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Also this issue: It’s (not) a Living Culture Vultures Walter Mosley Where the Wilde Things Are Book Quicks |
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March 27-April 2, 2003
cover story
By Rose Lewis Illustrated by Jane Dyer Little, Brown, $6.99, ages 3-7
This heartwarmer is for anyone who has adopted a baby, or is thinking of doing so. Lewis tells a true story about her journey to China to adopt an infant daughter.
"I was so happy that I cried the moment I took you into my arms. I had been waiting for you my whole life."
Lewis has an M.S. in journalism from Northwestern University, and her text reads like music. And you can't find a better illustrator than the acclaimed Dyer. She transforms mother love into unforgettable pictures.
By Ilene Cooper Illustrated by Elivia Savadier Abrams, $18.95, ages 5 and up
Passover begins at sundown on April 16 with a service called a Seder. And what is that? It's a religious experience: a dinner, with symbolic foods shared, where "the oldest to the youngest talk about the meaning of Passover."
The story of how the Jews in Egypt escaped to freedom is told in clear, simple language, enhanced, as are all the other holiday tales, with photos and bright, detailed artwork from the Jewish Museum of New York.
This 80-page anthology is admirable in scope, covering every single Jewish holiday on the calendar. History, tradition, even crafts and recipes, are provided.
By Kathleen Krull Illustrated by Yuyi Morales Harcourt, $17, ages 6-9
Where would powerless migrant workers be without Chavez?
Nowhere.
He dedicated his life to their welfare. When his family lived in a damp, old shed in California, he worked in the vineyards, where bug-killing chemicals stung his eyes and made his lungs wheeze. (Such pesticides are said to be sprayed by U.S. helicopters on Colombian fields in the so-called drug war. Result: earth and water poisoned and medical problems rampant.)
When vineyard owners cut miserable pay even lower, Chavez crisscrossed California on foot, talking with thousands of workers. Many walked away in a strike, or huelga, traveling in protest to Sacramento, the capitol, where they heard that he had met with growers and signed the first contract for farm workers in U.S. history.
The art in this book is incredible. The illustrator visited the fields to sketch the laborers. Your back almost hurts as you see the bent-over men thinning lettuce with short-handled hoes that were painful to use.
Children can learn about liberalism and union history from no better book than this. It will be published in Spanish in the fall.
Written and illustrated by Cheryl Harness Dutton, $17.99, ages 10 and up
No dusty textbook, this. The women shout out and act out their visions of justice and equality. Just the right collection for the end of Women's History Month. You can sense the courage and accomplishments from the names of the leaders: Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Margaret Sanger, Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Friedan and many others.
By Jane Yolen Illustrated by Mark Teague Blue Sky Press, $15.95, ages 4-6
Silly reptiles go to the doctor. Page-high dinosaurs with immense clawed feet act naughty. "What if a dinosaur goes to the doctor? Does he drag his feet till his mom is in shock?" No, he doesn't. In this book the animals become physician-friendly!
Children, boys especially, love dinosaurs, but are wary of doctors. This picture book soothes, in its fashion, and is one of Yolen's best -- she's written more than 200 books for youngsters.
Written and illustrated by Jon J. Muth Scholastic, $16.95, ages 6 and up
Three monks wonder what makes happiness. The wisest says, "Let's find out."
They discover a village ravaged by famine, floods and war. The suspicious villagers, trusting no one, not even their neighbors, close their windows when the monks appear. Soon the monks have made a fire. They ask a little girl to bring "three round smooth stones to put in the pot for an excellent soup." Slowly, the curious townspeople come to help. A woman brings carrots; a scholar, salt and pepper; a farmer, onions. Others add mushrooms, noodles, pea pods and cabbage.
"How giving the villagers have become," say the monks.
After bringing buns, rice, tea and lanterns, the whole village sits down to a feast. They had not come together for as long as anyone could remember. After telling stories and singing songs, they welcome the monks into their homes.
"With the gifts you have given you have shown us that sharing makes us all happier," they say.
What we give comes back to us in return. Not a bad thought to ponder in these days of recession.
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