I had the pleasure of listening to Jen Bryant in a recent webinar. She has a passion for children’s nonfiction and finds interesting, but less known, subjects to feature in her narrative stories. After the webinar was over, I reserved all of the nonfiction picture books that my library had available.

The collaborations between Ms. Bryant and illustrator Melissa Sweet are especially wonderful. I will cover several of their books in future posts, but I thought I would first feature A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin. I appreciate art, but I was unfamiliar with Horace Pippin before reading this book. I speculate that I am not alone in this.

Horace Pippin’s story is a wonderful example of perseverance. As a young boy, he loved to draw and paint, and showed promising artistic talent. After injuring his arm in World War I, however, Horace was no longer able to create the art he so loved. He eventually taught himself to use his left hand to support his injured right arm. As Bryant writes, “Pippin’s masterful use of color, form, and composition … is considered his greatest artistic strength.” His work was discovered by notable artists and critics during his lifetime, and today his paintings are displayed in museums across the country.

A Splash of Red would be a wonderful book to supplement studies in art, art history, and U.S. history. Although picture books are usually considered for younger children, older ones will enjoy this book as well, and it would serve as a fine starting point to introduce them to Horace Pippin.

I’ve been highlighting a lot of books with heavy material, so I thought I’d lighten up the mood with a pair of fun books.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, written by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond, soon became a classic after it was published in 1985. It is commonly referenced as an example for not one, but two literary devices: the use of second person point of view and circular plot structure. The title phrase initiates the sequence of events that follows, and this simple action leads to comical situations as we read of a demanding mouse who continues to want more.

If you enjoy the “If you … , then …” cause-and-effect style of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, then you may like When a Dragon Moves In by Jodi Moore, illustrated by Howard McWilliam. This story starts , “If you build a perfect sandcastle, a dragon will move in.” We then follow a young boy’s day on the beach with his family and, of course, his dragon. The illustrations are cleverly done, and it’s left to interpretation as to whether the dragon is imaginary or real.

These are fun reads and there are others that follow. Numeroff and Bond collaborated on many more books, such as If You Give a Moose a Muffin and If You Give a Pig a Pancake, following their initial premise. Moore and McWilliam produced a sequel titled When A Dragon Moves In Again, in which our young boy copes with the arrival of a baby brother. All titles are appropriate for all ages, though the target audience is for kids 4-8 years old.

Author Ashley Bryan used the Fairchilds Appraisement of the Estate document dated for July 5, 1828 as inspiration for his poetry collection Freedom Over Me. In this document, eleven slaves are listed for sale along with cows, hogs, and cotton. Bryan brings these eleven individuals to life with poetry. Each person has a pair of poems written from his or her perspective. The first poem describes his or her life on the plantation. The second relates personal dreams and hopes for freedom.

Bryan’s artwork is stunning. A portrait in neutral colors, along with the slave’s price and name, appears on the left with the coinciding poem describing everyday life appearing on the right. When we turn the page, we are captivated by a rich, colorful picture of the individual’s dream life, with the appropriate poem appearing on the left.

The use of poetry is profound in this book. It is a powerful way to connect us with the slaves’ humanity. Freedom Over Me would be a wonderful text to use in supplement to US History studies or in any discussion of slavery.

Owl Moon is Jane Yolen’s story that details a young girl’s owling outing with her father. While its literary merit alone would make this picture book stand out, it solidified “classic” status when artist John Schoenherr won the Caldecott Medal for its illustrations. The story is simple and sweet, yet the language is rich and beautiful. It demonstrates the fullness of a loving parent-child relationship as the father introduces his daughter to the adventure of finding owls in the woods.

Fans of Owl Moon may likewise enjoy Kate Messner’s Over and Under the Snow, illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal. In this story, a girl and her father cross-country ski through wintry woods. They track evidence of animal life, while the father explains how the animals live and survive during the cold winter months. The illustrations juxtapose the exploration of the father and daughter against the hibernation and underground scurrying of the animals.

Both Owl Moon and Over and Under the Snow would be wonderful book selections to use in teaching poetic techniques. Owl Moon is indeed a free verse poem, and though Over and Under the Snow is written in prose, it is full of lyrical phrases. In particular, these books employ onomatopoeia, alliteration, and assonance, not to mention metaphor and simile. They both are peaceful, winter-themed, high-quality choices for younger readers, and older readers will benefit from reading them as models in writing style.