Write for a Reader

If you haven’t been over to A Patchwork of Books, you are missing out on a GREAT giveaway!  Here is what she has for you:

S is for Shamrock: An Ireland Alphabet
D is for Dancing Dragon: A Chinese Alphabet
B is for Big Ben: A London Alphabet
P is for Pinata: A Mexican Alphabet
A is for America: An American Alphabet

and also:

A is for Abraham: A Jewish Family Alphabet

Ai s For Amazing Moments: A Sports Alphabet.

Hurry over and get yourself entered; this giveaway ends tomorrow (Sunday) night!

I was thrilled to receive a package in the mail last week from Lee & Low Books; thank you Hannah!  Inside were 4 beautiful hardcover picture books for me to review. I thought I would share the first one here for Nonfiction Monday.

Title:  The Last Black King of the Kentucky Derby

Author:  Crystal Hubbard

Illustrator:  Robert McGuire

Review copy provided by:  Lee & Low Books

Synopsis from book jacket:  Born into an African American sharecropping family in 1880s Kentucky, Jimmy Winkfield grew up loving horses.  The large, powerful animals inspired little Jimmy to think big.  Looking beyond his family’s farm, he longed for a life riding on action-packed racetracks around the world.

Like his hero, the great Isaac Murphy, Jimmy “Wink” Winkfield would stop at nothing to make it as a jockey.  Though his path to success was wrought with obstacles both on the track and off, Wink faced each challenge with passion and a steadfast spirit.  Along the way he carved out a lasting legacy as one of history’s finest horsemen and the last African American ever to win the Kentucky Derby.

My review:  I have to admit that when I got this book, I hadn’t heard of Jimmy Winkfield, slaves being jockeys, or African Americans running in the Kentucky Derby.  Now I have, and I’m glad.  This was such an interesting read.  Being a horse lover, I was drawn to this one, even though I am not particularly fond of running horses.  I was just intrigued by this story because it has so much history in it.  The author, Crystal Hubbard, tells Wink’s story so well.  Wink had a dream and he didn’t stop until he had achieved that dream.  Hubbard uses her writing to showcase that dream. 

“When Wink saw the jockeys sitting proudly in the winner’s circle dressed in their fine colored silks, he knew he wanted to be there one day himself.”

“He had gone from exercise rider and stable hand to jockey in less than a year.  This race could be his big break.”

“As punishment he received a year’s suspension from racing.  Wink was devastated but determined not to give up on his dream.”

The story chronicles Wink’s life from childhood to retirement.  Through racial tension, suspension, and blacks being forced out of racing, Wink persevered and made a name for himself.  There is an afterword at the end of the book that tells more about this fabulous man.  I enjoyed learning about a part of history that I didn’t even know existed, and am certain that children, young adults, and other adults will as well.   His daughter sums it up with a quote at the end:

“He was a survivor.  His determination not to give up was amazing.  He lived a good life.” – Liliane Winkfield Casey

I was lucky enough to receive this book in a blog giveaway.   I had seen posts about it and knew I had to read it for myself.  I even shared it with a group of 2nd graders today…they loved it!  That is enough of a review for me, but I want to do the book justice, so I’ll tell you what this teacher thinks.

Title:  The Day Leo Said, I Hate You!

Author:  Robie H. Harris

Illustrator:  Molly Bang

Synopsis:  Leo continures to do things that he shouldn’t.  Leo’s mom continues to tell him “No.”  Well, Leo has had enough of that.  In his bedroom, no one can tell him no.  Then, the words just pop out of his mouth before he can take them back…Oh no!  What will mom do?  How will Leo fix what just happened?

My Review:  When I first read this, it so reminded me of When Sophie Gets Angry – Really, Really Angry, mostly because the illustrations are by Molly Bang, but also because it is about a little kid who gets so mad they can’t control themselves.  I was drawn to the illustrations…they are phenomenal.  Even the kids commented on how some of the items in the pictures look real.  They also liked it when Leo got mad and his face was BIG and red.  The story itself is a great one!  What a message to send to kids.  It is okay to hate “things,” but we don’t say we hate people.  I love the way Harris uses different typeset, small letters, large letters, all caps, to get the point across.   Leo is all boy, one that many little boys will relate to.  What parent hasn’t heard his/her child say this to them at one point?  Harris chooses such a great way to deal with those 3 little words.  It is a great story that will have the children laughing, but one that carries such a great message.  This is a must read and one that I’m sure will be checked out over and over again from the library.  I know because I set it down to talk to a parent today and three kids picked it up.

Twelve Terrible Things by Marty Kelley is a picture book told and illustrated from a child’s perspective.

It opens with a letter:

Of course, you are going to turn the page; who wouldn’t with an intro like that?

There is not a story line to this book. Each page is an illustration of what is happening, from the child’s perspective, and then a little blurb about the event. The events are numbered 1-12, hence the title, Twelve Terrible Things. #1 shows ice cream that has fallen off of the cone with the word, “Oooopsie!” on the page. It continues like that through the 12th thing. At the end, though, a good thing happens.

I think that this book would be appropriate for Pre-K – 2nd grade students. It lends itself to a lot of discussion, based on the illustrations themselves. Children deal with what they think are terrible things every day, and this book touches on some of them. Children will be able to relate to many of the events in this book and maybe even come up with some more of their own. I could see teachers using this as a kick-off for students to create their own terrible thing books either individually or as a class. Some kids may not think these are terrible things, so it opens up another discussion about point of view.

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to parents and teachers based on all the discussion that you can have around the illustrations.

Please read what others are saying about this book on the original post over at The Well Read Child.  Many thanks to Jill for allowing me to help review books for her.