PB Review: Harlem's Historic Neighborhood Sugar Hill

During the month of April, I have been inspired to write with rhythm and rhyme. Angie Karcher’s Rhyming Picture Book Month (#RhyPiBoMo) is a wealth of information. Thanks to the authors, agents and editors who shared their experience and tips. If you haven't followed Angie's blog, then pull up a chair, pour a cup of coffee and click HERE.

This week I focused on the author and poet, Carole Boston Weatherford, who "mines the past for family stories, fading traditions, and forgotten struggles." Many of her books show stories of African-American historical figures and events. Several of her picture books rhyme, like the one I'm reviewing.

Harlem's Historic Neighborhood Sugar Hill

written by Carole Boston Weatherford

illustrated by R. Gregory Christie

Published by Albert Whitman & Company, 2014

Book Review

Take a walk through Harlem’s Sugar Hill and meet all the amazing people who made this neighborhood legendary. With upbeat rhyming, read-aloud text, Sugar Hill celebrates the Harlem neighborhood that successful African Americans first called home during the 1920s. 

The back matter includes brief biographies of jazz greats Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Sonny Rollins, and Miles Davis; artists Aaron Douglas and Faith Ringgold; entertainers Lena Horne and the Nicholas Brothers; writer Zora Neale Hurston; civil rights leader W. E. B. DuBois and lawyer Thurgood Marshall.

The story begins - 
Sugar Hill, Sugar Hill where life is sweet
And the "A" TRAIN stops for the black elite.

My favorite line - 
Where lovely LENA takes Sunday strolls 
that shoot racist notions full of holes.

Watch Carole Boston Weatherford talk about her writing life 

and stories on Reading Rockets.

Picture Books that Go Deep with Fewer Words

I’m continuing to read and study over 100 picture books for Reading For Research Month. It’s amazing how much you’ll learn if you read like a writer. In this post, I wish to focus on three picture books with low word counts, yet their themes go deep. For me, these books are perfect read aloud, mentor texts.

SURF'S UP

written by  Kwame Alexander

illustrated by Daniel Miyares

Pub by NorthSouth Books 2015

This dialogue driven story shows frog friends, Bro and Dude, on a sunny day near the ocean. Bro wants to finish reading his book. But Dude wants to go surfing.
Alexander uses fun language to entice readers to turn the pages and keep reading beyond the last page. 

The story begins - 

SURF’S UP, BRO!             
Not yet, Dude.

A few pages into the story, Bro brings Dude into his book by expressing -

WOWIE KAZOWIE!
WHOA, DADDY-O          

THE RACE

written & Illustrated by Édouard Manceau

Pub by Owlkids Books 2014

Caribou line up for a high spirited race. It doesn't take more than a page turn for some caribou to play unkind tricks in order to win the race. But as they battle for victory, one caribou stops to question what the point is to outrun the next guy. What does it mean to win?

The story begins - 

It begins with a guy, a can of paint, and a paintbrush.

A few pages into the story, most of the caribou are in the race to win.

Quitting is not an option!

Once they're patched up,
the banana-peel survivors hit the ground running.

GREEN LIZARDS VS. RED RECTANGLES

written & Illustrated by Steve Antony

Pub by Hachette Children's Books 2015

With far fewer words, this story is reminiscent of "The Sneetches" by Dr. Seuss. One group is at war with another group for no reason. Us VS Them. Nothing more.

The story begins - 

The Green Lizards and the Red Rectangles were at war.

A few pages into the story, one brave lizard asks: 
WHAT ARE WE FIGHTING FOR?

But he was SQUASHED, and this led to 

THE BIGGEST WAR EVER.

Until . . . 

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! said one Red Rectangle.

Breaking the Picture Book Rules

In my last post, I listed research questions I consider while reading oodles of picture books. I'm excited to discover mentor texts that inform my writing. And I love finding books that break current picture book rules. In a recent stack of library books, I found a mentor text and the ultimate rule breaker wrapped up in one story.

Have you read ONCE UPON A RAINY DAY by Edouard Manceau? This picture book falls into the category of meta-fiction, much like "Chloe and the Lion" by Mac Barnett and Adam Rex.

During my first read through I wondered - How did the author get away with this? Because he’s the author/illustrator. Because it’s not his first book. Because he’s French.

I read the book again and realized - Because Edouard Manceau is brilliant!

Where are the characters?

The story begins:

“This is the story of a story that starts over every day, each morning the same way.”

Okay at this point, you might be thinking what I thought the first go around. How did Manceau get away with not introducing a character in the first sentence?

The story continues:

“Mr. Warbler, the keeper of this story, is about to step outside his cottage in his fine feathered suit.”

Great, we have a character. But this passive sentence tells us what’s going to happen and how Mr. Warbler looks. Lights flash - RULE BREAKER. But check out the illustration. Where is Mr. Warbler? As you turn the pages, neither Mr. Warbler or the other characters pop up in the illustrations. This may not appeal preschoolers who need pictures of the characters to help them navigate the story.

ONCE UPON A RAINY DAY Project:
Children will have fun illustrating the characters using the descriptive language in this story. 
Paper Bag Puppets 

http://www.dltk-kids.com/type/paper_bag.htm

Gearing up for Reading for Research Month

#askkidlit Tweet with Editor Alison Weiss

I'm gearing up for Reading for Research Month (ReFoReMo) created by Carrie Charley Brown. Why? Because of a question that I posed to Editor Alison Weiss at Sky Pony Press.

Me: "I think it's easier for an author/illustrator to break PB rules, than author only. What do you think?"

Editor Alison: "I don't know about that. I think everyone needs to prove they know the rules before they can break them."

Calvin loves picture books with animals

Why do I participate in ReFoReMo?  

Only by reading hundreds of picture books each year will the structure and rhythm be second nature to me. Then I can break the rules with the knowledge that I broke them for a reason. Breaking rules because I don't know or don't understand them does not make me a creative writer.

I read through my stacks of PBs for:

Plot

Main Character - Who is leading this story?

Want - What does the MC want? 
Stakes - What if the MC doesn't get the want?

Obstacle - What’s standing in the way ?

Tries - How does the MC try?

Ta Da! - How does the MC succeed? 

Ending - Satisfying and/or twist?

Because one stack is never enough

Beginning/Ending

Great first line - Tone meets the unexpected

Last line - Does this line echo beginning?

Emotions

Does the character have an emotional arc? 

Does the character change?

Relationships

Does the MC connect with someone or something within the story?
Does the MC connect with me the reader?

And The Most Important Question

Will this picture book be a great mentor text for me?

Join me this March for ReFoReMo. 
Registration for #ReFoReMo 2016 is coming February 15! 
#picturebook #writers #giveaway @carriebrowntx @kirsticall http://ow.ly/XfQ1s