Behold the latest entry in Steve Sheinkin’s “Walking and Talking” series. When he’s not winning a YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction honor for Port Chicago 50 Steve can be found interviewing his fellow authors and illustrators and bringing their talks to comic life. In his latest episode we see not just a drawn version of Caldecott Honor winner Laura Vaccaro Seeger but of her editor Neal Porter as well. Enjoy!
Previous editions of this series include:
This week's book of the week is BULLY by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (also the author of Green).
There are only a few words in this book, yet they tell such a meaningful story in a very clever way. At the heart of BULLY is the simple moral: calling people names is not nice, and they will not want to be your friend if you do.
BULLY teaches this important lesson in a very kid-friendly way by using farm animals as the story's characters. The mean-spirited bull at the center of the tale is great at making fun of others, but find out what happens when he gets a little taste of his own medicine.
The illustrations in
BULLY highlight the animals and their emotions, which is a crucial element to the theme of the book, and makes for a perfect learning opportunity. It's an easy book to read with those three and under because it's short for the babies and toddlers, and clever for the 3-year olds who may understand the significance of the title and main character.
After reading this book
Extend your child's literacy and comprehension by taking a few minutes to discuss the book after you are done reading it. Try to:
talk about the moral. Why is it bad to be a bully? How did being called names make the animals feel?
relate the book to the child. Have you ever been a bully or been bullied? How did it make you feel?
talk about each animal. What animals can you name from the story? Why did the bully call each animal the name that he did?
draw a picture. What animal would you add to the story? How would he feel? What would he do or say?
By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: April 17, 2012
By Michael Catchpool; Illustrated by Alison Jay
The Cloud Spinner is, as it’s title suggests, about a boy who makes fine clothes spun from clouds “just as his mother had taught him.” When the greedy King learns of the boy’s talents he demands many outfits be made. Using repetitive and cautionary words, the boy explains over-and-over: “It would not be wise … Your Majesty does not need them.” The clouds eventually disappear and action must be taken. Alison Jay’s signature paintings with the crackle varnish lend themselves well to this clever and fantastical, “green” fairy tale told by Michael Catchpool—the crackling provides an aged feeling of wisdom, while her bright pallet and fanciful placement of animals add a level of freshness that draws young readers in easily. When it comes to delivering a message of conserving resources for our future, a story driven by a child protagonist is the perfect antidote—as gentle as a floating cloud overhead, Catchpool’s tale gives power to the young people!
Ages 5-8 | Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers | March 13, 2012
By David McPhail
Reminiscent of Shel Silvertein’s The Giving Tree and Virginia Lee Burton’s The Little House, McPhail renders his own little slice of thoughtfulness with The Family Tree. This poignant story about a young boy, who takes a stand to protect one tree from the perils of a new highway ready to be built, reminds all of us that our trees have been here for a very long time, they have seen many things, and they need our protection. The text is direct and the illustrations, which were created using watercolor and ink on illustration board, are sophisticated—both offer the last word in urbanity … a quality fit for this environmental tale.
Ages 4-8 | Publisher: Henry Holt for Young Readers | March 27, 2012
Laura Vaccaro Seeger
This is a concept book about the color green in representation of all creation, by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (First the Egg—a Caldecott Honor Book and a Geisel Honor Book; One Boy—a Geisel Honor Book; and Dog and Bear: Two Friends, Three Stories—winner of the Boston Globe-Horn Book award). The simple rhyming text begs to be read aloud and invites young listeners to sit and ponder or participate through conversation. Every brush stroke and slap of acrylic paint provides purposeful texture and definition to this wonderfu
Green
By Laura Vaccaro Seeger
A Neal Porter Book – Roaring Brook (an imprint of Macmillan)
$16.99
ISBN: 978-1-59643-397-7
Ages 4-8
On shelves March 27th
Sometimes you just want to show a kid a beautiful picture book. Sometimes you also want that book to be recent. That’s the tricky part. Not that there aren’t pretty little picture books churned out of publishing houses every day. Of course there are. But when you want something that distinguishes itself and draws attention without sparkles or glitter the search can be a little fraught. We children’s librarians sit and wait for true beauty to fall into our laps. The last time I saw it happen was Jerry Pinkney’s The Lion and the Mouse. Now I’m seeing it again with Laura Vaccaro Seeger’s Green. I mean just look at that cover. I vacillate between wanting to smear those thick paints with my hands and wanting to lick it to see if it tastes like green frosting. If my weirdness is any kind of a litmus test, kids will definitely get a visceral reaction when they flip through the pages. I know we’re talking colors here but if I were to capture this book in a single word then there’s only one that would do: Delicious.
Open the book and the first pictures you see are of a woodland scene. Two leaves hang off a nearby tree as the text reads “forest green”. Turn the page and those leaves, cut into the paper itself, flip over to two fishies swimming in the deep blue sea. A tortoise swims lazily by, bubbles rising from its head (“sea green”). Another page and the holes of the bubbles are turned over to become the raised bumps on a lime. And so it goes with each new hole or cut connecting one kind of green to another. We see khaki greens, wacky greens, slow greens and glow greens until at last Seeger fills the page with boxes filled with different kinds of green. This is followed by a stop sign and the words “never green” against an autumn background. On the next page it is winter and “no green” followed by an image of a boy planting something. The final spread shows a man and his daughter gazing at a tree. The description: “forever green”. You bet.
Can a color be political? Absolutely. In a given election season you’ll see red vs. blue, after all. In children’s books colors would historically be associated with races or countries (hence the flare up around titles like Two Reds). Green occupies a hazy middle ground here. We all know about the Green Party or green activism. However, it’s not as if you’ll find many parents forbidding their children to read this book because it pushes a pro-environment agenda. Seeger is subtler than that. Yes, her book does end with humans planting and admiring trees, but thanks to her literary restraint the message isn’t thwapping you over the head with a tire iron. She could have turned her “no green” two-page spread into some barren landfill-esque wasteland. Instead we see a snow scene. This is followed by the only silent two pages i
Shazam!
Brilliant!
Man that’s a cool thing to put out into the world.
What I love about these is how Sheinkin focuses in on one rich insight with each author.
I LOVE THIS!! Steve Sheinkin, you are awesome!!!