My most favorite children’s book is, Summer of My German Soldier, by Bette Green. I attended a children’s writing conference in 1973 which Bette attended. She signed my book for me. I wish I still had it.
The story is told in first person narrative by a twelve-year-old Jewish girl named Patty Bergen living in Jenkinsville, Arkansas during World War II. The story focuses on the friendship between Patty and an escaped German POW named Anton. Patty first meets Anton when a group of German POWs visits her father's store. Anton teaches Patty that she is a person of value. In return, she protects Anton by hiding him above her father's garage.
When picking out books for your children, don’t forget our Maine writers, Robert McCloskey, Blueberries for Sal, Make Way for Ducklings, One Morning in Maine; and Margaret Wise Brown, Goodnight Moon, Runaway Bunny.
The following are award-winning books for 2011. The Caldecott and Newbery Awards for children’s literature is the Pulitizer Prize of that genre. These books should give you a good base to start from when picking out or helping your child pick out a book to read. I have given you some reviews and some descriptions to help you.
A Sick Day for Amos McGee, Illustrated by Erin Stead/Written by Philip Christian Stead
Winner of the Caldecott Award, 2011
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 2—Amos McGee, an elderly man who works at the zoo, finds time each day for five special friends. With empathy and understanding he gives the elephant, tortoise, penguin, rhinoceros, and owl the attention they need. One morning, Amos wakes up with a bad cold and stays home in bed. His friends wait patiently and then leave the zoo to visit him. Their trip mirrors his daily bus ride to the zoo and spans three nearly wordless spreads. Amos, sitting up in bed, clasps his hands in delight when his friends arrive. The elephant plays chess with him, and the tortoise plays hide-and-seek. The penguin keeps Amos's feet warm, while the rhinoceros offers a handkerchief when Amos sneezes. They all share a pot of tea. Then the owl, knowing that Amos is afraid of the dark, reads a bedtime story as the other animals listen. They all sleep in Amos's room the rest of the night. The artwork in this quiet tale of good deeds rewarded uses woodblock-printing techniques, soft flat colors, and occasional bits of red. Illustrations are positioned on the white space to move the tale along and underscore the bonds of friendship and loyalty. Whether read individually or shared, this gentle story will resonate with youngsters.—Mary Jean Smith, Southside Elementary School, Lebanon, TN
Interrupting Chicken, by David and Ezra Stein
Caldecott Honor Award, 2011
Interrupting Chicken is the cutest story. It is about The Little Read Chicken who cannot help but interrupt Papa when he reads a bedtime story each night. As Papa reads, the little chicken knows the characters, whether Hansel and Gretel or Little Red Riding Hood, are about to get into trouble, so she shouts out and interrupts the story never allowing Papa to finish. Little Red Chicken gets so excited keeping the story characters out of trouble, that she still isn't asleep. It's frustrating for Papa, so Little Red Chicken offers to read him a story instead, and before long she puts him to sleep.
This is the perfect story to teach little ones manners and the concept that it is rude to interrupt. David Ezra Stein is both the author and the illustrator. The colors are fabulous and the illustrations are whimsical. It's a cute story for parent and child. Ages 4-8; RECOMMENDED - 5/5 stars.
Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave, Illustrated by Brya Collier/ Written by Laban Carrick Hill
Caldecott Honor Award, 2011
Enslaved potter Dave produced thousands of beautiful pieces of pottery over the course of his life, a true accomplishment given that the institution of slavery denied most African Americans access to skilled trades. Dave's pottery is even more extraordinary given that a number of pieces were inscribed with poems he wrote himself at a time when southern states prohibited the education of slaves.
This thoughtful, creative picture book pays tribute to Dave the potter. Rhythmic verse and expressive watercolor/collage images harmoniously present the story of how Dave would have created one of his lovely jars, from transforming the earth into clay and spinning the clay on the wheel, to finishing the piece with an inscription and glaze. Together with the afterword, the prose and illustrations provide a useful resource for teaching young learners about slavery and different ways in which African Americans resisted this oppressive system.
Moon Over Manifest, by Clare Vanderpod
Winner Newbery Medal, 2011
Moon Over Manifest begins with rough-and-tumble, Depression-era stock heroine, Abilene Tucker, arriving in her father's hometown of Manifest, Kansas. She's used to hopping trains, poor living conditions, a rough life and being a little rough around the edges. You know the type. Her father has taken a railroad job in Iowa, and claiming that the situation isn't proper for a young lady, has sent her to spend the summer with his old friend, bootlegger-turned-pastor, Shady Howard. Or, at least, her father says it is only for the summer...
Looking for clues to her father's past, Abilene instead stumbles instead on a little tin filled with some keepsakes and letters, piquing her interest in a couple of young men named Ned and Jinx, and a spy called "the Rattler."
And this is where the story comes alive...
Through the recollections of an old Gypsy fortune teller, Abilene learns about the lives of Jinx, Ned, and about the once-lively town of Manifest, Kansas. Vanderpool manages to effortlessly weave in the stories of Manifest in 1918, on the brink of the Great War, with the Depression-era Manifest of 1939. Sometimes, stories with multiple narratives can be frustrating -- just as you start to get into one story, the author switches to the other -- but Vanderpool balances both very well, never sinking to obvious cliff-hangers nor spending too much time in one "place."
A book about a girl I think you could get a boy to read, best for ages 10-14.
Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night, Illustrated by Rick Allen, Written by Joyce Sidman
Newbery Honor, 2011
"Dark Emperor and other Poems of the Night" is a spectacular collection of nocturnal songs of plants and animals who love and inhabit the night world. Each poem describes the habits and behaviors of a special nocturnal plant or animal in terse, imaginative poetry. On the facing page is a prose section giving further information about the subject of the poem, like an added nature study. The final embellishment consists of the layered, dark prints made by a special and tedious process of relief printing, then laboriously hand tinted. "Dark Emperor" is a spectacular work of yoked imaginations and arts that teaches while it enchants/ A glossary of terms in muted colors completes this lovely book of original verse. From a bay porcupine, called a porcupette, to a little red eft, many exotic creatures of the night inspire these poems. In closing, a quotation from the poem of the title: "O Dark Emperor/ of hooked face and/ hungry eye: turn that/ awful beak away/ from me;/ disregard/ the tiny hiccup of my heart as I flee (p. 12)." "Dark Emperor" is suitable for children ages 7 and up.
Heart of a Samurai, by Margi Preus
Newbery Honor, 2011
By Yana V. Rodgers "econkids.rutgers.edu"
In 1841, fourteen-year-old Manjiro worked as the youngest fisherman aboard a small Japanese boat with four other men. After a severe storm caused their boat to drift far out to sea, the men finally found shelter on a small deserted island. Not only did sheer survival prove a growing challenge, but the men had to face the nagging worry of how Japanese officials would treat them if they were rescued. The government had closed Japan's borders to all foreigners in the early 1600s, and anyone who left the country could be put to death upon returning to Japan.
In 1841, fourteen-year-old Manjiro worked as the youngest fisherman aboard a small Japanese boat with four other men. After a severe storm caused their boat to drift far out to sea, the men finally found shelter on a small deserted island. Not only did sheer survival prove a growing challenge, but the men had to face the nagging worry of how Japanese officials would treat them if they were rescued. The government had closed Japan's borders to all foreigners in the early 1600s, and anyone who left the country could be put to death upon returning to Japan.
After six grueling months living as castaways, Manjiro and his compatriots were rescued by an American whaling ship and brought to Hawaii. During this period the captain and Manjiro developed a father-son connection, so Manjiro continued the voyage with him to Massachusetts. Although Manjiro enjoyed life on the captain's farm and he learned quickly at school, the discriminatory treatment he faced in the community as the only Japanese boy prevented him from feeling completely at home. Year later, California's gold rush provided an opportunity to save enough money for returning home, but would the Japanese government permit him to re-enter the country after such a long time of living with the "barbarians"?
Middle grade readers will appreciate this engaging tale of a courageous child who survived near starvation on a deserted island, earned the respect of a bunch of rough sailors on a whaling ship, adapted to an entirely different culture, and risked execution for returning to Japan. Intrinsic to the storyline are a set of useful economics lessons about jobs, savings, and natural resources. The historical context provides an interesting opportunity to discuss the repercussions of sealing a country's borders to the outside world, an issue that is still relevant today.
One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams-Garcia
Newbery Honor, 2011
In 1841, fourteen-year-old Manjiro worked as the youngest fisherman aboard a small Japanese boat with four other men. After a severe storm caused their boat to drift far out to sea, the men finally found shelter on a small deserted island. Not only did sheer survival prove a growing challenge, but the men had to face the nagging worry of how Japanese officials would treat them if they were rescued. The government had closed Japan's borders to all foreigners in the early 1600s, and anyone who left the country could be put to death upon returning to Japan.
After six grueling months living as castaways, Manjiro and his compatriots were rescued by an American whaling ship and brought to Hawaii. During this period the captain and Manjiro developed a father-son connection, so Manjiro continued the voyage with him to Massachusetts. Although Manjiro enjoyed life on the captain's farm and he learned quickly at school, the discriminatory treatment he faced in the community as the only Japanese boy prevented him from feeling completely at home. Year later, California's gold rush provided an opportunity to save enough money for returning home, but would the Japanese government permit him to re-enter the country after such a long time of living with the "barbarians"?
Middle grade readers will appreciate this engaging tale of a courageous child who survived near starvation on a deserted island, earned the respect of a bunch of rough sailors on a whaling ship, adapted to an entirely different culture, and risked execution for returning to Japan. Intrinsic to the storyline are a set of useful economics lessons about jobs, savings, and natural resources. The historical context provides an interesting opportunity to discuss the repercussions of sealing a country's borders to the outside world, an issue that is still relevant today.
Turtle in Paradise, by Jennifer L. Holm
Newbery Honor, 2011
A Kid's Review
11 year old Turtle knows life is not all peaches and cream, unlike her single mother who has big dreams of Hollywood. Now, Turtle does not like people who make life seem like this, such as Shirley Temple. Turtle is head- strong and doesn't shed a tear when she's sent off to spend the summer with her aunt and cousins for the summer, while her mother is working as a housekeeper for a woman who does not like children one bit.
In her relative's Florida home she meets her cousins, which are all boys. Her cousins are in a group called The Diaper Gang, which is a club of all boys, who take care of babies who cry a lot and take care of them to change their crying personality around. Instead of getting paid by money, they get paid by candy.
Turtle ends up sort of joining this club even though the boys have one major rule and that is "No Girls Allow". The Diaper Gang ends up going on a fantastic adventure and find some long-last treasure on an island a while away from their home. They end up "borrowing" a boat to get there. On the island they end up going through The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, a strong, massive hurricane which was a Category 5, the worst of all. They do feel some strong winds, but most of the hurricane had its eye on a different section of Florida. They do end up finding the treasure, which contained thousands of dollars, and they also end up getting rescued by a local sailor that lives near them, since their boat floated away when they first got to the island.
When they return to Key West, they all divide the money between them. Turtle's grandmother also ends up liking her, and under all of her grandmother's tough personality they actually end up sharing a special bond together. There is also a surprise at the end that ends up being sad, but happy at the end.
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