Quoting from the book:
I sprawl in the shade of the chestnut tree.
Scooter pants with his tongue hanging out.
Mother comes down the path to settle on the dock.
“ I hope this heat breaks soon,” she says.
“We need a thunder boomer.”

Once wished for, in come the clouds. The pace of the story moves quickly into high gear---a wind comes up, children run home, mother takes the flapping laundry down from the clothesline, dad comes in from the field, and chickens are rounded up and shooed safely into the coop. Even Scooter, the family dog, plays a part in the action helping to rescue a pet chicken from the downpour.

Carol Thompson’s illustrations, colorfully done in crayon, watercolor and collage, are punctuated with Crum’s celebration of the sounds of the event. Onomatopoeia rains down throughout the story from the “putt, putt, putt” of the tractor to the “splash” and “sploosh” of the puddles, the “bawks” and  “squawks” of the chickens and the “whack” of the shutting windows to the “Booms”, “ Cracks “ and “Rumbles” of the storm. This is an ideal story for reading aloud.

 There is a balanced sense of fun and responsibility in both the text and the pictures as the family works together to out run the storm. After the clouds roll away the family is left with, as Crum poetically puts it, “ a world that’s wet and drippy green”. The author also tucks a cuddly surprise in between the final pages of the story.

THUNDER BOOMER, written by Shutta Crum and illustrated by Carol Thompson, is ideal for children 4-8 years of age (Clarion, 2009).

This is Sue Ann Martin for THE CHILDREN’S BOOKSHELF

Discussion Questions for Thunder Boomer

 Almost immediately, Ikarus suffers the stares and giggles of his peers. His wings not only make him different but also take up a lot of room. When his wings block the vision to the blackboard for other students, the teacher tells Ikarus to leave class until he can figure out what to do with his useless wings. Quoting from the book, “He left the room quietly, dragging his feathers behind him.  One boy snickered.”

 Ikarus is shown floating above the schoolyard and gliding down onto the basketball court amid pointing fingers, shouts and taunts from others. Everyone seems to be against him. His wings start to droop and fail. He lands on the top of a building where he sits all alone with hurt wings. It is not the sun that brings Ikarus down in this story. But then, he hears one lone voice of encouragement. “Your flying is beautiful”, says the shy girl who is actually the narrator of this story.  As a smile comes across his face he lifts his drooping wings and soars. This is a moment of triumph for Ikarus who finds the power of his wings and for the shy girl who finds the power of her voice.

The patterns of collage engage the viewer throughout the story. Colorful cutouts speak loudly against the vibrant pages. Interesting details are hidden in the illustrations. The end papers unify the theme with blue and white feathery designs.  Myers uses color to state a number of things visually such as the fact that people do not necessarily look alike.  The shy girl who has herself endured the loneliness of being different is shown in yellow silhouette. Five taunting faces are colored green.

The text is a strong statement about the nature of both  individual talent and the kind of courage it takes to fulfill that talent.  Author-illustrator Christopher Myers states on the inside page of the back cover that his purpose in writing this book was to tell kids to be proud of who they are.  “ Every child”, says Myers,  “ has his own beauty, her own talents. Ikarus Johnson can fly through the air: I want kids to find their own set of wings and soar with him.”

WINGS, written and illustrated brilliantly by Christopher Myers, is an ideal book for children ages 6-10 (Scholastic Press, 2000).

This is Sue Ann Martin for THE CHILDREN’S BOOKSHELF

Discussion Questions for Wings

As one would expect from any Amelia Bedelia tale, Valentine’s Day cards are fraught with puzzling issues if one relates to the world in only literal ways as does Amelia.  When she sees a picture of a “broken” heart, Amelia’s answer is to put a band aid on it.  When another card says “sealed with a kiss”, it must have a picture of a seal on it—which she immediately adds.  And, when yet another refers to someone being a “cutie pie”…well one can just imagine what Amelia sees.  Amelia becomes thoroughly confused when her father tries to explain about love and “Cupid,”  since she knows that baby’s don’t have wings OR bows and arrows.  All of these issues continue to challenge Amelia during her school party; but as one also knows, Amelia Bedelia is able to make sense of the most confusing events in her own way.  Her loving nature and good heart  emerge in this younger version of Amelia Bedelia and readers will enjoy the innocence that is Amelia Bedelia.

The story of Amelia Bedelia’s First Valentine’s Day celebration at school is full of the humor and silliness one would expect to find in any book about Amelia Bedelia and Lynne Avril’s illustrations of pencil and gouache extend the humor with color and clarity—which is always a fun twist for Amelia Bedelia tales.
Amelia Bedelia’s First Valentine, written by Herman Parish and illustrated by Lynne Avril, is a playful introduction to the delightful character of Amelia Bedelia who has been a favorite of young readers for nearly half a century.  This creation is appropriate for ages 4 to 8.

Parish, Herman.  Amelia Bedelia’s First Valentine.  Illustrated by Lynne Avril.  New York: Greenwillow Books, 2009.

Discussion Questions for Amelia Bedelia's First Valentine

THE LITTLE PRINCE Deluxe Pop Up Book written and illustrated by Antoine De Saint-Exupéry and translated from the French by Richard Howard is one of the most fascinating pop-up books on the market today. The charming and thoughtful story of the Little Prince and his visits to seven planets is ideally suited to the pop up format.  The Little Prince in three dimension with his golden hair curled about his face, his shiny black boots firmly planted and his cut away green and red coat caught open at the waist by his sword is a fuller and richer visual experience than he has ever been before.

Published in 1943, the classic story recounts the narrator-aviator’s meeting with the Little Prince when the pilot’s plane crashes in the Sahara Desert. The Little Prince is a gently- sad little fellow who leaves his small planet, Asteroid B 612, in search of people when his little flower begins to make him very unhappy.

He asks a great many questions of the characters he meets including a foolish businessman who thinks he owns all of the stars as long as he continually counts them and writes the mathematical total on a slip of paper and locks it in a box, a vain man who translates everything that he hears as praise of himself, a king whose absolute power is based on only giving commands that coincide with what people are already doing and a lamplighter who is eternally strapped to outdated work orders and a misshapen sense of duty.

 All along the narrator and the Little Prince seem to hold the same opinion about adults: namely, “that grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is exhausting for children to have to provide explanations over and over again.”  The Prince’s simple ideas about human nature are attractive, charming and universally true. His opinions about friendship, loneliness, power, love and what he calls “ serious work” are as captivating as they are idealistic. There is a lot to think about in this classic including the wisdom of the fox ------“ you become responsible forever for what you’ve tamed”.

THE LITTLE PRINCE has been translated into over 100 languages and transformed into various media creations including recordings, symphonies, musicals and television shows.

THE LITTLE PRINCE Deluxe Pop-Up Book written and illustrated by Antoine De Saint-Exupéry and translated by Richard Howard is ideal for older children 10 years of age and up (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009).

This is Sue Ann Martin for THE CHILDREN’S BOOKSHELF

Discussion Questions for The Little Prince

January’s Sparrow, written and illustrated by Patricia Polacco is an engaging and heart-wrenching story about a family’s escape from slavery through the Underground Railroad.

Readers are introduced the Crosswhite family as they witness the horrific beating of January Drumm—a young slave who had tried to escape from the plantation where they were held.  The other slaves owned by Master Francis Giltner are forced to stand and watch the beating as a deterrent to anyone who might consider running away.  The beating is so severe that readers will cringe at the description—just as the Crosswhite children did as they watched their friend brutally beaten.  When their father arrives back at their home later that night, it is clear to all that he has been digging a grave.  Sadie Crosswhite is devastated and sobs as she holds a wooden sparrow that had been carved for her by January and remembers his words when he placed it in her hands, “It’s fixen’ to fly. And so is I.”  She had known he was going to run and her heart ached that she had done nothing to stop him.

Later that night, Sadie and her siblings are awakened by their mother and told to get dressed and to take only what they can carry.  Their parents had learned that the boys were to be sold off the next day and they made the decision to run away to the north with the help of a man who would take them across the Ohio River to begin their long journey to the north.  They slept hidden away during the days and traveled on foot every night until they reach another stop where someone would hide them away from the slave owner’s men who continued to chase them. 

Finally, after weeks of traveling, they reach the town of Marshall, Michigan.  And, while they are still at risk, they decide to remain in Marshall where their father gets work and the children are able to go to school.  The people of Marshall become their friends and some four years later, those friendships become their salvation when Master Giltner and his men show up in Marshall prepared to take the family back to Kentucky.

 In a wonderful twist of fate and good fortune, the men are jailed long enough to give the Crosswhite family time to leave Marshall and travel to Canada where they are truly safe from the slave owner and his men. 

In the epilogue, readers learn that following the end of the Civil War, the Crosswhite family returned to the Marshall and Battle Creek areas to live out their lives.

This is an incredible story based on the lives of Crosswhite family and Patricia Polacco provides her readers with both the horror and the ultimate joy that speaks of the human experiences of that time period.  She draws on the research provided by Mary McCafferty Douglas, a middle school teacher in Marshall Michigan.  Polacco’s illustrations of pencils and markers create a visual rendering that will remain with the reader long after the book is closed.

Upper elementary and middle school readers in Michigan will appreciate the historical aspects of this story set within their state and no doubt, will be interested in discovering more about Marshall and its role in the underground railroad.

January’s Sparrow, written and illustrated by Patricia Polacco is appropriate for readers ages ten and up.

This is Pamela Gates for the Children’s Bookshelf

Polacco, Patricia.  January’s Sparrow. New York: Philomel Books, 2009.

Discussion Questions for January's Sparrow

Each of the classic tales is told in a direct, simple and almost child-like manner. All of the main characters from the Billy Goats Gruff to the  Little Pigs to Goldilocks to Little Red Riding Hood to the Little Red Hen to Henny Penny can handle the comical ‘”bad guys” no matter how much huffing and puffing they do.

YUMMY is designed very playfully around the theme of eating. The ”great ugly troll” threatens to gobble up the billy goats when they attempt to cross the bridge to eat the grass on the other side, the wolf threatens to climb down the chimney and eat the little pigs, Foxy Woxy gobbles up Turkey Lurkey, Goldilocks eats all of little bear’s porridge and the four robbers enjoy a huge dinner until the Breman Town musicians scare them all away. We even see Little Red Riding Hood enjoying a lemon sucker when she shows up at the bears’ house. The author- illustrator has also included the delightful tale of “The Enormous Turnip” not usually included in such collections.

YUMMY: EIGHT FAVORITE FAIRY TALES, written and illustrated by  Lucy Cousins, is on the New York Times List of 20 Best Illustrated Books for Children in 2009. It is an ideal book for 3-6 year olds and their families. (Candlewick Press, 2009 ).

This is Sue Ann Martin for THE CHILDREN’S BOOKSHELF

Discussion Questions for Yummy

Lousy Rotten, Stinkin’ Grapes written by Margie Palatini and illustrated by Barry Moser is an amusing re-telling of the Aesop’s fable, “The Fox and the Grapes.” 

Readers are introduced to Fox right away as he eyes the “tantalizing grapes” that hang from a vine that grows high above him on a tree.  He immediately begins to plan and scheme as to how he will get the grapes since he considers himself a “sly, clever, and smart” fox.  His first attempts at jumping and leaping fail and Fox then seeks a “boost” from a bear who is mocked by fox when he suggests that he simply shake the tree to get the grapes instead. 

When Fox still can’t reach the grapes while standing on bear’s head, he seeks the help of beaver to stand on bear’s head so fox can stand on beaver’s tail to get an added “oomph.”  When beaver suggests that he just chew down the tree, fox again ignores his suggestion. Needless to say, it still doesn’t work and fox picks himself up off the ground once more, thinking that he just needs an inch or two—a  bit of a “scooch!”  Fox next decides to ask the help of porcupine and then of possum before he finally gives up stating that it is just not possible to reach the grapes.  When bear, beaver, porcupine, and possum state once again that they could get the grapes by shaking, chewing, shooting a quill, or simply climbing the tree, his anger gets the better of him and Fox storms off in a huff.

Readers of all ages will appreciate this delightful re-telling of the fable and also will enjoy the watercolor illustrations of Barry Moser particularly the final picture which shows everyone but Fox enjoying the delicious feast of grapes.  Lousy Rotten, Stinkin’ Grapes, written by Margie Palatini and illustrated by Barry Moser is appropriate for readers ages 4 to 8.

This is Pamela Gates for the Children’s Bookshelf

Palatini, Margie. Lousy Rotten, Stinkin’ Grapes. Illustrated by Barry Moser.  New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2009.

Discussion Questions for Lousy Rotten, Stinkin' Grapes