Anna Hibiscus' Song

Atinuke and Tobia, L. (2011). Anna Hibiscus’ song. Tulsa, OK: Kane Miller Publishing.

Summary:

Anna Hibiscus is a girl who lives in a modern African city in a compound with her large extended family. Anna Hibiscus is also the protagonist of a transitional fiction series: the stories are windows into the life of an African girl, and her small discoveries and challenges. In this picture book Anna Hibiscus is happy and wants to know what to do about it. She approaches various family members who are going about their daily activities, to ask them what to do. Each has a different answer but ultimately Anna Hibiscus finds her own way to express her joy. The colorful illustrations by Tobia complement the lively, colorful, family and their home.

Curriculum Connections:

This would be an excellent text to use with even the youngest children to introduce diversity and multiculturalism, and daily life in another culture. Older children may be asked to make text-to-self and text-to-world connections, comparing and contrasting the cultural differences that are depicted in the illustrations.

Personal Reflections:

As a fan of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency (McCall Smith) series for adults, this is a great read-alike: gentle stories of the “real” Africa. In the very “white” district in which I teach, examples of racial diversity in daily life are especially important.

Awards:

Age/Interest Range:

All

Genre/Themes:

Diversity, Multiculturalism, Africa, Families

Read-Alikes:

Same Same But Different (Kostecki) and Back to School (Ajmera) would be nice complement to this book, with similar themes of celebrating our differences while embracing what children share with each other.

If You Lived Here: Houses of the World

Laroche, Giles. If You Lived Here: Houses of the World. Illustrated by Giles Laroche Houghton Mifflin, 2011. 32 pages. $16.99. ISBN 9780547238920.

Summary:

In three-dimensional paper collage, Laroche depicts homes throughout history and various cultures. Each narrative paragraph begins “If you lived here…” and is then followed by facts: house type, materials, location, date, and fascinating facts. The narrative style will engage readers of all ages, hooking them by allowing them to imagine themselves in that particular home. Coupled with the facts that follow, this is an engaging title for a wide range of readers and listeners.

Curriculum Connections:

Houses and homes of the world are a common theme in social studies in primary grades, linking to the related themes of biomes and human adaptations to the natural world. Source notes and a map with a legend for each house are included on the copyright page. Additionally, the narrative paragraphs would make excellent writing prompts.

Personal Reflections:

The paper collages in this text are remarkable, conveying depth and three-dimensionality. Readers and listeners will enjoy selecting their favorite houses.

Awards:

Age/Interest Range:

Pre-K-10.

Genre/Themes:

Nonfiction, Houses, Social Studies

Read-Alikes:

Another book on this theme is Houses and Homes (Morris), illustrated with photographs.

Looking at Lincoln

Kalman, Maira. Looking at Lincoln. Illustrated by Maira Kalman. Nancy Paulsen Books, 2012. 32 pages. $17.99. ISBN 9780399240393.

Summary:

Kalman’s picture book biography of Abraham Lincoln is an informative and appealing exploration of Lincoln’s life. The narrator of this story is a girl who wants to learn more about Lincoln and is interspersed with factual information. The text has excellent details about Lincoln that children would really want to know about, such as his favorite apples, dog, and early life. The narrator’s voice is direct, as though she were sharing this information with a peer. Kalman’s expressive paintings show a variety of emotions and moods to complement the moments in Lincoln’s life.

Curriculum Connections:

This text would be perfect for a 1^st-3^rd grade biography unit that could include a mix of picture book biographies, as well as more traditional nonfiction biographies. It would fit well in a presidential biography unit as a way to compare the information from two or more sources on one topic. This could be as an example text to use while teaching “voice” in writing.

Personal Reflections:

I enjoyed the way the information was conveyed in this book: at times, it was clearly in the “voice” of a child (“But maybe he forgot to eat his slice. He was often too busy thinking to eat.”) and at other times the information was delivered in a factual tone, without interpretation.

Awards:

Age/Interest Range:

5-10

Genre/Themes:

Nonfiction, Biography, Picture Book

Read-Alikes:

Other picture book biographies of influential political figures are: Martin’s Big Words (Rappaport), Big George: How a Shy Boy Became President Washington (Rockwell), Wangari’s Trees of Peace (Winter).

The Little Yellow Leaf

Berger, C. (2008). The Little yellow leaf. New York: Greenwillow Books.

Summary:

This book is an exemplar of what a great picture book can be: beautiful and dynamic illustrations coupled with lyrical, descriptive text. The story features a little leaf who is not ready to let go of its tree and make a change, until finding encouragement from a friend. The text itself conveys rich vocabulary, rhythm, and repetition that will engage listeners and the content is well-balanced to include page turns and two-page spreads. “And the sun sank slow” is an interesting page: each word is pictured on a different golden circle, gradually becoming darker in color until “slow” is deep orange and partially below the horizon line.

Curriculum Connections:

This book’s illustrations, a mix of collage and other media, would make an excellent mentor text for an art class studying textures. Students may be invited to notice the ways that bits of text and various papers are used to convey textures.

Personal Reflections:

I was taken with the visual appeal of the multimedia illustrations and the design of the book (slightly taller and skinnier than most picture books). When I took time to examine the accompanying text, it was easy to see why this book is an award-winning picture book.

Awards:

Chickadee Nomination List 2009-2010 (MASL, 2012), New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book 2008 (New York Times Publications, 2012). 

Age/Interest Range:

0-8

Genre/Themes:

Autumn, Change, Seasons

Read-Alikes:

Leaf Man (Ehlert) and Leaves (Stein) are two award-winning picture books for young listeners on the theme of autumn leaves and seasonal change.