Thurgood

Schwartz & Wade Books 

(Random House Books)
(pub. 9.3.2019) 
40 pages

A True Tale with

A Cherry On Top   

A uthor: Jonah Winter
and illustrator:   
Bryan Collier

 
C haracter: Thurgood Marshall

O verview: 

"FACT: Thurgood Marshall was a born lawyer, always arguing.

FACT: Thurgood Marshall grew up to become the first black justice on the Supreme Court.
  
FACT: Thurgood Marshall revolutionized America.
   
  Before Rosa Parks, before Martin Luther King Jr., before the civil rights movement, there was Thurgood, fighting for African Americans - and winning. Here is the powerful story of the trailblazer who proved separate is not equal."

T antalizing taste: 
     "As it turned out, this sloppy kid with untucked pockets had a knack for arguing. He became captain of his high school debate team - unparalleled in his debating AND talking skills. He gave epic classroom presentations - so long that his teachers would have to cut him off! No one could outtalk Thurgood - especially once he went to college ..."

And something more: The Author's Note states that "there is no single person in American history who contributed more to the cause of civil rights than Thurgood Marshall in terms of the sheer number of legal rights he secured through court battles.  Starting in 1936 with the University of Maryland case [whereby the law school would have to accept black students] and continuing through the twenty-nine Supreme Court cases he won as the NAACP's top lawyer until 1961; his fourteen Supreme Court victories a Solicitor General, and his profound legacy as a Supreme Court justice, Marshall helped to make America 'a more perfect union,' to quote the U.S. Constitution. He was a giant."

Elvis is King!

Schwartz & Wade
(Penguin Random House)
(pub. 1.8.2019) 
40 pages

A True Tale with
A Cherry On Top   

A uthor:  Jonah Winter

 and illustrator:
 Red Nose Studio
 
C haracter: Elvis Presley

O verview: 
     "Here’s the perfect book for anyone who wants to introduce rock ‘n’ roll and its king to the child in their lives. In single- page “chapters” with titles like “The First Cheeseburger Ever Eaten by Elvis” and “Shazam! A Blond Boy Turns into a Black-Haired Teenager,” readers can follow key moments in Presley’s life, from his birth on the wrong side of the railroad tracks in the Deep South, to playing his first guitar in grade school, to being so nervous during a performance as a teenager that he starts shaking . . . and changes the world!

       Jonah Winter and Red Nose Studio have created a tour-de-force that captures a boy’s loneliness and longing, along with the energy and excitement, passion, and raw talent that was Elvis Presley."

T antalizing taste: 

     "Elvis Tries to Make a *Real* Record

     But - he's just sitting in this chair,
     not moving, not excited,
     no feeling in his voice.
     The recording guy just shakes his head.

     Elvis Tries to Make a *Real* Record (Take Two)]

     So, Elvis and the other musicians are goofing around
     during a break - having fun with a popular blues song
     called 'That's All Right.'
     Elvis is standing up now and shaking his hips
     and doing these crazy moves with his knees  
     and making his voice all wobbly.
     The recording guy perks up:
     'LET'S RECORD THAT!'

And something more: Jonah Winter's Author's Note includes a detailed background about Elvis Presley and his success, including the following: "What is most amazing is just how fast Elvis went from being a shy, stuttering teenager to being on top of the pop music world... Elvis was the biggest music star in America - and he was only twenty-one years old.
     It is undeniable that Elvis owed much of his success to the essential fact that he was white during a era of massive discrimination against African Americans, an era when the music world was blatantly segregated. The first person to record him... was looking for a white musician to play 'black music' for white teenagers.... 
     Elvis took inspiration from anywhere he could find it --  rhythm and blues gospel, country and western, and crooners... he was always at heart a country boy. And this is why I have included Southern dialect here and there. I am from the South, and my ancestors are from Mississippi and Alabama. My Texas grandmother, one of my favorite people of all time, used to  say 'Good Lordy Mercy!' - as do many people from this part of the world. I included such phrases out of love and compassion."

You Never Heard of Willie Mays?!

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Schwartz & Wade Books
(Random House)
(pub.1.8.2013) 40 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Jonah Winter
      and Illustrator: Terry Widener

    

C haracter: Willie Mays

O verview from the publisher's website: 

      "He hit 660 home runs (fourth best of all time), had a lifetime batting average of .302, and is second only to Babe Ruth on The Sporting News's list of 'Baseball's 100 Greatest Players.' Many believe him to be the best baseball player that ever lived. His name is Willie Mays. In Jonah Winter and Terry Widener's fascinating picture book biography, young readers can follow Mays's unparalleled career from growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, to playing awe-inspiring ball in the Negro Leagues and then the Majors, where he was center fielder for the New York (later San Francisco) Giants. Complete with sidebars filled with stats, and a cool lenticular cover, here is a book for all baseball lovers, young and old."

T antalizing taste: 

     "You could fill a whole book with all the jaw-droppin' plays Willie made, all the homers he hit, all the bases he stole. But what made 'the Catch' in '54 so special was that millions of people all over America had seen it on TV ... 
      Just look at him: Even as he falls to his knees after makin' that play, his eyes still takin' in the path of the ball - even then, you could see he was mentally still in the game, wantin' to win, never givin' up, ready for more.
     Yessir, in that one moment when Willie made the Catch, he showed the world a new way of playing the game. He changed how people saw his skin. In his own way, he changed the world."

and something more: Today's feature of yet another baseball player biography picture book was inspired by fellow kidlit blogger, Jeff Barger at NC Teacher Stuff. Jeff asked if I knew of any picture book about Willie Mays. Voila! Jeff had recently visited my favorite and local baseball stadium, AT&T Park in San Francisco, and I had mentioned the sculpture of Willie Mays in front of the ballpark.
     I learned that WIllie Mays joined the SF Giants in 1958. Just this past May, Willie Mays celebrated his 82nd birthday and the San Francisco Chronicle posted photos from his career. A living legend and amazing role model!

Jazz Age Josephine

Dancer, Singer, who's that, who?

Why, that's MISS Josephine Baker, to you!

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday 

hosted today by Gathering Books

Atheneum Books for Young Children

(Simon and Schuster)

(pub. 1.3.2012)  40 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Jonah Winter

     and Illustrator:  Marjorie Priceman

C haracter: Josephine Baker

O verview from the jacket flap: 

      "She can Bunny Hug and Grizzly Bear. She can Turkey Trot and do the Charleston. 

       It's the 1920s, and the world is alive with the sounds of this new music called jazz. Everyone get up and dance! (Wait, not everyone.) 

       Josephine has all the moves, but she also has dark skin and some think that means she should stay in the shadows - or only play the clown. But that simply will not work for Miss Josephine. Instead she dances her way into big shows, onto big stages. She dances her way to New York and Paris. She dances her way out of poverty and into stardom..."

        

T antalizing taste: 

 "You see, the shack where she lived, 

        it didn't have no heat.

Things were sometimes so bad,

there wasn't nothin' to eat.

She slept on the floor,

newspapers for a sheet -

rats crawlin' all around,

a-nibblin' at her feet.

'Josephine,' her grandma said,

'I got a fairy tale for you.

           'Josephine, oh Josephine,

            this story's 'bout a girl like you.

Someday you're gonna be a princess -

you know what Granny says is true.'"

          

and something more: I was fascinated to learn more about Josephine Baker in Jonah Winter's Author's Note at the back of Jazz Age Josephine: "As her performing days were tapering off, Josephine adopted twelve children from around the world and called them the 'Rainbow Tribe.' Her commitment to racial integration did not stop here. In 1963, she spoke at the same civil rights convention in Washington, D.C., where the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. made his famous speech, 'I Have a Dream.'... During her funeral procession through Paris, more than 20,000 mourners lined the streets." Josephine overcome obstacles and injustices, and became the adored person her grandmother inspired her to be.

Just Behave, Pablo Picasso!

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday 

hosted today by Rasco From RIF

Arthur A. Levine (Scholastic)

(pub. 2.1.2012)  48 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Jonah Winter

     and Illustrator: Kevin Hawkes

C haracter: Pablo Picasso

O verview from the jacket flap: 

         "Pablo Picasso may have been a world-famous artist, but that doesn't mean no one ever called his artwork 'ugly.' 

           Any kid who's been told what to draw, or heard mean things about something they made, will relate to this story about how Pablo faced down his critics and made something truly original.

           Inspiring, playful, brilliant - that was Picasso! They told him 'Just behave ...' And he almost never listened!'

     

T antalizing taste: 

     "... All anyone wants is for him to keep painting the same old picture, over and over. Well, guess what? He doesn't want to, he doesn't have to, and he's not going to!  HAH!

       ... 'But Pablo,' says a fellow artist, 'your new painting doesn't look real.'

           'Everything you can imagine,' says Pablo, 'is real.'

           And sure enough, the crazy shapes and images you see when you close your eyes are very much a part of you, just as real as what you see with open eyes."

and something more: What a great idea -- to make Pablo Picasso a superhero! Artists have always been heroes in my mind. I love Kevin Hawke's illustration of Pablo as he literally "bursts through the canvas [of a peaceful, lovely landscape painting], paintbrush in hand, ready to paint something fresh and new." 

      I'm curious about Jonah Winter's dedication in Just Behave, Pablo Picasso: "For Sofia Corporan and her students (past, present, and future)"  Perhaps his art teacher at some point?

    

Born and Bred in the Great Depression

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday 

hosted today by Booktalking

Schwartz & Wade (Random House)

(pub. 10.11.2011)  40 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Jonah Winter

     and Illustrator: 
                 Kimberly Bulcken Root

C haracter: Jonah Winter's father

O verview from the publisher: 

         "East Texas, the 1930s—the Great Depression. Award-winning author Jonah Winter's father grew up with seven siblings in a tiny house on the edge of town. In this picture book, Winter shares his family history in a lyrical text that is clear, honest, and utterly accessible to young readers, accompanied by Kimberly Bulcken Root's rich, gorgeous illustrations. Here is a celebration of family and of making do with what you have—a wonderful classroom book that's also perfect for children and parents to share."

T antalizing taste: 

"At Christmastime, you might not have gotten

many toys,

but it was magical to watch

the trains pass by.

to see the blue lights

twinkling in the windows of the dining car.

And it was a good day

if you got to play chess

with your dad

or listen to him play the banjo on the porch

in his special style,

two fingers gone

from a lumber mill accident."

and something more: Jonah Winter tells a poignant story about his father in Born and Bred in the Great Depression.  I was particularly drawn to the description of "a good day" as one in which he played chess with his dad or listened to him play the banjo. My son has taken up the banjo and he bought a wonderful used banjo from an experienced banjo player who said he bought this banjo, one of his first banjos, in college from someone who had played it during the Depression. If only that banjo could tell the stories of the people who played it and the settings where it was played.  Who knows? Maybe it crossed the path of the family of Jonah Winter's father.