The Last Tree – Perfect Picture Book Friday

Posted on February 26, 2021 by Joanna

Title: The Last Tree

Author & Illustrator: Emily Haworth-Booth

Publisher: Pavilion, 2020

Ages: 4-8

32 pages. 

Genre: fiction

Themes: hope, rebellion, environment, trees, conservation, problem-solving, harmony

Opening:
Once Upon a time , a group of friends were looking for a place to live.

The desert was too hot.

The valley was too wet,

and the mountain too windy.

Nowhere was quite right until they saw the first tree…

Synopsis:

Once upon a time a group of friends were seeking a place to call home. The desert was too hot, the valley was too wet and the mountain was too windy.

Then they found the forest. It was perfect. The leaves gave shelter from the sun and rain, and a gentle breeze wound through the branches.

But the friends soon wanted to build shelters. The shelters became houses, then the houses got bigger. All too soon they wanted to control the environment and built a huge wooden wall around the community.

As they cut down the trees, the forest becomes thinner, until there is just one last tree standing.

It is down to the children to find a solution.

Why I like this book:

A beautiful book about how young people have agency and can make a real difference.

The author begins by introducing a harmonious relationship between nature and humans by using soft, gentle language and positive imagery – “and came to the forest, where dappled light fell through the leaves and gentle breeze twisted the branches.” She highlights the use nature can have for humans but also the danger in exploiting this as well. Her language becomes harsher as she describes this new relationship, “In time they started to forget their games and songs, and soon the happy village had grown cold and hard, for now the villagers had walls around their hearts.”

Of course, the use of the wall seems very topical and highlights the danger of creating barriers between people as this only encourages distrust and discrimination. This shift in warmth and sensitivity comes through strongly with the illustrations that become darker and more linear without the soft curves and colors of nature. The daunting wall that overlooks the settlement blocks out all the light and color which seeps into the emotions and lives of the people living there.

The children rediscover the importance of nature and slowly revive the heart of the community. “As they planted seeds and tended the saplings, they talked and sang and as their children grew, a new forest grew with them.” This idea of regrowth in both nature and the lives of the children brings the story full circle and leaves readers with an invitation to embrace a balanced relationship with nature, where humans do not destroy or take for granted the joy of trees.

Resources/Activities:

I would use this with young students looking at nature and the environment and link this to science and biology as well. We could also discuss the idea of the wall and how creating divides and barriers between people tends to encourage distrust and division. The illustrations felt very British to me, and because of their almost childlike quality, I think they will inspire children, and lots of art projects that could be centered around ‘The Last Tree’.

Each week a group of bloggers reviews picture books we feel would make great educational reads. To help teachers, caregivers and parents, we have included resources and/or activities with each of our reviews. A complete list of the thousands of books we have reviewed can be found sorted alphabetically and by topics, here on Susanna Leonard Hill’s website.

Posted in children's books, conservation, Perfect Picture Book Friday, resources & activities for elementary school teachers, Resources for children's writers and illustrators | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Unspeakable, The Tulsa Race Massacre – PPBF & Black History Month

Posted on February 19, 2021 by Joanna

Title: Unspeakable, The Tulsa Race Massacre

Author: Carole Boston Weatherford

Illustrator: Floyd Cooper

Publisher: Carolrhoda Books, Feb 2nd, 2021

Ages: 4-8

32 pages. 

Genre: nonfiction, history

Themes: African Americans, racism, violence, white supremacy, black history month, systemic racism, suppression of history, Tulsa massacre

Opening:
Once Upon a time near Tulsa, Oklahoma, prospectors struck it rich in the oil fields. The wealth created jobs, raised buildings, and attracted newcomers from far and wide, seeking fortune and a fresh start.

Synopsis:

A powerful look at the Tulsa Race Massacre, one of the worst incidents of racial violence in US history. The book traces the history of African Americans in Tulsa’s Greenwood district and chronicles the devastation that occurred in 1921 when a white mob attacked the Black community. Black Wall Street. That was the name of the area of Tulsa, Oklahoma where wealthy, prominent, and talented black folks lived and thrived. That was until the massacre, all because one white teenager accused a black teenager of assault during an elevator ride. 

News of what happened was largely suppressed, and no official investigation occurred for seventy-five years. This picture book sensitively introduces young readers to this tragedy and concludes with a call for a better future.

Why I like this book:

I think this is about as bearable and accessible of an account of the Tulsa Race Massacre as could possibly exist. It manages to convey the events in a very clear-eyed way, while still allowing space for the raw emotion of it. 

Many pages at the beginning of the book are given to descriptions of the beauty of the community of Greenwood as it was before May 31, 1921, the achievement and perseverance of this group of people of color who were determined to pull together and form a nurturing, thriving society on their own terms, segregated by law from the whites.

When we get to the events leading to the massacre itself, we have a deep sense of what was lost– the people, the businesses, the homes, the ability to build and thrive, the hope that the contributions that Black citizens had made to that point would lead to more respect or better treatment, especially just after WWI and many of the black men returning from serving their country. Yet the storytelling is never heavy handed and handled in a way to make it very receptive to young readers without watering down the horror. Massacre is the only apt word, and UNSPEAKABLE, a very apt title. This history cannot be ignored, and must be explained. This story looks at that truth unflinchingly yet tells it with as soft a hand as possible.

I only learned of this horrific event in US racial history maybe two years ago. Here I learned much I didn’t not know, and I wept over the depth of the betrayal and injustice. It’s a hard story, but one that definitely needs to be remembered and discussed.

I think it’s a particularly important story for understanding the very concrete ways in which white supremacy and institutionalized racism have worked over and over throughout history to try and prevent Black people from succeeding. This important piece of history was whitewashed until this century!

In the end notes, we read that illustrator Floyd Cooper grew up hearing stories of his own grandfather’s childhood in Greenwood, and this closeness to the subject feels evident in every page. The subtleness and breadth of humanity he paints here is breathtaking. The illustrations are gorgeous. The beautiful soft glow of Greenwood quickly turns into muted spreads that capture the gravitas and pain of the massacre. The author and illustrator notes are a must read and complete this slice of history. I think it is one of many picture books that could be used in tween and teen classrooms too.

Resources/Activities:

This is a perfect book for any historical unit or celebration of Black History Month, and with older children can be a great springboard to talk about systemic racism.

Floyd Cooper talks about his grandfather’s stories of this history on the  Brown Bookshelf

Each week a group of bloggers reviews picture books we feel would make great educational reads. To help teachers, caregivers and parents, we have included resources and/or activities with each of our reviews. A complete list of the thousands of books we have reviewed can be found sorted alphabetically and by topics, here on Susanna Leonard Hill’s website.

Posted in Black history Month, Book recommendation, children's books, Children's literature, Diverse Children's Books, nonfiction, Perfect Picture Book Friday | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Bread For Words – PPBF, and Black History Month

Posted on February 12, 2021 by Joanna

Title: Bread For Words, A Frederick Douglass Story

Author: Shana Keller

Illustrator: Kayla Stark

Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press, 2020

Ages: 4-8

32 pages. 

Genre: biography

Themes: African Americans, slavery, biography, frederick douglass, literacy. freedom, perseverance

Opening:

I know where I was born, not when. It was Tuckahoe, Maryland.

Synopsis:

Frederick Douglass knew where he was born but not when. He knew his grandmother but not his father. And as a young child, there were other questions, such as Why am I a slave? Answers to those questions might have eluded him but Douglass did know for certain that learning to read and to write would be the first step in his quest for freedom and his fight for equality. Told from first-person perspective, this picture-book biography draws from the real-life experiences of a young Frederick Douglass and his attempts to learn how to read and write.

Why I like this book:

Author Shana Keller explains that she used bold text to indicate direct quotes from Douglass’ autobiography in the text, which adds to the authentic feel and makes me want to read Douglass’ autobiography.

“My hunger was different than theirs.” Reading about Frederick Douglass’s deep yearning for literacy is inspiring, and how he took every opportunity to learn to read and write as he recognized that those skills were the first stop out of bondage.

“From that moment, I understood the pathway from slavery to freedom. If I learned to read, I could loosen the changes of bondage.”

Frederick’s jobs including escorting young master Thomas to school and running errands for the family. When he met some hungry boys on the streets, he remembered how it felt to be hungry and he came up with a plan. Frederick copied letters he saw at the shipyard and wrote them on fences, brick walls, and the pavement. He copied letters from Thomas’s discarded copybooks.

Finally, after seven years, he taught himself how to read. Writing in the first person, and focusing on Frederick’s early year’s and passion to learn his ABC’s make this book very accessible to young readers and a terrific inclusion to Black History Month in elementary school. Douglass’ ingenuity, intelligence and determination to persevere are inspiring, and this seems a great entry point to a larger discussion of his life and his work as an abolitionist. It also shows the importance and power of education, and how enforced ignorance is used as a means of oppression. Douglass’ realized this as at a young age, and because he did and actively sought literacy, he changed history.

Kayla Stark, the illustrator, does a great job in illustrating well this historical period.

This inspirational book ends with a summary of Frederick Douglass’ life and why Ms. Keller chose to write the book as she did. The lyrical title comes from how Douglass “paid” other children to teach him. He realized that the young boys on the street looked around his age and, they also looked hungry. Fredrick began to bring a book with him and extra bread. Slowly he started to learn the letters in the books until he could read and write. 

Resources/Activities:

This is a perfect book for any historical unit or celebration of Black History Month, and with older children can be a great springboard to talk about abolitionism.

Each week a group of bloggers reviews picture books we feel would make great educational reads. To help teachers, caregivers and parents, we have included resources and/or activities with each of our reviews. A complete list of the thousands of books we have reviewed can be found sorted alphabetically and by topics, here on Susanna Leonard Hill’s website.

Posted in Black history Month, Children's literature, Perfect Picture Book Friday | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment