SPEAK UP! Out of the Mouths of Kids!

Clarion Books, 2020

When SPEAK UP first released last fall, I purchased it immediately. 

I loved it from the first reading  and have appreciated even more about it on each reread. What was evident from that initial reading (and in each return to it) was the timeliness AND timelessness of its language, message, and appeal.

SPEAK UP is written in flawless, flowing rhymed text by the talented and prolific Miranda Paul. The comparably talented Ebony Glenn illustrated a visual narrative of a "day in the life" classroom of diverse and enaged kids whose interactions demonstrate the direct and wise text with natural flair and convincing results. The scenes and text involve using their voices for friendship, gratitude, ally-ship, kindness, self-advocacy, rallying support for a project or cause, and more.The two-page back matter begins with an anecdote about the author's son who spoke up about a potentially dangerous situation, and her own practice of preparing her voice to speak strongly and clearly when addressing a group.

That is followed by six short paragraphs that depict real-life kids who used their voices to improve their lives and the lives of others. The page concludes with two brief lists of ideas about WHEN SHOULD YOU SPEAK UP and WAYS TO SPEAK UP WITHOUT SAYING A WORD. 

Ebony Glenn is a young and enormously talented illustrator who merits our attention for this and future works. Her characters in this book are comfortably age-and-grade non-specific but wonderfully expressive and individualized, allowing readers across many ages and grades to see themselves on the page. With bright colors, an effective mix of edges and lines, and universally simple shapes, her figures convey movement, relationships, and attitudes clearly, while allowing young audiences to imagine themselves capable of creating similar work of their own. 

Miranda Paul's work speaks for itself, and that includes past publications and upcoming  releases. She has a valuable guest post in a series called "nonfiction fest", for writers. If you are a writer, or caregiver, or teacher, or librarian, or KID, this is worthy reading, and fun reading, too..

As the title of this post says, out of the mouths of kids...

Last week our United States Senate spent time hearing and viewing the evidence that a former president had incited a mob to insurgency and undermined the free, fair, and repeatedly authenticated presidential election in November, 2020. I've always had more faith in the potential and authenticity of kids than in adults. Kids are open and eager to learn, grow, improve. 

Adults, not so much. 

Not  enough of them, anyway. 

That was evident last week, when the needed two-thirds majority of the Senate failed to find that former president was responsible and should be barred from future federal elected office or other civil roles. Some Senators who voted "not guilty" followed their vote with scathing remarks that condemned and confirmed the charges lodged, but used technicalities or fear to justify a Not Guilty vote. 

My hope for the future rests with kids. So many young people followed that process, and are growing up with books like these. The premise of this book is that SPEAKING UP is the right thing to do when it protects others, seeks justice, and defends identities. Kids "get it" that this is NOT the same as tattling, whining, or throwing a tantrum or a fist. Or beating someone with a flag staff. Or otherwise attacking our democracy with violence.

In case you missed my post on Valentine's Day, please check it out HERE. That's the day the CYBILS AWARDS for 2020 were announced, including the category for fiction picture books, on which I served as a Round One Panelist. You really need to check this winner out.

Earth Awareness: Start 'Em Young!

This is only ONE of the countless clever, powerful, and heartfelt posters displayed during the recent and ongoing protests to demand action to deal with our corruption and destruction of the one and only planet we have. 
The fact that these protests were inspired by and are being led by youth sparks hope in a nearly hopeless situation. Along with acting like responsible adults and demanding changes through our adult options, let's be sure to make one of those actions involve the very youngest "activists", getting kids to truly engage with Mama Earth.
A recent release is exactly the kind of picture book that can become a lifelong favorite and generational sharing book to help even the youngest readers/audience notice, enjoy, and appreciate the incredible offerings of Mama Earth all year long. 

Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2019

A YEAR WITH MAMA EARTH is written by Rebecca Grabill and illustrated by Rebecca Green. If you click on that title, it will take you to a page featuring the book and providing a link to a book trailer about it.
This lovely offering spans a full year starting with fall, exactly perfect for back-to-school leaf collecting and pumpkin-collecting field trips. The visual images are delightfully diverse, active, cooperative, curious, and suitably toned to each season. Those images are inspired by text that is lightly lyrical while dense with figurative language which personifies nature as Mama Earth. From rustling autumn wings to cool Earth's hot (summer) face, her sighs invite the first frost and stir  laughing winds that spin maple leaves, seeds, and children.
Season after season passes with page turns that shift color, mood, and content as subtly and inevitably as calendar pages slip away. 
This book will work perfectly as a read-through, but invites you to return often to visit a page at a time, to explore and compare the developing changes of nature as the year unfolds. It also offers mentor text for writing with sensory detail from intense observational inspirations. More than that, as both the author and illustrator notes urge in back matter, it invites young people (all of us?) to GO OUTSIDE, to notice, to enjoy, to appreciate what a remarkable planet we are privileged to inhabit.
This four-season portrayal works anywhere in the world. For those whose lives and living spaces it mirrors, use it to launch investigations into other regional cycles and climates. For those from other climates, this presents an experiential exploration of the often-assumed four seasons, but could inspire readers to develop their own text and images of Mama Earth as they experience it. 
But, as I say at every opportunity, enjoy as every picture books meant to be read- to simply enjoy it. All the rest comes later. First time through (and often in rereads) simply experience the words and images as they were meant to be enjoyed- as a celebration of our loving Mama Earth.

And happy first day of FALL!

Protests: What a Leader Looks Like

In the midst of nonstop and heartrending news about violence, racism, hate-filled social media rants, (and some so-called traditional news outlets), I find myself desperate for concrete steps I can take to regain hope for a better future. At a recent environmental and educational conference, I shared several nonfiction picture books about community activism, empowerment, and creativity in the face of desperate (and depressing) circumstances. 
My "formative years" (teens and college) encompassed an era of war protests, a budding save-the earth movement, and activism to establish women's equal rights. It's no accident that this same era generated a mainstream rebirth of folk music. Some were rooted in centuries past, some rejuvenated music and lyrics from the thirties' depression era, and some impressive original music emerged.  
The television program, Hootenanny, is only one of the many successful weekly programs that drew families together, bolstered spirits, and developed a common vocabulary of community.

Bloomsbury Books, 2017

Pete Seeger was an icon of that era, and whether or not you are familiar with him, I urge you to click and explore the remarkable impact he had on music and on social change. I'm overdue to share thoughts about an award-winning biographic picture book about him, STAND UP AND SING! Pete Seeger, Folk Music and the Path to Justice.  Written by Susanna Reich and illustrated by Adam Gustavson, with a touchingly personal  forward by Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul, and Mary).
The text deserves attention and praise for its lyrical prose, for the storytelling quality of nonfiction narration, and for the rhythm that propels it forward. All are traits that made Pete's singing such a success. The illustrations also mirror the remarkable quality of Pete's music, pairing artistic brilliance with homey simplicity. Each double spread presents a painterly scene with revealing details and natural frame, while the facing page uses seemingly rough pencil sketches to contrast settings and add informative detail to the text, especially for younger readers. 
As with any important nonfiction picture book, back matter includes helpful author notes, Pete Seeger quotes and citations, and a list of some of his recordings. The quotations noted appear throughout the text, lifting an already wonderful read aloud into the music of his soul:

"When one person taps out a beat...[or]three people discover a harmony...or a crowd joins in on a chorus as though to raise the ceiling a few feet higher, then they also know there is hope for the world."
This biography shares the beneficial opportunities for academic connections with the three biographies I featured in the last post, HERE, in high level reading applications and also in content area studies. Instead I will honor my thoughts and heart to reflect another use for this wonderful book.
My original intent was to elaborate on educational examples in this review. Recent mass shootings couple with the sad fact that as many or more were shot, injured, and killed in separate events in the same weekend in Chicago. It is inexcusable that little or nothing appears about that in the news. And perhaps the saddest statement about our current societal dysfunction is that I don't need to specify which weekend because these reports could be nearly ANY weekend in 2019. That state of affairs pushes me to make other observations, about the education of our souls.
Twentieth century American history can be explored through folk music, singers, song lyrics, protest movements (from labor to equal rights to economic rights and many more issues), and shifts in political power. Let music lead the way to wider and deeper understanding of the history that led us to today.
And about that Peter Yarrow forward. Of the many moving lines he wrote, the one I return to  now, as the news assaults me and burrows into my soul, erodes my spirit, and suggests the futility of protest or action, one line stands out:
"In these times there is so much that divides us, so much greed, narcissism, and other terrible threats to the dream of creating a caring, just, and peaceful society-- and to the survival of our planet. What Pete taught us is how to keep on keepin' on, how to keep on singing, how to not become cynical, and how to turn challenge and adversity into greater determination and love for one another. That was Pete."
And that, I choose to believe, can and should be us. Once again, this is a picture book that has a place and a ROLE in all lives, of any age. May we all stand up and sing, stand together, and change the world.
From Pete and Peter, let us take to heart their words of inspiration, comfort, and follow their  charge to action.