We March - Perfect Picture Book Friday #PPBF

This book took my breath away. Genuine goosebump time. If you're looking for a book to go with Martin Luther King Day or any time during Black History month, look no further.

Title: WE MARCH

Author/Illustrator: Shane W. Evans
(note his website doesn't appear to have been updated since 2006.
He set up a separate website for a book project called Olu's Dream
 that he completed in 2009. We March is not on either website.)
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press, 2012 (MacMillan)
Historical FICTION

Audience: 4-7
Themes: Civil Rights, African Americans

Opening: "The morning is quiet."



Why don't I give you more text? Because, except for one, each of the spreads in this 32 page book has five or fewer words on it. If I typed the first fifty words, I'd be posting the entire text!

Synopsis: An un-named African American family (father, mother, boy and girl) wake, visit their church and head by bus to Washington, D.C. and march to the Lincoln Memorial. While his name isn't mentioned in the text, Martin Luther King, Jr. is clearly recognizable and a partial quote from his "I Have a Dream" speech fills the background of the final spread. The author's note at the end of the book indicates that the book was based on the historic 1963 march but meant to represent all the organized marches when people have walked together to focus attention on a goal.

What I like about this book: The spare text and the muted tones in the illustrations are the perfect accompaniment for the subject of peaceful demonstration. As the story progresses, hints of a golden sun glow in the background until finally the sun is revealed behind Dr. King. The short sentences propel the story forward with a quiet energy that pulled me into the story. This book makes the subject of civil rights accessible to even the youngest readers. My only issue with the book is that in the illustrations the parents are always organized father/son and mother/daughter. I'm not sure why it bothered me, and perhaps this is an accurate portrayal of family life in 1963, but the separation distracted me. It doesn't take away from the powerful message, however.


 Activities and Resources: There are no activity pages specific to this book, however the Southern Poverty Law Center has a civil rights activity book available for download courtesy of the Civil Rights Memorial Center. The University of Wisconsin also has an activity guide for kids on the topic of civil rights. I did feel that many of the activities were better for slightly older children than this book is targeted toward. There is an extensive amount of material available about African American history online and this post is obviously not meant to be exhaustive in this regard! The Family Education website has some civil rights figures coloring pages available for free download. Some of the other "free" sites asked for credit card information.
         The Horn Book published a very personal profile of Mr. Evans written by his childhood friend, the author of "Chocolate Me", actor Taye Diggs. The author describes his 2009 book Olu's Dream on Youtube. The publisher, MacMillan has a slide show of 8 spreads from the book available for view. The book is a great jumping off point for any project involving kids who want to oppose the status quo. Perhaps you can make signs and organize a march on a topic important to them.

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.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Reading!

Another Auld Lang Syne - Goal setting

No end in sight, it's all about the journey

     I'm not sure why New Year's has such significance. After all, the calendar is an artificial construct. I'm more than a little bit jealous of the folks in the Southern Hemisphere who get to celebrate in warm summer weather instead of bone-chilling temperatures. In fact, if anyone wants to petition our government to move the calendar back six months, I'd be all over it. It's as good as an idea as many of the other ones I see floated in DC.
     Regardless of the reason, it feels right to stop and mull over my goals occasionally and this is as good a time as any. 

     So what are my goals for 2014?
     1. Do my best. (stole this one from the Cub Scouts)
     2. Try to enjoy each moment (this one is from a life with dogs)
     3. When I fail at #1 or #2---let it go. Look to the future.
   
     So, that's it. I'm not setting a number of words to be written every day. I know from experience that the stuff I grind out isn't close to as good as the words that burst forth, clamoring for my attention, refusing to let me forget them. But I know that isn't going to happen every day and I'm not going to set myself up for failure. There's enough to feel bad about in the world without adding to it.
     This doesn't mean I'm not ambitious or competitive. Just talk to my kids after board game night.
     I just recognize that my ambitions aren't fully within my control. And who wants to "lose" at something they have no control over? Not me. So I have decided to keep goals and ambitions separate. 

  I would like to thank everyone who has ever critiqued my work for me. Every criticism has helped me improve. Every word of encouragement has helped me persevere. Every comment has let me know I'm not alone. It has all been much appreciated.

     I think I might use this goal list for every year going forward. Do you have any goals to share?

Embracing Kitchen Creativity

     I would like to say that every day is an explosion of new ideas at the keyboard.
     I would like to say that, but I can't. Some days it feels like the right ideas, or the words to express those ideas, are written in an ancient language that scholars have yet to translate. I know myself, and I know that sitting BIC isn't going to help. I need to do something else that will shift my mind into a different gear.
     Today, the "something else" was making cookies. The oven kept the kitchen toasty on a dreary almost- winter day. I am ready to go back to work. And my neighbors will have yummy holiday treats! I'd say this is a winning solution for everyone.

    
Wishing you all the best as 2013 draws to a close. I hope you can follow your own creative impulses wherever they take you.
    

Susanna Leonard Hill's 350-word holiday story challenge

     Story ideas are always popping into my head. I try to write them down, but sometimes the slips of paper get lost, put through the washer, buried under the papers on the embarrassment I call my desk. You get the idea.

     Still, I was surprised to realize that I hadn't written down a single idea that would fit the requirements for Susanna Hill's holiday story contest--a story under 350 words featuring a holiday mishap.
     When I saw down to brainstorm, I ended up with multiple ideas. Way too many ideas. Maybe this is the result of the creative juices generated during the month of November in Tara Lazar's PiBoIdMo? The problem was choosing which idea to run with.
     I hope you enjoy the story below. I'll be second guessing myself (maybe it should have been the
extremely short funny one about the mixed up deliveries!) It's all good. I know it got me in the holiday spirit! If you were expecting a Perfect Picture Book Friday post, Susanna has put that on hold until the New Year. Hope to see you then!


Joe's Merry Techmas   by Wendy Greenley 

      Joe dodged the busy workers. Sweeping up scraps of paper and ribbon wasn’t very exciting, but he was just a first-year elf in Santa’s workshop. With luck, someday he might be part of Santa’s toy-making team.
     “Ho, ho, ho!” Santa strode to his new computer control center. He had posted the gift list and wanted to make sure the elves checked it twice before they wrapped and labeled each present.
     By lunchtime on Christmas Eve the sleigh was halfway packed—ahead of schedule for once!
     Then with one clap of thunder-snow—Santa’s computer screen went blank. 
     No one knew which of the remaining gifts went to which child.
     “We can guess,” one elf suggested.
     “Ho, ho, whoa!” said Santa. “They’re all great gifts. But an easel won’t do if you want a catcher’s mitt.”
     “We still have their letters,” another elf pointed to the overflowing mail bags. 
     "Ho, ho, too slow!” There’s no time to read them again,” said Santa. “We need the list.”
     Santa called repairman after repairman. No one was at work on Christmas Eve.
     The toy-making elves tried to restart the computer. The screen flickered—then went blank again.
     “Can we postpone Christmas?” one elf asked.
     “Ho, Ho, NO!” said Santa. “Help me find a solution!”
     “Maybe I can help,” Joe piped up.
     “How could a first year-elf help?” the oldest elf asked.
     Joe shrugged. “The computer system went haywire while Rudolph and I were playing Candy Cane Crunch. I fooled around with it, and got it to work again.”
     “Ho, ho, give it a go!” said Santa.
     Joe’s fingers flew over the keys. The screen flickered again, and again—and finally came back on.
     “If I was you, I’d print a copy of that list,” said Joe.
     And so they did. Then they finished all the wrapping, labeling and packing.
     Christmas was back on schedule.
     “If I teach you about the computer, would you teach me toy-making?” said Joe.
     “Deal!” everyone chorused.
     “Ho, ho, ho, three cheers for Joe! Welcome to the team!” Santa shouted as he headed skyward.

THE END (343 words!)

     Everyone's stories for the contest will be linked to Susanna's blog (or posted in the comments). I haven't read any of them yet, but I'm sure I'll find some gems to enjoy!

Thank you, Tara Lazar

     If you write picture books and you don't know about Tara Lazar's PiBoIdMo, check it out here.
 

Open source image courtesy of PippaDust

       PiBoIdMo is just one example of the amazing kindness and generosity of the writing community. Tara could be holed up at home, working on her own manuscripts and enjoying the holiday season. Instead, Tara chooses to spend the month of November bringing inspiration and craft tips to other writers. By sharing daily posts from published picture book writers and illustrators on her blog, her followers get a glimpse into a variety of working methods. And the enthusiasm for the work is palpable and infectious.
        This was my second year participating in PiBoIdMo. I think I got even more out of it the second time around. And just a disclaimer: I didn't win any of the agent/editor/critique prizes last year, and Tara hasn't announced winners this year, so I'm not feeling any love that wasn't given to the whole group. It's all that good.
     I have been fortunate to meet Tara in person and share a "real" hug. This post, while a virtual hug, is no less heartfelt.
     Kidlit writers are a wonderful, welcoming group. And Tara is a gem among them.

No #PPBF today

     For those of you expecting to see my new perfect picture book Friday post today, I apologize. It's not that I couldn't find a perfect book this week, but because of a family illness I simply can't post and visit everyone else's posts this week. Next week Susanna Hill has declared a week off for the Thanksgiving holiday so I hope to "see" you in two weeks.

Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs - Perfect Picture Book Friday

     No long introduction this week. For Perfect Picture Book Friday I often pick a book that I love that may not have gotten the attention I think it deserves. But when I saw that this book wasn't on the PPBF list yet, I had to add my review. I'm sure teachers will have heard of this one, but parents and grandparents may not and it would be a great gift book. Yes, November is here so start thinking about holiday shopping by making a book list!
     And for fellow writers, today is the first day of PiBoIdMo. Don't know what that is? Go here to meet the amazing Tara Lazar, author of The Monstore. The book I picked this week is a hands-on example of the idea-bending PiBoIdMo celebrates. When you get to my photo of the endpapers below, you'll see what I mean. 

     Run to get a copy of the book I selected this week. I mean run! Pick up the pace!

     Title: Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs

     Author/Illustrator: Mo Willems

     Publisher: HarperCollins Balzer + Bray, 2012
     FICTION

     Themes: Fractured fairy-tales, HUMOR

     Audience: 5-8 years 

     Opening:  ONCE UPON A TIME, there were three Dinosaurs: Papa Dinosaur, Mama Dinosaur, and some other dinosaur who happened to be visiting from Norway.

     Synopsis: Mo Willems turns Goldilocks into a laugh out loud riot. Inserting dinosaurs for bears, he shines a spotlight on the absurdities of the classic tale while adding the twist that perhaps the bear/dinosaurs were acting intentionally, setting a trap for the unwary and unsupervised Goldilocks. Delicious chocolate-filled-little-girl bonbons, anyone?

     What I liked about this Book: Everything! I couldn't say it better than The Boston Globe which said that Mo Willems books "are simple, not simplistic." If you haven't read all of Mr. Willems' books, find one of his Pigeon books, then grab this one (I have to admit that I'm not a huge fan of his "This Is Not A Good Idea") There are scads of jokes in the illustrations for an adult to enjoy as they read and re-read this book. Norway is "the Gateway to Sweden," a smiling dinosaur in a hard hat proclaims "We Are Natural Gas." For the littlest kids, look for THE pigeon hiding around the dinosaurs' house. Bigger kids can enjoy the punny word-play and slapstick humor of the plot. The book is 40 pages long, but it reads quickly and the simple bold cartoon-like illustrations make this a perfect read-aloud storytime choice.

     Activities and Resources: The book is silly, but the story extensions are not! HarperCollins has a 4-page activity guide with great ideas. Miss Lee shares the book as a read-aloud on Youtube which I embedded below. And to get an idea of Mo Willems energy and the enthusiasm he has for his books, click on the video to the left in which he presents Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs.
The activity guides at The Teaching Books site are the same as those I give the link for above, but there are a list of Mo Willems interviews for the fans who want to learn more about the author.

I'll leave you with a look at the endpapers for the book, and you'll see what Mr. Willems is talking about.

Thanks for stopping by! Let me know, have you read this book already? When a book is popular at my library, sometimes I'm the last one to read it! (The book budget is only so big and I can't bring myself to put holds on the childrens books, the kids should be the ones reading them after all!)



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.