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A Little Bitty Man and Other Poems for the Very Young
By Halfdan Rasmussen
Translated by Marilyn Nelson and Pamela Espeland
Illustrated by Kevin Hawkes
Candlewick Press
$15.99
ISBN: 978-0763623791
Ages 3-8
On shelves now.

Denmark! Mention the country and children’s literature in one breath and what would most Americans think of? Well, if they were well-versed in the form they might think of Hans Christian Andersen. Our national interest in children’s authors from other countries is sparse, but once in a while someone pierces the collective unconscious. Unfortunately for us, Danish children’s literature begins and ends with the esteemed Andersen. For all we know, that country’s interest in kids’ fare began and ended with his reign. So it was with great interest that I became acquainted with one Halfdan Rasmussen. Former resistance fighter against the German occupation, human rights advocate, and children’s poet, the man wore many a hat in his day. Having already been introduced to U.S. kids in the previous publication The Ladder, Rasmussen returns to our public eye with a collection of younger fare. Sweet and jaunty by turns, A Little Bitty Man exhibits all the best aspects of classic children’s poetry. You may have never known this Rasmussen fellow before but after reading this you’ll be happy to make his acquaintance.

Thirteen poems of relative brevity are collected together. Ranging from the realistic to the fantastical, Rasmussen dares to spark young imaginations with this collection. In it you’ll encounter an elf with a singular method of retaining warmth in a chilly proboscis, a dolly with latrophobia, incontinent rainclouds, clever goats, literary fowl, and many more. Accompanied by the delicate, charming illustrations of Kevin Hawkes, this is one poetic introduction you’ll be happy to have made.

I can’t think of the last time a funny poem for kids made me laugh out loud. So imagine my surprise when I found myself reading the poem “You Can Pat My Pet” and ran across these two stanzas: “You can pat my dog for a dime / and my horse for an egg and a half. / You can pat my favorite aunt / if you give me your granddad’s moustache.” It proceeds to get sillier after that but I just love the exchange of aunt patting for facial hair. Rasmussen does not choose to be a funny poet for kids or a meaningful one. He’s both at once. For the most part, when Rasmussen is trying to be insightful, he succeeds. “What Comes Next” is lovely. “What Things Are For” feels like a natural companion to the picture book A Hole Is to Dig by Ruth Krauss. The sole fly in the ointment is “Those Fierce Grown-Up Soldiers” which is the kind of poem we’ve seen done a hundred times before, and never particula

Shhhhhhhh… Read more after the jump. “Miss Merriweather, the head librarian, is very particular about rules in the library. No running allowed. And you must be quiet. But when a lion comes to the library one day, no one is sure what to do. There aren’t any rules about lions in the library.” Perfect for story time, [...]

Reviewed by Margo Dill, www.margodill.com, [email protected]

Photo by Mike Baird www.flickr.com

*Picture book, mostly realistic (contemporary)
*First-grade girl as main character
*Rating: Velma Gratch and the Way Cool Butterfly is sure to touch the hearts of everyone who reads it!

Short, short summary: Velma Gratch wants to be remembered like her older sisters, Frieda and Fiona, but she just can’t seem to figure out how. She tries being the slowest runner so her P.E. teacher will see her. She tries being the loudest singer, so her music teacher can hear her. But she just winds up in the principal’s office. During science, Mr. Plexipuss, Velma’s teacher, is teaching Velma’s class about butterflies. Velma loves this especially since Frieda and Fiona did not study butterflies! When she goes on a field trip to the conservatory, Velma is in for a surprise when she meets her favorite type of butterfly, a monarch. One butterfly hitches a ride, and he does not want to get off!

So, what do I do with this book?

1. If you study life cycles of butterflies, then Velma Gratch and the Way Cool Butterfly is a great book to read during this unit. Alan Madison includes many science terms in his text, and Kevin Hawkes has illustrations of different types of caterpillars on the inside front cover and different types of butterflies on the inside back cover. Very cool! You can do an art/science project with this book also. Assign students a type of butterfly to research, draw, and color or paint. Students should find out facts about their butterflies and try to draw and color them as close to real life as possible. Students can present their butterflies to the class, and/or you can hang them on a butterfly bulletin board.

2. Velma Gratch has a problem in this book that several students in your class might have. She doesn’t feel special in her family. She thinks her sisters are better than her, and some of the adults in the book aren’t helping her out with these feelings either! One activity you can do with your students is ask them to draw the members of their family on one side of a sheet of paper. Write one sentence about each family member and tell why they are special. On the other side of the paper, ask students to draw a self-portrait. Then students should write at least THREE reasons why they are special and different from other members of their family. If they have no siblings, students can still do this activity using their parents, pets, and even cousins if they wish.

3. This story is mostly realistic. But part of the story makes it unbelievable which makes the whole story a fantasy then. This isn’t the kind of fantasy with knights, dragons, or wizards, but it also isn’t realistic fiction due to this one event in the book. Ask students what parts of the book could happen and are realistic. Then discuss which part of the book makes this story unbelievable or unable to happen in real life.

If you have read Velma Gratch and the Way Cool Butterfly, then leave us a comment and let us know how you felt or an activity you did with the book! Thanks!

Reviewed by Carma Dutra, Picture Book Reviewer for the National Writing for Children Center

Title: Velma Gratch & the Way Cool Butterfly

Author: Alan Madison

Illustrator: Kevin Hawkes

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Hardcover: 40 pages

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade (October 9, 2007)

ISBN-10: 0375835970

ISBN-13: 978-0375835971

It’s hard to be expected to live up to a big sister’s reputation. But it is doubly hard to have to live up to TWO big sisters with amazing reputations. Velma Gratch wants to be noticed now but people at school can hardly recall Velma’s name.

Still, Velma is unique in her own way with poofy orange colored pony tails and round horn rim glasses. But when her first grade teacher, Mr. Plexipuss, fondly remembers older sister Frieda for her miraculous math and older sister Fiona for her spectacular spelling, Velma becomes discouraged.

She desperately tries to get noticed by singing too loud in chorus, running the slowest and refusing to read. The only thing Velma gets noticed for is being sent to the principal’s office. This was not cool. Who wants to be remembered for that?

One day everything changes when the first grade takes a class trip to the butterfly conservatory, a place neither of her sisters have been. Velma’s favorite subject was science and she practiced learning new words like “metal-more-for-this” (metamorphosis) and “can-serve-the-story” (conservatory). The conservatory was a magical place for Velma. There were tall trees, water gurgling over rocks and butterflies of every variety flying “up to forever.” Velma longs to touch a monarch butterfly but it is time to leave. In a flash, a monarch roosts on Velma’s finger and refuses to budge. She was in heaven.

Kids will enjoy reading and looking at everything butterflies, from migration to metamorphosis. The adventure of Velma and the monarch butterfly is expertly captured in the books’ vibrant illustrations by Kevin Hawkes. The illustrations on the front and back inside covers are appealing to any young scientist yearning to know about butterflies. Also, young girls will have fun learning some science facts which is a positive “model” about girls liking science.

The message from this book also addresses sibling rivalry and the importance for everyone to feel unique and special no matter who they are related to. I highly recommend this fun story.

About the author: Alan Madison was once voted the single silliest Little League player in the state of New Jersey. Now he is extremely happy to sit in the park and watch his son play. He and his family attend minor- and major-league games wherever they travel, except in Italy. They live in New York and have a special place in their hearts for the Yankees. Visit him on the Web at www.madisonia.com.

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Carma Dutra is a children’s writer and freelance writer. Learn more about children’s writing tips and award winning book reviews by visiting Carma’s Window at http://carmaswindow.blogspot.com. Download the free EBook, “Tips for Children’s Writers and Illustrators” and “Unite to Write,” a compilation of thirteen top expert authors as read on Ezine article directory.

In many respects, Kevin Hawkes was doomed to become a children’s book illustrator. His childhood was rich with children’s books and the inspiration of Paris with its grand forests and castles. In fact, one constant of his life as a child in a military family was the universal smell of libraries.

On this edition of Just One More Book, author and illustrator Kevin Hawkes talks about being inspired by a second grade art teacher and classic artists including N.C. Wyeth and Vermeer, telling stories through his artwork and the advice he offers to children in his school visits.

Books mentioned:

• Grimm’s Fairy Tales
• Library Lion (on JOMB)
• Sidewalk Circus
• The Wicked Big Toddlah
• Velma Gratch and the Way Cool Butterfly
• The Road to Oz (not available yet)
• Chicken Cheeks (not available yet)

Photo: Random House Canada

This year has seen the completion of Sir Anthony Kenny’s acclaimed four-volume series A New History of Western Philosophy. To celebrate the occasion we recently held a wonderful party at The Oxford and Cambridge Club in London, and some photos from the night are below. Sir Anthony gave a speech, and has kindly let us reproduce an extract from it below. Here he talks about the challenges, questions, and goals he encountered as he wrote the series. (more…)

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