Charlesbridge – Page 2 – Susanna Leonard Hill

Hey Everyone!

After our weeks off for the Valentiny Contest, it’s finally Perfect Picture Book Friday!

And as I believe I mentioned on Wednesday… and am likely to keep mentioning 🙂 … spring is right around the corner. (I am choosing to ignore the fact that the weather people in this neck of the woods are predicting a decidedly un-spring-like 8 degrees tonight!) With spring comes baseball, so what better time for a book about baseball – with some history and civil rights to make it even better?!

I hope you’ll enjoy today’s Perfect Picture Book which comes to us from a talented debut author with more titles coming soon!

waiting-for-pumpsie

Title: Waiting For Pumpsie

Written By: Barry Wittenstein

Illustrated By: London Ladd

Charlesbridge, February 2017, historical fiction

Suitable For Ages: 5-8

Themes/Topics: civil rights/race relations, sports (baseball)

Opening: “I’m Bernard, and I’m crazy, crazy, crazy about the Red Sox. Everybody in Boston is. It’s just something you get born into. We’re lucky, I guess.
We always want the Sox to win. But Mama says we gotta root for all the colored players, no matter what team they’re on.”

Brief Synopsis: From the jacket: “It’s 1959. Bernard lives in Boston, and he dreams about a day when a baseball player who looks like him will play for his beloved Red Sox. Bernard’s mother says change is coming soon. Bernard’s father says she’s always right. But they are all disappointed when no black player is called up from the minors to start the season.” Will Bernard ever get to see someone like him play for the Sox?

Links To Resources: back matter in the book includes an author’s note with historical information; list of first black players on every MLB team with photos and bios; history for kids – civil rights movements; with your children or students, discuss a time when they were unfairly excluded from something – how did it make them feel? draw a picture of the situation, write a letter to the person who excluded them, or write a poem about how it felt.

pumpsie1

Why I Like This Book: I love books that give young readers a slice of history encapsulated in an engaging story. One of the best things about this book is Bernard’s voice. Although he’s a fictional character, he feels real. He sounds believable. His enthusiasm for baseball in general and the Red Sox in particular comes through clearly, along with his acute awareness that his team is the only holdout in the major leagues – the only team that has yet to play an African-American. When at last Pumpsie Green gets his chance, helping the Red Sox to a win, Bernard and his family are there to witness the historic moment. I think my favorite line in the book is: “The Sox win. After the game, I stop walking for a minute and turn around. I look at Fenway and the crowd and tell my eyes to take a picture.” Isn’t that just wonderful? Haven’t we all had moments like that when we try to commit every single detail to memory so we’ll never forget? A wonderful choice for baseball fans, young historians, or anyone who likes a good story!

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 🙂

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific links (and any other info you feel like filling out 🙂 ) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 🙂

Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, Everybody!

Is everyone ready for the Year of the Rooster? And not just any rooster! The Year of the Fire Rooster?

The Fire Rooster is characterized by creativity, passion and energy, so I think (hope!) we have a good year ahead!

In celebration of Chinese New Year, I have a terrific book to share.

goldy-luck

Title: Goldy Luck And The Three Pandas

Written By: Natasha Yim

Illustrated By: Grace Zong

Charlesbridge, January 2014, fiction

Suitable For Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: retelling of classic tale, holidays (Chinese New Year), taking responsibility

Opening: “When Goldy Luck was born her mother said, “Year of the Golden Dragon – very lucky year. This child will have good luck.”
“She has a face as round as a gold coin,” said her father. “This child will bring great wealth.”
But Goldy had neither great wealth or good luck. In fact, she could never seem to keep money in her piggy bank, and she had a habit of breaking things.”

Brief Synopsis: Goldy Luck is sent to deliver turnip cakes to the Chan family for Chinese New Year in spite of the fact that she’s sleepy and hasn’t had breakfast yet. When she arrives, the Chans are not home, so she samples their congee, tries out their chairs, and naps in Little Chan’s bed, leaving chaos in her wake.

Links To Resources: the back of the book includes an author’s note about traditions of Chinese New Year, a diagram and explanation of the Chinese zodiac, and a recipe for turnip cakes; Goldy Luck blog post with activities from 2nd Grade Snickerdoodles

Why I Like This Book: I love retellings of classic tales, and this is a fun one. It takes Goldilocks and the Three Bears to China to celebrate Chinese New Year Although the story follows the basic format of the original, it departs after the Chans (panda bears in this version :)) come home. Goldy initially runs away (as she does in the original story) but her conscience gets the better of her and she decides to take responsibility for her actions and returns to the Chans’s home to help tidy up. The ending makes for a big improvement over the original And I love that so much back matter is included, making it so easy to expand on the use of the book. The art is bright and engaging, ending with a sweet picture of Goldy and Little Chan sharing turnip cake, the rug underneath them a depiction of the Chinese zodiac