The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander and Kadir Nelson

This book!!

Well I mean, what would you expect from two rock stars in the kid lit world? 

Kwame Alexander wrote this poem for his newborn daughter in 2008, right after Obama had been elected. 

He wanted to honor all the African-Americans that had faced so many obstacles and leapt over them like Jesse Owens in the 1936 Olympics. 

Those who survived America by any means necessary...

And those who didn't. 

This blank page--so powerful. 

This is for the undeniable

the ones who scored

with chains 

on one hand

and faith 

in the other.

Luminaries.

...To save an imperfect Union.

Kadir Nelson's pictures are amazing! Every time I pick up one of the books he has worked on I am blown away by the attention to detail, the intensity of each subject. 

And this page really gets me right in the gut. The lives given to fight for this country that enslaved them because they refused to believe that men could be that unremittingly vile forever. 

The audacity of hope. 

...the unspeakable.

Modern unpeakables.

A roll call of famous African-Americans athletes....

...and the undiscovered.

Musicians

How does Kadir Nelson get that glimmering, almost-crying look in people's eyes so perfectly? HOW? 

There is so much hope and love and optimism on this page that it gets me every time. 

This is for you. 

This Beautiful Day by Richard Jackson & Illus by Suzy Lee

The contrast between the cover illustration and the title grabbed me as soon as I saw this book. 

The illustrations start out as black and white. 

Kids sitting at home being somewhat bored on a rainy day. 

Then the boy turns on the radio and music pours out.

Suddenly there is a little wisp of blue in the illustration and much more movement.

When their dancing gets to big to be contained inside, they venture outside with a parade of umbrellas

all of us skipping and singing and calling aloud

As the rain lets up, the colors pour into the illustrations

high-fiving

 and yes, 

we're alive-ing

Love the music and bounce of the text!

Such color and joy!

And finally they are back in the garden for a popsicle snack with their mother

all together, oh yes

I love how this book demonstrates the beauty to be had in every day/situation. 

The Rough Patch by Brian Lies

As soon as I saw this book, I knew I would love it. I have an unreasonable delight in personified foxes. Plus, it vaguely reminded me of the Fern Hollow Books I read as a kid. Nostalgia. It is pretty hard to beat. 

Evan and his dog.

This won a Caldecott Honor this week. 

They were the best of friends

Doing everything together. 

But especially gardening. 

Evan and his dog spent a great deal of time in the garden.

And then.... the unthinkable happened. His dog died.

For days, Evan did nothing. Then, he destroyed his garden--that reminder of his dog and indicator of life moving on when Evan's world had ground to a halt. 

Weeds grew. And Evan took care of them because these weeds reflected his feelings better than pretty, tidy plants. 

Soon his garden was a desolate, soulless place, just how he wanted it. 

But when a green vine sneaks in, Evan decides to let it stay.

 See the hoe about to chop it out? Love that detail. 

That vine turns into a pumpkin....

...that turns into a trip to the fair. 

When his pumpkin places third, he has the choose of $10 or a puppy. He takes the $10 of course. 

But.....

....somehow, the puppy heads home with him anyway. 

A story of hope and love. Of death and life going on. 

AND of the importance of gardening in living a happy life and healing. 

Gardens and dogs are important. 

Red vintage pickups don't hurt either.

Dreamers by Yuyi Morales

This book. 

I heard so much about this book in the lead up to the Caldecott awards. And being contrary and not particularly in love with the art in the past few Caldecott winners, I was pretty ambivalent about this one, assuming it wouldn't really be something I would love. 

BUT I DO. 

This gorgeous book is multilayered, detail oriented, and full of love for children and books. 

My heart! 

The illustrations are amazing. Just really, truly amazing. 

In this illustration, childhood drawings of the artist/author are overlaid with a perfectly adorable illustration of the artist as a child. 

These pictures are reminiscent of the intricate embroidery and flamboyant colors of Central American traditional clothing.

Everything in the illustrations is carefully thought out and meaningful. The pathway here is a photograph of the road in her hometown in Mexico. As she is moving across the border to be with the American father of her baby, she is followed by other famous Central American-American migrants: Monarch butterflies and swallows. 

This new land, with a new language was difficult to navigate and make sense of. 

But armed with a stroller and backpack, Yuyi and her baby explored their new world.

One day they stumbled upon a public library. 

They were told they could just take books home without paying. How could that be?! 

I ADORE that actual books are pictured here. 

Worlds and words began to open up to them through the books they brought home. 

Walking with loads of books. I feel like Yuyi and I are kindred spirits. 

When my first two kids were tiny and we were living near Lake Placid, I had a double stroller that I would push one mile to the public library and a nearby thrift store. The number of days I pushed that stroller uphill overflowing with books are hard to count. 

We are stories.

We are two languages.

We are lucha.

We are resilience.

We are hope.

We are dreamers, 

soñadores of the world. 

At the end of the book, Yuyi shares her and her son's story of coming to America. 

There is a list of books that were beloved by her and her son. 

I LOVE reading people's list of books that they love or care about. 

The Christmas Eve Tree by Delia Huddy & Illus by Emily Sutton

This is a new book out this year. I picked it up because I loved the front cover. I like the colors, the gentleness of the illustrations, and the snow falling. 

The Christmas Eve Tree in it's natural habitat.

A Christmas tree farm. 

(I told you I like them!)

The Christmas trees on the way to the big city in the red truck. 

I am not sure how I feel about these illustrations. Why are the cars lying flat on the road when the cows and horses look normal? Hm....

All the different destinations for the Christmas trees

Our little tree is all the way to the left, tangled in another tree's branches.

I love this shop window display!

The little tree was destined for the dumpster when our hero asks if he can have it. 

The clerk doesn't see any reason he shouldn't, so he hands it over. 

This little tree is lovingly carried back to our hero's house. Which is under an overpass. 

With a few musicians, a crowd gathers. 

Simplicity has the ability to bring an entire crowd to a standstill. 

The magic of Christmas Eve was everywhere!

After Christmas, our hero quietly exits stage right. Since the tree is mostly dead, he leaves it for the street sweeper. 

The street sweeper decides to see what the little tree would do if it was planted. So he plants it in a quiet corner of the park. 

Love this winter garden!

Somehow, the tree survives. And grows into a tall giant that... 

...stretches out its branches for sparrows, pigeons, babies in strollers, lovers, and office workers. 

Mice nibble at its roots.

Trees, the eternal symbol of hope. 

I liked this book. I didn't read a review of it before I dived into it, so I was a little more invested in the little boy than a cameo appearance warrants. I thought he was the main event. But he wasn't--it was the tree. 

I like almost any book about a tree.