Geneva Public Library

Cindy: Did you know that craft books work for Mystery Month too? They do when they are Sneaky Art projects. Jocelyn’s creative ideas for creating and hiding mystery “sneaky” art in public spaces will leave the recipients wondering “whodunit?” Sneaky Art: Crafty Suprises to Hide in Plain Sight (Candlewick 2013) is full of fun ideas, many of which librarians or teachers can use for craft programs or classroom projects. Half the fun will be in placing them to delight unsuspecting people.

You don’t have to be Christo and Jeanne-Claude to create temporary public art…these are projects everyone can do. After some initial instructions about found materials, sneaky lettering (think ransom note collage style), where to place your creations and cautions (sneaky art is NOT “mean, defacing, ugly, hurtful, messy, or permanent) the book launches into its simple projects. Facial features cut from magazines can be mixed and matched and posted with our without speech bubbles to surprise (on your fridge, on a parking meter…) Do you have a glove or mitten that is missing its mate? Leave the stray on a doorknob somewhere looking like it is ready to shake your hand. Put bright socks on the bottom on chair legs. Make fortune cookies out of cupcake papers and leave them in an open spot to be discovered.

One of my favorites is the “Library Shouts.” Speech bubble signs that you can sneak into your favorite books at the library or bookstore. The “Painted Stones” section reminded me of all the rocks that I painted as a teen and sold at a craft booth. I painted lots of red lady bugs for the 70s terrarium craze. Last summer I started painting them again and hiding them in flower beds at my friends’ houses. Apparently I am a natural at the sneaky art craze. Last week I mentioned May Day flower baskets left as surprises on neighbors’ doors and no one knew what I was talking about. Apparently that tradition has gone the way of Maypoles. Perhaps Sneaky Art is a way to resurrect some of the joy of being surprised by a nice artistic treat. I hope it catches on.

Lynn:  The focus group and I are already scheming.  We loved this book and the real mystery is which fun project to try first!  Most of these them look well within the artistic abilities of eight and nine-old-boys…and more importantly their fumble fingered grandmother!  This is a GREAT book for nervous artists.  Each idea features a wonderful color picture of the finished project facing a page of very clear directions.  Each set of directions include categories that describe Where, Materials, How to Make and How to Sneak.  Perfect!  The materials are inexpensive and easy to find which is a big bonus too.

There are zillion great uses for this book besides entertaining grandchildren.  These are ideal projects for day cares, elementary classrooms, library story-time groups, birthday parties or summer day camps.  I love Jocelyn’s message of playing with art in a respectful responsible way as much as I love the idea of providing sweet surprises.

If you are around West Michigan this summer, keep your eyes open for some sneaky art fun!

Cindy: Our local paper yesterday had a timely feature on a Yarn Bombing event coming to Lowell, Michigan this summer. Sneaky art isn’t just for children.

Nonfiction Monday blog posts are available at this week’s host, Perogies & Gyoza. Sneak on over…

Lynn:  It’s pretty exciting when a new baby first comes home but for a toddler, that magic often diminishes as reality sets in and the baby gets a lot of attention.  Phoebe & Digger (Candlewick 2013) is a wonderfully funny, nuanced look at that common situation from the toddler’s point of view.  In our story there has been some parental planning at work here:

“When Mama got a new baby…

Phoebe got a new digger.”

Phoebe loves her new toy but it’s clear that she is less than enchanted with the new baby.  One afternoon, Mama is very busy with the baby and Phoebe is equally busy with Digger.  Jeff Newman’s funny illustrations show what Phoebe and Digger are up to and it is no wonder that Mama decides a trip to the park is in order.  All is fine for a while until Phoebe tries to explain a perfectly reasonable situation to a “crybaby boy” and ends up in time out.  Released, Phoebe next has an encounter with a “big girl with mean teeth” who takes Digger away from her.  Happily, in steps Mama and much is resolved in an ending that is sweetly reassuring.

This little slice of life is a delight – as much for the little ones adjusting to a new sibling as for the adults also adjusting.  I adore Newman’s illustrations that reveal the reality behind the toddler-perception of the story.  I’ll leave more about that to Cindy and will just say that my favorite illustration is of Phoebe in time-out.

This is the perfect book for little ones and families!   The spacious pages and large illustrations make it great for a story-hour as well as being a lap-time treasure for parents and toddlers to read while a new baby sleeps.  I’ve already ordered this for the youngest member of our focus group, Henry, who is going to be a big brother in a few months!

Cindy: Digger is quite the expressive construction toy with facial moves that are sure to elicit laughter and Phoebe’s imagination doesn’t hurt. Earthworms become boa constrictors and the sandbox holds mountains. The day is full of adventure…and conflict. When confronted with the bully, Phoebe tried using her words (oh, did I say that a lot over the years…”use your words!”) But that doesn’t work this time…nor does her knuckles (just a little) or her foot (not too hard). Sometimes the presence of an adult can smooth things over. Mama might seem preoccupied with the new baby, but she has eyes everywhere and she sizes up situations all throughout the story in subtle ways, ones that will surely amuse the adults reading this book to young children.

Thank you for a family with brown skin. For a girl who plays with toy trucks. For a story that shows acceptable limits of behavior with enforced consequences. For a funny but reassuring story about new babies. For the simple but dual look at bullying behavior. Rarely do we see a character who is both bullied and bully in books for the very young. This is a story with love at its heart, expressed in words and art on every page.

Lynn:  Most mystery fans love sequels.  We fall in love with a character and can’t wait to read along as he or she takes on a new case.  I’m in that camp and I love nothing more than another installment of my favorite sleuth.  So for our continuing celebration of Mystery Month, here are two super sequels that shouldn’t be missed.

The first is Black Ice (Farrar, 2013) the the third book in Sherlock Holmes:  The Legend Begins series.  The series follows Sherlock Holmes in his teen years as he starts to develop and hone his deductive skills and Lane has done a wonderful job of being true to Doyle’s legendary character.  In fact, the series is actually endorsed by the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle estate.  The books are fast-paced, full of exciting adventure and feature really intriguing mysteries.  In Black Ice, Sherlock’s brother Mycroft is discovered holding a knife in a locked room with a dead body – and that is just the start of the adventures that take Sherlock into serious danger.  A risky trip to the Russia of Czar Alexander II and his feared Third Section add a fascinating dimension to this terrific page-turner.   Lane has packed it with one suspenseful scene after another but there are plenty of clues and puzzles to challenge reader’s deductive skills.  Lane has carefully researched these puzzling thrillers so don’t miss the fascinating Historical Notes.

Next up is The Watcher in the Shadows (Harcourt 2013) by Chris Moriarty.  This is the sequel to one of my favorite books of 2011, The Inquisitor’s Apprentice set in an alternate New York City at the turn of the century.  This is a magical New York where spellcasters work the sewing machines of the Pentacle Shirtwaist factory, a dybbuk roams the streets, Kabbalists argue in the cafes and J.P. Morgaunt concocts sinister schemes to break the planned strike of the IWW (Industrial Witches of the World).  Young Sacha Kessler is an apprentice to the famed Inquisitor Wolfe whose job is to investigate magical crimes.  When the Klezmer King is electrocuted in front of the audience by his Electric Tuxedo, the people Sacha loves are drawn into danger.  Much of the fun of of this series is in the highly original and richly imagined world, like yet so unlike our own.  Complex plots require the reader’s close attention and careful reading which is good because the book is packed with sly historical references that need to be savored.  The characters are brilliant and it is impossible to read these books and not care deeply about them all.  I especially enjoyed the way Moriarty wound up some threads in this book while introducing new elements that spool on unresolved.  This individual book, as the first, comes to a satisfying resolution but large central issues remain for the next installment – which can’t come too soon for me!   Please, Mr. Moriarty, write faster!!!

Lynn:  The lives of artists are often a challenge to write about for children and none more so than Diego Rivera.  Controversial in almost all aspects of  his life, Diego Rivera was also a towering figure in the art world (and in stature) and his work remains incredibly powerful today. Susan Goldman Rubin’s new book, Diego Rivera:  an Artist for the People (Abrams 2013) presents a clear and fully-dimensional picture while remaining age-appropriate.   Rivera and his work are introduced in the context of both the politics and art of his time, aiding young readers to better understand Rivera’s evolving style and dramatic impact.  Rubin highlights Rivera’s pivotal role in bringing world attention and respect to Pre-Columbian art and on his admirable focus on creating art for and about common people.

Accessible and clear, Rubin’s text is engaging and absorbing, wonderfully researched and provides a real sense of this amazing artist as a real person.  This is a beautifully designed book too.  I’ll leave most of that discussion to Cindy but the reproductions of Rivera’s art are outstanding, crisp and colorful and wonderfully placed.  This book is a pleasure to read, hold and study.

I remember clearly my first encounter with Rivera’s work.  My family visited the Detroit Institute of Art when I was around 10 and the impact of those murals remains with me today.  I haven’t shared this yet with the focus group but that is up next as well as a summer trip to DIA!  This is a must-purchase for biography and art sections and fits the definition of literary nonfiction perfectly.

Cindy: Lynn is right that this book is gorgeous. I loathe artist biographies with black and white illustrations (like a Frida Kahlo biography in my middle school library collection that I just consulted) but this is filled with color, spacious design, full page art reproductions and decorative page borders. Personal photographs, charcoal sketches of works in progress, and photographs of many of Rivera’s mural installations round out the clear and interesting text. Following 41 pages of biography, the book concludes with 15 pages of end matter! First up is a 3-page history of Mexico related to Rivera’s art followed by two pages of artistic influences on Rivera’s work. The last pages have a list of places to view his art, a glossary, sources notes, a bibliography, art credits, and an index. Kudos to Maria T. Middleton for the gorgeous jacket design. I’ve never mentioned that in a blog post before, but this book is just a treat to hold from beginning to end. Well done, Abrams!

Common Core Connection:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.7 Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

Share pages 26-35 with students and then have them do some further research and write an argument supporting their opinion about one of the two murals in this section:

1. Detroit Institute of Arts Garden Court Mural. Was the mural an appropriate respresentation of Detroit or was it “foolishly vulgar” and “un-American” as the Detroit News editorial indicated?

2. Rockefeller Center RCA office building mural. Was Nelson Rockefeller, who commissioned the mural, right to censor the mural for its inclusion of Vladimir Lenin that had not been in the original approved sketch? Consider the theme of the mural and the time (1933) in which the mural was being painted.

Instantly Interruptible is this week’s host of Nonfiction Monday blog posts. Check it out.

Lynn:  For so many children, milk is something that is found in large white bottles at the local store.  They know it comes from cows but how it gets from cows to store is pretty vague.  It’s Milking Time (Random 2013) provides an exploration of that process using a surprising amount of detail while doing all the things good picture books do.  Phyllis Alsdurf grew up on a Minnesota dairy farm and her text sways with the natural rhythms of farm life and reflects the inexorable demands of milking and animal care while telling an engaging story.

Every morning, every night,
it’s milking time.

The young girl races to the field to start the herd on their “Holstein parade” to the barn and the story follows her as she helps her father with all the many steps in milking.  Steve Johnson & Lou Fancher’s lovely watercolor illustrations have an earthy palette and are so evocative of hot summer evenings in the Midwest and the sights and sounds of a farm.  The perspectives are often from a child’s level and my favorites are of the the cows trudging into the barn, “cuds a-chewing, tails a-swatting.”  I was a professor’s kid but many of my friends lived on farms and this book brought me back sharply to visits there and I will never forget discovering how startling large a dairy cow is or realizing that work on a dairy farm never takes a vacation!

This is a wonderful choice for all those farm and food units for schools but the sweet story also makes a wonderful lap book.

Cindy: Reading this book brought back so many memories. My cousins in Wisconsin lived on a farm and we always went to visit them because they could not leave their animals to come visit us. My grandmother in Western NY state lived in an old house that had milk delivery. She had a small metal lined box in the wall next to her back door that had a door on the outside and inside of the house. The milkman would leave her glass bottles of milk in the box and they would stay cold there until she got home from work to collect them. That milk box was almost as fun to play with as the laundry chute. G.I. Joe and Barbie were daring and made many trips down the laundry chute! Later, when milk delivery ceased, my brother and I were old enough to be sent with 50 cents a block down the street to the milk machine (!) out in front of the fire station. Cardboard quarts of milk were dispensed like today’s pop machines deliver a can. We loved to go buy the milk. And, while not milk related, I vividly remember the Nickles’ bread man making house calls to my southwestern Michigan childhood home. He carried a big metal box and would open the front of it and tiered shelves of baked goods would be on display. Usually we just bought bread, but my mother loved carbs as much as I do so sometimes we splurged and bought a coffee cake or some cinnamon bread or some other treat. My mother was not a baker…the Nickles guy took care of that.

The other memory that this charming book brought back was the photo I saw last summer of the Focus group watching the dairy cows walk past the gate of the house that Lynn was renting in France last year. The boys were entranced by watching the cows. Thanks for indulging me in this revelry of memory. A good picture book takes you places and this one did.

 

 

Every morning, every night,
it’s milking time.

Every day of the week,
every week of the month,
every month of the year,
it’s milking time.

Cindy: Sometimes the biggest mystery about a book is the cover art! When Lynn and I worked together in the library we did tandem booktalking a lot. It was good for the students since we each had our own genre strengths and preferences (hers were science fiction and mystery and I favored horror and sad stories). In order to broaden our repertoire even farther we often did not read books that the other already booktalked, selecting instead to read something new to add to the mix. The View from the Cherry Tree by Willow Davis Roberts (Atheneum 1975) was one that Lynn read, loved, and booktalked often. It still circulates and when I have to booktalk mystery titles for six classes in a day I often present this one, admitting that I haven’t read it but stealing Lynn’s booktalk that I memorized after hearing her give it so many times. I usually grab the paperback copies we have but recently I stumbled upon this hideous hard cover copy in our fiction section. Take a look at this! Seriously…I can’t decide if this is deliciously creepy in a mid-70s sort of way, or if it is simply a mystery that anyone actually CHOSE to feature this illustration on the cover. What do you think, readers? Fortunately the book has had some remakes over the years. I keep this book around and show all three covers to the students and let them pick their favorite.

Lynn:  I still love this book and loved booktalking it to our 6th graders.  It is a felicitous blend of elements that have great kid appeal but have not become outdated even though the book published in 1975!

Outside Rob’s window is a huge cherry tree with spreading limbs that make the perfect get away.  Rob can climb outside from his room and see the world spreading out below him, including a great view of his crabby neighbor’s house.  Rob and his cat, S.O.B., have a good reason to escape often these days as his whole house is consumed with The Wedding.  The entire family seems to talk about nothing but the colors, invitations, and dresses!  One afternoon, with wedding talk bouncing off his skull, Rob climbs out to get some peace and witnesses a murder!  He sees a shadowy someone push the old lady next door out her upper window.  Everyone thinks it was an accident despite Rob’s frantic attempts to tell everyone and anyone what  he has seen.  Everyone thinks Rob is seeking a little attention   – except the murderer.  He, of course, believes Rob and sets out to silence him.

There’s so much good stuff here – the wedding theme is hilarious and instantly recognizable to anyone who has been involved in one, the suspense is seriously scary, the central puzzle extremely well-plotted with plenty of plausible red herrings and the characters wonderfully authentic.  Our 6th graders loved the whole kid-knows-the-real-story-but-can’t-get-anyone-to-listen element and it all comes together in a real page-turner.  Sometimes the old ones are still the best – whatever the cover!

Cindy: Some books grow on you in surprising ways. I read On a Beam of Light (Chronicle 2013), liked it, and set it aside to take to school to show my 6th grade science teachers but I wasn’t planning to write a blog post about it. But overnight its messages haunted me.  One of my favorite Einstein quotes is about his curious nature:

“I have no special talents, I am only passionately curious.”

The gift of a compass from his father sparked his curiosity about the wonder of unseen mysteries and he became a passionate reader and asker of questions. The reading did not answer all of his questions, though, so he “kept on reading. Wondering. And learning.”

Our fast-paced, time-on-task, tweet-filled, noisy lifestyle leaves little time for contemplation…and if someone is sitting quietly thinking… they are surely presumed to be “doing nothing.” Berne begins the book with several pages highlighting Einstein’s delay in talking as a child. He was three and still not speaking much.

I’m far from a Luddite, but I do wonder how our current preoccupation with talking when we have little or nothing to say is impacting our ability to think and reflect. Our instant access to information has to be impacting our curiousity. Years ago when we had a question we would contemplate the possible answers…to reason them out…to narrow down the best choices and perhaps it would be a few days before we were able to look up the answer. Meanwhile the possibilities stewed and sifted in our brains. Now, we whip out a smart phone and have the answer before we engage our curiosity to any serious degree. It gives me pause. And books like this one reinforce the importance of asking questions, of wondering, of reading and learning. On a Beam of Light is a quiet gem and the illustrations of Vladimir Radunsky shine with Einstein’s spirit.

Lynn:  I found On a Beam of Light wonderful for many reasons but I too especially loved the theme of curiosity.  Being around my young grandchildren and volunteering with several elementary classes puts curiosity right in front of my nose and one of the things I often ponder is where does that curiosity go?  It seems to often disappear when kids get to middle school and I wonder about whether our education system or our culture kills it off or whether it just gets buried too deeply to see it easily.  For all our sakes, I think it critical that we fan the flames of wonder, curiosity and imagination wherever we find it!

Here is another new picture book that celebrates imagination and is just plain fun besides.  Reading How to Bicycle to the Moon to Plant Sunflowers:  a Simple But Brilliant Plan in 24 Easy Steps by Mordicai Gerstein (Roaring Brook 2013) is a little like eavesdropping at our house  – especially in the summer when plans and schemes have time to be hatched, elaborated upon and even attempted.

Nathan notices that the full moon seems sad and thinks it might be lonely.  He suggests planting sunflowers to cheer the moon up and his parents giggled.  “How would you get there?  On your bicycle?”  Nathan thinks, “Why not on my bicycle?”  The wheels turn inside Nathan’s head and his plan is rolled out step by step in hilarious detail.  A huge slingshot made of the garden hose, a bicycle rigged with special clamps?   Easy peasy!  Little details like zero atmosphere are handled with a letter to NASA asking for a spare space suit and the hose you rode up on will provide water for the seeds.  Nothing to it – Nathan has it all figured out including the parental opposition.

Gerstein’s wonderful illustrations are rife with details that make careful reading a special pleasure.  The humor is delightful and kid-pleasing and parents of small dreamers and schemers will be captivated too.  The older members of the focus group loved this book which I somewhat reluctantly showed them.  I was a tad nervous they’d try this scheme out as last summer’s endeavors included an elaborate treehouse, a lot-sized zipline and their own zoo.  What was I saying about the joys of curiosity and imagination?

Common Core Connections:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.3 Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.2.3 Write narratives in which they recount a well-elaborated event or short sequence of events, include details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure.

Read aloud How to Bicycle to the Moon to Plant Sunflowers and have the students describe or write the steps in accomplishing this feat of engineering. Or brainstorm a new challenge and have the students create the steps in sequence needed to accomplish the challenge.

Head to Booktalking for this week’s Nonfiction Monday round up of blog posts.

Mystery Month is underway at Booklist and there is a lot of fun ahead. If you like your mystery served up with a heavy dose of fantasy, you will enjoy puzzling out the many mysteries woven into Sage Blackwood’s stellar novel.

Cindy: It’s a good day when you find a new fantasy that reminds you of Diana Wynne Jones! Jinx (Harper 2013) already has four starred reviews (one of them from Booklist) and it is worthy of them. This book pokes fun at traditional folk tales (Jinx is taken into the dangerous Urwood to be abandoned by his step-father a la Hansel & Gretel) and the pokes are inventive and entertaining. Jinx gets rescued by Wizard Simon who teaches him that it might be dangerous to stray from the magically protected path in the Urwood, “but if you spent all your time being protected, you never got to find out anything new.” The path in this story is well-worn…a mistreated young orphan is abandoned only to learn he has extraordinary talents…and yet, the story crackles with originality and intriguing characters. Is Simon good or evil? The clues point both directions. And the Bonemaster…with his swaying bridge made of human bones certainly seems evil. Add in trolls, werewolves and witches and a sentient forest and there’s plenty to give readers chills.

Curses! Yes, there are curses too. Jinx flees Simon’s care after a curse is placed on him and he joins up with two other traveling companions who are both cursed. Once the reader figures out the curses the situations and dialogue takes on new humorous twists.

Jinx makes a great hero and he reminds us that we must not fear to go places. When he returns to Gooseberry Clearing where he used to live he realizes that, “if he’d stayed here, he wouldn’t be himself.” Isn’t that the truth?

Give this to all your eager middle grade fantasy readers (and I can think of a few older readers who will enjoy this too) and then start the wait list for the next book in this series. Despite the cliff at the end of the story, we are not left hanging there, but readers will be eager for another installment just the same.

Lynn:  Oh yes!!  Cindy gets no argument from me about this delightful and entertaining new book.  Who could resist witches hopping about on butter churns, or a wizard who forgets about his apprentice for days?   Fortunately or hero, Jinx, is resilient and possesses unusual talents – something readers figure while the adults in the story haven’t so far.  There is a whiff of Diana Wynne Jones here  – especially in the practical minded Jinx and the cranky wizard Simon – but Blackwood has made this story entirely her own.  Humor, fun adventure and thoroughly engaging characters added to the wonderfully inventive story line makes this one of those books you just don’t want to put down.  There was a very satisfying resolution too but readers are left with the lovely promise of new adventures ahead.  I can’t wait!!

Lynn:  Cooking is a hot topic these days.  I remember the days when cooking was the stay-at-home-mom’s sole province but not only has American cooking changed markedly from the Campbell’s soup and casseroles days but men are often the major cooks in the family.  My oldest son is a far better cook than I am and my younger son is no slouch either.  But there is still a lot of work to do.  With the national health news revealing distressing results about the health of children in this country, there is a new focus on helping children to develop an understanding of food and healthy eating.

Lerner’s new series, You’re the Chef, is a welcome addition to this effort.  The older members of the focus group have always liked to cook and they help me a lot in the kitchen so we decided to give the series a test run over spring break.

We chose to test Super Pasta and Rice Dishes (Lerner 2013) by Jennifer S. Larson.  Common to all the books in the series are some excellent introductory features.  Before You Start provides some practical over-all advice and an explanation about the icons used on each of the recipes.  Safety Tips is next and the tips involve cautions about hot surfaces, sharp objects, cleanliness and even cleaning up afterwards.  Next is helpful information on cooking tools and techniques.

Each recipe features attractive color photographs, a side bar that lists ingredients, prep time and equipment needed.  The directions are step-by-step, numbered and very clear and easy to follow and understand.  The recipes are very appealing for kids but include lots of  healthful vegetables, sometimes a bit disguised by grating finely.

The boys chose Magnificent Macaroni and Cheese to try and the managed the whole dish with only a little  help.  They took turns reading the directions and performing the steps.  I grated the carrots and helped with getting the boiling pasta off the stove and just a bit with making the sauce.  They boys thought the directions were easy to understand and follow.  We chose to use pre-grated cheese but otherwise followed the recipe exactly.  The result?  Four thumbs up (my husband agreed to sample the product).

Cindy: You would think that since I’m in the middle of a kitchen remodel project and macaroni and cheese is one of my favorite comfort foods that Lynn and the focus group would have invited me over for dinner to sample their end product! Sheesh!

I’ve been thinking of food too while my stove and fridge sits in the middle of the living room and it seems that every book I pass in my middle school libraries has a teen chef on the cover or recipes inside it. I’m probably just hungry to have my kitchen back in place but nevertheless I decided to showcase these with a “Hungry for Books” bulletin board.  A few aprons stapled to the board and some chef hats made out of card stock and napkins makes a quick and easy backdrop for a display of foodie fiction, cookbooks and a dash of books about healthy eating. Let me know when dinner is served…I’ll be over!

Check out more Nonfiction Monday books today at Stacking Books.

Lynn:  Count me as one who never tires of immigration stories!  They are the heart and soul of who we are as a nation and each one brings a new version of the experience.  There are so many good ones but Paul Fleischman and Bagram Ibatoulline have teamed up to give us something special in The Matchbox Diary (Candlewick 2013).

In the opening 2-page spread  an older man and a young girl stand in a sun-drenched inviting room filled with books and fascinating objects.

“Pick whatever you like the most.  Then I’ll tell you its story.”

There is a life-time of choices in that room but the little girl snuggles in on her great-grandfather’s lap with a cigar box spilling over with tiny matchboxes.  Together they open the first little box and as we turn the page, the color washes away and we step back into time, propelled by the olive pit inside the box – and the memories it holds.  Each small memento tells a piece of the great-grandfather’s story.  His Italian family was so poor that everyone had to help at home.  There was no time for him to go to school and his father went away to find work in America.  Then the family too left for America.  Each small box holds a chapter of the story – a part of a diary of a life.  It is a story of hard work and sacrifice but it is a story of happiness and success too.

The sepia-toned pages of the great-grandfather’s past contrast wonderfully with the rich red tones of the present.  The sense of a life well-lived and truly appreciated flows tangibly from these scenes, making this story warm and alive.  As beautifully written as it is beautifully illustrated, this will be a treasure for immigration units but also for families  – wherever they came from.

Cindy: Count me as one who never tires of family storytelling. Books in which family histories are shared with younger members are so important, and often can encourage the reader to share a few stories of their own. Years ago at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee I heard Alex Haley spin some stories and one line was imprinted on me:

“When an old person dies it’s like a library has burned down.”

There are many ways to keep a diary, but for someone who was illiterate, like the great-grandfather was as a boy, the challenge is great. The idea of keeping small objects in a matchbox collection to trigger the memories is wonderful, and even better that it is based on a real matchbox diary (according to the author info on the jacket flap). Adele Geras wrote a novel years ago called Apricots at Midnight in which a mother tells a daughter stories all winter based on fabric blocks in a quilt. This book brought that one to mind.

When I worked in the public library in the mid 80s I held a grandparent’s day program for kids and their grandparents. I gave some suggested topics and then had the grandparents tell a family story. The child did the illustration and depending on the age the grandparent and/or grandchild wrote the story down.  We bound them together as books for the child to take home.

I especially love the final page as the young girl flies home, carrying a mostly empty candy box with a few treasures tucked inside, one of  which shared from her great-grandfather’s collection. She is ready to start her own version of a matchbox diary. Family traditions. Love them.