tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46990602198152829492024-02-22T11:09:51.988-08:00Boyz ReadGREGORY WALTERShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08059330265523106450noreply@blogger.comBlogger195125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4699060219815282949.post-90222965105653207812023-12-09T14:43:00.000-08:002023-12-09T14:43:54.391-08:00I AM A STORY<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgug-E8AK7ZMVDEHKPzlcW1wO5CK72yXh7s9oI72j1NjSiU9g_XfDWubufgRfBLtNEO75Y2nRwM4wmNWgr2IcSvJ3caGBsfmuMghpTP_o50EYNyWnXz-Rzm3ERlyntbyNZS3BEx9OaIF60w9HrcgCT8oGa5SrXs9PGurRJFuTXD5SYI8qOuvrnLIzbNdKzS/s1441/thumbnail-37.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1441" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgug-E8AK7ZMVDEHKPzlcW1wO5CK72yXh7s9oI72j1NjSiU9g_XfDWubufgRfBLtNEO75Y2nRwM4wmNWgr2IcSvJ3caGBsfmuMghpTP_o50EYNyWnXz-Rzm3ERlyntbyNZS3BEx9OaIF60w9HrcgCT8oGa5SrXs9PGurRJFuTXD5SYI8qOuvrnLIzbNdKzS/s320/thumbnail-37.jpeg" width="240" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />By Dan Yaccarino<o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">(Harper, 2016)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">This is a simple picture book with a valuable purpose: to help young readers understand the enduring love of stories. Writer and illustrator Dan Yaccarino takes us on a journey of story, through time. It begins with people from the Stone Age, cavemen gathered around a fire, a man speaking with his hands in the air, his audience captivated. There is nothing like a good story.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpXW-5JpEctfEEWXU4GG57zPtEIlFtUXfhuGnHhqXOMLDgl9Pda8VVT2vc-IdcmQNejjUcOOmWQI8xkl6u7QYDlC0Cy4rtL8TVc7kfp7fJdjbBSUMWHiL7SFb7rWWt63CytoeLV-I2_VYL-6FlvsbjKkqrEz79VhvBkG5ez996RY3vj9U6IPHa-hTkB5hc/s1457/thumbnail-35.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1457" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpXW-5JpEctfEEWXU4GG57zPtEIlFtUXfhuGnHhqXOMLDgl9Pda8VVT2vc-IdcmQNejjUcOOmWQI8xkl6u7QYDlC0Cy4rtL8TVc7kfp7fJdjbBSUMWHiL7SFb7rWWt63CytoeLV-I2_VYL-6FlvsbjKkqrEz79VhvBkG5ez996RY3vj9U6IPHa-hTkB5hc/s320/thumbnail-35.jpeg" width="237" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>We access stories <br />through various means.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Yaccarino takes his reader through the ages, chronicling the evolution of how stories are told and published, from pictographs to hieroglyphs, from tapestries to printing presses, from stage to hand-held tablets. The book ends in present day, a family sitting around a campfire, another man animated in the story he is telling, his family captivated. Story, Yaccarino asserts, “will live forever.” Isn’t that a lovely Happily Ever After?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqBMK4hkS3PcRddZ0axK_aW71wwgxWUsNTORaMoZjYBgQcR6aZ-z4tmvDbrDjTm4ZOGcGzyTR3H0sjQ2_4itlKQ76po-dwKa_6xJDfbAy5Y5LMtRcDbfFIfHaGEoEmaLS1hvZRO1qFVShqmUq-gTAt1OMeZI-MWTmyBK8E8sAj-5Tr0G4CpFqZ8uFT2gkh/s1080/thumbnail-38.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="743" data-original-width="1080" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqBMK4hkS3PcRddZ0axK_aW71wwgxWUsNTORaMoZjYBgQcR6aZ-z4tmvDbrDjTm4ZOGcGzyTR3H0sjQ2_4itlKQ76po-dwKa_6xJDfbAy5Y5LMtRcDbfFIfHaGEoEmaLS1hvZRO1qFVShqmUq-gTAt1OMeZI-MWTmyBK8E8sAj-5Tr0G4CpFqZ8uFT2gkh/s320/thumbnail-38.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Stories will endure.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />I don’t love Yaccarino’s illustration style. It’s simplistic, intentionally cartoonish but, in the process, it comes off as cold despite sometimes colorful splashes of background color. The ideas are clearly conveyed, but the drawings don’t draw the viewer in. They’re seen on the surface; the reader can quickly flip to the next page. What I do love is the sweeping passage of time and the message that, despite occasional prognostications of gloom and doom for books (e.g., with the onset of the television era, ebooks and AI technology), story remains, in one form or another. It’s informative for a youngster and both reassuring and empowering for those of us striving to create new stories for people to discover (in whatever form) and enjoy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p>GREGORY WALTERShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08059330265523106450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4699060219815282949.post-79894809241742098482023-10-26T07:34:00.000-07:002023-10-26T07:34:40.677-07:00THE SWING<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig6CHCqRXf422YhVX6xTap6yP8YD6izwL7uez4LznQSst7xu4w9YKkIKWr9H4jLsT_4PEabzIkTGcVcf__vC6Sw8t_Q0wN8W5srcOPYGKfEOQI3MoGibujgp1JQVzkVyia9UhH3VX60WU7MWEPurmbup6FmIFp3hmr4zEc00Sm0t84ovwYsgzv2ETMAxzD/s1093/thumbnail-30.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1093" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig6CHCqRXf422YhVX6xTap6yP8YD6izwL7uez4LznQSst7xu4w9YKkIKWr9H4jLsT_4PEabzIkTGcVcf__vC6Sw8t_Q0wN8W5srcOPYGKfEOQI3MoGibujgp1JQVzkVyia9UhH3VX60WU7MWEPurmbup6FmIFp3hmr4zEc00Sm0t84ovwYsgzv2ETMAxzD/s320/thumbnail-30.jpeg" width="316" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />By Britta Teckentrup</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">(Prestel Publishing, 2023)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i><span lang="EN-US">The Swing </span></i><span lang="EN-US">is the picture book version of a tome, straying far from the customary 32-page format and coming in at 160 pages. Still, it’s a fast read. Or it has the potential to be. I found myself lingering.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The book is an ode to a swing set perched seaside, at the end of a bushy meadow, with two swings dangling from a red bar. Occasionally, they get tangled. Sometimes they’re wrapped around the upper bar. In some images they’re empty; other times, they’re a resting or a play place for one or two people, for a cat, for birds. Swingers sit, stand, gaze upside down and jump. The illustrations remind the reader how diverse the experiences can be when coming upon such a simple apparatus, sometimes coveted, oftentimes overlooked. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The text is usually sparse. On one of the opening pages, Britta Teckentrup writes, “It looked out to sea and invited everyone to take a seat.” In a few places, a vignette expands beyond a single sentence such as when Mia and her grandmother stop at the swings every morning on the way to school or when young Peter rests alone on a swing after a daily swim, dreaming of his future and avoiding what awaits him at home.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji356_dDTn_Awf608-_O8MDgK0oRjSMyNyxEBk8vfiLgc-kxfRLSJjWod53VVGBHMLjE1niJcZdMN3DvbZ3pbLhKNe9ckW6lOsddsT5EJCf5nlVAL5HzJy2wLHPm5-vg6P8dA3d-8NHAkEKMdjVBOlhAvh95wGWa2hrNFCmj72LbiNEmPXExHOUTYFOZ83/s1080/thumbnail-28.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="545" data-original-width="1080" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji356_dDTn_Awf608-_O8MDgK0oRjSMyNyxEBk8vfiLgc-kxfRLSJjWod53VVGBHMLjE1niJcZdMN3DvbZ3pbLhKNe9ckW6lOsddsT5EJCf5nlVAL5HzJy2wLHPm5-vg6P8dA3d-8NHAkEKMdjVBOlhAvh95wGWa2hrNFCmj72LbiNEmPXExHOUTYFOZ83/s320/thumbnail-28.jpeg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />The book chronicles the “life” of the swing set over a generation or two as some of the briefly mentioned characters get another cameo later on. Max and Paul, for instance would meet at the swings each day after school. Flashing forward, Teckentrup tells us, “They still do.”<o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i><span lang="EN-US"></span></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy9TBNr0-JG5lMTBfdxO51Ov-clQw3wtk_-Qp_TVymuuZJF2xvc08DZM7v7V79o73aIP9lbFPQjFz9c1lXfOXxkzjfNeu6Z_ievbxBe3TvcNS3YpciP0W5B9xRAfmOMJNKqjli8FGs8a7Q7FQp5VM7eRMjI6wcAdqd7Gue59jZs-f7n9Mp8vvFTrTa4ucU/s1080/thumbnail-26.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1075" data-original-width="1080" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy9TBNr0-JG5lMTBfdxO51Ov-clQw3wtk_-Qp_TVymuuZJF2xvc08DZM7v7V79o73aIP9lbFPQjFz9c1lXfOXxkzjfNeu6Z_ievbxBe3TvcNS3YpciP0W5B9xRAfmOMJNKqjli8FGs8a7Q7FQp5VM7eRMjI6wcAdqd7Gue59jZs-f7n9Mp8vvFTrTa4ucU/s320/thumbnail-26.jpeg" width="320" /></a></i></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i><br />The Swing </i><span lang="EN-US">evokes our own nostalgia around times spent on a swing, pumping legs to go ever higher or dangling downward, our bellies held by the seat strap as we stare at seemingly nothing in the dirt, feeling mopey or thoroughly bored. How many times did we insist someone push us one more time—or a hundred more times? <i>Harder. Let me go higher! </i>How many times was a swing a thinking seat or a momentary escape from dark thinking? How many times were occupied swings a place of power as someone arriving too late begged for a turn?<o:p></o:p></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVL-wzFnMnTknz17sOcgdSPmAWpaTuU0ljfmbCTeXnfWQ1PbPFMU9cbd8a04DWqfTXaRWSCpuZebaaI7vZUofCKKGX_MFjciS-rjLAC12p9lx9gzC35tKxQw8PbUHUKrUSugSJFV6tfVfuOjq4UIx12M4LAJhTt-m4frlKe44EytcfFBmd8o8BtMSrIUEC/s1150/thumbnail-19.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1150" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVL-wzFnMnTknz17sOcgdSPmAWpaTuU0ljfmbCTeXnfWQ1PbPFMU9cbd8a04DWqfTXaRWSCpuZebaaI7vZUofCKKGX_MFjciS-rjLAC12p9lx9gzC35tKxQw8PbUHUKrUSugSJFV6tfVfuOjq4UIx12M4LAJhTt-m4frlKe44EytcfFBmd8o8BtMSrIUEC/s320/thumbnail-19.jpeg" width="301" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Martha had an imaginary friend<br />who arrived whenever she needed her.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />That's the beauty of this book. Despite 160 pages of experiences, most of us can still recall our own special memories. <i>The Swing </i>gently pushes us to think beyond the page.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The illustrations are as calming as a standard swing ride though sometimes they go higher—farther out there, becoming magical as the sun’s golden orb seems within reach or the journey transports someone to a place that’s part forest, part safari. The color choices are drawn from a generally soft, muted palette, giving the book a sense of timelessness. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">And isn’t that typical of a swing ride? Time stops. We’re in the moment. Until the next time. And the one after that. Indeed, I found myself flipping through the pages many times, sometimes reading and observing all the way through while other times find joy and serenity in a few random flips.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiASoECEeajSMCeobeCYhldIGQ8QhPWgEN4WXMiIdRPpZ6M0e79mqRU_L8_N7POHNt__DfeWcKQgitYS1dLZe6z5-jihvjGZ1m29CMK1DjSq-M03oIvArnJesLsofUAKRzc6sj9QF07hgxbGXfZNpuy4nvF9asIry-nRI600kTolK8U_UEDnfw8vHoWAUGT/s1080/thumbnail-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="1080" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiASoECEeajSMCeobeCYhldIGQ8QhPWgEN4WXMiIdRPpZ6M0e79mqRU_L8_N7POHNt__DfeWcKQgitYS1dLZe6z5-jihvjGZ1m29CMK1DjSq-M03oIvArnJesLsofUAKRzc6sj9QF07hgxbGXfZNpuy4nvF9asIry-nRI600kTolK8U_UEDnfw8vHoWAUGT/s320/thumbnail-1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />This lovely picture book would also serve as a great coffee table book, celebrating the child that remains in each of us, eliciting conversation and an unspoken “Whee!” from a visitor. It is a perfect go-to for paging through, side by side with someone else, like a photo album on one of those afternoons when the weather makes an actual swing ride seem less appealing. But, wouldn’t you know it, Teckentrup sees ways around that as well. <o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">As with its real life counterpart, <i>The Swing </i>is simply beautiful. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>GREGORY WALTERShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08059330265523106450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4699060219815282949.post-90795316857398718652023-07-26T16:20:00.002-07:002023-07-26T16:20:53.808-07:00A POLAR BEAR IN THE SNOW<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-U46en-vlpV3EiH0vicQzwEZttlcpWv5weflLkmXifLFq8dd9DxJ3OBbV8pVW_wWhw92egLEsWxoSf4sFqx6XpJ5Ql7-XJ3xZ3MkmkSSak6o6U6gGmSFgzN-WWIBGAe9z9IhLrIwj3pQpdLcmXfh3uImenrlaEGw7HYQ52n9YeNyhwu9EqGx31_A0BbD9/s1440/thumbnail-27.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-U46en-vlpV3EiH0vicQzwEZttlcpWv5weflLkmXifLFq8dd9DxJ3OBbV8pVW_wWhw92egLEsWxoSf4sFqx6XpJ5Ql7-XJ3xZ3MkmkSSak6o6U6gGmSFgzN-WWIBGAe9z9IhLrIwj3pQpdLcmXfh3uImenrlaEGw7HYQ52n9YeNyhwu9EqGx31_A0BbD9/s320/thumbnail-27.jpeg" width="240" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />Written by Mac Barnett<o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Art by Shawn Harris<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">(Candlewick Press, 2020)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I’ve reviewed a couple of Mac Barnett book, <i><a href="https://boyzread.blogspot.com/2014/06/count-monkeys.html" target="_blank">Count the Monkeys</a> </i>and <i><a href="https://boyzread.blogspot.com/2019/03/the-wolf-duck-mouse.html" target="_blank">The Wolf The Duck & The Mouse</a> </i>[a comma-free title, presumably, in part, to avoid that whole Oxford comma divide]. Barnett’s stories are often quite humorous and, by comparison, <i>A Polar Bear in the Snow </i>is subdued. I would imagine Barnett was amused by white pages described as a polar bear caught in a snowstorm and decided, <i>Well, why not go with it?</i> There’s a story there but, truthfully, not much of one. The appeal of this book is in the art by Shawn Harris who uses rough card stock for the snowy background and then uses cut-out pieces and minimal black ink to create the arctic’s flora and fauna.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhevt9EWJFfsMXzrmaICS3no5vHPpUGHDxU0r7ax9BdGUDBvTRhCa3IoG7N1bfo7Z3dVlIJRUbmka2-MCpjIoHjTkkOA-_Y8qGWhZ06NFvzl7IFXoAqrdrg2x-6bKq2daA01WBR98Lr2GOrb4lyPpPAKRAzPKyeIfFpS_o5yWJtGzRg4SawqWo3UVfhEEOX/s1080/thumbnail-31.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="703" data-original-width="1080" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhevt9EWJFfsMXzrmaICS3no5vHPpUGHDxU0r7ax9BdGUDBvTRhCa3IoG7N1bfo7Z3dVlIJRUbmka2-MCpjIoHjTkkOA-_Y8qGWhZ06NFvzl7IFXoAqrdrg2x-6bKq2daA01WBR98Lr2GOrb4lyPpPAKRAzPKyeIfFpS_o5yWJtGzRg4SawqWo3UVfhEEOX/s320/thumbnail-31.jpeg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />A blank white page is the start and then blank ink shows the polar bear emerging, first just his nose, then his eyes as well. As the bear begins to stir, Barnett invites the reader to wonder where he is going. Thick, torn paper in off shades of gray and white makes for a snowy terrain. There is a Jon Klassen influence in the text—indeed, the two have collaborated in the past—when Barnett asks, “Is he going to visit the seals?” We see a cluster of cutesy, frolicking seals. The answer on the next page may startle the young reader: “No. He is not hungry.” Hello, reality check.<o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVsOQbpHj6tOKixylLLcwwrsGmjliYC6f66D1P_2evsgJsB5H_69IPpYjOCQTWgTN_7-0CY-Jbs2i1VtMnaZUJyE0pPN01g1Y1fBRmH2Q4T-Ro04QeOC2saYhHnB6Ged3R4Vzgvbo2ehGgdXBwwmVT6CoaYNsNt9Z9Qv2hXJ95EOOAORj9AFIFfy3sRpIv/s1080/thumbnail-29.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVsOQbpHj6tOKixylLLcwwrsGmjliYC6f66D1P_2evsgJsB5H_69IPpYjOCQTWgTN_7-0CY-Jbs2i1VtMnaZUJyE0pPN01g1Y1fBRmH2Q4T-Ro04QeOC2saYhHnB6Ged3R4Vzgvbo2ehGgdXBwwmVT6CoaYNsNt9Z9Qv2hXJ95EOOAORj9AFIFfy3sRpIv/s320/thumbnail-29.jpeg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />The destination, after briefly terrorizing a human, turns out to be the sea. This provides a striking shift in color, the whites giving way to shades of blue, as the bear gets his own opportunity to frolic, the seals wisely out of sight and the fish apparently not to the polar bear’s liking at that moment. The scant story—nothing more than a jaunt—ends back on land, the familiar image of white…a polar bear caught in a snowstorm, though this time Harris has left some abstract tracks on the page. <o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">It's a calming book, somewhat captivating in a low wattage sort of way. Worth a browse.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p>GREGORY WALTERShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08059330265523106450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4699060219815282949.post-57391387148962850962023-06-21T12:25:00.001-07:002023-06-21T12:25:44.451-07:00AND TANGO MAKES THREE<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBCtfEnZlVtkf-0PJmkbSe14pD0AWvqNTwxrNcn6U1p5esKkCDMDIFtZSHeR-AhuG_cT3D_qPF7K6yeZDK6Bip2fHmDMfp5HSkXifKSdrgqQOkY0oyui0cvzWh_IK5ajYc5fVmKWiK8rTpOJGCnQtMqI5S_4HSOSF_L6jLKlTXDFaH40f6tpi0O9uBqX5E/s1080/thumbnail-25.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="860" data-original-width="1080" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBCtfEnZlVtkf-0PJmkbSe14pD0AWvqNTwxrNcn6U1p5esKkCDMDIFtZSHeR-AhuG_cT3D_qPF7K6yeZDK6Bip2fHmDMfp5HSkXifKSdrgqQOkY0oyui0cvzWh_IK5ajYc5fVmKWiK8rTpOJGCnQtMqI5S_4HSOSF_L6jLKlTXDFaH40f6tpi0O9uBqX5E/s320/thumbnail-25.jpeg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />Written by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell<o:p></o:p></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Illustrated by Henry Cole<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">(Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2005)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Almost two decades ago, penguins were having a moment. “Trending,” we would say today. In 2005, the $8-million documentary, “March of the Penguins” grossed $127 million at the box office. “Happy Feet,” an animated feature, followed in 2006, with a risky budget of $100 million. Happy ending: it took in $384 million. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span lang="EN-US">Preceding these was a 2004 article in <i>The New York Times, </i>“<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/07/arts/love-that-dare-not-squeak-its-name.html" style="color: #954f72;">Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name</a>,” featuring Roy and Silo, two chinstrap penguins in the Central Park Zoo, described as “completely devoted to each other.” The article noted that Roy and Silo were not a zoo penguin anomaly. “</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;">Before them, the Central Park Zoo had Georgey and Mickey, two female Gentoo penguins who tried to incubate eggs together. And Wendell and Cass, a devoted male African penguin pair, live at the New York Aquarium in Coney Island.” There were more scientific revelations, including reference to a book that noted homosexual behaviour in 450 species. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Interesting. But let’s get back to penguins and that Central Park pair, Roy and Silo. In 2005, they starred in the nonfiction picture book, <i>And Tango Makes Three. </i>Book shelf lives are short and this penguin title would have gone the way of the dodo by now but for <a href="https://pen.org/banned-picture-books-2022/" style="color: #954f72;">book bannings</a> and missions to remove certain content from elementary school libraries. On the positive side, it also gets a mention every June during Pride month when publications put out lists of gay books. I finally decided to browse the book myself.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDlG0UecRq-Sz2rcZbBQAcY9Vb-nC1tb6ooDaE5XgOKWTRmOi5TEKUlWLBOP3yXpz2K1IB4Zl8-SZCKq12QuyN36OzsxZY7AScKvsv8tey7HKeVjuHZ4xIAVq6G02r8hQNZeff8qeaBVmPuzqS2Q9S8O8ztglBBxEMKzZg_7Bh8-8KHkmxt5Pit0Tq0yTa/s214/Unknown-5.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="214" data-original-width="150" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDlG0UecRq-Sz2rcZbBQAcY9Vb-nC1tb6ooDaE5XgOKWTRmOi5TEKUlWLBOP3yXpz2K1IB4Zl8-SZCKq12QuyN36OzsxZY7AScKvsv8tey7HKeVjuHZ4xIAVq6G02r8hQNZeff8qeaBVmPuzqS2Q9S8O8ztglBBxEMKzZg_7Bh8-8KHkmxt5Pit0Tq0yTa/w172-h245/Unknown-5.jpeg" width="172" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="color: #363636;">Opus adorned in a </i></div><i><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="color: #363636;">fruity hat...is this</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="color: #363636;">problematic?</i></div></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />My first impression was neither a sense of shock nor pride at the suggestion of gay penguins. (Note: “gay” is never used in the book.) Instead, I was aghast that Roy and Silo would be held up as gay icons of the animal world. I am no penguin aficionado—in fact, I’ve never seen either of the box office hit movies I mentioned in the first paragraph. Perhaps penguins are true “bird brains” in the sense they’re not all that bright. My favorite penguin is Opus, a clever, amusing comic strip creation of Pulitzer Prize-winner Berkeley Breathed, appearing in the classic syndicated titles “Bloom County,” “Outland” and, at long last, just “Opus.” Neither Roy nor Silo would be able to match wits with Opus. As the book explains, the pair gathered stones, as penguins do, to make a nest. With the nest in place, “[e]very night Roy and Silo slept there together, just like the other penguin couples.” In time, they realized that the mama penguins perched on the other nests had each laid an egg.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">It gets embarrassing. “Roy and Silo had no egg to sit on and keep warm. They had no baby chick to feed and cuddle and love. Their nest was nice, but it was a little empty.” Hoo boy. Good thing they’re cute in their little tuxedos. Let’s not make them grand marshals at <i>any </i>Pride parade. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqOQwabuxDfXWqiYWQHrPk3ZDXYeC1NAWi19B364UEVCGeUHyLyEWsNrIojYg3gcxYULOCrldent-drUyYopu0Ckx1DlVvE0Z0AfimQ-t--hpmPNFBttP_uVWM7UZ6NWVXQqVIGMBS1U_tV-HH0SzmSq0k4p_t-WIKhK8Vw7cWc9sFGG9Nn9yiXw1khAaC/s1080/thumbnail-26.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="975" data-original-width="1080" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqOQwabuxDfXWqiYWQHrPk3ZDXYeC1NAWi19B364UEVCGeUHyLyEWsNrIojYg3gcxYULOCrldent-drUyYopu0Ckx1DlVvE0Z0AfimQ-t--hpmPNFBttP_uVWM7UZ6NWVXQqVIGMBS1U_tV-HH0SzmSq0k4p_t-WIKhK8Vw7cWc9sFGG9Nn9yiXw1khAaC/s320/thumbnail-26.jpeg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />It gets more embarrassing. “One day Roy found something that looked like what the other penguins were hatching and he brought it to their nest. It was a rock”—um, kinda like the stones that made the nest?—“but Silo carefully sat on it. And sat…” The two took turns sitting on the rock. SPOILER ALERT: “But nothing happened.”<o:p></o:p></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Really, book banners, is this a story you want to keep away from impressionable young children? If you’re homophobic, it seems this book may even help your cause. <i>Being gay makes you dumb. </i>Maybe conservative media would run with it, appearing on Fox News with the news banner, “Homosexuality kills brain cells.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I don’t know. Far be it for me to offer fuel to enemy lines.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I suppose when you’re singularly focused on “gay is bad” you don’t bother with nuances or any sort of critical thinking. The book explains that Roy and Silo are “boys” (forgoing <u>males</u> since that term may be too sophisticated for its targeted readers) and “they did everything together.” Everything includes bowing, singing, walking and swimming. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Again, I’m feeling neither proud nor scandalized.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">At any rate, on to the smut…<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBz2NXe4YAFZBztNVMWkdDlqDM8AmhURb9zea4-OBWSDpDBZyue_kHTPX3HI3wX68Z44oxU3ZPjXzp9nu5ZpeOpdFCQJ-ClfP_9BwQbGbgTebYN1eqLXfeW4Ilym1kBIZPmlqe7oiAoUwhmQaNDZ5JOclt4ICSs4dOw5w9HtrzpH81w9Q-iDDugocKF2Pf/s1080/thumbnail-27.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="894" data-original-width="1080" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBz2NXe4YAFZBztNVMWkdDlqDM8AmhURb9zea4-OBWSDpDBZyue_kHTPX3HI3wX68Z44oxU3ZPjXzp9nu5ZpeOpdFCQJ-ClfP_9BwQbGbgTebYN1eqLXfeW4Ilym1kBIZPmlqe7oiAoUwhmQaNDZ5JOclt4ICSs4dOw5w9HtrzpH81w9Q-iDDugocKF2Pf/s320/thumbnail-27.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Offensive necking?</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Maybe all hell broke loose though when Roy and Silo “wound their necks around each other.” To be clear, neither hugging nor kissing is mentioned. Certain adults might read all sorts of lascivious behavior into that, but a kid (whose development understands “boys” but not “males”) is going to think that’s the equivalent of joshing, play-fighting or putting their arms around one another. This is what primary students do. Who’s taking this to supposedly taboo terrain? I suppose it’s the one human character in the book, Mr. Gramzay, a zookeeper, who must finally make book banners rabid, when he “thought to himself, ‘They must be in love.’” Sounds sweet to me. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Typical young girl reaction: “Ahhhh” because any mention of love elicits that. Typical boy reaction: “Ewwww” because any reference to love is gross. This isn’t a knee-jerk homophobic response. Young boys are socialized to think lovey-dovey stuff is icky. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I’m having a moment, wondering how many book banners might be more like Silo and Roy than they’d like to believe, someday being reincarnated as penguins who would wait for their own rocks to hatch. Naturally, they’d dismiss the absurdity and heresy of such speculation since reincarnation is not a Christian concept. But I’m still wondering.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEtK44m_Ap4oXsva7DUvjFYOvEE1rF0dQ29hcoJV7M87fK5IiC2KOw9DOb2lYjOl4j6Alw7FMfGrmRBR2npDDJQjQU0CNQQJut0H5Z7Xiej7cpRcPVyRAalD-WaN5rNGqGpnjhVGmQrjrYLpUrP13L6JqBC61zoCxVAvCFCpGYwqnphHE1ziPjft0l0ch0/s1080/thumbnail-28.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEtK44m_Ap4oXsva7DUvjFYOvEE1rF0dQ29hcoJV7M87fK5IiC2KOw9DOb2lYjOl4j6Alw7FMfGrmRBR2npDDJQjQU0CNQQJut0H5Z7Xiej7cpRcPVyRAalD-WaN5rNGqGpnjhVGmQrjrYLpUrP13L6JqBC61zoCxVAvCFCpGYwqnphHE1ziPjft0l0ch0/s320/thumbnail-28.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ain't she cute...</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Eventually, Gramzay finds an egg that needs tending and sets it in Roy and Silo’s nest. They’d done such a good job of tending to a rock, after all. (Kudos, guys! It didn’t roll away!) Unlike the rock, the egg hatches. Gramzay calls the chick Tango, reasoning, “because it takes two to make a Tango.” Most primary kids won’t know that a tango is a dance so, whoever is reading to them can explain this. I suspect kids will just be happy that the baby was born. If anything, they’ll wonder why the egg came up as a spare during nesting season. The author’s note at the back of the book tells readers that the egg was one of two belonging to penguins Betty and Porkey, but that pair had never been able to care for two at once so, basically, one of the eggs would need to be tended to by other penguins to hatch. Seems like an above and beyond pro-life effort the book banners could have spun, but winding necks and loving “boy” penguins had already been duly offensive.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLyWR89cgZp-JxKbzzeGTThgf8faKDHfbTtPcLCMXMjqbMIJBTCYCEdkr6xSp2tLZfN7LlIatOy6e1VPHLxuKkls6R9BvMud0DaiZ5TcUrY348jeJCzd9F4HnQqJxyKGqCoKLXoYNz6yxZmaRC3YaM_YgLmXit-O8yuRsQscIspzb3trNDD0r62m61spz2/s1080/thumbnail-29.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="910" data-original-width="1080" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLyWR89cgZp-JxKbzzeGTThgf8faKDHfbTtPcLCMXMjqbMIJBTCYCEdkr6xSp2tLZfN7LlIatOy6e1VPHLxuKkls6R9BvMud0DaiZ5TcUrY348jeJCzd9F4HnQqJxyKGqCoKLXoYNz6yxZmaRC3YaM_YgLmXit-O8yuRsQscIspzb3trNDD0r62m61spz2/s320/thumbnail-29.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="color: #363636;">Whoops! I'd forgotten about the "two</i></div><i><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="color: #363636;">daddies" reference. Really, it didn't </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="color: #363636;">register. I must have been still overcome</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="color: #363636;">by baby penguin cuteness. That's the</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="color: #363636;">"normal" takeaway.</i></div></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />I’m sorry, it seems preposterously silly to get stirred up over this book and to seek to keep it away from children. There is no doubt that banning efforts have led to more young and older readers reading this book than would ever have been imaginable. For young <b>penguin lovers</b>—and, relax, easily triggered conservatives, I’m speaking generally of affection, not bestiality; what makes people’s minds go to such places anyway?—I’d recommend the picture books <i><u><a href="https://boyzread.blogspot.com/2010/09/365-penguins.html" target="_blank">365 Penguins</a></u>, </i>wherein a growing domesticated colony is content to be stashed in filing cabinets or stacked as pyramids, and <i><u><a href="https://boyzread.blogspot.com/search?q=penguin+and+pinecone" target="_blank">Penguin and Pinecone</a></u>, </i>about another dopey main character who befriends, yes, a pinecone. It’s a super cute story, at least. (Where are the activists seeking smarter portrayals of penguins in children’s lit?) <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9NxU2wdkprrJ4wN6ULaMHAPO25hVyPRcKVnHV2J-xP0Y_91BqPK0B20NtqQ5d6155krO-cAYpkEqPlV2XS0qKyNHqqLRH_omU7yG_Jw0NHT_UUlMOEjijzKpQfaBrdoMQenTPU3b579CEQUA0qstB8Xxe_9LJ6AO5H1uoZbzgMr6hbKkkbarfRPO0m-pY/s319/images-2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="158" data-original-width="319" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9NxU2wdkprrJ4wN6ULaMHAPO25hVyPRcKVnHV2J-xP0Y_91BqPK0B20NtqQ5d6155krO-cAYpkEqPlV2XS0qKyNHqqLRH_omU7yG_Jw0NHT_UUlMOEjijzKpQfaBrdoMQenTPU3b579CEQUA0qstB8Xxe_9LJ6AO5H1uoZbzgMr6hbKkkbarfRPO0m-pY/s1600/images-2.jpeg" width="319" /></a></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />Personally, I’m not giving the <i>Tango </i>book another thought. I’d rather spend twenty minutes reading old “Bloom County” comics, smiling over Opus and saving any offense for the antics of Bill the Cat. In fact, that’s exactly what I’m setting out to do…<o:p></o:p></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> <i> </i> <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>GREGORY WALTERShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08059330265523106450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4699060219815282949.post-80788656067442366422023-04-07T12:07:00.001-07:002023-04-07T12:07:32.565-07:00LAST WEEK<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvOPq1PPQM4T7tUe-mLq27flLNUYv-X0QnHYIJDJPDv-UCDaDI1cN9WzHcgjqsIucmVPVuxQW1STzZkg93n9qQ8xj3F1bcCkl4Osa7lBqmTfoTKI4nzZE9Hl0uuiCJ8mk-Y-pcyvxFHXtpKxjg5MrX2pt2AiLIcTNQxfVvT5gXwPW3N66TH_xMKn_71g/s1080/thumbnail-12.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="810" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvOPq1PPQM4T7tUe-mLq27flLNUYv-X0QnHYIJDJPDv-UCDaDI1cN9WzHcgjqsIucmVPVuxQW1STzZkg93n9qQ8xj3F1bcCkl4Osa7lBqmTfoTKI4nzZE9Hl0uuiCJ8mk-Y-pcyvxFHXtpKxjg5MrX2pt2AiLIcTNQxfVvT5gXwPW3N66TH_xMKn_71g/s320/thumbnail-12.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br />Written by Bill Richardson<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Illustrations by Emilie Leduc<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">(Groundwood Books, 2022)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Kids don’t know how to process death. I’m not sure I ever came to terms with the possible death in Bambi. I saw the movie at the drive-in as a kid, but I don’t remember anything about that part. I’ve heard rumblings it involved Bambi’s mother. Even now, I won’t Google it. Why mess with my precious, imprecise memories of Bambi and Thumper, two blissful forest creatures? I can Disney-fy Disney. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Adults aren’t exactly good role models in talking about death. When I was eight or nine, I asked my mother, “How come we don’t visit Great Grandmother Carmichael anymore?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">She looked at me, stunned. Eventually, she said, “Honey, she died. I told you that.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Maybe she did and I filed my deceased relative away with Bambi’s mom. Still, I’m convinced she didn’t. Banked on the fact the woman didn’t mean much to me since she was always calling me Reggie. The mistake always made me cranky and I’d be shooed off to explore her old brick house with its secret back stairway, a musty basement and a room I thought was a jail cell. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i><span lang="EN-US">Huh?! </span></i><span lang="EN-US">I should have been more inquisitive.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Fortunately, there are books for children that help us broach the subject of death. When I did an online search, books about the death of a pet popped up the most. I’m not sure they would have helped me cope with the deaths of my goldfish, Chloes I, II and III. The wise move was to turn the fishbowl into a terrarium. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I have high praise for Zetta Elliott’s <i><u><a href="http://boyzread.blogspot.com/2011/07/bird.html" target="_blank">Bird</a></u></i>, which deals with the death of a boy’s brother, a rare title that shouldn’t be confined to a parent support shelf in a bookstore. Most books are understandably designed to be more educational than masterful works of prose, the illustrations often typical of what appears in low-budget publishing. I’m guessing death books aren’t big sellers in children’s lit.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I was intrigued when I stumbled upon mention of <i>Last Week </i>by Canadian author and radio personality Bill Richardson. At the time, a friend of mine was dealing with news that her husband had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. As a couple, they were considering Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) as an option for when living became more of a struggle and the prospect of a painful death neared. As well, I’d listened to an older friend of mine speak with grief and confusion over his ninety-year-old mother’s decision to pursue MAiD as part of her end-of-life journey. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Some people find MAiD repugnant. It has been in the news more this year as Canada was about to extend making MAiD a legally protected option for people with mental health disorders. As of now, that remains on hold. Still, assisted death is an option, under very specific circumstances, for people with terminable physical conditions. In listening to my friend whose mother chose MAiD, I realized that loved ones need various supports to understand this decision and to be a supportive presence in the final days. <i>Last Week, </i>a novella, serves as a tool to talk about it with children.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">As the title indicates, the book chronicles the last week of a grandmother’s life from a grandchild’s point of view. Grandma is called Flippa, a nickname arising from her love of swimming in her wetsuit and fins, the name representing the distinct sound she’d make whenever she’d walk in her gear to the water for her hell-or-high-water daily swim. But the swims have stopped. Her arms are thin. She’s in bed much of the time. As Richardson succinctly tells the reader, “What’s wrong with Flippa can’t be fixed.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Richardson makes sure to include brief but essential conversations to help the grandchild understand what is happening and to ease some of the emotional pain.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">“Will it hurt?” I asked.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">“No,” said Mom. “It’s very gentle.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">“Does it hurt now?” I asked.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i><span lang="EN-US">“Yes,” said Flippa. “Now, it hurts.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i><span lang="EN-US">Last Week </span></i><span lang="EN-US">familiarizes the young reader with some of the rituals that correspond with a person’s final days. Lots of food dropped off. Visits that aren’t entirely sad. There are stories, there is laughter. With Flippa’s final day known to all, there’s a cutoff to the visits, after which it’s just close family on hand. The grandchild cuddles in bed with Flippa. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Flippa said, “Ask me anything.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I thought for a long time. I said, “Are you sure?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">She didn’t need to think.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">“Yes,” she said. “Very sure.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsJik-86ZC7ceXo6qXMzduuQ4XYdLPrtb4IAt7BGVN66_dE3JHK1FeFMCQ8he6sQAQgrabXqEZrqTOunQIpHpwEyYNeNKHdOawm66escECU0cDbSYljJP9qKa1GyqLE0Epkko22ehrh_1LBkF_rqKa4cDAzX0Z10ncYKvgHZeSDIZXLny_hkuwCSWt2A/s1786/thumbnail-13.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1786" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsJik-86ZC7ceXo6qXMzduuQ4XYdLPrtb4IAt7BGVN66_dE3JHK1FeFMCQ8he6sQAQgrabXqEZrqTOunQIpHpwEyYNeNKHdOawm66escECU0cDbSYljJP9qKa1GyqLE0Epkko22ehrh_1LBkF_rqKa4cDAzX0Z10ncYKvgHZeSDIZXLny_hkuwCSWt2A/s320/thumbnail-13.jpeg" width="194" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />In addition to the sparse prose, the story includes black and white digital illustrations by Emilie Leduc, double page spreads of blackness to represent each night so each day of the week is more distinct, plus drawings that project a sense of pleasant quietness. Flippa smiles regardless of whatever pain she’s experiencing.<o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">In the medical note that follows the story, Dr. Stefanie Green, co-founder and president of the Canadian Association of MAiD Assessors and Providers, offers her professional perspective to complement Richardson’s words: “When a person has an illness that will cause their body to die…they might ask the doctor or a nurse practitioner to help them to die a little sooner in order to end their suffering, or to be sure they are not alone…Because a medical professional is involved, assisted dying does not hurt.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">There is a time and place for this book. Children don’t get to make the decisions about a loved one dying but let this be a support to understand the process prior to and after death. <i>Last Week </i>is a story a child may need to revisit many times, hopefully with an adult on hand to answer questions and offer emotional support. </span></p>GREGORY WALTERShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08059330265523106450noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4699060219815282949.post-9260746757162242982023-02-16T13:17:00.002-08:002023-02-16T13:17:59.016-08:00I AM EVERY GOOD THING<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9yMG8dgzh6LQCAw7_IgAMZo-_D1dOOW7Mq-HNYkwI6aVwN4GMRBj0VLeXsNNkUybIFcraCsmfYrlgoI3o4Y7yICVRl_OUxjsvVEuoOnWyLow7twb3-mnrN8Cm6AQxm65Qy_MUI5oqVz0zYz4ln_JgZhKr6vZbalYFMpERX9TBFmsgoLubrz0lbMGnhQ/s1406/thumbnail-11.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1406" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9yMG8dgzh6LQCAw7_IgAMZo-_D1dOOW7Mq-HNYkwI6aVwN4GMRBj0VLeXsNNkUybIFcraCsmfYrlgoI3o4Y7yICVRl_OUxjsvVEuoOnWyLow7twb3-mnrN8Cm6AQxm65Qy_MUI5oqVz0zYz4ln_JgZhKr6vZbalYFMpERX9TBFmsgoLubrz0lbMGnhQ/s320/thumbnail-11.jpeg" width="246" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />(Nancy Paulsen Books, 2020)<o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Written by Derrick D. Barnes<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Illustrated by Gordon C. James<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Goosebumps. A laugh. A smile, followed by repeated nodding. Several moans, the equivalent to saying, “Amen.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">That’s a summary of my visceral response to a read-through of <i>I Am Every Good Thing. </i>It’s truly a good thing. It’s a book every Black boy needs to experience, time and again. If it made me feel affirmed, if it reminded me of The Cup Half Full, I can only imagine the power it has on Black boys and Black men. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span lang="EN-US">I came upon this book after reading a <u><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/06/us/hoover-alabama-derrick-barnes-black-author-reaj/index.html" target="_blank">CNN news story</a></u> last week about an Alabama school district rescinding its invitation for author Derrick Barnes to visit three of its schools due to “</span><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.3pt;">contract issues and a parent’s ‘concern’ regarding Barnes’ social media posts</span><span lang="EN-US">.” A close read seems to indicate that the “contract issues” are a red herring, part payment already having been made for the author’s appearances. This is what a district PR machine must add on to distract from censorship and the anti-woke version of cancel culture. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">More on the controversy, below, but first let me highlight the content of this extraordinary book which exudes empowerment. The book opens with a Black boy of four or five, flying through the air in red Converse shoes and a richly colored cap, his smile bright, his eyes looking back as a child so often does in a “Watch me, Daddy” moment. It’s the first of an entire gallery of gorgeous oil-painted illustrations by Gordon C. James. The text:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgII6tTWGTzz_CsSyRvL9eFbSbpQeJFWvK7chFg5MEeOkugOXy2Z8bmVyiSlc4RlxLfw_6DK2gT7gmTEUlpMaRcmKl4hOUQGdgUpOyw8p_6zc5dfGIxNmQ-3r7hFfftZ__ukpn2XYRvmULUgrh3ZyZe9PH3y7n6sDXiVvdWqpVQjpnDJnEAYKom5DM7mw/s1080/thumbnail-7.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="827" data-original-width="1080" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgII6tTWGTzz_CsSyRvL9eFbSbpQeJFWvK7chFg5MEeOkugOXy2Z8bmVyiSlc4RlxLfw_6DK2gT7gmTEUlpMaRcmKl4hOUQGdgUpOyw8p_6zc5dfGIxNmQ-3r7hFfftZ__ukpn2XYRvmULUgrh3ZyZe9PH3y7n6sDXiVvdWqpVQjpnDJnEAYKom5DM7mw/s320/thumbnail-7.jpeg" width="320" /></a></span></i></div><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />I am<o:p></o:p></span></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">A nonstop ball of energy. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Powerful and full of light.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I am a go-getter. A difference maker.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">A leader.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Yes! Everything is affirming, a variation on the title, <i>I am every good thing. </i>This is what we want children to believe about themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh02j3Gcwpx78_k8PpzeeabuKfBGn8lYL6F6RdX1ck_cOaGbzfWnYDj67sAi0Ar7cRjWlMvZaIommZWBcmes-B8WLhuG3FOyitP9cfTvg-zXiNJNYR1uaViOJbIFlZLLKKW0zeAkk_diwz2Y8UfM0B1F1wW5NXtNvyyMZY0PcIEPcbJOrw0qMxL_jDjhg/s2500/230126111223-04-tyre-nichols.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1659" data-original-width="2500" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh02j3Gcwpx78_k8PpzeeabuKfBGn8lYL6F6RdX1ck_cOaGbzfWnYDj67sAi0Ar7cRjWlMvZaIommZWBcmes-B8WLhuG3FOyitP9cfTvg-zXiNJNYR1uaViOJbIFlZLLKKW0zeAkk_diwz2Y8UfM0B1F1wW5NXtNvyyMZY0PcIEPcbJOrw0qMxL_jDjhg/s320/230126111223-04-tyre-nichols.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />The book proceeds to show Black boys of various ages playing in the snow, looking through a microscope, splashing about in mask and snorkel, listening intently to something on headphones, standing in the forest. There’s a two-page spread of a Black boy skateboarding and I couldn’t help but think of Tyre Nichols. <o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">There’s a page of amusing, cocky bravado, the text reading:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZG3oGUnOCVhklQntRgzsTP1gudutjSO-h2Clcg6vTpiE8klr3XV2JmW6ZUS2zYscqnP_QVvcgoqFzYNWH88TUnMbb3HXvJwRGiWn0f_dZ2SNwGu8Vg5Y2-ZhmAR_HpbSQNuUmeMCOpCKl4LGiClfhL5MO3RIE0UcgmSMrOZil5nY1Lw3eixwdcxeRsw/s1440/thumbnail-12.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZG3oGUnOCVhklQntRgzsTP1gudutjSO-h2Clcg6vTpiE8klr3XV2JmW6ZUS2zYscqnP_QVvcgoqFzYNWH88TUnMbb3HXvJwRGiWn0f_dZ2SNwGu8Vg5Y2-ZhmAR_HpbSQNuUmeMCOpCKl4LGiClfhL5MO3RIE0UcgmSMrOZil5nY1Lw3eixwdcxeRsw/s320/thumbnail-12.jpeg" width="240" /></a></span></i></div><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />I am a grand slam, <o:p></o:p></span></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">bases fully loaded.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I’m a nasty two-handed dunk,<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">holding on to the rim,<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">just to remind you that<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I’m still the man.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Believe that.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The illustration shows a laughing boy being raised to the basketball net by an equally gleeful father figure. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Every page has nuggets of text that oozing pride and personality. Lines like, “I am a sponge, soaking up information, knowledge, and wisdom. I want it all, and I am alllllll ears” are destined to makes readers, young and old, grin. This is as delicious as anyone’s favorite home-cooked meal.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Barnes understands the weight on Black male shoulders and doesn’t shy away from more serious messaging as in the following text:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Although I am something like a superhero,<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">every now and then, <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I am afraid.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I am not what they might call me, <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">and I will not answer to any name<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">that is not my own.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I am what I say I am. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I could go on. This is the kind of book where I want to highlight every passage. (I ADORE the page that references paper airplanes!)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvIu54C7H-4XTofIWfK6A1xzlZPH9gC38U4tVJhDYMMlxjQxXi7tObwDH2rHjhJn9cD-QtLWS0SN7OzpDpNCEUaRKhrNvkK0l6tto9PdHN0gf-WifMNjI_w9mRXYz8Hut_HAq-KaYcliV3eIjtSC09bwGtu9BjmckAuQStTRIYC2uvPwTUazb7RqCSCQ/s1379/thumbnail-13.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1379" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvIu54C7H-4XTofIWfK6A1xzlZPH9gC38U4tVJhDYMMlxjQxXi7tObwDH2rHjhJn9cD-QtLWS0SN7OzpDpNCEUaRKhrNvkK0l6tto9PdHN0gf-WifMNjI_w9mRXYz8Hut_HAq-KaYcliV3eIjtSC09bwGtu9BjmckAuQStTRIYC2uvPwTUazb7RqCSCQ/s320/thumbnail-13.jpeg" width="251" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Photo on Barnes' Instagram,<br />November 8, 2022</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />So what caused a single parent’s concern, leading to the cancelation of the author visit? The vague “social media” issue is problematic. What does the writer take from this? What do students, staff and parents in the district take from it? Free speech is of great value but, given that Barnes was presumably visiting elementary schools, not all speech is suited to a setting with younger learners. It’s possible there were things to consider, but nothing specific has been raised. It feels like Barnes and his work have been tainted by an unspecified social media post or posts. That’s deeply concerning to me. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">As a former school principal, I listened to many parents express concerns over curriculum, presentations, teaching styles, disciplinary decisions, food served at events and student interactions off school grounds beyond school hours. Parents have a strong, valid interest in their child(ren)’s learning. Sometimes a discussion helps find common ground. Rarely do things end with agreeing to disagree. On a few occasions, however, I have honored a parent’s request for their child to opt out of a lesson or school event. It would take some extremely troubling social media posts to all-out cancel a speaker. What did Barnes do?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I searched Twitter, where people tend to rant, and it appears Derrick Barnes does not have an account. I found his author website and his only social media presence appears to be on Instagram (@authorderrickdbarnes) so I scrolled through his 120 posts from the past twelve months. (Is a third grader going to scroll beyond that? What would motivate a parent to search further?) Zero concerns. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Most posts promoted his books. There were several touching posts about his love for his family and how proud he is of how his sons are growing up. His posts are written with the same positivity as <i>Every Good Thing. </i>There’s a post from May 12, 2022, celebrating his twenty-first anniversary. The words written about his marriage and his wife are beautiful. May we all feel this way in long-term relationships! There’s an October 24<sup>th</sup> post about his weekly practice of leaving voice messages to each of his four sons to fill them up with positivity and a genuine belief in them. Amazing! If anything, I was tempted to follow him, something I don’t do much of when it comes to people I don’t know personally.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I’m going to take a darker view of things and, yes, consider the author’s cancelation as being based in racism, however it may otherwise be cloaked. This kind of conjectur<br />e is what comes up when a school district fails to adequately explain its actions. Barnes’ books and characters focus on Black people. He’s Black; he’s writing what he knows. The district he was supposed to visit is in Hoover, Alabama, a rapidly growing suburb of Birmingham. According to Wikipedia and the 2020 Census, 92,000 live in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoover,_Alabama" target="_blank">Hoover</a>—68% white, 17% Black. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham,_Alabama" target="_blank">Birmingham</a>, a city with declining population, has 201,000 residents—23% white, 68% Black. As in so many places in America, the races remain geographically divided due to a multitude of reasons but, for many, choice is a factor. Hoover is “comfortably” white and a scheduled visit by a Black author may have been uncomfortable, at least to one parent. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLB6t98L3F7C1SyaW2ux1ZmgpauWE_uxgIkWDmzMgjlGZbzra4UHXzrlq-0C1_aC2IC4o0elK2D-G3Kro4ynOzhYGLIuFmoi4S9p6aY9sB8hAF0K7yEDgrisNk3Jme0clkzJc1tWOB3tzohlF3awILytk4HvwsOy9OHunnLJaqsmRPYRqphDW-qUaiqw/s710/1122-victorystand.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="710" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLB6t98L3F7C1SyaW2ux1ZmgpauWE_uxgIkWDmzMgjlGZbzra4UHXzrlq-0C1_aC2IC4o0elK2D-G3Kro4ynOzhYGLIuFmoi4S9p6aY9sB8hAF0K7yEDgrisNk3Jme0clkzJc1tWOB3tzohlF3awILytk4HvwsOy9OHunnLJaqsmRPYRqphDW-qUaiqw/s320/1122-victorystand.jpg" width="225" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">While the CNN article stated that, according to the school superintendent, there was no concern about the content of Barnes’ books, I can’t help but wonder if his highly acclaimed graphic novel, <i>Victory. Stand! Raising My Fist for Justice </i>ruffled someone’s feathers as it centers on American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos’ Black Power protest at the medal ceremony at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. It was a controversial action from more than fifty-four years ago, a significant moment in the tumultuous civil rights consciousness of the ’60s. Maybe a single parent wants to believe civil rights issues are a thing of the past. Maybe this parent felt emboldened by some state governments wanting to censor, edit or whitewash Black history. <o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Speculation, of course. Nothing else to go on. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlA8ZBe_ckgdKCN3LUfqf2IiEmOulDVxtJ7jFzvUk7UnrQc6HkOahhrv_0JUyIpAsN2kErpMb0JKSpaLC_RSE7jnyW30GhoSsJ1KNYnKLzQ1tUx885pkeZK4nz6lRHeM6fNRb4NJixmsQ21DjuPw68HhqOgKztbsCHpdMwR5EAR6GNMfAKF38hQz19ig/s600/the-king-of-kindergarten-book-cover-image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="600" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlA8ZBe_ckgdKCN3LUfqf2IiEmOulDVxtJ7jFzvUk7UnrQc6HkOahhrv_0JUyIpAsN2kErpMb0JKSpaLC_RSE7jnyW30GhoSsJ1KNYnKLzQ1tUx885pkeZK4nz6lRHeM6fNRb4NJixmsQ21DjuPw68HhqOgKztbsCHpdMwR5EAR6GNMfAKF38hQz19ig/s320/the-king-of-kindergarten-book-cover-image.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />The truly unfortunate result is that several classes of young learners were denied the opportunity to have an author visit. They didn’t get to hear Derrick Barnes read one of his picture books like <i>I Am Every Good Thing, The King of Kindergarten </i>or <i>Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut.<o:p></o:p></i></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span lang="EN-US">Speaking of school visits, Barnes says in the CNN article, “</span><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.3pt;">You see in their [Black children’s] eyes how much it means to them. When they meet me, a Black man, an author, and see I’m not an entertainer, an athlete, or a rapper. They see what else they can be besides the stereotypes that are starting to seep into their psyche.” Barnes also noted the importance of his visits and books to non-Black students: <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.3pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">It’s even more important for White children to see Black, <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.3pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Brown, Asian, Muslim characters. If they don’t see those <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.3pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">kids in their immediate environments, these books serve <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.3pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">to counter stereotypes they’re taught. They get to learn <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.3pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">about different cultures while also seeing the similarities, <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.3pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">how we live, how we dream, the things we all fear, the <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.3pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">things that bring us joy. But they won’t realize this if <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.3pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">they only see themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.3pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.3pt;">I can only hope the publicity from the cancelation of the school visits will lead more readers, young and old, Black and non-Black, to the books of Derrick Barnes. </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p>GREGORY WALTERShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08059330265523106450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4699060219815282949.post-52301939571637749402022-12-21T17:12:00.003-08:002022-12-22T19:12:03.747-08:00LIZZY AND THE CLOUD<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBOURXo7rlD8HVCcS1A_p4qt_Jg0i3WRmsypnGhcj2mjHEM__1ccYc7iuJNRWWxNsh97ngbfy-d-HvzR3SdRbnUcJsKolLGSfba_mskpjeC4c6CGQFwrCczQNNXelmwhxpDnYXe-MWdDxZX8z2yGVlfVqsBd5ztc3O5MN3IWmbo9-egb-SyuZAI2vqig/s1476/thumbnail-58.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1476" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBOURXo7rlD8HVCcS1A_p4qt_Jg0i3WRmsypnGhcj2mjHEM__1ccYc7iuJNRWWxNsh97ngbfy-d-HvzR3SdRbnUcJsKolLGSfba_mskpjeC4c6CGQFwrCczQNNXelmwhxpDnYXe-MWdDxZX8z2yGVlfVqsBd5ztc3O5MN3IWmbo9-egb-SyuZAI2vqig/s320/thumbnail-58.jpeg" width="234" /></a></div><br />By The Fan Brothers<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">(Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2022)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">One of first picture books I blogged about was <i><a href="https://boyzread.blogspot.com/2011/07/cloudette.html" target="_blank">Cloudette</a> </i>by Tom Lichtenheld (better known for illustrating books like <i><a href="https://boyzread.blogspot.com/2014/01/shark-vs-train.html" target="_blank">Shark vs. Train</a> </i>and <i><a href="https://boyzread.blogspot.com/2013/12/goodnight-goodnight-construction-site.html" target="_blank">Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site</a></i>). I loved the novelty of making a cloud a picture book character. Now The Fan Brothers have added another picture book to the cloud canon—might that include <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Cloudy-Chance-Meatballs-Judi-Barrett/dp/0689707495" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs</a>?—with <i>Lizzy and the Cloud</i>. This time, the cloud is Milo. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyE7zNpjwyb8xQK9OPboydrtppC2KaF_sSZ3wZ7vd8CrPnyzweAVsgWKD-7lws9sQUY8D8I0QNzfxapcQRfIYXXVZgEqRxoKoHDt2qsiKua57lrdCvIxUgZCuiqavFD2nSWNQfAeCC5qZazmaxnKFj9NO6FlsvNCgN8dhZiZ4MGF75KG-SujwLH0Bogw/s1080/thumbnail-59.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1080" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyE7zNpjwyb8xQK9OPboydrtppC2KaF_sSZ3wZ7vd8CrPnyzweAVsgWKD-7lws9sQUY8D8I0QNzfxapcQRfIYXXVZgEqRxoKoHDt2qsiKua57lrdCvIxUgZCuiqavFD2nSWNQfAeCC5qZazmaxnKFj9NO6FlsvNCgN8dhZiZ4MGF75KG-SujwLH0Bogw/s320/thumbnail-59.jpeg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />The story opens with young Lizzy heading to the park with her parents on a Saturday afternoon. The double spread showing the park looks very traditional, harkening back to an earlier time. I immediately thought of retro spinning tops I’ve seen in toy stores. While a large carousel will first draw readers’ eyes, the text calls attention to the Cloud Seller, the only person getting wet on the sunny day. He’s in a raincoat and boots because he’s holding stringed clouds which float above him much like a balloon seller in parks nowadays. <o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwAHH15wtV-NQpd7KF7Ez3lrVcP8ttKTeSRrWEDsGjxbdOP5xLVNRUlrctKnJj9yUC_Hl3T5hsZ4lBcFFX7l61Ra8YiWh_2ek-GB6KBlofndKGg6_dJJpXpmNtPgo1wgwDuXJZBSTVSqu9a84tXoJ0dxINpN-ckXt2KBrYhOhF97My66t3I4Q7rkXvNA/s506/istockphoto-172171278-170667a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="339" data-original-width="506" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwAHH15wtV-NQpd7KF7Ez3lrVcP8ttKTeSRrWEDsGjxbdOP5xLVNRUlrctKnJj9yUC_Hl3T5hsZ4lBcFFX7l61Ra8YiWh_2ek-GB6KBlofndKGg6_dJJpXpmNtPgo1wgwDuXJZBSTVSqu9a84tXoJ0dxINpN-ckXt2KBrYhOhF97My66t3I4Q7rkXvNA/s320/istockphoto-172171278-170667a.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />The story goes on to explain, “Most people were in a rush to get to the new carousel or the puppet show. Clouds were a bit out of fashion these days, but not to Lizzy.” I’m with Lizzy. As the Cloud Seller and his wares get a zoom-in shot, it’s hard to conceive of why animal clouds wouldn’t be the star attraction. One boy walks off with an octopus cloud, but Lizzy wants “an ordinary cloud,” resembling nothing more than a blob but temporarily sporting a miniature rainbow below it. Way cooler than a performance with sock puppets.<o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Turning pages, we discover why the entire ambience feels old-fashioned. This is indeed an earlier time, the main street home to a shoe repair and a market that sells oranges for a cent. A man in a suit and top hat navigates the road on a penny-farthing while something like a Model T sedan is parked outside the radio shop. A blimp flies overhead with an “Eat at Mo’s Diner” banner trailing behind. I Googled advertising blimps, thinking this might be an anachronism but learned that the first such blimp existed in 1912, promoting Suchard, a Swiss chocolatier. Advertisers are quick to jump aboard the latest innovations.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLMpAD-B8cH_sW-yo8940AO41XOmd_sV6e8mRz8isLU6I5TOBBcN1NE2nqJQTPB463MnxkAAM35Cvx_TRdUauPPQ7hIpnJ2AEoHkcdE7c9nsynJbMpRj9DUGi8bUkDSwZpGLR-jUSswRtbxSAAMu4ZpRS7_TNKWU9uzb8kJsAuHYjOSU84yhm5Hrzw1w/s1814/thumbnail-60.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1814" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLMpAD-B8cH_sW-yo8940AO41XOmd_sV6e8mRz8isLU6I5TOBBcN1NE2nqJQTPB463MnxkAAM35Cvx_TRdUauPPQ7hIpnJ2AEoHkcdE7c9nsynJbMpRj9DUGi8bUkDSwZpGLR-jUSswRtbxSAAMu4ZpRS7_TNKWU9uzb8kJsAuHYjOSU84yhm5Hrzw1w/s320/thumbnail-60.jpeg" width="191" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />At home, Lizzy glances at the instructions for cloud care. Rules include, “Water your cloud daily using only fresh clean water. Failure to do so may result in your cloud evaporating into thin air” and, “Clouds are sensitive, and sometimes moody. Thunderstorms are possible if a cloud is unhappy.” Lizzy and Milo coexist, even bond—at least from Lizzy’s perspective—but cloud watering makes Milo grow. He becomes too big and needs his own space in the world. The story ends with a little whimsy. <o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The illustrations are exquisitely detailed, hand drawn in pencil and colored digitally. Many of them are portrayed in soft greys, with splashes of green and, more commonly, yellow drawing focus to items such as a watering can and Lizzy’s boots. This is a quiet story, enhanced by the subtlety of the art. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i><span lang="EN-US"></span></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6CLbEJFKqUVYOS3CZRBltr3JHpaUoGG9YKPZ0pTqdPV0krbWcw5QIhoji0JRyTVw3DTqH43zUU4WNT-RJblYPmniNwRZVWK--9ziPqHDsx5PPBJ6UZYbD3ZXvL-lJwYB-U9abZi3CMXg215iMKGIwMH06KDj8RbH6G4_1UEwOGLZqneIZbuHpgLycMg/s3872/pexels-pixabay-46160.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="3872" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6CLbEJFKqUVYOS3CZRBltr3JHpaUoGG9YKPZ0pTqdPV0krbWcw5QIhoji0JRyTVw3DTqH43zUU4WNT-RJblYPmniNwRZVWK--9ziPqHDsx5PPBJ6UZYbD3ZXvL-lJwYB-U9abZi3CMXg215iMKGIwMH06KDj8RbH6G4_1UEwOGLZqneIZbuHpgLycMg/s320/pexels-pixabay-46160.jpg" width="320" /></a></i></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i><br />Lizzy and the Cloud</i><span lang="EN-US"> will stick with the reader just like Milo remains on Lizzy’s mind. Perhaps the next time a young reader gazes up at the clouds, they will see what looks like a parrot, a dog or, less distinctly, Milo. May ordinary clouds come to life in their imagination.<o:p></o:p></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p>GREGORY WALTERShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08059330265523106450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4699060219815282949.post-57614390585723828742022-10-18T19:42:00.001-07:002022-10-18T19:43:24.660-07:00THE ROCK FROM THE SKY<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM44Uldi2D8vE9TkbRuAVBKHERgU1D8leNPqnAECrb0AMcki_UL3nAj7mP26ugab33F3drAa45aBqw7QMlNKrkDIDIJ_iHszSN0xbku0wv4yK2dK7XwLy3lfRGJYXpCGU5PxuVZHIPS3m0LG0nxp-yt76B1zDSTawUa_JTIcCMGeCERpyJQrRCgJfN2g/s640/thumbnail-30.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="482" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM44Uldi2D8vE9TkbRuAVBKHERgU1D8leNPqnAECrb0AMcki_UL3nAj7mP26ugab33F3drAa45aBqw7QMlNKrkDIDIJ_iHszSN0xbku0wv4yK2dK7XwLy3lfRGJYXpCGU5PxuVZHIPS3m0LG0nxp-yt76B1zDSTawUa_JTIcCMGeCERpyJQrRCgJfN2g/s320/thumbnail-30.jpeg" width="241" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">By Jon Klassen<o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">(Candlewick Press, 2021)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Jon Klassen, a wry humorist and talented illustrator who sticks to a muted palette, is perhaps best known for his picture book <i><a href="https://boyzread.blogspot.com/search?q=I+want+my+hat+back" style="color: #954f72;">I Want My Hat Back</a></i>. In <i>The Rock from the Sky, </i>he sticks with what he does so well. The book consists of five quick, comical tales that build on one another with a recurring cast that includes a turtle, an armadillo, a snake, a rock and an ominous creature from the future. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip8K9kkVqHHLYUXzmW6LeysA25SiTgwYtzbOLI6QK_jPRiLRXaYNdWEvzURc9mwohECvVSfM4D55hwfB-n7Pxd0eZqouAUtVFK8RIcp1sH24VG5Il2tGituW7wEpF5Va0pMkejBHM7lNYwydPEDAxyZVWGOLLayJhkQgBftR230IR9aJj5TqdbNntXRA/s600/coyote-1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip8K9kkVqHHLYUXzmW6LeysA25SiTgwYtzbOLI6QK_jPRiLRXaYNdWEvzURc9mwohECvVSfM4D55hwfB-n7Pxd0eZqouAUtVFK8RIcp1sH24VG5Il2tGituW7wEpF5Va0pMkejBHM7lNYwydPEDAxyZVWGOLLayJhkQgBftR230IR9aJj5TqdbNntXRA/s320/coyote-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />All of the text is dialogue. Only the turtle and the armadillo speak, their parts distinguished by turtle’s lines appearing in black font while armadillo’s words are in gray. Each story moves quickly, the dialogue minimal, thus allowing the reader to spend extra time finding humor in the illustrations and inferring what is about to come, often as a surprise to the particularly unaware turtle. In looking at the scenes, I can’t help but wonder if Klassen grew up watching Looney Tunes cartoons featuring the Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. The rock seems a stand-in for the old cartoon’s oft-present Acme anvil. <o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8S1Zzg3ZEOh5kUORciC2QGk9bh_D1qw3rrJh6kCWOC91ZioOI721utLFJlWKjICQUOJ6QY14etbgIpwsqaxP94wfFlaJoF7pIPlQrmSzNRPPswLcs9dezaR3mjoivn1JJST24gxCirw6B17laFSwe7yYVj1eghooSxCyz1bVXevn917S0x2-nk3hdKg/s640/thumbnail-8.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8S1Zzg3ZEOh5kUORciC2QGk9bh_D1qw3rrJh6kCWOC91ZioOI721utLFJlWKjICQUOJ6QY14etbgIpwsqaxP94wfFlaJoF7pIPlQrmSzNRPPswLcs9dezaR3mjoivn1JJST24gxCirw6B17laFSwe7yYVj1eghooSxCyz1bVXevn917S0x2-nk3hdKg/s320/thumbnail-8.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />This book doesn’t have the surprise factor that we got when<span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span><i>I Want My Hat Back </i><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">made its debut. We know what to expect of Klassen. Still, the book will satisfy readers and viewers.</span> </span><p></p>GREGORY WALTERShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08059330265523106450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4699060219815282949.post-74929484061804280292022-02-28T18:34:00.003-08:002022-02-28T18:34:37.717-08:00HOW WAR CHANGED RONDO<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-Tpv9xkMnlK4U_EEMZj483b4vQtbw-a0BTxzyXwVT8viCS_tjKSVYBrxTLWMKOJjsj5FPIYX808ikiltTvrx9-Yl6g4ZaDOD5CtdmKPxu_YiDj_uJm_10xBUfxqOoGcKDjcsrHiav07WEHZKyq2gbHf6LX2aFz_XszHdumRXPJZIw7QaR4NUaAb7ZGQ=s640" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-Tpv9xkMnlK4U_EEMZj483b4vQtbw-a0BTxzyXwVT8viCS_tjKSVYBrxTLWMKOJjsj5FPIYX808ikiltTvrx9-Yl6g4ZaDOD5CtdmKPxu_YiDj_uJm_10xBUfxqOoGcKDjcsrHiav07WEHZKyq2gbHf6LX2aFz_XszHdumRXPJZIw7QaR4NUaAb7ZGQ=s320" width="240" /></a></div><br />By Romana Romanyshyn and Andriy Lesiv<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Translated by Oksana Lushchevska<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">(First published by Vydavnytstvo Staroho Leva (The Old Lion Publishing House), Ukraine, 2015)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">(Published in English by Enchanted Lion Books, 2021)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Children’s picture books about war are tricky. How do you introduce such a grave topic without scaring the reader? What do you portray in the pictures? How dark? How realistic? What’s too little, what’s too much?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">This book was published in Ukrainian in 2015, the year after the Russian invasion and annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and while the Russo-Ukrainian War continued, with a focus on the Donbas region. Romana Romanyshyn and Andriy Lesiv are a husband-and-wife team who live in Lviv, Ukraine and the credits at the back of the book note that, “This book was motivated by the arrival of war in Ukraine in their own lifetime.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">It’s by chance that I have this incredibly timely book in my hands. I’d read a book review in <i>The New York Times </i>back in the fall and searched online for it at the Vancouver Public Library which didn’t carry the title. I contacted the library to request that they purchase it for their collection. I picked it up three weeks ago. What a difference between last fall and now, even between three weeks ago and now.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">When I picked up the book, I hugged it. The cover is gorgeous in both color and design, red poppies popping against a muted teal background, the title in bold black font, two small images of conflict drawn in black ink—one a deployed missile sticking out of the ground, the other a rudimentary, cartoonish depiction of a tank firing at a house aflame. These two images, however, appear to be overwhelmed by the poppies.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiKAT_oVocQOeacKkoRi25SS-MHUg-Ru4m-BIdLnkrsvX-sJQaZ_J08fuL26IggHRSqhnfNGBmAcA1yfDNGAKXydXrAwtf7qxXVlYjts9DpRDFwDWylwQOZO-4MhQDGgzVmlJLm-cf73VP4cz8CsVXKOVYtQAbF3VxipTjsNIClqRHJhITdLkEwn6ETjg=s640" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiKAT_oVocQOeacKkoRi25SS-MHUg-Ru4m-BIdLnkrsvX-sJQaZ_J08fuL26IggHRSqhnfNGBmAcA1yfDNGAKXydXrAwtf7qxXVlYjts9DpRDFwDWylwQOZO-4MhQDGgzVmlJLm-cf73VP4cz8CsVXKOVYtQAbF3VxipTjsNIClqRHJhITdLkEwn6ETjg=s320" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />The creators set the story in the fictional town of Rondo, presumably named after “<u>Rondo alla Turca</u>” (Turkish March), the last movement of Mozart’s Sonata No. 11, which, we are told is the town’s anthem. Rondo is an idyllic, arty place with clean air and well-tended parks and gardens. The town’s showcase is its Music Greenhouse where colorful, exotic flowers bloom and sing joyously at dawn each day and during concerts which draw attendees from near and far. (I didn’t notice until later in the book that these flowers are depicted with faces in side profile.)<o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgjhsCB-CcTF1F7d3FoFed9ocBTsjATLG__HmZKKbSa8A-VfD9676kK3p0AIYwtL2fxvrwAasfK2wfYTCy_wV8imLbBA3p9pHdgOWEHdDz4F1I_TCgyS_FrlJ8TjcgSHkC1ygifxjGhBqQfmLfLV-rJhNyT3bRFtZFvbeYsg8UCC0jHo35ebNN0Mh30kQ=s640" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgjhsCB-CcTF1F7d3FoFed9ocBTsjATLG__HmZKKbSa8A-VfD9676kK3p0AIYwtL2fxvrwAasfK2wfYTCy_wV8imLbBA3p9pHdgOWEHdDz4F1I_TCgyS_FrlJ8TjcgSHkC1ygifxjGhBqQfmLfLV-rJhNyT3bRFtZFvbeYsg8UCC0jHo35ebNN0Mh30kQ=s320" width="150" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />Romanyshyn and Lesiv choose to tell their story based on a friendship between three characters: Danko, a human-esque figure, shaped and aglow like a lightbulb; Fabian, a red balloon dog; and Zirka, a tall, slender Origami bird made from a forest-themed, patterned paper print. <o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The title makes it obvious what is going to happen to this gem of a town.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">In Rondo, it was a day like any other. People were rushing about, doing their usual business. Danko was on his way to meet his friends. Zirka had just returned from a trip and had lots of new stories and drawings. The sun was shining, and the flowers and birds were singing. Everything seemed normal, until all went completely still.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">And a whisper arose…<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">WAR </span></i></b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">is coming to Rondo.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-dhsqTbhI5_k4I3FdkdqymbYm8a0kWlrXma8OzSe9uBPeFN75rHGnhS0lOfJd-gDkmD-R9wRo_gx8hHXWxyeNoGtYZ8YbvfKjWYhL32Yq0rYbTgFeBG8gj_3jKBupg82N7_UXrroHavD2dtJIenwx6fki-AIHqAzYqRLHwKjLM-rRdyfUQvEfSf5gjg=s640" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-dhsqTbhI5_k4I3FdkdqymbYm8a0kWlrXma8OzSe9uBPeFN75rHGnhS0lOfJd-gDkmD-R9wRo_gx8hHXWxyeNoGtYZ8YbvfKjWYhL32Yq0rYbTgFeBG8gj_3jKBupg82N7_UXrroHavD2dtJIenwx6fki-AIHqAzYqRLHwKjLM-rRdyfUQvEfSf5gjg=s320" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />The scenes that follow are portrayed with dark gray backgrounds. All weaponry is drawn in black and gray. Black flowers and “dry, spiked weeds” become the predominant plant life. The three friends are injured—Danko from a rock to the chest, Fabian from a thorned plant piercing his leg and Zirka from sparks which singe her wings. The singing flowers don’t fare well either. The injuries are enough to cause concern for a reader but, hopefully, not so dire as to spawn nightmares. Frankly, I don’t think there’s enough told about the three friends for a reader to become greatly attached to them. This probably wasn’t by design, but it turns out to be a good thing.<o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">War, of course, doesn’t emerge victorious in a children’s book. Rondo rises up. In the end, the town returns to its ways while looking slightly less idyllic. Even after achieving peace, war has taken something. Rondo’s outdoor spaces are now dotted with the poppies shown on the cover. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">This is not a perfect book. It’s a tough subject. Still, it’s worth sharing, especially since it’s been created by Ukrainians in the midst of Russo-Ukrainian conflict.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p>GREGORY WALTERShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08059330265523106450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4699060219815282949.post-60452717777120745292022-01-31T07:01:00.000-08:002022-01-31T07:01:11.689-08:00THE NIGHT WALK<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgp24j6vY0G7X9bSs2B7gCJYZ1Bwy_Gr98XSPNI8LtFAZAnZf23VEVTPtS6bg_DKtYphpXltaTO4dlIuoloumfppsM1Htxi8vQzqpzhIcNqhdW9RB1ZlTqmhirMire2SRALpZL9llIeUZ2qFfaA0v6S-5vzNSCaqTPWhgoa4xY-vVzhsgcOgOjesFsKiw=s640" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="466" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgp24j6vY0G7X9bSs2B7gCJYZ1Bwy_Gr98XSPNI8LtFAZAnZf23VEVTPtS6bg_DKtYphpXltaTO4dlIuoloumfppsM1Htxi8vQzqpzhIcNqhdW9RB1ZlTqmhirMire2SRALpZL9llIeUZ2qFfaA0v6S-5vzNSCaqTPWhgoa4xY-vVzhsgcOgOjesFsKiw=s320" width="233" /></a></div><br />By Marie Dorléans<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">Translated by Polly Lawson<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">(Floris Books, 2020)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">First published as <i>NOUS AVONS RENDEZ-VOUS</i><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">(Éditions du Seuil, 2018)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">From the first page, I knew this picture book was especially special. The two-page spread is dark blue, as throughout the book. It’s dark in the children’s bedroom. Two boys sleep in separate beds, their heads peeking out from checkered bedspreads as a sliver of light slips in from a hallway. The text: <i>Mama opened our bedroom door, interrupting the night-time darkness. “Wake up, you two,” she whispered. “Let’s go, so we get there on time.”</i><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><br />That’s all that’s needed to set things up and to make the reader begin to engage with the book. <i>Why do they have to get up so early? Where are they going? What happens if they’re late?<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><i> </i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgU8TEd6EnclWtdl3cLM-iGG_teN-q_mGzwoSNydcJXdj8aH_Ykefq8t6alJjyPMLc7350sofHfsqRwRctU4qd3vFFBR_mWkfzqCldfkXGQVryHOS2lCh2FnNME7a_x43Z6UPYTt3mZ1baRhLCSJcmSU5BsEYRYIazg0Zp0ISpdcndPwQ2lD-8rwKQ5rw=s640" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="488" data-original-width="640" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgU8TEd6EnclWtdl3cLM-iGG_teN-q_mGzwoSNydcJXdj8aH_Ykefq8t6alJjyPMLc7350sofHfsqRwRctU4qd3vFFBR_mWkfzqCldfkXGQVryHOS2lCh2FnNME7a_x43Z6UPYTt3mZ1baRhLCSJcmSU5BsEYRYIazg0Zp0ISpdcndPwQ2lD-8rwKQ5rw=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br />The title and the next page offer more context. It’s a night walk in the middle of the night. Out goes the family. They walk across the yard and through the community. <i>[T]he last house in the village was almost asleep. It had one eye open, </i>a reference to a single light on the second floor<i>.</i> They continue to the outskirts and beyond, into a forest, up to a lake and then a clearing before the final leg of the trek. Each scene has a light source to pierce or dot the darkness—a streetlight, a few stars, the moon. The story is simple and enchanting.<o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjzeJ7sGKrTsAp6ymW-xQuRPIvGOwXQlU4uVesZfkDyAq9hGEGv865MZdmWdhkB5U5Esg0TCzqmQOjlLbUhQI-hxXfiXARwXcDBK-49eJm5Sx4ME6oC9n4MalNcry-tR8bG7gZsLCAHYkVWH13rHjwGexKKNhAQJYaL7aFADKSUjEi1ICrOF6avniUPw=s640" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="640" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjzeJ7sGKrTsAp6ymW-xQuRPIvGOwXQlU4uVesZfkDyAq9hGEGv865MZdmWdhkB5U5Esg0TCzqmQOjlLbUhQI-hxXfiXARwXcDBK-49eJm5Sx4ME6oC9n4MalNcry-tR8bG7gZsLCAHYkVWH13rHjwGexKKNhAQJYaL7aFADKSUjEi1ICrOF6avniUPw=s320" width="320" /></a></div>As I turned pages, I thought, “Why don’t I ever do this? Why are all my mountain hikes in the light of day?” (I’ve recently had bouts of insomnia and I’ve enjoyed the different characterization of downtown Vancouver as I walk in the pre-dawn hours.) I can imagine many families following the example of this book. Haven’t we all taken to the outdoors more since COVID changed our lives? Here’s another suggestion for creating precious memories.<o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">I won’t divulge where the family is going, but they do get there on time. Sometimes a night’s rest interrupted is well worth it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p>GREGORY WALTERShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08059330265523106450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4699060219815282949.post-18391850038240628742021-11-17T09:31:00.003-08:002021-11-17T09:33:04.897-08:00MAGIC CANDIES<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEe_5TTQ634XswyfPcKMvYmt9wy8v2mPwm_m13AkK0XBHIWSo9rGBcyMJZoid-Hzpg0oRN8Fa-YawYjILtVxlzyOlJomUww6Xfs0LEMtK_FYFpyYMEEoB4tFt5CWjzGO-v9gbxIPpyooLr/s1080/thumbnail-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="971" data-original-width="1080" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEe_5TTQ634XswyfPcKMvYmt9wy8v2mPwm_m13AkK0XBHIWSo9rGBcyMJZoid-Hzpg0oRN8Fa-YawYjILtVxlzyOlJomUww6Xfs0LEMtK_FYFpyYMEEoB4tFt5CWjzGO-v9gbxIPpyooLr/s320/thumbnail-1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />By Heena Baek<o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Translated by Sophie Bowman<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">(Amazon Crossing Kids, 2017, 2021)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">This is a curious picture book. I read it, then put it aside, unsure what to think of it. I’ve come back to it after a few weeks. I’m still somewhat uncertain. If I go page by page, I find there are hits and misses for me. I’m dazzled; I’m disappointed. Sometimes it’s best to read a picture book without overthinking things. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">In a nutshell, this is the story of a lonely young boy named Tong Tong who lives with his father and his aging dog, Marbles. As the book opens, Tong Tong tells us:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I play on my own.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">It’s not all that bad, playing alone.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The other kids don’t realize how much fun playing with marbles is.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">They always only play with one another, never with me.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">So I decided I’ll just play by myself.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Given that the boy’s dog and pastime are both M/marbles, I figured marbles would play into Tong Tong’s finding a friend. One would roll too far or someone would draw near, wondering about an old-fashioned form of play; maybe another marble player would show up.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Engaged readers make predictions. Often, as in my case, the predictions are wrong. No matter. Who wants to read something that’s too predictable?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Instead, Tong Tong decides to spice up his play by buying NEW marbles. At the store, he finds a bag of what he thinks are marbles. “Those are hard candies,” the shopkeeper says. Um, okay. Maybe the store could be better organized with toys clearly separated from candy. Or maybe marble-minded Tong Tong got a little disoriented?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Turns out that each candy, which happens to be distinct in size and color or pattern, offers a chance for Tong Tong to hear something or someone communicate to him for as long as the candy lasts: the living room sofa, his dog, his father’s overriding thought, his deceased grandmother and autumn leaves. Each communication varies in tone from humorous to loving, from sentimental to cutesy sweet. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">For me, things begin with a groan as the talking sofa asks Tong Tong get his father to stop sitting on it and farting. Some time ago, <u>farting in picture books</u> almost came off as clever, good for belly laughs. For many, particularly young children (particularly boys), farting will always be a fresh source of amusement, but I just don’t feel it’s executed well here. The fart falls flat. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Thankfully, it gets better. The boy and his dog come to an understanding and the boy gets insight into his father even if it seems there will be no end to dad’s orders, directions and grilling questions. Tong Tong gets the pleasure of reconnecting with his grandmother, this coming from tasting the pink candy which turns out to be bubble gum. (Slight quibble over pink being the color linked to the only female character. Thought we were moving past that. As this picture books originates in South Korea, perhaps the shift from color-gender stereotypes has yet to happen.) What I loved most was the message from the falling leaves but that may be a problem since it’s as light as, well, a falling leaf. It felt whimsical, but I’m not sure it should be the greatest takeaway. Pacing-wise, the leaves should follow the sofa so that messages become increasingly touching and/or profound. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The final candy empowers Tong Tong to take on his problem of always playing alone. (Weirdly perhaps, the toy marbles never factor into the story again after the store visit.) The story continues, visually, inside the back cover and on the back cover itself.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC4PuqZ6OuPwVV_HfROb1vWemQNjLDOKEz719n-Gcno4lP-IvgbW8bpYTsRWA4aayf2bgb4qPqYIOs4clkUMNBDjSPy8uUDLH_CywqZxpIZFsNMYAKDBd3GRA2CSYLCzPMmmJoGuXdraqV/s1080/thumbnail-2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC4PuqZ6OuPwVV_HfROb1vWemQNjLDOKEz719n-Gcno4lP-IvgbW8bpYTsRWA4aayf2bgb4qPqYIOs4clkUMNBDjSPy8uUDLH_CywqZxpIZFsNMYAKDBd3GRA2CSYLCzPMmmJoGuXdraqV/s320/thumbnail-2.jpeg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />The illustrations are outstanding. The fine print explains they are “rendered in mixed media, including handmade miniature figurines and environments.” Characters’ faces are remarkably expressive. The clothing is extremely well crafted. Most scenes have a shallow depth of field, making Tong Tong appear sharp in the foreground while the background appears blurry. This has the effect of focusing the reader’s eye on whatever Tong Tong is doing while adding a subsequent curiosity about what else is in the scene—two levels of image comprehension: first the main point, then added context. For instance, early on we see sad-eyed Tong Tong walking with his equally downcast dog who trails behind. In the blurred background, we see three boys playing soccer and unused playground equipment. There are more things to do than play marbles. If only…<o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i>Magic Candies </i>is definitely worth a read and, even more so, worth a look. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p>GREGORY WALTERShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08059330265523106450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4699060219815282949.post-26421041783337183822021-09-10T13:27:00.002-07:002021-09-10T13:27:11.928-07:00THE PIGEON HAS TO GO TO SCHOOL!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi0Ujd6g4AWjGHvEyIKDaj9wQLCD2EMcP84LMrP12BtFuhbGpQZzTitZkIrYaEfYGTwd5RFH5Aycn1F_cNkXkGRcYYfk7IMIvnvPyD78GKAYRDf8vQUlrT3geJ187pbmBFloZ-6u2yH1pr/s640/IMG_5370.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi0Ujd6g4AWjGHvEyIKDaj9wQLCD2EMcP84LMrP12BtFuhbGpQZzTitZkIrYaEfYGTwd5RFH5Aycn1F_cNkXkGRcYYfk7IMIvnvPyD78GKAYRDf8vQUlrT3geJ187pbmBFloZ-6u2yH1pr/s320/IMG_5370.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">By Mo Willems</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">(Hyperion Books for Children, 2019)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">No secret, I adore the works of Mo Willem…his <i>Pigeon</i> books, the Elephant & Piggie series, <i>Knuffle Bunny, That Is NOT a Good Idea! </i>and on and on. <i>The Pigeon HAS to Go to School! </i>is back on the picture book bestseller list because, well, a new school year has begun, but there’s likely been a sales boost due to the fact some children are re-entering school buildings after an extended period of seeing teachers and classmates solely through looking at a screen. The continuing kerfuffle over masks only adds to kids’ jitters. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">“Am I going to be okay?”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">“Why is my teacher wearing a mask?”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">“Why isn’t my teacher wearing a mask?”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">“How come I have to wear a mask when Ava P. doesn’t have to?”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Thankfully, we have pre-COVID books that stick to the more normal concerns and playfully approach kids’ wonders and worries. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Pigeon starts out asking what many five-year-olds ask: “Why do <i>I </i>have to go to school? I already know EVERYTHING!” [NOTE: This contention, whether linked to academia or not, shall remain until the age of thirty.] <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">It doesn’t take long until Pigeon gets real. Bring on the <i>What if</i>s. “What if the teacher doesn’t like pigeons?” “WHAT IF I LEARN TOO MUCH!?!” “What if there is MATH?” Seriously, when was the last time you encountered a BEDMAS problem in real life?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOEvXiCqGKCdgaDHZdraa7wliz3xDCyu6Pz2-9p5KS4m6ABrruCs5vei_L-H8S8tdjcTE3AeBb1O5S8eqercERcp45zLKzkAwH2FdvZ6WedMZWLKnC3nPSgkIfnuzPy8THDJjG3W2vVJK1/s640/IMG_5372.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="562" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOEvXiCqGKCdgaDHZdraa7wliz3xDCyu6Pz2-9p5KS4m6ABrruCs5vei_L-H8S8tdjcTE3AeBb1O5S8eqercERcp45zLKzkAwH2FdvZ6WedMZWLKnC3nPSgkIfnuzPy8THDJjG3W2vVJK1/s320/IMG_5372.jpg" width="281" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />You don’t have to be starting school to relate when Pigeon says, “The unknown stresses me out, dude.” Yep, totally.<o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">That’s the beauty of the book. Children (and adults) can acknowledge their anxiety—we all experience it to some degree—and connect to the blue pigeon. It feels better knowing others, including, fictional feathered friends, have hopes and worries too…about school, about change, about things without one hundred percent clear answers. Like so much involving the pandemic. Oops, I went there again.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Back to pigeons and buses, please.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">As an adult reader, it’s fun to also look at the copyright page (<i>aka, </i>reverse title page) to look at the sneaky bits Willems adds to the ho-hum legal/reference information. Here we learn that <i>The Pigeon HAS to Go to School! </i>was “(p)ublished near a very lovely bagel shop on the Upper West Side. My Uncle Herb goes there all the time.” Fascinating, if a tad incomplete. I Googled “Uncle Herb’s bagels” and got re-routed to a certain specialty “herb shop” in Alaska. Um, no. A future Big Apple bagel hunt shall have to wait. (I’m craving a cinnamon raisin with cream cheese.) There’s more, of course, but you’ll have to track down the book. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Looks like someone HAS to go to the library now.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p>GREGORY WALTERShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08059330265523106450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4699060219815282949.post-89321489821324967472021-02-19T14:11:00.003-08:002021-02-19T14:15:08.307-08:00HOʿONANI: HULA WARRIOR<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo5t5sG0IpliO7h-Cux-4r-qrDb6wdKudVM9x6eXQONwWfEvLKOgr4smHs38LDEujsehq0C2-8L4qs-WHxrfU_8x0xcV7GD7Y_1Dm01LzifBWGIBl-8aA77sSdSPIyeniTXJOBvXhrHKsy/s255/Ho+onani+book.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="198" data-original-width="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo5t5sG0IpliO7h-Cux-4r-qrDb6wdKudVM9x6eXQONwWfEvLKOgr4smHs38LDEujsehq0C2-8L4qs-WHxrfU_8x0xcV7GD7Y_1Dm01LzifBWGIBl-8aA77sSdSPIyeniTXJOBvXhrHKsy/s0/Ho+onani+book.jpg" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br />Writt<span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n
by H</span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ath</span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r
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<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
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<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I</span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">llustrat</span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d
by Mika Song</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
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<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">(Tundra,
2019)</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
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<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Th</span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
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much w</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e’</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
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about g</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">nd</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r
id</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ntity.
If it’s confusing and mayb</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ov</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rwhelming
for adults, imagin</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">what
it’s lik</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">for
a child, born in a body r</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">pr</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">nting
a particular g</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">nd</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r
and y</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t
f</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ee</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ling
it’s not th</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">right
fit. Th</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">f</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ee</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ling
is not a passing curiosity; it stays with th</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">child,
a p</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rsist</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">nt
thought. Who do you talk to? How do you </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">xplor</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">this
s</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ee</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ming
mismatch? </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Imagin</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e,
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">too,
what it’s lik</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">for
a fri</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">nd
of this p</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rson.
How do th</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">y
ask qu</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">stions,
und</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rstand
and support?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Pictur</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">books
can h</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lp
us all b</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">gin
to proc</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ss
things w</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">may
hav</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">v</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r
consid</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d.
Th</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">y
can h</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lp
childr</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n
who f</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ee</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">l
th</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">y
don’t b</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">long
sudd</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">nly
f</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ee</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">l
conn</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ct</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">
That charact</span></i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">r
is lik</span></i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">m</span></i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">e!</span></i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">It’s
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">v</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n
mor</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">satisfying
to find a book about g</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">nd</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r
id</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ntity
that is told in a cultural</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ly</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
div</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rs</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">tting.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">H</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ath</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r
Gal</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e’</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Hoʿonani:
</span></i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">H</span></i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">ula
</span></i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">W</span></i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">arrior</span></i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">addr</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ss</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
th</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">grays
of g</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">nd</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r
within th</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">cont</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">xt
of Hawaiian cultur</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e.
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Th</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">story’s
main charact</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r,
Ho</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ʿ</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">onani,
is bas</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d
on a r</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">al
p</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rson,
Ho</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ʿ</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">onani
Kamai, rais</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d
in Honolulu. Whil</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
“</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">girl”
is </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-weight: normal;">wahin</span></u></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></u></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">in
Hawaiian and boy is</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">k</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ā</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e,
“</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">[s]h</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">pr</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">f</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rr</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d
just Ho</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ʿ</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">onani.”
Th</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">book
not</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
that, in traditional Hawaiian cultur</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e,
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-weight: normal;">m</span></u></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-weight: normal;">ā</span></u></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-weight: normal;">h</span></u></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-weight: normal;">ū</span></u></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
p</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">opl</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
“e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">mbrac</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d
both f</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">minine
and masculine traits” and had a rol</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
“</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">as
h</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">al</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rs
and as car</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">tak</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rs
and t</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ach</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rs
of anci</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">nt
traditions.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br />H</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ʿ</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">onani’s
m</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ntor
is Kumu Hina, anoth</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r
r</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">al
p</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rson
whom w</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e’</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">told
in th</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">author’s
not</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">is
a Hawaiian cultural practitioner and th</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">first
transg</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">nd</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r
candidat</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">to
run for stat</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">offic</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">in
th</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">U.S.
(Bas</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">on
how th</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">book
is writt</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n,
both Ho</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ʿ</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">onani
and Kumu id</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ntify
with f</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">mal</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">pronouns.)
It is Kumu who announc</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
that, as part of a high school cultural </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">v</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">nt,
th</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">k</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ā</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">(boys)
will p</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">form
a traditional hula chant. Ho</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ʿ</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">onani
is n</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ith</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r
a boy nor in high school, y</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t
sh</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">wants
to try out and Kumu </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ncourag</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
h</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r
to do so. To b</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">acc</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">pt</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d,
Ho</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ʿ</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">onani
must b</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">strong
and convincing in h</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r
warrior st</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">anc</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e,
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">in
h</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r
mov</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">m</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">nt
and </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">in
h</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">liv</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ry
of </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">th</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">chant.
Not only is sh</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">acc</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">pt</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d,
sh</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">is
s</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">l</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ct</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d
as th</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">l</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ad</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxJu4kp91Kt8BDvZeZ_xviwHJ4YUt6iUNMHzT0Wxabb7bnpLlRdZ8GBaL8qv3U_epyO4ksLsAnQn_aele6gpYA7pU2me6ORt_2LTCQAohewqmBtr00cwpLn1lLKKkxmR5K2Nn_5vHQovE1/s360/Ho+onani+pgs.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="140" data-original-width="360" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxJu4kp91Kt8BDvZeZ_xviwHJ4YUt6iUNMHzT0Wxabb7bnpLlRdZ8GBaL8qv3U_epyO4ksLsAnQn_aele6gpYA7pU2me6ORt_2LTCQAohewqmBtr00cwpLn1lLKKkxmR5K2Nn_5vHQovE1/w400-h173/Ho+onani+pgs.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p>
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<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">This
book is bas</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d
on th</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">tw</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">nty-fiv</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e-</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">minut</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">PBS
docum</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ntary
</span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIQ5fHc5_KA&pbjreload=101" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-weight: normal;">A
Plac</span></u></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></u></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-weight: normal;">in
th</span></u></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></u></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-weight: normal;">Middl</span></u></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></u></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">It’s
worth watching aft</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r
r</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ading
th</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">book
to gain mor</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">cont</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">xt
and to s</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ee
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">that
this story is not simply a fairy tal</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">v</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rsion
of r</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ality.
Truthfully, I f</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lt
Kumu Hina cam</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">off
as a bit too st</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rn,
p</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rhaps
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">v</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n
harsh, in th</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">documentary,
but s</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ee</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ing
Ho</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ʿ</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">onani
on vid</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o
will b</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">sp</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">cially
worthwhil</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">to
conv</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">y
to childr</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n
how utt</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rly
normal sh</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">is.
This is important sinc</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">childr</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n
may f</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ee</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">l
awkward in und</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rstanding
who Ho</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ʿ</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">onani
bas</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d
only on two-dim</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">nsional
drawings in a pictur</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">book.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
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<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">For
op</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ning
minds about g</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">nd</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r
and Hawaiian cultur</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e,
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Hoʿonani:
</span></i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">H</span></i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">ula
</span></i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">W</span></i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">arrior</span></i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">is
a worthwhil</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ad.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
GREGORY WALTERShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08059330265523106450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4699060219815282949.post-86964554652773374202020-12-21T15:46:00.001-08:002020-12-21T15:46:12.378-08:00SHADES OF BLACK: A Celebration of Our Children<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8TGAXkzHuqPtR_EmnK7ifQgpJFiHdG8i2SkxqpnLgASRwjxwC4oiwz2NXuvIqxb3G7zxAuc98nHuLicg1K3yFPH0MM0w3EEkgwYEY-CNiImtYpYpHfdYO5lkxsPCFyAsZ4WZPSpYA97P_/s249/shades+of+black.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="202" data-original-width="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8TGAXkzHuqPtR_EmnK7ifQgpJFiHdG8i2SkxqpnLgASRwjxwC4oiwz2NXuvIqxb3G7zxAuc98nHuLicg1K3yFPH0MM0w3EEkgwYEY-CNiImtYpYpHfdYO5lkxsPCFyAsZ4WZPSpYA97P_/s320/shades+of+black.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>
Written by Sandra L. Pinkney </p><p>Photography by Myles C. Pinkney </p><p>(Scholastic, 2000) </p><p> </p><p>After George Floyd’s death on May 25th of this year, there was a resurgence in the Black Lives Matter movement and a sense that America and the world had reached a pivotal point. No longer was it enough to sing about a better future somewhere down the line as in “A Change Is Gonna Come”—a song that was first recorded fifty-six years ago, after all. The time for real change seemed to have finally arrived. World leaders and corporate CEOs were acknowledging “systemic racism” and people who chose to peacefully protest reflected a greater diversity. In the publishing world, some magazines saw changes in editorial boards, recognizing that their composition still looked glaringly White. Books like Caste by Isabel Wilkerson and White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo lingered on the bestseller charts and it seemed like every agent was seeking #ownvoices books with BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) characters. Long time coming. </p><p>Thankfully, the book world had its share of powerful Black writers prior to 2020. Alice Walker. Maya Angelou. Toni Morrison. Langston Hughes. Alex Haley. Zadie Smith. James Baldwin. Roxanne Gay. Terry McMillan. August Wilson. Some of my favorite creators of children’s books include Jacqueline Woodson, Walter Dean Myers, Zetta Elliott, Jason Reynolds and illustrator E.B. Lewis. </p><p> Still, I’ve often heard people of color talk about how hard it was to find books with characters they could physically identify with when they were growing up. When my local library finally reopened, the first books I checked out were Marita Golden’s Don’t Play in the Sun: One Woman’s Journey through the Color Complex (Doubleday, 2004) and Shades of Black by the husband and wife team of Sandra and Myles Pinkney. I was surprised and heartened to see that Shades of Black is twenty years old. </p><p>Through words and photos, the Pinkneys celebrate the different hues and textures of the skin, hair and eyes of Black children, with each of the three sections beginning with the affirming statement: </p><p> <i>I am Black </i></p><p><i> I am Unique</i> </p><p>Skin color is compared to different foods, with text such as “I am the midnight blue in a licorice stick” or “I am the radiant brassy yellow in popcorn.” Each accompanying photo depicts a child interacting with the food item that resembles the child’s skin tone, be it the “velvety orange in a peach” or the “gingery brown in a cookie.” </p><p> The section on hair texture and style compares hair to natural fibers like “stiff ringlets in lambs wool” and “the twisted corkscrew in a rope.” Again, a child with the referenced type of hair is photographed with the natural item. It ends with the proud declaration, “All of my hair is good.” </p><p>Eyes are compared to colorful stones and a Black child appears in each photo to show the similarity of his or her eyes with shiny pieces of unakite, onyx and tiger’s eye. (I learned a few new terms myself!) </p><p>The book ends with the following passage: </p><p> <i> I am Black </i></p><p><i> I am Unique </i></p><p><i> I come from ancient Kings and Queens. </i></p><p><i> When you look at me, what do you see? </i></p><p><i> I am Black </i></p><p><i> I am proud of me </i></p><p>Pride and joy arise from the text but are further emboldened in the striking photos of happy, confident Black children. This is a book I can see parents and teachers reading to children over and over again, instilling a positive regard not just as to a child’s own particular skin, hair and eye color, but in the broad range of hair types and skin and eye colors in the Black race. It also can serve to help non-Black children see and celebrate the broad range of appearance in any race. </p><p>Photos of people can often look dated, but Myles Pinkney’s portraits look as current and relatable today as they would have two decades ago. </p><p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">A quick internet search shows that the book remains available for purchase on sites like Scholastic, Amazon, Chapters, and Barnes and Noble.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> You
can also fine a read-aloud of the book on YouTube.</span></span></span></span></span></p>
GREGORY WALTERShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08059330265523106450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4699060219815282949.post-39646937315895620562019-05-31T09:51:00.000-07:002019-05-31T09:51:54.724-07:00THE LEGEND OF ROCK PAPER SCISSORS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiCPS51Y9btdtbF2CsNbLKU1VBEH8nqcWtOQAyepYvFpFUc5snQaAW7MugPeqihC6KIKvcfb2nWECPrEmWrAjEKQE34CCew5FaY2SVcj01S3PTUyRAgkYhTghc4Ov39pgPCkKa3PhfOP66/s1600/Unknown-4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="235" data-original-width="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiCPS51Y9btdtbF2CsNbLKU1VBEH8nqcWtOQAyepYvFpFUc5snQaAW7MugPeqihC6KIKvcfb2nWECPrEmWrAjEKQE34CCew5FaY2SVcj01S3PTUyRAgkYhTghc4Ov39pgPCkKa3PhfOP66/s1600/Unknown-4.jpeg" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Written by Drew Daywalt</span></div>
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Illustrated by Adam Rex</div>
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(Balzer + Bray, 2017)</div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The game Rock, Paper, Scissors has been my go-to to solve so many minor disagreements between kids. Who has first chance at the last swing on the playground? Who’s going to be goalie for soccer? Who gets the last cookie?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US">Rock, paper, scissors…<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Solved!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Kids like the randomness of it. <i>Maybe I’ll be the victor, maybe I won’t. </i>Whatever the result, they know they had a hand in it. Literally. No calls of “Not fair!” No pleas for best two out of three. The rules are all too clear: rock beats scissors, scissors beats paper, paper beats rock. Brilliant—even if I’ve always wondered how a sheet of paper really beats a rock. (Wrapping it? Please.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Drew Daywalt—he of mega-popular <i>The Day the Crayons Quit—</i>has teamed up with beloved illustrator Adam Rex (<i><a href="http://boyzread.blogspot.com/2010/09/pssst.html" target="_blank">Pssst!</a></i>;<i><a href="http://boyzread.blogspot.com/2012/02/tree-ring-circus.html" target="_blank">Tree Ring Circus</a></i>) to bring an origin story of the Rock, Paper, Scissors game.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Yes, once upon a time in separate kingdoms, Rock, Paper and Scissors lived unsatisfying lives, doing battle with unworthy rivals. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Rock vs. Clothespin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Paper vs. Trail Mix Bits.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Scissors vs. Roll of Tape.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I always caution a young audience that the pictures post-battle are gruesome—a smooshed apricot (Egad!), severed bits of tape (Yikes!). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">These are hollow victories, indeed. Nothing to celebrate at all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">SPOILER ALERT: It took the coming together of Rock, Paper and Scissors to offer worthy challenges. Even defeat felt rewarding. The stakes of battle proved just right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This is one of those why-didn’t-I-think-of-it books. A simple concept, but told with kid-friendly humor. <i>The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors </i>is a terrific read-aloud, one that will allow you to test your battle-ready dramatic delivery as these fierce warriors seek and find their respected competitors. Battle on!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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GREGORY WALTERShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08059330265523106450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4699060219815282949.post-38004902780524798522019-05-23T11:03:00.001-07:002019-05-23T11:03:48.194-07:00I WILL NOT EAT YOU<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvmYymf-EUh7_n2k-_cjB7LnE8zUyZtQZyT033DSxmeGvZcf2X3rh8QfB2iZh4zCVkKZAES0RCqKNVs9EM7elvFAhDax5NA6uQ-1S13dSSOBahti-8vB6eTTaaOYQtiRu_KvsCdnr4RtNk/s1600/Will+Not+Eat+You.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="163" data-original-width="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvmYymf-EUh7_n2k-_cjB7LnE8zUyZtQZyT033DSxmeGvZcf2X3rh8QfB2iZh4zCVkKZAES0RCqKNVs9EM7elvFAhDax5NA6uQ-1S13dSSOBahti-8vB6eTTaaOYQtiRu_KvsCdnr4RtNk/s1600/Will+Not+Eat+You.jpg" /></a></div>
Written by Adam Lehrhaupt<br />
<br />
Illustrated by Scott Magoon<br />
<br />
(Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2016)<br />
<br />
Two eyes stare out from a dark cave. These are the eyes of Theodore. Who is this cave-dwelling creature? A bear? A monster? The bogeyman?! Whoever--whatever--it is, it seems primarily focused on eating. Or not eating.<br />
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Various creatures--a bird, a wolf, a tiger--approach the cave and each time Theodore shoos them away. "I will not eat you."<br />
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But then a silly boy appears, dressed in a cape and bearing a sword and shield. Does the boy dare to taunt Theodore?<br />
<br />
<i>"Don't bother me, pesky boy," he bellowed, "or I will eat you.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
But the boy does not heed Theodore's warning. He does not back down.<br />
<br />
Finally, we see who Theodore is. Without spoiling the story, I'll just say that the interaction is surprising in a way that still leaves the reader to wonder how things may play out <i>after </i>the story's end.<br />
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Lehrhaupt, the author of the delightful <i><a href="http://boyzread.blogspot.com/2019/03/warning-do-not-open-this-book.html" target="_blank">Warning: Do Not Open This Book</a></i>, has a knack for amusing the reader. There's such a quick flow to the story that it's over before I wanted it to be. Perhaps there will be a sequel involving Theodore and the boy. There is a fun, quirky, slightly uncertain relationship here that deserves another tale.<br />
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<br />GREGORY WALTERShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08059330265523106450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4699060219815282949.post-36541800290789014632019-05-21T14:51:00.000-07:002019-05-21T20:17:43.664-07:00FARM<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiJ4INFX8lOpTlEaeUhnpfERSBNKtggqGlq3mCzjrkAWGtvkKlK8NZACjazIsjcX5BLTYH1ul4OFzKa3eYrnyTBFOoplChbvJjAdXKrDc3xr1PdPsWFLw1-MpDMvYcfZPp-it3VU7cj44h/s1600/Farm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="205" data-original-width="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiJ4INFX8lOpTlEaeUhnpfERSBNKtggqGlq3mCzjrkAWGtvkKlK8NZACjazIsjcX5BLTYH1ul4OFzKa3eYrnyTBFOoplChbvJjAdXKrDc3xr1PdPsWFLw1-MpDMvYcfZPp-it3VU7cj44h/s1600/Farm.jpg" /></a></div>
By Elisha Cooper<br />
<br />
(Orchard Books, 2010)<br />
<br />
I'm a big admirer of Elisha Cooper's books. I've previously blogged about his wonderful <i><a href="http://boyzread.blogspot.com/2011/07/building.html" target="_blank">Building</a> </i>and <i><a href="http://boyzread.blogspot.com/2014/05/ice-cream.html" target="_blank">Ice Cream</a>. </i>Here again, Cooper matches crisp language with gorgeous watercolor artwork to create a cohesive book on a single topic.<br />
<br />
What boy doesn't love the farm? The machines and the animals captivate young imaginations. Cooper has clearly studied farm life to offer a clear idea of what it's like in this setting.<br />
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<i>Take a farmer, another farmer, a boy, a girl. </i><br />
<i>Add a house, two barns, four silos, some sheds, three tractors, some trucks, a few farmhands, and plenty of equipment.</i><br />
<i>Then cattle, chickens, countless cats, a dog.</i><br />
<i>Put them together and you get...a farm.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
A young reader is instantly hooked. As always, Cooper adds precious details to make things realistic.<br />
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<i>Inside the tractor, the farmer drinks coffee and listens to weather reports on the radio. Every once in a while, he turns in his seat to check the tiller.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Cooper packs so much in short sentences.<br />
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<i>It starts to rain. The tractor stops again. March is a mud month and weather must be dry for tilling. The framer will have to wait. Weather can't be fixed.</i><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdUFhc_f0k6sqouQpCoYJ6xpGEkcS86ngehO04NjJH2ASljdCnUdj2ZZyHKat34cHzS3iAM-kryz5GMwQ7zZU3hBW6eAmS567oGoiufeOI8QQvXY-LaWgC7EoZpmDRaHHZmRnnTZZlfnx/s1600/Farm+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="144" data-original-width="350" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdUFhc_f0k6sqouQpCoYJ6xpGEkcS86ngehO04NjJH2ASljdCnUdj2ZZyHKat34cHzS3iAM-kryz5GMwQ7zZU3hBW6eAmS567oGoiufeOI8QQvXY-LaWgC7EoZpmDRaHHZmRnnTZZlfnx/s320/Farm+2.jpg" width="320" /></a><i><br /></i><br />
Some pages have a single scene, but Cooper typically includes several smaller illustrations to show action. Against white and soft blue backgrounds, the red images pop, just like the red barns we see when driving in the countryside. As an adult reads, a child has so much to see, so much to imagine.<br />
<br />
Cooper takes the reader through a year on the farm, from early spring tractor preparation to the fall harvest and the time when "cattle are sent to market." (Wisely, he does not elaborate.)<br />
<br />
In all, this is another feast for the eyes and ears as children and adults can enjoy the interplay between text and pictures. It's another book worth tracking down!GREGORY WALTERShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08059330265523106450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4699060219815282949.post-4867200133097953632019-05-14T14:55:00.000-07:002019-05-14T14:55:43.142-07:00THE HOLE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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By Oyvind Torseter<br />
<br />
(Enchanted Lion Books, 2013)<br />
<br />
I want to start by saying I love this book, but then I can say that about almost every book I blog. This one, however, is simply brilliant, all because of a pencil-sized hole that cuts through the middle of the book. Opening the book, we see a simply drawn guy moving into a new apartment. Inside his apartment is a hole in the wall right beside the door. At first, it's not a problem. The guy hasn't noticed it. He unboxes a few items and makes a fried egg for a meal. As he sits on another box to eat, he looks up and finally sees the hole, eight pages into the story.<br />
<br />
"What's this?" he says as he leaps up to examine the hole in the wall. He walks through the door to look at the hole from the other side; however, the hole seems to be gone. In the new illustration, the hole now represents the window of the washing machine. He returns to the first room. By drawing the first room from a slightly different perspective, the hole moves from the wall to the floor. The guy trips. This hole is a hazard! It continues to move on each page as the guy makes his way through different parts of the apartment. Egad!<br />
<br />
He calls a science lab. "Yes, hello...I've found a hole...in my apartment...Yes, no...It keeps moving...Yes...Could you come and have a look?"<br />
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<br />Alas they can't. They want him to bring the hole to them. The guy must trap this moving hole in a box and take it to the lab. As he travels with his boxed hole, the hole on the page becomes part of a traffic light, the tire of a vehicle, a nostril of a child.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfBlJWfP2ecdz4IEBUQnFTwHfpDRiIZY81EBLzSWbA4w5Szu8lW-ux89s0wg_JN993BT4z6hz22ZGWz7FSDAYA-ySf9QmHAXHGi9f2dDJbVcXTdF0RxcO2hDjnomdEGJJcbm054WHEwobp/s1600/norwegian+hole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfBlJWfP2ecdz4IEBUQnFTwHfpDRiIZY81EBLzSWbA4w5Szu8lW-ux89s0wg_JN993BT4z6hz22ZGWz7FSDAYA-ySf9QmHAXHGi9f2dDJbVcXTdF0RxcO2hDjnomdEGJJcbm054WHEwobp/s1600/norwegian+hole.jpg" /></a></div>
Kids shout out, "Eww!" when it gets to the nostril page. But they are hooked. They examine the always-present hole in the center of the page and marvel at how it forms a different item in each illustration.<br />
<br />
Fortunately, the scientists take the hole from the guy who returns home, relieved that the hole is out of his hands. But, of course, we know the hole remains on the page. It's only a matter of time until the guy is distressed once again.<br />
<br />
This is a truly novel picture book, with very few words. (The text was originally published in Norwegian.) It's one that kids will want to look at again right after the first viewing, spending more time paying attention to how the hole seems to move and how it takes on different forms due to Torseter's creative design. It's a book that's well worth the extra effort of tracking it down. GREGORY WALTERShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08059330265523106450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4699060219815282949.post-54417397135878492292019-05-10T11:46:00.001-07:002019-05-10T11:46:13.371-07:00THE GRUMPY DOODLE BOOK<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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By Taro Gomi<br />
<br />
(Chronicle Books, 2012)<br />
<br />
I just love the concept of this book. It begins with:<br />
<br />
<i>I don't know what you're grumpy about, but why don't you try doodling? Doodle anything you like. See? Aren't you starting to feel better?</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
And the likely answer from a truly grumpy person will be, "NO!"<br />
<br />
But that's okay. Taro Gomi provides ample space for grumpy doodles. Gomi draws a simple shell of a house and invites the doodler to "draw a person being very cranky inside this house." The doodler next gets to make a teapot angry and create a crabby train.<br />
<br />
It gets more absurd. "What do grouchy mountains look like?" Draw the clothes you would wear when feeling mad. Make a "furious clock".<br />
<br />
After about fifty pages of angry doodles, Gomi says:<br />
<br />
<i>Well, well! You don't look grumpy anymore. What does your face look like now? Now that you're feeling better, turn the page for more doodling.</i><br />
<br />
Here's where I expect a typical doodler to resist, not due to still being grumpy, but simply to have fun. There are pages and pages left for the user to draw angry blobs and squiggles. Or not. Maybe a smiley face will creep in. Ultimately, I have a strong hunch that the budding artist will find amusement in free-form doodling, regardless of whatever emotion he or she feels in the moment. Art is indeed a form of expression. GREGORY WALTERShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08059330265523106450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4699060219815282949.post-91532258057811071732019-05-08T11:39:00.001-07:002019-05-08T11:39:47.189-07:00PLEASE, MR. PANDA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin94Wt_iJHhksUxlznJKlBCPSJUY9uNJB7oGeqZUNdAMCow5K4O6nK1hN4cjIBWOFSZdr98yckPIN1sThbNXj_U79k0P_gB96jGHbtxiQzR12DBDdLvpD2yULRoSa2HcHQEelGFs36gcKV/s1600/Panda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin94Wt_iJHhksUxlznJKlBCPSJUY9uNJB7oGeqZUNdAMCow5K4O6nK1hN4cjIBWOFSZdr98yckPIN1sThbNXj_U79k0P_gB96jGHbtxiQzR12DBDdLvpD2yULRoSa2HcHQEelGFs36gcKV/s1600/Panda.jpg" /></a></div>
By Steve Antony<br />
<br />
(Scholastic Press, 2014)<br />
<br />
When I began to read this book for the first time, I was alarmed. A doughnut-carrying panda seemed to be a not-too-distant cousin of Grumpy Cat.<br />
<br />
<i>Panda: Would you like a doughnut?</i><br />
<i>Penguin: Give me the pink one.</i><br />
<i>Panda: No, you cannot have a doughnut.</i><br />
<i> I have changed my mind.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Oh, dear.<br />
<br />
One by one, black and white critters--a skunk, an orca whale--are offered and then denied doughnuts. As an educator, I wondered why in the world anyone saw fit to publish this book. This gruff panda is not a proper role model. Bring back cutesy pandas!<br />
<br />
But, of course, my shock was for naught. Perhaps I've become too accustomed to people who fail to practice good manners. As the book goes on, we see that panda is not a doughnut hog who lacks the ability to share; instead, panda is taking a stand for good manners. Of course! How lovely.<br />
<br />
When I read the story aloud to a group of students, I can see them go through the same thoughts as I experienced: mean panda, greedy panda,...ah, but no. A principled panda! As students catch on, there is an implied wink shared between us.<br />
<br />
Turns out this book is a delightful way to remind children of the power of "please".GREGORY WALTERShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08059330265523106450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4699060219815282949.post-32465296219925052032019-05-05T12:32:00.001-07:002019-05-05T12:32:39.098-07:00HIDE AND SEEK<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEnK-pYJK5IRkeYxtZVLmkbYtEVKDUmfepjXnXknP4nAkovLVK_PdLobcYcGSNbyXnC1VpAQpj04EhBtXmK1TNauMTQ9qvy8Q1H2o0PuSa11fg5qdo1erra9c4wcbCzxpx7u0hbN2_TNP2/s1600/Unknown-4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEnK-pYJK5IRkeYxtZVLmkbYtEVKDUmfepjXnXknP4nAkovLVK_PdLobcYcGSNbyXnC1VpAQpj04EhBtXmK1TNauMTQ9qvy8Q1H2o0PuSa11fg5qdo1erra9c4wcbCzxpx7u0hbN2_TNP2/s1600/Unknown-4.jpeg" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">By David A. Carter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">(Tate Publishing, 2012)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The pop-up books of my childhood never lasted. Too many hands on them, too many folds that just gave out as the wear and tear from small hands proved unforgiving. Sadly, the few that I came across in classroom and library collections had a short shelf lie. And yet, they were magical works, books to gaze at with wonder while appreciating their unique design.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Pop-up books, while fascinating in and of themselves, can teach children how to value something delicate and, more broadly, how to respect a book. I received the glorious <i>Hide and Seek </i>as a gift shortly after its release and I’m proud to say my copy is well preserved despite having been viewed by many classes of children. The key has been presenting the book to the whole group and treating it as the treasure that it is. At first, I open the book to a random page. There is a chorus of “Whoas” and “Wows”. Little bodies inch up. A few complain they can’t see. (You can get a peek at the book on a YouTube video <u><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyiJ1bzpgKw" target="_blank">here</a></u>.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I close the book again. It is immediately clear to all, regardless of how much or how little they saw, that this is a special book and it requires a different kind of viewing. We sit on the floor in a circle. I talk about how hands on the book can damage the delicate pieces so extraordinarily designed. I share my own wonder over how they can print multiple copies of such an intricate work. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The tricky part of <i>Hide and Seek </i>is that each page invites searching eyes as harder-to-find features are mentioned in the text.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US">A fish and a teardrop.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US">Five black spots, four blossoms blue and a T that is white.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US">A heart and an arabesque.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US">A smile, a black Q and a reflection of you.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Yes, each page presents the danger more inching forward. The viewers have to trust that the book will be turned and shifted so that everyone has a chance to nod when he or she was spotted the named objects. The pages invite you to linger.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Carter sticks to a bold, limited palette of red, blue, yellow, black and white. He invites hands to pull tabs and turn wheels to reveal more items on the page. This is when turn taking may bring out calls of “No fair” when someone doesn’t get picked, but I mention that pairs of students may come to my desk during reading times to see the book up close again. It’s amazing to see how carefully they turn and examine each page.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Inevitably, a few features on the page will give out from simple page turns and, yes, from hands that just can’t resist. It’s happened in a couple of places to my copy, but that just serves as a reminder that this pop-up book has been loved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
GREGORY WALTERShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08059330265523106450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4699060219815282949.post-71024351557862223422019-05-03T11:20:00.000-07:002019-05-03T11:20:17.947-07:00RUBE GOLDBERG'S SIMPLE NORMAL HUMDRUM SCHOOL DAY<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3BJxBU5CqMFQ-ZOv4PbIF-5OG1Dm6tXzHRkTW9V8QeFebTIpyOLDWsP5zb55Aco99j3RiuN4pPaY-7UF0aygXptry7r_ibxAFyo3FlGtNa4-sguE4TGk3ovn1EQEVeSnbcIqMPpZj3Uky/s1600/RUBE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="198" data-original-width="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3BJxBU5CqMFQ-ZOv4PbIF-5OG1Dm6tXzHRkTW9V8QeFebTIpyOLDWsP5zb55Aco99j3RiuN4pPaY-7UF0aygXptry7r_ibxAFyo3FlGtNa4-sguE4TGk3ovn1EQEVeSnbcIqMPpZj3Uky/s1600/RUBE.jpg" /></a></div>
Written by Jennifer George<br />
<br />
Illustrated by Ed Steckley<br />
<br />
Invention design by Jospeph Herscher and Ed Steckley<br />
<br />
(Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2017)<br />
<br />
Rube Goldberg was a cartoonist who devised complex, convoluted pathways for accomplishing everyday tasks. There would be a setup of pulleys and hammers, balances and levers that would be set in motion like a chain of dominoes. This book takes an ordinary school day and imagines how a young Rube might make them more interesting through a series of linked steps. Simply waking up is no longer so simple. It requires a ray of sunshine reflecting off a mirror, ricocheting off and warming (and thus lightening) a wet towel which the raises its half of a balance...and so on and so forth. A boxing glove, a train set, a vacuum cleaner and a pitcher of water also come into play, creating a ten-step wake-up routine.<br />
<br />
Oh, my.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A classic Rube Goldberg cartoon </i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Young readers will study the illustrations at length and then read the directions, imagining how a particular circuit might play out in their own lives while also possibly finding the glitchier steps in each sequence. Who wouldn't want to try getting dressed with a chain of events that begins with sliding down a banister? And why not board the school bus by launching onto a zip line from your front doorsteps? Finding a hungry goat might get in the way of Rube's plan for sneaking into class late, but the sequence will put a smile on the reader's face. Art and P.E. teachers may have to brace for their rooms being completely transformed to make room for Rube's painting and hoop-throwing contraptions.<br />
<br />
No doubt, kids will want to draft their own sequences for accomplishing ordinary tasks. There are, in fact, Rube Goldberg Machine contests held each year in which teams create their own multi-steps chains for doing a particular task such as putting money in a piggy bank. More information can be found at <a href="http://rubegoldberg.com/">rubegoldberg.com</a>.<br />
<br />
Whether this book inspires kids to create a team or simply amuses them by looking at the fourteen tasks presented within, it's a book that should definitely be added to classroom and home libraries.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />GREGORY WALTERShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08059330265523106450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4699060219815282949.post-69129215763927432712019-04-27T13:20:00.001-07:002023-04-05T15:59:03.441-07:00A HUNDRED BILLION TRILLION STARS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Writt<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">en
by</span></span></span> S<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">eth
Fishman</span></span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Illustrated
by Isabel Greenberg</span></span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">(Greenwillow
Books, 2017)</span></span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Prepare
to have your mind blown. Big numbers have a tendency to do just that.
Sometimes they cause a panic. Like in math class. In that case, I
draw a dollar sign in front of the number. Imagining that it’s
money—</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">your
</span></i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">money—always
makes it more palatable.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Or
stars. Don’t big numbers become more fascinating when we imagine
them as stars in the sky? The titular quantity (100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) of stars is only the first number
Fishman presents. Indeed most of the numbers in this book are
gargantuan—the trees on Earth, all of the ants, the number of
children (“or smallish snakes”) it would take to stretch from
Earth to the moon. Some numbers don’t seem so large until one
considers the context. Most alarming for me: Fishman tells us the
average human consumes 70 pounds of bugs in a lifetime. (From now on,
I shall be more selective about opening my mouth!)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">A
Hundred Billion Trillion Stars </span></i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">is
absolutely mesmerizing. The facts are relatable to kids and
Greenberg’s colorful illustrations depict diverse people. Even
better, the book has one of the most useful Author’s Notes I’ve read. (What a great way to introduce kids to this
oft-ignored component of a book!) In it, Fishman talks about how the
numbers in the book are estimates and that the numbers will
constantly change. (Mind boggling for kids!) “We can get very near
the correct number on many things,” Fishman says, “near enough
for us to understand how big they are—especially in comparison to
the world around us.” The Note also breaks down place value to the
billion trillions (or sextillions), enough to stretch everyone’s
mind.</span></span></span></div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>GREGORY WALTERShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08059330265523106450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4699060219815282949.post-5459005164586288442019-04-23T07:11:00.002-07:002019-04-23T07:11:29.406-07:00I LOST MY TOOTH!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdCmgyeqM5ZSlEMBZ97T05Tl6DV1pZJEnf3e133D2fAjI9HnG1F6YAoncPKr_BM3TCXfjIxdANY0o9XkwDXSiQBBlIn-lO1hOVzSP-szGnCuMb_yU8txNg7-oYzHb4DsMgbiYVoBBa-5lK/s1600/Tooth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="264" data-original-width="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdCmgyeqM5ZSlEMBZ97T05Tl6DV1pZJEnf3e133D2fAjI9HnG1F6YAoncPKr_BM3TCXfjIxdANY0o9XkwDXSiQBBlIn-lO1hOVzSP-szGnCuMb_yU8txNg7-oYzHb4DsMgbiYVoBBa-5lK/s1600/Tooth.jpg" /></a></div>
By Mo Willems<br />
<br />
(Hyperion Books for Children, 2018)<br />
<br />
When you're young, losing a tooth is a big deal. I forgot that until I became a principal. Then I'd see kindergarteners and first graders come down to the office with a buddy, tooth in the palm of their hand, proudly telling the school secretary they lost their tooth. While I'd ham it up--"Oh, dear! Where'd you lose it? We should do a search!"--the school administrative assistant would reach in a cupboard to get a plastic tooth holder for the tooth-lite person to take home the little white nugget. Smiles all around.<br />
<br />
<i>I Lost My Tooth!</i> is one of Willems' easy readers, a hefty 85-page book that is a quick page turner for the most part. The bulk of the book is taken up by the "BIG Story" about a bunch of squirrels fretting over Zoom Squirrel's lost tooth. And it's as silly as you'd expect.<br />
<br />
<i>ZOOM SQUIRREL: The tooth was loose.</i><br />
<i> FLINK SQUIRREL: Aha!</i><br />
<i> ZOWIE SQUIRREL: You should not let a tooth go loose, Zoom Squirrel.</i><br />
<i> WINK SQUIRREL: Teeth have no sense of direction.</i><br />
<i> FLINK SQUIRREL: You should have used a leash.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
These squirrels are as corny--or as Willems would say, acorn-y--as I am.<br />
<br />
The reading level is slightly higher than Elephant and Piggie books so it may require more support and it may not generate as many encore readings. Kids will like bonus features like the Emot-acorns in the bottom corner of pages and the Acorn-y jokes that appear after the main story. <i>I Lost My Tooth!</i> also includes nonfiction information at the end of the book, explaining what teeth are made of and comparing numbers and sets of teeth in squirrels, bears and sharks. (I also like the fact that this book has a table of contents which Willems intentionally points out to readers.) As is often the case with factual material, the reading level goes up a couple notches with vocabulary such as enamel, research and theory. This part of the book will require extra support. Still, it's refreshing to get the real scoop about squirrel teeth after all the zany fun.<br />
<br />
<i>I Lost My Tooth! </i>doesn't have quite the charm factor of the Pigeon books or the Elephant and Piggie series but it will still be an entertaining experience for young readers, another memorable notch on their reading journey.GREGORY WALTERShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08059330265523106450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4699060219815282949.post-46164871771154658522019-04-22T15:46:00.000-07:002019-04-22T15:46:01.552-07:00BILLY'S BOOGER: A MEMOIR<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSrvaOSJ3RYWWsVn_TmfvZQO5hKEaQ0KksnFXM_CvNFO5ZaUalLc2_W_H0DHGJOKK7eCefEhncaUIQifz4F2Olns2uD25E_j1vMogoYFvuhyphenhyphen3M7I52kGJW84jPVqFkNplGL2B5KyJz3dLG/s1600/Billy+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSrvaOSJ3RYWWsVn_TmfvZQO5hKEaQ0KksnFXM_CvNFO5ZaUalLc2_W_H0DHGJOKK7eCefEhncaUIQifz4F2Olns2uD25E_j1vMogoYFvuhyphenhyphen3M7I52kGJW84jPVqFkNplGL2B5KyJz3dLG/s1600/Billy+cover.jpg" /></a></div>
By William Joyce<br />
<br />
(Antheneum Books for Young Readers, 2015)<br />
<br />
Admittedly, I'm torn when I see books like this. Boogers, captains in underpants, farting dogs...not my thing. But then again, I wasn't the kind of kid who chugged root beer on a quest for the biggest belch. This book isn't for me.<br />
<br />
And that's okay. It has an audience. I can see boys doing a double-take when they see the title. <i>Did Mrs. Read really get this book for our library?!</i><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Yes, BILLY'S BOOGER will be one of the popular books in circulation. Because boogers are gross and hysterical (and apparently tasty according to four finger-active classmates).</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">BILLY'S BOOGER: A MEMOIR portrays Billy (author William Joyce's younger, fourth-grade self) as a creative boy who makes mashed potato-pea towers on his plate and does best with "invented" sports at school. The accompanying '50s-retro illustration shows a focused Billy, wearing flippers, a golf bag and holding a ping pong paddle in his mouth, ready to swing an oversized racket at a pitched pineapple. It doesn't jive with his P.E. teacher.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Things are worse with other subjects. Math is a special challenge. When the school announces a book contest, Billy gets excited. Here's a chance to channel his imagination. At this point, Joyce creates a smaller book within the book, younger Billy's booger book, complete with more primitive comic-style drawing, hand-print font and invented spelling. (Personally, I'd have called the book "Billy's Boogers" and given larger roles to other boogers. Why not go big?)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">SPOILER ALERT: Billy's book doesn't win. Not even close. But, when the librarian puts the entries into library circulation, Billy's is most popular.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">This echoes what I felt as a kid. The books with award stickers were the ones to avoid. They were the ones the librarians oohed and aahed over, the ones that made me restless with boredom. The really good books--the ones my boy group clustered around--never had silver-ribbon stickers.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">So let a new generation of boys revel in BILLY'S BOOGER. Let them snicker as they take turns checking it out. Let them be amused when they take it home and proudly show it to tsk-tsking parents. Yes, it's a book and it's reading. Go with it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>GREGORY WALTERShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08059330265523106450noreply@blogger.com0