picture books

Quiet Night, My Astronaut

Sophie Rosen , ,

Lushchevska, Oksana. Quiet Night, My Astronaut: The First Days (And Nights) of the War in Ukraine. Ann Arbor, MI: Tilbury House Publishers, 2024.
Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago, on February 24, 2022. In this picture book – illustrated by Ukrainian artist Kateryna Stepanishcheva – a young girl describes what life is like during the first 10 days of the war. “Church bells are ringing, sirens are screaming, bombs are exploding.” Her father is sent off to defend the country while she and her mother, along with her little dog and her astronaut doll, struggle to survive. This is a modern war: she exchanges texts with her cousin and her father, makes posters to share on social media, and reads about fundraising efforts online. But this is also a war like all others: destruction surrounds them as they flee. Accompanied by a note from the Ukrainian author – who now lives in the U.S. – and a list of discussion questions, this picture book is highly recommended for readers 7 to 12 years old.

“What is darkness to us if we have a candle of faith in the heart?”

More stories from Ukraine

More stories of war

More stories of courage

Nano

Sophie Rosen , ,

Wade, Jess. Nano: The Spectacular Science of the Very (Very) Small. Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press, 2021.
What a spectacular science book for young readers! Skillfully designed – with fonts of different styles and sizes – and cheerfully illustrated, this picture book about the astonishing world of nanotechnology is highly recommended for readers 6 to 10 years old. 

They will learn that pencils contain graphite – layers of carbon atoms on top of each other – that leaves marks on paper because the layers so easily slide over each other and smudge. 

A single layer of graphite is graphene, the strongest material now known; it is used to make airplanes lighter in weight and windows clean themselves when touched by sunlight.

More books to expand general knowledge

Older readers may also enjoy this picture book. Too often, it seems, students in grades 6 to 8 are strongly encouraged to read but not shown how easy it is to have fun with books. Three-dimensional reading – the kind that requires paper – does not have to involve serious, multi-chaptered books or humorous graphic novels. It can include picture books that expand general knowledge. A few minutes of reading and you come away with more facts to improve understanding of – and pique interest in – our incredible world.

More ideas for encouraging fun while reading

Generally, I recommend borrowing books from a library. How can we possibly buy every book we want to read? But this is a picture book you might like to purchase and keep. For a long time. The very first book I owned – the first book that was specifically mine – was Our Earth: What It Is, part of the Whitman Learn About series. I was six years old and so fascinated by all the incredible information that my parents ordered the whole series for me. Every month, a new title would arrive in the mail. Bliss! I still have almost the whole set, including that first book with these sentences: “One day we will land on the moon and look back at the Earth. What a wonderful sight we will see!” Decades in the future, you will still appreciate Nano but what will you notice about the progress of technology? What will make you smile?

What books do you own that you have had for a long time? What books do you still treasure? Let me know!

Lost

Sophie Rosen , , , , , ,

Usher, Sam. Lost. Somerville, Massachusetts: Templar Books, an imprint of Candlewick Press, 2022, ©2021.
A new day brings new adventures despite the miserably cold weather. A little boy trots along with his grandfather and ends up on a grand journey through a snowstorm to find a lost dog. The combination of narration and conversation, the full-page expressive illustrations, the size and style of the font, the placement of sentences on the pages, the zany adventure, and the little bit of wisdom at the end all combine to create another brilliant picture book by Sam Usher. Highly recommended as a read-aloud for ages 4 to 9.

Another picture book by Sam Usher

More books about grandparents

More books set in winter

Erika-san

Sophie Rosen , , ,

Say, Allen. Erika-san. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2008.
A little girl, seeing a picture of a teahouse in her grandmother’s home, becomes curious about Japan. She reads books about Japan, learns how to speak Japanese, and – after she grows up and finishes college – moves to Japan to become a schoolteacher. But busy Tokyo doesn’t appeal to her. She longs for the countryside. She finally finds it, a little village that reminds her of the picture from long ago, a place where she makes a friend, marries him, and creates her new home.
Some reviewers have criticized this picture book for depicting a character that dislikes a foreign city, for writing about a character appropriating another culture as her own. But this quietly beautiful picture book isn’t about displaying political correctness or conveying moral messages. It is a story about someone who admires a way of life and goes out to find it. It is a story for everyone who has had a dream and then set out to find it. Recommended for reflective readers 9 to 12 years old. 

More sophisticated picture books

More stories set in Japan

More stories by Allen Say

Madeline’s Rescue

Sophie Rosen , ,

Bemelmans, Ludwig. Madeline’s Rescue. New York: Viking Press, 1953.

An Analysis by Gurtaj in Grade 6

Reliability: I believe this book is reliable, because it was awarded “The Caldecott Medal”, which means it was the best picture book published in the U.S.A. in 1953. It was also published by Viking Press, which has a good reputation. In addition, I believe this book is good because it is written by Ludwig Bemelmans, who has other incredible books like: Sunshine, Madeline in London, Madeline and the Bad Hat. That is why I think this book is reliable.

Annotation: When a girl named Madeline slips into a river, her school teacher tries to get a hold of her before she falls; but Madeline is a bit out of reach. Everyone who has seen her fall in, tries to help but no one is successful. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a dog barges into the lake and reunites the girl with her teacher. The dog is taken back to where Madeline lives, where the two new friends live happily together.

Point of View: 3rd Person

“…she slipped and fell”.

“After she left there was a fight”.

“She was petted, she was fed”.

Tense: Past

“…they named it…”

“But no one answered…”

“…they had started…”

Literary Techniques: Assonance…

“That kept its head”

“And every place a dog might go”

“They came back home broken-hearted”

Connection: Text to Self

My connection with the book Madeline’s Rescue by the writer Ludwig Bemelmans relates to what happened to my dad. His friend fell off a bridge into a river. The two men were walking in an okay crowded area, but they wanted more space, so they started to walk over to a park. It was fine until they got to a bridge. The bridge didn’t have a railing. They walked carefully at first, but my dad’s friend decided to run. He tripped! My dad tried to get a hold of him, but it was too late. Everyone tried to help, but it didn’t matter. He had already fallen. Suddenly, everyone saw a stray dog run in and retrieve him. My dad’s friend was safe, after all.

More literary analyses

Little People, Big Dreams

Sophie Rosen ,

Looking for a series about people who have made a difference in our world?
Looking for books at an easy reading level?

Try Little People, Big Dreams published in English by Frances Lincoln Children’s Books.

Each book in the series – originally written in Spanish – is by Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara. The design is simple: a plain font with only a few sentences on each page along with full-page illustrations by a variety of artists. The style is informative rather than poetic and the reading level is suitable for children 8 years old and up. There are several dozen titles, so the the books would be useful for classroom teachers starting students on basic research projects or book reports. However, children who prefer nonfiction reading would also enjoy many of these titles, and therefore they are highly recommended for curious readers 8 to 12 years old.

Available online and in-store from Hemingway’s

(Type ‘little people, big dreams’ into the search box.)

A Biography Worksheet

 

 

More titles!

What a Beautiful Morning

Sophie Rosen , ,

Levine, Arthur A. What a Beautiful Morning! Philadelphia, PA: Running Press Kids, 2016.
Life is delightful for Noah when he visits his grandparents. Every day starts with a song and leads to all sorts of adventures. But all that changes when one summer day Grandpa can’t remember how to cut his cinnamon French toast. A touching story of love for readers who are facing the consequences of dementia in their own families. Highly recommended for all ages.

More picture books