Caldecott Award and Caldecott Honor Books

1. The Hello, Goodbye Window illustrated by Chris Raschka and written by Norton Juster
image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:GOODBYEWINDOW-1-.jpg

The artwork in The Hello, Goodbye Window is stunning. Showcasing a vibrant, inquisitive, magical world, it captures the excitement most children have about going to Grandma's house and doing as they please (within certain parameters). Reading this book took me back to visiting my grandparents' house and to the joy I experienced there.

For one week every summer, I did what I wanted to do, ate what I wanted to eat, slept where and when I wanted to sleep (What child doesn't love a feather bed on the floor?), and wore what I wanted to wear (prom dresses from the 60's). The monotony of day-to-day to life at home subsided when I explored their fields, waded the creek, played in the barn, and more. I thoroughly enjoyed reminiscing with my four-year-old daughter about my visits to her great-grandparents' house. She now wants to see Mamaw and Pop-pa's house as I did, and I am more than happy to oblige.

As a writing teacher, I see real potential in using this book with my seventh grade students to demonstrate memoir writing about a special object. However, at a few points in the book, the author strays from the importance of the Hello, Goodbye Window in the narrator's life and discusses life with Nanna and Poppy in general (i.e. Poppy playing Oh, Susannah on his harmonica, Poppy fixing breakfast, Poppy chasing the narrator with the water hose, etc.). This lapse in writing cautioned me as a writing teacher, but as a parent, I will gladly share this book and my memories with my little girl!

2. Joseph Has a Little Overcoat written and illustrated by Simms Taback

image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Cm_joseph_overcoat.jpg

I love this book! The illustrations are simplistic, but the color combinations and the die-cuts make them jump off the page. As a result, the story is captivating for children and adults. My daughter loved the repetition of each article of clothing becoming "old and worn." She also loved guessing what the next article Joseph would make. I loved studying the illustrations for the "pictures" of Joseph's friends and family, the Yiddish phrases embroidered throughout Joseph's home in Poland, and the headlines of the Morning Freiheit ("Fiddler On Roof Falls Off Roof"). I spent more time studying the artwork than I did the plot!

The illustrations really connect the audience to the Jewish culture. My daughter noticed items unfamiliar to her (a menorah and Hebrew text); I noticed names and places unfamiliar to me (Sholom Aleichem and Chelm). Having very little knowledge on Jewish faith and culture, I turned to the Internet to find that Joseph Had a Little Overcoat was full of cultural references unknown to me. Sholom Aleichem was known as the "Yiddish Mark Twain"; Chelm, a real town in Poland, was written about in Jewish folklore and passed from generation to generation. Armed with this new knowledge, I can now expose my daughter to the diversity of the Jewish culture.

Although I have read nothing else by Taback, I look forward to reading There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, a Caldecott Honor Book and the New York Times Best Illustrated Book for 1997.

3. The Three Pigs written and illustrated by David Wiesner

image from http://www.vickiblackwell.com/lit/threepigs.html

I initially read this book because I like to use familiar children's stories in my seventh grade language arts class to demonstrate how changing a literary element like setting or point of view alters plot. In the past, I have used The Three Little Javelinas (The Three Little Pigs in the Southwest) and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs (The Three Little Pigs from the wolf's point of view) with great success. As a teacher looking to add to my Three Little Pig resources, this beautifully illustrated book did not do "it" for me. I have yet to figure out how to use it in my classroom.

However, as a mother I enjoyed sharing this picture book with my daughter. Never before had a book physically come alive for her. When the wolf blew the first pig out of the story, her eyes lit up. When all three pigs "left" the story to explore, she asked a million questions. When they flew on a paper airplane constructed from the pages of The Three Little Pigs, she belly-laughed.

Perhaps my English major background has limited my view of what a "good" book is. However, reading The Three Pigs with my daughter brought to mind my early readings of pictures books that enthralled me with their art instead of the words. As I reminisce about my favorite picture book and the fun I had trying to mimic the artwork in it, I add to my to-do list, "Buy The Snowy Day." After all, winter is around the corner, and I cannot wait to share it with her.

image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:SnowyDayKeats.jpg

4. When Sophie Gets Angry- Really, Really Angry... written and illustrated by Molly Bang

My little girl and I both loved this book. The wonderful artwork really conveyed Sophie's feelings, the behaviors that resulted from them, and how those behaviors affected others. The illustrations made it easy to discuss with her more appropriate ways to handle anger.

When Sophie got angry, my daughter and I mimicked her expression. When she kicked and screamed, we kicked and screamed. When she roared, we roared. The entire time my four-year-old, who has been known to kick and scream in anger, laughed and exclaimed, "Why is she doing this when she is angry? This is fun!"

Eventually Sophie calms down when she takes a walk outside. To enhancing the calm mood, Bang uses beautiful, serene blues and green-- a stark contrast to the vibrant reds and oranges used during Sophie's angry stage. At the end, "Everything's back together again." Once again, Bang does a wonderful job of tying the illustrations to the plot, for the audience sees Sophie and her family gathered around the dining room table finishing a puzzle and enjoying each other now that their missing piece (Sophie) has returned.

When I registered for this class, I did not look forward to it at all. How would I ever be able to analyze a children's book? Well, this book, although written in simple prose, lends itself to analysis because of the way the illustrations improve the plot and theme of it.
Image retrieved October 9, 2007, from, http://www.scholastic.ca/titles/whensophiegetsangry/images/spread.jpg

5. The Man Who Walked Between the Towers written and illustrated by Mordicai Gerstein

Image retrieved October 9, 2007, from http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0761317910.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg.

This book tells the true story of Philippe Petit, a young Frenchman who walked a tightrope stretched between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in 1974. As I was only 3 in 1974, I had never heard this story before. Gerstein told it in such a captivating way that I researched it a little deeper to learn more about it. Anytime a book has it readers wanting to learn more, the book has to be well-written. Still enthralled with the story of Petit, I asked my mother if she remembered this day. She reminisced about it, the building of the Towers, and other stories she recalled about them. Anytime a book opens up dialogue between the generations, it has to be appreciated.

In addition to the captivating storytelling, Gerstein's artwork is mindblowing. Pull-out pages really give readers the birdseye perspective Petit experienced as he walked the tightrope. Additionally, these pages show the audience the sense of awe that bystanders had as the witnessed this daring feat. Since my mom is also an artist, I enthusiastically showed the artwork in the book to her. She studied the pictures as much with her hands as she did with her eyes. story more captivating. My mom, my daughter and I enjoyed the artwork and the way it complemented the story as much as the story itself.

Since the book was written in 2003, Gerstein acknowledges to his audience that the Towers no longer exist. However, this acknowledgement does not focus on the devestating day they came down. Instead, he chooses to acknowledge that some of the memory of the Towers are indeed "joyful," particularly the morning "...Petit walked betwenn them in the air."

As I shared this book with my daughter, she asked what happened to the Towers. I realized that I wasn't quite ready to explain to this inquisitive preschooler the details of why they were gone. I quickly told her that they had been damaged. For now this seems to work, but I intend to revisit this book with her when she is old enough to understand the tragic events of 9/11.