Nonfiction Picture Book - 10 for 10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This year, I have chosen ten picture books that tell about the lives of musicians. Music is such an important part of our lives, and the artists that create the tunes that lift our spirits sometimes face daunting challenges in order to spread their joy and set our toes tapping. I wish I could choose more than ten, but here is my list of great books that celebrate music and musicians:

 

 

 

 

 

The Music in George's Head: George Gershwin Creates Rhapsody in Blue by Suzanne Slade, Stacy Innerst (Illustrations)  

 

 

This is a great nonfiction picture book biography that tells readers about the life of George Gershwin and how he developed as a musician to create famous pieces, such as Rhapsody In Blue. This very well researched book pulls readers into the jazz scene of the 1920s and the ideas in George's head to create sounds and rhythms that had never been used before in popular music. The colorful and creative hand lettering along with the beautiful paintings add to the creative spirit of the book. Reading it really put me in the mood to go back and explore some of the famous songs that George and his brother, Ira, created!

 

 

 

 

 

Ada's Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay by Susan Hood, Sally Wern Comport  

 

 

This inspiring nonfiction picture book tells the story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay. "A town built on a landfill. A community in need of hope. A girl with a dream. A man with a vision. An ingenious idea." This book really captures the meaning of a growth mindset. The illustrations were created "from a hybrid technique of collage, acrylic glazes and paints, drawings, and digital mediums, then executed on stipple paper." I definitely need to get this book for my classroom library!  

 

 

 

 

 

Jazz Day: The Making of a Famous Photograph by Roxane Orgill, Francis Vallejo (Illustrations)  

 

 

This nonfiction picture book written in verse is an awesome resource for fans of jazz or anyone who would just like to learn more about the great musicians of this time. This book tells the story Art Kane's famous 1958 photograph for Esquire magazine. A special issue was being planned focusing on American jazz. Kane decided to gather as many jazz musicians as he could to pose for this picture in front of a Harlem brownstone building. The rhythm of the poetry along with the beautiful illustrations make this book an excellent resource. You can almost hear the music as you're reading. I definitely want to get my own copy of this book! 

 

 

 

 

 

Trombone Shorty by Troy Andrews, Bryan Collier (Illustrations)  

 

 

 

This is such an inspiring story of a young man growing up in New Orleans. Music was so important in his family and as a child he would make his own musical instruments so he could play with his brother (a trumpet player). When he found an old, discarded trombone he marched out in a Mardi Gras parade with it. The trombone was twice his size, so he earned the nickname "Trombone Shorty". Collier's illustrations, which are a mix of paintings and collage, are beautiful and really capture how special these times were to the author.

 

 

 

 

 

Mahalia Jackson: Walking with Kings and Queens by Nina Nolan  

 

 

This picture book biography has good information for young readers about the life of one of the most famous gospel singers. The language is accessible and a great starting point for further research, especially with a timeline and tips for learning more. The paintings that accompany the text are just beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

Hello, I'm Johnny Cash by G. Neri, A.G. Ford (Illustrations)  

 

 

I really enjoyed reading this book. I've always been a big fan of Johnny and June Cash. So this book captured my interest right away. The text, written in verse, takes us from Johnny Cash's young childhood (when he was called J.R.) through his start in music, his time in the Army, and his later years. The book takes a look at the rough times his family experienced through the Depression, the Great Flood of 1937, and his older brother's death. The book touches on Johnny Cash's battle with addiction in the notes at the end of the book, but it doesn't dwell on that aspect of his life. The paintings by A. G. Ford are absolutely gorgeous and are a fitting tribute to this legendary country singer. I'm not sure how many of my students are familiar with Johnny Cash or whether they're interested. I'm anxious to see what they think of this book. 

 

 

 

 

 

Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker by Patricia Hruby Powell, Christian Robinson (Illustrator)  

 

 

 I've always enjoyed reading and learning about the music and entertainment of the early twentieth century - imagining the flappers of the Roaring Twenties dancing the Charleston in Paris. So I was eager to read this book about the life of Josephine Baker. I loved it!

Right after the title page, is a page with this quote:

"I shall dance all my life....
I would like to die, breathless,
spent, at the end of a dance."
- Josephine Baker, 1927

The next page ends with, "America wasn't ready for Josephine, the colored superstar. PARIS WAS."

This biography, with stunning illustrations, takes us from Josephine's difficult childhood in St. Louis, through her hard work and determination to perform on vaudeville stages, to her arrival on Broadway. All throughout this story, you're faced with the sad reality of racial inequality and segregation. She couldn't enter through the front doors of the theaters in which she performed.

When she finally traveled across the Atlantic to France, she encountered a completely different world. The story takes readers through her rise to success abroad and her return to America. She wanted to make a difference in the lives of black people here.

This is an awesome biography. It definitely makes me want to learn even more about Josephine Baker's life. The author has included a good list of resources for readers who want to continue reading about her life. 

 

 

 

 

 

The Man with the Violin by Kathy Stinson, Dušan Petričić (Illustrations), Joshua Bell (Postscript)  

 

 

This was a beautiful story about a man playing a violin in a train station. A little boy and his mom are walking when the boy wants to stop and listen to the music. His mother is in a hurry and doesn't even notice the violinist. Very striking message about literally stopping to hear the music. Loved it! 

 

 

 

 

 

The Little Piano Girl: The Story of Mary Lou Williams, Jazz Legend by Ann Ingalls, Maryann Macdonald, Giselle Potter (Illustrator)  

 

 

The text & illustrations do a fantastic job of introducing Mary Lou Williams, a jazz musician. I learned quite a bit about this woman and feel inspired to find some of her music and listen to it. 

 

 

 

 

 

Blues Journey by Walter Dean Myers  

 

 

This picture book is a fascinating exploration of the music form known as the blues. The poetry of the blues tells the stories of the African American experience. Some of the blues are sad, but some of them express joy, love, and hope. Walter Dean Myers' poetry in this book could serve as a great mentor text as students could write their own blues. The illustrations by the author's son, Christopher Myers, are simply beautiful. According to the title page, the artwork was created with blue ink, white paint, and brown paper bags. I would love to have a copy of this in my classroom library! 

 

 

 

  

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey as a way to share what you have read and/or reviewed in the past week. It's also a terrific way to find out what other people are reading.

Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee Moye of Unleashing Readers have given this meme a children's literature focus: picture books, middle grade novels, etc. They "encourage everyone who participates to support the blogging community by visiting the other bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

 

 

 

 

It's been a busy week and weekend! We had an awesome Family Literacy Night at my school. It was wonderful to see so many of my students and their families come to enjoy an evening of games, books, food, and prizes!  I also accompanied my fourth graders on a trip to the Southern Theatre in Columbus to hear the Columbus Jazz Orchestra present their "All That Jazz" program. And of course, the Super Bowl! I didn't have a team in the mix this year, but that didn't stop me from cheering on the yummy snacks!  And of course, I managed to get in some time for reading. Hope you had a good week with great books! Here's what I've been reading:

Middle Grade Fiction

A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold

An ARC of this book was shared with me by a member of my #BookRelays group and I really enjoyed it a lot. This is a middle grade fiction book that would be a terrific fit in any elementary classroom.

It tells the story of Bixby Alexander Bat (aka Bat) and his experience caring for an orphaned baby skunk that his veterinarian mom brought home. Although Bat is a young boy on the autism spectrum, much of what he thinks and feels is so relatable to everyone. Just about all kids know what it is to be frustrated when things don't go their way: spilling hot cocoa down the front of your shirt, running out of your favorite flavors of yogurt, dropping your bag of candy on the floor of the candy store.

There is also the recurring theme of time, which most people know very well.

"Three months, (Bat) guessed, could be a little bit of time or a really long time, depending on who you were. For instance, a monarch butterfly born in the summer lives only about six weeks, so four months would feel like forever, but a monarch butterfly born in the winter might live for eight months, so four months would be just half its life. And if you were a boy with a skunk kit that you were only allowed to keep for one month, time was sure to pass much, much too quickly."

This book also looks at the way Bat interacts with other kids and how they get along with him. His developing friendship with a boy from his class and his growing understanding of his family members are heartwarming moments that could help kids understand and empathize with kids like Bat.

I also love Bat's outreach to Dr. Jerry Dragoo, a real-life skunk expert, to get his opinion on whether or not he might be able to keep his baby skunk. The author includes this expert's web address. This would be a terrific way to inspire kids to further research about skunks!

 

 

 

Picture Books

Cy Makes a Friend by Ann Marie Stephens, Tracy Subisak (Illustrations)

With adorable, heartwarming illustrations and a cast of mythological creatures, this awesome picture book tells the story of a lonely little cyclops that would love to have a friend. Making friends isn't easy if you're shy and inexperienced at it. Cy loves to spend time building new inventions, but he has no one to share his wonderful creations with. With enough preparation, investigation, and practice, Cy hopes to attract someone with whom he can share his time and inventions with. This book comes out in March and will be terrific to share with young readers who like to invent things and share them with friends, too.

 

 

 

 

 

A Greyhound, a Groundhog by Emily Jenkins, Chris Appelhans (Illustrations)  

 

 

This book is definitely a fun one to read aloud! The author has a delightful way of playing with words to create this tricky tongue twister story of a greyhound and a groundhog getting all tangled up running around with each other. Warm and friendly watercolor illustrations along with the rollicking text will make this a favorite on the bookshelf.

 

 

 

 

 

Wolf in the Snow by Matthew Cordell  

 

 

This nearly wordless picture book tells an awesome story of friendship and trust as a little girl and a wolf pup each become lost in a snowstorm. As the two run into each other, hearts will melt as they both help each other get home. Beautiful illustrations are bound to make this a favorite book to share with young readers. 

 

 

 

 

 

Faraway Fox by Jolene Thompson, Justin K Thompson (Illustrator)  

 

 

Beautifully illustrated, this book tells the story of a lonely little fox who's been separated from his family by human development in the forest where he was raised. As the fox shares poignant memories of his family, the illustrations show some of the steps that communities are beginning to take to help ease the impact human development has on wildlife populations. This would be a great book to share with young readers to start a conversation about ways we can help share the planet with nature. 

 

 

 

 

 

This is My Book! by Mark Pett  

 

 

This is a fun picture book that breaks down the wall between the author, the characters, and the reader. The author/illustrator of the book is trying explain the "rules" of his book, but the main character, an independent-minded panda, won't cooperate. As the panda writes his own words, creates his own characters, and adds fun features to the book (like tabs and pop-ups), the author realizes that books belong to everyone. This would be a lot of fun to share with young children.

 

 

 

 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey as a way to share what you have read and/or reviewed in the past week. It's also a terrific way to find out what other people are reading.

Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee Moye of Unleashing Readers have given this meme a children's literature focus: picture books, middle grade novels, etc. They "encourage everyone who participates to support the blogging community by visiting the other bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

 

 

 

 

 

It's been a busy week, but I still was blessed with time to get in some reading. Hopefully you had a great reading week, too.

 

 

 

 

 

Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir by Margarita Engle, Edel Rodriguez (Illustrations)  

 

 

This is a fascinating childhood memoir written in verse of Margarita Engle, a Cuban-American poet and novelist. She relates how her American father and Cuban mother met and fell in love. As a child, the family traveled back and forth as a matter of course between the beautiful island neighbor and her American home in California. She often felt torn between the two countries, like she didn't entirely belong to either. When the revolution in Cuba changed everything, it had a profound effect on her. The Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis not only closed the door on the ability to travel back and forth, but made her question the policies and ideologies that kept neighbors from talking to each other and solving problems peacefully. This would be a good book to share as part of a study on Cuba and America's relationship with it. It also may help understand some of the larger issues of nationalism and immigration that are relevant now.

 

 

 

 

 

A Poem for Peter by Andrea Davis Pinkney, Steve Johnson (Illustrations), Lou Fancher (Illustrations)  

 

 

This biographical tribute poem shares the inspiring life story of Ezra Jack Keats. Keats won the Caldecott Medal in 1963 for The Snowy Day, a story with an urban setting featuring an African American main character. This well researched narrative shares the difficult life of this son of Polish immigrants during a time when jobs and money were difficult to get and discrimination against Jews made his circumstances even more painful. The illustrations do a wonderful job of incorporating the collage techniques that made Keats' work special. I would definitely love to get my own copy of this book! 

 

 

 

 

 

Cat on the Bus by Aram Kim 

 

 

With spare text and lovely illustrations, this picture book tells the story of a homeless cat who dashes on to a city bus. He's befriended by a kind grandfather who takes the cat home. This story makes great use of onomatopoeia and would be fun to share in the classroom. 

 

 

 

 

 

Sewing Stories: Harriet Powers' Journey from Slave to Artist by Barbara Herkert  

 

 

This a well-illustrated and interesting picture book biography of Harriet Powers. Born into slavery, Harriet learned how to sew and tell stories through quilts. When slavery ended, her quilt-making became a skill that paid her well and caught the attention of many people. Interesting facts about the life and times of this artist are scattered in quilt blocks across the pages. End notes and a resource list make this book a good starting point for further research. 

 

 

 

 

 

President Taft Is Stuck in the Bath by Mac Barnett, Chris Van Dusen (Illustrations)  

 

 

This funny picture book tells the story of President William Howard Taft getting stuck in the bathtub in the White House. Hilarious illustrations show some of the most important members of his cabinet standing around the tub trying to figure out how to get him out. There is a list of fun facts about President Taft and bathtubs in the back of the book. 

 

 

 

 

 

Waiting for the Biblioburro by Monica Brown, John Parra (Illustrator)  

 

 

This is a fascinating book about a young girl who lives in a remote village where she doesn't have access to school or books. She has one book that she reads over and over again. All of that changes when she and her neighbors get a visit from a man leading two burros carrying library books on their backs. Based on the story of a real-life librarian, Luis Soriano Bohorquez, this book tells the story of a traveling library providing books to people who live in rural Colombia. This book is written in English and Spanish. 

 

 

 

 

 

The Animal Hedge by Paul Fleischman, Bagram Ibatoulline (Illustrator)  

 

 

This is a beautiful story about following your heart. A farmer has three sons and a barnyard full of animals. He loves the animals with all his heart and taking care of them is his greatest joy. But times get tough and he has to sell the animals and the farm. He and his sons move to a small house with a hedge all around it. Soon though this family sees magic in these hedges, as they are able to clip it and shape into their hearts' desires. Readers who enjoyed The Night Gardener by the Fan Brothers will love this narrative and it's wonderfully painted illustrations. 

 

 

 

 

 

Nocturne by Jane Yolen, Anne Hunter (Illustrator)  

 

 

This book would be a terrific one to share with young readers at bedtime. A parent and a child take a walk in to the nighttime world around their house and get to see the wonderful bits of life that they never get to see during the day. Beautiful, poetic language along with stunning paintings really make this book something to savor. In the end the child snuggles into bed with the dog sleeping on a rug beside it, to drift off too sleep dreaming about the wonders of the night. 

 

 

 

 

 

Letting Swift River Go by Jane Yolen, Barbara Cooney (Illustrator)  

 

 

This beautiful picture book tells the story of one girl's memories of the town where she was raised. Many years ago, the Swift River communities of western Massachusetts were bought by the government and flooded in order to form the Quabbin Reservoir. Sally Jane shares her happy childhood memories and her experiences once the purchase was made to quench the powerful thirst of Boston, many miles away. The illustrations complement the narrative perfectly. This book could be a great way to discuss how things change over time and the importance of preserving memories. 

 

 

 

 

 

The Garden of Abdul Gasazi by Chris Van Allsburg  

 

 

This Caldecott Honor book is one that I have not read until now. I really enjoyed it, as I have all of Chris Van Allsburg' books. Alan Mitz gets quite an adventure when he is asked to take care of Fritz, Miss Hester's dog. He's somewhat of a naughty animal, and runs away from Alan, into the forbidden garden of Abdul Gasazi, a retired magician. With beautiful black and white drawings, this story has Alan and readers wondering what really happened. I'm sure this could be used to start some wonderful discussions with young readers.