Story of gay weight-lifting champ empowers children

 

Strong

Written by Rob Kearney and Eric Rosswood, illustrated by Nidhi Chanani

Little, Brown and Company, 2022

Rob Kearney always knew that he liked to feel strong. As a child, he lifted heavy boxes and brought all the groceries into the house in one trip.

In school, he liked to test his strength in tug of war and guarding the quarterback in football. In high school, he felt powerful lifting other cheerleaders into the air. His favorite sport was weight lifting.

A teacher introduced him to the Strongman competition. In it, men lifted logs, stones, and tires. He trained to compete. He went from lifting 150 pounds to 400 pounds over his head.

But on the day of the competition, he struggled. He finished in last place.

His life brightened up when he met Joey at a weightlifting event. The two of them fell in love. Today they are married.

Rob and Joey trained together.  Rob prepared for the North American championship event.

Joey encouraged Rob to dress in the brighter colors he preferred when he lifted. Rob began dressing in bright colors and dyed his mohawk a rainbow of colors.

During training, Joey lifted more than only weights. He lifted cars, and once pulled a fire truck down the street.

Rob was nervous on the day of the competition, but he did his best and he won! At the back of the book, Rob includes an encouraging message to children. He tells them to believe in themselves.

He also includes more information about the strongman sport including the definitions of expressions used in the sport.  

Nidhi Chanani's illustrations are bright and kid-friendly, carrying the reader through the story. 

About the Authors

Rob Kearney is the only openly gay professional strongman in the world. He is a North American champion, a world-record holder, and a Pro Ambassador for Athlete Ally. He lives in Massachusetts with his husband Joey.

Eric Rosswood is an LGBTQ+ activist and the award-winning author of “Journey to Same-Sex Parenthood” and “The Ultimate Guide for Gay Dads.” He lives in New York with his husband Mat and their two children.

About the Illustrator

Nidhi Chanani is the award-winning creator of the graphic novels “Pashmin” and “Jukebox,”and the illustrator of many picture books, including “I Will Be Fierce” by Bea Birdsong. She lives in the San Francisco Bay area with her husband and child. Visit her online at everydayloveart.com.

Velveteen Rabbit celebrates 100 years in print

The Velveteen Rabbit

Written by Margery Williams and illustrated by William Nicholson

Reproduced by Suzeteo Enterprises, 2017; Originally published in 1922

“The Velveteen Rabbit” is a classic children’s book celebrating its 100^th year in print this month.

Very few children’s books remain in print for so long. Most picture books sell between 5,000 and 10,000 copies in hardcover and go out of print within two years.

“The Velveteen Rabbit” endures because of its universal theme about love and its appeal to both children and adults.

The story begins with a boy receiving a velveteen rabbit as a gift at Christmas. The child likes the toy when he first gets it, but quickly forgets it in the excitement of looking at all his new presents.

For a long time, the velveteen rabbit lives in the toy cupboard mostly ignored. He is snubbed by the more modern mechanical toys.

The only toy who is kind to the rabbit is the wise skin horse, the oldest toy in the nursery. One day the velveteen rabbit asks the skin horse, "What is real?"

The skin horse explains that when a child loves you for a long, long time, you become real. Nursery magic makes you real. By the time you become real most of your hair has been loved off. Your eyes may fall out and you are loose in the joints and very shabby.

But these things do not matter because once you are real you can’t be ugly except to those who don’t understand.

The skin horse is real because years ago the boy’s uncle made him real. Once you are real you will always be real, the skin horse explains. It lasts forever.

One day when the boy is going to bed, he cannot find the china dog that always sleeps with him. Nana hands him the rabbit. This is how the boy begins sleeping with the velveteen rabbit every night. In the spring and summer, the boy takes the rabbit outdoors with him when he plays.

Finally, the rabbit hears the boy tell Nana that the rabbit is real. He feels almost too happy to sleep. So much love stirs in his sawdust heart that it almost bursts.

One day when the velveteen rabbit is outdoors, he sees two real rabbits. They ask him why doesn’t he get up and play with them. He doesn’t want to admit that he can’t move. Finally, one of the real rabbits says the velveteen rabbit doesn’t smell right and he isn’t real. The velveteen rabbit insists he is real, but the rabbits hop away.

The velveteen rabbit becomes more and more shabby, but the boy loves him just as much. To him, his rabbit is just as beautiful. It doesn’t matter to the velveteen rabbit how he looks to other people. The boy loves him.

Then one day, the boy becomes ill. He has scarlet fever. In 1922, there were no medicines to treat this illness. Children sometimes died from it.

The velveteen rabbit stays at the boy’s side. He knows the boy needs him. He looks forward to the time when they can go outside and play.

Finally, the boy gets better. He sits up in bed and looks at picture books while the velveteen rabbit cuddles at his side. One day, they let him get up and dress.  They tells him he will go to the seaside the next day.

The velveteen rabbit looks forward to the seaside. But the boy’s doctor says everything in the boy’s room should be disinfected. The books and toys that he played with in bed must be burned. 

The rabbit is put in a sack with the picture books and carried out to the garden to be burned the next day. The boy is told the velveteen bunny was lost. He is in a different room and he has a new bunny to sleep with him.

The rabbit feels very lonely. He wriggles enough so he can get his head out of the opening of the sack. He thinks, “Of what use was it to be loved and lose one’s beauty and become real if it ended like this?” A real tear trickles down his nose and falls on the ground.

Where the tear falls a flower grows.  A fairy steps out of the blossom. She says she is the nursery magic fairy. She says she takes care of all the play things that children have loved.

The fairy carries the rabbit into the wood. Wild rabbits dance there. She tells them she has brought them a new playmate. She kisses the velveteen rabbit and puts him down on the grass. He has become a real rabbit.

The next spring the boy goes out to play in the wood. He sees two rabbits and he notices one of them looks just like his old bunny. But he didn't know it was his own bunny who had come back to look at the child who first helped him to be real.

Over the years, “The Velveteen Rabbit” has been illustrated by many artists including Maurice Sendak and Sarah Massini. Erin Stead illustrated a special 100^th anniversary edition published this year by Doubleday Books for Young Readers. However, the original illustrator was William Nicholson.

Nicholson’s illustrations are sparse. They are done in dull colors and filled with shadows. Like the story, his illustrations are melancholy.   

The 2017 edition is intended to closely reproduce the original children’s book which was published in 1922. On the title page, the full title is “The Velveteen Rabbit or How Toys Become Real.”

About the Author

Margery Williams was an English-American author, primarily of children’s books. She achieved lasting fame at 41 with the publication of “The Velveteen Rabbit” in 1922. This classic is her best-known work. She received a Newberry Honor for “Winterbound.”

William Nicholson was a British painter of still-life, landscape and portraits. He was also a printmaker, a designer for theater, a children’s book author, and an illustrator.    

  

Beautiful picture book tells story about slowing down

 

Big Hedgehog and Little Hedgehog Take an Evening Stroll

Written and illustrated by Britta Teckentrup

Translated from German by Nicola Stuart

Prestel Publishing, Random House Publishing Group, 2022

“Big Hedgehog and Little Hedgehog Take an Evening Stroll” is a beautifully illustrated story about slowing down to appreciate nature.

The parent and child hedgehogs take a leisurely walk home. Little Hedgehog keeps asking Big Hedgehog to wait so they can take in the beauty of the evening. Big Hedgehog patiently stops again and again before telling Little Hedgehog that they have to move on.

The two stop to watch the sun set and the moon rise. They stop to smell beautiful wildflowers, to visit owls, and wait for the moon to come out from behind a cloud.  They stop to say goodnight to fish and frogs, and to watch fireflies dance. Finally, they stop to count the stars.

In the last pages, Big Hedgehog again tells Little Hedgehog they should go on because they are almost home. Then he discovers that Little Hedgehog has fallen asleep.

Britta Teckentrup’s mixed media illustrations combine textured collage and soft color. The lovely images set the relaxed mood of the story making it a wonderful bedtime story. Children can find small details – like a lady bug, a moth, squirrels, and a dragonfly in the pictures.

My only criticism is that the author makes the hedgehogs’ home a house rather than a more realistic nest or burrow. This is particularly jarring because nature is portrayed in a realistic way in the rest of the book.

About the Author-Illustrator

Britta Teckentrup is an award-winning German author, illustrator, and fine artist. She has written and illustrated over 120 picture books that have been translated into over thirty languages. Her books include “The Egg,” “Alle Wetter,” “Don’t Wake Up Tiger,” and “Under the Same Sky.”  She lives in Berlin, Germany, with her husband and son. 

‘Earth Friend Forever’ teaches youngsters about plastic

 

Earth Friend Forever

Written by Molly Bloom, Marc Sanchez, and Sanden Totten

Illustrated by Mike Orodán

Little, Brown and Company, Hachette Book Group, Inc., 2022

‘Earth Friend Forever’ teaches children about how plastic hurts the environment. But it does this in a fun, amusing way. Earth is a character writing a friendly letter to children.

The story begins, “Dear little humans living on me: It’s your E.F.F. (Earth Friend Forever)!”

Earth begins by talking about how Earth is a good friend to children, making waves for them to surf on, growing fruits and vegetables for them to eat, and making fresh air for them to breathe. Earth smiles in these pictures.

But then Earth says, “There’s something we need to talk about. You’re covering me with plastic!”

Earth goes on to explain how plastic is showing up in the ocean, in forests, on mountains, and in deserts. And it doesn’t go away. Bacteria can’t break it down like it does other materials.

“So the plastic piles just grow and grow,” Earth says. “I’m worried that one day I’ll be nothing but plastic.”

Then Earth says humans will not let that happen. Earth tells children some things they can do. Recycle plastic. Replace plastic things with things made of cloth, glass, or metal. Reuse plastic things. Throw away plastic garbage.

One day children may become scientists who invent new ways to recycle and break down plastic, Earth says.

The story ends with Earth writing, “Well, little humans, I’m glad we had this talk.”

In the back of the book, there is more information. Children learn what plastic is, how it is made, fun facts, and scientific solutions in the works.

This book presents quite a bit of information in a kid-friendly way. It will help youngsters become more environmentally aware.

About the Author

Molly Bloom, Marc Sanchez and Sanden Totten are the creators of American Public Media’s “Brain’s On!” and the authors of “It’s Alive” and “Road Trip Earth.” They became friends while working at Minnesota Public Radio and decided to make a show for children. Visit them at brainson.org, follow them on Twitter@Brains_On, or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

About the Illustrator

Mike Orodán is the author-illustrator of the Peek-aBaby series, and illustrator of “Crossings” by Katy S. Duffield. He lives in Surrey, England. Visit him on Istagram @thebundad.

Beautiful book tells story of seaside ballet in rhyme

 

The Crab Ballet

Written by Renée LaTulippe and illustrated by Cécile Metzger

Cameron Kids, 2022

“The Crab Ballet” tells the story of a seaside ballet in rhythmic rhyme. The poetry’s meter moves the story along, giving it the feel of a dance. All sorts of sea creatures join the show.

The author Renée LaTulippe weaves in many ballet terms that she defines in a glossary in the back of the book.

Act 1 emerges from the spray — observe this gleaming sea ballet! 

Anemones sway to and fro, squids link arms in balancé,

turtles spiral in between. A seahorse pair glides on the scene,

bows deep and low, then soubresaut! An elegant marine routine.

LaTulippe tells the story in two acts with an intermission. She builds to a climax just before the intermission.

In Act 2, starfish spin, a sea urchin rules, Medusa makes a cameo, and dolphins dance in relevé. Finally, the show ends as the sun sets.

The sun begins to kiss the shore. Performers bow to calls for more!

Our stars approach to close the show—how they pose and swoop and soar!

Six legs bent in full plié. Arabesque! Now grand jeté! 

Then dancers dip and dive below—

Bravo! Bravo for Crab Ballet!”

Illustrator Cécile Metzger sets the stage with her soft watercolors. Her pastel palette creates a beautiful watery world.

Children will enjoy the rhyme and lovely illustrations. At the same time, they can identify sea creatures and learn about ballet.

About the Author

Renée LaTulippe is a children’s book author and poet. This is her first book with Cameron Kids. She lives by the sea with her family in Italy. Visit her at www.reneelatulippe.com.

About the Illustrator

Cécile Metzger is a French artist and illustrator. She lives in Florence, Italy. Visit her at www.coucou-illustration.com or on Instagram at coucou_illustration.

Silly book teaches history of underwear with chickens

A History of Underwear with Professor Chicken

Written by Hannah Hold and illustrated by Korwin Briggs

Roaring Brook Press, 2022

Children will learn all kinds of strange facts about underwear in “A History of Underwear with Professor Chicken.” And they’ll have fun doing it.

For instance, the first pair of underwear were discovered in a block of ice five thousand years ago. They were worn by a hiker named Otzi who was trapped in a glacier. This undergarment was a leather loincloth tied with a belt.

In ancient Egypt, King Tut liked his loincloths so much that he was buried with more than a hundred pairs.

Plants were used to pad baby diapers many years ago. The Chukchi in northeastern Siberia padded baby bottoms with reindeer moss in 1000 CE. The Navajo in southwestern North America used shredded desert cliffrose for babies on cradleboards in 1400 CE.

Henry VIII wore a fancy codpiece on the outside of his clothes. His wives wore underwear on their heads. In the sixteenth centuries, rich ladies wore a linen or silk coif covered by a hat or hood.

During the European Renaissance, English ladies began to wear underwear that held their skirts out.

Professor Chicken appears throughout the book saying amusing quips. Chickens model underwear on every page.

In the back of the book, Professor Chicken tells how underwear gives clues about how people lived. What animals did they have? What plants were around? How connected were they to the rest of the world? What technology did they have? What did they value?

Finally, there is a chart showing pictorially how underwear changed from 3000 BCE to the present.

Children will be amused by this book – especially the pictures. At the same time, they will learn some interesting facts about underwear.

The illustrator Korwin Briggs brings the book to life with silly full-page images of chickens wearing underwear throughout history.

About the Author

Hannah Holt is a children’s book writer with an engineering degree. Her books include “The Diamond and the Boy” and “A Father’s Love.” They weave together her love of language and science. She lives in Oregon with her husband, their four children, and a patient cat named Zephyr. Visit her at hannahholt.com.

About the Illustrator

Korwin Briggs is an author and illustrator who makes comics, infographics, and books about academic stuff like history and science. And chickens wearing underwear. He lives in New York City. See more of his artwork at korwinbriggs.com. 

‘The Melody’ Tells Story Based on Ancient Jewish Tale

The Melody

Written by Oded Burla, illustrated by Assaf Benharroch, and translated by Ilana Kurshan

Kalaniot Books, 2022

“The Melody” tells a tale about a beautiful melody. One day the melody thinks, “Why am I here?” It decides to find someone to listen to its music.

The melody goes from the mountain to the trees, the stones, the river, a crow, a mole, a horse, and finally to a mother with her baby. The melody asks each one, “Will you listen to me?”

But no one will listen. The mountain says nothing. The trees say they have their own song. They have no use for the melody. The stones are silent. They want to sing, but cannot speak.

The river waters are moving so fast they can't stop to learn the melody. 

The crow said he couldn’t sing all night. He would be mistaken for a nightingale. “I don’t want to be something I’m not. I’m happy being a crow.”

The mole said, “Who would I sing to in my underground burrow? The worms?”

And the horse said, “Nay, nay. I don’t want to be called the singing horse. No thanks!”

Finally, the melody finds a mother sitting with her baby in a garden. The melody enters into her heart, and she begins to sing a lullaby to her child. The song she sings is the melody.

Illustrator Assaf Benharroch brings the story to life with beautiful, colorful images.

This story is based on the ancient Biblical story that God offered the Torah, or Jewish Bible, to the people. Each nation decided not to accept the Torah because it could not abide by the Torah's laws. When the Torah is presented to the Jews on Mount Sinai, they welcome it.

Like the mother in this story, each Jew is meant to teach the Torah to the next generation, keeping its melodies alive.

This story was originally written in Hebrew by Oded Burla. It first appeared in the collection, “Who Wants to Be a Scarecrow,” and was published by Sifriyat Poalim, Tel Aviv, Israel, 1996. 

Ilana Kurshan has translated this edition of the story into English for Kalaniot Books, Moosic, Pa. Kalaniot is an imprint of Endless Mountain Publishing Company. It publishes children's books about Jewish culture and history. 

Oded Burla was an Israeli writer, poet, and artist. Burla wrote and illustrated 70 books. He is considered one of the founders of children’s literature in Hebrew. He passed away at 94 in 2009.

About the Illustrator

Assaf Benharroch is an Israeli illustrator and artist. He is a partner and art director at Studio Poink and teaches digital illustration at Shenkar College of Engineering and Design. He lives with his wife and three young sons in the Israel countryside.

About the Translator

Ilana Kurshan is the author of “If All the Seas Were Ink,” which was published by St. Martin’s Press and won the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature. She also translates books from Hebrew to English. She is the Book Review editor at Lilith magazine. She lives in Jerusalem.