Month: January 2019

Drawn From Nature

/ Sara Gentry

Drawn From Nature by Helen Ahpornsiri is an exquisite picture book that will delight nature lovers, young and old. Ahpornsiri expertly uses real leaves, flowers, and other plant-derived items in collages that then create illustrations of animals and landscape. The intricate work demands a second look. And a third. And a fourth. And, well, you get the idea.

The stunning artwork alone makes this book superb, but the accompanying non-fiction text is also engaging and informative. We start by looking at the natural world during the spring season, and then follow the natural trajectory through the seasons all the way through winter. A glossary at the end is helpful for defining the more scientific terms that appear in the text, such as fungus, nocturnal, and photosynthesis. Curious artists will also appreciate Ahpornsiri’s note in the back that gives a little more information on how the art was created.

I highly recommend Drawn From Nature for all ages, but I think it would be best for ages eight and older. Although a picture book, it is in no way too juvenile for teens and adults. In particular, I suspect artistic and/or nature-loving teens will love this book and spend hours poring over its content.

Teach Your Giraffe to Ski

/ Sara Gentry

Great Spotties! Is that a GIRAFFE on the ski slopes?

The premise of a giraffe learning to ski is funny, for adults and kids. In Teach Your Giraffe to Ski (written by Viviane Elbee, illustrated by Danni Gowdy), a boy is trying to teach his giraffe the proper way to ski. But Giraffe doesn’t want anything to do with the bunny hill – he’s ready for the big, scary slopes! The boy will have to muster his courage if he’s going to catch and save his giraffe.

Teach Your Giraffe to Ski is certainly a fun choice for skiers and giraffe-lovers, but the underlying theme of overcoming fear make it a good read for a broader audience as well. Enjoy this book during the winter months, snuggled with your kids, while laughing at the antics of fearless (and often clueless) Giraffe as he learns to ski.

Harbor Me

/ Sara Gentry

Start with the ’80s iconic movie The Breakfast Club. Replace the all-white teen group with a half dozen diverse pre-teens. Substitute school dilemmas for precarious real-world problems that are far bigger than the characters. Add exquisite writing. Now you’ve got Jacqueline Woodson’s Harbor Me.

At the start of a school year, a teacher takes her six students to a private room and gives them a single task: talk with each other for an hour. Every Friday. Over time, the students come to trust each other, eventually confiding in one another. Woodson does not shy away from controversial current affairs. The students share there unique perspectives on illegal immigration, racial profiling, financial status, learning disabilities, a parent in prison, treatment of ethnic minorities, and bullying.

I admire Woodson’s writing style. She has a way of getting to the heart of the matter in the most beautiful way. Many will know Woodson for her widely acclaimed novel-in-verse Brown Girl Dreaming. Although written in prose, Harbor Me uses the same rich language and poetic style.

I highly recommend Harbor Me for ages ten and up. I think younger readers (ages 8-10) would be okay to read it or listen in, but I do believe older pre-teens will be able to make a deeper connection with the content. It is a great choice for initiating meaningful conversations with young readers, helping to give new perspectives on many issues our society currently faces.

Blue

/ Sara Gentry

Stunning paintings, brilliantly placed cutouts, and the perfect thirty-two words make  Laura Vaccaro Seeger’s Blue one of my favorite pictures books of all time. Following in the style of her picture book Green, which won a Caldecott Honor, Seeger takes it one step further by adding an underlying plot of great emotional depth. I marvel at her ability to tell the life story of a boy and his dog over seventeen spreads, with minimal text. The result is profound and poignant.

I highly recommend this picture book for children and adults of all ages. Blue is a particularly good choice for anyone mourning the death of a pet. Younger children will appreciate the cleverness of the illustrations and cutouts, and at the very least, will learn to recognize various shades of blue. Older children will likely grasp the subtle plot and deeper feelings permeating through the book. I also recommend Green by the same author, though it is more about the colors and illustrations and does not have the same weight of the newer Blue.