIN SCHOOL by James Rumford - Perfect Picture Book Friday #PPBF

     Last Friday we had a deluge. Then another yesterday, complete with thunder shaking the ground. But from what I learned reading my selection for this week, our rain was nothing compared to the rainy season in Chad.  I drank in the account in Rain School. This book is four years old, but it isn't on the Perfect Picture Book Friday list. This is an oversight that must be corrected!

cover image from the Publisher's website

TITLE: Rain School

Author/Illustrator: James Rumford

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin, 2010

FICTION

Intended Ages: 4-8
Themes: School/education, Africa

Opening lines: In the country of Chad, it is the first day of school. The dry dirt road is filling up with children. Big brothers and big sisters are leading the way.

Synopsis: The story follows a young boy named Thomas from his first day of school in Chad until the end of the school year nine months later. His first lesson isn’t reading, writing or arithmetic. There are no computers. The first lesson is making bricks.

Why I like this book: Among the books I choose for Perfect Picture Book Friday are books that make me laugh. Books that make me cry. And books that make my eyes widen. This is an eye-widening book.

  The author lived in Chad as a Peace Corps volunteer and taught school there. The book is based upon his personal memory of coming upon the mud ruins of a primary school during the rainy season (summer vacation) as well as his own teaching experience.

    The illustrations in this book are all focused in the foreground. The dusty yellow-orange background conveys the feeling of desert heat and is the simple foil for the story about people and their desire for education. While the school may lack amenities that many of us would deem essentials, the joyous sense of community is palpable.

Resources/Activities: The author has a great page of questions relating to this book on his website relating to thinking about schools in other places and during other times in the past as well as using one picture to spark a story. He chose a Winslow Homer painting for the story spark, but you could choose any!

    Put a world map on the bulletin board and place a push pin for the setting/location of each story that you read. Starting with Chad, see if you can go around the globe. Learn about Chad on the CIA website here.

     Watch a Youtube video reading of the story. The note with the video indicates that Rain School is required for the NYS Common Core Curriculum in third grade.

This review is part of PPBF (perfect picture book Friday) where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. Along with tons of writing wisdom, she keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books. #PPBF 

What has your weather been like? I keep reminding myself, the grass is always greener on the other side!