Ricki – Page 45 – Unleashing Readers

Books That Feature Immigrants and Refugees: Understanding Experience through the Power of Story

July 4, 2018July 4, 2018 by Ricki

Today is July 4. It is a day to celebrate our country; however, for us, it is also a day of reflection. We have spent a great deal of time reflecting about our country, and part of that reflection involves being empathetic and listening to the stories of others. For today’s post, in light of the recent events and in support of our neighbors, we want to feature some powerful books we loved that share the stories of immigrants and refugees. We feel that sharing these stories will help readers understand those who have immigrated or are finding refuge in the United States.

Not all of the texts are connected with the United States of America, but all of the characters resonated with us and taught us a great deal. They all share stories that have become a piece of us and have added to our understanding of the immigrant or refugee experience. Please share your favorite stories about immigrants or refugees in the comments below. We’d love to hear about the books that have made a great impact on your lives.

As always, while the books are divided by the audience they are marketed toward, each of the books listed transcends reader age. Adults, for instance, will likely find all of these books to be compelling.

A Different Pond by Bao Phi

Dreamers by Yuyi Morales

Mango, Abuela, and Me by Meg Medina

Migrant: The Journey of a Mexican Worker by José Manuel Mateo

The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi

Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote by Duncan Tonatiuh

A Thirst for Home by Christine Ieronimo

Two White Rabbits by Jairo Buitrago

The Distance Between Us: Young Readers Edition by Reyna Grande

Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings by Margarita Engle

Escape from Aleppo by N.H. Senzai

Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan

Front Desk by Kelly Yang

Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai

Kiki and Jacques by Susan Ross

La Linea by Ann Jaramillo

A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park

Making Friends with Billy Wong by Augusta Scattergood

Maya Running by Anjali Banerjee

Refugee by Alan Gratz

Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez

Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan

Shooting Kabul by N. H. Senzai

Trino’s Choice by Diane Gonzales Bertrand

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

Americanized: Rebel Without a Green Card by Sara Saedi

American Street by Ibi Zoboi

The Arrival by Shaun Tan

Ask Me No Questions by Marina Budhos

The Border by Steve Schafer

Enrique’s Journey: The True Story of a Boy Determined to Reunite with His Mother by Sonia Nazario

Gabi, A Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez

Illegal by Eoin Colfer

A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abawi

The Lines We Cross by Randa Abdel-Fattah

The Milk of Birds by Sylvia Whitman

Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick

Now is the Time for Running by Michael Williams

Out of Nowhere by Maria Padian

Picture Us in the Light by Kelly Loy Gilbert

The Secret Side of Empty by Maria E. Andreu

Something in Between by Melissa de la Cruz

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall

Water in May by Ismée Williams

You Bring the Distant Near by Mitali Perkins

Americanah by Chimamanda Adichie

Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

Which books are we missing? Which books made a great impact on you?

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Atlas of Imaginary Places by Mia Cassany

June 28, 2018 by Ricki

Atlas of Imaginary Places
Author: Mia Cassany
Illustrator: Ana de Lima
Published: May 8, 2018 by Prestel Junior

Summary: This dreamy, gorgeously detailed picture book leads children on a journey to impossible but wonderfully imagined places.

Upside-down mountains, volcanoes that spew bubble gum, a gentle humpback whale keeping an entire city afloat. These and other wonderful worlds may not exist on Earth, but elsewhere–who knows? Each spread of this captivating book invites readers on a fantastic voyage. Ana de Lima’s whimsical, softly colored illustrations are filled with surprising details that reward close examination, while Mia Cassany’s soothing narrator is a nameless fellow traveler. A jungle where the animals exchange stripes, spots, and markings each time they sneeze, an archipelago made up of dessert-shaped islands, and a lighthouse so tall you can draw a new galaxy with your finger are just some of the wild places to visit. Perfect for before-bed reading, or daytime dreaming, this stunningly illustrated book will delight young readers and encourage them to conjure their own imaginary places.

My Review: Ever since I finished reading this book (the first time), I have been really looking forward to reviewing it. I cannot get over how wonderfully imaginative it is. It’s absolutely breath-taking. I’ve read it about fifteen times now, and every time, I notice something different. When my son pulls it off of the bookshelf for our nightly reading routine, I silently cheer. I love reading it and pouring through the pages with him. I include a spread below to give you a sense of the gorgeous pages within the book. In the spread featured below, a humpback whale rests just below the surface of the ocean. An entire city is afloat, and the page tells readers that when the city goes to sleep, the whale will wake. But because the city never sleeps, the whale will never wake. I sat with this page for quite some time. I love the magical notion that beneath the surface of the island rests a beautiful, unseen whale. I’ve read thousands of picture books, and this one ranks as one of my favorites. It’s remarkable.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: This book belongs in every creative writing class (at all age levels). Teachers might ask students to imagine their own imaginary place. They could write and illustrate a spread, and the spreads could be combined to form a class book. Older writers might examine the prose and the imagination that brings this book alive.

For my Teaching Writing college course, I intend to ask students to select a spread and begin to draft a story. The pages of this book make great story starters. It would also be a great book to talk about setting.

Discussion Questions:

Which page is your favorite? Why?
Compare and contrast the pages. What is similar? What is different?
How do the author and illustrator seem to work to together to make this book come alive?
What is an imaginary place that you might add to this collection? What would it look like?

Flagged Passage:

Read This If You Loved: What Do You Do with an Idea? by Kobi Yamada; What Do You Do With a Problem? by Kobi Yamada; The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires; The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds, The Noisy Paint Box by Barb Rosenstock, Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers, Journey by Aaron Becker

Recommended For:

*Thank you to Casey from Media Masters Publicity for providing this book for an honest review!*

Penguin and Tiny Shrimp Don’t Do Bedtime! by Cate Berry

June 21, 2018 by Ricki

Penguin and Tiny Shrimp Don’t Do Bedtime
Author: Cate Berry; Illustrator: Charles Santoso
Published May 8, 2018 by Balzer + Bray

Goodreads Summary: Penguin and Tiny Shrimp will charm, amuse, but never put you to sleep in this meta bedtime tale in the vein of Goodnight Already.

Penguin and Tiny Shrimp DO NOT have a bedtime story to share with you.

There are no soft beds or cozy covers here. There are fireworks! And shark-infested waters!!

This book will never make you sleepy. Not at all. Not even a little. . .

Ricki’s Review: Whenever my son pulls this book from the shelf, I get a happy feeling inside of me. There are some books that are really fun to read, and this is one of them. It’s the perfect bedtime book. It makes us laugh, and it makes us y-a-w-n. I love the silly characters and smile every time that I read it.

Most apparent to me is that the author and illustrator know kids. The middle of the book features a lot of wild activities that really resonate with my son. Then we get to the silly pages where the characters resist their tiredness… is this sounding familiar, parents and guardians? I absolutely adore this book and recommend it highly. If bedtime is an issue in your house, this book might help.

Kellee’s Review: This book is definitely a laugh-out-loud book! Penguin and Tiny Shrimp have such unique and perfect voices that kids, and parents alike, will find so entertaining. The illustrations are perfect companions to the narrative also; they are silly, colorful, and full of personality!

Also, Penguin and Tiny Shrimp are the embodiment of my son right now. He doesn’t do bedtime and would rather be doing all of the things that Penguin and Tiny Shrimp take part in: swinging in the jungle, flying in hot air balloons, riding on a boat, signing songs, and even jokes! But then in the end, Penguin and Tiny Shrimp are too tired to go on (and their yawns are actually contagious!), and I love using their story to talk to Trent about bedtime.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: This book would serve as a great mentor text for kids to write their own bedtime stories. The animals are very inspirational. Teachers might start by asking students to pick two animals that are very different (like Penguin and Tiny Shrimp) and to write their own story of the two characters’ adventures.

Discussion Questions: What do Penguin and Tiny Shrimp do to try to resist bedtime?; Which animals are your favorite? How are the animals similar and different? What does this say about bedtime?; Do you resist bedtime? Why?

We Flagged:

Read This If You Loved: Twenty Yawns by Jane Smiley; Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown; Goodnight Songs by Margaret Wise Brown

Recommended For:

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**Thank you to Keely Platte for sending us this book! We loved it.**

Review and Giveaway!: What Do They Do With All That Poo? by Jane Kurtz

June 17, 2018June 14, 2018 by Ricki

What Do They Do With All That Poo?
Author: Jane Kurtz; Illustrator: Allison Black
Published: June 19, 2018 by Beach Lane Books

Goodreads Summary: Find out what happens to all of the poo at the zoo in this funny and factual picture book!

There are so many different kinds of animals at the zoo, and they each make lots and lots (and sometimes LOTS!) of poo. So what do zoos do with all of that poo? This zany, fact-filled romp explores zoo poo, from cube-shaped wombat poo to white hyena scat, and all of the places it ends up, including in science labs and elephant-poo paper—even backyard gardens!

Ricki’s Review: It brings me great joy to review this book. Really. This book is on our nightly reading list, and my son laughs and laughs as we look at all of the different types of poo. I’ll admit that I don’t like poop jokes and don’t find poop to be very funny. But this book is really funny and wildly entertaining. My son’s preschool teacher has recycled panda poo paper, and he learned from this book that this recycling process is made possible by a panda’s diet (see the first spread featured below). He was thrilled to share this scientific tidbit during his morning meeting. This book spurs curiosity. My son asks a lot of questions wen we read it, and we do a lot of comparing and contrasting across pages. I’ll admit that we’ve had great fun selecting which poo is the most interesting to us. I loved that one of the animals (no spoilers here) has cube-shaped poo! This book is sure to be a favorite in classrooms. Get ready to learn science in an entertaining way!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Mary Cowhey’s Black Ants and Buddhists is one of the most beloved elementary school professional development texts. In the book, Cowhey describes a moment in her teaching career when a student wondered aloud about where the poo goes after he flushes the toilet. Cowhey set up an exploratory learning unit based on this question. What Do They Do with All That Poo? follows this spirit (with a focus on zoos and animals).

Teachers might ask students to go home and return to class with an inquiry question about the world. Then, they might (as a whole class, in groups, individually) explore their question(s) and design a picture book or picture books to reflect their new learning.

Discussion Questions:

What did you learn? What do they do with all that poo?
Which animal poo was the most interesting to you?
Select one animal. What is one interesting fact about the animal’s poo (beyond the shape)?
Which animals weren’t featured in the book? What is their poo like?

Flagged Passages:

Read This If You Loved: Caring for Your Lion by Tammi Sauer; Strange, Unusual, Gross, and Cool Animals by Charles Ghigna; Pink is for Blobfish by Jess Keating; Animal Planet & National Geographic nonfiction such as Real or Fake?, Ocean Animals, Awesome 8, Animal Atlas, or the Animal Bites series

Recommended For:

Giveaway!:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author: Jane Kurtz was born in Portland, Oregon (where she now lives), but when she was two years old, her parents decided to move to Ethiopia, where she spent most of her childhood. Jane speaks about being an author at schools and conferences—in all but eleven of the United States, so far, and such places as Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya, France, Germany, Romania, Russia, Oman, England, Indonesia, Cambodia, the Philippines, and Japan. She helped start Ethiopia Reads (EthiopiaReads.org), a nonprofit that is planting libraries for children and printing some of the first easy-reader books in local languages in Ethiopia. She is the author of many books for children, including Water Hole Waiting and River Friendly River Wild, winner of the SCBWI Golden Kite award for picture book text. To learn more, visit her website: janekurtz.com.

Twitter: @janekurtz

**Thank you to Barbara at Blue Slip Media for providing a copy for review!**

Nocturnals: The Slithery Shakedown by Tracey Hecht

June 7, 2018 by Ricki

Nocturnals: The Slithery Shakedown
Author and Illustrator: Tracey Hecht
Published: April 10, 2018 by Fabled Films Press

Goodreads Summary: Discover the friendship and humor of the Nocturnals Brigade! In The Slithery Shakedown, three unlikely friends—Tobin, a sweet pangolin, Bismark a loud-mouthed sugar glider and Dawn, a serious fox—stand up to a big bully snake. In the process, they find themselves some spec-tac-u-lar snakeskin capes!

Includes Bonus Animal Glossary!

About the Author: Tracey Hecht is a writer and entrepreneur who has written, directed, and produced for film. The American Booksellers Association chose her first book in The Nocturnal series, The Mysterious Abductions, as a Kids’ Indie Next List pick. Last year, in partnership with the New York Public Library, she created a Noctural Read Aloud Writing Program for middle graders that has expanded worldwide. She splits her time between Oquossoc, Maine and New York City. Check out our Q&A with her here!

Ricki’s Review: I don’t tend to gravitate to early readers because they can be awfully boring. This book breaks the mold. It’s fun and engaging, and my son loves reading it. I frequently catch him looking through the pages and staring at the pictures. He didn’t know what nocturnal animals were before he read this book, and now, any time we see an animal, he asks if it is nocturnal. The conflict in this book is wonderfully portrayed, and it teaches about the power of friendship and bravery. I recommend this book for folks seeking engaging early readers that will capture children’s attention. It’s wonderfully done.

Kellee’s Review: What a fun book to read! It not only will be great for Trent when he is a beginning reader to practice his reading, it is overall a fun story that is a fantastic read aloud. It looks at the idea of bravery and fear as well as friendship while also introducing scientific ideas like nocturnal animals and carnivore animals.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: The Summer Reading Kit is available on the publisher’s website. This book begs readers to research nocturnal animals, and it provides a lot of opportunity for classroom use.

Additionally, the author uses a ton of alliteration which makes it super fun to read out loud but also gives a chance to introduce this literary device.

Discussion Questions:

Which animal is most afraid? How does friendship influence this character’s bravery?
How does the snake react to the friends? What does this tell you?
What other nocturnal animals do you know?
What do you think the setting of the book is based on the animals?
How does the author use alliteration throughout the book?
What words did you not know in the story? Using context what do you think they mean?

Flagged Passages:

“Chapter 3

‘Did sss-someone sss-say breakfassst?’ the snake said.

Bismark spun around.

Behind hijm was a long, blue, shimmery snake.

The snake slid from the grass.

The snake raised its head.

The snake flicked its flickery tongue.

‘Bismark, look out!’ Dawn cried.” (p. 24-25)

Read This If You Loved: Night Animals by Gianna Marino, Baby Animals at Night by Kingfisher Publications, National Geographic Early Readers

Recommended For:

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**Thank you to Stacey and Nicole at Fabled Films for providing copies for review!**

Pink is for Boys by Robb Pearlman

May 31, 2018 by Ricki

Pink Is for Boys
Author: Robb Pearlman
Illustrator: Eda Kaban
Published: June 5, 2018 by Running Press

Goodreads Summary: An empowering and educational picture book that proves colors are for everyone, regardless of gender.

Pink is for boys . . . and girls . . . and everyone! This timely and beautiful picture book rethinks and reframes the stereotypical blue/pink gender binary and empowers kids-and their grown-ups-to express themselves in every color of the rainbow. Featuring a diverse group of relatable characters, Pink Is for Boys invites and encourages girls and boys to enjoy what they love to do, whether it’s racing cars and playing baseball, or loving unicorns and dressing up. Vibrant illustrations help children learn and identify the myriad colors that surround them every day, from the orange of a popsicle, to the green of a grassy field, all the way up to the wonder of a multicolored rainbow.

Parents and kids will delight in Robb Pearlman’s sweet, simple script, as well as its powerful message: life is not color-coded.

Ricki’s Review: I have two sons. I very much appreciate all of the wonderful girl-empowering books that have been published recently. I am constantly shooting up my fist and shouting “Hooray!” when these books are published. But as a mom, I appreciate even more the opportunities to tell my son, “Yes, it’s okay that your favorite color is ‘rainbow,'” “No, boys are not necessarily better at fixing things” (I’ll secretly admit that this one is actually true in our house—my husband is an engineer), or “Yes, it’s okay if your favorite Disney song is ‘Let It Go,’ even when you are the only boy in your class who thinks this.” (I should backtrack here and say that Moana is far better than Frozen.)

I have one more anecdote. The day after I read this book to my son, I went to a birthday party with my sons. My 19-month-old crashed into a boy who was about 2 and half. My kid, who is oddly resilient, popped right up, but the other boy cried. His dad said, “You need to man up. Boys don’t cry.” This kind of stuff has to end. It’s only with the publication of books like these that we will be able to defy these gender norms that drive me bonkers. Pink is for boys.

The basic (but well-conceived) drawings of this book make it shine. The point is clear—and younger readers will easily make sense of it. The characters are drawn as simple sketches and are understated. This makes the message all the more powerful.

Kellee’s Review: My son loves all the colors. Except, according to him, pink and purple. Where did this come from?! In my house, all colors are wonderful colors and girls and boys can like and do whatever they want, but he must have been told by someone ‘out there’ that pink and purple are girl colors, and Trent, wanting to be accepted, now felt he couldn’t like these colors. I try to counteract this notion in my house, but it is ‘out there’ that minds need to shift or I am fighting a battle so much bigger than I may be able to handle. When will we [general societal we] stop saying “You throw like a girl” as an insult or “Man up” as a way to tell kids to not cry?! I can teach my son to be a feminist, but until things like those stated above change, society will always be pushing against what I am teaching him at home.

Within the text, in addition to promoting the brilliance and beauty of all colors, I also truly appreciated how the characters were diverse in all aspects of the word and that the author purposefully rotated between girls and boys & boys and girls to show that neither deserves to go first.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: This book makes us itch to teach young kids. We would ask students to create their own versions (or posters) of this book. For example, they might create books called Crying is For Boys or Dirt is for Girls. As a secondary teacher, this book would be a great discussion starter about gender prejudice and assumptions in society.

Discussion Questions: How does the illustrator use simplistic drawings to better convey the meaning of the text?; How does the author convey the message implicitly and explicitly?

Flagged Passage:

Read This If You Loved: Julián Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love, Red: A Crayon’s Story by Michael Hall, The Boy In the Dress by Michael Walliams, The Sissy Duckling by Harvey Fierstein

Recommended For:

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**Thank you to Casey at Media Masters for providing copies for review!**

Blog Tour with Review!: The Moment is Your Life (And So Is This One) by Mariam Gates

May 26, 2018May 24, 2018 by Ricki

The Moment is Your Life (And So Is This One)
Author: Mariam Gates; Illustrator: Libby VanderPloeg
Published May 22, 2018 by Dial

Book Summary: Don’t just do something, be here.

The key to happiness is being able to find comfort in this moment, here and now. When you are completely present and not distracted by regrets, worries, and plans, even for a little while, you begin to feel more confident and can deal more easily with everything you experience. This is mindfulness: paying attention to this very moment, on purpose and without judgment–simply being present with curiosity.

This engaging guide, packed with simple exercises and endearing full-color artwork, provides a handy starting point for bringing mindfulness into your daily life. Chapters on meditation, yoga, and mindful breathing explain the benefits of these practices, and you are free to pick and choose what to try. There are quick exercises throughout, and a more extensive tool kit at the end of each chapter. The final chapter offers satisfying five-day challenges that map out ways to pull all of the book’s mindfulness techniques together in your day-to-day life.

With the appeal of a workbook or guided journal, and full of examples relevant to tweens and teens today, this book will be your trusted companion as you begin the valuable, stress-relieving work of being still with skill.

About the Author: Mariam Gates has a master’s degree in education from Harvard University and has been teaching children for more than twenty years. The founder of Kid Power Yoga, she now devotes herself to training children and adults in yoga and mindfulness. She is the author of the picture books Meditate with Me, Good Night Yoga, and Good Morning Yoga. She lives with her husband, Rolf Gates, and their two children in Santa Cruz, California.

About the Author: Libby VanderPloeg is an illustrator and designer living in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. She grew up in Grand Haven, Michigan, on the edge of the Great Lakes, and since then, she has lived in Grand Rapids, Chicago, New York, and Stockholm. She’s created book covers and editorial illustrations for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Design*Sponge, among others, and as well as a line of cards and prints that she sells via her Etsy shop and in stores.

Review: I wish I’d had this book as a pre-teen/early adolescent. It would have truly helped me as I struggled with a lot of emotions that made me frustrated, unsure, and overwhelmed. This is a book that has a very expansive age range. I’d give it to a reader between the ages of 8 and 14, but it can be read and appreciated by people of all ages. After I was done reading it, I gifted it to a preservice teacher student who is very passionate about infusing mindfulness in the classroom. We spent a lot of time talking about how she might infuse this book into her student teaching with targeted read alouds. I loved Gates’ picture books (see Good Morning Yoga), and this book was no different. It’s thoughtfully crafted and incredibly relevant to young people. I particularly appreciated the action steps within the text. This provided me with concrete steps for infusing mindfulness into my life.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: As a classroom teacher, I would use this book as an initiation each day. It’s always very difficult to get students into the learning mindset. They come in with baggage and also with a lot of energy (positive and negative). This book serves as a reset and allows students to be mindful of their bodies and minds. It also allows students to destress to prepare for the classroom learning.

Discussion Questions: How do the author and illustrator work together to effectively present the material?; What is the author’s purpose? How does she effectively convey this purpose?; Which sections felt most relevant to your life?; What are the key takeaways that emerged from this book? How will you employ the strategies in this book directly into your life?

Flagged Pages:

Read This If You Loved:

Recommended For:

Follow All the Stops on the Tour:

WEEK ONE

May 15 – Little Flower Yoga – Review

May 16 – Crossroad Reviews – Review

May 17 – Alissa Yoga – Review

May 18 – Whitney Davis Yoga – Review

WEEK TWO

May 21 – Prose and Khan – Review + Favorite Yoga Poses with Pictures

May 22 – Librariel Book Reviews – Favorite Yoga Poses + Review

May 23 – Foodie Bibliophile in Wanderlust – Review

May 24 – Unleashing Readers – Review

**Thank you to Friya at Penguin for sending this book for review!**