Wolves

Wolves

by Emily Gravett (2005)

           I'm sure there will be parents and teachers alike complaining about the "graphic" content of this book (Oh my god! A rabbit gets eaten by a wolf!) -- but those types of reviews are completely ignoring that Gravett has created a text to introduce metafiction to children. Of course, the rabbit in the text is reading a book about wolves so it is even to be disputed whether or not the rabbit was eaten in "real life" or consumed by fear from reading about how wolves eat bunnies (the power of fiction -- or nonfiction -- at work!). The book within a book aspect is obvious play on reading and fiction itself, and the types of interpretations revolving around text could be phenomenal. The alternate ending Gravett offers is hilarious -- it's a new friendly scene created from torn pieces of the wolf and rabbit from previous pages in the book. What a clever take on re-reading and changing interpretations.
            Books that play with the idea of metafiction, although not quite so obviously, come to mind and could be constructed as a text set. Wiesner's "The Three Pigs", Willems "We Are In A Book" and others, and of course there are many other picture books that make us reflect on the act of storytelling as we read.

Lost & Found

Lost & Found

by Shaun Tan (2011)

           This is actually a collection of three previously published short works: The Red Tree, The Lost Thing, and The Rabbits (written by John Marsden) -- and it's wonderful to have them bound together with notes by the author at the end of the pieces. The Red Tree is a dark story of all the things that can go wrong for a person, but it is also about the hope that can be found where least expected -- and within oneself. The Rabbits is an intense take on colonial conflicts, representing natives as armadillos and rabbits as invaders of a beautiful land. The repetition in the paintings for this piece present an overwhelming picture of what it is to see land destroyed by industry and invasion. The Lost Thing is probably my favorite story in the collection. The borders and backgrounds of each page are composed of engineering drawings and charts, but the art itself depicts a strange dystopian future where people are too busy to notice strange things going on around them. The societal commentary becomes more obvious in Tan's representation of a newspaper page showing advertisements from different federal departments. Peripheral advertisements show The Federal Department of Economics (slogan "consumere ergo sum") which states that "We understand at the end of the day, all that matters is the balance sheet." The Department of Management has their slogan printed up in the corner of the page: "bureaucritae opacus." This is a multi-faceted story that could be enjoyed by readers of any age group -- whether they notice the difference between adults and children in the story, the futuristic landscape, the political commentary or something else entirely.
           These stories could be used for a number of different discussions about social studies -- but the art is also wonderful inspiration to discuss how style, color, light, and other elements of art can play a critical role in setting mood. Especially for a simple piece of written work like the poem in The Red Tree, it would be interesting to take the words away from the illustrations and read to a class. After they had visualized their own images I could show Tan's illustrations and ask how that changed the experience of reading the text -- and how their interpretations differed from the author's.

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type

by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Betsy Lewin (2000)

2001 Caldecott Honor Book

           As an adult reading this I see the complexities of labor disputes and corrupt middle men (or ducks, as the case may be), as well as the power of negotiation. I think kids will take away a less convoluted interpretation, but will surely understand the power of words -- and strikes -- as peaceful modes of protest. The illustrations are hilarious and fit nicely with the story, bright and fun. The animals are surprisingly animal-like, as well, without an unnecessary amount of anthropomorphism to go with their uncanny typing and persuasive abilities.
         I first heard this read to a Kindergarten class as a fun read-along/choral reading piece during read aloud. The kids loved to repeat the clicks, clacks and moos along with the teacher - and loved to laugh at the concept of animals writing for their ability to have electric blankets. There is a reader's theater script available online. I would definitely use this as a read-aloud for younger children. I would love to see the kind of discussions it would bring about.

Not a Box

Not a Box
by Antoinette Portis (2006)

         I was immediately drawn to this book because of its clever cover. The book is wrapped with brown paper all around to look like cardboard, there is a weight included next to the author's name, and the back has nothing but arrows with THIS SIDE UP printed on it. How clever. And when opening the book it was clear that the simple art style continued and meshed with the 'story' being told. The black-and-white real-world images of a bunny sitting in a box or standing on top of one are replaced by simple two-color illustrations that show the imagined objects the box has become. Because Portis still leaves the black outline of the box visible the imagined world seems somewhat tentative -- perhaps an adult trying to imagine what a child sees. For this reason adults may enjoy this book more than kids -- also because it lets us relive the times we could actually fit in a box of any kind -- but I think a lot of youngsters would get a kick out of yelling "It's NOT NOT NOT NOT a box!"
         Of course, the real fun that this book could bring to children would be the way they could stretch their own imagination to come up with the many things a box could be. After composing our own pages to If... by Sarah Perry in class the other day it was mentioned how great a book like Not a Stick would be for the same artistic page construction -- and having already read Not a Box I could imagine the possibilities. To keep the class book consistent you could even distribute black and white rectangles and bunny heads for children to arrange however they'd like on the page. They could continue with the simplicity of adding two additional colors, or add detail and colors not seen in the original book. Unlike a lot of art activities for younger children I've seen in classrooms, this would be a simple task that wouldn't create a ton of artifacts that look exactly the same except for the color choice scribbled on top of the pig's face (for example -- since I've seen it). Since there really is not a story here at all, this book mostly lends itself to art projects.

Here is an example of a Not a Box inspired art project I did with my 6-year-old reading buddy. Unfortunately it is cropped - but she decided to write "I say it is not a box!!" on her illustration of the box as a house:

I gave square pieces of paper with a box drawn in black permanent ink that was the same size as the one shown in the text. After she read me the book (excited to scream all the parts with exclamation marks) we worked on this project.

Come On, Rain!

Come On, Rain!
by Karen Hesse (1999)

           Hesse's word choice in this lyrical book filled with anticipation is incredible. In the heat of summer with rain a distant memory, Tess pleads to the sky to bring rain. Her mamma is "sagging over her parched plants" and the "smell of hot tar and garbage bullies the air" -- but Tess's dream seems to be coming true as clouds roll over the horizon. And as the rain falls it "freckles" her and her friends' feet and "glazes" their toes, and tempts their mothers into the streets as well. Jon Muth's watercolors begin with hot colors, and the stillness in them seems to represent the stagnant heat. But as the clouds appear the paintings take on cooler and cooler hues, portraying movement and excitement. The final illustration with the mother and daughter reflected in a puddle and nice blue houses stretching to the distance make you feel renewed along with the characters. "Everywhere, everyone, everything is misty limbs, springing back to life."
           I've clearly been raving about the word choice in this book, and that would definitely be my focus if I were to use this text in a classroom. But because of the lyrical nature, the poetry-style composition, and the rhythm of the book I feel it is also perfect for reading aloud. What a great book to pull out in a dry spell, or in a rainstorm, for that matter, and share the joy of basking in rain or sunlight whatever the weather.

Mirror

Mirror
by Jeannie Baker (2010)

            Now that I've discovered the wonderful world of wordless books I can't stop admiring them. This book by Jeannie Baker is a phenomenal example of creativity in the art form. This is actually dual books, one following a family in Sydney, Australia on the left and the other following a family in the Valley of Roses in southern Morocco on the right. Each page in one book corresponds to the page in the other, mirroring each other as the families go about daily activities. There is minimal text at the beginning explaining the notion of the book, and the orientation of the book is perfect because both stories read inward towards the spine since English is read from left to right and Arabic from right to left. It physically brings one story into the other because they read towards each other, and then the layout and activities also bring the stories together. The amazingly detailed, yet textural collages that Baker has created could be explored for hours -- and there are hidden gems for children to find (like at the end of the book when the Australian family is gathering on a rug that looks very much like the one the Moroccan family sold at market). The text really brings together cultures in an unexpected way, even on the cover where the children in the stories seem to be sitting back-to-back admiring the same moon.
            Since this book is two books in one I think it would be wonderful to do partner activities where they write or tell the story from one perspective. It could either be done the entire way through in one country and then told for the other, or they stories could be told 'simultaneously' as the author intended it. I feel that this book lends itself nicely to a writing activity because of the amazing detail shown on each page. Even background characters seem to carry their own stories -- and they could be told by students in a classroom. Of course the art in this book would also be a phenomenal representation of collage to show in class -- and students could consider creating their own mirrored artwork.

Blue Jasmine

Blue Jasmine

by Kashmira Sheth (2004)

            Seema feels she is being pressured to stay with her kaka and kaki in India despite the fact that her parents are moving to Iowa City for her father's new job. But when she decides to move to America she realizes it is not the pressure from her cousin and grandparents that make her feel like she is far from home. Seema faces challenges as she tries to learn a new language, make new friends, and deal with a bully in school -- but on top of all of this she misses her homeland greatly. But with the help of a neighbor she discovers a flower that smells like India's jasmine, but is a stunning blue color that she has never seen before. It is a flower that represents the two different places that she loves, and the people from each place who keep her happy. Sheth's symbolism throughout the book is striking, and tone of the book is consistently positive. Although issues with bullies and their resolutions seem somewhat contrived, the realizations that Seema makes through an impoverished friend back in India make the text seem deft and convincing.
            This book is much less dark than some other novels about immigration I have read -- and for this reason might be an excellent introduction for younger students in third or fourth grade that want to learn about the struggles an immigrant girl might face in the United States. This book, however, portrays dilemmas that children of all backgrounds face, so I believe that many students will relate to the main character despite their differences. Although resolved a little too perfectly, this book addresses bullying and allows readers to consider the issues from two perspectives, so this could be discussed in class. This book perfectly addresses being an outsider in a new place, as well as dealing with the differences faced for a four-year-old coming to the States and a 12-year-old doing the same. For these reasons I have chosen to include it in my text set about modern immigrant families.