The Iridescence of Birds: A Book About Henri Matisse by Patricia MacLachlan, illustrated by Hadley Hooper (Roaring Books Press, 2014).
I love this book about the famous modern artist Matisse. Written by the author of Sarah, Plain and Tall, it tells the story of Matisse when he was a little boy and how is mother influenced his art and the way he viewed the world by bringing color into their dreary grey surroundings in France. Hooper's illustrations perfectly capture the feeling of Matisse's work without just replicating it and keeps it playful for children.
You can find some good Matisse art activities for kids at The Crafty Classroom and Deep Space Sparkle.
My Grandpa and the Sea by Katherine Orr (Carolrhoda, 1990). This is a beautiful book about a little girl in St. Lucia and her grandpa who is a fisherman. When the big fishing boats deplete his source of fish, he decides to come up with a way to farm sea moss. Not only is it a beautifully illustrated book about a loving family, but it teaches environmental conservation.
For those who don't know, sea moss (also called Irish moss) is used to make drinks in the Caribbean. I haven't tried it yet, but I've always been curious. It's available bottled at many Caribbean groceries and restaurants, but you can make your own with this recipe.
If you're interested in learning more about sea moss farms, I found this video about a sea moss cultivation project in St. Andrew, Grenada. It's a very interesting process.
As part of Multicultural Children's Book Day, I am reviewing the book Beautiful Rainbow World by Suzee Ramirez and Lynne Raspet (Two Poppies, 2014), generously donated by the authors.
It's a really great idea for a book-- the authors got photographers to contribute diverse photos of children and then they put them alongside lyrics by folk singer Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou. You can download a free MP3 of the song with purchase of the book. (Right now they are offering free shipping, too- just go to their website here and use coupon code "MCCBD"- it's good through March 31).
As an activity for kids, I think it would be great to listen to the song while looking through this book. I can imagine kids would like pointing out their favorite photos and the adult could guide them in a conversation about why they like that picture and have them come up with stories about the kids and what they might be like. It's a fun way to foster and encourage diversity.
Multicultural
Children’s Book Day's official hashtag is #ReadYourWorld. The co-creators
of this unique event are Mia Wenjen from Pragmatic
Mom
and Valarie Budayr from Jump
Into a Book/Audrey Press. You can find a bio for
Mia and Valarie
here.
MCCBD’s
2015 Sponsors include Platinum Sponsors: Wisdom Tales Press, Daybreak Press Global Bookshop, Gold Sponsors: Satya House, MulticulturalKids.com, Author
Stephen Hodges and the Magic Poof, Silver Sponsors: Junior
Library Guild,
Capstone
Publishing, Lee and
Low Books,
The
Omnibus Publishing. Bronze
Sponsors:Double Dutch Dolls, Bliss Group Books, Snuggle
with Picture Books Publishing, Rainbow Books, Author FeliciaCapers, Chronicle Books Muslim Writers Publishing ,East West Discovery Press.
Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2015. I'm looking forward to sharing more with you in the coming year.
Here is a Pinterest board of some books to celebrate the holiday.
(Chinese New Year books have a separate board here.)
Here is a complete list of all books I read this year (not including picture books).
Ratings are out of 5 stars.
1. The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World by E.L. Konigsburg- *** (middle grade)
2. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie- ***** (fiction)
3. Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, the Couple Who Taught America How to Love by Thomas Maier- *** (non fiction)
4. Speechless by Hannah Harrington- *** (YA)
5. The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley- *** (YA)
6. The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson- **** (YA)
7. The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd- *** (YA)
8. Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan- **** (humor)
9. Picture Me Gone by Meg Rosoff- **** (YA)
10. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell- *** (YA)
11. Orange is the New Black by Piper Kaufman- **** (memoir)
12. Darius & Twig by Walter Dean Myers- **** (YA)
13. Night Film by Marisha Pessl- **** (fiction)
14. The Round House by Louise Erdich- *** (fiction)
15. The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty- *** (fiction)
16. Swamplandia! by Karen Russell- *** (fiction)
17. Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: A New English Version by Philip Pullman- ****
18. The Best American Short Stories 2013 edited by Elizabeth Strout- *** (fiction)
19. Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour- **** (YA)
20. Landline by Rainbow Rowell- **** (fiction)
21. After Her by Joyce Maynard- *** (fiction)
22. Withering Tights by Louise Rennison- *** (YA)
23. My Name is Not Easy by Debby Dahl Edwardson- *** (YA)
24. Where Did You Sleep Last Night?: A Personal History by Danzy Senna- **** (memoir)
25. Fed Up! by Wendy Oliver-Pyatt- *** (non-fiction)
26. The Nightmare by Lars Kepler- *** (fiction)
27. Claire of the Sea Light by Edwidge Danticat- *** (fiction)
28. Free Within Ourselves: The Development of African-American Children's Literature by Rudine Sims Bishop- **** (non-fiction)
29. Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd- **** (YA)
30. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett- **** (children's/YA)
31. To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han- **** (YA)
32. Ask the Passengers by A.S. King- *** (YA)
33. Fire with Fire by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian- **** (YA)
34. Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan- *** (YA)
35. My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories edited by Stephanie Perkins- *** (YA)
36. Wild Things! Acts of Mischief in Children's Literature by Betsy Bird, Julie Danielson, and Peter Sieruta (non-fiction)
As you can see, my favorite book of the year was definitely Americanah. I'd say The Impossible Knife of Being comes in second, and is certainly my favorite YA book of the year that I've read.
Merry Christmas Eve! In honor of the day, I am sharing with you all the picture book versions of The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore that I own.
I am starting off with the book my mom used to read to me every Christmas Eve when I was a kid. The book was originally hers, illustrated and "animated" by Meg Wohlberg, published in 1944. As you can see, unfortunately it's not in good shape anymore because it's been well loved for many years. But it's a great interactive pop up book.
Next is Tasha Tudor, published 1975. I love how her St. Nick plays with the pet cat and corgi and the toys that come to life. He also fits the original version from the poem, being short like an elf.
Rachel Isadora's African take (2009) is refreshing and works very well. I love her illustrations.
Niroot Puttapipat is a cut-paper artist who grew up in Thailand and now lives in England. This book (2007) has such wonderfully intricate pop-ups and designs. I love the silhouettes with the Victorian illustrations.
Another from my childhood, this book by Michael Hague (1981) has nice cozy illustrations with fun pop-ups that make it very accessible for children.
Jan Brett was one of my favorite illustrators as a kid. This book came out in 1998 when I was a little older, but I still really appreciated her signature borders and Scandinavian style. I also like that she included Santa's elves.
While this book was originally published in 1949, it is new to me, just buying it this year. I love Leonard Weigard's mod illustrations.
Well, that's it. For a Pinterest board of all the Christmas books I owned and read as a kid, you can click here. For other Christmas book suggestions, you can view that board here.
Merry Christmas! Thank you for reading.
The Secret Santa of Olde Stonington by Mark Kimball Moulton, illustrated by Susan Winget (Lang Graphics, 2003). This story takes place in Stonington, Connecticut-- a little seaside town I've often visited. It's about the true spirit of Christmas: kindness and generosity. I love the illustrations feel warm and comforting. You can find the author's blog here.
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