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."

All The Way to America

The Story of A Big Italian Family

and A Little Shovel

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday hosted today by Check It Out and joins It's Monday! What are you reading? at  Teacher Mentor Texts

Knopf Books for Young Readers (Random House)

(pub. 3.8.2011) 40 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor and illustrator: Dan Yaccarino

    

C haracters: Dan Yaccarino's family

O verview from the jacket flap: 

      "Michele Iaccarino journeyed from his home in Italy all the way to America, searching for a better life. He brought big dreams, a small shovel, and his parents' good advice: 'Work hard, but remember to enjoy life, and never forget your family.'

     Now, many years later, Michele's great-grandson Dan Yaccarino tells how he succeeded. Dan shows us four generations of this proud Italian American family, and how the little shovel has been passed from father to son - along with the good advice.

     It's a story that captures the experience of so many American families: each generation doing a bit better than the last; each generation holding fast to the memories and traditions of their forebears.

    And it's a story meant for sharing. One that will have kids asking their grandparents: where did we come from? How did our family make the journey, all the way to America?"

        

T antalizing taste: 

   "My great-grandfather Michele Iaccarino grew up on a farm in Sorrento, Italy. When he was a boy, his father gave him a little shovel so he could help tend the zucchini, tomatoes, and strawberries that his family sold in the village...

     Michael [Michele's new name] polished his little shovel till it shined and used it to measure out flour and sugar...

     Now the little shovel belonged to Dan [Michael's son], and he used it to measure out beans, macaroni, and olives...

     Mike [Michael's son] opened a barbershop, and he used the little shovel to pour rock salt over the sidewalk whenever it snowed...

     'Work hard,' my father told me [Dan, the author/illustrator of this book] as he handed me the little shovel. 'But remember to enjoy life.'

     'And don't forget to call your family,' said my mother ...

     Now I watch Michael and his sister, Lucy, [the author's children] work on our small terrace with the very same shovel that their great-great-grandfather brought all the way to America..."

and something more:  Dan Yaccarino has explained that he solved the question of how to structure his family's story in All the Way to America when he realized that the connective tissue, the thread, of the story would be the shovel that connected the generations. It's fun to see the author photo on the back flap showing him holding this family shovel.

          I heard a wonderful talk, titled "Yes!", by Dan Yaccarino at the Asilomar writer's conference this past spring. He said that many moments of success during his career came from his willingness to say YES! even when the new opportunity seemed overwhelming or beyond his current capability.  The power of positive thinking! 

Bon Appetit!

The Delicious Life of Julia Child

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday 

hosted today by Practically Paradise

and joins It's Monday! What are you Reading? at Teacher Mentor Texts

Schwartz & Wade Books (Random House)

(pub. 5.22.2012)  48 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor and illustrator: Jessie Hartland

C haracter: Julia Child

O verview from the jacket flap: 

      "She changed the way all of us - kids and grown-ups - eat in America.

        She starred in a pioneering TV cooking show.

        Growing up, she was a tomboy and a prankster.

        She had size 12 feet!

        She worked as a spy during World War !!.

        She wrote one of the greatest cookbooks of all time.

        Here's the delicious, true story - from soup to nuts - of the one and only Julia Child."

        

T antalizing taste: 

   "... Boston public TV station WGBH offers Julia her own cooking show.

    'I'd like to call it THE FRENCH CHEF. It's short and to-the-point.'

     Even people who don't like to cook watch the show and love it!

     [On The Chicken Show] Julia Child presents the chicken sisters. 'Miss Broiler! Miss Fryer! Miss Roaster! Miss Caponette! Miss Stewer! and old Madame Hen!'

     And Julia's advice should something fall on the floor? 'You can always pick it up. If you are alone in the kitchen, whoooooo is going to see?'

     The shows are not live, but - to save money - they are all shot in 'one take' (no editing) which is tricky.

     There are some very funny moments.

     Once Julia pulls a used bundle of herbs from a stockpot and says, 'It looks like a dead mouse.'

     Another time she simply TOSSES an inferior loaf of bread over her shoulder. 'No good! That bread!'

     ... On the suckling pig show she carefully cleans the pig's ears and teeth before cooking.  But when it comes out of the oven, she can't cut it into chops. 'You try to carve it - I certainly can't.'

     ... 'Oh, nuts! I burned the sauce.'  

     'Don't apologize for your cooking mistakes. It is what it is.'

                  'I'm Julia Child. Bon appetit!' *

                  * She ends each show saying this."

and something more: My sons attended the same high school as Julia Child, but in her day it was an all-girls boarding school. In Bon Appetit!, author Jessie Hartland writes "[Julia] really doesn't take school all that seriously. High school French class is a disaster. 'Je ne comprends pas.' "Tres mal!'  (She will make up for this later) ... Julia spends the first months [in Paris] studying French. She loves to talk and believes that nothing is more important than being able to communicate. She works hard. It will take her two years to speak well enough to get by; four years to be fluent."  

       Author-illustrator Jessie Hartland writes in her dedication, "... And lastly, thanks to my mom ... for fabricating for Xmas 1965 the brilliant French cafe dollhouse (complete with tiny food and menus in French!), which got me started on France, cooking, and Julia Child." Jessie's wonderful illustration of Julia cooking in her kitchen in Provence reminds me of a French dollhouse, with all the food, books and utensils labeled in French. How sweet is that?!  Tres bien!

Mrs. Harkness and the Panda

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday 

hosted today by Capstone Connect

Alfred A. Knopf (Random House Children's Books)

(pub. 3.13.2012)  40 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Alicia Potter

     and Illustrator:  Melissa Sweet

C haracter:  Ruth Harkness

O verview from the publisher: 

     In 1934, Ruth Harkness had never seen a panda bear. Not many people in the world had.
     But soon the young Mrs. Harkness would inherit an expedition from her explorer husband: the hunt for a panda. She knew that bringing back a panda would be hard. Impossible, even. But she intended to try.
     So she went to China, where she found a guide, built traps, gathered supplies, and had explorers' clothes made—unheard of for a woman in those days.  Then she set out up the Yangtze River and into the wilderness.  What she discovered would awe America: an adorable baby panda she named Su Lin, which means "a little bit of something very cute."
      With breathtaking illustrations from Caldecott Honor artist Melissa Sweet, this little-known true story shares the tale of an adventurous woman who was bold and brave—and the unforgettable journey that helped shape American attitudes toward wildlife.

T antalizing taste: 

       "Mrs. Harkness wanted to go with him. But women were considered too dainty for exploring. Still, she hoped to join Mr. Harkness at the end of the expedition. An adventure together!
       Many months passed. Then, on a winter afternoon, Mrs. Harkness received terrible news. Her husband had died in China. Mrs. Harkness was very sad. She had loved him so.
       That love inspired her to carry on with his work.
       Mrs. Harkness would go to China.  She would find the panda."

and something more:   I liked that the Author's Note in Mrs. Harkness and the Panda discussed the "question [of] whether it was right to take a baby panda from the wild. Our attitudes about animal conservation and zoos, as well as our knowledge of pandas' behavior, are much different than they were in the 1930s. Back then, before the advent of television and widespread commercial air travel, zoos were the primary way for people, including scientists to learn about and appreciate animals - particularly rare or unusual species.
       But even today, many conservationists admire Harkness's contribution to zoology. In bringing Su Lin to America, Harkness introduced the world to a tubby, bamboo-chomping ambassador. After Su Lin, the race to kill pandas for sport eventually lost much of its appeal. Instead, people rooted for their survival."  
      The concept of Su Lin as an "ambassador" for his species reminds me of my experience with my nonfiction picture book, Astro the Steller Sea Lion.  As I wrote in a piece for Children's Literature Network:  "At a book talk last year, I had the opportunity to introduce the incredible children’s book author and environmentalist, T.A. Barron, and share my book with him. He said it’s as if Astro is 'an ambassador for his species now.'  And that’s truly what he seems to be.  People have learned not only about Astro, but also about Steller sea lions, an endangered species, and the need to protect their habitat and limit commercial fishing."  And that makes me very pleased -- the idea of Astro the Ambassador.