Rain!

Author: Linda Ashman
Illustrator:   Christian Robinson
Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin
Publication Year:   2013
Location: Knox County Public Library- Lawson McGhee

Awards:   Kirkus starred review

Summary:  A grumpy man who's mad about the rain lives next door to a boy who's excited about it. The engaging paint and collage illustrations use a dark palette for the man contrasted with a bright one for boy. The man hates his galoshes and overcoat while the boy is excited to don his rain gear. The two characters move through their days, interacting with those around them and spreading their moods to everyone. When they meet at a cafe, the boy's acts of kindness infect the man and his spread suddenly becomes bright too.

Classroom Ideas: The theme of the power of attitude is told subtly but can be understood by even the youngest reader.

If You Lived Here

Author & Illustrator:   Giles Laroche
Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin
Publication Year:   2011
Location: Knox County Public Library- Halls

Awards:   School Library Journal starred review

Summary:  Fifteen different types of houses from around the world are pictured here. The illustrations are intricate collages. The houses include from those popular in history (the dogtrot house of the early American pioneers), French chalets, pueblo homes, and palafitos (houses built on stilts), as well as more. For each house, readers learn what materials are used in their construction, the location where they are found, the dates they were first constructed, and some other facts about them.

Classroom Ideas: Some of the houses would fit into historical studies while others could be included in studies of other countries/ cultures.

Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade

Author & Illustrator:   Melissa Sweet
Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin
Publication Year:   2011
Location: Knox County Public Library- Powell

Awards:   Sibert, NCTE Orbis Pictus

Summary:  The biography of Tony Sarg who created the first Macy's large parade balloons/puppets in 1928. In the beginning, Sarg's life on a farm is presented in a comic strip form. The full-page spreads soon bring us into Tony's move to the city with his marionettes and his work at Macy's. When they   decide that live animals are too dangerous for the Thanksgiving Day parade, the company turns to Tony to come up with a "spectacular" idea. Thinking of blimps, he comes up with the idea for large puppet/balloons to float over the parade ("But what if the controls were Below and the puppet could Rise up?") In an awesome vertical spread, the first balloon elephant is shown--"It was a parade New Yorkers would never forget!" The amazingly detailed mixed media collages are the true stars here. I could stare at the illustrations for hours and find new things to look at each time.

Classroom Ideas: Could be used around Thanksgiving time in conjunction with the Macy's parade or in a study of the 1920s. An art teacher could also use this gorgeous book to talk about collage and mixed media or to create puppets.

Extras: The endpapers include more information about Tony Sarg's Marionettes and an original NYT 1933 advertisement. There's also an author's note about Tony Sarg, one about the art in the book, some thank yous, a Bibliography, and quotation sources.

http://www.hmhbooks.com/kids/resources/BalloonsOverBroadway_ActivityKit.pdf
An activity kit from Houghton Mifflin Books

There Was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly

Author & Illustrator:   Simms Taback
Publisher:  Viking
Publication Year: 1997 
Location: Personal Collection

Awards:  Caldecott Honor, NYT Best Illustrated

Summary:  In the traditional poem, there was an old lady who swallowed a fly, spider, bird, and so on until she swallows a horse (and dies of course). Simms Taback uses his die-cut collages to illustrate this version and shows the inside of the old lady's stomach!


Classroom Ideas: This book can be used to teach repetition and rhythm. Art teachers could use it as an excellent example of the art of collage.

Smoky Nights

Author: Eve Bunting
Illustrator: David Diaz  
Publisher:  Harcourt Brace & Company
Publication Year:   1994
Location: Personal Collection

Awards:   Caldecott Medal, ALA Notable, School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, Parent's Choice Award Winner

Summary:  Daniel and his mother watch during the Los Angeles riots and are forced to flee as their building begins to burn.  They discover that their cat and that of their Korean neighbor are both missing.  The community gathers in a shelter to escape the fire and the looting and the cats are found. The book does touch on sensitive subjects, but it ends hopefully with the two cats teaching the humans a lesson about getting along. Diaz's collage art is incredible incorporating real objects with paintings.

Classroom Ideas: This book could be used in a discussion about late 20th century history and riots. It also touches on problem solving and tolerance for difference. An art teacher could use it talk about collage.