Guaranteed Grins- with Sneaky Facts in the Cracks!

 After thoughtfully reading more than a hundred elementary and middle school nonfiction nominees for CYBILS AWARDS in the last month or two, I feel more than ready to put up a strong showing as a JEOPARDY contestant, regardless of who is currently the host. Just don't assume that nonfiction equals solemn or dull or heavy. The range of styles, topics, formats, and perspectives is something to celebrate and the reading process was never a burden. 

In fact, quite a few nominees involved exactly the elements that are likely to hook readers' eyes and minds and encourage hand-to-hand recommendations. That is especially true of HUMOR. I shared several funny nominees in prior posts, HERE, HERE, and HERE. Each was witty and wonderful in distinctly different ways. Much comic skill and writing wizardry were utilized, including wordplay, surprise details, illustration twists, and more, Cheap tricks and winks were not overdone as simple props for shortcut laughs. 

Beeker & Mayer Kids/Quarto Group

 Let's check out a genuine star in this approach: A BRIEF HISTORY OF UNDERPANTS, written by Christine Van Zandt with illustrations by the inimitable Harry Briggs. This dynamic pair is much more exciting than a simple pair of underpants... until you read the book and find out how amazing underpants really are!

For starters, check out that cover with a spinner-interactive wheel to replace the underwear turn after turn. Page after page of his slim little volume is every bit as clever from cover to cover. From earliest records, with more "deep digs" into the history of underpants, it seems that the very scratchy, spiky, messy, rash-causing world demanded the invention of some kind of protection from the start of humanity- especially as mankind developed upright ambulation. 

Ladies, one of the fun revelations of history is the report that these garments were exclusively for males, until just a few hundred years ago. Conventions of female clothing across many cultures assumed that the clothing itself was sufficient protection for females, while males needed the little something extra due to horse riding, flailing weapons, and the consequence of coarse armor or leather on their nether parts.

The inside scoop on drawers begins thousands of years ago with fun furry facts about early Inuit ancestors, then spans centuries, continents, and circumstances in chronological order, right up to present day and space travel. The accounts are brief, illustrated with spot insets, using  ridiculous but kid-magnet wordplay and a cavalcade of comical characters and critters. At only forty-eight pages there are four chapters with a conventional table of contents and extras in back, so that the total package is a delicious laugh-fest. Among the chuckles, eyes will widen with unexpected exposure-- to facts, folks. The line-drawn situations and participants manage to enhance understanding and reveal/explain details. 

In all seriousness, this is a must-have nonfiction book across ages. Expect that readers, even adults, will be tapping others on the shoulder and asking, "Did you know...?" Do yourself and any kids you know a favor and purchase this book. Loads of kids are already fans of the CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS series, by David Pilkey. which is a timeless hook for kid-readers, especially those who cringe at calling themselves readers. The word "underpants", on its own, especially with and related drawings in those books, will hook those lifelong Pilkey fans, spanning generational families.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF UNDERPANTS competes for such fandom while using wordplay that is just a notch above the Pilkey series in "sophistication" and "subtlety". 

As Reading Rainbow's star host, LeVar Burton, always said, "Don't take MY word for it!" Oh, how I wish that series were still offering current titles. I can imagine Burton's face when introducing this one to his audiences.  Check it out in time for holiday gifting. A kid you love could have that same look, and just imagine the dinner table conversations! 

Not As Simple As It Seems, Is It?

In the last post I featured a variety of quality titles related to Independence Day, from light-hearted to local to Miss Liberty. Underlying themes abound within their covers. These include, but aren't limited to: patriotism, community service, international cooperation and collaboration, recognition of human rights for people of every color and background, and projects with noble intentions that never seem to reach completion.

Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2013

Which brings me to this week's single title, the very recent release, PANCHO RABBIT AND THE COYOTE: A Migrant's Tale, written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh. This award-winning book creator is also one impressive storyteller. I find myself returning to my favorite Levar Burton/Reading Rainbow quote: "But don't take my word for it..." Here's just a bit of what the Chicago Sun-Times had to say about Tonatiuh's latest creation: 

"Dora the Explorer never took a trip like this."

and

"The author, 28-year-old Duncan Tonatiuh, says he isn’t following the current immigration bill in Washington and didn’t write the book as a political statement. Tonatiuh, whose previous children’s book on Mexican painter Diego Rivera earned an award from the American Library Association, says he just wanted to give young illegal immigrants living in the United States a bedside story they can relate to.

'I wanted them to see that people that go into the U.S. like this face an incredibly dangerous journey,' says Tonatiuh, who was born and raised in Mexico and has dual U.S.-Mexican citizenship. 'But I also wanted to show the longing between families, the fact that there are a lot of children in Mexico who don’t see their fathers for years.' ”

Earning starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus Review, and Publishers' Weekly, the story works as a traditional tale and also as an allegory for the lives of countless Mexican and South American migrants facing a lose-lose decision when it comes to survival for themselves and their families.

I'll return to that aspect soon, but first let's take a closer look at the art of the book. Backmatter includes this brief statement: "The illustrations are hand drawn, then digitally collaged". I examine the art in picture books very closely on a daily basis, but I'll admit I had no idea how Tonatiuh accomplished this until reading that, and I'm mightily impressed with the process and the end results. 

Viking Press, 1999

The various textures, weaves, and components are intriguing and impressive, reminding me a bit of the elaborate collage production of Caldecott-winning JOSEPH HAD A LITTLE OVERCOAT by Simms Taback. And yet Duncan's book is utterly distinct and fascinating, a truly original style. 

As for the narrative, the cycle of Coyote's promises, "reasonable" demands, and eventual betrayal could be right out of the pages of a medieval folk tale, or from the pages of a twenty-first century newspaper report on immigration issues.

Tonatiuh addresses both levels of the story in the back matter, offering a Spanish glossary and author's notes, referencing the dual connotations of "coyote" as both a legendary trickster and as an illegal immigration border escort, every bit as unreliable and potentially deadly as the character in this story. 

Whatever your position may be on the current attempts to modernize and revamp the immigration laws in the Senate and the House, you should read this, including all the supplementary materials. It may not change your mind, and it was not written to espouse a political position. What it just might do is to humanize the issue, despite the fact that Pancho and his family are portrayed as rabbits. 

Reflecting on the themes explored briefly in last week's post, I can't help but wonder how the deeply entrenched constituencies on this topic would each claim identical aspects of American values, as listed in the opening paragraph above. How is it that patriotism, community service, international cooperation and collaboration, recognition of human rights for people of every color and background, and dissatisfaction with projects having noble intentions but an inability to reach completion can lead to deadlock? Aren't these values the prerequisites for and foundation of reasonable debate and constructive compromise? 

Shouldn't we demand that simplistic and rigid positions be jettisoned in favor of open minds and a willingness to compromise? I'm not presuming to say that reaching compromise would be simple, but it should not go unfinished.

Is it so hard to imagine that there's more thought-provoking truth in a picture book like this one than in the endlessly rehearsed and restated positions of pundits?