The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson and Rafael López (Children's Week #8)

There will be times when you walk into a room

and no one there is quite like you. 

The Day You Begin is about being different, whether that means looking different, sounding different, or any other characteristic that leaves a child feeling alone in his or her uniqueness. It's about sensing that you're out of place, knowing that in the room you walked into or the classroom you're always in, something sets you apart. Maybe everyone in class went somewhere during summer vacation but you. Maybe you're the only person in your class who brings a packed lunch or whose lunch is unfamiliar to everyone else. Maybe you're not athletic and you're the last to be chosen for team sports.

In beautiful, gentle prose, author Jacqueline Woodson talks about being set apart but learning to embrace and share your own story, whatever that may be. And, the thought that maybe when you tell your story you will find something in common with someone else in the room.

This is the day you begin 

to find the places inside

your laughter and your lunches,

your books, your travel and your stories, 

where every new friend has something

 a little like you -- and something else 

so fabulously not quite like you

at all

Here's the final spread so you can see the vibrant illustrations in the final spread quoted above:

Highly recommended - A new favorite. I love everything about The Day You Begin. Beautiful prose, stunning illustrations, and a subject that absolutely everyone can relate to. It's a great way to get a head start explaining that there will be times a child feels totally out of place. Even now, I can relate to the subject matter in The Day You Begin and recall times in school that I felt like I was the odd duck in a room full of swans. Highly recommended for any and all children and libraries.


©2018 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Never Satisfied: The Story of the Stonecutter by Dave Horowitz (Children's Week #1)

Never Satisfied: The Story of the Stonecutter is a circular tale about a stonecutter who wishes to be something else. Cutting stone is not an easy way to make a living.

One day, on his way back from the rock quarry, Stanley noticed a businessman just sipping tea. 
"Hmmf," said Stanley. "That must be nice. I wish I were a businessman."

And, with that, Stanley is suddenly transformed into a businessman. But, he doesn't stay satisfied for long. He looks out the window and sees the king passing by. The king doesn't even have to walk. He's being carried down the road in a sedan chair. Stanley wishes he were the king. Again, his wish comes true and he is instantly transformed into the king. But, then the sun beats down on his head and Stanley realizes that everyone must look up to the sun.

Stanley goes from being a stonecutter to a businessman, businessman to king, king to the sun, sun to a black cloud that blocks the sun, black cloud to the wind that pushes clouds away, and then . . . he finds that the one thing he can't budge as the wind is a great stone. Stanley wishes to be the stone because surely nothing could be greater. And, then along comes a stonecutter.

At the end of the book, Stanley realizes that he was  meant to be a stonecutter all along. But, that's left unsaid. It's clear Stanley is going to wish to be what he was in the first place.

Highly recommended - Never Satisfied is book worth talking about with a lesson every child needs to learn. At Goodreads, there are only two of us who gave Never Satisfied 5 stars, which I confess surprised me. I think it's a lovely tale with a "grass is greener on the other side" theme that opens up a terrific opportunity to talk about being happy with what you have. Love the bold but simple illustrations, as well.

There's an author's note at the beginning of the book that is of unusual interest. Dave Horowitz had a dozen books published before his frustration with the difficulty of the job led him to change fields. He became a paramedic and it was another paramedic who told him the story of the stonecutter. Clearly, he learned the lesson of the stonecutter. I love it that this particular tale is one that the author learned from and that he returned to writing and illustrating books as a result. I'm curious whether or not he's remained a paramedic, as well. I can't think of many jobs that are harder than emergency medical care, so I was doubly surprised at the direction the author went when he changed jobs.

Never Satisfied is Book #1 for Children's Week. I'm dedicating this week to reviewing children's books because I have quite a substantial stack to review. There should be several reviews per day. It just depends upon how much time I have, how many I manage to crank out.

©2018 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson

In Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson, a group of children are sent to talk amongst themselves -- nothing else, no teacher accompanying them, just the six of them chatting without any rules.

There were eight of us then. Our small class had come together because the school wanted to try something new: Could they put eight kids together in a room with one teacher and make something amazing? Eight special kids?

~p. 5

The children are understandably confused, at first, and the number of them drops almost immediately from eight to six. What's the point? Why are they here and what should they say to each other?

The walls are broken down a little by Esteban. We think they took my papi, he says. His father, an undocumented immigrant, has disappeared. Esteban is shocked, hurt, terrified. Where is his father? The other children, it turns out, have challenges of their own. But, it's Esteban's pain that helps them to open up.

The story is narrated by Haley. Her mother is dead, her father in prison. Haley lives with her uncle and keeps her story close to her chest. But, as Esteban, Holly, Amari, Ashton, and Tiago open up about their own struggles, Haley is encouraged to share. During the months that they meet in the classroom alone to talk, their stories unfold and the children learn that everything is easier when you can share it with friends.

Recommended but not a favorite - I have mixed feelings about Harbor Me. I love Jacqueline Woodson's writing. The characters are interesting people with diverse backgrounds and experiences, all living in Brooklyn. They're believable and well-rounded. I liked the theme that sharing with friends created a safe harbor of sorts, that in opening up they were able to think about what it means to harbor someone else in need. But, the children are younger than they sound and far more understanding of each other's difficulties than I can imagine in reality. To me, they sounded more like young adults. I had to keep reminding myself they were only -- I think this is correct -- 5th graders.

I also struggled with understanding the purpose of this experiment. Would a school really agree to leaving children alone in a room for no other reason than to talk to each other? I think I would have easily bought into the concept if there had been some sort of school requirement -- a report about what they learned, for example, or a book that they read together and discussed, rather than only talking. The problem was not the writing or even the story, simply the single element that stretched my ability to suspend disbelief. Fortunately, I do think middle grade readers will likely enjoy the book without worrying about that particular element and Harbor Me will be a particularly good addition to classrooms and school libraries. It's a book that could very well make children feel a little less alone in their uniqueness and encourage them to empathize with others.


©2018 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson

If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson is a story of young love. Ellie and Jeremiah literally bump into each other in the hall of their Manhattan school, knocking her books to the ground. There's an immediate attraction between them but neither knows the other and it takes time before they manage to connect. And, when they do, and they become a couple, they experience the expected: stares, questions, surprise. What is a white, Jewish girl doing with a black boy with dreadlocks? It doesn't matter. They are smitten and spend every moment they can together. And, then tragedy strikes.

I knew If You Come Softly is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet because of the preface to this 20th Anniversary edition by the author, but somehow I got so caught up in the love story that I completely forgot and was caught a little off-guard when I got to the tragic part. Tragedy is not the ending, though, and I absolutely loved the ending. It's a warm, contented ending, if not a happy one.

Highly recommended - I can see why this bittersweet tale of love and loss has been reissued. It took a while for me to warm to the story because, even though it's a "love at first sight" tale, it takes some time before the two get together. It's kind of a slow burn sort of story but a gentle one. The relationship between Ellie (short for Elisha) and Jeremiah (who goes by Miah) is all the more lovely and sweet and believable because of the pacing.

©2018 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

I bought Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson when it was recommended to me for the #Diversiverse reading challenge, which I completely failed. But, when I realized it's Black History Month, I thought, "Yes! Another excuse to read Brown Girl Dreaming!" Not that I needed an excuse but it's kind of fun to read thematically, isn't it?

Brown Girl Dreaming is a memoir written in verse and it tells the story of the author's life, from her birth in Ohio to her move to South Carolina and then to New York City (and onward).

What I loved about Brown Girl Dreaming:

• It is written in a way that places you squarely in the author's shoes, so that you really get an understanding of what it's like to experience racial prejudice.
• There are many people to absolutely fall in love with. I adored Jacqueline's South Carolina grandparents. She described them with genuine affection; you can't help but love them as much as she clearly did. I also loved her best friend in New York and her best friend's mother.
• I loved reading about the differences in culture between the three places that the author lived in her youth and how they shaped her.
• The story of her childhood writing and how she grew in her writing parallels my own writing experiences in many ways, except, of course, for the fact that she is a very successful author and I'm not. I have to say Brown Girl Dreaming stirred up that yearning to try harder in a way very little has, in recent years. 
• The author is also much like me in having experienced a great deal of loss. She's so positive, though, never maudlin but simply grateful for the ways her loved ones have contributed to making her the person she is. 
• She has such a friendly, upbeat voice that you can't help but come out of the book wishing you knew the author. 

What I disliked about Brown Girl Dreaming:

• Nothing. It's a 5-star book.

A favorite excerpt:

Highly recommended - An absolutely perfect choice for expanding your reading by people of color, a wonderfully-written memoir that evokes time and place brilliantly, and a good read for anyone interested in writing, as well.


©2016 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.