John Henry by Julius Lester

John Henry, by Julius Lester, is larger than life in this adaptation of the African-American folk tale. The tale has warmth, humor, and unlimited energy. The author's use of personification makes the story flow with imagery. Even the youngest of listeners can feel the warm, loving hug from rainbow! The character of John Henry is so developed that when his hammer RINGGGGs the reader feels it vibrate through their soul. And when John Henry falls to the ground a gasp is heard from all that are listening.

Jerry Pinkney's illustrations are rich with the colors of the earth. They are true to the story and add to the beauty. They are a feast to the eyes. Once the story is complete, then the reader can return to the illustrations and devour every little detail of the gorgeous watercolors!

Other books by Julius Lester;

Othello: A Novel, To Be A Slave, How Mny Spots Does A Leopard Have and Other Tales, Do Lord Remember Me, And All Wounds Forgiven, Let's Talk About Race, Long Journey Home: Stories From Black History, Sam and the Tigers, The Tales of Uncle Remus, and many more.

Rosa, Caldecott Honor, Coreta Scott King Award

Rosa, Caldecott Honor, Coretta Scott King Award, is the personal story of Rosa Parks's stand against segregation. The story introduces us to Rosa, a seamstress, her husband, a barber, and her mother who was just getting over the flu. The story then quickly moves to her famous refusal to give up her seat on the bus. This refusal begins the Women's Political Caucus call to boycott riding the buses, the Brown v. Board of Education, the aftermath of the murder of Emmett Till, and Martin Luther King, Jr, becoming the spokesperson for the civil rights movement.

I felt many of the illustrations, by Bryan Collier, were too angular, but the backgrounds were very detailed and reflected the mood of the time. I enjoyed the background information given about Mrs. Parks and how they interwove details from this time in history to connect to Mrs. Parks.

The House in the Night 2009 Caldecott Award

The House in the Night, 2009 Caldecott Award, is hypnotic in it's simplistic verse that is so soothing. The cumulative poem begins with a key, that opens a door, that leads to a bed, where waits a book...comforting objects that help preschoolers settle in at night.

The illustrations, by Beth Krommes, add to the calming effect of the words, they are amazing! The use of only four colors give a quiet resting place for the eyes, which is essential to getting children to bed.

My favorite part is at the end when the mother is kissing the child good-night and the verse is; Here is the key to the house, which, to me, says love is the key. The part I don't like about The House in the Night is that it was published after my daughter was grown!

Joseph Had A Little Overcoat 2000 Caldecott Award

Joseph Had A Little Overcoat by Simms Taback, 2000 Caldcott Award, is the story of frugal Joseph and the overcoat that he really liked. The overcoat eventually starts to wear out, so Joseph, not wanting to be wasteful, turns the overcoat into a jacket. The jacket soon becomes old and worn, therefore Joseph makes a vest. The vest begins to show wear... The book is told in narrative and when Joseph is getting a new article of clothing, there is a diecut window to show the new article taken from the old, worn out article. You can't wait to see what he makes next from his worn out clothes. The book is a page turner!

Simms Taback is the illustrator, as well. The illustrations are cartoon with a realistic look. The characters are drawn, but in the background you will see pictures of real things like fruit, vegetables, condiments, and pictures of real people.

This book would not be one that I would immediately be drawn to. The book jacket does not appeal to me. The character, Joseph, (my dad, my brother, and my puppy mill rescue all share this name) is why I picked it up. I thought it would be about Joseph's coat of many colors, but it wasn't. I liked the story and the diecuts and as I started looking more closely at the illustrations I saw all the textures of the drawings coming through. I realized young children would be drawn to the faces in the house windows, the animals, and the variety of the people and what they represented.

The Three Pigs 2002 Caldecott Award

The Three Pigs written by David Wiesner, 2002 Caldecott Award, begins as the book we all know so well; there are three pigs, there is a wolf, there are houses being built, and there is the huffing and puffing thing. But evidently the wolf had more blow in him then we originally thought; he blew the pigs all the way out of the story. The Three Pigs visit other worlds by flying away on their story's pages folded into paper airplanes. They land in other "stories" where they meet the cat and the fiddle and a dragon. The cat and the dragon come back to where the three pigs story left off. The story continues and the wolf meets the dragon...

David Wiesner also illustrated The Three Pigs. This was my favorite part of the book. I liked the way the pigs morphed from cartoon characters into more realistic looking character and sometimes they were half and half as they came in or left a page. There are several pages of white back ground with the pigs flying. One, my favorite, you see them in the corner and it is their backside flying away, it is GREAT, on the paper airplane!

I thought the story was sparse, it could have been more developed and interesting. But the Caldecott is for illustrations and they are really excellent!

The Hello, Goodbye Window 2006 Caldecott Award

What a marvelous book! The Hello, Goodbye Window, by Norton Jestor, 2006 Caldecott Award, narrator is a little girl visiting at her Nanna and Poppy's house. The kitchen is the center of the house. The little girl feels great love and warmth when she is with her grandparents in this kitchen with the hello, goodbye window. The reader is a spectator peeping through the window watching the perfect grandparent/grandchild visit.

The illustrations, by Chris Raschka, add to the child's voice and the charm of the book. They flow so effortlessly through the story giving the feeling of a safe place for a child to be, and isn't that the true definition of what a grandparent's house is suppose to be. The love for this child is evident through the words and the illustrations.

The title, the cover, the name, what a package with a great story to boot. This book would be excellent to read with your younger children. They would find great comfort when a grandparent reads this story to them

The Invention of Hugo Cabret Caldecott Award 2008

When you see The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick on the bookshelf the first thing you notice is that it doesn't look like the typical Caldecott Medal Award winner; it looks more like War and Peace! It is massive with a total of 534 pages! But, as you flip through the pages you realize, yes, this is a Caldecott book, look at all of the illustrations! The Invention Of Hugo Cabret is about a boy, Hugo Cabret. He is an orphan whose uncle takes him to live in a Paris train station to take care of all the clocks. His uncle disappears and Hugo is left to fend for himself while still keeping the clocks working. Hugo stands to lose everything he cares about; notebook, automaton, stolen key, and a hidden message, if the contrary, old man who runs the toy booth at the station has his way.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret is told through narrative and illustrations. There are 284 pencil drawn, black and white illustrations. The characters are well developed and you find yourself holding your breath as Hugo races through the train station. I enjoyed this book, tremendously! I cared about the characters and hoped for a happy ending for Hugo.