Chicken Cheeks: (The Beginning of the Ends)

Black, Michael Ian. 2009. CHICKEN CHEEKS: (THE BEGINNING OF THE ENDS). Ill. by Kevin Hawkes. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9781416948643 [Suggested Grade Levels PreK- 2]

REVIEW

CHICKEN CHEEKS is a giggle-out-loud picture book that teaches about synonyms while it entertains. While Hawkes’ bright, comic illustrations tell the story of a veritable zoo of animals building a living ladder to reach a beehive, the text simply names the most prominent part of each animal in the illustration. In each case, this happens to be their backside. From “moose caboose” to “flamingo fanny,” astonished, annoyed and anxious animals build their living ladder until a “bumble bee bum!” brings the whole thing crashing to the ground.

Michael Ian Black is a stand-up comedian, and for his first foray into the world of children’s books he has hit the nail on the head with clever alliterations and synonyms. Hawkes’ illustrations jump from the pages as each very concerned animal struggles to hold up the animal above him while his “gnu wazoo” hangs in midair.

CONNECTIONS

Use the book as an introduction to the concept of synonyms and have children come up with their own “backside” words for different animals. Have the children look at the illustrations in this book or other almost-wordless picture books and as a group write a story for the action in the pictures.

RELATED BOOKS

Other picture books for children about animal backsides:

Halliday, Ayun. ALWAYS LOTS OF HEINIES AT THE ZOO. ISBN 9781423113522

Smallman, Steve. THE MONKEY WITH A BRIGHT BLUE BOTTOM. ISBN 978-1561486687

Other wordless or almost-wordless picture books:

Briggs, Raymond. THE SNOWMAN. ISBN 978-0241139387

Wiesner, David. FLOTSAM. ISBN 978-0618194575

Wiesner, David. TUESDAY. ISBN 978-0395870822

By Cecily Ponce de Leon

Anything But Typical

Baskin, Nora Raleigh. 2009. ANYTHING BUT TYPICAL. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9781416963783 [Suggested Grade Levels 6- 9]

REVIEW

ANYTHING BUT TYPICAL stars Jason Blake, an autistic hero, who loves to write stories and participate in online forums. When his parents surprise him with a trip to the Storyboard Writing convention, Jason is anything but excited. As much as he loves writing and sharing that passion with his online friends—in particular PhoenixBird—he is scared to meet anyone from the online world in person. He is afraid that he will be judged, worried that his differences would never be accepted if they were known. Can Jason learn to accept his differences? Can he overcome his fears?

ANYTHING BUT TYPICAL is a beautiful and compelling coming-of-age story. Baskin has captured, with wisdom and beauty, an authentic voice and a unique character.

CONNECTIONS

Lead readers in these discussion questions: In what ways can you relate to Jason? Has fear ever kept you from doing something you wanted to do? Do you think Jason’s story (the one that he is writing) relates to his own life? Do you think Jason ended his story the right way?

RELATED BOOKS

Other books with characters with autism:

Choldenko, Gennifer. AL CAPONE DOES MY SHIRTS. ISBN 9780142403709

Choldenko, Gennifer. AL CAPONE SHINES MY SHOES. ISBN 9780803734609

Lord, Cynthia. RULES. ISBN 9780439443838

Stork, Francisco X. MARCELO IN THE REAL WORLD. ISBN 9780545054744

By Becky Laney

The Day-Glo Brothers: The True Story of Bob and Joe Switzer's Bright Ideas and Brand-New Colors

Barton, Chris. 2009. THE DAY-GLO BROTHERS THE TRUE STORY OF BOB AND JOE SWITZER’S BRIGHT IDEAS AND BRAND-NEW COLORS. Ill. by Tony Persiani. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge. ISBN 9781570916731 [Suggested Grade Levels 2- 6]

REVIEW

The true story of the two men who created a new color, this picture book about history and science tells of the accidental discovery of day-glo paint by Bob and Joe Switzer. The complicated subjects of fluorescence, ultraviolet light, and their subsequent discovery of the day-glo colors are explained in an easy-to-understand narrative filled with fascinating back story set against the goals and dreams of two brothers and their personal limitations.

The art provides a backdrop for the text. Tony Persiani’s black and white illustrations at the beginning of the book gives way to muted colors as the story progresses, while the final spreads have the cartoon-like figures of the brothers moving about in brilliant, day-glo colors. Gray and black outlines accent the illustrations while providing a backdrop of the times. The final two spreads explain the difference between regular fluorescence and daylight, or day-glo, fluorescence and how the author came to write the book, as well as his fascinating primary source research with the Switzer family.

CONNECTIONS

Read Kathleen Krull’s book, THE BOY WHO INVENTED TV. Compare the interests of the two boys and how it affected their futures, including the change in career direction Bob Switzer had to take following his accident and the impact it had on his discovery. Charlesbridge has an animated explanation of fluorescence that explains the process and demonstrated the physics behind light waves on the Web: http://www.charlesbridge.com/client/client_pages/day-glo-brothers/day-glo-home.html

RELATED BOOKS

Other books for children about inventors and inventions:

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. INCREDIBLE INVENTIONS. ISBN 9780060872458

Krull, Kathleen. THE BOY WHO INVENTED TV: THE STORY OF PHILO FRANSWORTH. ISBN 9780375845611

By Shirley Duke

First Come the Zebra

Barasch, Lynne. 2009. FIRST COME THE ZEBRA. Ill. by Lynne Barasch. New York: Lee & Low. ISBN 9781600603655. [Suggested Grade Levels 1- 5]

REVIEW

“The sun is rising over the grassland in Kenya” as the story begins. First come the zebras, then the wildebeests and gazelles, and finally two young boys. Abaani is Maasai whose family raises cattle and Kaki is Kikuyu and his family are farmers. The two tribes do not get along as both want to use the land for different purposes. The two boys argue and yell at each other. Nearby, three warthogs are rooting in the grass, but warthogs will attack anything that enters their territory. A small child wanders away from his mother and the two boys stop their arguing and work together to save the child. This cooperation leads to friendship and hope for peace in the land.

This simple story works on many levels. Easily understood by younger readers, the story resonates with older readers for whom conflict is more common in both their daily lives and in the world. Barasch, who also illustrates the book with ink and watercolor, includes back matter with a brief explanation of Kenyan conflict, pronunciation guide and glossary, and source notes.

CONNECTIONS

Use with younger children to discuss conflict resolution and getting along.

For older grade levels, the book can be used not only to discuss relationships, but also to introduce war or conflict or to investigate the Kenyan setting and history.

RELATED BOOKS

Other picture books set in Kenya:

Carmen, Agra Deedy 14 COWS FOR AMERICA. ISBN 9781561454907

Nivola, Claire. PLANTING THE TREES OF KENYA. ISBN 9780374399184

Winter, Jeanette. WANGARI’S TREES OF PEACE. ISBN 9780152065454

By Janet Hilbun

The Plot Chickens

Auch, Mary Jane. 2009. THE PLOT CHICKENS. Ill. by Herm Auch. New York: Holiday House. ISBN 9780823420872 [Suggested Grade Levels K- 3]

REVIEW

Children of all ages will enjoy the tongue-in-cheek humor of THE PLOT CHICKENS. Auch introduces readers to Henrietta, a chicken that loves to read. Her love of reading turns to a desire to write, because “reading books is so much fun, writing books must be eggshilarating.” Following the basic rules for writing a story, Henrietta begins her journey as a writer with the help of her aunts. Brainstorming sessions with the aunts create busy pages which show the reader that there is a lot involved in the writing process. Readers not only follow Henrietta through the writing process, but catch a glimpse of the publishing process. Even after all of her hard work, the publisher rejects her because she is a chicken and he doesn’t like her story. Henrietta doesn’t let the unkind words from the publisher get her down. She decides to self publish her book, but receives terrible reviews from “The Corn Book.” In the end, none of this matters. The children of the library story hour choose her book as the best of the year! Children will enjoy the colorful illustrations and the “corny” humor.

Illustrations are executed with a combination of oil paints and digital technology.

CONNECTIONS

Create and publish classroom books. Share the books with younger children.

Invite an author to your local school or library to give a presentation on the writing process.

Join a writing group at your local library.

RELATED BOOKS

Other picture books for children on the topic of writing:

Kirk, Daniel. LIBRARY MOUSE. ISBN 9780810993464

Spinelli, Eileen. THE BEST STORY. ISBN 9780803730557

Wong, Janet. YOU HAVE TO WRITE. ISBN 9780689834097

By Jane Jergensen