Music to My Ears!

The Composer is Dead written by Lemony Snicket, illustrated by Carson Ellis, music by Nathaniel Stookey

Synopsis:
There's dreadful news from the symphony hall—the composer is dead! If you have ever heard an orchestra play, then you know that musicians are most certainly guilty of something. Where exactly were the violins on the night in question? Did anyone see the harp? Is the trumpet protesting a bit too boisterously? In this perplexing murder mystery, everyone seems to have a motive, everyone has an alibi, and nearly everyone is a musical instrument. But the composer is still dead. Perhaps you can solve the crime yourself. Join the Inspector as he interrogates all the unusual suspects. Then listen to the accompanying audio recording featuring Lemony Snicket and the music of Nathaniel Stookey performed by the San Francisco Symphony. Hear for yourself exactly what took place on that fateful, well-orchestrated evening.

Comments:
Written in typical Lemony Snicket style, this book personifies the instruments in the orchestra. Rich in language and humour, the composer is described as “a person who sits in a room, muttering and humming and figuring out what notes the orchestra is going to play” but, the composer is dead! “This is called decomposing.” Now, the book becomes a “whodunit” and each instrument typifies its character. The flutes were doing bird imitations, the cellos and basses are weary from dragging their large bodies around and the violas – who play the notes in the chords that nobody cares about – are often forgotten. Satisfaction does come at the end of the story when the culprit is revealed. So, “for those who want justice” said the orchestra “go to the police, but for those who want something a little more interesting… go to the orchestra!”

Playful words...

13 Words written by Lemony Snicket, illustrated by Maira Kalman

Synopsis:
Here is a word book like no other! Only Lemony Snicket could so adeptly weave such startlingly beautiful adventure out of a collection of the most essential words of all time, including Bird, Dog, Cake, Panache, Despondent, and of course, Haberdashery.

Comments:
According to Andy Whitlock from the website http://www.13-words.com/, “13 words is the perfect number to explain the essence of an idea”. With this in mind I began my search of ads and famous quotes and indeed found that often, thirteen words are all it takes. Now, take 13 random and seemingly unrelated words, and use them into create two completely different stories (which is what Lemony Snicket does in this brilliant picture book) and you have the makings of an imaginative writing lesson. The vocabulary is as rich as Lemony Snicket is unique and will inspire any creative writer to dust off their thesaurus for a writing assignment. Add to this uniqueness Maira Kalman’s interpretative illustrations and you’ll spend hours exploring the connections between the art work and the text.

Small Gifts

Immi’s Gift written and illustrated by Karin Littlewood

Synopsis:
Two children half a world away from each other are connected in an unexpected way in this timeless, fanciful story.

Way, way up north in a snow-covered frozen world, a young girl breaks a hole in the ice and fishes for her supper. But instead of a fish, at the end of the line is a small, brightly painted wooden bird. She ties it onto her necklace, next to a small wooden bear.

Day after day her fishing pole brings up more colorful surprises from the swirling sea under the frozen ice. She decorates her igloo with the beautiful treasures, and animals come from far and wide to visit with her and share stories of faraway lands. When it is time to move on, she visits the fishing hole one more time and drops the little bear from her necklace into the water.

Faraway, a young boy walks along a beach in the hot, hot sun. He throws a colorful object into the water. Then something catches his eye. There washed up on the beach is a small wooden bear...

Comments:

Immi’s world is white and cold and colourless. The vast whiteness of Immi’s world is contrasted by this tiny object that appears at the end of her fishing line. First one, then many more colourful objects follow.
Although the two children never meet, the story manages to build a bridge between the two contrasting worlds, two contrasting cultures and two similar children. It isn’t until the last page, when we see the boy in the tropics fish a small white bear trinket out of the water, that we make the connection and understand what’s happened. Even though the story is done the reader is compelled to dream up ideas of how the two will remain connected.

Look in the mirror...

Mirror written and illustrated by Jeannie Baker
Synopsis:
Two cultures, two stories, one unique book. Somewhere in Sydney, Australia, a boy and his family wake up, eat breakfast, and head out for a busy day of shopping. Meanwhile, in a small village in Morocco, a boy and his family go through their own morning routines and set out to a bustling market. In this ingenious, wordless picture book, readers are invited to compare, page by page, the activities and surroundings of children in two different cultures. Their lives may at first seem quite unalike, but a closer look reveals that there are many things, some unexpected, that connect them as well. Designed to be read side by side--one from the left and the other from the right--these intriguing stories are told entirely through richly detailed collage illustrations.

Comments:
Like the title of the book suggests, the design shows one story being the mirror image of the other. The wordless book only has text on the first page explaining the concept. This is written in both English and Arabic which works well since Arabic is written and read from right to left and appears to be the mirror image of the English text. The detailed collage-type illustrations provide the Western reader with a great deal of information about life in a desert culture. At first glance the Moroccan scenes create the impression that life there is primitive. As the story progresses we see family cooking dinner over a open-fire oven , feeding their animals and then booting up their large-screen computer for the evening entertainment. What’s the underlying message? Ultimately, we’re not that different – just look in the mirror very carefully!

How are you feeling today?

Dude by Christopher Aslan and Emily Mullock

Synopsis:

Just like a picture can represent a thousand words; a word can represent a thousand feelings!
Dude
Welcome to the world of Dude. One word, many feelings…

Comments:
Each page in this book has only one word…”Dude”. But, each page shows a different scenario that will help the reader construe how that word is meant to be read. This book has way more to offer than your basic read aloud. For each reader the word dude will sound different when read aloud because each reader will interpret Emily Mullock’s illustrations differently. This is particularly apparent when read by a student versus an adult. What makes this book outstanding is found in the last two pages. Here you’ll find a thumbmail of each illustration with the feeling word next to it. Aslan uses rich vocabulary when describing feelings and goes way beyond ‘glad, sad and mad’!

January 12, 2011 – One Year Ago Today…

Eight Days written by Edwidge Danticat, illustrated by Alix Delinois

Synopsis:Hope comes alive in this heartfelt and deeply resonating story. While Junior is trapped for 8 days beneath his collapsed house after an earthquake, he uses his imagination for comfort. Drawing on beautiful, everyday-life memories, Junior paints a sparkling picture of Haiti for each of those days - flying kites with his best friend or racing his sister around St. Marc's Square - helping him through the tragedy until he is finally rescued. Love and hope dance across each page - granting us a way to talk about resilience as a family, a classroom, or a friend.

Comments:I would be remiss in not highlighting this book today, of all days – one year after the Haiti earthquake. This is a book filled with hope as opposed to sadness, but there is sadness in the book too. The sadness comes on the fifth day… “Oscar and I went out to play [imaginary] soccer with some of our friends. Afterwards, we sat on a bench to rest. But then Oscar felt really tired and went to sleep. He never woke up. That was the day I cried.” Danticat doesn’t end on this sadness though, on the eighth day Junior was finally found and pulled out to safety. Beautifully illustrated and deeply touching, this story is a springboard for discussing this tragedy one year later with children.