RYAN AND JIMMY AND THE WELL IN AFRICA THAT BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER (NONFICTION)

PICTURE BOOK
RYAN AND JIMMY AND THE WELL IN AFRICA THAT BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER by Herb Shoveller (Kids Can Press)

Ryan Hreljac was moved when his first grade teacher explained to the class that a lack of safe drinking water was one of the most serious problems in the world. She explained that it would cost about $70 to build a well in Africa. Motivated, Ryan worked hard and long to raise the money, only to find that $70 was only enough to buy the hand pump; a whole well would cost $2000. So Ryan said, "That's okay. I'll do more chores."

So began what would over a few years grow to become Ryan's Well Foundation, raising over a million dollars to help impoverished communities throughout the world, but even more, for Ryan himself, it meant the start of a friendship with Akana Jimmy in Uganda, a boy who started out as a penpal and grew to become extended family.

The writing, done by Ryan's great-uncle, is at times a little overgeneralizing and lengthy for a children's book aficionado, it is clearly done with a lot of love and admiration, and ultimately succeeds at telling a story that deserves to be told and that children deserve to know. Intermediate children in particular like to feel they are able to effect change in the world. Ryan and Jimmy's inspiring story exemplifies this can-do spirit and the will to survive that beats in the heart of children all over the world. (8 and up)

Also of interest:
LEFT FOR DEAD: A YOUNG MAN'S SEARCH FOR JUSTICE FOR THE USS INDIANAPOLIS by Pete Nelson (Delacorte). When eleven year old Hunter Scott began a history fair project about a naval disaster, he uncovered a high-ranking deflection of responsibility. Using his research, he went all the way to Washington D.C. to battle the history books and clear the name of an innocent man. Written in terse, Hemingway-like prose, this book makes the hairs on my back stand on end, and will do the same for your reluctant middle-grade reader. Truly an amazing true story of a boy hero, and the heroes he sought to protect. Includes a preface by the older, wiser Hunter Scott himself. Wow! (12 and up)

OWEN AND MZEE by Craig Hatkoff, illustrated by Peter Greste (Scholastic) offers more inspiration; after surviving the devastating tsunami of 2004, a frightened baby hippopotamus is rescued, and "adopts" an 130-year-old tortoise as a surrogate parent. Great photographs! (7 and up)

There sure is a lot of love and care in the world! What great power we have in the kindess and empathy we can extend to one another. I'm so glad books are around to examine it, help celebrate it, remind us of it, even when other media does not.

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CHOWDER (PICTURE BOOK)

PICTURE BOOK
CHOWDER by Peter Brown (Little, Brown)

Chowder is one bad-a** bulldog, clearly a cousin twice removed from the canine Spike in the MGM Tom and Jerry cartoons. Capable, self-sufficient, and canny, he is clearly more of a dream roomate to his owners than a pet, for they noticed early on that "chowder had better things to do than fetch newspapers or go for long walks." The illustrations of Chowder comfortably being toted around in a baby backpack, searching the 'net, and austerely managing his business on the potty are at once shocking and hilarious. But be good and you will be lonely, a situation that Chowder hopes to rectify by making friends with farm animals at a petting zoo. Stylized illustrations done in acrylics are so sharp, they look almost computer-generated. Continuing the irreverent, high-stakes storytelling he exhibited in FLIGHT OF THE DODO, Pixar would be wise to pick up on Peter Brown's talent while they can still afford him. Not since Ian Falconer's OLIVIA have we encountered an animal character with such charisma, and like Olivia, he can be enjoyed by both adults and children on different levels. And he's housebroken. (6 and up)

Also of interest:
The only pet I can think of that might be as unconditionally loved by his owners as Chowder might be Kate DiCamillo's pig, Mercy Watson, and her fans might be glad to know that her latest in the series is on the way: MERCY WATSON FIGHTS CRIME by Pat Hutchins (Candlewick) (5 and up).

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THE GREAT CIRCLE (NONFICTION)

NONFICTION

THE GREAT CIRCLE: A HISTORY OF THE FIRST NATIONS by Neil Philip (Clarion)

The history of Native America is composed of the many stories of the many diverse tribes, and one common story: the confrontation with white European invaders. This valuable and readable overview balances the points of view of both, considering the wide divide of attitude and culture with speeches, personal rememberances, photographs, records, sidelines, as well as a detailed index and sources. The author's storytelling and folkloric background goes beyond dates and events, resonating with empathy and promise for a better future, however heartbreaking is the past. With solid reserach and a strong voice, this book is an education. (9 and up)

Also of interest:
ALL OUR RELATIVES: TRADITIONAL NATIVE AMERICAN THOUGHTS ABOUT NATURE collected by Paul Goble (World Wisdom) Short stories, songs, dreams and quotations, all adorned with the distinctive art of a Caldecott medal winner, draws connections between the words and the natural world. Not only about Native America, this treasure will help children gain an appreciation of the many gifts of this planet, and the connectedness of it all. (8 and up)

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PRESCHOOL PICTURE BOOK THROW DOWN

Oh, dear! The lovely picture books seem to be piling up. Must be time for a preschool read-aloud throw-down! Here is a handful of especially winning ones, to test on a lapful of children (ages 2-5).

I'M NOT CUTE! by Jonathan Allen (Hyperion) Baby Owl is not cute. He's not, he's not, he's not! He's a huge and scary hunting machine with great big soft and silent wings. Just ask him! But when Mama agrees with her overtired little guy, he may yet need some reassurance that even scary hunting machines are cute, at least to their mothers.

MARTHA MOTH MAKES SOCKS by Cambria Evans (Houghton Mifflin) Martha Moth has such a delightful party planned. She's dishing up sweater, scarf, yarn...if only she would stop eating the supper! When the doorbell rings, will there be anything left to serve? As another Martha might quip: "It's a good thing!"

A BEAUTIFUL GIRL by Amy Schwartz (Roaring Brook)
Elephant thinks the little girl has such a funny nose! Robin thinks she has a ridiculous beak! Fly wonders why she only has two eyes, and goldfish thinks she has goofy gills. Luckily, this confident little girl has the chutzpah to convince her friends otherwise. This nicely paced walk to market is in the old-fashioned spirit of Marie Hall Ets' PLAY WITH ME (Penguin), and is a nice introduction to the senses as well as to parts of the body.

PIZZA AT SALLY'S by Monica Wellington (Dutton) I just love the vibrant illustrations and step-by-step approach in all of this author's work, so fitting for it's intended audience. Here, children gather around to make a pizza, and the process is told with plenty of action-packed verbs and pictures at which to point and talk about. Of course, an easy recipe is in the back of the book. Delicious in every way!

MAX'S ABC by Rosemary Wells (Viking) Leave it to this pro to make a story that stands on its own out of an alphabet book. Wells' funny bunnies are back, contending with Max's escaped ants, who only are willing to end their adventures and go back to their plastic farm when they are good and tired. Zzzzz! But don't be fooled, this book is no sleeper; it bears reading and repeating, and the familial familiarity and droll voice is a pleasure for both kids and grown-ups from A to Z.

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FLY BY NIGHT (FICTION)

FICTION
FLY BY NIGHT by Frances Hardinge (HarperCollins)

The great challenge of writing an enduring fantasy, I think, is inventing a world that the reader can believe in, a place that the imagination can recognize even when the logical mind cannot. J. M. Barrie could do it. Tolkein could do it. Rowling can do it. And so can Frances Hardinge.

Before I summarize, may I simply say that this was one of the slowest reads I have experienced in a long time, not because the book was uninteresting, but because I felt the need to read every sentence twice. Just as when one eats an especially lucious dessert, one has to slow down and savor every bite. "The roof of the dovecote stealthily rose, and two sets of eyes peered out through the gap. One pair of eyes were coal beads, set between a bulging bully brow and a beak the color of pumpkin peel. The other pair were human, and as hot and black as pepper." That tripped me up for a good solid day. Can't you just see them? Can't they just see us? Ohhhh, Frances Hardinge. Writers groan in homage to your magic pen.

All right, onward and upward! Mosca's story starts mysteriously with an attempt to have the world explained to her by her fervent and embittered father, whose intelligence and love of language clearly have made him a pariah. His gift, or curse as it may be, is passed on to his daughter, who is also viewed as an outsider with a witch-like ability to read. She is destined to leave the soggy town of Clough accompanied by her familiar Saracen, an ill-tempered goose, and Eponymous Clent, a conman of the first degree. His turn of phrase romances most irresistably the part of Mosca's heart that yearns for the beauty of words that is so gravely repressed in her Fractured Realm. Drawn into great intruiges, Mosca's experiences are woven into a cloth of politics, religion and history, all imaginative, inspired and timely.

The cover invites us: "Imagine a world in which all books have been banned." It doesn't take much imagination, as this world is drawn for us line for line in extraordinary, enviable language, and we wonder what will happen to Mosca, a reader in a world without readers. Some may complain that this book is too hard for children, and the complexity does make this hefty novel a challenge...but older, confident readers, fans of Philip Pullman's HIS DARK MATERIALS TRILOGY (Knopf) and Cornelia Funke's INKHEART (Scholastic) should have no trouble navigating these pages, and others will benefit from a loving and attentive read-aloud by a grown-up fantasy fan. (11 and up)

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IN THE FIDDLE IS A SONG (PICTURE BOOK)

PICTURE BOOK
IN THE FIDDLE IS A SONG by Durga Bernhard (Chronicle)
"In the wheat/is bread/waiting to be baked. In the fiddle/is a song/waiting to be played./In the thread/ is a weaving/waiting to be spun.../In the larva/is a butterfly/waiting to unfold. In you/is a story/waiting to be told." What a celebration of potential energy! Be careful, this lift-the-flap book is likely to be shelved in the novelty book section and overlooked for the thoughtful delight that it is. Children will enjoy lifting the pages to see the cause and effect, the before and after, and knowing that the same thing exists inside of them...kapow! Strong affirmations for the littlest listener are wrapped in words and pictures both lyrical and warm. (2 and up)

Also of interest:
BLACK? WHITE! DAY? NIGHT! by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (Roaring Brook) A new lift-the-flap book featuring opposites by an award-winning author. Is what we are looking at a small beetle, or an elephant's eye? Is the clean doggy hiding a big mess? Does the ordinary white sheep have something extraordinary about it? Surprising stuff! (3 and up).

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STOMPIN' AT THE SAVOY (NONFICTION)

NONFICTION
STOMPIN' AT THE SAVOY: THE STORY OF NORMA MILLER edited by Alan Govenar, illustrated by Martin French (Candlewick)
How would you like to sit across the kitchen table and chat with a real live Lindy Hop originator from the Harlem Renaissance? This book is your chance! Let the genuine voice of a headline dancer at the Savoy Ballroom sweep you away. Told in norma Miller's own voice, this unusual, conversational, short-and-sweet biography chronicles the swing dancer's life from rough Harlem beginnings in the days of Jim Crow to a fifteen year old's palpable thrill at boarding a steamship for France. Kinetic illustrations practically hold out a hand, inviting us readers to dance along. (8 and up)

Also of interest:

LEON'S STORY by Leon Walter Tillage, illustrated by Susan L. Roth (Farrar Straus Giroux) comes to mind because it also has that rare unpretentious storytelling quality that brings history to life. Based on an interview with school custodian, I consider this account one of the most affecting books about civil rights in America. I love to read-aloud chapters to upper-graders, they are moved by Leon's bravery and dignity in the face of reconstruction's painful shortfalls. It also will help us all look at people not for what they do, but who they are inside; truly, this little gem is an embodied manifestation of Dr. King's hope for "the content of our character." Please treat yourself and future generations! (9 and up)

Links are provided for informational use. Don't forget to support your local bookseller.

WAY FAR AWAY ON A WILD SAFARI (PICTURE BOOK)

PICTURE BOOK
WAY FAR AWAY ON A WILD SAFARI by Jan Peck, illustrated by Valeria Petrone (Simon and Schuster)

A repeating refrain and a wide-eyed rug-rat bearing binoculars follow us on a page-turning tour of the savannah, where wild but friendly animals await us. At the end of the book, we discover that the only trip ur imaginative guide has really taken is to grandmother's house, but the learning is very real! Preschoolers can also visit the rainforest in WAY UP HIGH IN A TALL GREEN TREE and get their scuba on in WAY DOWN DEEP IN THE DEEP BLUE SEA. If you're looking for a new read-aloud adventure after Michael Rosen's and Helen Oxenbury's classic WE'RE GOING ON A BEAR HUNT, these are the trips to book. (4 and up)

Links are provided for informational use. Don't forget to support your local bookseller.