Picture Book – Page 43 – Unleashing Readers

Where’s Halmoni? by Julie Kim

June 1, 2018June 1, 2018 by Kellee

Where’s Halmoni?
Author: Julie Kim
Published October 3rd, 2017 by Little Bigfoot

Summary: Where’s Halmoni? is a picture book in a graphic novel style, which follows the story of a young Korean girl and boy whose search for their missing grandmother leads them into a world inspired by Korean folklore, filled with mischievous goblins (dokkebi), a greedy tiger, a clever rabbit, and a wily fox.
Two young children pay a visit to Halmoni (grandmother in Korean), only to discover she’s not home. As they search for her, noticing animal tracks covering the floor, they discover a pair of traditional Korean doors, slightly ajar, new to their grandmother’s home. Their curiosity gets the best of them, and the adventure begins when they crawl through and discover an unfamiliar, fantastical world. As they continue to search for their grandmother and solve the mystery of the tracks, they go deeper into the world of Korean folklore and experience their cultural heritage in unexpected ways, meeting a number of Korean-speaking characters along the way.

Translations to Korean text in the story and more about the folktale-inspired characters are included at the end.

About the Author: Julie Kim is an author and illustrator living in Seattle, WA. She has published with Cricket Magazine, Scholastic, and Mondo. Where’s Halmoni? is her authorial debut.

Praise: “Julie Kim has created a visually stunning world that effortlessly infuses Korean text (Hangul) in rich, expressive art.”—Cybils Awards, winner

“For its jaw-dropping art, encouraging bilingual attitude, and conscientious portrayal of Korean culture, Where’s Halmoni? is a perfect choice.” —School Library Journal, starred

“A sophisticated mélange of urban households, traditional Asian landscapes, vibrant color schemes, cultural details, subtle visual jokes, [and] pitch-perfect dialogue… This book is an excellent choice for either the picture-book or graphic-novel collection.” —Booklist, starred

“Kim’s bright, expressive illustrations are a delight…an accessible, diverse title for a broad readership.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred

“The sibling banter is believable and delightful, [and] Kim’s panel sequences teem with energy.” —Publishers Weekly, starred

Review: This book is a piece of art. The way that Kim combined traditional Korean folklore characters, including giving an explanation about each of them in the back; realistic sibling relationships; an adventure with beautiful settings; and her amazing artwork lent to the creation of a very special book. There is so much to unpack including homage to traditional Asian art styles, inferring opportunities, introduction to Korean folktales, and inclusion of Korean language. This book will be perfect as a read aloud with discussions, lit circles looking at folktales, or as an independent book for your adventure or graphic novel fans.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Where’s Halmoni? and its back matter are a perfect addition to a folklore unit including a discussion on how authors fracture/retell/modernize folktales in all cultures.

And P.S. a whole discussion/lesson could be done around the end pages!

Discussion Questions:

How did Kim intertwine traditional Korean folktale characters into her story?
What do the end sheets tell you that the rest of the story did not?
What clues were there at the beginning of the book that ultimately they would encounter a tiger and a fox?
How could you infer that Halmoni was their grandmother?
Before reading the translations of the Korean in the back of the book, use the context clues and try to guess what the characters are saying.
Would you consider this book a picture book or a graphic novel? Why?

Flagged Passages:

Read This If You Love: Retellings and new takes on folktales

Recommended For:

**Thank you to little bigfoot for providing a copy 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:

and

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

My Magic Breath: Finding Calm Through Mindful Breathing by Nick Ortner and Alison Taylor

May 31, 2018May 30, 2018 by Kellee

My Magic Breath: Finding Calm Through Mindful Breathing
Author: Nick Ortner and Alison Taylor
Illustrator: Michelle Polizzi
Published May 15th, 2018 by HarperCollins

Summary: Do YOU have the magic breath?

Let’s see…Take a deeeeeep breath in…and BLOW it out…

…and like magic, you can feel better just by breathing! Sometimes it’s hard to feel happy. But with this interactive picture book, children breathe along as they learn how to make angry or sad thoughts disappear.

In a world that is sometimes too busy, with too many things going on, My Magic Breath will help steer children into a serene space of mindfulness, self-awareness, and balance.

About the Authors and Illustrator:

Nick Ortner is CEO of the Tapping Solution, LLC, a company with a mission to promote the natural healing method known as Emotional Freedom Techniques or “tapping” (a combination of Chinese healing practices). This is his second children’s book; his first was The Big Book of Hugs. He is also the New York Times bestselling author of The Tapping Solution, The Tapping Solution for Pain Relief, and the upcoming book The Tapping Solution for Manifesting Your Best Self. Nick lives in Newtown, CT, with his wife and daughter, June. You can find Nick at facebook.com/nortner.

Alison Taylor is an elementary school teacher and coauthor of The Big Book of Hugs. She writes to inspire young people, especially her beloved June and Harris, to find what makes them happy. She lives in Connecticut with her husband.

Michelle Polizzi is an illustrator and designer living and working in California. This is her second book working alongside Nick Ortner and Alison Taylor. She lives in the East Bay with her sons, Rowan and River, her husband, Nick, and their beloved Frenchie, Oscar, where they spend their days creating and inspiring one another. You can see more of her work at designbylovelyday.com.

Review: Deep breathing is a tool that I have taught my son to use to deal with frustration, anger, or sadness. This lesson was even more supported when Daniel Tiger taught him to, “When you feel so mad you want to roar, take a deep breath and count to four.” We use this mantra often to help him refocus when his brain is getting fogged by an emotion. Additionally, some of Trent’s favorite books are interactive picture books like Press Here! or Don’t Touch This Book. My Magic Breath combines these connections in Trent’s life into one! It not only promotes meaningful breathing in a fun way, it turns it interactive through the illustrations and second person narrative. This is going to be a book that is easily going to jump into our picture book regulars, and I cannot wait to be able to be able to tell Trent to “Think about what happened. Now keep it in your mind! Close your eyes and take a deep breath in. Now blow out your breath…”

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Anxiety is something that many teachers now find themselves talking to their students about because so much pressure and stress are on kids these days either socially, academically, or at home. My Magic Breath will be a perfect book to introduce at the beginning of the year then use throughout the year to help students understand and deal with their emotions.

Discussion Questions:

When do you feel the most anxious? Angry? Scared? Sad? Try using mindful breathing during these times.
How do you picture your magic breath would look when you blow out during these times? What about a happy time?

Flagged Passages:

Read This If You Love: Good Morning Yoga by Mariam Gates, The Moment Is Your Life by Mariam Gates, Moon by Alison Oliver, My Friend is Sad by Mo Willems, The Color Monster by Anna Llenas, Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard

Recommended For:

Lemur Dreamer by Courtney Dicmas

May 25, 2018May 25, 2018 by Kellee

Lemur Dreamer
Author and Illustrator: Courtney Dicmas
Published February 1st, 2015 by Kane Miller

Summary: All the residents of 32 Pebbly Lane lead mostly unextraordinary lives…Except for Louis the Lemur. He’s a sleepwalker! After his night-time antics cause mischief, his friends decide to follow him one night, with hilarious consequences. This is the crazy, colorful, wonderful new title from the artist of Harold Finds a Voice, nominated for the 2014 Waterstones Prize.

Review: Louis the Lemur has the best friends! When they notice that poor Louis’s sleepwalking is getting worse, they know that they have to help him be safe, so they stay with Louis as he walks to keep him safe–what a great ode to friendship. I loved Dicmas’s expressive illustrations and how each of the secondary animals were not forgotten in the detailing. These characters combined with the funny sequential plot makes for a fantastic read aloud.

Now, I do think that sleepwalking is being used as entertainment in the story which can be a bit problematic if dealing with kids who do sleepwalk; however, I think it used in a thoughtful way because Louis is never demonized for his sleepwalking. Instead, the book is entertaining while also starting a conversation about something that kids often deal with and never find in conversations. It would also be good to read with siblings dealing with others sleepwalking.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: In addition to discussion sleepwalking and on a less serious note, Louis’s story has great cause and effect as well as problem and solution moments. I also loved hearing about what Louis was dreaming about then going back and looking at his sleepwalking path and matching the actual to the dream.

Discussion Questions:

What do you think Louis is dreaming about as he is sleepwalking? Did his actual dream match your prediction? How does is dream match the actuality while he was sleepwalking?
Find events in the book that were caused by another and complete a cause and effect map.
What traits do Louis’s neighbors have that show that they are good friends?

Flagged Passages:

Read This If You Love: Leaping Lemmings by John Briggs, Moon by Alison Oliver, Pandamonia by Chris Owens, Inky’s Great Escape by Casey Lyall

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Lynn at Kane Miller for providing a copy for review!**

Be A King: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream and You by Carole Boston Weatherford

August 25, 2018May 23, 2018 by Kellee

Be A King: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream and You
Author: Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrator: James E. Ransome
Published January 2nd, 2018 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Summary: You can be a King. Stamp out hatred. Put your foot down and walk tall.
You can be a King. Beat the drum for justice. March to your own conscience.

Featuring a dual narrative of the key moments of Dr. King’s life alongside a modern class as the students learn about him, Carole Weatherford’s poetic text encapsulates the moments that readers today can reenact in their own lives. See a class of young students as they begin a school project inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and learn to follow his example, as he dealt with adversity and never lost hope that a future of equality and justice would soon be a reality. As times change, Dr. King’s example remains, encouraging a new generation of children to take charge and change the world . . . to be a King.

Praise:

“While the book is accessible as an inspiring primer on social justice and taking action, it also challenges more sophisticated readers to make connections between the art, the text, Dr. King’s life, the civil rights movement at large, and the continuing struggle to affect change . . .This book is sure to spark discussion and empower readers of all ages.” – Starred review, School Library Journal

“Thoughtful paintings of moving scenes are paired with brief, motivational reflections that evoke all the sentiment and fervor of the American civil rights movement.” – Foreword Review

“The book manages to make essential lessons in civic responsibility accessible to the very young reader.” – Booklist

“The historical scenes, painted in Ransome’s signature thick, saturated style, are infused with a powerful sense of narrative.” – Publishers Weekly

“The use of rich, realistic paintings with pencil detailing for King’s life contrasts with the brighter, simpler drawings for the contemporary children, giving a physical reminder that his work is ongoing.” – School Library Connection

Review: I am so happy that a book like this exists! It makes a beautiful connection between King’s history and how the same concepts can (and should!) drive us today. The book is very young kid friendly and is a great scaffold to talk about Dr. King or about kindness; however, it could also be used with older kids to infer and go deeper into the lyrical language Weatherford uses. I also loved how Ransome’s illustrations changed between King’s biography and the more contemporary school narrative.

P.S. As a teacher and a person who believes in kindness and equity and acceptance and friendship, I am so happy to see conversations like this happening so freely now! My students and I speak about injustice and prejudice and equity so often now when it would have been a stigma just a few years ago to even mention race or other social justice issues. It is important to talk about race in a non-prejudicial way with children to allow them to learn and grown and reflect. Sadly, it has been through horrific injustices that has gotten us to this point, but hopefully with our future generations having these types of conversations starting at such a young age, these injustices will stop.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Have students look at each school spread (or split up the spreads between groups of students) and ask them to connect the ideals happening in the spread with something that King spoke about. This idea can also be used with the King spreads because it does not explicitly state what historical event each spread is representing, so students could look through King’s story and try to match each illustration and words with an event in his life.

Discussion Questions:

What was Dr. King’s dream?
What are some ways you can fulfill this dream?
Although he was speaking of a much larger issue than a classroom, how can King’s ideals be transferred to how we treat each other in the classroom?
What events of King’s life were portrayed in the illustrations?
What other ways could you BE A KING?
Why do you believe the author wrote this story?
What is the author trying to teach the reader?
How did the author structure the story to reach her purpose and theme?

Flagged Passages:

Read This If You Love: Stories of MLK, Jr.’s life, Books (historical fiction or nonfiction) about the Civil Rights Movement, Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson

Recommended For:

How to Code a Sandcastle by Josh Funk

October 28, 2018May 18, 2018 by Kellee

How to Code a Sandcastle
(How to Code with Pearl and Pascal #1)
Author: Josh Funk
Illustrator: Sara Palacios
Foreword by Reshma Saujani, founder of Girls Who Code
Published May 15th, 2018 by Viking

Summary: From the computer science nonprofit Girls Who Code comes this lively and funny story introducing kids to computer coding concepts.

Pearl and her trusty rust-proof robot, Pascal, need to build a sandcastle before summer vacation is over, and they’re going to do it using code. Pearl breaks the big we-need-a-sandcastle problem into smaller steps, then uses conditionals, loops, and other basic coding concepts to tell Pascal exactly what to do. But building a sandcastle isn’t as easy as it sounds when surfboards, mischievous dogs, and coding mishaps get in the way! Just when it looks like the sandcastle might never work, Pearl uses her coding skills to save the day and create something even better: a gorgeous sandcastle kingdom!

Kellee’s Review: Through books like the Secret Coders series, Two Naomis, and now How to Code a Sandcastle, I’ve slowly begun to learn more and more about coding, and I find it fascinating! If I was a kid now, I would be so excited to have books like these to introduce me to coding. How to Code a Sandcastle is special because it takes coding, which is a tool that is primarily not taught until middle school or later, and makes it accessible to younger kids helping them build their coding vocabulary and knowledge at a young age. My son at age 4 now knows a basic idea of what coding is which is such a great foundation! Bravo Josh and Brava Sara for producing such an essential and gosh-darn funny book for kids.

Ricki’s Review: Josh Funk does it again and again and again. He creates highly engaging books that are so teachable! This is my first book in the Girls Who Code series, and it most certainly won’t be my last. It makes coding quite fun and offers an engaging introduction to children. I don’t know anything about coding, and I had fun learning the vocabulary with my son. After we read the book, we went through again and reviewed all of the new words that we learned about coding. The educational value of this book is very high—it is a great first dive into STEM, it could be used to teach step-by-step instructional writing, and it’s an incredible and hilarious read-aloud! Thanks for this wonderful new text for our classrooms, Josh!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Like we shared above, How to Code a Sancastle is a wonderful foundation for learning about coding and would be an awesome read aloud in an elementary classroom as students are first being introduced to coding maybe on the “Day of Code” or before a computer course. It has a lot of introductory vocabulary and ideas that won’t overwhelm young children but will instead make them curious. Alternatively, it is also a great example of step-by-step instructional writing mixed with a hilarious narrative, so it would be a great mentor text for these writings.

Discussion Questions:

Why did Pearl feel she needed to bring Pascal to build a sandcastle?
How did Pearl fix mistakes when she made them when coding Pascal?
What cause and effect relationships do you see in the story?
What problem and solution relationships do you see in the story?
How did the author include step-by-step instructions within the narrative while also keeping the story going?

Flagged Passages:

Read This If You Love: Secret Coders series by Gene Luen Yang, Girls Who Code books, The coding references in Two Naomis by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, Twenty Yawns by Jane Smiley, On Gull Beach by Jane Yolen

Recommended For:

and

Blog Tour with Review!: Don’t Ask a Dinosaur by Deborah Bruss & Matt Forrest Esenwine

May 2, 2018 by Kellee

Don’t Ask a Dinosaur
Author: Deborah Bruss & Matt Forrest Esenwine
Illustrator: Louie Chin
Published April 17th by POW!

Summary: Don’t Ask a Dinosaur is about a party that goes wildly awry when a pack of dinosaurs with very unique physical attributes attempt to help set up.

“Don’t ask Deinocheirus to set the forks and spoons,” because his hands were enormous, “Therizinosaurus cannot blow up balloons,” because he had very long claws. In the end they find the one thing everyone can help do is to blow out the candles on the cake…but will it create yet another mess?

Review: Don’t ask a dinosaur what he thinks about this book! Unless he says it is awesome, funny, and informative. Then ask him, and trust his answer.

I was introduced to Esenwine’s work when I read Flashlight Night, and I was immediately impressed with his work–he just had a way with words! While this picture book is quite different, it is not going to let Esenwine fans down. It for sure didn’t let Trent down; he already has had us read this multiple times with different questions each time we read. He also thinks it is hilarious, finding something silly each time he reads.

I also loved the book for a couple other specific reasons. First, I loved that the story included some pretty unknown dinosaurs to help the readers get introduced to them in a fun way. Esenwine and Bruss also did a fantastic job with their rhyming using syllable count to make it even more rhythmic than it would be without. And the addition of phonetic spellings of the dinosaur names was a nice touch to help with the pronunciation for the adult reader and for the child as they learn about the dinosaurs.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: On the surface, this text will be a way to introduce a bunch of different types of dinosaurs in a fun, rhyming text; however, this can just be a jumping off point for either a creative writing activity or a science activity (or both!). Because of Esenwine & Bruss’s specific syllables and rhyming, it would be quite challenging and fun to ask students to pick dinosaurs and try to think of other things that they may not be good at and ask them to write their own mini-dino poems. Or students can take the dinosaurs that are introduced in the book and research them to find out what they really wouldn’t be able to do in real life.

Discussion Questions:

Why did the certain dino get chosen for each activity?
What dinosaur was new to you?
If you could have one dinosaur at your birthday party, what dinosaur would you pick? What would you make sure not to have it do?
How does the phonetic spelling of the dinosaur names help with the rhythm of the text?
What is going on in the background, in the illustrations, as the narrator helps you see what dinosaurs shouldn’t do?

Flagged Passages:

Read This If You Love: Dinosaurs!, Jane Yolen & Mark Teague “How Does a Dinosaur” series, PBS’s Dinosaur Train

Recommended For:

Make sure to stop by other stops on the Dinosaur Tour!

April 6:        Michelle H. Barnes (Interview w/month-long writing prompt)
April 8:        Kate Narita (Trailer & activity sheet spotlight)
April 11:      Deborah Kalb (Interview w/Matt Forrest Esenwine & Deborah Bruss)
April 13:      Radio, Rhythm, & Rhyme (Interview w/Louie Chin)
April 16:      KidLit Exchange (Blog post re: process of illustration)
April 17:      Momma’s Bacon
April 18:      Bonnie Ferrante
April 19:      Brenda Harsham
April 25:      Bonnie Ferrante (Interview)
May 2:         Unleashing Readers

**Thank you to POW! and Matt Forrest Esenwine for making this blog tour happen!**