Mister Rogers tells kids, ‘I like you just the way you are’

Fred’s Big Feelings: The Life and Legacy of Mister Rogers

Written by Laura Renauld and illustrated by Brigette Barrager

Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2020

It is a good time for the publication of this picture book biography, “Fred’s Big Feelings,” about Fred Rogers, host of a popular preschool children’s television show, “Mister Rogers Neighborhood,” which aired from 1968 to 2001.

A critically acclaimed movie starring Tom Hanks as Mister Rogers, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” is in theaters now. In 2018, celebrations of the fiftieth anniversary of “Mister Rogers Neighborhood” included a commemorative U.S. postage stamp and the release of a well-received documentary about Mister Rogers called “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”

Freddy Rogers was a shy boy who had trouble making friends. Bullies taunted him about his weight. Asthma kept him indoors for much of the summer, making him feel even lonelier. He stayed at home, playing with his puppets.

He found consolation in music, learning to play the piano and enjoying many hours at the keyboard.

Also, his grandfather Fred Brooks McFeely helped him feel better about himself with his message of unconditional love. “You made this day a really special day just by being yourself,” he told Freddy, “and I happen to like you just the way you are.”

In high school, Fred was kind to a popular athlete who was in the hospital with a football injury. He brought Jim his homework, and a strong friendship grew between the two of them. Jim encouraged Fred and Fred’s confidence skyrocketed and he became a leader.

When Fred saw a children’s show on his parents’ new television, he was shocked and disgusted by the endless pranks, jokes, and gags. He thought a television show for children could help them feel welcomed, loved, and special. In 1954, he would help create “The Children’s Corner” on a community-supported television station. The show was a hit.

When it went off the air, he began hosting a new show, “Mister Rogers Neighborhood” in 1968 on public television. He welcomed children with his songs, encouraged their curiosity, and honored his grandfather by naming a character after him, Mister McFeely, the Speedy Delivery man.

Mister Rogers taught preschoolers that it was OK to have feelings of shyness, playfulness, joyfulness, and even negative emotions like sadness, anger, and selfishness. But he told them there were good ways to express their emotions.

When the show was only one year old, the government threatened to cut off funding to public television. Mister Rogers went to Washington and testified in front of a Senate committee. He said he tried to teach children about how to express their emotions constructively. He sang a song he’d written for his show, “What Do You Do with the Mad that You Feel?”

A hush fell over the room and the chairman of the committee, Senator Pastore, said he’d gotten goose bumps. “Looks like you just earned the twenty million dollars,” he said.

In over three decades, Mister Rogers was a friend to his preschooler viewers. He showed them affection, compassion, and respect. His message was that it is normal to have feelings, good to talk about feelings, and important to share feelings.

The book closes with a friendly, supportive message from Mister Rogers, “You always make each day such a special day. You know how? Just by being you! There’s only one person in the whole world like you, and people like you exactly as you are.”

Barrager’s lively, cartoon-style gouache paintings bring this story to life. Sometimes she uses streams of hearts to show Mister Rogers' love and warmth toward his viewers.

About the Author

Laura Renauld also wrote “Porcupine’s Pie,” Beaming Books, 2018. She lives in northern Virginia with her husband and their two sons. Visit her online at LauraRenauld.com.

About the Illustrator

Brigette Barrager is an artist, designer, writer, and the illustrator of “Pocket Full of Colors” by Amy Gugliellmo and Jacqueline Tourville as well as the New York Times bestselling “Uni the Unicorn” by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, dog, and cat. Visit her online at BrigetteB.com.

Cinderella spoof imagines twist on classic fairy tale

If the Shoe Fits …

Written by Deborah Guarino and illustrated by Seth Hippen

Schiffer Kids, an imprint of Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., Atglen, PA, 2019

“If the Shoe Fits” is a funny twist on the “Cinderella” fairy tale. Told in verse, the story re-imagines the classic tale with Murray, a humble shoemaker, and his clerk Mona at its heart.

Murray narrates the story, explaining how a year earlier he made a pair of glass slippers for a frantic fairy godmother whose wand had run out of power. This sets off a chain of events that may force him to disappoint a prince, risk the fairy’s wrath, and lose the secret love of his life.

But the rollicking, silly story comes to a happy ending as true fairy tales always do.

Seth Hippen brings the story to life with funny, vivid illustrations. He uses his talent for animation to enliven the characters with wonderful facial expressions and body language.

This would be a fun story for youngsters, especially if they are familiar with the classic Cinderella.

About the Author

Deborah Guarino is best known as the author of the popular “Is Your Mama a Llama?” which has been entertaining readers for three generations. A produced playwright, lyricist, artist, editor and actor, Deborah was inspired to create Murray, this book’s narrator, by her admiration for Mel Brooks and her long friendship with author Isaac Asimov. She lives in New Jersey with a dog, two cats and a parrot.

About the Illustrator

Seth Hippen is a character animator for movies. This is his first children’s book.

Rhymes, decorative pictures teach alphabet to tots

Wee Witches

Written by Beth Roth and Ted Enik and illustrated by Ted Enik

Red Feather Mind, Body, Spirt, an imprint of Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., 2019

“Wee Witches” is an alphabet book that entertains children with decorative full-page illustrations and rhymes.

The first page on A reads:

"We begin with an Acorn,

The seed of an oak,

the king of all trees

to us magickal folk." 

The words have a theme of Wicca, also called pagan witchcraft, a modern religious movement. However, readers do not get any clear understanding of Wiccan beliefs.

It may have been helpful to include an author’s note with a simple explanation of Wicca. The book is in Schiffer's Red Feather Mind, Body, Spirit imprint,  which explores religion, spirituality, and metaphysics. 

The M page reads:

"Go over, duck under,

Run faster, turn round!

With streamers of satin

The Maypole is wound."

 

The pretty, detailed pictures and lighthearted rhymes make this a fun alphabet book for youngsters.

About the Author

Beth Roth is lifelong practical pagan. By profession, she is an astrologer and tarot reader. She lives in Bucks County, PA, with her non-pagan husband of forty years and their French bulldog, Patty Mayonnaise.

About the Author-Illustrator

Ted Enik has worked for most of the better-known publishing houses in New York. He illustrated “Eloise in Hollywood” and for nearly a decade, he was an artist for the “Fancy Nancy” I Can Read series. He recently switched hats and is now happily writing and rhyming up a storm. He lives in New York City.

Swedish teen energizes children to protest for the planet

Our House Is on Fire: Greta Thunberg’s Call to Save the Planet

By Jeanette Winter

Beach Lane Books, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division, 2019

Greta was 15 when her teacher talked to the class about the climate. She taught them that the planet is getting warmer, the polar ice is melting, and life on Earth is threatened.

Greta started reading for hours and watching films, educating herself about the warming world. She became more and more upset.  She thought, “Our house is on fire!”

Would there be a world to live in when she grew up? She wondered what she could do.

She decided to go on strike from school to call attention to the problem. She would skip school every Friday and sit on the steps of the Swedish Parliament building with a sign. Her parents supported her.

She sat on the steps every Friday, no matter the weather.

Then word of the strike began to spread. Other children joined her. On Fridays, the Stockholm schools became almost empty.

The media began talking about the strikes, and word spread through cyberspace.

Greta was asked to speak at the United Nations climate talks in Poland. She had always been very quiet and kept to herself. But she cared so much about this issue that she accepted the invitation.

“You say you love your children above all else, and yet you are stealing their future in front of their very eyes,” she said.

She was invited to speak at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. She spoke because she thought she needed to speak.

“I don’t want you to be hopeful,” she said. “I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day … I want you to act as if the house was on fire. Because it is.”

Greta’s protest sparked a worldwide children’s march. “Her quiet voice, joined by thousands of voices, became a roar,” writes Winter.

Winter’s colorful illustrations bring the story to life.

This book will teach youngsters about climate change and pique their interest because they see what a big difference one young person can make.

This week Greta has again made the national news for speaking out at the United Nations Climate Summit in New York. She chastised world leaders for not doing enough about climate change. “How dare you! You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words.”

About the Author and Illustrator

Jeanette Winter is an American author and illustrator, best known for her children's books, many of which are about notable women in history, especially artists. She is particularly known for her painted illustration style, which uses flat planes of color and "uncluttered" compositions, a style which has drawn comparisons to the folk art tradition. She lives in New York City.

Girl learns her dark skin is beautiful in lyrical book

 

Sulwe

Written by Lupita Nyong’o and illustrated by Vashti Harrison

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2019

“Sulwe” is a story about a little girl whose skin is very dark. She is darker than everyone in her family. She is darker than anyone in her school.

Her sister Mich has light-colored skin. People at school call her Sunshine, Ray, and Beauty. At school, Sulwe is called Blackie, Darky, and Night.

Sulwe feels hurt by the nicknames. She hides away while her sister makes many friends.

She dreams about having light skin like her sister and making friends, too.

She tries to rub off her darkness with an eraser, but only hurt herself. Then she tries lightening her skin with her mother’s makeup. She knows she’ll get in big trouble from Mama.

Then she eats only the lightest, brightest foods, but only gets a stomachache.

She goes to bed and prays for a miracle. When her mother comes in to wake her, she looks in the mirror. She still looks the same.    

She tells her mother about her worries. Mama tells her that her name means star. Brightness isn’t in her skin, but it is what she is.

She tells Sulwe that she is beautiful.  Real beauty comes from your mind and your heart, she says. It begins with how you see yourself.

Sulwe worries all day about what her mother has said, but that night she has a visit from a shooting star. The star invites her to come along. She hops on the star and flies out the window.

The star tells her a story about the sisters Night and Day at the beginning of time. People mistreat Night so she goes away. When there is no Night, Day grows too long and everyone misses Night.

Day goes off to find Night. She finds her and tells her she misses her. Night says she also misses Day, but she doesn’t like being treated so badly for being dark. Day tells her that everyone needs her just the way she is.

Night returns and everyone rejoices. “We need the darkest night to get the deepest rest. We need you so that we can grow and dream and keep our secrets to ourselves.”

Day tells her sister that she is most beautiful when she is darkest.

Now that Day and Night are back together, a little bit of Night returns to Day in shadows. And a little bit of Day returns to Night in moonlight.

The star tells Sulwe, “You see, we need them both. Together they make the world we know, light and dark, strong and beautiful.”

Sulwe rises the next morning, beaming. She tells her mother she belongs in the world, dark and beautiful, bright and strong.

This moving story teaches children to see their own beauty.

About the Author

Lupita Nyong’o is a Kenyan actress and producer. Her first feature film role was in “12 Years a Slave,” for which she received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress as well as multiple accolades, including the Screen Actors Guild Award, the Critics’ Choice Award, the Independent Spirit Award, and the NAACP Award. She has since starred in Mira Nair’s “Queen of Katwe,” “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” Rya Coogler’s record-breaking box office hit “Black Panther,” and most recently in Jordan Peele’s critically acclaimed horror film “Us.” Nyong’o earned a Tony nomination for her Broadway debut in Danai Gurira’s play “Eclipsed.” She lives in Brooklyn.

About the Illustrator

Vashti Harrison is the author-illustrator of the “New York Times” best-selling book “Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History,” which is also an NAACP Image Award winner. She earned her BA from the University of Virginia with a double major in media studies and studio art and received her MFA in film and video from CalArts, where she rekindled a love for drawing and painting. Now she uses her love of both film and illustration to craft beautiful stories of children.  

Children learn about shapes in clever comics-style book

A Trapezoid Is Not a Dinosaur!

By Suzanne Morris

Charlesbridge, Watertown, MA, 2019

“A Trapezoid Is Not a Dinosaur!” is a clever story that teaches children about shapes. Using a comics design with speech bubbles, the story is told with many puns and word play.

Trapezoid is dying to be in Triangle’s play, “Shapes in Space,” but he can’t convince the other shapes that he fits in.

As all the shapes audition and tell about their strengths, Trapezoid keeps interrupting to say he has similar positive qualities. The other shapes are irritated.

Director Triangle says, “I’m a strong shape with a great sense of direction.” Trapezoid says, “I’m a strong shape, too. I’ll help you direct.”

Trapezoid hoists Triangle on top of him and says, “Look! Together we make a big triangle.” But Triangle is not impressed. He frowns and says, “A trapezoid is not a triangle.”

Next Square auditions. He says, “I have four sides. I can make a box.” Trapezoid jumps on stage and says, “I also have four sides. But I think outside the box!”

Square is annoyed and says, “A square has four equal sides. A trapezoid is not a square.”

The story continues like this until Triangle finally relents and tells Trapezoid he can be in the play.

But he casts him as a dinosaur. Trapezoid is angry and shouts, “A trapezoid is NOT a dinosaur!”

The show begins. Circle is a moon. Star is a falling star. Square and Triangle are supposed to be a rocket ship, but when Triangle shouts, “Go!” Square frowns and says, “Go where?”

Finally, Trapezoid saves the day. He bursts through a trap door on the floor of the stage and says he is “Trapezoid the Rocket Booster.” When Square sits on him, and Triangle on top of Square, Trapezoid makes a fantastic rocket booster.

The other shapes finally appreciate him, and the rocket blasts off. “Trapezoid, you are a supportive shape, after all,” says Triangle.

Morris creates fun colorful illustrations and makes the shape characters expressive despite their simplicity.

After the story, there is another page about shapes and readers are invited to go to the author’s website for more fun with shapes.

This funny book is a good introduction to shapes for children.

About the Author and Illustrator

Suzanne Morris is an author, illustrator, and designer with a BFA from Parsons School of Design. “A Trapezoid Is Not a Dinosaur!” is her debut picture book. She makes her marks by hand using pencils, ink, watercolor, and collage with digital retouching. She lives with her husband and daughter in New Jersey. Visit her at www.suzannemorrisart.com.

Funny book teaches youngsters about skulls

Skulls!

Written by Blair Thornburgh and illustrated by Scott Campbell

Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2019

Children are often frightened of skulls. They show up at Halloween and in scary movies. But “Skulls!” by Blair Thornburgh and Scott Campbell isn’t scary at all.

In fact, the numerous pictures of cartoon people with glowing white skulls make “Skulls” a funny book for youngsters.

Thornburgh’s words are friendly, conversational and educational. She teaches the reader that everyone has a skull and skulls are good things.

Skulls protect your brain, give your face a good shape, let your jaws snap, and hold your teeth in place. They have holes in them for sound, light, air, and grilled cheese sandwiches.

Most important of all skulls aren’t trying to be scary. They’re just doing their job.

Thornburgh tells the reader you’re not scared of skulls. You love all the things your skull does for you. Shout to the world, “I love my skull!”

The book concludes with a page of “Cool Skull Facts.”

“Skulls!” will appeal to kids, who will laugh at all the illustrations, and learn a lot about skulls. Maybe it will even help children feel less afraid when they see a skeleton at Halloween.

About the Author

Blair Thornburgh is the author of several books for children and teens. A graduate of the MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Hamline University, St. Paul, MN, she lives outside of Philadelphia. Visit her online at blairthornburgh.com. 

About the Illustrator

Scott Campbell has illustrated many children’s picture books, including “Zombie in Love,” by Kelly DiPucchio, “XO OX: A Love Story,” by Adam Rex, “If Dogs Run Free,” by Bob Dylan, and “Sleepy the Goodnight Buddy” by Drew Daywalt. He is the author-illustrator of “Hug Machine.” Scott lives in Los Angeles. Visit him online at scottc.com.