“Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain” by Verna Aardema

Illustrated by Beatriz Vidal. Aardema’s rhymes are captivating. Vidal’s illustrations are enchanting. Yet, I have a problem with this book.

The book is Aardema’s adaptation of a tale from Nandi village in Kenya. I love the idea. Yet, saying that… The story came from a collection published by Alfred Claud Hollis in 1909, titled The Nandi: Their Language and Folklore. Book editors (the author?) calls him Claud Hollis, but his real name was Sir Alfred Claud Hollis. Editors (or the author) also say that Hollis was a “famous anthropologist,” but he is not famous for his anthropology but for being British resident in Zanzibar and British Governor of Trinidad and Tobago. This high position in British colonial administration certainly does not discredit the story but there is something in it, which is simply very orientalist. In Bringing the Rain… Africa has no history: the same young men draped in a bright color cloth, drought-ridden savanna, African wild animals living in symbiosis with men, and poverty caused just by the climate… The Nandi legend “proves” that poverty is caused by climate and climate is just God-given and, of course, colonial exploitation has absolutely nothing to do with it. Plus: “Verna Aardema has brought the original story closer to the English nursery rhyme by putting in a cumulative refrain and giving the tale the rhythm of The House That Jack Built.” I’d like to like this book but no, thanks.

“The Queen’s Progress: An Elizabethan Alphabet” by Celeste Davidson Mannis

Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline. Ibatoulline’s pictures offer a story within a story. Mannis is a historian, which comes clear also in her desire to convey a lot. At first sight, The Queen’s Progress might look too busy, but it is cleverly constructed with short poems and historical narrative in prose, and a combination of the two makes this book accessible for older as well as younger kids.

“Pedro & the Padre” by Verna Aardema

Illustrated by Friso Henstra. Very nice introduction to the picaresque novels. It’s all about Pedro, a witty Mexican boy, but not much about the Padre (which, by the way, is depicted as a Mexican man, and I really like it). We should get back to it.

“Lightship” by Brian Foca

For children interested in technology.

“Grandfather’s Journey” by Allen Say

This book received many awards and it certainly deserves them, because it is beautiful and wise. Say tells a family story which is about immigration, about quests for a new life, about alienation, and about multiple allegiances to multiple homelands. Good reading for Thanksgiving.

“My Friend Rabbit” by Eric Rohmann

 

Funny.

“The Gruffalo’s Child” by Julia Donaldson

With illustrations by Alex Scheffler. Oh yes! It’s a great book for every child. Thank you, Julia Donaldson!

In my literary genealogy, Julia Donaldson is Beatrix Potter’s granddaughter and Maurice Sendak’s niece. Her “Gruffalo’s Child” shows that the world is a dangerous place, but also that the muscles and the guns are not the only means of survival. Donaldson shows that even those at the bottom of a food chain can outsmart the stronger ones. It is one great lesson from her tale. Another one is that the most dangerous monsters live in our own heads. Though sometimes these monsters materialize and take over our lives, there are ways to control them, too.

On “Gruffalo” movie.

my random thoughts on children’s books

Couple of days ago somebody told me about a research comparing American and French attitudes toward early childhood education. That research included children’s books. My interlocutor said, that in France adults respect child’s intellect, and do not infantilize kids by feeding them with banal stories and picture books, but rather confront children with challenges of the real life. This statement–accurate or not–sticks in my mind.

Certainly, the market, and particularly self–publishing, is partly responsible for great number of children’s books with banal stories. The cultural difference is another factor.

Generalizations are slippery, but I cannot help but think about Europe’s past and present. Great children’s literature is just great literature, and great literature speaks about injustices and traumas. Charles Perrault, an assistant of Jean Baptiste Colbert, a finance minister to King Louis XIV (the Sun King) participated for years in unprecedented and devastating fiscal system, which fed fantasies of few, and brought a misery to millions. In longer run, that economic system effected in the French Revolution. The Brothers Grimm collected their fairy tales in Germany which was still suffering from devastations of the Napoleonic wars. So did Andersen in Denmark. Beatrix Potter wrote most of her tales before World War I, at the height of the British Empire (the times, which Mike Davis so compellingly presented in his “Late Victorian Holocaust: El Nino Famines and the Making of the Third World”). Social Darwinism underlies Potter’s masterpieces, and the moral of her stories is usually the same: the trick is to outwit those who want to eat you up. A.A. Milne has his share of experiences with World War I, and his views on it. Tolkien wrote his classic fairy tale–the legend of modernity–during World War II. But hey, even Mark Twain’s mythical South carried stigmas of the Civil War.

I’m not an expert on children’s literature, just a reader, but I have seen that children respond stronger to the real life experiences, even if dressed up in fantasy costume.

“Hondo and Fabian” by Peter McCarty

  

Illustrated by the author. No doubts, Peter McCarty is a great illustrator. Unfortunately, he’s not much of a writer. We read this book once and lost interest. Nice pictures not always compensate for a lack of a story, or… a good sense of humor.

“The Gruffalo,” directed by Max Lang

“The Gruffalo” is a masterpiece both as a picture and as a performance. It does match Julia Donaldson’s story. Why do I love British movies…?

“Africa Calling, Nighttime Falling” by Daniel Adlerman

Beautifully illustrated by Kimberly M. Adlerman. Her visionary collages are definitely an asset of this book. An eye-candy!

“A Child’s Garden of Verses” by Robert Louis Stevenson

Illustrated by Barbara McClintock. Classic.

“Spotted Yellow Frogs” by Matthew Van Fleet

Imaginative, funny, brilliant! Such a great way to learn colors and 3-D shapes.

“Mr. Bitter’s Butter” by Joy Cowley

and illustrated by John Nez. No, thanks…

“Thomas’ Big Book of Beginner Books” by Rev. W. Awdry

For Thomas’ fans.

“The Golem’s Latkes” by Eric A. Kimmel

Illustrations by Aaron Jasinski. A charming variation on a legend of the Golem of Prague. Perfect gift for Hanukkah, or for any other occasion.

“Pop’s Bridge” by Eve Bunting

Illustrated by C. F. Payne. This book celebrates “the laborers and riveters, the carpenters and the painters and the skywalkers,” and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Yes.