The Cat and the Hat & The Lorax

The Cat in the Hat is a classic tale that provides a valuable lesson of right and wrong or even more simply, following your conscience I believe. The children are placed in situations where they must learn to stand up for what they know is right. There are many contemporary books that teach that same value, perhaps not in the same way rhythmic manner that Dr. Seuss did, however, the messages are clear. Hoot by Carl Hiaasen would be an example of a book that presents that tension of right and wrong, yet is directed towards older children.  In this book, teens are faced with the right and wrong choices faced when being bullied as well as the choices to make when it comes to standing up for what they believe in. 

The Lorax is an interesting book that although published in 1971, its message is still relevant to today.  I would think, that had the book been published in recent years, the message would not seem so controversial. The message of the Lorax is clear…specifically making one look objectively at the harm mankind is doing to our planet, whether it is with the deforestation of Earth or other important conservation issues of our day. It is didactic because it is illustrating how one person’s actions have consequences for all, whether it is in nature or moralistically.

There are probably more didactic children’s books today than in the past because conservation of our Earth and protection of our environment or even endangered cultures has become socially acceptable to promote and teach about. There are many books today that teach the lessons of conservation.  Some examples of these didactic books include:

Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai by Nivola

Where Once There Was a Wood (REPRINT) by Denise Fleming

Seeds of Change: Planting a Path to Peace by Jen Cullerton Johnson

Mama Miti: Wangari Maathai and the Trees of Kenya by Donna Jo Napoli

Older books on conservation:

The Wump World by Bill Peet

Why the Sky is Far Away – A Nigerian Folktale by Mary-Joan Gerson

Just a Dream by Chris Van Allsburg

Farewell to Shady Glade by Bill Peet. 

Newbery Award and Caldecott Award

The Newbery Medal and the Caldecott Medal are both awards given to outstanding works in world of children’s literature.  The Newbery Medal is an award given for literary merit by the Association for Library Service to Children. Named for John Newbery, an 18^th century English publisher of juvenile literature, it established in 1921 as a way of honor those books and authors who provide an outstanding contribution to children’s literature. One author/book is award the Newbery Award every year while other books which could be considered runners-up can be award the Newbery Honor award.  The Newbery Honor was established in 1971.  Some criteria a book must meet to be considered for the Newbery Award include it’s place of publication, which must be in the United States.  The author must be a United States citizen as well.  Besides being written for children, a book must in some way contribute to literature to be considered for the Newbery Award.  

The Caldecott Medal is award given to a distinguished artist of a children’s picture book.  As is the Newbery Award, the Caldecott Medal is awarded by the Association for Library Service to Children.  This award was named for Randolph Caldecott who was a nineteenth-century English illustrator and first awarded in 1938.  The artists who are considered runners-up are awarded the Caldecott Honor award.  Criteria for the Caldecott Medal include place and date of publication.  The book must have been published in the United States in the preceding year.  All illustrations must be original work and the artist must be a U.S. citizen.  Books are judged among other things, for the artistic technique, interpretation of the story through pictures, and the recognition of a child audience. 

Newbery Award: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon By Grace Lin

This Newbery Award winning book is a tale of fantasy, culture and most simply, a tale of faith all wrapped into one.  I must admit, I was a little uninterested in the book upon first appearances.  I'm not a huge fan of fantasy type literature, however, with an open mind I began my journey.  I was quickly amazed at how encaptured I was by both its literacy characteristics as well as the woven tale where myth and reality meet.  The story intertwines the culture and mythology from the Chinese culture with the practicality of life that many endure, the struggle for prosperity and good fortune.

Without going into vast detail, the story centers around Minli, a young girl growing up in a poor village, where her parents and her endure the daily struggle to work and provide a meager existence for herself and her family.  Her father instills hope in her through the telling of Chinese legends.  These legends are told throughout the book and provide clues to unraveling the mystery that elude Minli and her parents the most - the secret to happiness.  The search for answers to her questions of happiness lead Minli on a journey across her land, where she encounters new friends that slowly help her to unraveling the mystery.  The tale was reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz, where Dorothy has to travel to an unknown load, encounter good, bad and everything in between to realize that what she desired most was something she had all along.  Minli too had to travel to find that happiness isn't defined by what a person owns or how much money they have, but rather the love and friendship from those around you.

Another theme of this book is the connection that all people have to each other, to nature, to the world in general.  The concept that we are all connected and intertwined by destiny, yet it is our actions that help to shape that destiny is a central concept of this book. For Minli, she searches for the Old Man of the Moon, the one who ties people together and writes their destinies.  However, through her journey, she realizes that the Old Man of the Moon, like that of life, has a plan far greater than what Minli can understand.  It is not until the end that she realizes her path of searching, was her destiny and it was through her compassion and friendship with the friends and characters along the way, that she fulfilled her destiny and brought prosperity to her village.

Caldecott Medal: My Friend Rabbit by Eric Rohmann

This charming book tells the basic story of a friendship.  A Caldecott Medal winner, the book is charming, witty and lively.  I read this story for the first time to my 5 year old daughter.  She laughed as the silly rabbit tried hard to show his friend mouse that he was helpful.  She loved tracing the patterns of the illustrations that lined the pages, following the cause and effect of what happens when rabbit tries to help mouse get his toy plane out of a tree.  As an adult, I found this book easy to relate to the good intentions of close friends, who sometimes end up causing more trouble when trying to help. I think the basic theme is one that most all people can identify with.  We all have moments where our good intentions cause mishap or even mayhem.  However, at the end of the day, as was in the case of this story,  friendship is about understanding and forgiveness as well as seeing into the heart and soul of others to recognize their good deeds. 

As a teacher, I think this is an excellent book to illustrate the theme of cause and effect.  This is often a difficult concept for primary children to grasp and the cause and effect relationship displayed in this book provides a great illustration of this concept.  The pictures were clear, crisp and inviting.  My 5 year old was enveloped in looking at the pictures and seeing the expressions on the animals faces throughout the story.  This is a great book to read again and again with little ones.

Caldecott Medal: The Lion & The Mouse by Jerry Pinkney

This is a classic retelling of the famous tale from Aesop's Fables, The Lion and the Mouse. What makes this unique is that it is a predominantly wordless version, allowing the illustrations to tell the story of compassion and friendship.  As the known story goes, a mouse is running to escape her predator when she stumbles upon and captured by a lion. The lion, seemingly, somewhat bothered by the mouse, lets her go.  As to why the lion lets the mouse go is left up to the reader.  Possibly he thought the mouse was too small or inconsequential to bother with.  The illustration on this page provides a curious look upon both the lion's and the mouse's face.  To me, I perceived a sense of likeness or humor from the lion towards the mouse.  The lion shows compassion and sets the mouse free who scurries on her way.  The mouse is then shown to run home to her nest where one sees a nest of babies.  This begins to demonstrate the gratefulness the mouse would feel towards the lion as she was allowed to return home to her children.  The lion proudly walks among the Savannah with his head held high.

But as true as life, mankind finds a way to puts it ugly stamp upon the magnificence of nature.  Hunters lay a trap to capture wildlife and the lion falls prey to the hunters.  As he roars in anger, fear, and helplessness, the mouse hears the cries and comes to find the lion trapped in the net.  The lion, seemingly skeptical by the look on his face, watches the mouse with maybe a splash of hopefulness that she might be able to help him.  The mouse begins gnawing at the nets.  She gnaws and scratches, gnaws and scratches.... until finally the nets give way.  The lion is free.  A poignant picture shows the lion and mouse gazing into each others eyes, not quite a smile on their faces but perhaps a look of respect towards each.  The mouse scurries home, bringing a piece of the rope home with her as a treat/toy for her babies.

This familiar story, written without words, truly allows the pictures to speak for themselves, allowing the reader to interpret meaning in their own personal ways.  What really intrigued me was looking at this book with my young 4 year old.  She was the one who pointed out to me the subtle look of the lion's eyes when he first captured the mouse....the gratefulness upon the mouse's face when she returned home to her babies, the concern and pain in the lion's eye when he was helpless in that net.  The ability for a child to see without words, emotions and feelings, is truly amazing to see and made reading this book with a real treat.

Other books illustrated by Jerry Pinkney include John Henry by Julius Lester,  The Patchwork Quilt by Valerie Flournoy, The Tale of Uncle Remus by Julius Lester and Mirandy and Brother Wind by Patricia McKissack. 

Caldecott Honor: Knuffle Bunny by Mo Williams

As a mother of two small girls, I have been a Mo Williams fan for quite some time.  His delightful stories brighten the hearts and spread smiles and laughter to both my daughters and myself.  His simple tales speak to the heart, the truth of life, parenting and friendship.  Knuffle Bunny, a Caldecott Honor Book, is one of our family's favorites.  The story consists of little baby Trixie who is going with her dad on a simple trip to the laundromat.  But what happens is an experience that most parents I think can relate to. When Trixie's beloved Knuffle Bunny stuffed animal, inexplicably goes missing (yet the readers see what happens to it), Trixie is besides herself.  But without knowing how to talk yet, her dad struggles with trying to figure out why Trixie is so upset.  But with mom to the rescue, dad soon realizes why Trixie is so upset and the adventure continues to get the beloved Knuffle Bunny back. 

While the story itself is precious, the illustrations are what gives this story its charm!  A unique combination of real photographs mixed with cartoon illustrations make for a wonderful visual experience.  The illustrations contains subtle pieces of information that enhance the story in such a way that leaves the reader laughing and smiling.

Newbery Honor: Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson

Feathers written by Jacqueline Woodson is a complex story that follows a short portion of the life of 6th grade student Fannie and her experiences growing up in the 1970's.  This Newbery Honor book takes a poignant look at a girl who has an introspect towards her own life, life growing up as an African-American who lives on what she and those around her call "the other side of the highway".  This other side is a predominantly African-American, lower income community.  However, this book, while on the surface may appear to center around race and judgments, is in fact, more about hope and faith.

I thoroughly enjoyed that the status of race isn't recognized immediately when beginning to read this book.  The book focuses on Fannie, her thoughts, her reactions, her daily routine of life, without race being made a strong factor in setting the state of this book.  Instead, it is about halfway through the first chapter before it is made clear Fannie's race and economic status.

I found several themes through this book.  One theme that resonates is the struggle of acceptance and fitting in.  Fannie is faced with learning more about herself through the introduction of a new student at school.  This new student is of a different race than her and her classmates and he is immediately labeled and presumed to fit into certain stereotypes based upon this.  However, this new student ends up bringing a new idea to those he encounters, one where his fellow students must reconsider their misconceptions and look more at the person within.

Another predominant theme is hope.  Fannie, in the end, must rely on hope and faith, as the tools that allow her to get through the day to day routines of life.  This book, allowed me to relate to the themes, the characters, even though on the surface, it would appear that I wouldn't have made that personal encounter.  I truly loved this book.  It was a beautiful telling of the power of faith and the different forms that faith can take in each of us.  Upon the completion of this book, it is more than obvious why Feathers was a true Newbery Honor winner.