picture book review

May 21 – It’s Get Caught Reading Month

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About the Holiday

Created by former Congresswoman Pat Schroeder, now president of the Association of American Publishers, Get Caught Reading Month promotes good reading habits and encourages people of all ages to take part in the fun of reading. Reading to young children is especially important as research indicates that early language experience stimulates a child’s brain to grow and gives kids a huge advantage when they start school. Whether you like fiction, non-fiction, poetry, graphic novels, or comics, there is an amazing book just waiting on a shelf for you!

Whoops!

Written by Suzi Moore | Illustrated by Russell Ayto

 

This is the cat that can’t meow. And here’s the dog that can’t bowwow. And the little mouse when she tries to squeak? She opens her mouth but she just can’t squeak.

But the owl says to the three “‘Find the old lady in the tumbledown house. She’ll have a spell to make you all well.” So they go in search of the tumbledown house and find it in the middle of the woods. When they go inside, the little old lady doesn’t seem surprised to see them. In fact she’s heard of their problem and consults her spell book. She casts a spell “and the whole house shook, the wind blew in and the rain came down. Then the tumbledown house turned around and around.”

Now the cat says, “Cluck!” And the dog says, “Quack!” And the mouse says, “Cock-a-doodle-doo!” And the little old lady? She says, “Whoops!” Maybe the right spell is on page three. She casts a new spell and there’s a flash and a crash and the tumbledown house turns around and around. This time the cat says, “Baa!” and the dog says, “Neigh!” and the mouse says, “Moo!” And the little old lady? She says, “Whoops!”

The spell on page seven brings the three closer: the cat says, “Woof!” and the dog says, “Squeak!” and the mouse says, “Meow!” And the little old lady? She says, “Whoops!” That special spell to make them all well must be on page ten. The old lady waves her wand and the storm rages and the tumbledown house turns around and around. Finally, the cat says, “Meow!” and the dog says, “Woof!” and the mouse says, “Squeak!”” And the little old lady? She says, “CROAK!”

Whoops!

Suzi Moore’s laugh-out-loud, shout-out-loud tale of mistaken identity will have kids reading along during the first go-round. The catchy, repeated rhymes, cadence of the words and sentences, errant spells, and building storm create infectious silliness at its best. Kids will eagerly await what comes next for the dog and the cat and the mouse who have trouble speaking.

Russell Ayto accompanies this fun story with a crazy assortment of creatures drawn with maximum comic effect. The thin, angled shapes of the cat, dog, and mouse make for heroes kids will root for, and the little old lady with a cloud of blue hair sitting in the taaall-backed chair will make kids giggle. Who is she knitting three-legged stockings for? And what magic does her knitting-needle wand and maniacal grin possess in that narrow tumbledown house in the middle of the woods?

Ages 3 – 7

Templar Books, Candlewick Press, 2016 | ISBN 978-0763681807

Get Caught Reading Month Activity

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-wand

Reading is Magic! Wand

 

When you read you are transported into another world—it’s like being under a magic spell! Make your own magic wand and conjure up spells to take you wherever you want to go!

Supplies

  • Wooden dowel
  • Wooden ball with a hole to match the size of the dowel
  • Paint in your favorite colors
  • Ribbon, jewels, or other material to decorate your wand
  • Glue gun or strong glue
  • Paintbrush

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-wand

Directions

  1. Paint the dowel however you would like—one color, with dots or stripes, or multicolored
  2. Paint the wooden ball—you can even give it a mystical look with glow-in-the-dark paint or glitter
  3. Glue the wooden ball to the dowel with the hot glue gun or strong glue
  4. Decorate your wand with jewels, ribbon, or other material

May 20 – Bike to Work Day

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About the Holiday

May is National Bike Month and today is set aside for riders to replace their usual method of commuting with pedaling instead!  Established in 1956 by the League of American Bicyclists and celebrated in communities from coast to coast, National Bike Month is a chance to showcase the many health-related and fun benefits of bicycling — and to encourage more folks to giving biking a try. Now that the weather is nice bring out your bikes, pump up the tires, and take to a street or trail near you!

Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah

Written by Laurie Ann Thompson | Illustrated by Sean Qualls

 

A baby is born in Ghana, West Africa with bright eyes, healthy lungs, and tiny, clasping fingers—but with only one strong leg. Most people think the baby will grow up to be a burden or worse—a curse. His father leaves the family, but his mother keeps the faith. Her name is Comfort and she names her child Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.”

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-emmanuel's-dream-baby

Image copyright Sean Qualls, text copyright Laurie Ann Thompson. Courtesy of Schwartz & Wade

As Emmanuel grows, his mother encourages his independence. He learns how to crawl and hop to complete his daily work all with one leg. Most kids with disabilities don’t go to school, but Comfort carries her son back and forth until he becomes too heavy. From then on Emmanuel hops the two miles each way all by himself. At first the other kids won’t play with him, but Emmanuel is clever. He buys a soccer ball with the money he earns shining shoes and when he offers to share it, the kids include him. On crutches he is a fierce competitor and earns his classmates’ respect. Riding bikes is another favorite activity. Can Emmanuel pump those pedals with only one leg? He practices and falls, practices and falls some more until he masters the technique.

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-emmanuel's-dream-going-to-school

Image copyright Sean Qualls, text copyright Laurie Ann Thompson. Courtesy of Schwartz & Wade

When Emmanuel is 13 years old, his mother becomes ill. As the only family member capable of working, Emmanuel takes a train to a city 150 miles away to find a job. He doesn’t see his family again for two years. Because of his disability it is hard for him to find work. Finally, a food stand owner hires him and gives him a place to live. Over time Comfort grows sicker. When Emmanuel goes to be with her, she tells him to never beg and never give up. He takes these words to heart.

Emmanuel has an idea to show the world that “disabled does not mean unable”—all he needs is a bike. When the Challenged Athletes Foundation learns of his plan to bike around Ghana, they give him a bike, a helmet, and clothing. He trains and receives a blessing from the king of his region. Then accompanied by people who will document his trip, he takes off. “He pedaled through rain forests, over rolling hills, and across wide, muddy rivers….He pedaled as trucks roared past on the narrow highways and wild animals stalked his thoughts….He rode up, down, across, and around his country, proudly wearing the colors of its flag on a shirt printed with the words “The Pozo” or “the disabled person.”

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-emmanuel's-dream-growing-up

Image copyright Sean Qualls, text copyright Laurie Ann Thompson. Courtesy of Schwartz & Wade

Emmanuel talks to others with physical challenges and to those without. He meets farmers, landowners, government officials, and reporters. He wants everyone to learn of his message. People begin to pay attention—they ride and run alongside him; people with disabilities come out of their houses to see him (some for the first time ever). Emmanuel is becoming a national hero!

Emmanuel completes his journey—nearly 400 miles—in only 10 days. In that short amount of time he proves that anyone can do great things and that one person is enough to change the world.

An author’s note expanding on Emmanuel Yeboah’s life since his bike ride follows the text.

Laurie Ann Thompson tells this story of courage and achievement in straightforward language that highlights the difficulties and prejudices Emmanuel overcame to live the full life his mother envisioned for him. The details Thompson reveals—both within the school setting and in the world beyond—will inspire anyone who reads this special and moving true story.

Sean Qualls renders the story of Emmanuel Yeboah in the vibrant colors and patterns of his native West Africa, giving energy and spirit to the fire that burned inside the young boy who rose above his disability and the expectations of his community. His relationship with his strong, supportive mother is drawn with obvious love and compassion. The use of a folk-art style combined with scenes of African markets, landscapes, and traditional tableaus, effectively sets the story for children. One particularly touching illustration shows a tiny Emmanuel hopping off to school as his mother, shown larger in the foreground, watches.

Ages 4 – 9

Schwartz & Wade, Random House, 2015 | ISBN 978-0449817445

Bike to Work Day Activity

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-baker's-dozen-maze

Baker’s Dozen Maze

 

After a long bike ride, don’t you just feel like a treat to reward yourself? This maze is a little of both—a twisting, turning puzzle that looks like a cupcake! Start at the green dot and finish at the red dot in both the “frosting” and the “cake.” Print your Baker’s Dozen Maze here. 

May 19 – It’s National Photography Month

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About the Holiday

National Photography Month was established in 1987 by the United States Congress to commemorate the importance of photos to present and future generations. National Photo month gives you an opportunity to consider what you photograph and how you can become more intentional about making photos that will be meaningful decades from now. Look at your subjects and see the colors, people, events, the culture—even the moment that you are documenting. Once you’ve taken your pictures, don’t just leave them on your phone, in the cloud, or on your hard drive. Print them and archive them for the future. Your inspiration, perspective, and opinions will live on in them.

Dorothea’s Eyes: Dorothea Lange Photographs the Truth

Written by Barb Rosenstock | Illustrated by Gérard DuBois

 

When Dorothea Lange opens her green eyes, she sees things others miss. In the shadows, in patterns within the grain of wooden tables, in the repeated shapes of windows on a wall, and most especially in people’s faces. “Dorothea loves faces! When Dorothea looks at faces, it’s like she’s hugging the world.”

When Dorothea is seven she contracts polio. The disease withers her right leg and forever after she walks with a limp. Other kids tease her and make her want to hide. Her mother encourages her, but Dorothea pretends to be invisible. When her father leaves his family, her mother gets a job in New York and Dorothea goes to a new school. She is different and lonely.

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-dorotheas-eyes-with-camera

Image copyright Gérard DuBois , text copyright Barb Rosenstock. Courtesy of Caulkins Creek

As Dorothea waits for her mother to finish work, she looks around her, spying “into crowded tenements where fathers, home from peddling, read newspapers, and mothers wash dishes, clothes, and babies in rusty sinks—happy and sad mixed together.” She begins to skip school to wander the city, gazing at it with her curious eyes and heart.

When Dorothea grows up she decides to become a photographer. Her family is surprised—it is not a ladylike profession. She works any job she can find in the photography industry, learning about cameras, darkrooms, negatives, and the printing process. “Alone in the darkroom’s amber glow, she studies the wet printing paper while faces appear in black and white. Dorothea loves faces!”

When she is 23 Dorothea travels west and when all her money is stolen in San Francisco, she stays, gets a job, and starts her own portrait studio. She becomes the sought-after photographer of the richest families in California. She makes money, gains friends, gets married, and starts a family of her own. But she always wonders, “Am I using my eyes and my heart?”

When the stock market crashes and the Great Depression sweeps the country, Dorothea focuses her camera on the desperate and the downtrodden. Her friends don’t understand, but Dorothea sees into these poor people’s hearts. She “knows all about people the world ignores.” For 5 years she goes out into the fields, peers into tents, documents families living in their cars, crouches in the dirt to reveal the stories of the people struggling with the devastation wrought by the Dust Bowl.

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-dorotheas-eyes-with-car-and-camera

Image copyright Gérard DuBois , text copyright Barb Rosenstock. Courtesy of Caulkins Creek

Newspapers and magazines publish her pictures. “Her photographs help convince the government to provide parents with work, children with food, and families with safe, clean homes. “The truth, seen with love, becomes Dorothea’s art.” Dorothea’s photographs are still known today. Their subjects continues to help us see others with our hearts.

Six of Dorothea Lange’s most famous and recognizable photographs are reproduced on the last page—still as riveting today as they were in the 1930s. Further information on her life and work is provided as well as sources where her photographs can be viewed, resources for further study, and a timeline of her life.

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-dorotheas-eyes-kids

Image copyright Gérard DuBois , text copyright Barb Rosenstock. Courtesy of Caulkins Creek

Barb Rosenstock brings Dorothea Lange’s vision to the page with love, honesty, and understanding in this excellent biography of a woman whose photographs defined the Great Depression and Dust Bowl era. Lange’s life-long connection to the poor and often overlooked people of the world is beautifully described and explained in a gentle, compassionate way that will resonate with children. Rosenstock’s language is lyrical with staccato sentences that echo the clicks of Lange’s shutter capturing life’s reality with her eyes and her heart.

Gérard DuBois’s illustrations are arresting and set Dorothea Lange’s story firmly in its historical and emotional landscape. Rendered in acrylic and digital imagery, they feature the muted colors and style of book illustrations from long ago. By placing the images of Dorothea, her family, and her photography subjects against white backgrounds, DuBois emphasizes Lange’s focus on the people she met and faces that inspired her. Distressed textures accentuate the troubled times and the anguish of both Dorothea and her subjects.

Ages 7 – 12

Calkins Creek, 2016 | ISBN 978-1629792088

Discover all the amazing books by Barb Rosenstock on her website!

View a portfolio of art and book illustration by Gérard DuBois on his website!

Here’s a snapshot of Dorothea’s Eyes!

National Photography Month Activity

CPB - New Professionals Picture

News Professionals Clothespin Figures

 

Make one of these clothespin figures that honors the men and women who work to keep the world informed.

Supplies

Directions

  1. Draw a face and hair on the clothespin
  2. Cut out the clothes you want your journalist or photographer to wear
  3. Wrap the clothes around the clothespin. The slit in the clothespin should be on the side.
  4. Tape the clothes together
  5. Cut out the camera
  6. Tape one end of a short length of thread to the right top corner of the camera and the other end of the thread to the left corner. Now you can hang the camera around the figure’s neck.

Idea for displaying the figures

  • Attach a wire or string to the wall and pin the figure to it
  • Pin it to your bulletin board or on the rim of a desk organizer

 

Picture Book Review

May 18 – International Museum Day

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About the Holiday

International Museum day was created in 1977 by the International Council of Museums to raise awareness that “museums are an important means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among peoples.” The theme for this year is Museums and Cultural Landscapes. Both nature and history comprise the cultural landscape that links museums to their surrounding neighborhood, towns, and beyond. As museums become more involved in their communities, they acquire the responsibility to protect, conserve, and interpret the cultural heritage inside and outside their walls. International Museum Day is growing—in 2015 more than 35,000 museums in 145 countries participated. Today visit one of your favorite museums and learn more about your cultural landscape.

Homer Henry Hudson’s Curio Museum

By Zack Rock

 

Everything has a story, the narrator tells readers, especially the Homer Henry Hudson Curio Museum, which he says has been described as “a colossal collection of curios, discovered, described, and displayed by that eccentric explorer extraordinaire: Homer Henry Hudson.”

Come in and experience the wonders inside. A dignified bulldog dressed in a dapper tweed suit and leaning on a crooked cane will greet you. His job is to keep the place clean and dusted. Although the museum is stuffed floor to ceiling, he knows the placement of every object, knick-knack, and curiosity. As you explore the museum’s holdings—its portraits, musical instruments, ancient artifacts, taxidermy animals, and other treasures, the caretaker sits silently, hoping you will read the display cards that Homer Henry Hudson has lovingly written out with a description and personal note. He even has his favorite “bits and bobs” that he would like you to see.

One of these is Item #0001, the Conausaurus Skull of a small dinosaur from the late Jurassic Period that HHH found in the soil of his family’s farm. This bony discovery made Homer Henry wonder what else the world held and sparked his love of exploration. Another is Item #0023, a Radial Tide Diviner once used by Calypsonian seers to predict the future based on tidal patterns. It was the discovery of the lost Calypsonian civilization with its valuable artifacts that funded Homer’s further explorations.

Item #3412, a Temple Montepaz Choir Finch with a C sharp trill that chanted to accompany the parrot priest, was a most unusual gift, bestowed on HHH for convincing the Parrot Priest to release a piece of wood stripped from the temple wall. This shard turned out to lead Homer Henry Hudson into his future—for better or worse. With renewed fire, HHH charged toward the promise of riches only to fly his plane into a mammoth stone figurehead, which resulted in injury and his life-long limp.

Item #3415, The Manneken Mort of King Ingmar, is perhaps Homer Henry’s most treasured possession. Composed of fabric bands that represent the stories friends and family tell when someone dies, this Manneken Mort contains hundreds of bands relating the life of King Ingmar. This object HHH acquired for bravery and self-sacrifice when he was younger and still full of enthusiasm for life.

The old bulldog thinks of this curio most. He wonders what his Manneken will look like and whether all the bands of his life been woven. He likes to think his Menneken Mort “would be  hundreds—thousands—of feet tall. It’d tower over the Taj Mahal, shame the Sphinx!” But he knows “few memorable tales are told of rusty old codgers who spent their days…leaning upon fear like a crutch.”

Though blind in one eye and nagged by trepidation, the old bulldog packs his suitcase, dons his hat and throws away his cane. As he walks out the door, past pictures of himself on his early expeditions of discover, he knows he might “meet with catastrophe,” be “swallowed by quicksand,” or “gnawed on by piranhas.” But he also knows “there’s no success without failures,” and he has had many successes.

Homer Henry Hudson boards the cruise liner Phoenix and sets out for adventure once more. After all, he well knows that everything has a story. So if you come by the Homer Henry Hudson Museum today, you will see a sign hanging on the door: The Curio Museum is CLOSED Until Further Notice.

Zack Rock has written a compelling and unique picture book for adventurers of all types and ages. Part motivation and part cautionary tale, this story of the once intrepid explorer turned tremulous caretaker has a mysterious, treasure-around-every-corner quality that will appeal to kids. The life of Homer Henry Hudson is told through the display cards that accompany some of the museum’s curios. As the story develops through the cards’ personal notes, readers learn of the museum’s true owner and the life-altering decision he makes.

Rock’s illustrations in greens and parchment-paper golds and browns have a high “Oh, Cool!” factor, as the odd, ancient, and unusual objects of the museum invite kids to explore every nook and cranny of the pages. The exhibits serve not only to fill the museum, however, they remind us how easily the future can get overshadowed and crowded out by the past.

Ages 6 – 10

Creative Editions, 2014 | ISBN 978-1568462608

International Museum Day Activity

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-cookies

Peanut Butter-M&M Cookies

 

A good cookie is like a museum—full of interesting flavors, colors, and taste. Here’s a cookie recipe adapted from Cookies & Cups that exhibits all these traits! 

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/4 cup peanut butter
  • 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 whole egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 3/4 cups m&ms
  • 1/4 cup chocolate chips (for extra chocolate)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
  2. Combine butter and peanut butter in microwave safe bowl and melt together for 30 seconds. Remove and stir. Continue in 15-second increments until mixture is melted and smooth.
  3. In a separate large bowl whisk together flour and baking soda. Set aside.
  4. Combine eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, and sugar. Mix on medium until combined and smooth. Turn mixer to low and slowly pour in your butter/peanut butter mixture. Continue stirring until combined.
  5. With mixer still on low, gradually add your flour mixture until just combined. Batter will be thick.
  6. Now add in your candies and stir until they are evenly distributed.
  7. Now form your batter into “golf ball” sized dough balls. You can also use a 3-Tablespoon scooper.
  8. Place on baking sheet about 2 inches apart
  9. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes
  10. Cookies will be puffy, but should be golden around the edges
  11. Let cool on baking sheet for 2 -3 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.

Cookies & Cups has lots of creative and delicious goodies for special occasions or for just those times when you want to be good to yourself!

Picture Book Review

May 17 – World Baking Day

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About the Holiday

World Baking Day is a day to celebrate and partake in all those delicious treats that come from our imaginations and our ovens! Whether you love bread, cupcakes, cookies, muffins, or more savory goodies, today is the perfect time to get together with family or friends and try your hand at making something new or enjoying a favorite scrumptious morsel. Why not sample a food from another country or revive one of your grandmother’s secret recipes? Baking is fun! And eating the results is even better!

The Bake Shop Ghost

Written by Jacqueline K. Ogburn | Illustrated by Marjorie Priceman

 

For all intents and purposes, Miss Cora Lee Merriweather is Merriweather’s Bake Shop and the bake shop is Cora Lee. “Her Mississippi mud pie was darker than the devil’s own heart,” and her sponge cake was as light as angels’ wings. Her bakery case is stacked with fluffy pies, flaky strudels, and cakes of every size and flavor. In fact, no one’s birthday is complete without a Merriweather cake to celebrate with.

When Cora dies the congregation at her funeral weeps when the preacher reads the bake shop menu and everyone realizes “all those luscious desserts were now only sweet memories.” It doesn’t take long, however, for a new baker to buy Cora’s business. Gerda Stein brings in the ingredients for her strudels and cakes and starts baking, but the ovens burn every dessert, the refrigerator goes on the fritz, and Gerda hears footsteps overhead and clanking behind her. She slowly turns around and finds herself staring straight into the eyes of a ghostly Cora Lee Merriweather who shrieks, “Get out of my kitchen!”

The bake shop goes back up for sale and is sold to Frederico Spinelli who is not afraid of ghosts—until the next day when he emerges from the front door drenched in powdered sugar and never returns. Sophie Kristoff, the marzipan queen, takes over next, only to be chased out by flying eggs, three pink marzipan pigs, and a bunch of marzipan grapes.

After her departure the shop stands vacant for years, growing dim and dusty. One day Annie Washington, fresh off her stint as a cruise ship pastry chef, strolls by the dilapidated storefront. She falls in love with it as soon as she steps through the door. Annie buys it and scrubs and polishes until everything shines.

That night Annie goes straight to work on a puff pastry. Around midnight footsteps creak overhead, a cold wind sweeps the room, and mixing bowls topple to the floor. Annie keeps working. When she’s finished she dusts off her hands, turns around, and finds herself staring into ghostly eyes. “‘Miss Cora Lee Merriweather, I’ve been expecting you,” she says.

“Get out of my kitchen!” Cora says. But Annie is not intimidated. “This is my kitchen now,” she tells Cora. And what’s more, even though Cora may have been the best baker in the state, Annie tells her that she was the best pastry chef to ever sail on the Sea Star cruise ships, and come typhoon, tsunami, or shipwreck she never left a kitchen until she was finished.

Cora tries every trick in the book—she shrieks, flings utensils, rises up through the dough Annie’s kneading, breaks eggs, and as dawn breaks scatters a 50-pound bag of flour across the kitchen. All right, Annie says, “What can do so you’ll leave me in peace?”

Cora has a ready answer: “Make me a cake so rich and so sweet, it will fill me up and bring tears to my eyes. A cake like one I might have baked, but that no one ever made for me.” “Piece of cake,” replies Annie.

Annie makes every cake she knows and Cora critiques them. But none fill her up or bring a tear to her eye. Annie grows to respect the ghost’s advice, but she wants her kitchen back. After a month and hundreds of cakes, Annie is out of ideas. She goes to the library to research more recipes. There she finds a small book on town history, and after reading it she knows just what kind of cake to bake.

That night at midnight Cora appears, and Annie is ready. She lifts the cover on a very special cake. “Across the top, in piped icing, it read, ‘Happy Birthday, Cora Lee.” The ghost looks at Annie with tears in her eyes. “How did you know?” Cora asks.

Annie reveals the secrets of her research then adds, “Besides, who ever makes cake for the baker?” With tears streaming down her face, Cora eats her slice of cake. When Annie offers her another, she declines. “’I do believe I’m full.’”

Now the town enjoys Washington and Merriweather Bake Shop, where the cakes are almost as good as Cora’s, while never suspecting that’s because Cora Lee helps in the kitchen. And the most beautiful cakes? Those are the birthday cakes Annie and Cora make for each other.

A recipe for Ghost-Pleasing Chocolate Cake follows the story.

The Bake Shop Ghost was published in 2005 and made into a short film in 2009 starring Marianne Jean-Baptiste. Despite its age, however, this is a story that seems fresh every time it’s read. Jacqueline K. Ogburn plays out the story with such excellent pacing and details that the twist ending is a true surprise. Her descriptions of Cora Lee’s delicacies are mouthwatering and her metaphors just as downhome and tantalizing. Ogburn’s Annie is a welcome character—a woman of color who has confidence in her talents, doesn’t back down to the ghost’s intimidation, and works to find a solution that she implements with kindness and friendship.

Marjorie Priceman illustrates The Bake Shop Ghost with verve and delicious colors that will make readers wish they could visit Merriweather’s to sample the desserts in the well-stocked cases. Delicate chandeliers and French café chairs decorate the shop, giving it a sophisticated air. But there are also humorous details: a dog licks icing off a wedding cake as Cora ties string around a bakery box from the hanging twine dispenser, the preacher, choir, and congregation wail and shed tears as ethereal visions of the cakes they will miss float in the air at Cora’s funeral. The scenes of Cora’s ghost menacing the new shop owners are cleverly depicted with swoops of white that bear Cora’s face and hands floating above disaster.

Ages 4 -9

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Paperback edition, 2008 | ISBN 978-0547076775

World Baking Day Activity

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-cupcakes

Very Vanilla Cupcakes

 

This delicious vanilla cupcake recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction would definitely please Cora Lee Merriweather—and they’ll become your favorite confection too!

Vanilla Cupcakes

  • 1 and 2/3 cup (210g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
  • 2 large egg whites
  • 1/4 cup (60g) vanilla Greek yogurt (or plain; or regular yogurt; or even sour cream)
  • 3/4 cup (180ml) vanilla almond milk (or cow’s milk; or soy milk; or plain almond milk)
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract seeds scraped from 1/2 split vanilla bean1

Vanilla Bean Frosting

  • 1 cup (230g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 4-5 cups (480-600g) confectioners’ sugar
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) heavy cream2
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract seeds scraped from 1/2 split vanilla bean1
  • Salt, to taste

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners. Set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt butter in the microwave. Whisk in sugar – mixture will be gritty. Whisk in egg whites, yogurt, milk, and vanilla extract until combined. Split 1 vanilla bean down the middle lengthwise. Scrape seeds from half of the vanilla bean into batter. Reserve other half.
  3. Slowly mix dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until no lumps remain. Batter will be thick.
  4. Divide batter among 12 cupcake liners (or 24 mini) and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Bake for 8-9 minutes if making mini cupcakes. Allow to cool.
  5. To make the frosting, beat softened butter on medium speed with an electric or stand mixer. Beat for about 3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Add confectioners’ sugar, cream, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean seeds with the mixer running. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 minutes. Add more powdered sugar if frosting is too thin or more cream if mixture is too thick. Add salt if frosting is too sweet (1/4 teaspoon). Frost cooled cupcakes (I used Wilton 1M piping tip). There may be leftover frosting depending how much you use on each cupcake.
  6. Store cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days and in the refrigerator up to 7.

Additional Notes

  1. If you can’t get your hands on vanilla beans, add an extra ½ teaspoon of pure vanilla extract instead.
  2. Strongly urged to use heavy cream. You may use milk or half-and-half, but heavy cream will give the frosting a thicker texture. I recommend it!

For ways to adapt this recipe and more scrumptious recipes, visit Sally’s Baking Addiction. I guarantee you’ll go back again and again!

May 16 -National Biographer’s Day

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About the Holiday

On this day in 1763 James Boswell walked into a London bookshop and met Samuel Johnson—poet, critic, journalist, and writer of the first dictionary. They became friends, and 30 years later Boswell wrote a spirited biography of his companion that fully described Johnson’s feelings, quirks, opinions, and details of his life in a warm, conversational, unstinting way. The Life of Samuel Johnson changed forever the way biographies were written and is still popularly read today. Why not spend some time today with that fascinating biography or one on a favorite personality—or start writing the story of your own life!

The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky’s Abstract Art

Written by Barb Rosenstock | Illustrated by Mary Grandpré

 

As a Russian child Vasya Kandinsky spends his days absorbed in learning math, science, and history. He takes piano lessons and attends formal dinners where the adults drone on and on. His life is polite, stiff, and colorless until the day his aunt gives him a small wooden paint box. “Every proper Russian boy should appreciate art,” Vasya’s aunt tells him while explaining how to mix colors.

Vasya takes up the brush and combines red with yellow then red with blue. As the colors change to orange and purple, Vasya hears a whisper that grows into a noisy hiss. “‘What is that sound?’” he asks, but no one else hears anything. “The swirling colors trilled like an orchestra tuning up for a magical symphony,” and “Vasya painted the sound of the colors.” A lemon yellow “clinked like the highest notes on the keyboard; a navy blue “vibrated deeply like the lowest cello strings.” Crimsons “blared” and greens “burbled.”

Vasya runs downstairs to show his family what he has created. His mother, father, and Auntie look at the canvas with its swoops, shapes, and angles. “What is it supposed to be?” they ask, and send him off to art school to learn how “to draw houses and flowers—just like everyone else.” Vasya finishes school and becomes a lawyer. He leaves his paint box untouched and lives the way he is expected, but the sounds of the colors are always with him.

One evening as he listens to an opera, the music surrounds him with color—“stomping lines of vermilion and coral; caroling triangles in pistachio and garnet; thundering arches of aqua and ebony…” Vasya can hear the colors and see the music. He knows then what he must do. He quits his job teaching law and moves to Germany to be a painter. He surrounds himself with artists and takes classes with famous teachers, and yet people still look at his canvases and asked, “What is it supposed to be?”

Once again he paints what is expected. His teachers love his houses and flowers, but Vasya does not. His friends understand. They too want to expand the meaning of art. They agree with Vasya when he says, “‘Art should make you feel.’” In his studio Vasya continues to paint the sounds he hears, to give music color and color sound. Bravely, he invites the public to view his paintings, which are named after musical terms—Composition, Accompaniment, Fugue, and more.

This is a new kind of art—abstract art—and it takes a long time before people understand. They look and still ask, “What is it supposed to be?” “It is my art,” Kandinsky replies “How does it make you feel?” 

An author’s note telling more about Kandinsky’s life and synesthesia, a genetic condition in which one sense triggers another, follows the story.

In the spirit of full disclosure, Kandinsky is one of my favorite artists, so I was excited to read this biography—I was not disappointed! With so many great artists, their work speaks for itself, but viewers wonder, “How did it come about?” “What influenced the artist?” Barb Rosenstock, with lyrical language and beautifully chosen descriptions, reveals the emotions and passion that fueled Kandinsky’s art from his earliest ages: as he walks through Moscow he can’t ignore “the canary-colored mailbox whistling as he rode to work. The scarlet sunset haze ringing above the ancient Kremlin walls.” Rosenstock’s inclusion of the conflicts and opposition Kandinsky faced and overcame will inspire children to listen to their inner voice and makes readers and lovers of his abstract art glad he never gave up.

Mary Grandpré’s unique style brilliantly depicts Kandinsky’s singular vision, allowing readers to experience the way he wielded his paint brush like a conductor’s baton. Vasya’s early life is painted in muted blues and grays, and the boredom on his face as he studies his schoolwork is obvious. Kids will appreciate his one-finger plinking at the piano and the rolled-eyed drowsiness of the formal dinner. Once Vasya is introduced to the paint box, however, Grandpré’s illustrations become vibrant, with swirling colors overlaid with the musical notes that Kandinsky associated with them. His uninhibited painting is gloriously shown as the young boy’s shirt comes untucked and the colors burst from the canvas upon his first painting.

As the adults look at his work, the room is again swathed in somber colors. The text revealing that Vasya attended regular art classes to learn to draw houses and flowers is set above a single wilting flower in a vase. The personal tug-of-war Kandinsky experienced even into adulthood is wonderfully rendered: Colors flow into his ears at the opera; he studies his own landscape and still life paintings with misgiving in a hazy studio, and the joy and freedom of his abstract art is demonstrated with wild abandon while a dove escapes its cage. The final image of a child sitting in front of a Kandinsky painting reinforces the idea that his art lives for all and for all time.

Ages 4 – 9

Alfred Knopf, Random House Children’s Books, 2014 | ISBN 978-0307978486

National Biographer’s Day Activity

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Recipe Box Label and Recipe Cards

 

People’s stories are written in all different ways: in the objects they surround themselves with, their activities, and the talents they exhibit. Today’s activity will help you tell your stories in the foods you bake! Or try this Recipe Card Writing Idea: Create a very short story and write it on one of the recipe cards! Read it to your family or teacher.

Supplies

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-recipe-cards

Directions

  1. Glue the My Family’s Recipes label to the box you made
  2. Print out the recipe cards. Use them for your favorite dish and prepare for tomorrow’s treat to bake!

Picture Book Review

May 15 – International Day of Families

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About the Holiday

This United Nations sponsored observance was initiated in 1993 to reflect the importance of families worldwide. The day provides an opportunity to promote issues affecting families, including social, economic, educational and demographic topics. This year’s theme is Families, Healthy Lives and Sustainable Futures and focuses on ending poverty, promoting shared economic prosperity, social development, and health while protecting the environment. The holiday is marked with workshops, educational opportunities, publications, and special community events.

Families, Families, Families

Written by Suzanne Lang | Illustrated by Max Lang

 

Families—haven’t they always come in all shapes and sizes? With all different customs and traditions? Families, Families, Families delves into this most enduring—and endearing—structure of life in a way that makes sense to kids in a funny and honest way. “Some children have lots of siblings. Some children have none” the book starts. “Some children have two dads. Some have one mom. Some children live with their grandparents…and some live with an aunt.”

Lang does an excellent job of presenting all types of familial arrangements within the pages of the book. Nearly every child will happily find themselves here. Interspersed among the varieties of households, humorous comparisons and rhymes (“some children have many pets…and some just have a plant!”) elevate this book to a tribute to understanding, acceptance, and inclusion. After all…“if you love each other, then you are a family.”

Max Lang hit on an inspired way—during this era of selfies, snapchat, and the like—to illustrate the concepts of family. More than 17 animal families pose for portraits in which comic drawings of smiling moms, dads, kids, and relatives are superimposed onto photographed backgrounds. The portraits are framed with another touch of humor: A chicken family photo sits in a frame made of hay, an octopus and her four children smile from a frame made of seashells, and the Tigers are displayed in a frame of bones. The photos hang on wallpapered, barn, and underwater cave walls; sit on fireplace mantels; are pinned to bulletin boards; and fill scrapbook pages.

Families, Families, Families brilliantly demonstrates how every child takes pride in his or her family—just as the readers take pride in theirs.

Ages 3 – 7

Random House Books for Young Readers, 2015 | ISBN 978-0553499384

International Day of Families Activity

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Make Your Own Recipe Box

 

One of the best ways to spend time together is to bake up a favorite recipe and enjoy the results! World Baking Day is celebrated this week, so for the next few days, I’ll be offering baking-related activities for you to have fun with! With a small box you can make your own recipe organizer to keep tasty recipes close at hand!

Supplies

  • A small box with a hinged lid or separate lid, at least 5 inches by 3 1/3 inches (fits a small index card). A Twinings Tea Box works well as does a small wooden box available from craft stores
  • Washi tape or paint
  • Paint brush

Directions

  1. Cover your box with washi tape or paint your box
  2. Decorate your box with your unique style

Picture Book Reviews