Over the River and Through the Woods Illus by Emma Randall

ANNNNND the final contender! 

This book wins the cutest endpapers competition! 

In general, this book is very cute. 

Pretty though too!

One of those books where small children are doing things their parents should never let them do by themselves. 

And here is grandmother's farm. This one is definitely for a younger crowd. There aren't too many verses, so it gets down quite quickly and the illustrations with the bright colors and rounded shapes are ideal for young children. 

Over the River and Through the Woods Illus by Christopher Manson

The next one had woodcut illustrations which creates a vintage feel. 

This also had simplified lyrics, omitting some of the lesson known verses.

Iceboats!

For some reason, this version feels the most authentic. For no reason except the woodcuts look vintagey. 

I have to say, I love woodcuts.

I loved this one! 

Eliza: The Story of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton by Margaret McNamara & Illus by Esmé Shapiro

It is always interesting to me when society has a renewed interest in someone long dead. Alexander Hamilton hasn't done anything interesting in over 200 years and somehow, he is a person of very current interest and passion.

The power of a musical. 

This book is an interesting look at Alexander Hamilton's wife, an interesting and important player in the Revolutionary/Early Years Era of American history.

 You can see the sway of the musical in the fact that the actress that plays Eliza in the play has graced the book with an afterward; giving her blessing.  

The book itself is written like a letter from an older Elizabeth to her soon to be born great-grandchild. 

While no such letter exists, it is an interesting format to convey a personal touch and a wealth of information. 

Eliza goes all the way back to her birth, sharing details of her parent's life and home north of Albany. 

Eliza like all good heroines was a bit unconventional, loving the outdoors and not being afraid of anything. Unlike her visiting friends who were a little hesitant about the wildness of newly settled area. 

Eliza is true to the era, depicting her family's slaves and a destroying fire that moved through during her childhood. 

Do you remember the discussion a year or two ago about how slaves were depicted in children's books? Sophie Blackall's illustrations in A Fine Dessert and Vanessa Brantley-Newton's illustrations in A Birthday Cake for George Washington were widely criticized because they depicted the slaves as smiling or enjoying their enslavement. Clearly Shapiro learned from that conversation. 

The courtship of the young, passionate, and orphaned Alexander and the well-connected Elizabeth

Their home filled with light, love, and children

The day of Alexander's death

After Alexander's death, Elizabeth devoted herself to making the world more gentle and kind to those destitute and needy. 

Along with several others, Eliza was involved in establishing the Orphan Asylum Society which is still operating under the name of Graham Windham. 

This is a children's book, so it doesn't include all the details about the Alexander's life, including Alexander's affair with Maria Reynolds becoming public, their first son being killed in a duel only two years before Alexander was killed in his own duel, and her oldest daughter who had a mental breakdown after her brother's death and was there after described as being in "an eternal childhood" for the rest of her life. 

But overall, this book has a wealth of knowledge about an interesting woman involved in the founding of America. 

Hidden by Loic Dauviller, Greg Salsedo & Illus by Marc Lizano

Did you know yesterday was Holocaust Remembrance Day? I didn't know either, but I saw it somewhere. 

I tend to think of graphic novels as a less than serious medium, but it works. I have to say that graphic novels are still not my preferred format. I really love words and the graphic novel format doesn't give authors the opportunity to really wallow in words. 

But as someone who learned to read with Donald Duck and perfected the art with Tintin, I really can't discourage students from checking them out non-stop. 

And this book is a great example of how powerful graphic novels can be. 

This is a backwards looking book--it begins with a little girl cuddling into her grandmother during the night. 

And grandmother, Dounia, starts to tell her her story. 

Of life before the Holocaust and how things changed after the "star" was forced on them. Her father told her she got to be a sheriff like in the American West, that is why she wore a star. Her mother was upset about the star, but 

But noone else thought her sheriff's star was fun.

And her teacher was mean to her for no reason. 

Finally another Jew told her it was not a sheriff's star, but an indicator of their less than social status. 

Love in uncertain times.

And then the Nazis came.

Dounia is carefully hid and after the Nazis have left, the downstairs neighbor comes to find her. 

Her star was cut off and thrown in the fire. Dounia became a temporary Gentile.

Her new "parents" tell her she has to leave the building. Dounia is convinced staying where her parents can find her is the only way to reconnect with her parents. But she doesn't have an option. 

A dramatic exit and a traitorous neighbor

And a new life as mother and daughter.

Life in the country eventually helps Dounia smile again.

Time passes on the farm

But always, they look for news of Dounia's parents.

And.... you will have to read the book to find out the rest. 

And at the end, you find that Dounia had never been able to talk to her own children about her experiences, so through telling her granddaughter about her experience, her son finally learns about those years in his mother's life. 

A sweet look at how life moves on after hardship and how healing it can be to have no secrets from your loved ones. 

Thank You, Omu! by Oge Mora

A generous woman with a yummy pot of red stew discovers the joys to be had in giving in this sweet book. 

And just so you know, you pronounce Omu like Ah-moo. Omu means queen in Oge Mora's parent's Nigerian. Omu is what Mora called her grandmother--Queen. I love that!

The collage illustrations are vibrant and fun

Omu makes a lovely pot of red (calico) stew. She is quite sure this will be her best ever dinner.

While it cools, she sits down to read her book. I love her. 

While it cools, the delicious smell wafts out to the neighborhood. 

(You might not be able to see it, but her potholder is made out of a scrap of a map. Which I love)

Throughout the afternoon, she shares her best ever dinner with a boy, a police officer, a hot dog vendor and many others. 

Until finally, Omu has nothing left to share. Just when she is feeling a bit down about this situation, there comes a knocking on the door. 

And all the grateful recipients of Omu's generosity have returned bearing gifts of food for Omu's dinner. 

Generosity takes center stage here, but I love that a sense of community and the ten fold return on that generosity are also bit players. 

Through sharing, Omu has enriched the lives of her neighbors and that has enabled them to be generous as well.