‘Me & Mama” celebrates mother and daughter bond

Me & Mama

Written and illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2020

Told from the perspective of a young black girl, “Me & Mama” celebrates the bond between mothers and daughters. The story goes through one rainy day spent together.

What makes the story special is Cozbi A. Cabrera’s lyrical prose and beautiful acrylic illustrations. The book won both a Caldecott honor and a Coretta Scott King honor.

“Good morning to you, sings Mama, bright as the sun,” the story begins. The little girl tiptoes to where her mama is and she smells cinnamon. Papa and Luca are still sleeping but “I want to be everywhere Mama is.”

The narrator looks outside, and sees “the wind is painting the outside window with beads of water.” 

She’s eager to splash through puddles, but her mother tells her, “Bathroom first.”

She compares her mother’s China cup to her plastic cup. She knows she has to be careful not to break Mama’s cup, but on the next page it is broken.

Mama doesn’t shout at her. She says, “Sometimes things break.”

Then the little girl compares her smaller toothbrush to her Mama’s bigger one.

She showers and describes it as “warm rain that gets you going.”

Mama reminds her to comb her hair, but she says she is hungry. Mama has a pot of oatmeal on the stove.

She compares her little bowl to Mama’s bigger bowl of oatmeal, and comments that Mama likes berries while she likes bananas.

Again, Mama reminds her to comb her hair. She chooses the blue barrette, and hands Mama the purply pink barrette because it matches her dress.

They get ready to go outside. The little girl compares her small yellow boots to Mama’s big red ones. She comments that their dog Max doesn’t wear boots.

Her Mama and she walk the dog outside in the rain. She notices moss in the sidewalk cracks, knot holes in trees, nests left behind in the winter, and stores likes boxes full of people.

She and her mother sing to the sky and splash in puddles.

As the day ends, the clouds are pink and the sun is sleepy. Mama puts her and her brother Lucas to bed.

Mama reads to them, and the little girl tries to read, too. They laugh together.

“You’re my best girl,” Mama whispers and gives her a kiss. She yells, “I love you, Mama!”

Mama turns out the light and the little girl closes her eyes to imagine pictures of things she saw that day.

This beautiful picture book would make a nice bedtime story. The acrylic illustrations fill the pages with detailed double spreads and full-page illustrations.

 My only criticism is that the day ends so quickly. The little girl never has lunch. She doesn’t do anything in the afternoon, have dinner, or spend any time in the evening. It seems to suddenly be bedtime after her morning walk with Mama.

About the Author and Illustrator

Cozbi A. Cabrera has illustrated several acclaimed books for children, including “Stitchin’ and Pullin’: A Gee’s Bend Quilt,” and “Exquisite,” a picture book biography about Gwendolyn Brooks. She also wrote and illustrated “my Hair is a Garden.” She is a graduate of the Parsons School of Design. She has worked as an art director, clothing designer, quilter, and maker of munecas, cloth dolls that are collected all over the world. She is a native of Brooklyn and resides in Evanston, Ill., with her family. Her daughter wants to be everywhere she is. 

Animals secretly enjoy fair in wordless 'Midnight Fair'

The Midnight Fair

Story by Gideon Sterer and illustrated by Mariachiara Di Giorgio

Candlewick Press, 2020

“The Midnight Fair” is a wordless story about how forest animals watch the excitement of a fair from behind their trees, and then come out after dark to enjoy all the rides, games, and treats on their own.

A buck operates a toss-the-ring game. A wolf tries his hand at the game and wins a goldfish. A bear puts on an apron and operates the hot dog stand. Animals relax in spinning tea cups.

Wolves, bears, deer, foxes and all kinds of other animals ride horses on the merry-go-round. They whirl around on swings, and ride a roller coaster under a full moon. Later they enjoy the bumper cars.

Finally, we see the people who operate the fair wake up, drive toward the fairgrounds, and then arrive in the dark with flashlights as animals sneak away carrying their prizes and treats.

Behind a morning mist, the animals dance around in the forest, seeming to celebrate their secret midnight fair. Then we see many of them go to their dens to sleep.

It will be fun for children to look through the pictures and discover how the wild animals enjoy the fair.

About the Author

Gideon Sterer is the author of many books for children. He grew up in the woods of upstate New York, where his parents owned a small zoo. After hours, he often let the animals out of their cages. Who knows what sort of midnight mischief they got up to? Gideon Sterer lives in Brooklyn.  Visit him on Instagram.    

 

About the Illustrator

Mariachiara Di Giorgio studied illustration in Rome and Paris and worked as a storyboard artist and concept designer for movies and advertising agencies. This background has had a powerful cinematic impact on her children’s books. Her picture books include “Professional Crocodile” by Giovanna Zoboli. Mariachiara Di Giorgio lives in Rome. Visit her at writershouseart.com.

‘Where’s Brian’s Bottom?’ amuses with fold-out book

Where’s Brian’s Bottom?

Written and illustrated by Rob Jones

Pavilion Children’s Books, London, 2021

‘Where’s Brian’s Bottom?’ is a fun concertino or fold-out board book in which Brian, a red dachshund, can’t find his bottom.

The story begins addressing the reader, “Have you seen Brian’s bottom? He can’t find it anywhere!”

Then the reader go from one room to another in the dog's house, looking for the back of Brian. The joke is that dachshunds are such long dogs. Photos hanging in the hall show the front and back of Brian in two separate photos.

As the reader moves through five rooms of the house, we keep seeing Brian’s body snaking through each room. The narrator asks an animal friend in each room if they have seen Brian’s bottom.

Pauline, the parrot in the hall hasn’t seen Brian’s bottom. Alan the gerbil in the living room hasn’t seen it either. Dave the turtle in the kitchen says he hasn’t seen any bottoms.

Derek the duck in the bathroom is asked if Brian has been on the toilet. Derek quacks he hasn’t seen a bottom. A piece of Brian is getting a bubble bath though.

Finally, we discover Brian’s bottom next to Cheryl the cat who is lying on the bed in the bedroom. The cat looks angry and says, “Meeoww! Meeoww! Can’t you see I’m trying to sleep!” And so ends the picture book.

An extra surprise comes when you flip the book over. In reverse, the wordless story begins with Brian’s head asleep on the bed with Cheryl the cat asleep on top of him.

Brian’s body winds through the rest of the rooms one by one. His animal friends are more active now. Ducks play in the bubble bath in the bathroom. Mice have a picnic of cheese while the turtle sleeps in the kitchen.

Alan the gerbil feasts on carrots in the living room and Pauline the parrot sings in the hall. A frog and a jug of milk sit outside the front door.   

Little children will be amused by this silly picture book.  

About the Author and illustrator

Rob James studied illustration at the University of Gloucestershire, UK, where he also discovered a love for making books, toys, and puppets. His first book, “Bernard,” won the People’s Book Prize in 2014.

‘Barn at Night’ gives glimpse of rural life with bedtime story

 

Barn at Night

Written by Michelle Houts and illustrated by Jen Betton

Feeding Minds Press, 2021

“Barn at Night” tells a sweet story of a girl and her father going out to the barn before dawn and again after dark to do chores.

Michelle Houts’ poetic text and Jen Betton’s soft, glowing watercolor illustrations combine to create a warm and comforting bedtime story.

The narrator, a young girl, tells how her father wakes her up early in the morning when it is still dark. The two of them bundle up and walk across crunchy snow to the barn.

They open the barn door and their steer Ed and mule Miletus greet them by pricking up an ear and braying.

Tabby cats and a Siamese cat hurry over to sit by the milk pan and wait to be fed. The girl pets them.

The narrator and her dad feed the calves a milky mixture and the cattle hay.

The girl pets the velvety muzzle of  Eleanor, a brown mare.

At night, the girl and her father return to the barn to feed the animals again. They discover that Eleanor has given birth to a foal. They watch as the baby horse gets up and takes his first steps.

When they open the barn door, they see it has started snowing outside. An owl flies overhead. The story ends as the girl thinks about how she feels safe in the barn at night.

This quiet picture book will make a nice bedtime story, and teach children about life on a farm. The publisher, Feeding Minds Press, is a project of the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture, whose mission is to build awareness and understanding of agriculture through education.

About the Author

Michelle Houts is an award-winning author of a dozen fiction and nonfiction books for children. She writes from her restored one-room schoolhouse in Ohio. The author of “The Beef Princess of Practical County,” and “Silent Swoop: An Owl, an Egg, and a Warm Shirt Pocket,” illustrated by Deb Hoeffner. She enjoys writing about rural life and nature. Find out more at www.michellehouts.com.    

About the Illustrator

Jen Betton is both an illustrator and a writer. Her other books include “Hedgehog Needs a Hug,” winner of Pennsylvania’s Keystone to Reading Award, which she both wrote and illustrated, and “Twilight Chant,” written by Holly Thompson. She grew up playing on friends’ farms in Pennsylvania. Illustrating “Barn at Night” gave her a delightful excuse to lurk around old barns and feed goats. She lives with her family near Dallas. You can see more of her work at www.jenbetton.com.  

Brooklyn boy grows up to become America’s doctor

Dr. Fauci: How a Boy from Brooklyn Became America’s Doctor

Written by Kate Messner and illustrated by Alexandra Bye

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2020

“Dr. Faucci: How a Boy from Brooklyn Became America’s Doctor” tells the story of how a curious boy from Brooklyn grows into America’s doctor helping to guide the nation during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Kate Messner tells the story in a simple way, so that young children can understand it. Alexandra Bye illustrates the book with colorful digital images.

As a child, Anthony always asks questions. He wants to know how everything works. He asks about the tropical fish in his aquarium, the oceans of sea life, the stars in the sky, and the planets in the pictures of his encyclopedias.

Whenever he struggles with his homework, his father encourages him. He tells Anthony every problem has a solution. He should think carefully and try to work it out.

Anthony’s Brooklyn neighborhood is full of tough guys. Although Anthony isn’t big, he learns to get along with people. He is good at talking and listening.

He decides he wants to be a doctor when he is in high school. He attends medical school and graduates first in his class. Later, he becomes one of the nation’s top experts on disease.

He works with other scientists studying new diseases when they appear in the population. These include AIDS, West Nile virus, SARS, and Ebola. Each one is a mystery to solve. Where did it come from? How did it spread? How could it be prevented until researchers found a cure or a vaccine?

One of the most difficult challenges comes when a new disease shows up at the end of 2019. It is called Covid-19 and it is caused by a coronavirus.

Within weeks, the virus spreads all over the world. Hospitals become overwhelmed so many people are sick. Stores, gyms, and theaters shut down. People work from home, and children study at home.

Faucci remembers what his father told him as a boy. Don’t be discouraged. Think carefully and try to work it out. He works with scientists from all around the world.

The scientists teach people simple things they can do to be safe while researchers develop medicines and a vaccine. Stay at home as much as possible. Wash your hands frequently. Social distance by staying six feet apart from one another. And wear a mask.

Within a year, vaccines are developed and people begin getting them. These shots allow people to go back to school, back to work, back to hugging their families, and back to playing with their friends.

The book ends with backmatter, providing more information about vaccines, Fauci’s tips for future scientists, a timeline of Fauci’s life, recommended reading, and photos of Fauci growing up.

About the Author

Kate Messner is the author of many award-winning children’s books, including picture books like “Over and Under the Snow” and “The Brilliant Deep;” novels including “All the Answers,” “Breakout,” and “Chirp;” nonfiction like “The Next President” and “Tracking Pythons;” and the Fergus and Zeke easy readers, the popular Ranger in Time chapter books, and the History Smashers illustrated nonfiction series. Before becoming a full-time writer, Kate was a TV news reporter as well as a middle school teacher. She lives on Lake Champlain with her family. Visit her at katemessner.com. 

About the Illustrator

Alexandra Bye is a freelance illustrator who has illustrated many children’s books as well working in other media like advertising and animation. Other children’s books she has illustrated include “Weenie: Mad about Meatloaf,” written by Maureen Fergus; “The Many Mysteries of the Finkel Family,” written by Sarah Kapit; and “The Only Woman in the Photo,” written by Kathleen Krull. She lives in Vermont. Visit her at www.alexandrabye.com.

Picture book honors essential workers during pandemic

Keeping the City Going

Written and illustrated by Brian Floca

A Caitlyn Dlouhy Book, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2021

“Keeping the City Going” is a story about the essential workers who kept New York City going during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic when people quarantined at home.

“We are here at home now,” the story begins, “watching the world through our windows, and wondering what will happen next.

“Outside, the city is strangely still. Store doors are locked and their windows are dark and our neighbors all stay hidden. The voice of the city is low, and the streets are almost empty.”

Floca’s muted illustrations in watercolor, ink, acrylic, and gouache, beautifully create the quiet city. His lyrical words work with the images to tell the story.

“There are still some people out on the streets,” Floca writes, “driving this and that, heading from here to there. They might be family, friends, or strangers. They’re there because we need them. They’re the people keeping the city going.”

Floca mentions food delivery people riding bicycles, truck delivery people, bus drivers, subway workers, and grocery store employees.

He also tells of the taxi drivers, sanitation workers, mail carriers, package delivery truck drivers, and those who keep the water, gas, and electricity flowing and the phones and internet working.

Finally, he remembers the fire fighters, police, paramedics, EMTs, doctors, nurses, technicians, aides, clerks and cleaners.

The story concludes with a description of how New Yorkers quarantined at home go to their windows every evening at seven o’clock. They hang out of their windows, clang pots together, and cheer for the essential workers.

“We hear the city say to us – and we say back to the city that we are still here, and we are here together,” he writes.  

“We hear the city say, and we say with the city – and we all say together --- thanks to the people still out on the streets, driving this and that, going from here to there, and taking care of the sick. Thanks to the people keeping our city going.”

This is a nice tribute to the essential workers. Children will enjoy looking at the pictures and remembering the early days of the pandemic. Parents can talk with them about how everyone depended on the workers who kept the city going.

About the Author and Illustrator

Brian Floca is the author and illustrator of “Locomotive,” winner of the Caldecott Medal and a Robert F. Sibert Honor Book; “Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11,” a New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book and Sibert Honor Book; and “Lightship,” also a Sibert Honor Book. He has illustrated numerous other books, including Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan’s “Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring,” Laura Amy Schlitz’s “Princess Cora and the Crocodile,” and Avi Poppy Stories’ novels.  Brian lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Visit him at brianfloca.com.

‘Cougar Crossing’ tells story of heroic Hollywood cougar

 

Cougar Crossing: How Hollywood’s Celebrity Cougar Helped Build a Bridge for City Wildlife

Written by Meeg Pincus and illustrated by Alexander Vidal

Beach Lane Books, 2021

A puma was born in the Santa Monica Mountains, but when he became an adult, he couldn’t find a territory of his own in the national park. He wandered down into the city.

Eventually, he reached freeways, and by some miracle, he made it safely across twenty lanes of traffic. He ended up in a city park, Griffith Park. This was 17 times smaller than a typical cougar territory.

There were no other cougar scents around, but he found prey – mostly deer, and sometimes a coyote or a raccoon. He hid from humans and slept during the day.

After a few weeks, wildlife biologists tracked him down and tagged and collared him. They gave him the name P-22. That meant he was the twenty-second puma in their study.

Soon P-22 became famous when the news media did stories about him. People became interested in making a wildlife crossing. This is a wide animal bridge covered in trees and grass to connect the city’s last natural spaces to mountain ranges and open land to the north.

This would allow P-22 and others like him to safely cross expressways, and find their way to natural habitat where they could find mates and live.  

“Cougar Crossing” concluded saying P-22 was a hero because concern about him spearheaded a movement to build an animal crossing in Los Angeles.

At the back of the book, facts are given about the mountain lions that live in Los Angeles and efforts to build an animal crossing in Liberty Canyon over the 101 freeway. This crossing is projected to break ground in 2021 and be completed in 2024. It will be the largest animal bridge in the world.

Illustrator Alexander Vidal’s digital images help to tell the story both in the main narrative about P-22, and sidebar conversations between two wildlife biologists.

Children would enjoy learning about this true-life story about one heroic puma and how special bridges can help wildlife live safely in a large city.

About the Author

Meeg Pincus has written many children’s books including the acclaimed “Miep and the Most Famous Diary” and “Winged Wonders.” She grew up in and lives in Southern California. Visit her at MeegPincus.com.    

About the Illustrator

Alexander Vidal lives and works in Los Angeles at the edge of Griffith Park, the park where P-22 lives. He is an illustrator who specializes in nature and wild animals. He has worked with clients including the National Wildlife Federation, the Sierra Club, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. His books for children include “I Love Birds: 52 Ways to Wonder, Wander & Explore Birds with Kids” by Jennifer Ward and “So Many Feet” by Nichole Mara. Visit him at AlexanderVidal.com.