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Dear Mr. Washington

By Lynn Cullen; pictures by Nancy Carpenter

 

Are you ready for a funny and partly historical, yet hysterically chuckle-filled read? Then “Dear Mr. Washington” is the picture book to honor “The Father of Our Country”, George Washington.

Most picture books on the first President and Commander-in-Chief are adequately fact-filled and very accurate. But where is the humanity and humor?

Well it’s all found here in Ms. Cullen’s use of a bit of historical license in her take on a true event in the life of George.

I’m sure you’ve all seen the famous Gilbert Stuart painting of George Washington. It hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. Gilbert Stuart also painted the very serious George of perfect deportment and manners, whose image appears on the dollar bill.

Let me set the scene. It’s April of 1796 and Washington arrives at the home of this master portrait artist to capture this iconic president for all time. And Stuart, unlike the solemn Washington is a bit of a prankster.

Try imagining the scene with Gilbert trying to loosen up George to get a relaxed feel for the painting – or even a smile. Add to the mix, the artist’s children that are about the house, and Ms. Cullen’s picture book takes off! Don’t kids always want to help?

It’s very cleverly done. The picture book intersperses a series of supposed admonitions on behavior, taken from a book that is a supposed gift to the Stuart trio of children from Washington. The book is called “Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation”. Washington apparently copied these rules laboriously, I believe, probably for both practicing penmanship and deportment. Double benefit was enjoyed by George!

Enter three of Gilbert’s children that are witness to the attempted portraiture. Chaos is afoot and Washington runs afoul of the the children’s well intentioned attempts to “follow the rules.”

Disaster is the only thing that ensues as the children are bent on helping their father to get George to smile.

But even the First President cannot resist forever the “scallywags” of the Stuart family – and neither will you. They are impish in the extreme as only children can be that are really trying hard to be good – for dad and country.

Nancy Carpenter completes the picture of a portrait gone awry in her perfect renderings that capture chaos unfolding at the Stuart household.

Please allow your child a very imaginative trip to the Stuart household for “what would have happened if,” preceding the painting of this most famous of presidential portraits.

Mrs. Stuart must have been a very brave woman with twelve children in tow and a president in the parlor!

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M is for Mischief: An A to Z of Naughty Children

By Linda Ashman; illustrated by Nancy Carpenter

 

How do you find a picture book that teaches good behavior by showing the exact OPPOSITE in little rascals that model pure unadulterated mischief from the get go AND introduces the ABC’s in the process?

Example is usually always the strongest teacher when WE model behaviors we want to see in our children such as empathy, honesty, kindness, sharing, politeness and the like. But Ms. Ashman has chosen a different approach. She shows in her alphabetically listed antics of a very anti social group of young ones, A to Z named kiddies modeling behaviors you hope your young would be reader will opt to AVOID!!

Picture book readers are probably fascinated like their older siblings with all things electronic. What about starting them out as they begin the adventure of reading and recognizing letters with a physical book. The mischievous maniacs listed here will help build sustained attention span in your child as you relate the antics of this wildly uncivil group!  

Sometimes, and the operative word here IS sometimes, the more effective way to reinforce GOODNESS is to point out its counterpart in VERY NAUGHTY kiddies. Ideally, the behavior you point out will look so awful they will roll their eyes and say UGH!

BUT, there is always the slightest of risks that these behaviors may look, shall we say, attractive and their reaction will be…Hmmm! But Ms. Ashman has wisely put a poetic caveat at the intro to her book.

 

DEAR READER.

 

 You, of course, are not the sort,

 To argue, fight, or brag.

 You’re not inclined to be unkind:

 you rarely whine or nag.

 

 Others aren’t so pleasant, though.

 Read on and you shall see.

 Here’s a catalog of naughtiness.

 Presented A to Z.

 

Linger longingly when you read the most ubiquitous behaviors of these 26 baddies such as Impolite Irma, Joking Jackson and Untidy Ursula. Then skip quickly through the more irascible ones such as Kicking Ken, Vile Vern and Zany Zelda. But then again they’re probably the ones your young one may cotton to. Twas ever thus! Nancy Carpenter’s art is fresh and funny illustrating the antics of the deviant behaviors of this lot of young ones to a tee.

But if you’ve ever sat in a restaurant and watched a fellow diner’s child wreak havoc while people attempt to enjoy their meal, you may just recognize SOME of these behaviors. I like Ms. Ashman’s approach. If you don’t recognize BAD behavior, how can you learn to avoid it? Kids will certainly recognize it here AND learn their ABC’s from this self-obsessed group of god-awful kiddies.

Roald Dahl’s “CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY” crew, famously named Violet, Augustus, Mike and Veruca are a walk in the park compared to this lot. They definitely need a trip to the factory and a visit from the Oompah Loompahs!

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The best nonfiction books make their readers want to go out and learn more about the subject. By focusing on one relatively minor aspect of Queen Victoria's long, long life, Gloria Whelan's latest book will have children hurrying off to the library (or Internet) to find out all they can about the Victorian age. Some of the questions they might have include: Why were women required to wear corsets and layers upon layers of petticoats? What was so scandalous about seeing a queen's knees? What is a lady-in-waiting? Nine children! Were all families so large back then? Luckily the author's note and list of sources will give curious readers a starting point in their research.

In this irreverent, rhyming picture book, Queen Victoria longs for a refreshing swim in the ocean while residing in Osbourne House on the Isle of Wight. But social conventions being what they were back in the day, she can't, alas, put so much as a royal toe into the Atlantic. Happily, Prince Albert is determined to find a way for his beloved wife to "dabble and splatter and swim like a fish." After considering--and abandoning--the catapult, Albert has his Eureka moment. With help from his offspring, he devises a wheeled bathing machine that allows the Queen to discreetly change into her bathing suit and enter the water unseen.

Nancy Carpenter's colored pen-and-ink drawings are as charming as the text. Each spread is bursting with activity and telling details that add to the story's magic. There's a funny bit a la Monty Python of the Queen being flung from a catapult prototype into the sea. And the images of Queen Victoria cavorting in the water are priceless. Highly recommended!

Queen Victoria's Bathing Machine
By Gloria Whelan
Illustrations by Nancy Carpenter
Simon & Schuster, 40 pages
Published: April, 2014

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I loved this picture book by the team that created 17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore! But I'd think twice before putting it in the hands of children. Why? They might be tempted to try one of these zany experiments on their own. I know I would have. When I was seven or so I learned that as a child my father stuck coins up his nose to see how many could fit. My grandparents couldn't extract them and a doctor was called. What did I do upon hearing this? You guessed it, I promptly shoved a dime up my little nose. If this book was available then, who knows what havoc I would have caused.

My experiment was nothing compared to the 11 ones here, which progressively get more outlandish. The format for each experiment is structured according to the scientific method--with hilarious results: a question, such as "Will a piece of bologna fly like a Frisbee?", a hypothesis--A piece of bologna will fly like a Frisbee.", the steps of what to do--"Take bologna off your sandwich. Aim at friend. Shout 'Catch!' Hurl bologna through air.", and what happened--"Teacher caught bologna with his head. No recess."

By the last experiment the girl protagonist has grown fungus in her brother's sneaker, sprinkled glitter on the dog, attempted to order a beaver, used up her mother's expensive bottle of perfume, broken all the family's dishes in the washing machine, and flooded the house. All in the name of science!

The illustrations are a fun mix of pen-and-ink drawings, notebook sketches, photos, and diagrams. Budding mad scientists will snatch this excellent picture books off the shelves. You may want to put it out of reach!

11 Experiments That Failed
by Jenny Offill
illustrations by Nancy Carpenter
Schwartz & Wade books, 40 pages
Published: September 2011

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The spirit of poetry past comes shining through in My Uncle Emily, a 2009 release from Jane Yolen. We can always depend on Ms. Yolen to deliver a wonderfully crafted story. This one is stellar in its use of lyrical prose to capture the tone of Emily Dickinson's poetry and time period.

Emily Dickinson's nephew, Gilbert, is the child friendly entry point to Ms. Dickinson's poetry. Gilbert wonders about the symbols in his "Uncle Emily's" poetry. Gilbert must share her poetry with his class, but he is afraid the other students won't like or understand it either. When he finally learns to decode her ideas he lights up, "like a lamp."

My Uncle Emily, has clear themes of honesty and peaceful resolution of conflict but none of them are preachy or heavy handed. The actions and reactions of the characters are true to the story and true to life. In fact, Ms. Yolen ends the book with a piece entitled, "What's True About This Story."

Patti Lee Gauch of Philomel is the editor for this beautifully designed book. It is not often that the editor is cited in the front matter. However, Ms. Gauch is well known for her editorial achievements and her own use of lyrical prose in Thunder At Gettysburg one of the first "novels in verse."

Nancy Carpenter, a two time recipient of the Christoper Award, illustrates the book with pen and ink and digital media. The effect is of colorful engravings which perfectly fit the Amherst, Massachusettes setting circa 1881. I was especially enthalled by Ms. Carpenter's use of negative space which frames the illustrations and focuses the reader's attention to particular details. Her lovely muted palette, the patterning and texture, and her gestural line capture the costume, light and formality of the period.

Ms. Yolen's book delightfully treats modern children to the spirit of poets past.

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17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore

Author: Jenny Offill
Illustrator: Nancy Carpenter
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade; December 2006
Reading Level: Ages 4-8

This is one spunky girl who likes to test her boundaries and her imagination. From stapling her brother's hair to the pillow to freezing a dead fly in the ice cube tray, she is full of ideas! Each page repeats, "I had an idea to do X...I'm not allowed to do X anymore," which gets more and more amusing as this spunky character gets into even more trouble. For example, in the morning, gluing her brother's bunny slippers to the floor sounds like a good plan. But now she's not allowed to use glue anymore. And what about when she shows Joey Whipple her underpants—they're only underpants, right? Turns out she's not allowed to do that again, either. And isn't broccoli the perfect gift for any brother? It's just too bad her parents don't think so. But she has the last laugh in this humorous first picture book by an acclaimed novelist of books for adults. The traits of our main character are not traits we'd like to promote to our kids, but with a little discussion, this could be a great teaching tool and a good laugh!

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