Sonny's Bridge: Jazz Legend Sonny Rollins Finds His Grove by Barry Wittenstein, illustrated by Keith Mallett

Sonny's Bridge: Jazz Legend Sonny Rollins Finds His Grove

by Barry Wittenstein, illustrated by Keith Mallett

Charlesbridge, 2019, 40 pages

What better way is there to introduce young readers to some of the world's greatest artists than through a well-done picture book? And Sonny's Bridge is a perfect example of that.

Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins was born in 1930 when the Harlem Renaissance was in full swing - for musicians, that would be literally. Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie and Glenn Miller were some of the jazz greats during Sonny's childhood, popularizing a new swing sound. And Sonny already knew that being a jazz musician was in his future as he practiced his saxophone at home in the closet.

Later, during WWII, Sonny continued to practice, listening to a new generation of musicians, people like Charlie "Bird" Parker and John "Dizzy" Gillespie as they perfected a new sound called bebop. But even though he was too young to join the army, he also began to see the inequalities around him and to demonstrate for equal rights for all African Americans and to end Jim Crow laws.

Sonny and his saxophone Henrietta soon began to get some gigs, playing in "...fancy joints and two-bit joints./Two shows a night, two sets per show" and to gain so much recognition, he found himself playing in Carnegie Hall with other jazz legends.

But somehow, despite his success, at 29 years old, Sonny was dissatisfied and decided to leave the jazz world behind, believing that his name was bigger than his talent, that his fame had come too soon. His life, he decides, needed an intermission.

But as Sonny continued to play, he realized he also needed to finds a place to practice that wouldn't bother the neighbors, a place where he could play as much and as loudly as he needed to, a place that was right in from of his eyes - the Williamsburg Bridge, connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan. It was the perfect place to reconnect with himself: "seeking refuge and sol-i-tude. Finding inspiration, finding himself/in the echoes of the echoes of the echoes" on the walkway of the bridge.

Eventually, more confident in his sound and himself, Sonny goes back into the recording studio where his music, "enters a new dimension: his subconscious" and within two weeks, a new album with a new sound is produced and appropriately named "The Bridge." Sonny is back and better than ever!

Sonny's Bridge is such a perfectly wrought picture book for older readers. Wittenstein has written the text in a free verse style that resembles a jazzy bebob composition that Sonny might have played himself, capturing all the energy of bebop, and all the passion of this musical genius.

Mallett's digitally illustrations are bold and vibrantly colorful, carrying their own sense of rhythm that compliments both the free verse text and the excitement of the jazz scene to which Sonny belonged over the course of 40 years, from his years as a young listener and learner to his years as a self-assured musician and creator.

I also loved the design of this book as well as the content. Maybe it's because I'm old enough to remember buying record albums before cassettes, CDs, and now Vinyl. Albums always had a colorful cardboard jacket, and inside of it, the record was usually held in a brown paper sleeve with a hole in the center that showed the record label. And that is exactly the sense you get when you open Sonny's Bridge. And in keeping with musical traditon, Sonny's biography is set up like a gig itself - with a first set, and intermission, and a second set that harmonizes perfectly with Sonny's life.

There is plenty of back matter for further exploration into Sonny's life and music, and an excellent curriculum guide is available from the publisher, Charlesbridge, HERE 

This book is recommended for readers age 6+
This book was sent to my by the published, Charlesbridge Publishing

A Halloween Picture Book Roundup

Halloween is right around the corner and my young readers and I have been reading and re-reading some new favorites that we would like to share with you. We hope you enjoy them as much as we are. 

Pumpkin Orange, Pumpkin Round by Rosanna Battigelli, 

illustrated by Tara Anderson

Pajama Press, 2019, 24 pages

Told in two word rhyming lines, each one beginning with the word pumpkin, cat parents and their four kittens are off to the pumpkin patch to find just the right pumpkins for making Halloween Jack-o-Lanterns: "Pumpkin orange,/pumpkin round,/pumpkin hiding.../pumpkin found!" Getting their pumpkins home, mom and dad carve the pumpkins while the kids watch. then it time for them to get dressed in their Halloween costumes and head out with the neighbors for some trick-or-treating. Finally, it's time to go home, eat dinner, and enjoy a nice pumpkin bedtime story. My kids really liked this story. The kitties are sweet and happy, it's a loving family celebrating Halloween together and sharing it with friends and neighbors. The gentle pencil and acrylic illustrations are all done in a palette of Halloween oranges, greens and purples. The rhyme is fun but one caveat is that without the pictures, it doesn't hold up on its own. But the rhyme and the illustrations harmonize nicely and result in a simply, but merry Halloween story.

Snowmen at Halloween by Caralyn Buehner, 

illustrated by Mark Buehner

Dial Books, 2019, 32 pages

Personally, I love all the Snowmen books, and so do my kids. In this latest adventure, an early snowfall means a snowy Halloween. But before all the treat-or-treating festivities, a sister and brother build a some snowman and of course, they dress them up for Halloween. Later that night, on their way home, one of the kids thinks he sees a snowman wink. That sets off his imagination, wondering what these scary looking snowman do for Halloween. In his imagination, the snowmen first set off on a Halloween parade, down to the village square, decorated with lights and lanterns. Then, there's pumpkin carving, games, face painting, apple-bobbing and gooey caramel treats, followed by fortune telling and a finding their way out of a maze, spooky stories and trick-or-treating before heading home. But, alas, the next morning the snow has melted and so have the snowmen. What they really do at night remains a secret, but they do leave behind a Happy Halloween message for the kids. Told in a rhyme, this is a fun book and one that will certainly set readers imaginations going. The richly oil and acrylic painted illustrations are a nice mixture of merry and sinister, and readers will like scouring each page to discover the hidden rabbit, cat or T-rex. The snowmen are always a hit and my young readers are delighted to have yet another one to add to the library.

Pick a Pumpkin by Patricia Toht, 

illustrated by Jarvis

Candlewick Press, 2019, 34 pages 

It seems kids can't wait for Halloween and have been known to start thinking about costumes as early as September. It's just one of those high-anticipation holidays that is seeped in tradition, and one of those is a family trip into the country to pick out the perfect pumpkins to transform into a Jack-o-Lantern. At home, a space is cleared in the garage for the actual carving, just the right tools are choses, and friends are invited to come and carve their pumpkins, too. Carving is followed by decorating the house inside and out, and finally, dressed in costumes, it's time to light the Jack-o-Lantern: "its red-hot eyes/ will gaze/ and flicker/ Its fiery grin/will blaze and snicker,/to guard your house/while you have fun." Just like its Christmas predecessor, Pick a Pine Tree, this is also told in a four stanza rhyme describing each step taken to end up with a wonderful Jack-o-Lantern, and ending with a two page spread of decorated houses and costumed children and adults trick-or-treating with plenty of brightly lit pumpkins all around and a witch on her broom in the moonlight. Jarvis' pencil, chalk, and paint illustrations are done in a warm autumnal palette of oranges, reds, and yellows, and include diverse character throughout. This is a nice companion to Pick a Pine Tree and I suspect both will become favorites especially given the pleasing rhyme.

I Spy Spooky Night: A book of Picture Riddles by Jean Marzollo, 

photographs by Walter Wick

Cartwheel Books, 2019, 40 pages 

This is an updated version of the original 1996 I Spy Spooky Night with new challenges for sharp readers. Set in a haunted house that is really a victorian dollhouse, each page challenged readers to find the hidden, creepy objects an unseen narrator has already spied. Objects can be found in the different rooms, the hallway, the stairs, the library, even a secret cupboard, the creepy graveyard and the ghoulish garden. How many of the listed objects can you find on each page? None? Some? All? The book photographs are cleverly done for dramatic effect, and it is all described in the back matter. Be careful, Riddlers, you might be fooled by a rebus or a palindrome where you least expect it. What are they? Find the answer to that in plain sight. This book was a little old for my young readers, who are 4-5 years-old, although they did give it a good shot and did pretty well all things considered, but some of what is included is a little too sophisticated for them. I would age this for 6+

5 Very Little Pumpkins by Holly Wearne, 

illustrated by Ivana Forgo

Flowerpot Press, 2019, 20 pages

Some of my four-year-old young readers still like a good board book, and this has become one of their favorites. Five young animals - a turtle, a kitten, a puppy, an elephant, and a goat - are all dressed up as pumpkins for Halloween. As they give trick-or-treating from house to house, the little pumpkins collect so much candy, they just want to keep going: "They are getting so EXCITED/that they never want to stop/'til their bags have SO MUCH CANDY/it is spilling out the top!" This story is definitely a kid's dream Halloween and a parent's nightmare. The illustrations are as sweet as the candy in each Halloween bag. It's actually a nice book for introducing skittish kids to what could feel like a very scary evening, even when accompanies by a parent. Actually, one of my young readers did point out that the little pumpkins were out in the evening with no parent around and that they would never be allowed to eat as much candy as they wanted. That took some explaining to convince her that it was okay, we just didn't see the parent and the kids probably got tired before they ate as much as she thought. Despite that, she still loved this book. 

  

Poetry Friday: October Party by George Cooper

When I was still a classroom teacher, Friday afternoons were always reserved for a fun activity. In the fall, this was always one of my favorite poems for sharing with my students, and taking a page out of my own school days, the kids would collect different leaves throughout the week. Once there were plenty of leaves to share, they would make a leaf book, identifying each kind by name and description. I loved being able to combine a poetry lesson and a STEM activity on our more relaxed Friday afternoons. It also gave the kids a chance to unwind from the week and still have a sense of accomplishment, too. I hope you enjoy it as much as my kids always did.

A big Thanks to Jama of Jama's Alphabet Soup for hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup. Be sure to visit her to find more wonderful poems to enjoy.

Once, I Was Loved written and illustrated by Belinda Landsberry

This is a story about the life of a much loved toy bunny rabbit named Tock. Now, old and worn, Tock is sitting in a box with a bunch of other toys about to be donated to charity and feeling pretty unloved at the moment. But, he tells us that wasn't always so, that once, he was loved.

Tock's journey begins in 1939, just as the Second World War is breaking out and a little girl named Sam receives him for her fifth birthday. Tock is a great comfort to Sam when her dad goes off to war and together they wait for his return, reading his letters and baking him cookies. But when the war is over, Sam decides that a little boy named Flynn needs Tock now more than she does.

Flynn has polio and lives in a hospital in a big iron lung. Tock is a great comfort to Flynn, who eventually recovers and goes home, only to lose Tock in V-Day celebrations when the war ends in Europe.

But then Tock is found by Max, a little boy who loves to listen to Rock'n' Roll and when Max grows up, he give Tock to his little boy named Toby. Toby wants to be an astronaut and watches as astronauts land on the moon with Tock by his side. But one day, Toby leaves Tock behind and he was found by Pip, a flower child.

But Tock and Pip aren't together for very long, when he is found by Ziggy. Ziggy's uncle is taking part in the America's Cup and together he and Tock play pirates, until Tock was carried off by a big dog.

And then Tock finds himself with Elyse, who loves books so much - until the Internet and a cell phone come into her life, and she leaves her toys and books behind. When Elyse grows up, Tock finds himself, old and worn, in a box of other toys to be donated to charity. Will there be a next person to love Tock as all the others had?

Once, I Was Loved is a sweet, right from the heart story, and told with absolute simplicity from Tock's point of view. It's a fact of life that kids grow and move on from their toys, no matter how beloved the toy may be, and Belinda Landsberry has captured these moments with respect to both the child and the toy. And I loved how the well-loved Tock aged from child to child, and how Landsberry shows the changing times that he and each of his children live through.

The beautiful, soft illustrations done in a pastel palette that harmonizes perfectly with the text in both image and emotion, and both will tug at your heartstrings.

Once, I Was Loved is a book for anyone who loves a particular toy or anyone who has ever loved one. It is sweet and sentimental, and may bring a tear to the adult reader's eye, as it did mine, but young readers will certainly enjoy hearing it. It makes a wonderful read aloud, as I did with my young readers, and a pretty bedtime story. It got my kids talking about their favorite plushies and whether they could let go of them the way Sam does at the beginning of the story and I love books that get a good discussion going with my young readers.

Once, I Was Loved is sure to please anyone who has read and loved The Velveteen Rabbit, and anyone who hasn't, for that matter. It is a book destined to become a classic.

This book is recommended for readers age 4+
Thank you, Exisle Publishing, for providing me with a copy of this book.

Did you have a well-loved toy as a child? My Kiddo has a bear named Beary, who has traveled the world with her and who now lives with her in China. And I have my old Snoopy, a Christmas gift from my best friend, that I used to take everywhere with me and who now looks a little on the worn side:

MMGM: The Battle (The Gauntlet #2) by Karuna Riazi

It's been four years since Farah Mirza proved that "there is no one who knows how to play - and win - a game better than a Mirza" in The Gauntlet. And if you read The Gauntlet, you will no doubt remember her younger brother Ahmad, and Farah's quest to rescue him from the game world of Paheli that he found himself in or remain there until another game player comes along and wins.

Ahmad is now a 7th grader at PS 52 on New York's Upper East Side. He's not the star student his sister was, he still has difficulties paying attention in school and always drawing an elaborate game world called Paheli. Ahmad has not recollection of actually being in Paheli, thinking his drawing are inspired by family trips to India and Bangladesh, instead. But he really gets in trouble when a mysterious package arrives at school, addressed to Ahmad and sent by Farah, now a student at Princeton. And thanks to the smartest girl in class, Winnie Williamson, the school lets him have the package, which turns out to be a game cartridge called The Battle.

Almost as soon as they load it, New York freezes, Ahmad and Winnie find themselves in the world of Paheli and the game begins. The first person in hologram form that they meet is the MasterMind, master coder and rebuilder of Paheli "all new and upgraded for the twenty-first century." She's working for the game master known simply as the Architect. The object of the game is to win the three challenges the MasterMind and the Architect set up and New York along with all its occupants will be unfrozen.

After they learn the object of the game, Ahmad and Winnie make their way to teashop of Madame Nasirah, the gamekeeper. Her job is to guide and help players with the game. She gives them each a knapsack with several items to help them: a map, a water bottle, a lantern, and snacks. Fortified, they are ready to face their three challenges and unfreeze New York.

Along the way,  Ahmad and Winnie meet some Paheli residents from Farah's game, besides Madame Nasirah and Lord Amari the Architect. Vijay Bhai, who was 12 when he was left behind in Paheli after his friend Zohra Bhuiyan was ejected from the game by the Architect (see page 214 in The Gauntlet). And Titus Salt, former controller of Paheli, moving the city with clockwork precision, now haunting alleyways since the MasterMind took over Paheli. 

The three challenges are as action packed as any video game, all the more so because the MasterMind keeps tweaking the code. Unfortunately, she's tweaked the life right out of Paheli, as T.T., a giant mouse explains "The code doesn't allow for life." For example, the souk used to be a place teeming with vendors, shopkeepers, shoppers, and good smells, now they have repetitive conversations while repeating the same actions over and over. The excitement and activity in the souk was one of the things I really liked about The Gauntlet, and I missed here.

In all fairness to the character of Ahmad, I found him to be super annoying in The Gauntlet and even in the beginning of The Battle, but he did grow and change by the end of the book for the better. Winnie, who is black, is a nice character, smart and kind. She reminded me a little of Farah, but she could have been fleshed out just a bit more.

On the whole, The Battle was a fun book to read, and although I have referred to The Gauntlet a number of times, I do think that this sequel would stand alone. Bottom line: I was very excited when I heard there would be a sequel to the first book, and while I wasn't totally disappointed by this book, it pains me to say that I didn't really love it as much as the first book - and I totally blame it on the MasterMind.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was received from Salaam Reads

Be sure to check out the other Marvelous Middle Grade Monday offerings, now being carried on by Greg at Always in the Middle. 

🌝A Brilliant Hunter's Moon This Year🍂🍁

When the Moon is Full: A Lunar Year by Penny Pollock,

illustrated by Mary Azarian

Sadly this book is out of print, but can be found in libraries and used book sites like ABEBooks.com

The Hunter's Moon is the first full moon occurring after the Harvest Moon. Both moons help people prepare for the coming winter. The Harvest Moon for food gathering and storing, the Hunter's Moon for getting meat and skins for warmth. And tonight is the night of the Hunter's Moon and if you can see it, it's going to be a brilliant orange casting it's glow across the night sky (and also marking the official start of the Halloween season).

The October poem below is from When the Moon is Full by Penny Pollock. Each of the 12 months is represented by its traditional Native American name, followed by a poem exemplifying the meaning of that moon, and complimented with a absolutely beautiful matching painted woodcut illustration:

After I posted the poem about the Harvest Moon last month, I dug out my old copy of this book. I had used it for teaching when I was still a classroom teacher in the Bronx. New York City kids learn about the history of New York State, and the Six Nations the formed the Iroquois Confederacy (Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and, as of 1722,Tuscarora). My kids were mostly interested in the kinds of things kids relate to - how the Iroquois lived, what they ate, what did they do for entertainment, how they dressed. I used When the Moon is Full to help them understand the importance of the lunar calendar in the life of Native Americans. And even though it wasn't related to New York, we also read The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich, which my kids always loved.

If you would like to know more about the Six Nations, please visit Haudenosaunee Guide for Educators

Blog Tour: The Bootlace Magician (Circus Mirandus Book 2) by Cassie Beasley

As we learned in the first book, once you have visited Circus Mirandus, you usually can't return. That's the rule. Mostly. But some lucky people do get to return, and for us, the lucky ones, the cost of the ticket is reading the book...oh, yes, and believing in magic.

Micah Tuttle, 11, returned and has been traveling with the Circus Mirandus for several months now, and living with his guardian, the Lightbender. Basically happy, living a peaceful life with the circus, Micah is still painfully missing his deceased grandpa Ephraim, and his best friend Jenny Mendoza back in Peal, and hoping to discover just what magic his knots can do. Luckily, Jenny is coming to visit Circus Mirandus for a day, armed with a chart to help Micah figure that out.

Micah has also been spending a lot of time in the menagerie tent, visiting Fish in his aquarium and feeding him knots full of memories. Ephraim Tuttle had used Fish so long ago to enter Circus Mirandus. Mr. Head, the circus manager, has also decided that Micah is just the person to care for an abandoned baby Unicorn named Terpsichore. But Micah knows that Unicorns didn't abandon their babies, no matter what and he is puzzled by what could have happened to Terp and his mother.

But even after Micah figures out what may have happened to Terp, it's treated like a long shot. Yet, when a sudden severe storm hits during Jenny's visit and lightning strikes the menagerie tent, it begins to look like someone is trying to hurt or destroy Circus Mirandus. And after finding some notebooks that his grandmother, Victoria Starling, had borrowed before she was banished from the circus, Micah has a pretty good idea what is happening, but why? Victoria had been called the Bird Woman, flying with a flock of birds that she controlled with a wordless song - until one night she destroyed the birds during a show, angry that the Lightbender would not let her achieve what she so desperately craved.

But when Victoria Starling attacks the circus again, it looks as though it's days are numbered, and now she wants to get Micah to help her get what she has always craved so badly - fame and glory. But how does Fish figure into her grand scheme?

I loved reading Circus Mirandus and was so happy to learn there would be a sequel. And it is every bit a good as the first book.  Cassie Beasley has once again created a magical world that just felt so familiar and welcoming. I sat and read until I was finished and then went through the book again, not wanting to once again say goodbye to these favorite characters, especially Micah.

Beasley really knows how to flesh out her characters, and even though they felt complete in the first book, they turn out to be even more complex here. Even Micah, just 11, has a true understanding and appreciation for the world he now lives in, but without a desire to abandon the world that Jenny lives in. And Jenny, the rational girl who needed to be convinced that magic existed, has become one of Micah's greatest champions and a great Circus Mirandus enthusiast. It was wonderful watching her excitement during her visit.

The Bootlace Magician does stand on its own, enough background information is provided, but why do that when you can have the joy of reading Circus Mirandus followed by this novel. And like that first novel, this is an extraordinary coming of age story about courage, faith, and the people who become our family, and a story that is not to be missed.

May the Circus Mirandus continue "to fight to keep enchantment alive" in the world for children. And remember, when you hear the drums and pipes, the circus has come to town and you know what to do.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was a ARC received from Friya at Penguin Random House 

🎃Blog Tour: The Itty-Bitty Witch by Trisha Speed Shaskan, illustrated by Xindi Yan

The Itty-Bitty Witch by Trisha Speed Shaskan, 

illustrated by Xindi Yan

Two Lions Press, 2019, 32 pages 

Betty is so excited to begin first-grade at witch school. Small for her age, Betty's broom is small as well. But the other kids laugh at her kinder-broom and start calling her Itty Bitty instead of Betty.

And no matter how many times she corrects them, they continue to all her Itty Bitty, which always makes her feel small inside. It doesn't help that she isn't as fast or as skillful as the other witches whenever they practice flying on their brooms. And the other witches aren't very nice about it.

But when the teacher announces the Halloween Dash, a competition among the students, Betty is convinced that if she wins the race, the other kids will stop calling her that awful name. Betty maps out the race course, makes up a rhymes to remember it and practices, practices, practices. Will her strategy work or will Betty be hindered by a "kinder-broom" and her size?

The Itty-Bitty Witch is less a Halloween tale and more a story about how hurtful the name-calling of peers can be. The text and illustrations really capture Betty's sinking self-esteem the more she is called Itty Bitty as she struggles to keep up with the other kids. However, readers see how quick thinking and cleverness save the day for Betty. The colorful, digital cartoon-like illustrations compliment a text with lots of onomatopoeia and I like the fact that the first-grade witch class is quite diverse. A fun book for kids that is sure to become a favorite.

Watch the Trailer:

Meet the Author:

When Trisha Speed Shaskan was a child, Halloween meant bobbing for apples, daring to touch brains (which may have been noodles), and—best of all—wearing costumes. She still loves dressing up for Halloween. Trisha is the author of more than forty children’s books, including Punk Skunks and the Q & Ray series, both illustrated by her husband, Stephen Shaskan. Trisha lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with Stephen; their cat, Eartha; and their dog, Beatrix. Learn more at www.trishaspeedshaskan.com.

Find her on Twitter and Facebook

Meet the Illustrator:

Xindi Yan grew up in a small city called Wuhu in China, and like Betty, she was always the smallest in her class. Standing a little shy of five feet, she still can’t reach the high shelves in grocery stores and sometimes finds that shoes made for kids fit her best. But her size didn’t stop her from chasing her big dreams of being a published artist in New York City. Xindi is the illustrator of Sylvia Rose and the Cherry Tree by Sandy Shapiro Hurt and the Craftily Ever After series by Martha Maker. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and hopes to have a puppy one day. Learn more at www.xindiyanart.com

Twitter: @xindiyan

Instagram: @xindiyanart

This book is recommended for readers age 4+
This book was provided by Blue Slip Media

📚It's Cybils Award Nomination Time Again! 😃 What are you nominating?

Remember that middle grade book that made you sigh when you finished it because it was just so good and now you have to say good-bye and, oh golly, you just loved that protagonist?

Or how about that picture book that made you laugh out loud? Or shed a tear or two? How about the one the kids want you to read over and over and over again?

And then there's that YA book that made you shake you head in agreement and think, yes, that is just how it is when you're a teen?

Perhaps you've read a novel written in verse that touched your heartstrings?

Well, if you have a favorite in any of the 10 categories that make up the Cybils, now is your chance to…NOMINATE THEM FOR A CYBILS AWARD!

What are the 10 categories, you might ask?  They are (click link for complete descriptions)

Fiction Picture Books and Board Books
Early Reader/Early Chapter Books
Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction
Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction
Middle Grade Fiction
Poetry
Graphic Novels
YA Fiction
YA Speculative Fiction
Junior/Senior High Nonfiction

Still not sure which category your favs fit in? No problem! Click the link for complete descriptions.

Of course, there are a few rules, but nothing too complicated:

1- You (and you can be anybody, even you) may nominate any book published in the contest year in English. This includes bilingual books;

2- The book must be published in the US or Canada.  It's just more aggravation and expense than we can stand to wheedle free copies from foreign publishers;

3- Only one book nomination per category.  Get your friends and co-workers in on the act if you can't make up your mind;

4- Nominations open October 1st at 12:00 PST and close October 15th. You can find out how to nominate HERE

If you still have questions, you can check out the FAQs

Once again, I am so happy to be a part of the Cybils Awards. I was a Round 2 Judge for several years, and this is my second year as the MG Fiction Category Chair.