The Places You Will Go

Picture Book of the Month: Hush! A Thai Lullaby

December 2009

Hush! A Thai Lullaby

Author: Minfong Ho

Illustrator: Holly Meade

Publisher: Scholastic Press, 32 pages
A Thai lullaby is the basis of Minfong Ho's soothing rhymes in this bedtime book. A mother rocks her baby to sleep and begs various animals to be quiet for the sake of the sleeping child. The animals make Thai-animal noises, that will sound and feel unique to Malaysian ears and tongues - for example, "Jeed-jeed," says a Thai mouse and "Hoom-praa" goes a Thai elephant. The illustrations, which won a Caldecott honor in 1997, are done with paper collage and depict Thai culture and simple rural life in a variety of earthy colours and interesting textures, . 

Picture Book of the Month: The Little Stone Lion

Nov 2009

The Little Stone Lion
Author: Kim Xiong
Illustrator: Kim Xiong
Publisher: Heryin Books, 40 pages
Year: 2006
Chinese lions are usually created in male-and-female pairs, but the stone lion in this book is a village's "only stone lion" - "smaller than a cat". older than the "oldest village elder", friendly champion of small children, loved by everyone, a comforting constant in a changing world. Gentle words and soft colours capture the dignity and mystery of this ancient symbol of truth and protector against evils - a truly magical way of introducing old traditions to a new generation.

Picture Book of the Month: The Blacker the Berry

October 2009

The Blacker the Berry
Author: Joyce Carol Thomas
Illustrator: Floyd Cooper
Publisher: Amistad, 32 pages
Year: 2008
ISBN: 978-0060253752
Malaysians, taught, from the cradle, to value a fair complexion, may be surprised to encounter a celebration of dark skin. Different shades of African-American skin are lusciously and sensuously described by Joyce Carol Thomas, and then rendered just as sumptuously by Floyd Cooper's illustrations, making it abundantly clear that bitter chocolate is as beautiful as vanilla. The Blacker the Berry won the 2009 Coretta Scott King Book Award. This book was part of What a Wonderful World: A Multicultural Journey Through Text and Pictures, held at Kinokuniya Bookstore Suria KLCC, Kuala Lumpur from 1st-31st October, 2009.

Picture book of the Month: Brothers in Hope

September 2009

Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan

By Mary Williams

Illustrator: R. Gregory Christie

Publisher: Lee & Low Books, 40 pages

ISBN: 978-1584302322

This is one of the books I have chosen to be displayed at a special picture book exhibition at Kinokuniya Bookstore, KLCC Suria, Kuala Lumpur. The exhibition, called What a Wonderful World: A Multicultural Journey Through Pictures and Text will begin on 1st Oct and run for the entire month.

Brothers in Hope is about the Lost Boys of Sudan, children who lost their families and homes as a result of the civil wars in that country. Mary Williams is the founder of the Lost Boys Foundation and her book focuses on two boys, Garang and Chuti, who, like many others, found strength in themselves and each other, and survived the tragedy of their enormous losses.

R. Gregory Christie's illustrations are full of dense, powerful colours accented with dark lines and shadows. They pull the eyes to the page and show the horror and misery of war, as well as the joy of survival and friendship, especially in the expressions of the characters.

Picture Book of the Month: We're Going on a Bear Hunt

August 2009
WE'RE GOING ON A BEAR HUNT
By Michael Rosen
Illustrated by Helen Oxenbury
Publisher: Walker Books, 40 pages

This is one of my favourite books for storytelling sessions. The repetition in every verse -  "We're going on a bear hunt, we're going to catch a big one! What a beautiful day - we're not scared!" and then "We can't go over it, we can't go under it, we've got to go through it!" - encourages children to join in, and it's even better if you put the book aside and act the whole thing out.

Of course, Oxenbury's pictures are always worth sharing too. At a conference in Australia, she pointed out that she added a postscript to the story by drawing the bear walking away, rather despondently, at the end of the book. Read what you will into that picture. I wonder if the bear really just wanted a chat and not to eat the children.

Monsters in Our Minds

From Tots to Teens, StarMag

Picture Book of the Month - July 2009

THE ENEMY

Author: David Calli

Illustrator: Serge Bloch

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade Books, 32 pages

ISBN: 978-0375845000

I LOVE the video for Paul McCartney's 1983 song, Pipes of Peace (from the album of the same name). The video depicts the famous 1914 Christmas truce between British and German troops. McCartney plays both British and a German platoon leaders who, while their men play football, "chat" and show one another family photographs. A shell blast breaks up the game and forces the two groups to return to their own trenches. The video ends with both leaders realising that they have each left pictures of their family with the other. Call me sentimental, but this last scene always makes me bawl. (Watch the video on YouTube).

The Enemy: A Book About Peace (Schwartz & Wade Books, 32 pages, ISBN: 978-0375845000) by David Calli, illustrated by Serge Bloch, made me immediately think of Pipes of Peace although there are no heart-warming scenes in the picture book. The video was about the simple similarities shared between "enemies" - football, family, a deep desire for peace, which would allow them to be united with their loved ones and once again indulge freely and without reservations or restrictions in simple play. In The Enemy, two  soldiers sit in their respective trenches, each picturing the other as a cruel monster: "the enemy and I have nothing in common. He is a wild beast. He does not know mercy. I know this because I read it in my manual." On the facing page, Bloch presents a scene of utter devastation - corpses of animals and humans lie strewn and bloody while a gun-toting figure with a forked tail walks away.

Picture Book of the Month: Ghosts in the House!

June 2009
GHOSTS IN THE HOUSE!
Written and illustrated by Kazuna Kohara
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press, 32 pages

A little girl and a cat explore an old house and find it full of ghosts. But they aren't just any little girl and cat, but a witch girl and her witch cat - and out come the pointy hat and the black cat suit! Marvellous!! They round the ghosts up, give them a wash, hang them out to dry and turn them into happy curtains, table cloth, bed clothes and other household linen. I'm not sure if ghosts really want to be functional, but these ones look happy enough. I Love the striking orange-and-black illustrations - that somehow gives the impression of a bright night! And the white tissue ghosts are wispily delightful and look like they could blow off the page!

Picture Book of the Month: Fruits

May 2009
FRUITS
By ValerieBloom
Illustrations by David Aztell
Publisher: Macmillan Books, 32 pages
THIS delightful poem, written in West Indian dialect, must be read aloud for maximum effect. A young girl and her baby sister discover a whole lot of fruit - starting from "half a pawpaw" and ending with "ten banana" - and gobble up as much as they can - with the girl taking the lion's share. The bananas finally get the better of her: "Mek me lie down on me bed, quick. Lawd, ah feeling really sick." The children's expressions are a joy to behold, and the whole book, from the jaunty rhythm of the poem to the vibrant colours of the illustrations, just oozes a sunny vibe - it's guaranteed to put a huge grin on your face.

Picture Book of the Month: I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato

April 2009

I WILL NOT EVER NEVER EAT A TOMATO
Written & Illustrated by Lauren Child
Publisher: Orchard Books, 32 pages

This Charlie and Lola book is particularly fun to read aloud. Lola is a fussy eater so Charlie plays a "trick" on her. In fact, he proves to be an excellent big brother with creative ideas and a good grasp of the basics of reverse psychology.

Child's collage style illustrations are a visual treat and the veggies (and fruit) look delicious - even if you're one of those who swear that they'll never eat a tomato.

Simply Beautiful

(1st April 2009: This was March 2009's Picture Book of the Month)

From Tots to Teens, StarMag

ANYONE who appreciates the profound beauty of a cat asleep in a patch of sunlight will appreciate Wabi Sabi (Little, Brown, 40 pages, ISBN: 978-0316118255), a picture book written by Mark Reibstein and illustrated by Ed Young. No, not wasabi, the green mustard paste served with Japanese food, but wabi-sabi, a Japanese phrase that represents a philosophy of transient and imperfect beauty.

In Reibstein’s book, Wabi Sabi is a little rust-coloured cat who lives in Kyoto, Japan. One day, her master has visitors from abroad. They ask what Wabi Sabi means and the little cat’s master says, “That’s hard to explain”.

Wabi Sabi’s curiosity is piqued and she asks her friend, a white cat named Snowball, if she knows what Wabi Sabi means. Snowball says that it is “a kind of beauty” and then proceeds to mumble words that leave Wabi Sabi more puzzled than ever.

The little cat asks Rascal, the dog, if he can help, but Rascal is a little spiteful and implies that she would not understand his explanation. He then mutters to himself that Wabi Sabi is as ordinary as a brown leaf.

Is Wabi Sabi beautiful or ordinary? The little cat is thoroughly confused, but a passing bird advises her to journey to Mount Hiei. There, Kosho, a wise old monkey, would be able to explain the meaning of Wabi Sabi to her.