Noah’s Ark (Caldecott Honor Book)

Jerry Pinkney. Chronicle Books 2002, Hardcover, 40 pages, $8.73

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

This is a faithful interpretation of the biblical story, rendered in breathtaking watercolor paintings which earned this book a Caldecott Honor in 2003.  If I were forced to choose one version of the story, I would probably choose Peter Spier’s, but Pinkney provides an original, memorable perspective, allowing the youngest readers to experience the dramatic grandeur of this story.  I especially appreciate a striking images of whales, sharks and fish swimming through the submerged human cities.

The text does take a few artistic liberties — there is greater emphasis on humanity’s failure to steward the planet than our failure to live a life pleasing to God — but this is a rather minor matter, and the great strength of this book is its masterful artwork.  An outstanding addition to any child’s library.

Noah’s Ark (Picture Yearling Book)

Peter Spier. Dragonfly Books 1992, Paperback, 48 pages, $3.00

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Everyone should have at least one Noah’s Ark story, and Peter Spier’s version is one of the best available.  It is especially well suited to children, with its wordless format and careful attention to visual detail.  Sweeping illustrations fill up each page with well-developed vignettes, evoking the horror, danger and hope of the original story.

The story is simple, yet this book is complex enough for both pre-readers and readers.  Having discussed it with an adult, pre-readers will be able enjoy it on their own for an extended time, since the pictures convey at least as much information as the words.

The Day Before Christmas

Beth Peck (Illustrator). Sandpiper 2000, Paperback, 32 pages, $2.48

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

In this quiet celebration of familial love, an eight-year-old girl attends the Nutcracker ballet with her grandfather — the same outing he once took with her deceased mother.  It is told from the perspective of the child, who is sensitive to her grandfather’s grief at having lost his daughter, whom she does not remember.  At the end of the trip she voices her concern that he might be sad on this day, and he gently voices his happiness at having the opportunity to make new memories with her.  The story is illustrated in evocative paintings by Beth Peck.

Bunting has a rare gift for capturing complex emotions and portraying them in a way that young children can understand through vicarious experience.  In this wonderful story, she makes a profound statement about refusing to live in the past but instead dwelling in present relationships.  This message is delivered in the context of a secure familial relationship and an expansive experience.  Because the show featured is the ballet, it may appeal to girls more than boys, but it will also be attractive to children who are naturally empathetic towards others.

The Innkeeper

John Lawrence (Illustrator). Crossway Books 1998, Hardcover, 32 pages, $4.99

Every year John Piper writes an Advent poem as a gift for the congregation of Bethlehem Baptist Church.  This one tells a fictionalized story of the innkeeper who housed Joseph and Mary.

Most Nativity retellings emphasize the fact that there was “no room in the inn,” interpreting this to mean the innkeeper had no eyes to see the meaning of the Nativity.  But Piper takes a different tack, giving a historically plausible interpretation that Jesus’ poverty-stricken parents would have been grateful for a free place in the godly innkeeper’s stable, and that the innkeeper and his wife understood that they had housed the Messiah.

In this story Jesus, on his way to be crucified, visits the innkeeper and hears his account of the Nativity.  His story goes on to dramatically describe Herod’s Slaughter of the Innocents (Matthew 2:16-18), in which the innkeeper lost his entire family and his right arm.  He lived on in lonely grief, never understanding why God would allow such evil to happen.  Jesus grieves with the man and promises that after his crucifixion he will defeat the serpent who has the power of death, and raise this man’s family to life again.

Piper draws together the stories of a joy-filled family and a terrible evil.  We expect sentimentality at Christmastime, but his poem has none.  The story actually strikes a discordant tone with its portrayal of dread and horror, but this problem is answered with the sure hope that Jesus brings to those who suffer under the reign of death and evil.

Because of the violent content of the story, it may be best suited to teenagers or mature grade-schoolers.

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.

Charlotte’s Web (Trophy Newbery)

E. B. White. HarperCollins 1974, Paperback, 192 pages, $1.98

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Wilbur is a white, runty pig who lives in Homer Zuckerman’s barn.  He is childish, innocent, and amiably piggy, and has two good friends: Fern, the girl who rescued him at birth, and Charlotte, a spider who eats the flies drawn to his pen.  One day the old sheep informs Wilbur of his future as bacon and ham, and Charlotte promises to rescue him from this dreadful fate.  How she intends to keep her promise remains to be seen, and her plan unfolds in chapter after delightful chapter.  The story closes soon after her natural death, and Wilbur, mourning her loss, welcomes her children into his life.

This memorable story provides an example of genuine, loving friendship, which blooms among the hard realities of farm life: Charlotte does trap and eat insects, and the people do kill their animals.  But even given their carnivorous inclinations, the people are goodwilled and faithfully care for their livestock.  Both the human and animal characters are well developed with a careful eye to human nature.  The geese are hilariously goosey, and the old sheep provides several instances of savvy wisdom.  Templeton the rat is memorable in his odious self-centeredness, providing a contrast to Charlotte’s generous love.  The general tone of the book is warm, which makes Charlotte’s death stand out in profound sadness.  But it is these contrasts that have made this story such an enduring classic — the reality of death and pain make joy and love all the sweeter where they exist.

This is a chapter book with occasional illustrations, and should appeal to ages 5-10.  Because its story quality appeals to a wide age group, I recommend it as a first chapter book, although parents should be aware that Charlotte’s death may come as a shock to sensitive listeners.

The Clown of God

Tomie dePaola. Harcourt Children’s Books 1978, Hardcover, 48 pages, $8.00

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Clown of God is beautifully-illustrated, well-written retelling of a French legend.  The orphan Giovanni achieves great heights of fame through a juggling act that culminates in a rainbow of colored balls, with a golden ball representing “the sun in the heavens.”  At the height of his fame, some monks tell him his juggling “sings of the glory of God,”  to which he laughingly retorts, “I only juggle to make people laugh and applaud.”  As the years pass, Giovanni’s popularity wanes until he is forced to stop juggling and beg for food.  He returns home and falls asleep in the corner of the monks’ church, awakening to see the Christmas Mass, as the townspeople bring gifts to lay before a statue of Mary and Jesus.  When the church is empty he approaches the statue and  performs a juggling act for Jesus.  When he gets to “the Sun in the heavens,” his heart stops and he dies.  The monks, finding his body, discover that the child is holding Giovanni’s golden ball and smiling.

As a Protestant I am certainly missing some of the meaning in this Catholic story, but the main point seems to be that our gifts and talents are to be used for God’s glory.  Even though the monks’ statement that “if you give happiness to people, you give glory to God” goes a bit too far, Christians are called to care for others as an expression of our love for God (Matthew 25:40; 1 John 1:4:11-12).  Although Giovanni defies this calling, seeking only personal acclaim, at the end of his life he devotes his talents to an act of worship toward God.

The main element that biblically-centered Christians may want to supply when they read this story is to make it explicit that God will accept our gifts only when we trust in Jesus’ death, which opens the way for us to come to God (Hebrews 10:19-22).  As the story of Cain and Abel illustrates (Genesis 4:3-5; Hebrews 11:4), only gifts motivated by this faith will be accepted.  Apart from faith in Jesus’ sacrifice and genuine repentance from our sins, no gift can be accepted (Psalm 51:16-17).

This qualification aside, The Clown of God is a beautiful story for your Christmas basket or any time of the year.

Old Yeller (Perennial Classic.)

Fred Gipson. Harper Perennial Modern Classics 2001, Paperback, 144 pages, $3.42

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Travis Coates is a 14-year-old boy, left alone to protect his mother and younger brother on his family’s 19th-century Texas homestead.  When his father goes on a trip leaving him to “act a man’s part,” he throws himself into his new responsibilities.  But the challenges of feeding and protecting his family prove to be greater than his boy’s abilities, and he comes to depend on and love the stray dog which adopts their family.

The story follows chapter after chapter of gritty, riveting and often funny adventures as the family wrestles out a living from the land, dealing with angry bulls, thieving coons, an enraged bear, vicious javelinas, and an outbreak of “hydrophobia” (rabies).  Through these challenges, Travis grows to fill his father’s shoes while Yeller makes himself indispensible, saving the family member’s lives time upon time. In the culmination of the story, Yeller is bitten while fighting off a rabies-infected wolf that had attacked Travis’s mother.  Realizing the bite of the wolf is fatal, and that Yeller will become a danger to the family before he dies, Travis kills him.

It is important to note that Travis is not forced to kill his beloved dog.  He is quick to see that Yeller has been infected with rabies, and (unlike Jody in The Yearling) he does not deny that his dog is a danger to the family.  Although he loves Yeller, he knows his responsibility is first toward his mother and brother.  Although his mother offers to do it for him, he quickly and resolutely pays the price to protect his family.  This self-sacrifice is exactly the kind of character quality our children ought to see as normal, and Travis’s decision grows out of the his emerging character.  It is an extraordinary act of moral courage, but it comes at the end of a story filled with ordinary acts of responsibility.  In this outstanding coming-of-age story, Travis’s manhood is achieved at great cost, and in this cost he proves his worth as a man.

Swimmy (Knopf Children’s Paperbacks)

Leo Lionni. Dragonfly Books 1973, Paperback, 32 pages, $2.69

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Swimmy is a small black fish, part of a school of small red fish, and when a large tuna eats the rest of his school, he finds himself alone and frightened.  He travels through the sea, viewing many strange sights, until he finds another school of red fish.  When he asks them to come exploring with him, they are too afraid of being eaten; but he devises a way to venture forth safely, and together they chase the bigger fish away. This simple adventure is illustrated in an unusual collage of ink-prints.

Swimmy’s courage and leadership, the teamwork and cooperation of the small fish, and the creativity with which they solve their problem, combine to make a satisfying story.  The predatory behavior of the bigger fish is presented neutrally, as neither good nor evil — and since fish are less easy to identify with than other kinds of animals, the loss of Swimmy’s family isn’t too traumatic.  Still, sensitive children may have trouble with this story’s beginning, so parents may want to use caution.

Shanna Gonzalez Reading at Christopher's 4th Birthday Party, June 2009