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Hoping your 2022 is starting well!
Mixing in science with something akin to a folk tale, Carmen Agra Deedy tells this tale of how the moon became "The Children's Moon" when it and the sun became, well, friends. You could even call them cohorts! The sun, quite full of itself, shooed the moon away as children went to bed. They never got to see it nor did the moon see them, but did hear the mysterious laughter, and asked what it was. The sun, in all its glory, finally gave in and Deedy described the beauty of the day. Later, listening to the moon describe the beauty of the night, including STARS (like the sun), the sun relented and what came about during a special time of the month became their compromise. Read this to discover the science in the story and enjoy the gorgeous illustrations by Jim LaMarche and the clever word interplay between the sun and the moon. You will love those facial expressions! Two pages at the back explain the science.
Alexandra S. D. Hinrichs tells this inspiring story of someone who came from poverty, doing odd jobs until he met his mentor, Frank Manny, a principal who helped him find work as a janitor and to begin his studies at a school. He became a teacher and was appointed the school photographer. This was at the beginning of camera work, a huge fifty-pound camera he lugged around taking school pics then, connecting to the NCLC (the National Child Labor Committee) and taking pictures for them, too. He soon quit teaching to go on the road to capture children working, raising awareness of the need for improved laws. It took until 1941 to finally enact the law at the federal level. In poetic story-telling, Alexandra's words are shown in realistic paintings by Michael Garland, page by page, the sad tales show children as young as five working in coal mines, selling news on the streets, delivering meals, and working in a cotton mill. In that mill, the owner would not let him in, so he made up a story that he was sent to take pictures of broken machines and got those pics! He took thousands of photos all over the U.S., showing the heartbreak of children who couldn't attend school because of their work. The illustrations show the sadness but at the end, with an extensive timeline, are examples of real photographs. Also mentioned is that it continues to be an issue all over the world, and sometimes here in our country, too. How Lewis Hine would have loves our phone cameras, right? A quote at the beginning from Hine: "There are two things I wanted to do. I wanted to show the things that had to be corrected. I wanted to show the things that had to be appreciated." Often, the photos he took were the very first the child had ever had taken!
(A personal note: My stepfather told stories that when he was young they were very poor and he sold the paper titled "Grit" on the streets to make some money for his family. "Only for pennies," he said, so I guess he was one of those young kids who probably wasn't supposed to be working.) You can read about "Grit" here on Wikipedia.)
I watched Daniel Miyares in the past year (or more) share sketches and more sketches on Twitter as he prepared this book, so I knew it would be beautiful. And it is! A sea captain in the 1700s prepares for a voyage and his daughter, Hope, does not want him to go, wishes to be part of the adventure. She hides out in a lifeboat on board, but the ship is already at sea before she is discovered. Her father turns to teach her all about the ship and how to be guided by the stars via a sextant. It isn't all wonderful, however, because when returning, there is a terrible storm and they land on the rocks, shipwrecked! Father and daughter do survive, gather the ship's wood that washes up on the beach. A plan is hatched! This ending was a surprise to me as it will be to readers but it was a good one. Miyares' story is quite an adventure to imagine. And his gorgeous watercolor/pen and ink illustrations add to the anticipation of how will Hope be received, then later he adds many details of the ship and the fright of the storm. Don't miss the endpapers, full of tools and other sea-related things. It will be a delight to read this aloud to a group, which could serve as a history lesson support, too, as it seems true to the time period.