Math + Art > numbers

Here’s something you need to know about Sally (the inspiration for this blog): she was married to a math teacher and her three sons grew up to become math teachers. So I figure it’s only appropriate to include math stories every now and then. Here’s one that will hit the shelves in about 10 days (estimation is a useful math skill!).

Bracelets for Bina’s Brothers 

by Rajani LaRocca; illus. by Chaaya Prabhat 

32 pages; ages 3-6

Charlesbridge, 2021

theme: math, art, holidays

Bina had three big brothers: Vijay, Siddharth, and Arjun.

Like big brothers everywhere, they sometimes annoyed her – but Bina loves them anyway. So when the Hindu festival, Raksha Bandhan grows close, she decides to make her brothers some bracelets. They will be the perfect gift to celebrate the close relationship that ties them together as siblings. So Bina decides to buy beads to make the bracelets. Vijay loves blue but hates the color green. Siddharth loves green but can’t stand orange. And Arjun loves orange but is oh-so-tired of blue. 

What I like about this book: This story integrates math by using colors and patterns. With only enough money to buy the beads her brothers love, Bina has to figure out how to make bracelets that are fun and include more than one color. Rajani also includes Back Matter (yay!) with information about the festival and a math exploration activity.

I caught up with Rajani a couple weeks ago and asked her One Question:

me: What made you so passionate about math - and so passionate about sharing

it with young people through your books?

Rajani: I love that math truly is everywhere, that we use it all the time to solve everything from simple, everyday problems to incredibly complex ones. There is a beauty to math that fills me with wonder. I love writing books that, I hope, inspire young people to think about math with a sense of discovery and fun.

Beyond the Books:

Make some patterns using two colors of beads or blocks – or even splats of paint. Like Bina, you might do alternating colors (green-blue-green-blue). What other kinds of repeating patterns can you make using only two colors? Here’s one to get you started: green-blue-blue-green-blue-blue…

Instead of colors, what other ways can you create patterns? Use different senses. Create some patterns you can see (shape? French fries vertical or horizontal?). Create patterns you can hear (drum beats? notes?). Create patterns of texture (sandpaper-smooth? different textures of cloth?)

Rajani is a member of #STEAMTeam2021. In addition to practicing medicine, she writes award-winning fiction and nonfiction books for children. Some of her titles this year include: Red, White, and Whole, Much Ado About Baseball, and Where Three Oceans Meet – plus more on the way! Find out more about her and her books at her website, www.rajanilarocca.com

We’ll be joining Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copy provided by the publisher.

Beatrix Potter Saves the Countryside

Saving the Countryside: The Story of Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit 
by Linda Marshall; illus. by Ilaria Urbinati 
40 pages; ages 4-8
little bee books, 2020

theme: biography, environment, illustrator

On the third floor of a London town house, a young girl sketched pictures of her pet rabbit, Benjamin Bouncer.

That’s not all she drew. The girl, Beatrix Potter also sketched frogs and mice, turtles and salamanders and, later, detailed drawings of mushrooms. Beatrix loved nature and art. She also wanted to “do something” with her life, in a time when most women were expected to focus on their family. Beatrix also loved writing stories and ended up penning some of my favorites: Peter Rabbit, The Tale of Benjamin Bunny… and about 20 more. She painted gentle scenes of her English countryside – and took steps to preserve it for the future.

What I like about this book: I love how Linda Marshall focuses on the broader environmental accomplishments of Beatrix Potter. And I love the illustrations by Ilaria Urbinati that are so reminiscent of Potter’s, drawing us into a time of teas and bunnies and cottages and sheep grazing in the meadow.

Beyond the Books:

Sketch an animal living in and around you – it could be a pet, or the stray cat that hangs out by the garden, a bird or rascally squirrel raiding the feeder. After you’ve sketched it a few times, think about dressing it up in a jacket or vest. Beatrix Potter’s rabbit was her inspiration for Peter Rabbit.

Read a Beatrix Potter story and linger on the illustrations. What do you notice about her characters and her artwork?

Are there any land trusts or nature preserves in your area? If so, try to visit one. How does it contribute to your community?

If you have a backyard, ask for permission to let part of it “go wild” for the summer. Write notes and draw pictures about what you see there. 

Today we're joining Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copy provided by the publisher.

Rainbow Weaver

Rainbow Weaver
by Linda Elovitz Marshall; illus. by Elisa Chavarri
40 pages; ages 6-9
Children's Book Press, 2016

themes: diversity, art, family

High in the mountains above Lake Atitlan, Ixchel watched her mother weave thread into fabric as beautiful as a rainbow.

When Ixchel asks if she can weave, Mama suggests she help count threads. But Ixchel wants to weave. She wants to help pay for her books and school.

What I like love about this book: Ixchel sets off to find her own weaving materials. She kicks aside the plastic bags that people have discarded on their way home from market, and gathers tall grasses to use on a loom she makes from sticks. When they don't work, she gathers bits of wool and twists it into yarn. Dissatisfied with that, she tries weaving with plastic bags - after all, they are everywhere!

I love that author Linda Marshall traveled to Guatamala to meet weavers and learn how they recycle unwanted plastic into products that they sell in the market place. She wrote about that trip earlier this year here. In an author's note, Linda tells how she was inspired to write this book by a friend who sells the weavers' placemats, coasters, purses, and baskets. And I love that the endpapers resemble Mayan textiles. Oh, and did I say that the book is bilingual? Lo puedes leer en español.

Beyond the book:

Read how some people are turning plastic bags into mats for homeless people. They cut the bags into strips and crochet the strips into thick mats - it takes more than 500 bags for each mat!

Want to weave a plastic rug or mat of your own? All you need is a loom - here's how to make one out of cardboard. There are links to weaving techniques - all you need to supply are the warp strings and plastic bags.

Or try making a coiled basket or coaster. Here's how.

You can find out more about Linda and her books at her website.

Today is PPBF (perfect picture book Friday), an event in which bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books. Review copy provided by publishers.

Putting the focus on photographers

Two books about photographers, contemporaries of each other. One captured light and rocks and trees, the other focused her sights on factories, buildings, and people. One grew up in the west, the other in the east.

Antsy Ansel: Ansel Adams, a life in nature
by Cindy Jenson-Elliott; illus. by Christy Hale
32 pages; ages 5-9
Henry Holt, 2016

theme: nonfiction, biography, art

Ansel was antsy. He never walked - he ran.

He loved being outside - exploring the beach, feeling the wind and salt spray. He didn't fare well trapped in the classroom, but thrived when his father decided to have him learn at home.
When Ansel was 14, he visited Yosemite Valley and fell in love with the light. His parents gave him a camera, and the rest is history. He traveled far and wide taking photos of national parks, and his photos were featured in Life magazine and galleries.

What I like about this book: It is fun to read. Author Cindy Jenson-Elliot delves into her collection of action words to show this young man who couldn't sit still. Run-leap-scramble... off he goes with his camera! I also like the back matter, where she tells more about this iconic photographer. Ansel Adams spent a lot of time studying his subject matter, waiting for the right light to capture it.

Girl with a Camera
by Carolyn Meyer
352 pages; ages 10 - 14
Calkins Creek, 2017

Margaret Bourke-White was born in 1904 - two years after Ansel Adams - in New Jersey. She wasn't popular, and felt unsure of herself, yet knew she would do something great. She spent her youth exploring the outdoors, collecting snakes and bugs, and thought she might become a herpetologist (someone who studies reptiles and amphibians). Then she discovered photography. And the beauty within buildings, from factories to sky scrapers. She knew she wanted to make her living shooting photos.

This fictionalized account of her life draws on Margaret's own writings, as well as archival material and yearbooks. It reads like an adventure, as we read about Margaret's adventures as a photo-journalist for Life magazine: trips to Russia, capturing factories and farms, and a nearly-didn't-make-it trip to the arctic. Author Carolyn Meyer had done a ton of research, and it shows.

Both Ansel Adams and Margaret Bourke-White documented World War II. Ansel took photos of ordinary life in the Manzanar War Relocation Center (Japanese internment camp) in California. Margaret was the first female war correspondent and photographed German forces invading Moscow. At the end of the war she photographed the liberation of the concentration camp at Buchenwald.

Beyond the Books:
Take a camera on a walk with you and take pictures of buildings or trees or rocks or people... whatever interests you. Try taking photos in different light - different times of day - and from different angles.

Explore this gallery of Ansel Adams photos.

Explore this gallery of Margaret Bourke-White photos.

Today is PPBF (perfect picture book Friday), an event in which bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books. On Monday we'll be hanging out on Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers over at Shannon Messenger's blog. Hop over to see what other people are reading. Review copies provided by publishers.

Playing around with Paper

What do tissue paper, old maps, and newspapers have in common? You can make art out of them.

Tissue paper is fun because you can layer one color on top of another, creating new shades. Remember to create background, and play around with various sizes and shapes of the tissue paper. Try cutting and tearing - what works best for you? And don't be timid about decorating your tissue paper. Check out how this artist decorates hers with markers before creating her collage.

Maps, newspapers, pages torn from old books and ancient encyclopedias create interesting backgrounds. Puzzle pieces and stamps add interest. Here's how one artist makes maps into art.

The cool thing about collage art is that materials are all around. Save tissue paper from gifts, and stamps from letters and post cards. You can pick up old encyclopedias and dictionaries - even music books - at library book sales and garage sales. For glue - just water down school glue a bit.

 This is National Arts in Education week. Check Sally's posts every day this week for arts activities and book reviews.

Rain Fish

 Rain Fish
by Lois Ehlert
40 pages; ages 4-8
Beach Lane Books, 2016

When blue sky turns gray and it rains all day, sometimes rain fish come out and play.
They swim among discards and debris. Do you see them, too? Or is it just me?

I love the lyrical text that flows through the pages - and the wonderful fish recycled from things one might find on the ground: a ticket stub, bit of cardboard, twig, fallen leaf. A lost sock. A feather. A mix of natural and man-made things lost, then found. I also love the fun fish, the unexpected texture of orange peel and paper; the bright colors.

Earth Day craft

Now it's your turn. Collect things from your walks... and turn them into art. They don't have to be fish... you can make "found item" collages of flowers, trees, animals, bugs.


 This is National Arts in Education week. Check Sally's posts every day this week for arts activities and book reviews. Review F&G provided by publisher.

Experiment with Watercolors

Grab some watercolor paints, a couple of brushes, some watercolor paper, and play around with art.

Add Salt: When the paint is still wet (but not puddles), sprinkle salt on the area. It's easiest to do this one section at a time, while the paint is still wet. When the painting is completely dry, gently rub the salt from the surface of the painting. It adds texture to skies, water... wherever you want some texture.

How does it work? The salt prevents the paper from absorbing the pigment, so depending on how big the crystals are, or how much you use, you can get different textures. Here's a fun video showing the process.

Add Plastic: Wet your paper with a brush (or clean sponge). Using a wet brush and some of your favorite colors (three is a good number) paint colors onto the area. Colors will spread, and where edges meet they'll mix. While the paper is still wet, place some plastic wrap over the painting. Make sure it has full contact with the paper. Wrinkles are good. If you don't have plastic wrap, use bubble wrap or waxed paper.

Let them dry overnight, and then peel off the plastic. (You can save the plastic for another painting) Here's a video showing the process (with acrylics) and a longer one showing a variety of plastic techniques.

 This is National Arts in Education week. Visit us tomorrow and every day this week for arts activities and book reviews.

Painting Pepette

Painting Pepette
by Linda R. Lodding; illus. by Claire Fletcher
40 pages; ages 4-8
Little Bee Books, 2016

Josette takes her rabbit, Pepette  everywhere. So it makes sense that, when Josette realizes that there is no formal portrait of Pepette in the parlor, they need to set off to Montmartre.

That is where the best artists set up their easels.

And that's where Josette meets Dali, Picasso, Matisse, Chagall - though they aren't named in the story (an astute observer will see them on the front end papers). There are great scenes where the artists paint the Pepette they see - with three ears, flying through the air, pink ( “through art we can see the world any way we want," says Matisse). But none of them capture the Pepette that Josette knows. So when they get home, Josette pulls out her own collection of art supplies and gets to work.

The watercolor illustrations are subdued, and have the feel of a book from an earlier time, like "Madeline" books. Together, text and illustrations offer a sweet story, and maybe some inspiration for a youngster to paint a portrait of his own favorite bunny. Or dragon.

Beyond the book: Look at images of paintings by Dali, Picasso, Matisse, and Chagall - you can find galleries of their works online, and in library books.

Paint a portrait of your favorite stuffed animal or pet.

This is National Arts in Education week. Visit us tomorrow and every day this week for arts activities and book reviews. Review copy provided by publisher.

Dorothea's Eyes

Dorothea's Eyes
by Barb Rosenstock; illus. by Gerard DuBois
40 pages; ages 8-12
Calkins Creek (Boyd's Mills), 2016

theme: imagination, nonfiction, history

Dorothea opens her grey-green eyes.
   They are special eyes.
       They see what others miss...

So begins a biography of one of my favorite photographers, Dorothea Lange. Before she ever owned a camera she knew she wanted to be a photographer - even though girls weren't supposed to be photographers. Even though it was hard for her to walk. She skips school to wander around the city, peering into crowded tenements, seeing with her eyes and her heart how people live - "happy and sad mixed together".

What I like about this book: It is about Dorothea! I like how Barb Rosenstock shows Dorothea growing into a photographer. And how her childhood - and her heart - drew her to take photographs of poor people, immigrants, migrant farmers... the invisible people in our society. I like that Dorothea's story can inspire young people to follow their dreams. Most of all, I like that "Dorothea's eyes help us see with our hearts."

Beyond the book: Check out the book trailer at Barb Rosenstock's website. You can also download an Educator's Guide.

Tour this gallery of Dorothea's photographs.

Take a camera on a field trip. Look at the everyday people in your town like Dorothea would - try to see with your heart. What photos do you come home with? 

Next week is National Arts in Education week. Every day next week I'll have art activities or a book review for you. Drop by and join us.

Today is PPBF (perfect picture book Friday), an event in which bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books. On Monday  we're joining the roundup over at the Nonfiction Monday blog where you'll find even more book reviews Review copy provided by the publisher.

Skunk on a String

Skunk on a String

by Thao Lam

40 pages; ages 4-7

Owlkids Books, 2016

theme: imagination, adventure, animal tale

It's really hard to begin with opening lines from a wordless book, so I'll begin with the first lines from the jacket blurb:

It's a Bird!

It's a Plane!

It's a ... Skunk??

This is a tale of adventure and intrigue that begins when a hapless skunk finds himself tied to the string of a balloon. Perhaps he was watching the parade, or perhaps he wanted to join in... but he finds himself floating up, up, and away. Past apartments and construction sites, through the zoo, into traffic, under water until - finally - he lands on the tip top of a Ferris wheel. When he unties himself he realizes that he misses flying.

What I like about this book: Usually I avoid wordless books, but this one caught me by surprise. I think it's the art: gorgeous collage work using textured papers in a variety of dots and stripes and florals. The illustrations are a visual feast, and one can spend a lot of time exploring details. The other thing I like: the story is so well told by the artwork that you don't need to struggle to say what's going on. 

Beyond the book:

Check out the book trailer- it's a lot of fun.

Imagine a balloon ride.  If you grabbed on to the string of a balloon and went floating up, up, up, where would you go? What would you see? Make a map or draw a picture to show your adventure.

Play with paper art. Make some collages using different kinds of paper. Maybe you'll want to use papers found in the recycling bin, or bits of wrapping paper too small to be useful. Or maybe you'll want to buy some patterned origami or scrapbook paper for your picture. Think about ways to add texture: handmade papers, corrugated cardboard, sandpaper, patterned duct tape... Have fun and create art to tell a story from your own adventure. 

Today we're joining PPBF (perfect picture book Friday), an event in which bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books. Review copy provided by the publisher.

An Inuksuk Means Welcome

An Inuksuk Means Welcome
by Mary Wallace
32 pages; ages 3 - 7
Owlkids Books, 2015

theme: friendship, multicultural, Arctic living

opening: For thousands of years, people living in the Arctic have built stone towers called inuksuit to guide them across this land of snow and ice.

An inuksut can mark a good place to fish or hunt, or how to get home. It can be a way to say "welcome".

What I like love about this book is that it's an actrostic. But instead of an acrostic poem written down the page, this acrostic flows across the pages of this book, from beginning to end. 

It begins,  I is for inuksuk, the stone messenger that stands at the top of the world.  The next spread shows how to pronounce the word and the Inuktitut characters.

 By the end of the book readers will have learned seven words from the Inuktitut language - words that give a sense of the traditions and customs of Inuit life in the arctic. Some words may sound familiar, like nanuq, the polar bear. Others, like umimmat (musk ox) less so.

Beyond the book:  Cold winter days are perfect for learning more about life in the north. Head outside when the wind is blowing, and snow flying. Then come in to warm up with some hot tea and bannock, a type of skillet bread. You can follow the recipe here.

Build your own Inuksuk. Find 6 - 10 stones with flat sides, so you can stack them. For help, watch this video. If you can't find stones, build one out of blocks or make some "stones" out of salt dough that you can let dry.

Make a Bone and Stick game. All you need is a stick (a pencil will do), a cardboard tube, some string, a hole punch and a pair of scissors. Follow directions in this video.

Make art. Check out these coloring pages - or draw your own pictures of arctic animals and inuksuit.

Today is PPBF (perfect picture book Friday), an event in which bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books.  Review copy from the publisher. 

Tagged

Tagged
by Diane C. Mullen
288 pages; ages 12 - 16
Charlesbridge, 2015

"I'm getting my tag up. all over my Minneapolis hood." Everyone notices the St. B, Liam thinks ~ even the empty walls wait to see what he has to say.

Fourteen-year-old Liam is, as he puts it, a kid who lets his Sharpie do the talking: on concrete benches, on the sides of dumpsters, on the plexiglass cases in the rail station. Liam feels most comfortable when he's tagging. Graffiti art is how he expresses himself and he dreams of painting something big, that will take up an entire wall.

But it's been a rough year. He's been kicked out of the private school (where he had a scholarship) and was threatened with a gun for painting graffiti over another gang's sign. Worried that he might turn out like his older brother, Liam's mom sends him to a small town in Michigan to live with her friend who is an art teacher and sculptor.

Liam loves the opportunity to do art, but he is unimpressed by the quiet small-town life. When he sprays his tag around Lakeshore, people are upset and Liam needs to make amends. He wants to be remembered as an artist - not some punk picked up by the police.

What I like about this book are the short chapters, written mostly in dialogue. It's written in prose but has the feel of a novel in verse. I also like that Mullen explores graffiti as an artistic form, and includes asides about Picasso and Basquiat (who I'd never heard of before reading this novel).

This is a great book for any kid who loves art, and maybe for art teachers as well. Review copy from the publisher.

A Tower Of Giraffes

A Tower of Giraffes: Animals in Groups
by Anna Wright
32 pages; ages 3-7
Charlesbridge, 2015

What do you call a bunch of geese hanging out at the park next to the river? A gaggle, says Anna Wright. Animals can live in large social groups or small families, but no matter how many are in a group, each species lives in a unique social order.

She writes about their social lives in this book of collective nouns. Squirrels hang out in "scurries", and when danger threatens, they whistle out a warning to their buddies. They scurry away, and you realize that's how they got their name.

Wright collects a bunch of the best collective nouns (question: what do you call a bunch of collective nouns, anyway?). For example: a flamboyance of flamingos, a romp of otters, a parcel of penguins. I've learned that I have a mischief of mice in my basement, and the correct name for my friend's collection of hedgehogs is prickle.

The names are fun, and the tidbits about their social lives are cool - but what really drew me to this book are the illustrations. They are mixed media with fabric, feathers, wallpaper.... they are fun, fun, fun! Especially the sheep, who look like they are made from bits of sweater, and the peacocks with real peacock feathers.

So, what do you call a book that combines great science and imaginative art? STEAM. So go ahead. Pull out some field guides and your basket of scraps, and have fun creating your own artsy animals. And if you're looking for more collective nouns for animal groups, check out this post on Archimedes Notebook.

Today we're joining the roundup over at the Nonfiction Monday blog where you'll find even more book reviews. Review copy provided by the publisher.

Vincent Paints his House

Vincent Paints His House
by Tedd Arnold
32 pages, ages 4-99
Holiday House, 2015

Another book I would choose by its cover!

theme: art, imagination

When the book opens it's time to paint the house. Problem is, Vincent can't decide what color to paint it.

"Maybe I will just paint it white," said Vincent.
..."Stop!" said the spider. "This is my house and I like red."

Vincent agrees that red is nice, but then caterpillar butts in and says it's his house and he likes yellow. Yellow is nice too... but animal after animal insist that the house be painted a different color. What's a post-impressionist Dutch painter to do?

What I like LOVE about this book: It's fun. Entertaining. Educational. I love that when Vincent says he'll "just paint the house white", the colors on his pallet include snow, ivory, titanium, and cream. Yellows include amber and ochre, reds everything from peach to cadmium, and blues include my favorite: cyan.

I love that he visualizes his newly painted house as part of one of his paintings, and that as he paints he gets blobs and drops of color on his shirt, jeans, beard.... And I really love the last page: an homage to Starry Night - but featuring his humble abode instead of the town.

And did I say I love the cover?

Beyond the Book :

Go on a color field trip. Head to a store that sells paints and look for the displays with paint color samples. It's fun to see how many colors of white they offer, or yellow, blue, green. Collect a rainbow (if you can). White isn't called "white" - it's oatmeal or eggwhite or cream. What cool names are there for colors? Then go on a field trip outside and see how many different shades and hues of each color you can find. You might want to take a camera.

Mix up some colors and paint your own house - but on paper. Draw a picture of your house and paint it. What color - or colors - would you choose? If you can't find the right color, mix up one of your own. Check out some historically painted homes, or  these houses. 

Learn about Vincent Van Gogh. You have probably seen his paintings in books - or even a museum. Check out this gallery of his paintings. And if you have a chance to look at one of his works, take a close look at his brush strokes and a distant look at how the colors come together. 

 Today is PPBF (perfect picture book Friday), an event in which bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books.  Review copy from the publisher.

What James Said & author interview

What James Said
by Liz Rosenberg; illus. by Matt Myers
32 pages; ages 4-8
Roaring Brook Press

This is a book I chose by its cover. Who can resist Matt Myers's bright splashes of color and wonderfully drawn characters?

There's another reason, too.... I met author Liz Rosenberg a few years back, and always enjoy reading her stories. And this one is everything I want in a kid's book: It's fun. It's touching. It makes you slow down and consider how you treat your friends - even when you're mad.

The main character is a little girl who, on the very first page, declares: "I'm never talking to James again." They are in a fight. You see, James told Aiden who told someone else who told someone else who.... eventually told her something that made her mad, mad, mad.  And so she's not talking to James any more. They are in a fight. Even if James doesn't know it. Even if he asks "are you OK?" or slides her favorite treat onto her desk.

This is such a delightful tale of a typical childhood experience, and I love how Rosenberg reveals their realization that that true friendship can survive a misunderstanding. She was gracious enough to answer Three Questions.

Sally: What inspired this story?

Liz: How easy it is for people to misunderstand each other. As a little girl, I was always getting into "fights" with my best friends - I think girls are even more inclined to these dramas than boys. In a school situation it's so easy to unwittingly start a game of he-said-she-said "telephone", where what was really said gets garbled the further the gossip spreads. And I'd never really seen a picture book about that, but I think it's a very real and vital part of our experience. Then, too, I've been through rough patches as an adult. I've had some experience feeling like "I'm never talking to so-and-so again". Then, of course, you do - and if you're lucky the friendship is stronger than ever.

Sally: Your characters seem like kids we'd find in the local elementary school. Is there a secret to creating "real" characters?

Liz: I'm still a child at heart. I'm pretty darned childish - and of course I have children. I like being around children. That makes it easier to see you children "really are".

Sally: How closely did you work with the illustrator, Matt?

Liz: Matt and I had worked together on Tyrannosaurus Dad (2011), So I thoroughly trusted him - and my editor, the wonderful Neal Porter. There was no need for collaboration... everything is there in the story. I love every single choice that Matt made.

Liz just finished her final revision of her next book - a YA biography of LM Montgomery, the author of Anne of Green Gables. "She led a fascinating, touching life, a life of checkered brightness and darkness," says Liz. "And she was one of my favorite authors as a child. Still is. So this biography is a debt of love. Maybe all real writing is."

I just finished listening to the recorded book,  Anne of Green Gables, so I can't wait to read Liz's biography on the author! 

If there were "perfect picture book Friday" today, we'd be there. But even though it's PPBF summer break, you can still check out recent posts at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books.  Advanced review copy from the publisher.

Spectacular Spots ~ blog tour

Spectacular Spots
by Susan Stockdale
32 pages; ages 4-8
Peachtree Publisher, 2015

theme: nonfiction, animals

opening: 
Spots on creatures all around,
way up high and on the ground.

In simple and engaging rhyming text, Susan Stockdale explores where - in the animal world - we can find spots.

What I like: the action words. There are gliding snails, swimming turtles, crawling crabs and charging cheetahs. This is a fun book to read just for the language. I also love the illustrations... my favorites are the sea slugs and the spotted owls that you see on the cover.

I also like the back matter. There are two pages filled with additional information about the animals she includes, plus a "Find the Spot" challenge.

Beyond the book: Check out these blog-tour stops. At the Peachtree blog, Susan talks about her illustration process. And over at the Uncommon Corps Susan talks more about the research she does for her illustrations, and gives more examples of her process.

See Spot. Go on a Spot hike. Look for animals (birds, insects, pets) with spots and dots.

See Spot run. Write a list of action words to describe how animals with spots move.

See Spot count. Do you have any spots (freckles)? How many? Do you have a pet with spots? Try to count them.

See Spot paint. Draw or paint a portrait of your favorite spotted animal. OR make a mask out of a paper grocery bag. OR paint your face with spots.

Today's review is part of the STEM Friday roundup. Drop by STEM Friday blog for more science books and resources. We're also joining PPBF (perfect picture book Friday), an event in which bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books.  Review copy from the publisher.

Stone Giant & a Winner!

We've got a winner! The winner of Fatal Fever by Gail Jarrow is Danielle. Congratulations, and look for your copy in the mail. Now on to today's book.... which somehow got buried at the bottom of my book basket.

 Stone Giant: Michelangelo's David and how he came to be
by Jane Sutcliffe; illus by John Shelley
32 pages; ages 6-9
Charlesbridge, 2014

Ever since I was a kid, I've been intrigued by Michelangelo, a Renaissance painter, sculptor, poet, and architect. His "real" name is Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni which, if you try to say that all in one breath, is probably why most people simply called him Michelangelo.

But I digress... this book begins with an enormous block of marble that is taking up space in the city of Florence. The city fathers wanted a statue of David - the heroic kid who felled a giant using only a sling, a stone, and his smarts. But things didn't turn out as they planned.... no sooner would an artist begin cutting into the stone than he'd quit or die.

Nobody knew what to do with this huge block of marble. Not even Leonardo da Vinci. Until Michelangelo came to town. He looked at the stone.... and he saw what others didn't: the David who was waiting to be released. So Michelangelo built a shed around the block of stone and went to work with his hammers, chisels, and a special drill.

It took a long time ~ three years ~ to chip the stone away from David, and Michelangelo stopped only when he had to eat or sleep. But finally, there he was. David. Ready to face Goliath.

David has been standing for more than 500 years, but Sutcliffe breathes so much life into her story that you can almost hear the chiseling, and taste the marble dust floating in the air. The illustrations are warm, providing plenty of visual details. Plus there's back matter for curious readers.

Today we're joining the roundup over at the Nonfiction Monday blog where you'll find even more book reviews. Review copy provided by the publisher.

The Extraordinary Mr. Qwerty

The Extraordinary Mr. Qwerty
by Karla Strambini
32 pages; ages 5-8
Candlewick Press, 2014

themes: imagination, architecture

opening lines: There once was a man named Norman Qwerty... whose ideas were far from ordinary.

Mr. Qwerty keeps his fantastic ideas under his hat because they are SO unusual that he worries other people will think his ideas are strange. And usually his ideas stay under his hat until one day a very extraordinary idea escapes and grows into something so large and marvelous that something just has to be done about it.

What I like about this book: It's plain fun - from the name Qwerty (which  anyone who uses a keyboard knows) to the whole "keeping your ideas under your hat" theme. I love that other people have unusual ideas under their hats, too and that, in the end, it takes a group to bring an idea to fruition. I also like the artwork. The black & white illustrations have one or two colors added here and there, so the reader can really spend time looking at the details. They have the feel of architectural drawings: gears, mechanical things.

Beyond the book: "Keep it under your hat" is an idiom - hey! didn't we feature an idiom last week? So, what does "keep it under your hat" mean?
Make a hat to keep your ideas under. If you don't have a hat, don't worry. You can make one out of a few sheets of newspaper. After you're finished folding the brim and taping it, glue some decorations on it and then think of all the ideas you could carry around under it. Keep some paper & markers handy so you can draw some of your marvelous ideas!
One of the ideas under Mr. Qwerty's hat is a flying device. What sorts of marvelous flying devices can you imagine? Draw one and tuck it under your hat.

Today is PPBF (perfect picture book Friday) over at  Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books.  Review copy provided by publisher.

Matisse's Garden

Matisse's Garden
by Samantha Friedman; illustrations by Cristina Amodeo
48 pages; ages 4-8 (and beyond!)
Abrams, 2014

Starting the year off with two Matisse Mondays in a row is a perfect way to counteract the gray and white landscape outside my window. Last week it was Henri's painting. This week it's all about cut paper.

As Samantha Friedman tells it, one day Henri Matisse cut a small bird out of a piece of white paper. He pinned it to his wall to cover a stain. But it looked so lonely, that he cut out more shapes and pinned them on the wall. The rest is history....

Cristina Amodeo's cut paper illustrations are perfect for this book - and the colors are vibrant and rich. You can see some of her illustrations here, at her website. Gatefolds open to reveal reproductions of Matisse's works... a bit like taking a field trip through the book to the Museum of Modern Art (where you can view Matisse's cut-outs through Feb 10)

Henri played with the relationship between colors. He played with shapes - those he cut out, and those left behind. Some cut-outs were complex, others simple. Some of his works were small, others stretched across the walls of his studio.

This book is sure to inspire the artist within, so make sure you have plenty of colored paper and a pair of scissors on hand... because after you close the covers, art will happen! But before you start snipping, check out this page from MOMA about Henri's Cut-Out art...

.... and then head over to this video of Henri cutting some shapes from paper. And then, grab your scissors and start cutting out your own birds. Or snowflakes. Or try making a landscape.

Today we're joining the roundup over at the Nonfiction Monday blog where you'll find even more book reviews. Review copy provided by publisher.

The Iridescence of Birds

The Iridescence of Birds
by Patricia MacLachlan; illus. by Hadley Hooper
40 pages; ages 4-8
Roaring Brook, 2014

If you come to this book hoping to gain understanding of things ornithological, you might be disappointed because it's a biography of artist Henri Matisse told in two questions - one that spreads over the first 32 pages and the other quite short.

But you don't have to read the entire book in one breath. In fact, you'll want to take your time on each page as the story unfolds.

It begins: If you were a boy named Henri Matisse who lived in a dreary town in northern France where the skies were gray...

If you were such a boy, and you wanted color and light, what would you do? In this portrait of words and art MacLachlan and Hooper bring Henri to life. Color begins to seep into the pages until, by the end of the story, the pages are as full of color as a Matisse painting.

This is the sort of book that makes your fingers itch with wanting to paint, or tack warm-colored tapestries on your walls. It will also have you taking a second look at those ubiquitous pigeons whose feathers and feet may have inspired Matisse.

The language is spare, the art simplified relief printing, the story inspiring. There's even back matter: author and illustrator notes, and a short list of books on Henri Matisse. Curious naturalists can learn more about iridescence and birds here at Cornell Lab of Ornithology and curious artists can check out Matisse's artwork here in his online galleries. You can even learn to paint like Matisse.

Today we're joining the roundup over at the Nonfiction Monday blog where you'll find even more book reviews. Review copy provided by publisher.