★
REVIEW TEAM FAVORITE
Make Way for Ducklings
By: Robert McCloskey
Medal Winner
Reviewed by: Sara Masarik
Also read and recommended by: Christine Kallner, Jeannette Tulis, Lara Lleverino, Sandy Hall, Sarah Kim, Sherry Early, Tanya Arnold
Make Way For Ducklings by Robert McCloskey is one of my most favorite picture books of all time. If I were asked for the ten picture books that are not, for any reason, to be missed, this would always be on my list. The story itself is completely charming and a joy entirely on its own. The illustration, however, is not "as good as the story." The illustration is in fact absolute perfection.
We are captivated by the story and the incredible illustration immediately. Mr. and Mrs. Mallard are sketched flying high above a village and woods. There is such incredible movement in the picture you can almost trick yourselves into believing that the ducks are actually flying off of the page. The sepia colored pencil is perfect for Mrs. Mallard’s coloring and the warm hues make the story feel timeless and old-fashioned in the best possible way.
Mr. And Mrs. Mallard do eventually find a place to settle down and it is lovely. When it comes time to move their family, however, they have a perilous journey to make.
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★
REVIEW TEAM FAVORITE
An American ABC
By: Maud and Miska Petersham
Honor
Reviewed by: Sandy Hall
Also read and recommended by: Lara Lleverino, Sherry Early
I simply love alphabet books! And it can't get any better than a book about our great country, America, and authored and illustrated by Maud and Miska Petersham. Published in 1941, this book embodies the patriotism of that time, right in the middle of World War II when the "Greatest Generation" was defending our land and fighting for freedom. The topics covered with several paragraphs each include Henry Hudson, Jamestown, Lincoln, and the National Anthem. Petersham starts, of course, with A. "A is for America, the land I love." And ends with "Z is for Zeal, an American trait. It was zeal which made navigators of old voyage over dangerous seas and find this New World. It was zeal that gave the early settlers the strength and the courage to build their homes in the great wilderness of a strange new land. It was zeal that kept the colonies together and won for them their independence. It is this same zeal that will keep America a great land and a land of liberty and freedom." All illustrated with the Petershams' lovely drawings! I highly recommend this book for children of all ages.
In My Mother's House
By: Ann Nolan Clark
Illustrated by: Velino Herrera
Honor
NOT REVIEWED
The pueblo,
The people,
And fire,
And fields,
And water,
And land,
And animals—
I string them together
Like beads.
They make a chain,
A strong chain,
To hold me close,
To home,
Where I live,
In my mother's house.
In this reissue of a classic Caldecott Honor book, the Tewa children of Tesuque Pueblo, near Santa Fe, share poetry about their world. Through their eyes we see the pueblo house, its adobe bricks and walls and floors, the fireplace, and the grinding stones. We see how the other houses stand close together around the plaza. We walk out over the brown fields and see windmills, irrigation ditches, cows and horses, mountains. We see the people together . . . working, dancing, feasting.
From the dust jacket of the 1991 Reissue edition
★
REVIEW TEAM FAVORITE
Paddle-To-The-Sea
By: Holling C. Holling
Honor
Reviewed by: Deanna Knoll
Also read and recommended by: Jeannette Tulis, Lara Lleverino, Sandy Hall, Sarah Kim, Sherry Early
This is an amazing geography resource. Both of my boys, ages 8 and 12, have enjoyed the journey of Paddle as he travels through the Great Lakes. I find it such an effortless way to learn geography and am so grateful there are 4 more of these to learn more geographical lessons in story form.
Nothing At All
By: Wanda Gág
Honor
NOT REVIEWED
"Nothing at All" is the name of an orphaned puppy living with his two brothers until two children come to adopt them. Unfortunately, Nothing at All gets inadvertently left behind—not out of cruelty, but because he is invisible!
He is horribly lonely until he meets a bird, a Jackdaw, who says that he knows how to make the puppy visible. Nothing at All doesn't think much of the bird at first, but follows the instructions anyway, and after a little time, hard work, and a lot of dizziness, the puppy becomes visible and is adopted along with his brothers.
From University of Minnesota Press (2004)
