Rosa - Winner of the 2006 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award

Rosa is written by Nikki Giovanni and illustrated by Bryan Collier. This book was the winner of the 2006 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award and a 2006 Caldecott Honor Book . The Coretta Scott King Award is given annually to authors and illustrators who, through their work, promote cultural understanding and appreciation of all people and of their contribution to the realization of the American dream.

The book tells the true story about the brave and historic stand that Rosa Parks took on December 1, 1955, as well as how her efforts paved the way for desegregation of buses in the United States. The story is beautifully complemented by the illustrations, which are a mixture of watercolor and collage. Collier seems to intentionally keep the faces of the characters in the story realistic looking, with Rosa Parks looking near to identical in likeness. At the same time, a large part of the rest of the illustrations are made up of collages, which just adds to their interest and keeps the readers eyes engaged as completely as the words do.

References:

Giovanni, N. (2005). Rosa. New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC.

Common Sense Media. (2008). Rosa. Retrieved on February 25, 2008, from http://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/Rosa.html.

The Hello, Goodbye Window - Winner of the 2006 Caldecott Medal

The Hello, Goodbye Window is written by Norton Juster and illustrated by Chris Raschka. This book includes a sweet little story about a grandchild's interpretation of one of the windows on her grandparent's house. She views it as the hello, goodbye window because that is where her grandparents wave hello and goodbye each time she visits. But that's not all. The window has other purposes too, including reflecting images at night and the place to say good morning to the garden. All in all, this is an endearing story about a child's love and affection for her Nanny and Poppy and all of the special times she has when visiting their home.

The colorful illustrations resemble a child's scribbles, which I think only add to the appeal of this book. Aside from the drawn-on facial expressions of the characters in this book and a few other outlined details on the house, the rest of the illustrations look like they were made by wet watercolor paints that are all running together. I found them kid-like and very appropriate for the story.

References:

Juster, N. (2005). The Hello, Goodbye Window. New York: Hyperion Books for Children.

Common Sense Media. (2008). The Hello, Goodbye Window. Retrieved on February 25, 2008, from http://commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/Hello-Goodbye-Window.html.

The Man Who Walked Between The Towers - Winner of the 2004 Caldecott Medal

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers is a picture book written and illustrated by Mordicai Gerstein. It is a biographical tale of the mischievious Philippe Petit, a tightrope walker who walked and performed on a wire that was strung between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City on August 7, 1974.

This story tells about how Petit came up with the idea to walk between the towers; how Petit and some friends worked through the night to tie the cable to the tops of both towers; how he waited until the sun came up to begin his adventure in the sky; and eventually, how he was caught and sentenced to perform in the park for the children of the city. Without a doubt, this story has very special meaning to those who remember the skyline of New York City before 9-11. Gerstein's illustrations provide the reader with beautiful images, which are a wonderful way to remember the twin towers as part of our country's history.

References:

Gerstein, M. (2003). The Man Who Walked Between the Towers. New Milford, CN: Roaring Book Press.

American Library Association. (n.d.). 2004 Medal Winner. Retrieved on February 18, 2008, from http://web1.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarship/literaryawds/caldecottmedal/caldecotthonors/2004caldecottmedalhonors.cfm.

The Tale of Desperaux - Winner of the 2004 Newbery Medal

The Tale of Desperaux is written by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by Timothy Basil Ering. I happened upon this fairytale-like story when my third-grade son brought it home from school for his group reading project. I instantly identified its ability to fill two purposes in my life, it met the requirements of this class assignment and gave me the perfect reason to spend some quality reading time with my son.

I absolutely loved this story! There are so many interesting characters, including Desperaux, a mouse who from birth is not mouse-like at all; Roscuro, a rat who is responsible for the death of the queen and the outlawing of soup and spoons in the kingdom; Miggery Sow, who is a simple-minded girl who wants to be a princess and believes that Roscuro can make her one; and the Princess Pea, the sweet, good-hearted young royal. This story has a hero, a villain, action/adventure, and, of course, like any good fairytale, the story ends happily!

DiCamillo used such an interesting approach to telling this story. This story is told through the voice of a narrator, and throughout the book, the narrator directly addresses the reader with questions and thought-provoking comments. The soft, black-and-white illustrations also add to the appeal of this book. I loved the fact that Icould see what the main characters looked like.

References:

DiCamillo, K. (2003). The Tale of Desperaux. New York: Scholastic.

Kate DiCamillo. (2008). The Tale of Deperaux. Retrieved on February 14, 2008, from http://www.katedicamillo.com/books/tale.html

Kitten's First Full Moon - Winner of the 2005 Caldecott Medal

Kitten's First Full Moon is written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes. Being a cat lover and owner of many kittens throughout my life, helped me to really enjoy this story. Kittens do silly things, and the kitten in this story is no exception.

The main character of this story is a kitten who has mistakenly identified her first full moon as a bowl of milk -- and, of course, she desperately wants a little lick. The illustrations in this book are done in black-and-white, perhaps in an effort to give a "night-time" feel to this story. Kitten's expressions in this book are absolutely delightful. My kindergarten daughter giggled at each of kitten's failed attempts to get to the little bowl of milk in the sky and loved repeating the words, "Poor Kitten!" throughout the story. She and I were both tickled to see how the story ended for "Lucky Kitten!" This has definitely become one of my favorite picture books to read aloud.

References:

Henkes, K. (2004). Kitten's First Full Moon. New York: Scholastic Inc.

Barnes & Noble. (2008). Kitten's First Full Moon. Retrieved February 9, 2008, from http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?WRD=kitten%27s+first+full+moon&z=y

The Invention of Hugo Cabret - Winner of the 2008 Caldecott Medal

The Invention of Hugo Cabret, written and illustrated by Brian Selznick, is the winner of the 2008 Caldecott Medal. In this story, Hugo Cabret is an orphaned boy, who lives in the Paris train station where his uncle was the official Timekeeper until disappearing months earlier. Alone and afraid of being discovered by the Station Inspector, Hugo keeps the train station's clocks running in perfect harmony. In his free time, he steals mechanical parts from the station's toy booth so that he can repair a mysterious mechanical man, called an automaton. Hugo is sure that the automaton, once fixed, will relay a hidden message to him from his late father.

When I first picked up this book to read, I was thoroughly surprised! I guess I have always considered Caldecott books to be picture books with simple texts, like the ones housed in the "Everyone" section of my library. In contrast, this book is a 5oo+ page chapter book, filled with black-and-white illustrations and upper-elementary text. The illustrations in this book are truly unique looking. They are roughly sketched out and made to look like a movie storyboard, so that as the reader is flipping pages it resembles viewing an old-fashioned still movie where the action is portrayed in a series of well thought-out photos. Interestingly enough, the illustrations in this book play an important part in the telling of the story. In fact, the reader really must pay attention to the illustrations, or else some of the meaning will be completely missed.

References:

Selznick, B. (2007). The Invention of Hugo Cabret. New York: Scholastic, Inc.

Barnes & Noble. (2008). The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Retrieved on February 9, 2008, from http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780439813785&itm=1

Flotsam - Winner of the 2007 Caldecott Medal

Flotsam by David Wiesner was the 2007 Caldecott Winner. The story in this wordless picture book is cleverly told through vibrant, water-color pictures.

In this story, an inquisitive young boy arrives at the beach for a day of discovery-making. While closely examing some of the living creatures that are on the shore, the ocean waves knock him down and bring with them an old-fashioned camera. Running to a local one-hour photo shop, the boy is able to develop the film from the camera. The processed photos reveal mysteries from below the surface of the water, including mechanical fish swimming alongside real fish and tiny aliens living among seahorses. Also included in the treasury of photos are pictures of children all over the world, who have found the camera in the past. In the end, the boy decides to take his own photo with the camera and then return it back to the sea for the wonderment of future "finders."

I was so impressed with the story in this book, I gave it to my third-grade son and kindergarten daughter to read. They both loved the book! Of course, the level of comprehension was quite different between the two of them. My daughter delighted in the amusement of some of the photos and wondered aloud if they were real. My son delved into the deeper meaning behind the story and immediately saw the cycle, or pattern, within it. In fact, I practically had to pry it out of his hands at bedtime because he was so interested in examining the illustrations more closely.

References:

Weisner, D. (2006). Flotsam. New York: Clarion Books.

Booksamillion. com. (2007). Retrieved on February 9, 2008, from http://www.booksamillion.com/ncom/books?pid=0618194576.

The Newberry and Caldecott Awards

The Newbery and Caldecott Awards are quite arguably the most well-known awards for children's literature. Both awards are given annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, or ALSC.

The Newbery Award was the first children's book award in the world, first given in 1922. The award is presented to the author of the most outstanding American children's book published in the previous year. Each year, Newbery Honor Books, or "runners-up" for the award, are also recognized.

The Caldecott Award, first given in 1938, recognizes the illustrator of the most distinguished American picture book published for children in the previous year. The award must be given to a citizen or resident of the United States, whether or not he/she is the actual author of the book being recognized. Originally, a book could not be considered for both the Newbery and the Caldecott Award, however in 1977 that changed. Any book published in the previous year is eligible for both awards. Similarly to the Newbery Award, each year Caldecott Honor books are also recognized.

The differences between these two awards makes it impossible to judge one as superior the other.

References:

Association for Library Service to Children. (n.d.). Retrieved on February 2, 2008 from http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/literaryawds/caldecottmedal/aboutcaldecott/aboutcaldecott.htm.

Association for Library Service to Children. (n.d.). Retrieved on February 2, 2008 from http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/literaryawds/newberymedal/aboutnewbery/aboutnewbery.htm.