Wednesday, November 30, 2016

A Poem for Peter




A Poem for Peter
by Andrea Davis Pinkney
Published by:Viking Books for Young Readers
Published Date: November 2016


Goodread Summary:
The story of The Snowy Day begins more than one hundred years ago, when Ezra Jack Keats was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. The family were struggling Polish immigrants, and despite Keats’s obvious talent, his father worried that Ezra’s dream of being an artist was an unrealistic one. But Ezra was determined. By high school he was winning prizes and scholarships. Later, jobs followed with the WPA and Marvel comics. But it was many years before Keats’s greatest dream was realized and he had the opportunity to write and illustrate his own book.

For more than two decades, Ezra had kept pinned to his wall a series of photographs of an adorable African American child. In Keats’s hands, the boy morphed into Peter, a boy in a red snowsuit, out enjoying the pristine snow; the book became The Snowy Day, winner of the Caldecott Medal, the first mainstream book to feature an African American child. It was also the first of many books featuring Peter and the children of his — and Keats’s — neighborhood.

Andrea David Pinkney’s lyrical narrative tells the inspiring story of a boy who pursued a dream, and who, in turn, inspired generations of other dreamers.

My Review:
I've been waiting for this one!  It did not disappoint  and it is one of my favorites of the year!  
I love picture book author biographies of childhood book-friends! Thank you to Ezra Jack Keats for his persistence in the arts, to Andrea Pinkney for creating a wonderful collage of Keats and Peter, and to Peter for being such a good childhood book-friend.

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Ghosts



Ghosts
by Raina Telgemeier
published by: Scholastic
publish date: September 2016

Goodreads Summary:
Catrina and her family are moving to the coast of Northern California because her little sister, Maya, is sick. Cat isn't happy about leaving her friends for Bahía de la Luna, but Maya has cystic fibrosis and will benefit from the cool, salty air that blows in from the sea. As the girls explore their new home, a neighbor lets them in on a secret: There are ghosts in Bahía de la Luna. Maya is determined to meet one, but Cat wants nothing to do with them. As the time of year when ghosts reunite with their loved ones approaches, Cat must figure out how to put aside her fears for her sister's sake - and her own.

My Thoughts:
Another great book by Raina Telemeter that students will love! It has some deep issues going on, and they're handled so well. (moving, cystic fibrosis, death, missing loved ones, making friends, Day of the Dead)  I especially enjoyed reading the back matter where Telgemeier tells us how this idea has been living in her head for quite some time.  She explained how breathing was such a central theme to this book; ghosts can't breath, Maya has difficulty breathing, and Cat needs to stop and take deep breaths to calm her anxiousness.