Showing posts with label Independence Day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Independence Day. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Celebration Book for Independence Day


  Visit Alyson Beecher on Wednesdays for Non-Fiction Picture Books at Kidlit Frenzy.  From Alyson and others, you will discover terrific non-fiction books!

       I've been saving this book for next week, then realized that next Wednesday is AFTER Independence Day. I hope you enjoy it as a preparation for celebrating America, continuing to believe that we are a country for all people.


       I know some of you have seen this, but if not, you must. It's a tribute to America with a few lovely words by Sarvender Naberhaus, sumptuously illustrated by Kadir Nelson. The double pages pair with each other, sometimes with the same words, sometimes with clever wordplay. For example, it begins with the title words, "blue sky white stars" with an illustration on the left of the Statue of Liberty shown against an evening sky, and a close up of blue sky, white stars in folded fabric with the same words. "White rows", also repeated shows covered wagons in a row, with the white rows of the flag on the opposite page. My favorite page, "sea waves" is a lovely ocean, but the companion page is of the flag waving, illustrating the words, "see waves".  From Civil Rights' Marchers to a raised flag, from a flying eagle to the moon landing, the words and images bring forth the best of patriotic feelings, and for younger readers, topic sparks for more questions. It's a wonderful new book. Included are author and illustrator notes, plus another that added information can be found on the author's website, although in a search, I could not find her site. Here is a short blog post she's written showing some other of the book's pages, and you can see more pages on Google.

        Enjoy your Independence Day!

Thursday, July 2, 2015

Poetry Friday - Celebrating People


         Donna Smith, at Mainely Write, is hosting this first Poetry Friday of July. Let the fireworks begin!

           Because of the exciting news from the Supreme Court just two weeks ago, I looked for something to share that would celebrate all people, would toast our diversity. Lee Bennett Hopkins' anthology Amazing Faces fits beautifully. I was also delighted to discover that the illustrations were done by Chris Soentpiet, whose presentation I was thrilled to see in February at my state reading conference.  His process for the beautiful realistic acrylic paintings is amazing. He has models audition for He actually has models audition for what he believes are the needs of the work, takes many photos, stages the scenes, then does the layout, drawings, and then paintings. The illustrations in this book are gorgeous, and of course they should be because they are "amazing faces".  I hope that you can find the book if you don't already own it, to read and see how beautifully it celebrates our country.