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That’s Not Fair! by Tafolla and Teneyuca

  • October 3, 2009 8:36 am
that's not fair

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This picture book tells the true story of Emma Tenayuca, who at the age of 21 led thousands of Mexican-American pecan shellers in a successful strike.

The authors, Carmen Tafolla and Sharyll Teneyuca, focus on Emma’s childhood and her awakening empathy with Mexican-American laborers. Emma was not born poor: she attended school in San Antonio, Texas, and had enough clothes and food. Yet she encountered children who could not learn to read because they were working  as farm laborers. She saw kids who didn’t have enough to eat, and not enough clothes to keep them warm.

Even as a schoolgirl, Emma taught a friend to read, and gave food and clothing to children in need. As a teenager, she began to give speeches about the injustices suffered by Mexican-American laborers. In 1938, she led 12,000 pecan shellers in a two-month strike that resulted in higher wages.

Because it focuses mostly on Emma’s childhood, his book will appeal to kids in the lower elementary grades. Kids may not understand the concept of labor unions, but they do understand fairness, and that’s what this book emphasizes. The pictures by Terry Ybanez are colorful, simple, and appealing. The text is printed in both English and Spanish.

You can buy this book from my Girls list.

Little Zizi, by Thierry Lenain

  • September 19, 2009 7:04 am
Little Zizi

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This funny picture book deals with a subject that many little boys think about, but that is rarely written about in children’s books. One day, while Martin is changing his clothes after swimming, another boy, Adrian, makes fun of Martin, saying that his “zizi” is too small, and that he will never be able to make babies with a little zizi. Martin is worried because the girl he likes, Anais, wants to have 10 babies! How will he possibly make all those babies?

To make matters worse, Adrian decides that the boys should have a peeing contest to decide who will be Anais’s boyfriend. Despite hours of practice, Martin loses the contest, Adrian wins, and Adrian declares himself the boyfriend of Anais.

But Anais has other plans. She rejects Adrian and writes a love note to Martin. The book ends with a reassurance: “love isn’t a question of a zizi — large or small.”

This book was originally written in French and published in Canada. The author says he wrote the book because he believes that “much of the world’s misfortune comes from men thinking they have to assert their manliness,” according to the jacket copy.

My two boys found this book a bit shocking, but fascinating. The illustrations are very tasteful (the story takes place in an old-fashioned city), and the book makes its point without preaching.

You can buy this book from my Boys list.

Elizabeth’s Song, by Michael Wenberg

  • September 12, 2009 7:11 am
Elizabeth's song

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This picture book for ages 5 and up is based on the true story of Elizabeth Cotten, who composed the well-known folk song “Freight Train” at the age of 11.

Elizabeth was born in 1893 in North Carolina. She loved music and taught herself to play her brother’s guitar — but since she was left-handed, she played it upside-down and backwards. When her brother left to look for work and took his guitar with him, Elizabeth saved money from odd jobs and bought herself a guitar.

While the story ends with the composition of “Freight Train,” in fact Cotten was not “discovered” as a musician until much later in her life. According to the epilogue, from her mid-teens until her early 50s, Elizabeth almost gave up music — she was busy with work and raising a family. In the mid-1940s, by chance she got to know the folk-singing Seeger family, and they encouraged her to pick up her guitar again. She released her first album in 1958, at the age of 66.

After my kids and I read this book, we wanted to hear her music. We bought the album Freight Train, which includes her famous composition as well as other folk songs that she learned as a child.

You can buy Elizabeth’s Song from my Girls list.

Gray Wolf’s Search, by Bruce Swanson

  • September 5, 2009 3:04 pm
Gray Wolf's Search

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This beautiful picture book tells the story of Gray Wolf, a native boy of the Pacific Northwest who is given a task by his uncle, Raven’s Head: Gray Wolf is to find a very important person, and get to know this person well.

Throughout the next year, Gray Wolf asks various animals if they know of this important person. Sister Bear, Brother Whale, and Sister Eagle claim never to have seen such a person. To them, all humans look and act alike. 

Gray Wolf meets with Raven’s Head again, but sadly tells him that he has not found the very important person. Raven’s Head advises him to “look within.”

As I was reading this book, at this point I assumed that the “very important person” would turn out to be Gray Wolf himself. But my 7-year-old son guessed that the important person would turn out to be everyone. And, in fact, my son was correct. Gray Wolf comes to realize that his family and friends are all equally important, and he brings this message back to his clan.

This book provides an interesting message of community to balance the message of individuality that we often get from mainstream culture. We are all important.

I also like the fact that both female and male animals are included. So often, animals in pictures books are almost exclusively male. The paintings in this book are absolutely gorgeous.

I highly recommend this story for ages 5 and up. You can buy this book from my Boys list.

The Only One Club, by Jane Naliboff

  • August 15, 2009 7:05 am
The Only One Club

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Picture book, ages 5-8. It’s Christmas time, and Jennifer’s teacher asks the class to make decorations. Jennifer proudly announces that she will make Hanukkah decorations, because she is the only Jewish girl in the class. That night, she goes home and makes herself a glittery badge that says “The Only One Club.”

The next day at school, her classmates want to join her club, and they try to convince her that they, too, are the only one of something. Jennifer doesn’t want anyone else to join. But when she hears the other kids talking about setting up their own club, she realizes her mistake. She goes home and makes glittery badges for everyone.

This book takes a unique approach to differences. Instead of portraying a character who feels bad about being unusual, it starts with a character who is too full of pride about her exceptionality. Although Jennifer has a lesson to learn, still her pride inspires others to notice and enjoy their own differences.

You can buy this book from my Girls list.