Two Friends: Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass by Dean Robbins, illustrated by Selina Aiko and Sean Qualls

There was a time when all women and all African Americans had two things in common - neither group had rights and both groups had someone working hard to get them the rights they deserved according to the US Constitution.

In this meeting of suffragette Susan B. Anthony and former slave, abolitionist, and newspaper editor Frederick Douglass at her home in Rochester, NY,  author Dean Robbins imagines what the two pioneers in the fight for equal rights might have talked about when they sat down for afternoon tea one cold snowy winter's day.  The two were already friends with much in common - both defying society's expectations of them - she wears bloomers, he wears the clothes of a gentleman - and both just wanting the right to be free, and the right to vote.  As Robbins points out, some people agreed with their ideas, but some people didn't.

As the afternoon wears on, the two friends talk and the reader begins to understand what the lives of women and African Americans was like in the 19th century, as well as how and why Anthony and Douglass were trying to change things.  Both fighters had taught themselves how to give speeches, and throughout the book, there are steams of their own words from those speeches surrounding them.

At the end of the afternoon, the two friends promised to help each other "so one day all people could have rights."

"Let's Have Tea"statue in Susan B Anthony Square Park
Rochester NY

Robbins' text is simply, but to the point.  It shouldn't be forgotten that what went on that afternoon is imagined by him, but I am guessing it is pretty close to reality, given how passionate Anthony and Douglass were about their equal rights campaigns.

The emotional folk-art style illustrations are done with paint, colored pencils and collage in a palette of bright blues, reds and yellows.

Two Friends is a wonderful read aloud for young kids just beginning to learn American history.  Be sure to read the Author's Note to learn more about these two fighters for equal rights, and the Bibliography for sources to learn more about these true American heroes.

Two Friends: Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass would pair nicely with Nikki Grimes's picture book Chasing Freedom: The Life Journeys of Harriet Tubman and Susan B. Anthony, in which she imagines a meeting of these two women for afternoon tea and conversation about their lives.  And yes, Frederick Douglass does come up in their talks.

This book is recommended for readers age 4+, but I think it is more appropriate for readers age 6+
This book was sent to me by the publisher, Orchard Books, Scholastic

Uncle Peter's Amazing Chinese Wedding by Lenore Look, illustrated by Yumi Heo

Uncle Peter, "the coolest dude" and "a girl's best buddy," is getting married and everyone is happy about it except Jenny.  Why should she be happy?  After all, she was always Uncle Peter's special girl until Stella came along.  So instead of a Saturday movie like always, it is Uncle Peter's traditional Chinese wedding day.

As everyone looks at the traditional good luck presents from the bride's family, Jenny looks on with a sad face and as the children accompany Peter for good luck when he goes to pick up his bride, Jenny is squished in the car and unhappy.  After finally offering enough tokens to her family to show how much he loves their daughter, beautiful Stella comes down in her good luck red wedding dress with the good luck dragons and phoenixes on it.  

Everyone is smiling and laughing during family picture time, except you-know-who.

When it is time for the traditional tea ceremony, that little green monster Jealousy rears its head and Jenny decides to sabotage the tea.  Finally, it takes a wise mother to quell all the sadness in Jenny's heart over losing her best uncle.  Which is good since Uncle Peter and new Aunt Stella's wedding day is far from over and there is a lot more fun to be had.

I loved reading Uncle Peter's Amazing Chinese Wedding.  First of all, it is a wonderful read aloud that will most likely generated lots of discussion.  Secondly, Look deals very nicely with the feelings of jealousy a child might easily have when a favorite relative, and that would include one parent or the other,  gets married.  At the same time, she cleverly uses Jenny's jealousy issues for introducing the reader to all the traditions surrounding  a Chinese wedding.   And it all works and the result is a really delightful story narrated by Jenny herself.

And you might think that Jenny did the charming oil, pencil and collage illustrations, which are really skillfully done by artist Yumi Heo to make them look like Jenny's perspective on things.

Wedding Envelope for Peter
and Stella

I loved the way each tradition was explained to make it easy for young (and older) readers, unfamiliar with Chinese wedding traditions, to understand and to appreciate their meanings.  I knew I had to read this book as soon as I saw it.  After all, my Kiddo just got engaged to her longtime boyfriend and will be having her own a traditional Chinese wedding in the near future and that is something new to us.

Both my Kiddo and her Peng Peng were born in the Year of the Dragon 1988 and that made his mother very excited - lots of luck there.  And I knew about Hungbau, lucky money put into a red envelope, because we had exchanged this year for Chinese New Year.

But there was much that was new to me here and much that I am looking forward to.  And that is the benefit of multicultural books - they teach you something new about different people and make you want to see, do and/or know more.

This book is recommended for readers age 4+
This book was borrowed from the NYPL

Be sure to visit my friend Mia over at Pragmatic Mom has a wonderful China Crafts and Activities post for kids, including all kinds of information about red envelopes.

Reading is Fundamental offers an very useful PDF lesson plan for Uncle Peter's Amazing Chinese Wedding 

Grandma and the Great Gourd retold by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, illustrated by Susy Pilgrim Waters

Grandma and her daughter are separated by a jungle.  One day, Grandma receives a letter from her daughter saying she misses her mother and could she come for a visit.  Grandma decides to go even though walking through the jungle scares her.  She leaves her two dogs Kalu and Bhulu in charge of things at home, but they tell her if she needs help to just call for them.

So Grandma sets off through the jungle to visit her daughter.  On the way, she meets a fox who wants to eat her.  Quick thinking Grandma tells the fox that she is so skinny, but if he waits for her to return from her daughter's house, she will be nice and plump since her daughter is such a good cook.  The fox considers this a good idea and agrees to wait.

Next, Grandma meets a bear who wants to eat her.  Grandma tells the tiger the same thing she told the fox and the tiger also agree to wait until her plumper return.

The whole thing is repeated when Grandma meets a tiger who wants to eat her and, just like the fox and the bear, the tiger agrees to wait.

Finally, Grandma arrives at her daughter's house and the two have a wonderful time visiting and talking, cooking and eating and yes, Grandma does get plumper just as she said she would.  But all too soon, it is time for Grandma to return home through the jungle and the waiting animals who want to eat her.

Can she and her daughter come up with a plan to fool the fox, the bear and the tiger so they won't eat Grandma?  Yes, they do and it involves using a giant gourd.  But how?

This is a wonderfully colorful retelling of an old Bengali folktale that has lost none of the flavor of the original.  Perhaps because it was so familiar and beloved by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, whose grandfather introduced her to a version of it when she was young.

Divakaruni uses repetition, a somewhat limited vocabulary and onomatopoeia, all devices that kids love and that make this a great read aloud book.  The sounds are strictly Bengali, which may be something new to kids, but not something difficult to grasp.  The context of the story makes the meaning of the sounds clear: Grandma's dogs don't go woof-woof, they go Gheu-gheu, her footsteps through the jungle aren't thump, thump, thump but rather khut-khut-khut.

The rich, vibrant illustrations by Susy Pilgrim Waters.  She has given the words in the story added texture by using collage and a palette of color ranging from deep earth tones to lively pinks and reds and it all works wonderfully together.

Grandma and the Great Gourd is definitely one of my new favorite folktales and a welcomed addition to any multicultural bookshelf.

This book is recommended for readers age 5+
This book was borrowed from the NYPL