School Library Journal» Henry Cole

Friendship-Making 101: Picture Books for Elementary Students | JLG’s On the Radar

Deborah B. Ford — Fri, 26 Jul 2013 18:30:51 +0000

Making friends can be difficult for everyone. The following picture book selections by Junior Library Guild editors offer characters who find kindred spirits where they least expect them.

DAVIES, Matt. Ben Rides On. Roaring Brook/Neal Porter. 2013. ISBN 9781596437944. JLG Level: P+ : Primary (Grades K–1).

Ben’s life revolves around two things: avoiding his bully, Adrian, and dreaming of revenge. After his tormentor steals his bike, Ben discovers an opportunity to retaliate, ridding himself of an unending threat. He finds Adrian hanging off a branch on the side of a cliff. “How extraordinarily terrible,” he thinks. It would be so easy to take his broken bike and walk away, but would that be the right thing to do? In his first book for young readers, Davies captures the emotional upheaval of confronting bullies and choosing right from wrong.

MACDONALD, Ross. Henry’s Hand. Abrams. Oct. 2013. ISBN 9781419705274. JLG Level: P+ : Primary (Grades K–1).

Having removable body parts had disadvantages for Henry. He might misplace a foot or lose an eye under the couch. Happily, Henry’s best friend, Hand, is never far away. They go everywhere together―until he begins to take his friend for granted. Running away from the ungrateful companion seems the only thing Hand can do. His new life instantly changes when he crosses a downtown street and saves a man from being hit by a car. He becomes a hero, surrounded by admirers. But he still feels alone―he misses his friend. Henry realizes it’s his fault that Hand is never coming back. Is it too late to mend their friendship? Humor and tenderness in text and illustration create a timeless fable.

VERNICK, Audrey. Bogart and Vinnie: A Completely Made-Up Story of True Friendship. illus. by Henry Cole. Bloomsbury/Walker. 2013. ISBN 9780802728234. JLG Level: HE : Humor Elementary (Grades 2–6).

“Vinnie, a crazy-happy dog, was lost.” Finding a home in a wildlife shelter seems to be the mostly unlikely place for a lost pet to find a friend. With dogged determination, the canine bonds with Bogart, a lonely rhinoceros. When their uncommon relationship becomes big news, Vinnie’s owners rush to rescue their pet. How can anyone separate a true friendship? Beloved illustrator Cole adds balloon captions to Vernick’s charming story of two unexpected pals.

YOON, Salina. Penguin on Vacation. Bloomsbury/Walker. Dec. 2013. ISBN 9781596437944. JLG Level: P+: Primary (Grades K–1).

Penguin needs a vacation; he’s tired of skiing, sledding, and skating on the ice. Heading north, he sails for the beach. It was, however, nothing like he expected. He can’t ski, sled, or skate on sand. He has no idea how to have fun there. “Are you lost, says Crab?” Being willing to learn―even while playing― helps Penguin make a friendship that will last. Yoon’s simple text and bright illustrations make this a great read aloud for young readers no matter where they live.

For audio/video versions of these booktalks, please visit JLG’s Shelf Life Blog.

Junior Library Guild is a collection development service that helps school and public libraries acquire the best new children’s and young adult books. Season after season, year after year, Junior Library Guild book selections go on to win awards, collect starred or favorable reviews, and earn industry honors. Visit us at www.JuniorLibraryGuild.com.

Pick of the Day: Nelly May Has Her Say

SLJ — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 14:00:06 +0000

DEFELICE, Cynthia. Nelly May Has Her Say. illus. by Henry Cole. 32p. Farrar. Mar. 2013. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-374-39899-6. LC 2011018484.
PreS-Gr 3–Nelly May Nimble lives in a tiny house with her parents and her 12 brothers and sisters. One day she announces that it’s time to earn her own keep, so she ventures off to the hilltop home of Lord Ignasius Pinkwinkle to hire out her services. Lord Pinkwinkle agrees with one condition; the master of the house has special names for things, and Nelly must use those names when she speaks to him. At first, Nelly obliges, addressing Lord Pinkwinkle as “Most Excellent of All Masters,” and using his silly monikers, such as “long-legged limberjohns” for trousers and a “flaming pop-and-sizzle” for his fireplace. But when Lord Pinkwinkle’s “fur-faced fluffenbarker’s wigger-wagger” catches fire, Nelly has to wake him and announce the fire before the house burns down. Can she remember all those silly names before a catastrophe happens? Cole’s illustrations juxtapose Nelly’s homestead in the “Bottoms” and Lord Pinkwinkle’s “roof-topped castleorum” with deft humor and a folk styling that is sure to appeal to young readers. Nelly is spirited and clever, most surely not just another “fuzzy-dust-and-fooder” that his “Most Excellent Master” thinks she is. With one smart heroine and witty wordplay, this book, which is based on the English folktale “Master of All Masters,” will delight.–Carol Connor, Cincinnati Public Schools

Pick of the Day: Unspoken

SLJ — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 14:17:03 +0000

COLE, Henry. Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad. illus. by author. 32p. CIP. Scholastic. Nov. 2012. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-545-39997-5. LC 2011043583.
Gr 3-8–Gorgeously rendered in soft, dark pencils, this wordless book is reminiscent of the naturalistic pencil artistry of Maurice Sendak and Brian Selznick, but unique in its accurate re-creation of a Civil War-era farm in northwestern Virginia. On the dedication page, readers see a star quilt on a split rail fence, symbolizing the North Star. Confederate soldiers arrive on horseback and a farmer’s daughter’s lingering gaze betrays her intuition of their visit. She goes about her duties of feeding the animals and gathering harvested vegetables. In the recently harvested cornstalks propped up in the corner of the barn, she hears a rustling and sees an eye. Superb visual storytelling shows her hands time and time again offering a piece of corn bread, apple pie, a leg of chicken, each time on a small checkered kerchief, to the young, hidden runaway. The soldiers return with a poster: “Wanted! Escaped! Reward!” These words call out in the otherwise wordless book, and readers feel their power. Parallels between the fugitive and the farmer’s daughter establish themselves visually when the latter gazes from behind a door, terrified at this threat. An author’s note details the Civil War stories Cole heard as a young boy and underscores his intention of showing not the division, anger, and violence of the Civil War, but “the courage of everyday people who were brave in quiet ways.”–Sara Lissa Paulson, American Sign Language and English Lower School PS 347, New York City