Adding Story To Your Portfolio

"The mere act of being open to ideas all month gets your brain working and open and receptive. Even if you don't intend to write, I guarantee it will improve your illustrations. You'll be so focused on story that your work will automatically be showing more story in it. Isn't that what children's illustration is all about?"
-Laura Zarrin*



Reading mouse bookplate, by Felix Doolittle

*Via Simply Messing About

Multicultural Children's Book Day 2018

How are you promoting an interest in diverse cultures with your children?

#ReadYourWorld

Read with a child this weekend and open their world to the far horizon.


I regularly review picture books featuring different languages, cultures, and countries.

Here are some of the Perfect Picture Book Reviews from the past months.
Blue Sky, White Stars, by Sarvinder Naberhaus and Kadir Nelson
Moses Goes To The Circus, by Isaac Millman
The Shark God, by Rafe Martin and David Shannon
Sleep Tight, Snow White, by Jen Arena and Lorena Alvarez
Never Forgotten, by Patricia McKissack and Leo and Diane Dillon

For young readers, try
Jasmine Toguchi, Mochi Queen, by Debbi Michiko Florence and Elizabet Vukovik
Alvin Ho is Allergic to The Great Wall, The Forbidden Palace, and Other Tourist Attractions, by Lenore Look and LeUyen Pham

A few of my favorite multicultural middle grade reads are
The Grand Plan to Fix Everything, by Uma Krishnaswami and Abigail Halpin
Save Me a Seat, by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan
The Whole Story of Half a Girl, by Veera Hiranandani

I don't read much YA, but Nora & Kettle, by Lauren Nicolle Taylor, was fantastic—earth-shattering—a biracial love story set in a dark part of America's past.

Set in 1953, NORA AND KETTLE explores the collision of two teenagers facing extraordinary hardship. Their meeting is inevitable, devastating, and ultimately healing. 

–From the author's website

Blue Sky, White Stars,
by Sarvinder Naberhaus and Kadir Nelson

Nora & Kettle, by Lauren Nicolle Taylor
Cover by Marya Heiman

The Whole Story of Half a Girl,
 by Veera Hiranandani

Alvin Ho, by Lenore Look and LeUyen Pham

PPBF: The Shark God

And now on to today's Perfect Picture Book Friday pick

The Shark God, by Rafe Martin and David Shannon

The Shark God

Written by Rafe Martin
Illustrated by David Shannon

Arthur A. Levine, Imprint of Scholastic Books, 2001
Ages 4-8, 370L


Themes:
Folk Tales, Culture


Opening:
It was long, long ago that two children, a brother and sister, tried to find someone to help them save a shark.


Synopsis:
The Shark God is a retelling of an ancient Hawaiian fable, Kauhuhu The Shark God of Molokai.
Two children who live in a hard-hearted village save a shark from a slow death. In their excitement, they break a tribal law and are sentenced to execution. Their parents seek help from the powerful and frightening Kauhuhu. With his guidance, the children are freed and reunited with their family.


What I Love:
Master storyteller, Rafe Martin, has made this unusual tale accessible to modern readers and has tweaked the story to center on the children and to include a more concrete ending. With bold color and energetic illustrations, this Hawaiian folk tale leaps off the shelf. Kids will love the heroic nature of the sharks and the magical details.

While I planned to review a contemporary picture book featuring characters from an under-represented culture for Multicultural Children's Book Day, I couldn't resist this striking picture book with its rare tale of adventure and its strong theme of callousness vs. kindness.


Bonus: 

Make a classic bottle catch game from Krokotak.

1. Read Kauhuhu's story in the sacred texts, available on Hawaiian Legends of Ghosts and Ghost-Gods.

2. The University of Hawai'i at Manoa has created a detailed index of Shark god stories, compiled by the Hawai'i State Library.

3. DKFindOut! has created pages of Shark facts, or visit SharkSider for a compendium of sharks, detailed by species.

4. Make a shark-shaped cootie catcher origami with instructions from Easy Peasy and Fun.

5. Support Multicultural Children's Book Day and #ReadYourWorld. Find suggested reading, classroom kits, and more on their website.

6. Check out these and more Perfect Picture Books at your local library.

Reviewed by Julie

Reviewed by Vivian

Reviewed by Clar

Reviewed by Patricia

Reviewed by Maria

Reviewed by Joanne

Have you reviewed a Perfect Picture Book along this theme? Please leave the link in the comments below. Thanks!

Check out all the recommended titles for Perfect Picture Book Friday
for Friday, January 26, 2018 available on Susanna Leonard Hill's blog.

PPBF: A Year in the City

And now on to today's Perfect Picture Book Friday pick

A Year in the City, by Kathy Henderson and Paul Howard

A Year in the City

Written Kathy Henderson
Illustrated by Paul Howard

Candlewick Press, 1996
Ages 3 & up, 32 pp


Themes:
City, Seasons


Opening:
The year's turning,
the year's turning
through the streets and houses
where people pass and the traffic churns,
all the time the year keeps turning.

Synopsis:
Pages packed with bustling illustrations, A Year in the City hustles readers through the frenetic pace of city life, month by month. The prose is poetic. The illustrations are detailed. Just like the city there is much in this book to see and explore. The creators offer a buffet of the delights and distractions inherent in an urban setting, highlighting cultural festivals, seasons, holidays, sounds, and textures.


What I Love:
With well over 1,000 words, this book may be a surprising addition to the PPBF list. I love the author's skill painting a scene engaging all of the senses. The illustrator's full-page and vignetted scenes carry a sense of energy and inspire kids to examine and appreciate a culture like, or unlike, their own.


Bonus: 

Petit and Small modeled 5 diverse cities from recycled materials

1. I love the creative breadstick appetizers for New Year's Eve found on Heavy.

2. MiniTime is a great website for planning a city trip with the kids. Links include NYC, San Francisco, and Boston. Or  uncover travel secrets from the New York Times article on Chicago.

3. Parenting Patch has created a handprint craft for preschoolers, while FunnyCrafts makes a 4 seasons bottle craft available to download.

4. You'll find printable worksheets for weather tracking, four seasons puzzles, seasonal writing prompts and more on Education.com

5. Check out these and more Perfect Picture Books at your local library.

Reviewed by Joanne

Reviewed by Julie

Reviewed by Joanne

Reviewed by Maria

Reviewed by Clara

Reviewed by Wendy

Reviewed by Wendy

Reviewed by Julie

Have you reviewed a Perfect Picture Book along this theme? Please leave the link in the comments below. Thanks!

Check out all the recommended titles for Perfect Picture Book Friday
for Friday, January 19, 2018 available on Susanna Leonard Hill's blog.