Sakura’s Cherry Blossoms by Robert Paul Weston & Misa Saburi

Written in the sparse style of Japanese poetry, and accompanied by artwork that recalls Japanese watercolor, Sakura’s Cherry Blossoms by Robert Paul Weston is a beautifully rendered tale of love, loss, and cultural upheaval.

Moving to a new country is a huge step. You leave behind all that is familiar, trading it for the strange and unknown, especially if the culture and language is so very different. Sakura’s family move to America, leaving her grandmother behind in Japan. She is sad over leaving her grandmother, but is befriended by a boy named Luke, who cheers her somewhat. He teaches her stargazing. She teaches him about flowers. But then she has to return to Japan because her grandmother is very ill. When she comes back to her new home, she is very sad, and doesn’t want to play. She’s afraid of forgetting her grandmother, without the cherry tree. Luke tells her to wait til spring, and she’ll get a surprise. Spring brings with it, not one, but hundreds of cherry trees where she now lives!

Okay, this left me with tears in my eyes. It’s not explicitly stated that grandmother passed, but implied. Soooo sad! My cubs agreed, though we all enjoyed the story and its lessons. My favourite picture was the starry tree. This is an excellent addition to any children’s shelf!

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Penguin/ Tundra for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

 

 

I am Vincent Van Gogh by Gabriel Martin Roig & illustrated by Fatima Garcia

I am Vincent Van Gogh looks at the eponymous artist’s life. Interspersed through the information on his life, and the beautiful illustrations of Garcia, are tidbits about Van Gogh’s paintings, and recreations of the most well-known among them. Van Gogh is a tragic figure, wracked by mental illness in a time and place it was neither understand nor well-looked upon. The man was a genius, though not regarded so till after his time.

This introduction is accessible to everyone. It is easy to read, and comprehend, and the artwork is amazing. A must have for any history/arts children’s shelf! I read this with my cubs and they enjoyed it. It led to a more in-depth discussion of Van Gogh with the older ones.

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Star Bright Books for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

 

 

Astronaut Annie by Suzanne Slade & Nicole Tadgell

A charming story about a young girl whose heart is set far beyond her family’s expectations. Career Day is coming up, where the kids dress up as what they want to be when they grow up. Annie is keeping her choice a secret from her family, though each assumes she wants to be what they were, and they give her gifts related to their jobs. Annie puts them all to use creating her most unexpected outfit, for Annie has her sight set much, much higher!

Well illustrated, and beautifully written. This is a great multicultural book, and has great lessons that girls should indeed be encouraged to pursue maths, and hard sciences. All of my cubs enjoyed this little read!

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Myrick Marketing for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

 

 

Blacksmith’s Song by Elizabeth Van Steenwyk & Anna Rich

Blacksmith’s Song is a doleful rendering in beautiful art of the Underground Railroad, suggesting one way of many that messages were passed along. Our young narrator wants to tap out the blacksmith’s song, to help travellers as his father does. Each day he asks, but is told ‘not yet’. Each day his father looks sicker and sicker. Our narrator wonders when it will be his family’s time to leave too. One day, Pa is unable to play the travelling song, so the young son takes up a hammer and taps it out for those waiting in the woods. Later that night, he and his parents finally leave themselves.

This is a sad tale, mournful for its topic of slavery. It brought tears to my eyes, and to the most empathic of my cubs. It prompted much discussion between all of us. The author’s notes at the end gave more information about the Underground Railroad, and other ways it is speculated messages were passed along, though we really have little true idea. This is a great book to supplement teaching about the Underground Railroad.

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Myrick Marketing for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.