Blog Post
Caldecott Awards Announced!
by manz
The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. This year there were four honors given in addition to the winner. There were some really beautiful illustrations this year!
Winner:
Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, written and illustrated by Javaka Steptoe
Jean-Michel Basquiat and his unique, collage-style paintings rocked to fame in the 1980s as a cultural phenomenon unlike anything the art work had ever seen. But before that, he was a little boy who saw art everywhere: in poetry books and museums, in games and in the words that we speak, and in the pulsing energy of New York City. Now, award-winning illustrator Javaka Steptoe's vivid text and bold artwork echoing Basquiat's own introduce young readers to the powerful message and art doesn't always have to be neat or clean--and definitely not inside the lines--to be beautiful.
Honors:
They All Saw a Cat, written and illustrated by Brendan Wenzel
In simple, rhythmic prose and stylized pictures, a cat walks through the world, and all the other creatures see and acknowledge the cat.
Leave Me Alone!, written and illustrated by Vera Brosgol,
Grandmother wants so badly to be left alone to finish the knitting for her grandchildren that she leaves her tiny home and her big family to journey to the moon and beyond to find peace and quiet to finish her knitting.
Freedom in Congo Square, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, written by Carole Boston Weatherford
As slaves relentlessly toiled in an unjust system in 19th century Louisiana, they all counted down the days until Sunday, when at least for half a day they were briefly able to congregate in Congo Square in New Orleans. Here they were free to set up an open market, sing, dance, and play music. They were free to forget their cares, their struggles, and their oppression. This story chronicles slaves' duties each day, from chopping logs on Mondays to baking bread on Wednesdays to plucking hens on Saturday, and builds to the freedom of Sundays and the special experience of an afternoon spent in Congo Square.
Du Iz Tak?, written and illustrated by Carson Ellis
Readers are invited to imagine the dramatic possibilities to be found in the natural world, even the humblest back garden! With exquisitely-detailed illustration that will appeal to children and art-lovers alike, and a wonderfully playful invented language, we soon find ourselves speaking "Bug" ... Du iz tak? What is that?
Blog Post
Gender Identity for Kids
by evelyn
Do you know a little one who is starting to learn about the big, fun, sometimes messy world of gender and gender identity? We’ve got books for that!
Introducing Teddy is an adorable new picture book about a boy and his best friend and teddy, who wishes that she was a girl instead of a boy. Teddy is afraid to share her feelings with her friend, but when she does, she’s very glad she did! This is a wonderful book about both gender and unconditional love.
Who Are You?: The Kids’ Guide to Gender Identity is a new nonfiction book by Brook Pessin-Whedbee that teaches children about gender identity with simple language and bright, engaging pictures.
Flamingo Rampant Press is a new publisher offering picture books about gender and sexual orientation. The stories in these books are imaginative, diverse, fun, and feature all kinds of kids.
If you want more information on supporting kids in their gender exploration, take a look at The Gender Creative Child by Dr. Diane Ehrensaft. This title offers lots of information on supporting children as they grow and discover who they are. Included is information on how to talk with children about gender expression, how to make sure all of a child’s needs are getting met, how to navigate schools and other environments, and when to research medical options like hormone therapy. Raising the Transgender Child is a great resource for parents of transgender children and offers lots of detailed, science-backed, information.
For more great books on gender for kids and their grownups, take a look at this list!
Blog Post
From the Page to the Screen: Hidden Figures
by PizzaPuppy
The new movie Hidden Figures is in theaters now, and is already generating positive reviews and a plethora of award nominations. This amazing true story, first published as Hidden Figures: the American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly, chronicles the trials and tribulations of a group of extraordinarily talented and dedicated African American female mathematicians, whose calculations launched John Glenn into Earth's orbit and won the space race. These "human computers" used slide rules, pencils, and adding machines to perform the advanced mathematics needed to calculate trajectories, launch windows, and navigational charts in case of electrical failures, among others. These brave women faced adversity through sexism and segregation, but persevere through it all to become key players in evolution of NASA and space exploration. This amazing story is also available on audiobook and Large Print.
Author Margot Lee Shetterly will be speaking at Rackham Auditorium on January 24th from 4-8:15 PM. More information is available here.
Looking to learn more about the phenomenal women scientists that propelled us into space? Check out Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars (also available here in Large Print. Or learn more about the many women who have since traveled to outer space through items such as Promised the Moon, Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream, and Astronaut Pam: Countdown to Commander (an especially interesting nonfiction movie that follows Commander Pam Melroy and her crew aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery). We also have books about women inventors, such as Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women.
Also check out our resources regarding two very famous pioneering female astronauts: Mae Jemison and Sally Ride. Books on Sally Ride for an adult audience include this photobiography and Sally Ride: America's First Woman in Space. To the Stars, Sally Ride: Life on a Mission, and Who Was Sally Ride? are all intended for kids interested in learning more about Sally Ride. We also have many resources on Mae Jemison, the first African American woman to travel to space, such as this biography, You Should Meet Mae Jemison or Mae Jemison, Awesome Astronaut!. You can even read books written by the astronaut herself, such as The 100 Year Starship.
Just into space? We have lots for you to check out here at the library, such as Eyewitness Space Exploration, or the Astronaut Handbook. The Dream is Alive is a fascinating DVD that uncovers life on a space station, and witnesses the first space walk performed by an American woman. We also have a Library Space Camp program for kids coming on Thursday, April 6th at the Downtown branch, where you can learn all about what makes a successful astronaut and complete cool space activities.
Blog Post
New Picture Books!
by manz
The new book section at AADL is full of amazing finds! Fiction, non-fiction, youth, teen, and adult! Here are few favorite picture books I found recently.
Kevin Henkes does it again with Egg. It’s a darling story about eggs ready to hatch, and one that just won’t. When it finally does it's a wonderful surprise. With simple words and pretty colors the story demonstrates waiting and friendship. Kids will enjoy the repetition and simple images.
A Greyhound, A Groundhog by Chris Appelhans is a simple and silly book with repeated text featuring rhymes and tongue twisters, as a greyhound and a groundhog go around and around from page to page. I really love the watercolor illustrations in this one.
In Lucky Lazlo by Steve Light a young boy finds a rose and plans to take it to his friend’s play to give to her after her performance. But on the way a cat crosses his path and chaos ensues. The book also includes a lovely author’s note which lists the many superstitions in theater and stage that are found throughout the book. And yes, the illustrations are wonderful.
Blog Post
New Snowy Picture Books to Warm You!
by manz
A chilly winter day is a great time to play in the snow, wish for snow, or cuddle up with a cozy book featuring snowy days and a sweet story.
Samson in the Snow is by Caldecott winner Phillip Stead. In this beautifully illustrated, tender story we meet Samson, a large and friendly wooly mammoth. One sunny day he happens upon a bird gathering yellow flowers for his friend before flying off. Samson continues to wander, and sun turns to snow and Samson can no longer find the bird. As he heads out to search he finds the kind of friends he didn’t even know he was looking for. A very sweet and gentle book.
Before Morning by Newbery Winner Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Caldecott Winner Beth Krommes is simply delightful! The most gorgeous sketched illustrations set the backdrop for a day when a young child wishes snow would come so his pilot mother can stay home. Delightful, tender, with few words, this pretty and poetic book is a treat for a snowy day.
Waiting For Snow is a darling look at a group of animals waiting ever-so-patiently for snow to fall. Waiting is not easy, but it will snow in snow’s time, as badger soon finds out.
How to Build a Snow Bear is also a lesson on waiting. It snowed and it’s time to go play in it! But a sleepyhead who would be a big help in building a snow bear is still hibernating. Wait we must for the sleepy bear to wake up and help out.
Best In Snow features photographs of winter scenes paired with simple words that describe the images and the weather around the onlooker. Air warms, snow softens, it drip drip drops. A lovely book with fantastic photos of snow and animals.
Blog Post
A watch with super powers...
by mansii
A watch with super powers, an underground gestapo, an expert climber, and a mysterious lighthouse...follow Reuben in this swashbuckling adventure as a very scared, ordinary boy fights evil with true friendship, hard choices, and a big dose of courage. Trenton Lee Stewart gave the world The Mysterious Benedict Society--one of the best things to happen to children's literature since Harry Potter. Now, Stewart's new stand alone novel The Secret Keepers has arrived to take fantasy lovers (or just lovers of great story!) by the pant-seat.
The writing is superb, the characters shine, the relationships sparkle, and the layers of story exude goodness from their pores. Stewart's characters wrestle with moral dilemmas that don't have easy answers, and come to understand the internal slavery of those who propagate evil, exercising compassion.
Both a powerful look at the sinister spiral of power's addictive nature and a bracing encouragement, the The Secret Keepers affirms that whatever battles we each must find the courage to fight, all will be well at last. When you rub your eyes to come back to reality, your heart will glow treasuring the life you have been gifted and the people in it that make it extraordinary.
Blog Post
A Series of Unfortunate Events
by PizzaPuppy
A brand new television show based on the popular Series of Unfortunate Events books is coming to Netflix on January 13th, making now the perfect time to catch up on Lemony Snicket's whimsical gothic novels.
Over the course of 13 books we follow Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire: 3 siblings who are orphaned after a fire destroys their house and kills their parents. The children are placed under the protection of their distant relative, the mysterious Count Olaf, but soon realize that Olaf is scheming to steal their inheritance and do away with the Baudelaire children altogether. Along the way, the Baudelaire children discover that their parents were part of a secret organization, and much of the later books revolves around the Baudelaire children uncovering dark family secrets. Lemony Snicket narrates with a quick wit and dark humor, often going off on tangents or explaining the meaning of words as he goes along. Snicket also begins each novel with a polite warning that if a happy book is what the reader is after, they won't find it here.
If you haven't seen the trailer for the new 8-episode series, take a look here.
Looking for more Series of Unfortunate Events-related stuff? Give the Tragic Treasury a try. This collection of songs featured in the audiobooks remains true to Snicket's books, and Snicket himself plays accordion on multiple tracks. Or maybe re-watch the 2004 movie adaptation featuring Jim Carrey as the tricky Count Olaf.
Blog Post
Radiant Child
by manz
Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat is a beautifully illustrated picture book that is a wonderful introduction for young children to a one-of-a-kind modern artist. There is definite Caldecott Medal buzz around the bold and colorful illustrations by author Javaka Steptoe.
The book focuses on Basquiat’s childhood in Brooklyn, his early passion for drawing and his declaration that he will some day be famous. The message that art doesn’t have to be neat or clean shines through as we follow the artist on his journey to become a cultural phenomenon with a true vision (before his untimely death, which doesn't grace the pages of this book).
Blog Post
Lois Lowry's Photographed Life
by mansii
Youth author Lois Lowry has been a long-standing beloved household name for a number of her Newberry winning books, not the least of which are The Giver and Number the Stars. The Giver many might know from its 2014 movie rendition including star actors such as Meryl Streep. Lowry has always been one to write stories that not only capture the imagination but challenge her readers to question, and to hang tight to all the goodness they can find. They are insightful and provocative for both the young and old.
Her newly updated and expanded autobiographical work retains this legacy. Looking Back: A Book of Memories reads like an album. The reader flips through glossy page after glossy page of photographs paired with a short, page-long reminiscence. Each glimpse of Lowrian history is also joined with a quote from one of her books, so we can trace her inspiration for characters and passages. Lowry traces the lines where her personhood is inextricably linked to the stories she has crafted.
In a simple style aimed towards the middle grade audience her novels have been written for, Lowry uses these pages to welcome us into her own family. She points out details and gives backstory, shares personal responses and humorous anecdotes, much like one might pass down stories to a grandchild. She conveys not only her own life, but includes photographs of her parents, children, grandchildren, and even some friends, showing the web through which we form our identity.
Looking Back is not entitled a “Book of Memories” for nothing; Lowry gently asks many questions about the nature of memory throughout these pages, a theme readily seen in The Giver as well. When we see a face but cannot remember a name, what does that do to a person’s identity? Does time’s inevitable morphing of names and details mean that our memories become false? How is our memory influenced by the fleeting moments captured by the camera, even when these moments would be seen differently in light of a bigger picture? One thing becomes clear: memory is a gift, and the small moments of our lives make history.
Blog Post
Family Books for All!
by evelyn
We have two new beautiful picture books celebrating diverse families.
A Family is a Family is a Family, written by Sara O’Leary and with illustrations by Qin Leng, is a wonderful meditation on how many different kinds of families there are. The narrator is a young girl who is nervous to tell her class about her family because they are different than other families. However, after each of her classmates describes their unique families, she feels comfortable talking about her own foster mom. The illustrations in this sweet book show all different families as they explore, play, eat, and most of all, love each other.
Home at Last is the last book by renowned children’s book author Vera B. Williams. Finished posthumously, with illustrations by Chris Raschka, this lovely book tells the story of Lester, whose adoption day has finally arrived. Although he already feels that he, Daddy Rich, and Daddy Albert are a family, he is nervous to sleep in his own bed at his new home. Luckily, their dog Wincka jumps in to help out. This book is great not only for adopted kids, but for any kids struggling with change or getting used to sleeping in their own big kid bed.
Want to find more great picture books about families? Take a look at this list!