A Day’s Work

Ronald Himler (Illustrator). Sandpiper 1997, Paperback, 32 pages, $3.11

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

On Saturday morning, young Francisco waits with his abuelo (grandfather) with other day laborers, hoping for a day’s work.  In order to persuade a potential employer to choose them, Francisco claims his grandfather is a gardener, even though he is actually a carpenter.  It is only at the end of the day that the lie is found out.  Then Abuelo shows Francisco the value of integrity, admonishing, “We do not lie for work,” and taking steps to make restitution.

Bunting’s understated text, written from the child’s perspective, expresses the raw desperation that the most poverty-stricken people experience daily, helping the reader understand why Francisco would tell such a lie.  But his grandfather’s personal honor proves that, regardless of circumstances, even the lowest labor carries dignity and worth when it is carried out with self-respect.

This is a serious story, and even illustrated with Himler’s wonderful paintings it retains a somber mood that might not draw readers in as easily as more lighthearted books.  But it provides a vital, sympathetic glimpse into the world of immigrant day laborers while demonstrating the moral importance of honesty.  It’s a beautifully moving book which will help cultivate compassion for others.

Sarah Whitcher’s Story

Nora Spicer Unwin (Illustrator). JourneyForth 1994, Paperback, 95 pages, $4.99

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Little Sarah Whitcher, left in the charge of her older siblings while her parents leave their New Hampshire cabin for the day, wanders away and is lost in the woods.  By the time her disappearance is discovered, it is dark, but in the morning the community rallies around the family to search for the lost child.  They search until sunset, but are disappointed to find no Sarah.  The search continues for another day, and another, though everyone but Sarah’s parents has lost hope of her survival.  Meanwhile, Sarah has found the company of a large animal whom she takes to be Ollie, the family dog.  “Ollie” takes care of her, though he smells and acts strangely.  On the third day after her disappearance, a man appears at the cabin, claiming to have had a dream showing where Sarah is.  He leads the searchers to where she is found — smelling of bear.

Throughout the story this hardworking pioneer family holds together in their trust that God will take care of Sarah.  The father, especially, sets an example of faith in the most discouraging of circumstances.  The deep love the parents express toward their children, and the joy with which Sarah is welcomed home, strike a sharp contrast between her vulnerable solitude and the secure place she holds within her family.  The book ends with an author’s note explaining that this story has some historical support, and descendants of Sarah Whitcher have repeatedly affirmed that she has told the story the way they heard it from their relatives.

Although the tale ends happily, it is a “scarer,” and may not be suited to more sensitive listeners.  But for those who are able to handle Sarah’s real danger, it provides a wonderful, suspenseful adventure, gives a glimpse of early New Hampshire life, and portrays a tight-knit, loving family.

Now One Foot, Now the Other

Tomie dePaola (Illustrator). Puffin 2006, Paperback, 48 pages, $3.83

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Bobby has grown into mastery of basic motor skills under the loving supervision of his grandfather, affectionately named Bob. But one day he is terrified when Bob suffers a stroke and is fully paralyzed.  Everyone thinks Bob is unable to understand what is happening around him, but Bobby insists that his grandfather is responding to him.  Slowly and persistently,  he helps Bob regain motor control, leading him through all the same exercises that Bob used to help him gain coordination as a young child until he is able to communicate and get around under his own power.

The story is simply, carefully told so that young children can understand it, but all readers will grasp the profound implications of Bob’s disability.  Bobby (who is not a perfect child) models what it means to take care of others — even those who may have always taken the helping role toward him.  While sometimes frightening, the story’s drama may help young children come to terms with the limitations of people in their lives and teaches them that they can have an important helping role.  In the midst of fear and weakness, this picture of tender intergenerational love is very beautiful.

Dogger Storybook and CD

Kevin Whately (Reader). Red Fox 2009, Paperback, 32 pages, $6.67

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Dave’s favorite toy is a stuffed toy named Dogger.  He carries him everywhere and depends on him to help him go to sleep.  One morning, while out with his mother, meeting his older sister Bella at school, Dogger disappears.  When bedtime comes, Dogger is nowhere to be found, and although Bella loans him one of her teddies, he is very sad during the night.  In the morning at the school fair, Dave is too sad to have fun, and he wanders off from the rest of his family.  At one of the used-toy stands he is shocked to see Dogger for sale.  He runs to find his parents, but finds only Bella, who returns to the stand with him just in time to see another child walk away with Dogger.  Bella saves the day, trading her new teddy bear for the worn old Dogger.

This well-written story begins with concrete details and builds to a dramatic crisis and resolution that any child who’s had a “lovey” can identify with.  Hughes’ artwork is wonderfully rendered, with a particular eye to details that emphasize the warmth and closeness of this family.  Most importantly, Bella’s open-hearted self-sacrifice epitomizes the kindness that siblings ought to express toward one another.  Elder and younger siblings will appreciate this story for different reasons.

The Big Snow

Berta Hader (Illustrator). Aladdin 1993, Paperback, 48 pages, $3.96

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

This is a beautiful story for the budding naturalist and the compassionate reader.  As winter looms, the woodland animals prepare for winter: rabbits grow thick coats, a groundhog prepares to hibernate, Mrs. Chipmunk and a wood rat retire to their winter stores, and many birds prepare to stay where they are.  When a great snow falls, the animals of the forest cannot find food.  But when an older couple scatter seeds, nuts, and bread crumbs outside their cottage, the animals throng around their home, finding enough to eat until the weather thaws.

The high point of the story is the kindness of the old couple.  While feeding local wildlife may not be wise in all situations, this simple story presents a picture of responsibility toward animals that reflects God’s command for people to subdue, fill and steward the earth (Genesis 1:28, Psalm 8:6). Although the animals in the story are anthropomorphized, for the most part they retain their habits and animal ways, making this a good choice for introducing young listeners to the characteristics of woodland animals.  The pages alternate between color and black-and-white drawings, printed in an old-fashioned style limited by 1940’s technology.  Still, the artwork is of good quality and the color pages pushed the limits of printing technology of that time.  The text is fairly heavy on descriptive detail, so it will be most interesting to children who really want to learn about the animals described.

The Plymouth Thanksgiving, A Doubleday Reinforced Library Eddition

Leonard Weisgard (Illustrator). Doubleday & Company, Inc. 1967, Hardcover, $1.40

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Plymouth Thanksgiving is a readable, straightforward retelling of the events leading up to the American Thanksgiving, targeted for readers ages 4-8.   Based on William Bradford’s diary, it tells the story of the Plymouth settlers in their difficult journey, first to Holland and then to the New World, and of their struggle to survive their first year in Massachusetts.

It is written and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard, who won the Caldecott Medal in 1947 for his illustrations of The Little Island and, like most children’s books of this era, its well-drawn pictures are printed in few colors.  This lends the story a certain charming simplicity, and the illustrations serve to supplement rather than carry the story.

Its only flaw is that in the description of the feast the Indian participants are three times referred to as “braves, squ*ws and children.”  This is probably be a reflection of the terms used in historical documents, but the terms “brave” and “squ*w” in recent decades have taken on strong racist overtones, and the word “squ*w” now carries a sexual connotation.  If you own the book, it would be very simple to correct the phrase to “men, women and children” with some white-out.

This charming story is unfortunately out of print, but is still available on the used-book market.  It’s a fine addition to the holiday reading basket.

Squanto And The Miracle Of Thanksgiving

Shannon Stirnweis (Illustrator). Thomas Nelson 1999, Hardcover, 32 pages, $2.75

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Every child ought to read a few good Thankgiving books telling the story from the colonists’ point of view which underscore the colonists’ faith and God’s provision for them.  But it is important to acknowledge that while Thanksgiving symbolizes a young America’s hope and potential, it also commemorates the beginning of colonization, an event which meant grief and destruction for the original inhabitants of our country.  As a Native American Christian, I have struggled with God’s purposes in allowing the suffering that came to Native people through colonization.

This book presents Squanto as one individual whose life epitomizes returning good for evil.  Kidnapped as a slave, he was freed by Christian monks who taught him about Christianity, and returned to his Patuxet village to find that his entire community has been wiped out by European disease.  In the wake of this tragedy, he extends crucial help to the starving settlers at Plymouth as they struggle to survive in his country.

The book is well paced, and has very nice illustrations.  The author does make free to interpret Squanto’s inner thoughts and motives, and I might have preferred that he stick with descriptive statements about Squanto’s decisions which are historically verifiable.  However, his perspective emphasizes the sovereign, redemptive plan of God through Squanto’s personal suffering, and Squanto’s ability to do good in the midst of tragic circumstances.  This is a hero worth emulating, and a perspective on Thanksgiving that should not be missed.

Babe

Mary Rayner (Illustrator). Yearling 1995, Paperback, 128 pages, $0.99

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

When the kind and taciturn Farmer Hoggett wins a piglet at the local fair, Mrs. Hoggett makes plans to fatten him for bacon and Christmas ham.  But Fly, the sheepdog, decides to foster the orphaned piglet, and when Fly’s puppies leave home Babe is left as her companion.  He imitates everything she does, determined to become a “sheep-pig,” and what he lacks in speed and intimidation he makes up for in friendly courtesy, winning the flock’s cooperation and loyalty.  He distinguishes himself by saving the flock from sheep-rustlers and marauding dogs, and finally wins first prize in the Grand Challenge Sheepdog Trials.  By this time, of course, his future is assured.

Children who have enjoyed Charlotte’s Web and James Herriot’s Treasury for Children will love this story, which is exceptionally well written with humor, pathos, and drama.  The characters are wonderfully drawn, and Babe exemplifies loyalty, courage, determination, and courtesy while Fly provides a compassionate motherly figure who provides him with the means to distinguish himself.  An outstanding read.

Flat Stanley

Macky Pamintuan (Illustrator). HarperCollins 2003, Paperback, 112 pages, $1.48

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Stanley is an ordinary boy whose life changes when a large bulletin board falls on him during the night, flattening him to a thickness of a half-inch.  His new shape enables him to do many fantastic things: travel to California via airmail, slip underneath doors, fly like a kite, and finally pose as a painting to capture a pair of art thieves in the local museum.  Throughout the story, Stanley’s brother Arthur struggles with envy.  In a touching conclusion, when Stanley begins to be mocked by the other school kids because of his shape, Arthur compassionately helps him find a solution that returns him to his normal shape.

This whimsical story is entirely enjoyable, and what it lacks in depth of plot and character development (no pun intended), it makes up for in imagination.  Stanley displays kindness and courage, and the reconciliation of the two brothers is heartwarming.  This is a great fun read, and is the first in a series of similar stories.  It’s a great choice for children transitioning from picture books to chapter books, and for early readers who are aren’t quite ready for full chapter books.

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

Jerry Pinkney (Illustrator). HarperCollins 2004, Paperback, 48 pages, $3.92

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

There are two schools of thought regarding illustrated adaptations of literary classics.  One school holds that stories that are simplified for early listeners can be ruined in the process, because the listener’s first experience doesn’t contain the beauty and depth of the original.  The second school holds that well-written adaptations can serve as stepping-stones to original works, making them more accessible.  I am still between the two camps, but in making decisions about specific classic titles I ask two questions:

1. Is the story content appropriate for a reading level that can’t yet master the language in the original?  If not, it’s probably better to wait until a child is linguistically and emotionally ready for the original.
2. Is the quality of the adaptation high enough that it entices, rather than discourages, readers to explore further?  If it can’t stand on its own merit but only piggybacks on the original’s popularity, it may cause the reader to associate the original with mediocrity.

The answer to question 1 will be different for different families and readers.  I would say that Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, a young Indian mongoose who is adopted by a British family and drives the venomous snakes out of their home and garden, may appeal more to boys than girls, and parents of sensitive children should certainly screen this book since it contains dramatic animal violence, multiple attempted murders by talking snakes (in one of these a child is threatened), and Rikki-Tikki’s merciless execution of many cobras in their eggs.  But this story is a classic for good reason: Rikki-Tikki exemplifies courage, loyalty, defending the helpless, and a relentless commitment to oppose the evil snakes regardless of the cost.  Every child will want a pet mongoose after experiencing this story.

As for question 2, Pinkney’s adaptation uses modern language, retaining almost none of Kipling’s masterful language, but telling the story very well.  What really makes this book are his lavish, exuberant watercolor paintings which draw the reader in and dramatize the story in a very vivid way.

I recommend this story for children who are able to tolerate suspense and conflict, who have no reptile phobias, and who are transitioning out of the picture-book stage but are not yet ready for Kipling’s sometimes challenging language.  Although this book could stand on its own as a part of a home library, I recommend that it ought to be followed very closely by a version with the original language.  Once the story is understood, this method will provide a great opportunity for vocabulary expansion and an appreciation of more elevated prose.