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[…] Podcast Just One More Book has reviewed Emma’s Rug and I think they sum up Say’s work as a whole when they say: “It doesn’t give you any answers; it only gives you questions. That’s the thing I really like about it and […] when we read it to them, they don’t expect answers, which I find really interesting as you always feel like every book, and especially a book for a kid, needs to wrap up nicely at the end and have a really strong joke or message or something that you’re learning; and then you realise when you read a book like this that they can handle a book that just opens up their minds.” […]

[…] Emma’s Rug […]

Hi Mark and Andrea!!! Belated Happy 1st and Congratulations on your second set of 100 shows!!!

Life has been very busy and I’ve anxiously waited for a chance to catch up on my JOMB listening. As always you did not disappoint. I especially love the variety in the last seven or so episodes and your consistent enthusiasm for the books you share. I enjoy having the pleasure of JOMB in my life.

Hugs
v

Ahhhh JOMB…I’m just now catching up on my podcast listening and so happy to be hearing your voices again. This books sounds like a lot of fun and something my little munchkin would enjoy!

Can’t wait to catch up at PAB!

vivian

[…] And, of course, I was happy to see that Andrea and Mark decided to review THE TROUBLE WITH TILLY TRUMBLE! […]

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Herb, The Vegetarian Dragon! With a name like that, i thought it would have indelible, cryptic messages for my kid to go the vegetarian way. The 6 year old wanted a dragon fantasy book and i thought, cynicism aside, it was perfect with the vivid, detailed illustrations and lessons on acceptance.

Herb, the Vegetarian Dragon is a dragon fantasy book / fairy tale about reaching out to others and accepting everyone for what they are. I agree, the book is not as comprehensive as Beyond This Point There Be Dragons but the kid loved it and that made my day. Everytime we pour through the book excitedly, the illustrations always have something new we had not spotted before. Well, despite my initial fears, the book is wonderful and well thought of. But the highlight is the illustrations.

So I sound vulnerable on Desperate Husbands? And here I thought I was coming across as the macho man! ;)

Fun review, we checked this book out of the library this weekend but haven’t read it yet. Looking forward to it.

-Charles

This is a very powerful book, in the sense that it shows the meaning and importance of words. It worked out great for Max that his older brothers didn’t want to share anything with him, because in the end Max shared with them. He showed his older siblings the importance of pictures with words as well as the importance of words in general. Also I believe it is great to spark a young child interest with words because that means the more they are interested in words the more the child will read.

I cannot wait to bring this book to my classroom as I am always looking for ways to excite my students about literacy. I love the idea of collecting words and then using them to make creative stories. I also liked the idea of Max laying out the words and as he rearranged them the meaning of the sentence would change. I could actually see this book as a precursor to getting kids to collect their own words. It sounds like the book used fun and exciting ideas to get at some of the fundamentals of language. What a great book to motivate children about reading and writing.

I too have often had a hard time bringing the excitement and love that I have for words and reading into the classroom. What a great book to introduce my students to. I currently teach fourth graders and although I don’t really think that this book would be appropriate, I think the preschool age students would love a book like this. How incredible that the little brother involved his big brothers in this process as well. I agree that this would be a great introduction into writing for the younger age. I haven’t read the book yet and now I am motivated to go out and find it so that I can continue to share the love that I have for reading with my own daughter.

The most striking parts of this book are the illustrations by Boris Kulikov. So much happens on each page, I want to examine a few illustrations to point out how this book is different from most children’s books as well as why it’s a good read. My students, DC Public Schools first graders, enjoyed the sibling rivalry aspect of this book, but I had to compare and contrast for them to get into the pictures. As it is said, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” It seems to be the other way around if you read the text of this book–the words that Max finds propel Max forward, bringing him up to the same level as his more accomplished brothers (proletariats and youngest siblings of the world, unite!) Max’s desire to “collect something” leads him to words. Maybe it’s also because words seem like a silly thing to collect, but I’m probably reading into it (but isn’t that the point!).
So, Max has his words, and, for once, he is not focusing on his brothers. Look at the pictures where Max is asking his brothers for a stamp or a coin–Max is on the side, with no background whatsoever. The artist does this great David Lynch corner of the room view that foreshortens everyone, giving them gigantic heads and teeny-tiny feet.
Max’s discovery of words, before he manipulates them, shows him in control, with the words gathering at his feet like so much confetti. Now Max is ready to write. The key difference between Max’s words and his brothers stamps / coins is that “[w]hen Benjamin put his stamps together, he just had a bunch of stamps. When Karl put his coins together, he had just a pile of money. But when Max put his words together, he had a thought.” The book doesn’t tell us this, but the actual physical words Max finds don’t make the thought, it’s Max’s manipulation of the words, of course, that gives life to them. In the same way, Max’s resentment of his brothers leads him to something productive, collecting words, and eventually writing a story.
Kulikov does something grand when Max begins to write his story with his brothers’ help. He shows the unfolding action of the story as a picture on the floor, with Max and his brothers contemplating what to do next as they slide words around. Off to the side you can see window-frame shapes in relief, sort of the negative space you would have if you had an invisible window. This has to be what the creative process is like for some authors, maybe the author of this story, Kate Banks.
Despite everything beautiful about the pictures and message in this book, one criticism remains. Why is the focus on the words? Max should be taking some credit for the story he writes with his brothers. Kids should learn to take pride in their art, in the fruits of their labor.
When I write (I promise I’m done after this!) I picture myself at my chair or piano bench, with all possible sentences / chords floating around my head, some bigger than others (ideas that make sense) but some so attractive I can’t resist once in a while. It’s up to me to pull them out of the air and put them on paper in such a way that it will be meaningful to me and, hopefully, someone else. If I pick lots of good ideas in a row the story or melody gains momentum, and then it feels like it writes itself, like this comment.
Thanks for indulging me.
What is the process you go through when you write?

I’ve been thinking a lot about competition, and how it affects children. As an educator, I am frequently being told that competition is bad and should be eliminated from the classroom. I am reminded of bacteria. We all know bacteria can make us sick. We love products that kill as much of it as possible. But the fact is we can’t possibly kill all of it, nor should we. Much as we hate getting sick, we need bacteria to maintain a healthy balance in our bodies and in the surrounding environment. Competition may lead to anxiety. It may cause children who feel unable to compete to shut down. It may cause children accustomed to winning to get bored. But when the carrot is dangled just right, I have found competition to be an excellent driving force in my life. We couldn’t eliminate it if we wanted to, and maybe we shouldn’t want to so much. What I love about this story is the lesson that when faced with a competitive situation, a child can come out on top by finding what is special about himself; what interests him. Moreover, by bringing his own offerings to the table, Max was able to change the atmosphere from one of competition to one of sharing. It’s a great example to kids of what it means to rise above.

I think this book sounds like an excellent addition to my classroom library. While I appreciate the story because it creates a love of words, I can use this book to help my students create their own dictionaries. So many children are vocabulary deficient these days and while there is a significant amount of time is spent teaching vocabulary, there would be no comparison if the students took ownership of increasing their own vocabulary, just as the boys do in the book. It helps make learning and reading new words exciting and tangible. Additionally, the book is inspirational for kids because it shows a child being proactive and independent. Finding a hobby that matches his personality is stimulating and rewarding for him and should be for all children.

This sounds like a very inspiring and engaging chapter book! I am delighted that the author depicts such colorful and diverse characters. My students will love and will gain much from being able to see people like themselves working together to navigate the world, cooperatively working towards a goal, and confidently making tough choices. Through our critical literacy focus we will explore thoroughly the issue of considering options and choosing a nonviolent approach. Children need to see examples of and learn how to weigh their options for how to react in challenging situations. Mention of Ghandi and MLK will also provide a valuable link for discussion about peaceful action.

Kristin,

Thanks for listening and for sharing your thoughts.

Do let us know what you think of the book, once you get your hands on a copy. We’d love to hear your perspective and the perspective of your students.

Andrea

This book sounds very informative. It seems as if it may relate to some inner city children, and just how their lives may play out. For children to get into the characters of the book really helps the critical literacy aspect of how children view themselves in the characters eyes, this is great. Also,the history dealing with the great leaders in the past, helps children to understand that certain people struggled to make a statement about mankind. To also show children that it was not always this way, and you don’t have to accept it. But you must go about it in a certain manner. Working cooperatively together to produce one common goal.

I found this review to be interesting and mysterious. It definitely makes me want to go out and immediately find out what all the chatter is about! The hosts seem quite taken with the book as they describe imagery, color, and magic. From their description, I believe this book is definitely one that the kids in my classroom will want to read and “get into.” Often, books that are touted to celebrate diversity are simply window dressing without developed characters. Many times these books feel stereotypical and void of real thought. It’s almost like the characters in these books have been painted brown, but the story has not. It is refreshing to hear that there are books that provide real imagery, depth, and insight with developed and complex characters. Children are definitely capable of handling the realness of this approach. My fourth grade class and I will definitely be checking this out!

I was thrilled to find such an engaging review of a book for upper elementary students. As a fifth grade teacher and as the coordinator of our school’s Peer Mediator program I love finding books that address issues of peace and conflict resolution. Soul Force and Spice Cake appears to not only address these issues, using children around the age of my students, but to do it in a funny, sad, suspensful way - key elements of a book to draw in 10 and 11 year old readers. I really liked the comment about how the book uses humor and how silly some of the scenarios are. Silliness and the ability to laugh out loud are so important to older children; we sometimes forget how necessary it is for the “tweens” to be children. The characters sound dynamic, as does the process they all go through as they grow and experience and search for the answers. The review makes the characters and the story elements vibrant, descibing the book full of “color, texture, smell, magic and music.” What more do you need to create a wildly successful read for upper elementary students? I can’t wait to read this book myself and then read it to my students.

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What an important book! Wouldn’t it be great if we could all do this? Thanks for putting info about this one out there. I will get it for the recess attender in my life.

Maryann,

I agree completely.

Thanks so much for listening and for taking the time to share your thoughts with the rest of us.

I hope your recess-attender loves it.
Andrea

I wonder if this book came out before or after the movie “Mean Girls” because there seems to be a similar plot. There is also a book called “Queen Bees and Wannabees” which examines the intricacies of girlhood relationships. This book sounds like a great way to begin a discussion with children, especially girls, about bullies and what lies behind the bullying. It would also lead well into a discussion of how to respond to bullying. This is something all children deal with in some way or another and an analysis of the reaction of all the characters in the book and how those reactions feed or starve the status quo that seems to be present at the start of the book.

The title was interesting to me, which is why I picked this podcast. I was totally intrigued by Mean Jean the Recess Queen and little Katie Sue. I thought from the title that it would have something to do with bullying, but I was more interested in the life lessons I could share with my students in the character of Katie Sue. As people sometimes do, they allow the status quo to be uninterrupted. Such was the case with playground according to Jean. It was her way or the highway and nobody dared rock the boat. That is until little pint-sized Katie Sue showed up. She was a free thinker and saw no reason to abide by some of the craziness Jean dished out on a daily basis. She didn’t make a big deal of it, she just respectfully did her own thing. That’s all I want for some of my girls, to be free thinkers and NOT to go along with the crowd. Not to try to overthrow the bully and thereby become the new queen bee, but to live your life unapologetically and with purpose. It was a great discussion.

I am a second grade teacher in Washington, DC I was really interested in this book because we have had a recent episode at my school where students were being bullied into misbehaving. This occurred during lunch and not recess but I am sure my student will connect the two. The students were being bullied into throwing food. We talked about what it means to be a leader and what we can do to show others how strong leaders have to be. Anyone can misbehave when bullied to do so but it takes a special person to stand up for what is right.

I really liked the discussion of this book. Bullying is an important issue to expose all children to because you never know who might be experiencing bullying or be a bully themselves. It is sometimes like a secret life children lead that adults are blind to. A book like “The Recess Queen” really gets to the heart of the matter without making anyone the bad guy or anyone the hero. It is simply a situation that needs to be resolved in order for everyone to be happy. I think this is important because it is easy to cast the roles as completely black and white. In reality it isn’t that simple and bullying is sometimes the result of problems a child is having.

Leslie Jones
Washington DC

I found the discussion of this book to be very helpful because if I had read it before hearing your opinions, I might have also jumped to the conclusion that the female character was not a positive one. I think that you have pointed out the importance of critical literacy for children. If we open up the dialogue about what is going on in a book and what the characters are like, then we can give children the tools to see the positive and the negative in texts and process the information in a beneficial way.
Leslie Jones
Washington DC

Thank you Andrea and Mark for the lively and
insightful review of Big Black Bear.

The most wonderful thing about doing children’s books,
is their ability to make time stand still. Even though BBB happened 14 years ago for me, to the child who is
hearing it for the very first time, it will always be new.

By the way, the illustrations were done in acrylics.

Best wishes,
Wong Herbert Yee

TJ loves the book cover. So now, we’ll have to find a copy of the book!

Our little guy is very into art these days. In fact a few days ago he painted a series of trains on 24×18″ paper. Following his painting spree he walked around the house scouting out places to hang his artwork. We now have framed TJ art alongside our other paintings and such. I’ll have to send a photo.

Given his interest in art I think he would enjoy seeing other illustrations from the book!

A giveaway…hmmm…looks like another family review has to be put in motion :-)

vivian
www.clippodcast.com

Here’s a thought. I haven’t read this one yet, but its possible from what I heard on the show that the authors were using hyperbole to show that people generally come to accept people who stick to who they are. It may have been illustrated in an exaggerated way, but its an important message, especially when the subject of the story has spent the entire story fending off nay-sayers.

I think its important that children learn that there are positive effects at the end. Yes, its important that they learn to stand up for who they are and what they believe, but its just as important to know that by doing so, you can affect change in the world around you. If Suki had come through the entire story without a positive ending, then it would have taught the readers about the importance of being who you are, but might also have left the impression that by doing so, you put yourself in a position outside of the ability to have friends and relationships.

My two cents. Talk to you soon!

Chris
http://www.answers-for-freelancers.com/

Chris,

Thanks for extending the conversation!! Woohoo! This is just what we’ve been hoping for!

I think I see what you mean about ending with Suki being happy but also outside the group. I just didn’t think that the class gathering around Suki and applauding was necessary. Quiet acceptance, appreciation would have worked well for me but perhaps it would have been more difficult to get across in a picture book and might have been too subtle for its young readers. 

Thanks for weighing in. I hope you’ll share your 2cents again soon.

Maybe your comments will even entice some others to offer their thoughts ($1 for each comment this month goes to Raise-a-Reader….)
Andrea

My 5yo daughter loved the book. Her grandma bought it for her birthday this fall because I had brought back a child’s kimono for her on my last trip to Tokyo. She had volunteered (from the audience) to participate in a Japanese circle dance this summer at the Chicago area Japanese Festival. It made it very easy for her to “put herself into the story”. She’s a bit of a ham, so the idea of everyone applauding is right up her alley.

Her first comment when we read the book? “Daddy, Suki forgot her umbrella at school!”

Donald,

That’s a great story. It’s as though Suki’s Kimono was written for your daughter.

Until you mentioned it, I’d never noticed that Suki didn’t have her umbrella on her way home. What attention to detail.

Thanks for listening and for adding to the conversation,
Andrea