City Numbers

City Numbers
by Joanne Schwartz and Matt Beam (photos)

Numbers, like words and letters, are everywhere.  Schwartz and Beam team up again and look at their city with completely different eyes, now noticing numbers in all sorts of strange places.

I’m not sure what to make of this book.  It’s not really for younger kids, since it doesn’t work as a counting book (there are no objects to count – you just read the numbers), and concepts like fractions and percentages are introduced.  I thought it was funny the first time (1/2), but after that, I didn’t really care.  I liked City Alphabet better.  But I’m also biased.  I like words better than numbers.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com.

City Alphabet

City Alphabet
by Joanne Schwartz and Matt Beam (photos)

Words are every where you look, even when you’re not looking for them.  Schwartz and Beam have teamed up to go through the alphabet with words written, painted, etched, etc. all over a city.

As a city librarian, I find this to be a very cool project.  I can see someone taking pictures of random words they find and making it into a story or poetry.  In fact, that’s something I would really like to try.  Schwartz and Beam include the medium and location of each picture/word, and you really can find strange and thought-provoking words everywhere.  A really cool book that could lead into some really cool classroom projects.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com.

Neighborhood Sing-Along

Neighborhood Sing-Along
by Nina Crews

Many classic children’s songs, one innovative way of expressing them.  Like The Neighborhood Mother Goose, Crews keeps all of the original text and creates new and contemporary images that all kids can relate to.

I think Crews has a spectacular series going on here.  Truth be told, I liked Mother Goose better, but this is still a phenomenal book.  I grew up with many of these songs, and they are generations old.  I appreciate that Crews is keeping these songs alive for all kids, no matter what background they have.  Especially for kindergartners, having something that everyone knows and everyone has in common is very important; and children’s songs make a great equalizer.  So “If You’re Happy and You Know It,” “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” “John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt!”

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com.

The Neighborhood Mother Goose

The Neighborhood Mother Goose
by Nina Crews

Mother Goose rhymes are for all children – every creed, color and kind.

Nina Crews does something with Mother Goose I’ve never seen done before, I like what I see.  The Mother Goose rhymes are traditional – the illustrations are anything but.  They’re not really illustrations – they’re fun photography from around Crews’ neighborhood (Brooklyn), Photoshopped of course.  It brings nursery rhymes alive for kids (and adults) who might never have seen them that way before.  That’s certainly true for me.  It’s amazing how one picture can seamlessly capture a rhyme.  For example:

There was a little girl
Who had a little curl
Right in the middle
Of her forehead.
When she was good,
She was very, very good,
But when she was bad,
She was horrid.

And there’s a little girl cutting her Barbie’s hair in the sink while giving the camera a look of, “I know exactly what I’m doing.”  Perfect.

Crews has assembled a great collection, and I look very forward to her next release, Neighborhood Sing-Along.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com.

Barely Exposed

Barely Exposed
by Latana

“I am living in a good society, but my world is full of people who do not comprehend the meaning of adolescence.  We teenagers are at a very critical age.  Adults will have to understand us… in order not to lose us.” – Hagar, 17, Egyptian, Cairo, Egypt

Taken directly from this collection, I think this quotation encompasses exactly what the rest of the book is about.  With photographs of teens half-naked from around the world (no nudity – all parts are covered), they each express in a few phrases how they view the world, life in general, and themselves during this tumultuous and exciting time in their lives.

When I read the synopsis for this book in several reviews, I’m not quite sure what I was expecting but I liked the idea.  In each of the photographs, it’s amazing how each teen can express their thoughts, feelings, hopes, fears, desires and dreams all in one glance.  I was amazed at the range of attitudes represented, from seeing the world as a hopeless place filled with war and hate to seeing it as a wonderful work of beautiful art.  I appreciated that Latana also included what the teens had to say in the original language in which it was said along with the English translation.  This book is a piece of art.  Unfortunately in immature hands, all effect of the art would be lost on the anatomy.  Recommended for mature and artistic teens, as well as those who work with teens.  The psychological insight is indescribable.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com.

Evidence of Angels

Evidence of Angels
by Suza Scalora with Francesca Lia Block

The narrator of this book has lost someone dear to them, and with that, their ability to see fairies, angels, and other magical creatures.  Then one day she hears a voice that tells her to go out and find the meaning in her life, to not be overcome by the grief of her loss.  She takes her camera with her.  She begins photographing the world around her, and to her surprise and delight, angels appear in the photographs.  She puts up posters around the city that ask of others if they’ve had similar experiences.  People from all walks of life write her letters, telling their stories about angels and asking her to photograph them.  A year after the passing of her beloved, the narrator now sees angels all the time as bearers of hope, encouragement, and love to all those who feel alone.

While I don’t theologically agree with the author’s perspective of angels, I will be the first to say that this is a beautiful book.  It’s misleading, since it’s a teen book (the language is definitely too high for most juvenile readers) and a picture book, and sadly I fear most teens will just look past it.  But I judge books by their covers (don’t tell me you haven’t), and this cover has captivated me ever since our library got it in February.  The accompanying artwork to this story is just amazing, so full of light and energy, as most divine creatures are described and perceived.  The artwork is clearly not photography in the traditional sense (there’s a lot of Photoshopping if it is), but it’s definitely the star of the show.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com

Flotsam

Flotsam
by David Wiesner

Inside the cover of the book, Wiesner explains that “flotsam” refers to something that floats.  The pictures tell the story of a boy at the beach, examining everything he finds very closely (such as a hermit crab).  A camera washes up on shore.  When the boy develops the film and looks more closely, he discovers an underwater world that he couldn’t have possibly imagined.  He also discovers that this camera has a very deep and long history.  The boy makes himself part of that history by taking a picture of himself, and then sends the camera back to the ocean where the creatures carry the story further along.

This picture book is absolutely beautiful.  Wiesner has proven his skill as an artist and a story-teller and definitely deserves the Caldecotts he has earned.  I loved the depth and intricacy of the story, even though it didn’t have any words.  That being said, I don’t know if I could have appreciated it if I were a young child.  Because there is so much beneath the surface, the general target age for the picture book genre would miss much of the story.  This is a book I would give to older children who could appreciate the work here, or my friends who are kids at heart.  I don’t think I’d ever put this in the hands of a 4 year old.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com.