Each Kindness

Each Kindness

By: Jacqueline Woodson

Illustrated by: E. B. Lewis

2013-2014 MD Black-Eyed Susan Nominee

In Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson, kindness is compared to a ripple in the water's surface when a stone is thrown plunked into the water. The ripple gets bigger and bigger as it spreads throughout the world. When Maya comes to school, the girls were mean to her. They wouldn't talk to her and made fun of her second-hand clothes. They wouldn't even smile at her when she tried to smile at them. Then one day, Maya was gone. When everyone got to drop a stone into a bowl of water to see how their kindness spreads, one girl could not think of anything she had done. She felt bad for how she treated Maya, but now it was too late to say sorry. 

Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson is a great story for World Kindness Day (13 November) and to teach children that the kindness they show to everyone around them, just gets bigger and brighter!!

Dia de los Muertos!

Ghosts

By Raina Telgemeier

Does the author's name look familiar? You bet it does! Raina Telgemeier is also the author of Smile, Sisters and Drama! Ghosts is her stand-alone graphic novel and is also a MD Black-Eyed Susan nominees for graphic novels grades 4-6. Ghosts tells of Cat's move to Northern California with her family. Her sister, Maya, has Cystic Fibrosis and up north is better for her health than in Southern California. Something seems very different about their new city of Bahia de la Luna. Everyone seems preoccupied with ghosts and when Dia de los Muertos comes around on the 1st of November, the ghosts come out to play and Cat learns that there is nothing to be afraid of. Throughout the book there is an undertone of breathing issues. It seems that the ghosts are very much like Cat's sister, whereas it is hard for her to breathe. The ghosts have their own issues with air and need to borrow a small bit of breath from the living to talk. Maya also mentions to Cat that her life may be cut short and she doesn't want Cat to be afraid of her if she comes to her as a ghost. 

This is a great book for children if they are struggling with a death of loved one or facing an uncertain future of their own. Raina Telgemeier paints a beautiful picture of ghosts as people who have passed, but still love us and want to spend time with us. If you have never read a graphic novel, then this is a good one to down with and read. Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier is a really good and moving story!

Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match

Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match

By: Monica Brown

Illustrated by: Sara Palacios

Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match was a MD Black-Eyed Susan nominee in 2013-2014. 

Little girls love to mismatch! Marisol is no exception, but she takes it to unusual lengths. She writes in cursive and in print, she brings peanut butter and jelly burritos to lunch, she likes to play soccer-playing pirates and she speaks spanglish. One day on the playground, Ollie says to Marisol that she couldn't match even if she wanted to! Marisol takes this as a challenge and comes in the next day with matching clothes. She plays just a pirate at recess and eats a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on mushy white bread. Marisol's teacher asks her if she is okay and at the end of the day gives Marisol a note explaining that she likes Marisol just the way she is. Marisol learns that it's okay to be different. It's important to be YOU!

Maybe Something Beautiful by F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell

Maybe Something Beautiful

By F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell

In a drab, gray world, Mira draws beautifully colorful pictures and hands them out to people in her community until one day she meets a man. This man was a muralist and with his brush he spread colorful sunshine throughout the city. Neighbors, family, friends all joined in with the muralist and Mira and the music played and the city came alive with color! It brought the city together and made the people happy. 

Maybe Something Beautiful by F. Isabel Campoy is based on a true story of downtown San Deigo, CA. Rafael and Candice Lopez came up with the idea to color their community in effort to bring people together through art. Rafael was an artist and his wife, Candice, was a graphic design. Together they invited their whole community to come up with the concept of the Urban Art Trail. They painted murals and benches and utility boxes...and transformed their neighborhood into something beautiful. 

Here are few links to checkout:

Maybe Something Beautiful website

Rafael Lopez talks about an upcoming mural in Chicago

Here are some pictures of the Urban Art Trail in San Diego and a picture of Rafael Lopez. Notice how things like Port-o Potties and junction boxes are painted!

Helen's Big World: The Life of Helen Keller

Helen's Big World: The Life of Helen Keller

By: Doreen Rapport

Illustrated by: Matt Tavares

October is World Blindness Awareness Month

Has there ever been a more celebrated advocate for the blind than Helen Keller? Helen Keller was not born blind. In fact, she was a perfectly healthy baby until she became sick at 19-months old. Her sickness left her in a dark world that she didn't understand and a world that she fought against.  Alone and afraid, Helen raged against her new, dark world. Helen's parents didn't know how to help her until Annie Sullivan came into her life. Annie Sullivan had been legally blind, but after several operations she was able to see again, but her eyes were weak. Annie worked with Helen and brought light to her world and gave her words to communicate with those around her. 

Helen's Big World was a MD Black-Eyed Susan Nominee in 2014-2015 and is a wonderful picture book about the life of Helen Keller. It is also a wonderful book to teach kids that there is no boundary to your dreams and with hard work and dedication, you can accomplish anything.

Seven and a Half Tons of Steel

Seven and a Half Tons of Steel

By Janet Nolan

Illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez

Wow! This is an amazing book about a beam that was taken from the wreckage of  the Twin Towers after they collapsed. This beam was melted down and molded into the bow of the USS New York. Construction of the Navy warship was halted due to Hurricane Katrina, but the workers made a camp at the shipyard and building continued until the USS New York was placed in the water and started it's journey home to New York. From New York, the mighty ship sailed into the Atlantic only to return in 2011 to it's home port for the 10th anniversary of 9/11. 

For those of us who were a part of this American tragedy or who watched helpless on televisions around the world, this book is a reminder of that fateful day, but a solid lesson that there are good, strong things that come out of the even the worst situations. 

Just a forewarning, have tissues handy!

Peter Brown in The Creepy Carrots Zone

Creepy Carrots is a Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Nominee this year and one of the favorites. It's about a young bunny who gets stalked by his favorite snack...CARROTS! The illustrations make this book kinda creepy too and knowing the inspiration behind the artwork makes the book more special. I hope you enjoy this little tidbit by Peter Brown, illustrator of Creepy Carrots!

Hampire By Sudipta Bardham-Quallen

Hampire

By Sudipta Bardham-Quallen

What a creepy tale of a vampire piggy that is sorely misunderstood. Hampire marvelously sets up the reader and builds the suspense right up to the moment Hampire has everyone cornered. What happens next is the true mystery you'll uncover when you read Hampire by Sudipta Bardham-Quallen.

Picture Book