Books! Books! Books!

I'm taking a Children's Lit class this semester through the Child Development department at Tufts. It's focus is on picture books through juvenile novels (up to 6th grade). Here's some of the highlights of what I've read so far this semester, all of which is new to me.

1. Re-tellings of Little Black Sambo. This incredibly controversial book, published in 1850, written by a white woman living in British-ruled India for her two small children, has been re-told uncountable times. These are my two favorite modern versions:
The Story of Little Babaji, Bannerman and Marcellio and Sam and the Tigers, Lester and Pickney. Both are done wonderfully. The art is beautiful and the stories are awesome. The first is completely original in the text save for the names of the characters and the second is completely retold.

2. Picture books by Tomie de Paola, my new favorite children's book author. His books are really really wonderful. He is an artist and author and grew up and still lives in New England. He had an Italian father and Irish mother, and some of his books are autobiographical. Seek him out! Here's some titles: Bill and Pete, Oliver Button is a Sissy, many books featuring Strega Nona, Nana Upstairs Nana Downstairs, and more.

3. Ruby, by Michael Emberley appears to be out of print, but you can get it at the library. What a wonderful, modern retelling of Little Red Riding Hood with a clever twist at the end! His site is here if you want to visit it. I've not read his others, but they look great.

4. Anything by or illustrated by Ed Young. Look for the hidden embedded art in his books (is that a mountain or a donkey head?). See his gorgeous site here.

5. The Seer of Shadows, Avi. I'd never heard of this author prior to this, and I will read some of his others when I catch up a bit. This one was phenomenal. A ghost-story so cleverly done. He's won a lot of awards. Check him out here.

6. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village, Laura Amy Schlitz, was written for her students at the Park School in Baltimore. She wrote this book in monologue parts that children can learn and perform while learning about medieval village life. The set up is very interesting and it's really beautiful.

7. Chicken Boy, Frances O'Roark Dowell tells the story of a young man with problem parents, not enough taking care of, and a slightly lunatic grandmother. It's realism for young people and it's good.

8. Al Capone Does My Shirts, by Gennifer Choldenko takes place in 1935 on Alcatraz, back when the guards' and workers' families lived on the island with them. Moose is a boy with an autistic sister in a time when autism isn't known and is a wonderful story that any child can understand and appreciate.

9. Going Bovine by the formidable Libba Bray is a whirlwind of a trip through an ill young man's delirious dreams.

10. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly was so good, I emailed her when I was half-way through to thank her. This one takes place in 1899 and is just awesome. Callie Tate lives in Texas with her parents, lots of brothers and an aging grandfather, who she befriends and learns from. It's really beautiful. I kept having to stop and re-read passages because they were so well written.