Wabi Sabi by Mark Reibstein and Ed Young

Mark Reibstein – author. Ed Young - illustrator. Wabi Sabi. New York: Little, Brown, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-316-118257

Author website: No author website found.

Ilustrator website: http://edyoungart.com/

Media: Mixed media collage.

Genres: Fictional picture book, haiku, bilingual, Japanese philosophy, Japanese poets, Zen, Taoist philosophy, identity, cultural identity

Annotation
 Japanese cat, Wabi Sabi, wanders across Japan in a search for what her name means. Through haiku, she finds real beauty in unexpected places and discovers the meaning of her name and philosophy.

My thoughts
This Zen Buddhism/Taoism philosophy is effectively broken down into its most simple elements and illustrated beautifully by award winning illustrator Ed Young. For a book, that intends to take this highly unexplainable Zen/ Taoist concept, a way of seeing beauty in life and simply see things, it does a nice job.

The cat’s journey starts by receiving an unsatisfactory answer from her owner. She asked her owner “what is the meaning of my name.” The owner replied, “That's hard to explain.” And that is all she says. She continues to question other animals until she is led to a wise old monkey who teaches her the meaning. This journey in addition to teaching the philosophy also teaches empirical research. This is the idea of questioning multiple people to find an answer and to gain a full understanding of an idea.

The reader also experiences a physical journey and can partly experience part of Japanese culture through this book. The book has the unusual way of turning the pages upward vertically and is read top to bottom similar to classical Chinese and Japanese traditional scroll paintings/ calligraphy/ texts. The haiku is also traditional.

I have had the opportunity to travel to Ginkakuji (the “Silver Temple”) and I loved reading the poetic descriptions and linking it to Wabi Sabi. “Yellow bamboo stalks bow by teahouse doors so low emperors must kneel. Dark building, floating, sit on white sand seas. A stream sweeps small stones, chanting.”

Literary Devices
Use of Personification: Wabi Sabi the cat represents Wabi Sabi the Zen Buddhism and Taoist philosophies.

Use of Simile: "He moved things as if they were gold, although they were wooden or clay."/ “As simple as a brown leaf. So ordinary!”/

Use of oxymoron: "She saw that everything was alive and dying too."

Reading level/ Interest Age
 K- grade 3. (Arguably, all ages). The simply complex philosophy and beautiful collages also can be used for older readers. This book can be used by teachers when introducing Japanese Zen or Taoist philosophies, or for learning about the haiku as a poetry structure, or for art teachers (the collages are really visually interesting and are good inspiration for class projects).

Reviews and Awards

ALA Notable Book (2008)

New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book for 2008
Booklist starred review

Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol

 

Anya’s Ghost.

Vera Brosgol – author and illustrator. (2011). Publisher: First Second(:01): New York. Hardcover. ISBN: 978-1596437135.

Author website: http://verabee.com/index.html

Media: Watercolor, pen and ink.

Genre: Graphic novel, multicultural, horror

Annotation

A lonely teenage girl struggling with everyday problems encounters and befriends a ghost. Only there is a problem, what happens if this ghost is less Casper and more poltergeist?

Plot Summary

Anya, an angst ridden teenage girl who is an imigrant from Russia going to a Catholic school in suburban Massachusetts, wants to fit into mainstream teenage culture and wants to be popular. She tries to assimilate and blend in with her peers. For example, she went to speech therapy to lose her accent, dresses like the other girls, she eats American foods, and she rejects the Russian food (Cblphnkh) that her mother cooks because it is Russian and weight self-consciousness.

Anya is leaving high school one day when she trips and falls down a well in a park.  Terrified that she is doomed to perish in the well, Anya discovers that she is not alone. There is a ghost girl and skeleton from 1918 with her. When she is finally rescued, she discovers that the ghost had an ulterior motive. The ghost, Emily, has followed her home. At first, the ghost is helpful. The ghost assists with course work, gives her intel about a boy she has a crush on, boosts her confidence, provides style advice, and so on. The ghost seems like a supportive friend that teenagers often want.

But, as the story progresses, Anya starts to realize that the ghost’s story isn’t quite right. As the ghost becomes more co-dependent, demanding, erratic, and scheming Anya begins to suspect that the ghost is leaving out information and decides to investigate the said story. She discovers that there is more to the ghost and the story and that her family might be in danger.

My thoughts

This is a good young adult graphic novel for teens and is popular for many reasons. Social anxiety, body image, friendship, health, peer pressure, family difficulties, and assimilation are issues that are effectively addressed in this graphic novel. 

Anya, as a character, is so relatable for many teenage girls. She is a combination of social outcast rebellion and intelligent but insecure wallflower. The character progresses through the story and in the end she realizes that the popular kids have issues below the surface. Anya ultimately becomes more secure with her own being and confident that she doesn’t have to fit in with the popular kids.

The illustrations are monochromatic done in black and white with a touch of purple toned grey. The lines are thick and smoothly in a typical graphic style. Anya is drawn as a curvy girl with dark hair and freckles.

A couple of red flags: One personal concern that I have is that the character does smoke cigarettes (and cut classes) through the first part of the book. This characterization of the rebel smoker is cliché and perhaps causes teenage girls to smoke. The characterization adds to the problem even though the character confronts the habit in the final pages of the book. In addition, there is underage drinking at the party that changes her views about popularity. Overall, the spooky supernatural themes are mild and there is no overt violence.

Curricular connections

Popular for teenage girls.

Literary Devices:
Use of onomatopoeia: beep! Beeeep!, Clap!, pant pant, gasp, tweet tweet, briiiing, whip, duck, rrrring, sizzle, krak, thump, tug, and THUD.

Use of Simile: “You may look normal like everyone else, but you're not. Not on the inside.”

Reading level/ Interest Age

 Younger high school.

Reviews and Awards

Cybils awards 2011 in the Graphic Novel category

Booklist starred review

Kirkus starred review

School Library Journal starred review

“Anya’s Ghost is a masterpiece, of YA literature and of comics.”—Neil Gaiman

"Remarkable. . . . with an attitude and aptitude reminiscent of Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis) who likewise conveyed the particulars of an immigrant adolescence, Brosgol has created a smart, funny and compassionate portrait of someone who, for all her sulking and sneering, is the kind of daughter many parents would like to have. And the kind of girl many of us maybe once were.” -- The New York Times

Cinderella Skeleton by Robert Souci and David Catrow

The Wall Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Peter Sís

Peter Sís – Author and illustrator. The wall: growing up behind the Iron Curtain. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007. ISBN: 978-0-374-34701-7

Author website: http://www.petersis.com/noflash.html

Media: Multi-media, pencil, marker, crayon, colored pencil, pen and ink

Genre: biography, memoir, nonfiction, history, Juvenile literature, graphic novel, picture book

Annotation

Visual award-winning personal memoir of artist Peter Sís growing up on the oppressed Russian Communist totalitarian dictatorship side of the Iron Curtain in Czechoslovakia during the Cold War and his desire for freedom.

My thoughts

This is an award-winning book, Peter Sís brings the reader to his past in Communist controlled Prague during the Cold War. The information brought by the illustrations and prose brings this period vibrantly alive describing the struggles for freedom and expression under the harsh control of a totalitarian regime. For the beginning, Sís uses bright color and different symbols to show the contrast between his natural childhood desire to express his imagination against the repetitive and monotony of the symbols and colors associated with the Soviet Red Army.

His personal story is juxtaposed with a timeline of historical events. Sís adds first personal journal entries from his journal at that time and the reader can understand his perspective and move with him from the tacit acceptance during his childhood to his shift of awareness as he grows up and is exposed to the world.

The colors reflect the personal reactions to the time. During the most oppressive and difficult times, Sís restricts his color choice to black white and red. When he begins to express himself there are bursts of color. “Slowly he started to question. He painted what he wanted to- in secret.” A two page full-color vibrant spread shows the revolution of the 60’s leaking into Sís awareness. It concludes with the fall of the wall on November 9, 1989. This book contains lots of talking points.

Peter Sís provides an introduction, his chronological timeline journal entries, and an afterward to provide additional information to the already expressive illustrations.

Curricular connections

In classrooms, the rise and fall of Communism focuses on the political shifts and oppression in an impersonal manner. This book provides a very personal account that makes the effects of Communist very real and clear. It’s told in a way that is relatable.

Literary devices

Use of repetition: The word “COMPULSORY” is used like an unspoken brand after each description of Communist mandates or suggested activities. (Example: “Joining the Young Pioneers, the Communist youth movement- COMPULSORY. Collecting scrap metal- COMPULSORY. First of May parade celebrating the workers of the world- COMPULSORY. Public displays of loyalty- COMPULSORY. The practice of religion- DISCOURAGED.” This really hammers home the point.


Use of Symbol: Communist ideology and symbols are also repeated throughout the book. The hammer and sickle. 

Reading level/ Interest Age

Age 8 and up/ Grade 3 and up

Reviews and Awards

Caldecott Honor Book

Sibert Medal

Booklist Starred Review

School Library Journel Starred Review

Kirkus Starred Review

Horn Book Starred Review

A NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER

Publishers Weekly Starred Review

And, many other positive reviews…

Drawing From Memory by Allen Say

Allen Say – author and illustrator. Drawing from memory. New York: Scholastic Press, 2011. ISBN: 978-0-545-17686-6

Author website: No author website found.

Media: watercolors, pen and ink, pencils, and photographs.

Genre: autobiographical, biography, memoir, nonfiction

Annotation

Caldecott Medalist Allen Say’s autobiography chronicling his pathway into the arts and his apprenticeship with Noro Shinpei, Japan’s premier cartoonist, while growing up in Japan during and post WWII.

My thoughts

I was captivated while reading Allen Say’s memoir, Drawing From Memory. The combinations of Say’s prose and choice of illustrations made it very easy to get a mental movie while experiencing his life’s story. The flow of it really makes it hard to put down and can easily be read in one sitting. The tone of his prose was very candid and down to earth which made this an enjoyable and somewhat uplifting experience.

This book is an exception to the norm, but was quite an experience. At twelve years old, he moved out to attend school and lived in his own apartment. He worked hard, maintained clear goals, and worked toward actualizing his dreams. He sort of made a lesson plan layout for his life; this is a good life example for children.

It seems necessary to mention the art. He studied with one of Japan’s key political cartoonists and clearly found his own style. The sketches provide a realistic look into an artists’ life. A person does not become a Caldecott Medalist for their illustrative abilities overnight; oil paintings do not start with perfect glossy strokes. He worked at his craft, was born with talent, and found teachers to guide him. Say serves as a really good example of an artist. Many children become discouraged from the arts early because they can’t achieve realism right away. He provides hope. Similarly, too many artists expect to make it big right away. He provides reality.

On a side note, I think that Allen Say was verrrry lucky. Japan during this time period was scary and very tragic, as the war racked the lives away from many people. Young, middle aged, old; talented, genius, average; in areas there was no discrimination and way to determine who would become successful or not. Allen Say did become successful and from his writing he was able to maintain a healthy psychology. (Many of that generation are not that way. Americans travelling in Japan might pick this energy up from older generations. It is a sad part of history).

Allen Say-San focuses on his plight, relationship, teachers, and experiences as an artist. He turns the story away from a boy growing up during war and postwar Japan. (Maybe this is the naivate of youth and during the postwar period he was not as affected personally). In any case, the context does add a lot to his story. Librarians can/should suggest books to assist in providing the conjunction of postwar Japan to this story. Then Allen Say’s memoir is really inspiring and different than the norm of the time. I think… in any case, it would be interesting to read more.

Curricular connections

Most students are required to read an autobiography/memoir at some point this one can go into the librarian’s mental toolbox for that books and artists in that category.

Reading level/ Interest Age

Grade 5 and up/Ages 10 and up

Reviews and Awards

Sibert Winner
Discussion of awards and are still pending.

The Buffalo Are Back by Jean Craighead George and Wendell Minor

George, J. C., & Minor, W. (2010). The Buffalo Are Back. New York: Dutton Children's Books. ISBN: 978-1430109785.

Annotation

Jean Craighead George’s picture book that details the almost eradication of the buffalo and how that effected the plains Indians and the near destruction of the Great Plains environment.

My thoughts

"In the mid-1800s seventy five million buffalo roamed in North America. In little more than fifty years, there would be almost none." “What happened? The answer is a story of the American Indians, the buffalo, and the grass.”

In The Buffalo Are Back, Jean Craighead George (Julie of the Wolves and The Wolves Are Back) explains in detail the historical events that lead these majestic animals to the edge of extinction. In a very clear narration, the reader is taken back through an eco-history of the Great Plains. The journey begins in the 1800s with the birth of a single orange buffalo then tells the story of the Native Americans/Plains Indians, the white fur hunters, and westward expansion. In a mere fifty years, the Great Plains was an environmental disaster. 

This is a great book to use for discussing the environment and ecology. This is the story of not only the rescue of the buffalo and Great Plains but also the history of American Conservationism with a very important message.

Curricular connections

Subjects: History, Science/Ecology, Biology/Life Sciences, Science/ endangered species, History/environmental history, Biology/environmental issues.

Grade: 5-12

Literary devices

Use of Simile:

"A lark flew to the top of a six-foot blade of grass and sang as sweetly as a panpipe".

"The green-gold grasses of the plains rippled like waves from horizon to horizon.

Use of Repetition:

"A lark flew to the top of a six-foot blade of grass and sang as sweetly as a panpipe"(2). “A lark flew to a blade of grass and and as sweetly as a panpipe.” (17) "A lark flew to the top of a six-foot blade of grass and sang as sweetly as a panpipe." (27)

Reading level/ Interest Age

Grade 3 and up.

Reviews and Awards

Junior Library Guild Selection

Teacher’s Choice Award / Intermediate Readers, 2011

National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12 2011 (Books published in 2010) Life Science division

Author website: http://www.jeancraigheadgeorge.com/

Illustrator website: www.minorart.com/

Media: Watercolors (based on photographs taken by Charlie Craighead and Thomas D. Mangelsen).

Genre: Nonfiction

The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy) by Barbara Kerley and Edwin Fotheringham

Kerley, Barbara, & Fotheringham, Edwin. (2010). The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy). New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN: 978-0-545-125086.

Annotation

Based on thirteen year-old Susy Clemens’ secret biography of her famous writer father Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain).

My thoughts

Barbara Kerley shows a side of Mark Twain by using quotes from Susy Clemens’ journal. The book tells about Twain’s family and personal life and interspersed are Susy’s comments about her father. It starts off with Susy stating that most people don’t really know Mark Twain and that he was so much more than a humorist. Susy proceeds to describe her father. She writes about his flaws (smoking too much), his likes (billards), makes observations about his temperament, and describes his physical appearance. Susy gives the reader an honest account of one of America’s greatest writers.

Edwin Fotheringham’s bright glossy digital illustrations add humor and details that bring the reader back to Twain’s time. The illustrations support the text without distracting the reader. The journal “mini-book” pages inserted between the pages written with cursive with the misspelling of youth give insight and make this a good example of primary and secondary sources.

The book includes a timeless of Mark Twain’s life in the back along with instructions about how to write a biography.

Curricular connections

Elementary school 5^th grade- Middle school: Humanities/English: biographies

Using the page in the book, Writing an Extraordinary Biography (According to Barbara Kerley*), as a guide for students to learn how to write a biography. Then have them write a biography on someone who they know well utilizing observation, research, examples and quotations, and specific details. Students can use the mini-diary for inspiration.

Lesson Plan

See 'Lesson Plan' page

Literary devices

Use of Alliteration:

“the busiest bee in the household hive”

Use of Repetition

The cursive line work in the background of the illustrations which seem to represent Mark Twain's verbose nature and remind the reader that this is a story told from a young perspective. 

Reading level/ Interest Age

Grade 3-6

Reviews and Awards

2010 CYBILS Nonfiction Picture Book Award

NCTE Orbis Pictus Recommended Book

Best Children’s Books 2010 -- Publishers Weekly

Best Books 2010 -- School Library Journal

Best Books for Children and Teens 2010 -- Kirkus Reviews

Best of 2010: Books for Young Readers -- Washington Post

Oregon Book Award Finalist

Texas Bluebonnet Award nominee

Author website: www.barbarakerley.com/

Illustrator website: www.edfotheringham.com/

Media: digital media

Genre: Juvenile fiction, biography

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Satrapi, M. (2003). Persepolis. New York: Pantheon Books. ISBN: 978-0375714573.

Annotation

Autobiographical graphic novel depicting Marjane Satrapi’s childhood to teenage years in Iran during the Islamic revolution.

My thoughts

Persepolis is a compelling story of one young girl’s experience growing up during the Islamic Revolution and the following political and cultural changes. During this time, Satrapi’s family suffered under the Shah and the Islamic Regime. Satrapi describes having family members imprisoned, tortured, and executed, being forced to wear a veil and the fear of living in a city being bombed. Satrapi also chronicles what it’s like to try to be a typical teen living in this situation. As a teenager, she loves rock music and American fashion (i.e. jeans, sneakers, and punk fashion during a time).

Black and white illustrations accentuate the seriousness of the story and transport the reader to Tehran, Iran and Satrapi’s adolescence.  There are some very moving parts to this story. The struggle for intellectual freedom and free expression will resonate with teens and will also make readers appreciate their rights in America. In addition, Satrapi serves as a good role model for teenagers. She is strong, smart, independent, and tries to ask questions while seeking answers for herself.

This is a great book for many reasons. Aside from the strength of the character the book gives a little insight to Iranian culture from a teenagers perspective. For teenagers, reading a perspective of another teenager makes it easier to understand a culture that is different. It is through seeing human similarities and struggles that prejudices can be breeched.

Reading level/ Interest Age

High school/ Adult

Reviews and Awards

2001: Angoulême Coup de Coeur Award for Persepolis

2002: Angoulême Prize for Scenario for Persepolis: Tome

2007: Jury Prize for Persepolis (tied with Silent Light), Cannes Film Festival

Alex Award Winner 2004

Amelia Bloomer List 2004

Booklist Editors Choice: Adult Books for Young Adults 2003

Capitol Choices 2004

School Library Journal Best Adult Books for High School Students 2003

School Library Journal Best Adult Books for High School Students 2004

School Library Journal Best Books 2003

YALSA Best Books for Young Adults 2003

Author website: No official website found.

Media: ink

Genre: Graphic Novel, autobiography

Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down.

Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney, illustrator (2010).  Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down.  New York City, NY: Little, Brown and Company.  ISBN: 978-0-316-07016-4

Author website: No website found.

Ilustrator website: http://www.brianpinkney.net/

Media: watercolor and india ink

Genre: biography, non-fiction, juvenile literature, civil rights movement, history

Annotation

Four African American students in Greensboro (NC) peacefully refuse to leave Woolworth’s lunch counter that only served white people. Their peaceful nonviolent act would inspire others to follow and led to more sit-ins and the end of segregation.

My thoughts

Many have said ‘this is a powerful book’ and it really is. Based on true events that happened in Greensboro in 1960, this book serves as a pictorial representation of a pivotal turning point in our country’s social history. Sit-in: How Four Friends Stood up by Sitting Down is also is a good representative for the power of a good picture book. The storyline, quotes, comments, and illustrates all combine to make this a great multicultural picture book that showcases the Civil Rights and the struggle for equality of the 1960s.

Andrea Davis Pinkney takes this great event and through the personal perspectives of the teenagers and storyline she makes it come alive and become more relatable for children and teens. The book effectively demonstrates the power of people when they work together for a cause that is right inspired by Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. Actual quotes from Dr. King's speeches within the text to help explain the protesters motivation to keep peaceful. These teenagers sat at a counter and asked for a simple doughnut and coffee. This was a peaceful sit-in for justice and equality not a complex revolution or a political scheme.

The watercolors by Brian Pinkney come across as modern and classic. They added to the story and did not distract from the powerful words and storyline.

The food metaphor and the story really hits you in the gut. Typically, the Civil Rights Movement is one that young people have trouble relating to because of its complexity, but stories such as this really help bring it to life. I also really enjoyed the back of the book's Civil Rights Timeline (in paragraph form from 1954 to 1964), the photograph of the "Greensboro Four" in Woolworth's, the more in depth look at the incident and the times, and additional recommended book and website resources. These 40 pages are really packed with information!

Memorable Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.’s quotes.

“We must meed violence with nonviolence.”

“Demonstrate… calm dignity.”

“We are all leaders.”

“We must… must meet hate with love.”

“Be loving enough to absorb evil.”

Other memorable quotes:

“They sat straight and proud. And waited. And wanted. A doughnut and coffee, with cream on the side.”

“Practicing peace while other showed hatred was tougher than any school test.”

“… it’s not about food – it’s about pride.”

Curricular connections

This material can be added into a Civil Rights Lesson plan for History and Social Studies (grade 4-6). Both the words and art can be added to a discussion.

Literary devices

Use of Metaphor: The recipe for equality and integration throughout the book.

Use of Repetition: “They did not need menus. Their order was simple. A doughnut and coffee, with cream on the side.”

Reading level/ Interest Age

Grades 4-6

Reviews and Awards

Jane Addams Honor Book (Awards)

Booklist Starred Review

School Library Journal Starred Review

Ubiquitous by Joyce Sidman and Beckie Prange

Sidman, J., & Prange, B. (2010). Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature's Survivors. Boston [Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. ISBN: 0618717196.

Annotation

Joyce Sidman combines poetry and science to examine some of the oldest living evolutionary survivors on Earth. Ubiquitous celebrates these survivors’ unique traits.

My thoughts

Ubiquitous means “somewhere that is (or seems to be) everywhere at the same time. Given that these species are prevalent and exist all over the world many of them are overlooked or assumed to be simple. This book reveals that these prevalent species are anything but simple. They are survivors for certain reasons and while this may seem mysterious, Joyce Sidman writes about some of the unique traits of these species that have made it easier for these species to survive.

This book highlights these special adaptive species and celebrates their unique traits for informational blocks, poetry, and detailed illustrations. Key pieces of information make this book interesting for children for example“…it is said that industrious squirrels plant more trees than humans do.” Crows have been “observed dropping large nuts at highway intersections so that passing cars will crack them open!” “Geckos can literally break their tail in two to escape from predators.”

The timeline in the beginning of the book is probably one of the better Earth timelines that I’ve seen for awhile. It really puts time into perspective. A mass of lines wind around each other like a giant fingerprint and spread across the inside cover and title page. For the scale, each centimeter represents one million years. It begins with Earth’s birth at 4.6 billion years. Humans, only come into the picture at the end of the timeline.

The prints are also creative and appropriate. Everything blends seamlessly.

 These are an impressive set of poems that tribute our planet’s survivors.

Curricular connections

Elementary school science- Biology

Students can reenact this timeline and bring their own timeline into the class using a 46 meters long string and cards to label the key events. Different colored string can be tied together to represent the different geologic periods.

Lesson Plan
See 'Lesson Plan' page

Literary devices

Use of Rhythm

First Life

(a diamante)

Bacteria

Ancient, tiny

Teeming, mixing, melding

Strands curled like ghostly hands

Winking, waving, waking

First, miraculous life

Use of Allusion

“… I am Sheath-wing, beloved of ancients. You have never seen armor like mine. As the sun-god rolls his blazing disk overheard, so I roll my perfect sphere of dung across the sands.” – Alluding to the Egyptians and the Sun-God Ra.

“Who swirled your whorls and ridges? Was it the shy gray wizard shuttered inside you? I hear he walks on one foot and wears a magic mantle, trailing stars. O shell, if only I could shrink! I’d climb your bristled back, slide down the spiral of your heart. I’d knock on your tiny door and ask to meet the mollusk that made you.”

Use of Sophisticated language

Adaptability, diamante, diverse, mutate, photosynthesis, prolific, organism, ubiquitous.

Reading level/ Interest Age

Age 6 and up.

Reviews and Awards

Awards and Honors: Starred reviews in Booklist, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, Kirkus, Horn Book; Junior Library Guild Selection; Publisher's Weekly, Best Books of the Year; Washington Post, Best Books of the Year; Kirkus, Best Books of the Year; School Library Journal, Best Books of the Year; National Science Teachers Association/Children's Book Council, Outstanding Science Trade Books, K-12, 2011; Boston Globe, Top Ten Children's Books of 2010; New York Public Library's "100 Best Books"; Booklist, Top 10 Sci-Tech for Youth; Book Links, Lasting Connections for 2010; Finalist for the 2011 CYBILS Poetry Award; Association for Library Service to Children Notable Children's Book; The John Burroughs List of Nature Books for Young Readers

Author website: www.joycesidman.com/

Illustrator website: http://www.beckieprange.com/

Media: linocuts, hand-colored with watercolor

Genre: nonfiction, poetry

Meadowlands: A Wetlands Survival Story by Thomas F. Yezerski

Yezerski, T. (2011). Meadowlands: A Wetlands Survival Story. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux. ISBN. 978-0374349134.

Annotation

Nonfiction picture book that is an environmental education and exploration of the wetlands known as the Meadowlands outside of New Jersey.

My thoughts

This nonfiction ecological picture book looks back at the history of the Meadowlands and examines the biological diversity of the wetlands. Overall, I found it to be a very thorough and impressive book. The book provides a rich ecological history through prehistory to contemporary efforts of preservation and conservation of the Meadowlands.

Yezerski looks at how the wetlands were used as a garbage dump and filled with trash until the mid-80s. The effect that the pollution had on the environment became evident through the declining species and overall quality of the wetlands. Shifts of public awareness in the mid80s helped recover the wetlands and the waning biodiversity.

The truthful look at the effects that civilization has had on the region is eye opening while the account of preservationists is hopeful. The balance is perfect and leaves the reader with a sense of hope for not only the Meadowlands but also for other affected areas. It also gives the message that urbanization effects the environment but we can do our part to also save the animals and rich diversity of these regions.

Even though this book is about a specific region, it is a perfect book for learning more about the environment and ecology. Its detailed framework can really be applied to most natural environments near urbanized areas. Hopefully, the last pages will inspire people to look for there own ‘Meadowlands’ to preserve.

Beautifully detailed watercolor illustrations frame each double spread picture make reading this book a field study experience within itself. Children can seek out objects so this book can also be used as an activity search for the objects book and vocabulary/concept builder.

Curricular connections

Grade 4 or 5- Science- Yezerski provides the perfect amount of information for an elementary school audience.

Reading level/ Interest Age

Ages 7-10

Reviews and Awards

A New York Times Notable Children's Book for 2011

One of Horn Book’s Best Nonfiction Books of 2011

Author website: www.thomasfyezerski.com/

Media: ink and watercolor

Genre: nonfiction, environment