Picture Book Month Continues: Maya's Blanket: La Manta de Maya

As this recent post indicated, November is PICTURE BOOK MONTH. Each day this month I'm sharing quick notes and links to some of the outstanding fiction picture books I've been reading for the ROUND ONE Cybils Awards. 

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For today's installment, don't miss MAYA'S BLANKET: La Manta de Maya, written by Monica Brown, illustrated by the incomparable David Diaz. 

Here's my short note on Goodreads: 

"Full disclosure: I am an unabashed fan of the traditional JOSEPH HAD A LITTLE OVERCOAT, in the Simms Taback version and several others, but tend to be critical when retellings are not well-executed.
This Latina version is well told, features a female recipient, allows the young girl to be a co-creator along the many transformations of her blanket, and is told with bilingual text.

When David Diaz lends his magical, interpretative illustrations a guaranteed winner is the result."

I've read multiple glowing reviews, but several made it a point to recommend this book for schools and libraries serving Latino/a populations. I heartily endorse that sentiment, as far as it goes. My objection to that recommendation is that this book should find its way into the hands of ALL readers, regardless of cultural background, on its merits alone. It not only offers a mirror to those who speak and live with a Hispanic identity but also a window for those unfamiliar with the language or culture. 

Back soon with more suggestions!

A Legacy of Literature: Author Ann McGovern

The world of children's literature lost a legacy recently when author Ann McGovern died at age eighty-five. 
As the New York Times obituary stated, 

"Her books carried artwork by some of the foremost picture-book illustrators of the era, among them “Too Much Noise” (1967), illustrated by Simms Taback; “Zoo, Where Are You?” (1964), illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats; “Nicholas Bentley Stoningpot III” (1982), illustrated by Tomie dePaola; and “Little Wolf” (1965), with pictures by Nola Langner, a friend since grade school who illustrated a half-dozen of Ms. McGovern’s books."

 Many of her books are out of print, but well worth tracking down. One in particular that I always shared with students, regardless of their grade level, is THE LADY IN THE BOX, written by McGovern and illustrated by Marni Backer. It's a sensitively told story in which urban siblings are torn between their street-savvy awareness of "stranger danger" and their instinct to offer support and human contact to a homeless woman in their neighborhood. It unfolds convincingly and opens hearts and minds to homeless people as actual individuals in our communities.

In addition to this and other classics, I remember her for the popularity of her titles in the Scholastic ...If You Lived... series. 
I began this blog several years ago when trends in digital media and school testing-pressures led some to question if picture books were becoming relics of the past. Since then that question has been refuted by many voices beyond my own. Picture book publication has trends of its own, including reduced word counts and a renewed emphasis on nonfiction content.

 On both counts McGovern's titles remain timeless. Some of her out-of-print titles in my classroom were taped, rebound, and held together with love and luck. Like magpies, kids are attracted to glossy crisp covers, but fascinating information told in an appealing voice overrides a crumbling cover to win kids' attention and loyalty.
The same is true for her fiction titles noted in the NYT quotation.
Nothing says "read me" like stories revealed through the perfect pairing of language and illustration.

An example of that magical combination is  TOO MUCH NOISE, illustrated by the incomparable Simms Taback. This, too, is a story that spans ages from the earliest lap-sitting listeners to the oldest readers in the room. The story, the flow of language, the comic and colorful images, and the story itself offer  timeless delights.
The awareness that her work will find its way into the hearts and minds of generations to come should comfort the family and friends who enjoyed the privilege of having her in their lives. Check out her books today.

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?