With Italy and its people in our hearts, Abby brings you Mac Barnett’s latest children’s book about a dog who yearns for freedom in the Eternal City. The book will be available March 31 in both Kindle and print format.
If you’ve never heard of Barnett, check out Barbara’s 2014 interview with him when the Caldecott winner spoke about what he called the literary bargain children happily make when choosing something to read.
Waiting for High Tide, by Nikki McClure, Abrams Books for Young Readers, $19.95, 48 pages, ages 6-9. (April 5, 2016)
Nikki McClure is to cut paper what Robert Sabuda is to pop-ups: the master of her domain. Her latest endeavor is based on a family summer outing to the Salish Sea near Olympia, Washington, when the McClure family built a raft lovingly named the Leaky Kon-Tiki, which the author explains in her endnotes.
In Waiting for High Tide, an anxious boy combs the beach for crabs, clams, and kingfishers. As he waits for the adults to finish constructing their watercraft, the boy observes various marine animals also at work, foraging for food, building nests, and waiting for the tide to change. The child’s narrative is simple and charming, revealing his intimate understanding of this special coastal area.
McClure’s cutouts are done from single sheets of black paper and contrast beautifully against large swaths of gray-blue and pops of pink. Though time and tide wait for no man, this book is a gorgeous ode to the pleasures of anticipation and the wonders of a summer spent by the sea.
The Forest Feast for Kids: Colorful Vegetarian Recipes That Are Simple to Make, by Erin Gleeson; Abrams Books for Young Readers, 111 pages, $19.95, ages 5 and up.
Do your kids balk at eating broccoli? Perhaps they adore fruits, but bemoan a lack of variety. Food blogger, photographer, and contributor to Better Homes and Gardens Erin Gleeson’s latest cookbook is geared to those most critical foodies with The Forest Feast for Kids. This kid-friendly follow-up to Gleeson’s New York Times bestselling The Forest Feast is full of uncomplicated recipes appealingly photographed to entice young eaters to try colorful foods and to roll up their sleeves and participate in meal prep.
I decide to put the book to the test–so many children’s cookbooks aren’t really designed with kids in mind, and though full of pretty pictures, seldom do the meals on the pages appear on actual dinner plates. My seven year old seized the opportunity, and immediately bookmarked ten desserts she said we had to try, but eventually settled on Watermelon Smoothies. For nutritional balance, I tabbed the Red Salad recipe, which includes tomatoes, bell peppers, apples, pomegranates, and radishes. Together, we made our grocery list, and all the items (minus the pomegranate) were easily procured at the nearby grocery store. Both recipes were prepared in less than ten minutes, and formed a lovely accompaniment to our main course of sauteed chickpeas and rice. Even my skeptical husband ate the fruity salad. Did I mention this all took place on a schoolnight? It is possible to involve kids with mealtime decisions and preparation, and can be accomplished in roughly thirty minutes. Healthy needn’t be time-consuming or dull, and Gleeson’s book is a cheerful reminder of that.
The author’s homespun watercolors of kitchen utensils and cutting techniques recall the work of cookbook author Susan Branch, and
accompany sunny photographs of salads, smoothies, and strawberry parfaits. Directions are simple to follow, and most recipes lend themselves to weeknight dinner preparations.
Encouraging children to eat properly is much easier when they’re involved in the meal-planning, and The Forest Feast for Kids is a bright and fanciful addition to the home cook’s library.
Try one of the recipes for yourself–Abrams has graciously provided the recipe for Watermelon Smoothies, posted above.
One Bear Extraordinaire, by Jayme McGowan; Abrams Books for Young Readers, $16.95, 32 pages, ages 3-7.
Debut children’s book author-illustrator Jayme McGowan has crafted a triumph of three-dimensional illustration in One Bear Extraordinaire, and her dedication is evident throughout. After rendering the characters using watercolors and colored pencils, McGowan cuts out each piece of paper and assembles the scenes inside a book-size paper theater, suspending the characters and scenery with toothpicks, twine, and even clothespins. Once satisfied with the setup, McGowan scrupulously photographs her creations using various lenses and camera settings. (Art teachers might find this book useful in teaching design concepts and paper cutting techniques.) It’s not a popup, but every page in the book is full of depth and complexity, the result of many hours spent getting every last piece just right. The tale itself is one of camaraderie and acceptance: A musical bear wakes one day and discovers that he can’t quite play the song he hears rumbling in his head. So he sets out across the forest, and along the way collects a banjo-playing fox, a raccoon with an accordion, and even a little wolf pup who can’t seem to play any instrument…yet. The story, while charming, is upstaged by the fantastic art. That said, I think McGowan will bring wonderful things to the world of children’s picture book illustration and I’m looking forward to what she does for her encore presentation.
Lots of rain on the East Coast this weekend, which made me want to share this stunning retelling of the great biblical flood. Noah’s Ark by Linda Falken (Abrams Books for Young Readers, $17.95) tells the classic story Noah and the flood, and is accompanied by stunning illustrations by Marc Chagall, Gustave Courbet and Currier & Ives. All the illustrations come from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which collaborated in the publication. Insightful commentary provides readers with further information on the art. An ideal gift for rain-soaked pals, and a reminder that the sun will come out again soon.
Full Speed Ahead! How Fast Things Go, by Crushiform; Abrams Books for Young Readers, $18.95, 64 pages, ages 4-8.
This bright and zippy book compares the speed of movement for various animals and transportation. For example, at 50km/h (30 mph,) a blue whale coasts along at the same rate as a cargo ship, while the Apollo 11 spacecraft cruises alone at 40,000km/h (25,000 mph). In each spread, the rate of speed is given in huge type on the left, and is accompanied by an equally bold image on the right, and the rate of speed increases incrementally. (The speed is given first in kilometers, then in miles per hour in slightly smaller size.) Originally published in French under the title À Toute Vitesse, Parisian-based Cruschiform studios created the bold illustrations using spot color printing technique. Similar to screen painting, spot color printing was used by artists in the 1950s to reproduce images, and here, the bold colors and retro illustrations are eye-catching and easily accessible to young readers. The glossary includes further information about the moving objects, as well as a definition of speed. It is a perfect introductory picture dictionary for little speedsters. Onward and upward.
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Non-Fiction Female Leaders! Miss Emily and Pure Grit, 5-4-2014.m4v
Migrant, by José Mateo, illustrated by Javier Martínez Pedro. illustrations © Javier Martínez Pedro.
“Migrant,” by José Mateo, illustrated by Javier Martínez Pedro; Abrams Books for Young Readers, $17.95, 22 pages, ages 10 and up.
Over 5.5 million children of illegal immigrants live in the United States, and their stories go largely undocumented. Migrant chronicles the tumultuous trek of a young Mexican boy who enters the United States with his mother and sister. The border crossing is perilous, but the family arrives safely in Los Angeles. There the story ends, leaving readers to wonder what happens next – does the family stay in the United States, or are they deported? Author José Mateo says he kept the characters in Migrant anonymous because there are so many untold, complex tales of woe and desperation that hopes this story may speak for those children drawn into situations beyond their control.
Migrant is composed as a modern day codex, bound in an accordion foldout. The text is translated in English on one side and is in the original Spanish on the reverse. Read top to bottom, the unfolding text and illustrations recall the pre-Hispanic society that flourished in Mexico.
Award-winning artist and amate papermaker Javier Martínez Pedro rendered the images using pen and in. Reminiscent of ancient Mayan hieroglyphs, the throngs of anonymous people spiral down the foldout mural, descending from a life of relative calm into a world of uncertainty. Pedro’s art is on his own handmade amate paper, a product similar to papyrus but made from tree bark. It is only produced in the artist’s village of Xalitla.
The book beautifully demands a people’s right to exist, and will no doubt incite readers to learn more about this situation taking place right on our doorstep.
I spoke with author José Mateo about his inspiration for Migrant, the significance of the codex format, and what he hopes to achieve with this book’s publication.
In the spirit of Migrant, I have included the Spanish as well as the English translation of our conversation.
All translations are my own.
¿Hubo una inspiración personal para esta historia? ¿Podría hablarnos de esa experiencia?
Was there a personal inspiration for this story?
En realidad no. Para escribir este relato me basé en diversos testimonios de niñas y niños migrantes tomados de la prensa, libros y documentales. También de historias personales que he escuchado desde hace por lo menos treinta años.
Not really, no. To write this story, I relied on testimony from migrant children taken from newspapers, books and documentaries as well as personal stories I’ve heard over the past thirty years.
¿Podría hablar un poco acerca de por qué usted utilizó el formato del Codex para el libro?
Could you talk a little about why you chose to write the book in codex form?
La idea es de Cristina Urrutia, editora con una amplísima experiencia y profundo conocimiento de la historia de México. Una vez que ella comentó la posibilidad de que el libro se armara a la manera de un códice prehispánico, mi tarea fue, más bien, pensar y organizar el relato en fragmentos narrativos que se ajustaran al número de dobleces que tendría el libro. Fue un proceso de mucho diálogo e intercambio de opiniones.
The idea is from Cristina Urrutia, an editor with extensive knowledge of Mexico’s history. She felt we should arm the book as a pre-Hispanic codex, and my task was to organize the story in narrative fragments adjusted to the number of folds in the book. It was a long process and we were in constant dialogue.
¿Sabía usted concibe este trabajo juntos? Las palabras y las imágenes son sin fisuras.
Did you and Mr. Pedro work together? The words and images are seamless.
Primero escribí la historia y fue con base en ella que Javier comenzó a ilustrar. Él y yo sólo conversamos una vez, cuando sólo le faltaba ilustrar la parte final del relato; intercambiamos entonces algunos puntos de vista sobre el aspecto de las ciudades estadounidenses.
En ese sentido, la ilustración de Migrar es única, no recuerdo ninguna otra imagen en papel amate donde se represente un viaje de migración con tanto detalle ni donde se incluyan espacios urbanos de Estados Unidos.
I wrote the story first, and Javier worked with the text to create the illustrations. We only spoke once, when he was illustrating the final part of the story. We also discussed various aspects of American cities.
The illustrations for Migrant are unique. I cannot recall any other images on amate paper where both the illegal immigration journey and U.S. urban spaces are rendered in such detail.
La lucha de la inmigración continúa. ¿Qué espera lograr con la publicación de este libro? ¿Has visto notable cambio (positivo o negativo)?
The immigration struggle continues. What do you hope to achieve with the publication of this book? Have you seen any (positive or negative) change?
Nuestra intención era colocar en primer plano la experiencia de las niñas y los niños que se ven obligados a dejar su casa y, en la medida de lo posible, señalar que nuestro país no cumple con los derechos que deberían estar garantizados para toda la población infantil. Queríamos que el libro incorporara la realidad compleja que experimentan las familias; que se notara cómo las madres, los padres, las hijas y los hijos luchan por mantenerse unidos y cómo uno de los propósitos de la migración tiene que ver con la lucha por conseguir un trabajo. Sin un trabajo digno y bien remunerado, las familias quedan en riesgo padecer hambre, enfermedades e incluso de ser víctimas de los criminales o de autoridades sin escrúpulos.
Our intention was to highlight the experience of children who are forced to leave home and note that our country does not comply with certain rights that should be guaranteed for all children. We wanted the book to incorporate the complex reality experienced by families: The struggle of mothers, fathers, daughters and sons to stay together: How one of the purposes of migration revolves around the struggle to get a job. Without decent and well-paid work, families are at risk of hunger and disease. They even become victims of criminals or unscrupulous authorities.
¿Hay algo más que le gustaría compartir con nuestros lectores sobre este libro impresionante?
Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers about this stunning book?
Sólo me gustaría añadir que el relato recupera en parte otra experiencia de lectura: la del escritor José Revueltas, para mí el mejor de los narradores y ensayistas que dio México en el siglo XX. Gazul, el nombre del perro que aparece en la historia, viene de una de las novelas de Revueltas.
José Revueltas is, for me, one of the best storytellers to come out of Mexico in the twentieth century. Gazul, the dog that appears Migrant, comes from one of Revuelta’s novels.
I spoke with author José Mateo about his inspiration for Migrant, the significance of the codex format, and what he hopes to achieve with this book’s publication.
In the spirit of Migrant, I have included the Spanish as well as the English translation of our conversation.
All translations are my own.
¿Hubo una inspiración personal para esta historia? ¿Podría hablarnos de esa experiencia?
Was there a personal inspiration for this story?
En realidad no. Para escribir este relato me basé en diversos testimonios de niñas y niños migrantes tomados de la prensa, libros y documentales. También de historias personales que he escuchado desde hace por lo menos treinta años.
Not really, no. To write this story, I relied on testimony from migrant children taken from newspapers, books and documentaries as well as personal stories I’ve heard over the past thirty years.
¿Podría hablar un poco acerca de por qué usted utilizó el formato del Codex para el libro?
Could you talk a little about why you chose to write the book in codex form?
La idea es de Cristina Urrutia, editora con una amplísima experiencia y profundo conocimiento de la historia de México. Una vez que ella comentó la posibilidad de que el libro se armara a la manera de un códice prehispánico, mi tarea fue, más bien, pensar y organizar el relato en fragmentos narrativos que se ajustaran al número de dobleces que tendría el libro. Fue un proceso de mucho diálogo e intercambio de opiniones.
The idea is from Cristina Urrutia, an editor with extensive knowledge of Mexico’s history. She felt we should arm the book as a pre-Hispanic codex, and my task was to organize the story in narrative fragments adjusted to the number of folds in the book. It was a long process and we were in constant dialogue.
¿Sabía usted concibe este trabajo juntos? Las palabras y las imágenes son sin fisuras.
Did you and Mr. Pedro work together? The words and images are seamless.
Primero escribí la historia y fue con base en ella que Javier comenzó a ilustrar. Él y yo sólo conversamos una vez, cuando sólo le faltaba ilustrar la parte final del relato; intercambiamos entonces algunos puntos de vista sobre el aspecto de las ciudades estadounidenses.
En ese sentido, la ilustración de Migrar es única, no recuerdo ninguna otra imagen en papel amate donde se represente un viaje de migración con tanto detalle ni donde se incluyan espacios urbanos de Estados Unidos.
I wrote the story first, and Javier worked with the text to create the illustrations. We only spoke once, when he was illustrating the final part of the story. We also discussed various aspects of American cities.
The illustrations for Migrant are unique. I cannot recall any other images on amate paper where both the illegal immigration journey and U.S. urban spaces are rendered in such detail.
La lucha de la inmigración continúa. ¿Qué espera lograr con la publicación de este libro? ¿Has visto notable cambio (positivo o negativo)?
The immigration struggle continues. What do you hope to achieve with the publication of this book? Have you seen any (positive or negative) change?
Nuestra intención era colocar en primer plano la experiencia de las niñas y los niños que se ven obligados a dejar su casa y, en la medida de lo posible, señalar que nuestro país no cumple con los derechos que deberían estar garantizados para toda la población infantil. Queríamos que el libro incorporara la realidad compleja que experimentan las familias; que se notara cómo las madres, los padres, las hijas y los hijos luchan por mantenerse unidos y cómo uno de los propósitos de la migración tiene que ver con la lucha por conseguir un trabajo. Sin un trabajo digno y bien remunerado, las familias quedan en riesgo padecer hambre, enfermedades e incluso de ser víctimas de los criminales o de autoridades sin escrúpulos.
Our intention was to highlight the experience of children who are forced to leave home and note that our country does not comply with certain rights that should be guaranteed for all children. We wanted the book to incorporate the complex reality experienced by families: The struggle of mothers, fathers, daughters and sons to stay together: How one of the purposes of migration revolves around the struggle to get a job. Without decent and well-paid work, families are at risk of hunger and disease. They even become victims of criminals or unscrupulous authorities.
¿Hay algo más que le gustaría compartir con nuestros lectores sobre este libro impresionante?
Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers about this stunning book?
Sólo me gustaría añadir que el relato recupera en parte otra experiencia de lectura: la del escritor José Revueltas, para mí el mejor de los narradores y ensayistas que dio México en el siglo XX. Gazul, el nombre del perro que aparece en la historia, viene de una de las novelas de Revueltas.
José Revueltas is, for me, one of the best storytellers to come out of Mexico in the twentieth century. Gazul, the dog that appears Migrant, comes from one of Revuelta’s novels.
Literary Features Syndicate 