Everyone can learn to ride a bicycle

Author & Illustrator:   Chris Raschka
Publisher:  Schwartz & Wade
Publication Year:   2013
Location: Knox County Public Library- Lawson McGhee

Awards:   Booklist, Publisher's Weekly, Kirkus & School Library Journal starred reviews

Summary:  A girl in a big helmet chooses a bicycle and practices a lot. Her very patient father helps her take off the training wheels and try over and over again until she finally learns. The retro inspired illustrations are watercolors with blocks of color. There are very few words, but the true story is told in the pictures of the girl and her father. She falls again and again and continues to try. He hugs her and encourages her: "Don't give up. You'll get it. Find the courage to try again......until by luck, grace, and determination, you are riding..." Sure to bring a tear to every parent's eye.

Classroom Ideas:  A character study of the unnamed girl and her father with an extremely strong moral told with very few words. Beautifully touching.

A Ball for Daisy

Author & Illustrator:   Chris Raschka
Publisher:  Schwartz & Wade
Publication Year:   2011
Location: Knox County Public Library- Powell

Awards:   Caldecott, starred Kirkus review

Summary:  A wordless picture book about a dog named Daisy and her red ball. Through the illustrations, Raschka shows the absolute love Daisy has for her ball and the joy she gets from playing with it. When Daisy goes for a walk, the ball gets broken and Daisy is inconsolable with grief. The pages where Daisy is sad on her green couch almost broke my heart! But, at the end, the owner of the dog who broke Daisy's ball gets her a new blue ball and joy returns.

Classroom Ideas: Younger readers could write the words to tell Daisy's story or write their own story of losing something precious to them.

The Hello, Goodbye Window

Author: Norton Juster
Illustrator:   Chris Raschka
Publisher:  Hyperion Books for Children
Publication Year:   2005
Location: Knox County Public Library- Powell

Awards:   Caldecott, ALA Notable, SLJ Best Books, Parenting Magazine Best Book, Horn Book Honor, NYT Best Illustrated

Summary:  At Nanny & Poppy's house there is a special window: a hello, goodbye window. But the rest of the house is pretty amazing too. The narrator's pure love for his grandparents and their house just jumps off the page. Raschka's vibrant colorful child-like illustration are gorgeous and the reader can't help but fall in love with Nanny & Poppy's house! (I couldn't find it online, but the illustration of the house at night is my favorite.)

Classroom Ideas: This is such a perfect book as a mentor text. Once they've read it, kids can write and illustrate a story about a special place in their life.

Yo! Yes?

Author & Illustrator:  Chris Raschka
Publisher: Orchard Books
Publication Year:  1993
Location: Knox County Public Library- Powell

Awards: Caldecott Honor

Summary:  With only 34 words, this is Rachka's story of friendship between a black and white boy who meet on the street. The use of typography styles help convey mood and tell the story along with the colorful very-90s illustrations.

Classroom Ideas:   This book could be used to teach mood or word choice. With only one word per page, Raschka had to choose just the perfect word to get his meaning across. There's a rhythm to the book that made it incredibly appealing to my nine year old daughter.