LIS 721 Books to Inspire Childlike Wonder

 Mak, K. (2002) My Chinatown: One year in poems (K. Mak, Illus.). Harper. This book of poems describes a year in the life of a boy who just immigrated from China to America. With sections separated by the seasons, we watch this young boy slowly become accustomed to his new life and learn to embrace the joys that this new place has to offer. Through the imagery of the language, we can see the world the way the young boy does, sometimes told explicitly while other times hidden in the word choice of the poems. Right from the beginning, we can tell that the boy is not happy to have left his home for America. The first poem gives us the lines, “But it isn’t home,” and “It must be someone else’s luck this year./Not mine.” These lines explicitly tell us that the boy is unhappy to be away from Hong Kong, but there are moments where the imagery speaks for itself as well. This is seen in lines like “…where the English words taste/like metal in my mouth.” Everyone can imagine how unpleasant i...

 Morales, Y. (2018). Dreamers (Y. Morales, Illus.). Neal Porter Books             This is a book about an immigrant mother and son finding comfort in a strange new world at their local library. The language used to tell the story is beautiful poetry that utilizes Spanish words to keep the culture present. The Spanish vocabulary is not confusing and is often presented with context clues that can help the reader decipher their meaning. For instance, in the lines, “You and I became caminantes. Thousands and thousands of steps we took around this land, until the day we found…” the Spanish word is “caminantes” meaning walkers. This can be understood by the reader even if they don’t know any Spanish because of the sentence that follows and the illustration that surrounds these words. The sentence following the Spanish word implies that they are walking a lot which would make them walkers. The image shows the two walking down the street with many footprints b...

 Lies, B. (2018) The Rough Patch (B. Lies, Illus.). Greenwillow Books. This book takes on the complicated concept of death and grief in a delicate way that will educate children on this difficult subject. The language used stays tactful, using placement and pauses to make an impact rather than rhymes or rhythm. There is a great example of this when the garden becomes overcome with weeds when the flowers all get hacked away. The word “weeds” is separated from the other two sentences on the same page. This allows the word to have its impact while giving children a chance to ponder and discuss what the weeds mean and represent. In terms of making the idea of death more approachable to kids, Lies chooses to avoid using the words “death” or “dying,” opting to write “…the unthinkable happened” and “laid his dog to rest” instead. Children may find the idea of death confusing or scary so using softer phrases helps them feel more comfortable with exploring the complexities of this kind of e...

 Le, M. (2018).  Drawn together (D. Santat, Illus.). Little, Brown and Company. This book tells a story many immigrant families can relate to, the story of a grandfather and grandson being unable to connect because of a language barrier. Because the two lack words for each other, not for lack of trying, this book limits its use of words as well. For the first quarter of the book, we only read two different phrases written in the two different languages. Every other page lacks words, emphasizing the silence shared between these two family members. Only when the two begin to connect through the language of images do we get narration from the grandchild’s perspective which illuminates the realization and understanding happening that was previously thought to be impossible. Even when the words start coming into the book, they are almost dwarfed by the images, showing that the words are not nearly as important in this book and therefore in this relationship that we are observing. ...

Alexander, K. (2019) The undefeated (K. Nelson, Illus.). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company    Right from the first few pages of this book, the reader can tell that this is not a book where the author is going to shy away from the hard topics. It won’t be graphic because this is still a children’s book, but it won’t sugarcoat the past either because the author knows that it is important for children to learn of black history in any way possible. By the third spread, we are hit with a hard truth. The spread lacks any illustration; it simply states “And the ones who didn’t [survive]” on a stark pure white background. The font of the word “didn’t” is slightly bigger than the rest of the sentence, making sure it shows the impact it is meant to have. The words of this book come from a poem that the author wrote for both his own daughter and Former President Barack Obama. The purpose of the poem is clear from the start: to recognize the successes and hardships of black his...

 1 Grumpy Bruce (2018) Written and illustrated by Ryan T. Higgins.              Grumpy Bear is an interesting character with some funny friends that making learning to count in this book a fun activity for every reader. Following a simple formula, each spread starts with a number followed by a new type of animal coming in to bother Grumpy Bruce. While there is no rhyming, the repetition of the structure allows it to still be read with a rhythm making the story flow nicely. The dichotomy of the choice of words used to describe the actions being taken by each animal and the images that support them make for a great discussion on why Bruce would be so grumpy about each animal joining him. Why doesn’t he like hugs from a porcupine or birds singing? With just the words, the answer doesn’t seem so obvious, but the pictures add the context that can provide children with the answers: when porcupines hug you, they stick you with their quills, and when the ...

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989) Written by Bill Martin Jr. & John Archambault. Illustrated by Lois Ehlert      This book is bound to keep any reader’s attention and teach them the alphabet swiftly. With lots of repetition and a rhythm that harkens that of a skipping rope song, this book will keep children engaged while helping them learn the alphabet. For one, the writing has great predictability allowing for the child to participate when being read to by joining in on the repeated phrase “Chicka chicka boom boom” or by guessing what will happen to the tree and in turn all the letters. It also goes through the alphabet in order twice in the story, once when they climb up the tree and once when each letter gets assessed after the fall. While this story is both educational and entertaining, it can also be viewed as relatable by many children since its tone and simple plot moments are very similar to common playground accidents. While many alphabet books provide a list li...