Blog #4 - A puppy, a bear, and a little girl

 

The adorable picture storybook, Please, Puppy, Please, immediately conjures connections to David Shannon's series No David., regarding the storyline, but also the illustrations. This humorous story is authored by Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee. It is illustrated by award-winning artist Kadir Nelson. In the narrative, the two children spend the entire book saying, "please, please" to their puppy while trying to wrangle them from doing all the puppy things. The illustrations are the main focal point of the double-page narrative. Close-up pictures of the puppy from the perspective of being on the ground adds humor and adventure to the realistic fiction storybook. Through the snapshot-like illustrations and rhyming over the pages, the reader can envision interacting with the happy, curious, yet naughty puppy. The artistic medium sets the story's tone by creating a realistic capturing of the children and puppy in action. The art invites the reader into the story. Of course, like the David Shannon series, even after all the "naughtiness," the puppy is a loved and cherished member of the family. This picture storybook uses language, along with illustrations, to mold the realistic, contemporary narrative. 

   

Mother Bruce,  written and illustrated by Ryan T. Higgins, captures a grumpy bear who really does not care to be around anyone but himself and his gourmet egg recipes. This delightful book develops the personality of Bruce throughout the fantasy storybook. The design elements aid in the character development of the main character through the lines and color detailing his facial expressions and overall mood. From shopping in the forest with a grocery shopping cart to dealing with his egg surprise, Bruce moves from being a grumpy bear trying to rid himself of his new role as a gosling mama to embracing the life of growing geese who refuse to leave his side. Higgins incorporates human-like adaptations in his characters, which contributes to the humor and a connection made to the story. The story text is multi-leveled in spirit; thus, the adult reader will likely enjoy this text as much as the young listener/reader. It is no surprise this picture storybook earned five awards, including the winner of the E.B. White Read-Aloud in 2016 and a finalist Anna Dewdney Read Together Award in 2017. The text and illustrations create a fun read-aloud that encourages compassion, connection in a playful style.

Islandborn, authored by Junot Diaz and illustrated by Leo Espinosa, is a richly detailed picture storybook weaving the history of the Dominican Republic into a text appropriate for school-aged readers to comprehend. Unlike the previous two, this picture storybook stands out as a piece meant to educate a Latin culture and enlighten the reader on immigration and our multi-culture country. This book is a 2019 Pura Belpre Honor Book for "portraying, affirming, and celebrating the Latino cultural experience." The picture storybook begins with Lola at her school, filled with immigrant children. The illustrations on the first two pages depict a multitude of multi-ethnic families entering the school. Full of color and imaginative pictures, the text uses various figures of speech to invite the reader into Lola's journey to discover the island she can't remember. Interviewing her neighbors from the island, each page appears to incorporate the child's mental imagery as she learns from others. For example, a barbershop morphs into a coconut and mango orchard, while on another page, the images of a hurricane from Lola's mother fill the pages. The illustrator utilizes a variety of colors, shapes, and lines in the art to complement the text.

Additionally, the character development is woven into the realistic fictional story with historical elements. While the younger generation shares the island's beauty, the older gentlemen are less apt to encourage positive memories and help Lola with her class assignment. Finally, after prompting from Lola's grandmother, one of the older gentlemen agrees to share what he remembers about the island. Instead of using the word dictator, the imagery of a monster controlling the island is referenced. This figurative language would allow for future discussions on the history of the Dominican Republic in terms children could more readily comprehend. While the other two picture storybooks discussed in my blog do exhibit many of the characteristics of a good picture storybook, Islandborn is in its own class, truly an award-winning piece of literature with the incorporation of rich illustrations, the continual figurative language within the text, attention to cultural detail and character development.