Flotsam

Photo courtesy Amazon.
Author/Illustrator: DAVID WIESNER
Recommended Age group: 2 and up. You are limited only by your imagination!
Caldecott Award: 2007

I have been reading children’s books for the past three years. The main things I consider while picking out a book are message and language development. For people like me, books like Flotsam are eye openers. This is a wordless picture book and I REALLY noticed the pictures, the effort the author has put in to the pictures in order to convey the message and was simply astounded. The medium Wiesner uses is watercolor. Every seashell is meticulously drawn. The use of lines and the play of light are so wonderful that one can almost feel its texture. The colors are pleasing to young children making the children focus on the story without overly stimulating them. The placement of pictures also plays a major role in story telling in this wordless storybook.

Wiesner’s message through his books - magical things are happening all around us, anything can happen anywhere, do not limit your imagination/dreams and never loose hope on your dreams becoming true(Digression: Check out Wiesner’s 1992 Caldecott Medal book TUESDAY. It talks about the dream of frogs coming true. Any one, even frogs can dream and you never know it might just come true! Keep dreaming, it keeps you alive!).

Flotsam is a story in which a boy finds an underwater camera in a beach, washed ashore by the waves. The boy is not able to find the owners of the camera and decides to develop the pictures from the film in the camera. When he looks at the developed pictures, a whole new world is thrown wide open to him. From now on it is a fantasy journey not only for the boy but also to the readers. The older readers who know about the functioning of a ‘real world’ stare open eyed at the mechanical fishes swimming along side the real ones, a family of octopus sitting on a couch reading a book, puffed up puffer fish acting like a hot air balloon, gigantic sea turtles with a whole city on their shell and star fishes of colossal size – that make grey whales look tiny, housing an entire island on them. That’s not where the surprise ends, one has to read the book to find out what the final surprise!

It was so surprising how different the adult mind works when compared to a child’s mind. I am trying to make some sense of the pictures, and this is exactly how my brain went:
A key wound mechanical fish?!
What do I say if the children ask me to explain this?
May be I can say that this is a marine experiment and the biologists are observing patterns about this school of fish.
Whaaaat? A family of octopus sitting on a couch and reading books?
Aahhha! I see a moving container capsized behind the octopus and the couch must have fallen out of the container. The octopus just happened to sit on it.
What now? Puffer fish flying??? Okay I give up. There is no way in hell I can explain this….

And guess what questions I had to answer? ‘What is the boy’s name?’, ‘Ammaaaa, hermit crab eyes popping out of his head? That’s so silly[they put their index fingers on their fore heads and start doing a hermit crab routine. They even came with a voice for the hermit crab]’, ‘The boy has two shovels, one blue and one red. Can I have two shovels?’, ‘Can we put fish on our couch?’. They just surrendered to the story line and digested everything! Gosh, why did I even worry about flying fish and floating aliens? Teh open mindedness, amazes me.

There was a lot of language involved. By the time we finished reading this book, the boy had a name, ‘Geeg’ (please don’t ask me why, I did not name him). When he looks through a ring, his eyes become bigger(Errr.. in the book the boy is looking at a crab through a magnifying glass and Wiesner has painted it from the perspective of some one observing the boy. So you can see normal right eye and part of left eye through the magnifying lens). He is playing on the beach and is not being responsible, always listen to your mommy and daddy Geeg (I thought I was looking at myself and listening to myself)…and so Flotsam from a 2 year old and a 3.5 year old’s perspective goes on…..

Ahaha, I am not revealing the final knot. Go get a copy of Flotsam and discover it yourself. Hey, you, you and you get off the couch and get the book. Next post surprise quiz on Flotsam.

BLOOMWATCH - ISSUE # 3: June 2008

Bloomwatch: Issue # 3

Here's the third edition of our monthly FYI/newsletter, Bloomwatch in an effort to connect parents and caretakers with the world of children’s literature!

Apologies for the delay in publishing this month’s edition of bloomwatch. We have been facing internet connectivity problems – thanks to the powerful thunderstorms that hit the D.C. suburbs last week. In fact, we didn’t have electricity for 30 full hours because of the trees that came down. But when the clouds moved and clear skies came, along came a blanket of heat and humidity. What a dramatic change in weather!

Summer is not even here officially in the U.S., but the temperatures certainly don’t reflect the fact in any way. While in most part of India, summer is almost over. It’s back to school time for children in India while children here in the U.S. are starting to wrap up the school year, and get ready for their summer break.

Summer definitely is a time to make trips and vacations – but I am sure you will agree that there’s no better time to make a trip down the nostalgic lane than summer. Having grown up in a very hot and humid city in India, summer brings lots of childhood memories to me – trips to local beaches, cousins visiting, warm and breezy outdoors, tropical fruits, and not to miss the steady doze of good books from the local libraries!

Living in the U.S. with children of my own, I am starting to look forward to summertime with the same fervor that I used to as a child. This year is even more special because it’s in fact her first official summer holiday break - a perfect time for building lots of special memories for my children!

What better way to build memories than to read an array of wonderful summer-time reads to/with your kids? Vacations are great, but we all know what’s even better… trips to the local libraries in those scorching, hot temperatures will go a long way in opening their minds to the whole world.

Here are the three highlights for the month of June. Sorry about summer monopolizing this month’s theme although it is back-to-school for children living in other countries, particularly India. The resources and links can very well be tied in even during the school year. The key is to encourage your children to read all through the year, and stay connected with the "written/printed word" through books, newspapers, and magazines that you can access locally.

Please allow me to splash right into the June edition of Bloomwatch!

1)Author Birthday: June is the birthday of a special author whose books are indeed very special. Pardon my usage of very…But that’s actually a clue to finding out the author I am referring to. His most popular books include The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Very Quiet Cricket, The Very Busy Spider. I am sure your children can easily guess his name, particularly if you’ve followed Saffron Tree It’s Eric Carle of course who is celebrating his birthday on June 25th.

Here’s a list of children’s books by Eric Carle. Do hop to your local library to pick a book or two as a token of appreciation for a wonderful author’s contribution to the world of children’s literature. http://www.eric-carle.com/books.html

We have three of his classic books listed here, reviewed by our very own contributors at Saffron Tree.

1)The Very Hungry Caterpillar

2)The Grouchy Ladybug

3)The Mixed-up Chameleon

Another bestselling children’s book author named Robert Munsch, known fondly for his “manic and exaggerated voice in story-telling” (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Munsch) in story-telling with works such as Paperbag Princess, Fifty Below Zero, Stephanie’s Ponytail celebrates his birthday on June 11th. Here’s the review of Stepahie’s Ponytail on Saffron Tree, in case you missed it when it was first posted.

2)Summer Highlights – Reading Resources:

Also in this edition, we would like to give you a sneak peek into summer time reading resources. If you are pondering what books you and your children need to get from libraries for some quality summer time reads, there are indeed lots of guides and recommendations.

One way of doing it is to go by your children’s interests. If it’s no particular genre or topic that your child wants to focus on, you could always choose award winning picture books and Classics in Children’s literature - two that are on top of my list for this summer.

The following are two resources that caught my attention that I would love to recommend to you as well.

1) American Library Association’s ALA) summer guide has recommendations featuring award winning titles.

2) Another valuable resource that I would like to share with you is the Boston based The Horn Book’s website, which has an excellent list of recommendations in many genres and for different age groups. Here's one that I love, which is their Children’s Classic list: http://www.hbook.com/pdf/childrensclassics.pdf

3)Literacy Link:

If you are interested in learning from the literacy experts at Reading Rockets about why it is important to help your children develop healthy reading habits, particularly during summer time, here is a presentation giving you insights on the following

1)why it’s important to read during summer 2)the benefits of summertime reading, 3)what are some of the resources and reading programs to look into 4)What makes a good summer time reading– according to the reading rocket experts, it’s not only about books but even reading other magazines, newspapers can help children appreciate “print, text and words in all forms and fashions.”

If you are interested in listening to the presentation, here’s the full video and slides that you can download and listen to.

Thanks for reading. Hope you and your children have a wonderful summer. For families with children going back to school this month, hope you have yet another wonderful academic year!

That’s all for this edition of Bloomwatch! Stay tuned for July, and hopefully we will have a wider array of reading themes and topics for you… moving beyond summer!

Silly Sally by Audrey Wood

Silly Sally
by Audrey Wood

This is a simple book with catchy rhyming verses about this girl Sally, who happens to be Silly, walking backwards upside down trying to get to town.

Silly Sally went to town
Walking backwards, upside down.

On the way she met a pig, a silly pig, who danced a jig.

The pig then follows Silly Sally, dancing backwards upside down, going into town. Then, she meets a dog, a silly dog, who plays leapfrog, who follows them and so on. Finally, she meets a sheep and they all fall asleep. So, how can they get to town?

Well, along comes Neddy Buttercup, walking forward, right-side up, who tickles them all and wakes them up.

It seems like a good book for beginner readers with easy vocabulary, predictably rhyming format and simple enough illustrations.

Ana started out just listening to me read it, then she started reading it aloud herself (just memorized the simple words), and nowadays, she acts out while reciting the book, trying to stand on her hands but managing to walk on all fours "upside down".

It has sparked her imagination enough where she adds other creatures she meets on the way to town - mainly any of the toy she happens to meet on the carpet and makes up a simple sentence about them.

It seems like it would have appealed to her even a year ago when she was only two and was devouring books with rhymes.

It is a fun book to read aloud and pore over the illustrations. Each illustration gently hints at the next animal Sally might run into in the next page. The sing-song verses seem simple enough for toddlers to follow along, and catchy enough for preschoolers to comprehend.

Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard

Grumpy Bird
by Jeremy Tankard

I fell in love with the illustration of the bird in this book, and, noting that some days Ana wakes up grumpy, uncharacteristically grumpy, I thought it would be nice to read this to her and see what she thinks.

It is a simple story: Bird wakes up grumpy for no apparent reason. He feels too grumpy to eat, play, even to fly. So, he starts walking. He meets various animals on the way. Their cheerful, "Hello Bird!" aggravates him further and he gets progressively ornery... however, thanks to the procession of his friends comically following him, imitating his walking, stopping, standing on one leg and even jumping and flying, Bird forgets all about being grumpy and invites them over for a snack and has a wonderful time.

Author Jeremy Tankard says he drew the grumpy bird for his daughter one day and then the idea for the book just came together.

The illustrations are simple and catchy. The grumpy expression on Bird’s face at the start of the story is precious. The bright, bold colors, simple backgrounds, cartoonish animal figures highlighting their prominent identifying physical characteristic - like big front teeth in beaver, dark circles around eyes for raccoon and such - not to mention the obviously non-grumpy expression these animals sport, certainly seem charming and catchy and serve to draw the children into the story.

I liked the fact that while Bird tries his best to stay grumpy, just walking along and (reluctantly) interacting with his friends helps him lose his grumpiness and he ends up having a jolly good time.

I have woken up grumpy many days, even now at my ripe middle age, not knowing how to get rid of it instantly, snapping on and off at people and things, till I felt the cheer creeping back into my system over time. This book legitimizes the emotion and says it can be overcome with ease, rather than condemning grumpiness in toto.

And, it appeals to children of all ages.

Climbing the Stairs - Padma Venkatraman's Book Blog Tour

Welcome to Day One of Climbing the Stairs/Padma Venkatraman’s book blog tour.

We have the honor of hosting Padma here on Saffron Tree, and we are very proud to mention that Saffron Tree is in fact Padma's first official blog tour stop. Thanks for accepting our invitation. It's such a wonderful milestone for Saffron Tree!

Padma, despite her busy schedule around book signing events, has answered a few questions about her novel Climbing the Stairs, and her writing career in general. Padma will also be available to take questions from readers throughout today and if you happen to stop by on Saffron Tree, please don't forget to leave a comment.

Please join me in welcoming Padma Venkatraman to Saffron Tree!

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Most of your earlier books were for younger readers as opposed to Climbing The Stairs, which is intended for young adults/adults. Could you share with us your thoughts on the differences/similarities in writing for different age groups- in terms of time, research, and other aspects that you had to be aware of while working on Climbing the Stairs?

A simile I use is that writing a picture book is like sprinting for a 100m dash, while writing a novel is like running a marathon. There are some fundamental differences in the mindset one needs for each type of effort, although both require some fundamentally similar writing skills.

CLIMBING THE STAIRS is set during a period of Indian history that I find incredibly intriguing and interesting – a time when the world was engaged in World War II and Gandhi was leading the nonviolent Indian struggle for independence from the British. I first fell in love with this time period when I was writing a short story for younger children, but realized that there was just so much more to this era than I could fit into a short story for the middle-grade age group. Writing a novel, of course, implied many more years of research, many more months of time in libraries, many more books to read, many more websites to look at, many interviews to conduct with people who experienced India in the 1940’s.

A lot of complex issues are raised in the book (for example, the impact of British colonization on India), and while my characters argue and debate many questions, they don’t arrive at any answers or conclusions, partly because I feel many of the questions they ask are too complex to have one simple categorical answer. Some very serious and very different threads are woven into the fabric of my novel which are, I think, better suited to discussion by young adults and adults: World War II, prejudice (racial, societal, and gender-based), Peace and nonviolence, Indian philosophy, Judaism in India, etc.

This – the subject matter and the way I wanted to deal with it, my desire to show the different complicated facets of each question – made it immediately obvious that the target age group had to be older. I guess what I’m trying to say is that a fundamental difference between writing for kids versus adults (young or old) is the subject matter (or theme) and its treatment (or the approach you want to take).

The language and the metaphors you use are, of course, also very different when you write for different age groups. For instance, even the title of the novel – CLIMBING THE STAIRS – is a metaphor that works on several different levels. Vidya must climb the stairs in secret to reach the forbidden realm that awaits her, but there are other ways to interpret the title. A woman whose book club recently chose to read CLIMBING THE STAIRS told me that one of the questions to discuss is what the title means – the many ways to interpret that phrase.

Do you think your writing has changed or evolved over the years since your first book got published?

CLIMBING THE STAIRS was a quantum leap in my writing career. It is very special to me, and without a doubt my best work thus far, head and shoulders above anything else I’ve ever written. The novel is all consuming and it transported me to a different time and place. It took my blood and sweat – none of my other books was as much work or had such a deep emotional hold over me. So yes, I do think my writing has evolved greatly over the years.

Another difference between CLIMBING THE STAIRS and my previous work was the strong relationship I developed with my editor at Penguin. I respect him totally and completely. He is my very best editor, over and above anyone else I’ve ever worked with. In fact, I respect all the people who’ve helped in various ways with the book at Penguin-Putnam: the publisher, the editorial assistants, the publicity and marketing personnel. The high degree of professionalism and dedication shown by everyone at this publishing house is amazing – it is (hands down) the best publication house I’ve had the honor to interact with – every step of the way. And the success the novel has already enjoyed (the starred review in Booklist, the starred review in Publishers Weekly, the Booksense Notable citation, the nomination for Reading Across Rhode Island, the nomination for one of ALA’s 2009 Best Books lists) is certainly a shared success and the result of a group effort by us all.

What were the challenges you faced getting access to the publishing industry here in the U.S. as a person of Asian origin?

One of the greatest challenges was getting the manuscript accepted for publication. I remember the first day that I had a letter from an agent asking to see the manuscript. Elated, I sent it off. A month later, I heard from her. My writing was beautiful, she said. CLIMBING THE STAIRS was a wonderful story. But, she said, she didn’t think Americans would really find it interesting. Then I heard from a second agent. My hopes soared as I sent the manuscript off a second time. But her response was almost exactly the response of the first agent. She loved CLIMBING THE STAIRS, said many wonderful things about it, but felt no editor would be willing to buy it.

Then three agents asked to see it and the first to complete the reading told me, “I read and re-read CLIMBING THE STAIRS and I cried over it each time I read it.” She signed me on, and she sold it. Ironically, my editor said he accepted my manuscript precisely because it was different, because it told him something new. So that was certainly an interesting twist!

However, one of my challenges now in the United States is: How do I get people to see CLIMBING THE STAIRS as a book that happens to be multicultural rather than as “yet another multicultural book”? We’ve had so many wonderful women writers who are of South Asian origin but it’s sad that sometimes we are seen first as South Asian and then as writers, rather than the other way around.

I fear sometimes that CLIMBING THE STAIRS will be stereotyped as yet another book about India, rather than appreciated for the different threads that are woven into it. The multiple facets of my book could provide fuel for passionate discussion in classrooms at schools and universities, and at book clubs such as: Gandhian and Kingian nonviolence, the contributions of colonies to the WWII effort, Judaism in India, Indian philosophers, the inner realities of faith. Some of the fundamental questions in the book are: is war sometimes inevitable, what does violence mean, does nonviolence work, how does colonialism impact cultures, what is common among different types of prejudice. Those are issues and questions that transcend culture and are fundamental to us all. The reason my book speaks to people here is because human beings everywhere are essentially the same.

But if a reader does not move beyond the fact that the book is set in India featuring a strong female protagonist, there is the very real possibility that it will be viewed (or even dismissed) as a book about India and Women’s rights. That would be a great pity. Because although these are both extremely important aspects of the book, it has more to offer. Kitta is a really important character in the book, and his struggles are as fundamental to the plot as Vidya’s.

I’d like to end, though, by saying I’m very encouraged by the fact that the book has been nominated for Reading Across Rhode Island. One of the criteria for this nomination is that a book should speak to men as well as women and should have crossover appeal for adults, teenagers, and senior citizens. It’s very heartening to know that some readers feel convinced this is the case, enough to nominate my title. I’m also thrilled to say that some booksellers have been selling my book on adult as well as young adult sections of their store, which indicates their belief that it appeals to a wide audience.

I’ve already had a number of adults including senior citizens write me emails demanding “Why is CLIMBING THE STAIRS categorized as young adult? It should be for all adults.” My answer is this: books for adults are sometimes inappropriate for young adults, but books for young adults often should be read by everyone, young or old. I wanted the book to be accessible and appropriate for young adults because I feel they have the power to change the world – teens are idealistic – they aren’t jaded the way many grown-ups can be. But it is wonderful to hear from adults who enjoy the book as well, and I’m certainly delighted to know that adults are appreciating it.

Labels and categories shouldn’t keep people from enjoying a book for what it is – a novel is a novel, regardless of the labels applied to it.

What are your hopes for Climbing the Stairs? I hope readers will see that some of the questions the characters struggle with are still highly relevant, as relevant in America today as they were in India in 1941. What does it mean to be a colonial or occupying power? Is war inevitable during certain circumstances? What is violence and how do we internalize it? My characters don’t provide answers in the book to any of those questions – partly because I feel there is no one correct solution to the issues raised, partly because my scientific training has dinned it into me that a good question is often far more important than any answer. Those issues are of current interest – and the book could serve as a vehicle for readers to discuss these issues with a certain level of objectivity and distance, given the historical perspective.

Any advice for the wannabe-writers - children, young adults and grown-ups like me?

Be patient. Writing well takes time and effort as does everything else. Wait, let it happen, and believe in yourself.

Networking with agents, publishers and bookstores - could you share with us your experiences on this front ?

I don’t think I consciously tried to network with them, ever. However, I would advise aspiring writers for children to join SCBWI – it is a very useful organization. Writers for adults – look around, ask around and visit a reputable organization that specializes in your area of writing – they usually have conferences and publications that may be useful to you. Those looking for agents should definitely do all they can to research the agents background, educate themselves about avoiding scams, and ensure that they are familiar with the AAR (association of author representatives). And please remember that reputable agents and reputable publishers NEVER ask you to pay them any money. In my opinion, agents should make money purely off what they sell, and publishers should pay you (not the other way around).

What can we look forward to from Padma Venkatraman? I presume there's another book of yours coming out next year? Could you tell us a little bit about your next book?

Last summer, my agent sold my second novel to my editor at Penguin. It’s called Island’s End. It’s written in two voices – which is a wonderful challenge – and in writing it I drew upon my experiences as a researcher in a remote location.

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Thank you for taking your time to answer our questions. We, at Saffron Tree, wish you the very best with your book. From the reviews online, it is nice to learn that Climbing the Stairs has already been climbing the charts!

FYI: Climbing the Stairs is now widely available independent bookstores as well as chains such as Barnes and Noble and online at amazon.com.

Please don't miss Padma's upcoming blogtour stops, which include: `

1. Friday, May 23rd. Exploring issues of faith, culture and colonization in CLIMBING THE STAIRS; Gandhi and Martin Luther King at Olugbemisola Perkovich’s blog http://olugbemisola.livejournal.com/ (author of Eight Grade Superzero, coming in 2009).

2. Saturday, May 24th. Travel, living in different Indian cities and different countries, how this has influenced my writing at http://blogpourri.blogspot.com/

3. Sunday, May 25th. Being a writing mom, finding time to write, parenthood and writing at http://desimomzclub.blogspot.com/

4. Monday, May 26th. Where were the British colonies during WWII? A few funky facts I unearthed while doing background research for CLIMBING THE STAIRS at author Laura Purdie Salas’s blog. http://laurasalas.livejournal.com/

5. Tuesday, May 27th. CLIMBING THE STAIRS. The process of writing the novel, weaving together the different threads. http://the5randoms.wordpress.com/

6. Wednesday, May 28th. Oceanography, research and CLIMBING THE STAIRS. Making my schizophrenia work to my advantage. My (at least two) personalities. What it’s like to spend your 21st birthday on a research vessel at author Greg Fishbone’s blog. http://tem2.livejournal.com/

7. Thursday, May 29th. What exactly is that dot on the forehead all about? Arranged marriages, Women in India in the 1940’s, Indian marriages today, gender equality issues in CLIMBING THE STAIRS, anything else you ever wanted to know about India at author Carrie Jones’s blog. http://carriejones.livejournal.com/ Friday, May 30th. The grand finale. Moving to America, Becoming an American, Multicultural writing at author Mitali Perkins’s blog. http://www.mitaliblog.com/

Climbing the Stairs

Author: Padma Venkatraman Age group: Young Adult(teenage)/Adult novel Publisher: Putnam Juvenile (May 1, 2008)

Not often do you get to read a novel set in historical, pre-independence India with a story so wonderful and riveting. Padma Venkatraman undoubtedly brings a wonderful and fresh voice to the world of young adult and adult English literature with her debut novel, Climbing The Stairs.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and found the story very touching. The book appeals to both young adults and adults alike. For both the groups, the story's backdrop can offer interesting insights into India's political and social fabric during World War II and the independence struggle.

Please allow me to offer a little glimpse of the story's plot and the characters Hopefully, I am not giving away too much so you can go and find out for yourself how wonderful the book is.

Vidya and Kitta cruise their young adult/teenage years with their everyday lives filled with typical family and school related happenings when all of a sudden a bad event in the family forces them out of their homes into their uncle's home. In their new home, the two deal with clashes in values and judgements with members of the extended family. Kitta makes some important decisions for himself in line with his own ideals. And when it's Vidya's turn, the story's key focal point touches upon her personal struggles, and family and social pressures. Eventually, it boils down to how she makes some very important decisions for herself filled with determination, courage and hope.

A fascinating plot, and such interesting characterizations and text that kept me glued to the book cover to cover. With Padma's writing so lucid and well-structured, the book is a real treat and offers a multi-faceted experience. And for the teenage group, there are definitely lots of inspirations to draw from based on an interesting plot, and fascinating characters.

I should also mention that it was truly a pleasure to read the characterizations of both Kitta and Vidya. I would be missing the point if I didn't recoginize the fact they were both equally strong-willed and important characters.

Final Word: There are so many untold stories about WWII that affected people's day-to-day lives in countries such as India that were already dealing with their own political and social struggles. Thanks to Padma we got to hear one such story of young Vidya and Kitta whose struggles and dreams many will find close to their hearts – a historical story so wonderfully told that it in fact is truly timeless in its appeal. Once again, many thanks to Padma Venkatraman for her fabulous new book, Climbing The Stairs.

Lastly, I think the book will be neat pick for teenage book clubs, and for any bookclub reading for that matter. And if you are like me that enjoys reading juvenile/young adult fiction in order to compensate for those wasted teenage/high school years of limited non-academic reading...I have to confess I am shamelessly going for young adult fiction with a vengeance...

I am not done yet - here's a little piece of advice for moms with pre-teens and teens - if you really want your children to read eclectically, and if you are involved in picking what they read, books such as these should be on top of your list! Books are indeed a great way to connect with our children and the world around us, isnt it?

BLOOMWATCH - Issue # 2, May 2008

Bloomwatch: Issue # 2

Here's the second edition of our monthly newsletter, Bloomwatch — giving you the highlights of special days in May in an effort to connect people across cultures to encourage reading a diverse array of books to children!

Let’s delve right in, and see what’s in store for May…

1) Author Birthday: Four time Caldecott Honor Winner , Leo Leonni was born in Holland on May 5th, 1910. Leo Leonni, a legend in contemporary children’s literature, was perhaps the first to use collage in children’s books. He worked as a graphic designer and advertising designer before writing children's books. Leo Leonni's work paved the way for the use of modern art and design elements in children’s books - a technique later adopted by many who were deeply inspired by his work, including legendaries such as Eric Carle and Ezra Jack Keats – two award-winning authors/illustrators known for their use of collage in illustrations. Here's the list of all his books published by Random House.

Some of his most extraordinary books include, Swimmy (1963), Frederick ( 1967) and Little Blue and Little Yellow (1995), An Extraordinary Egg (1998). He died on Oct 11, 1999. If you are interested in reading Leo Leonni's books, we do have a review of one of his most popular books Little Blue and Little Yellow.

2) Holiday Highlight Cinco De Mayo – (Fifth of May) is an important Mexican holiday that commemorates the victory of Mexican forces over French forces in the Battle Puebla (May 5th, 1862). Throughout the United States and other countries, the day is celebrated to honor Mexican heritage and culture. Here is a useful link to print out activity sheets based on the holiday. Holidays are a wonderful opportunity to present information to little ones about a country and its heritage - for instance,this Cinco De Mayo, parents and caregivers could teach little ones the location of Mexico on the world map/globe, the nation's flag, foods and other interesting information.

3) Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month: May being Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, let's read books focusing on the stories and folktales from different parts of South East and Pacific regions of Asia, and celebrate reading authors of Asian-Pacific heritage. Here’s a quick list on New York Public Library’s website for some recommendations surrounding the theme. For adults, the resource links on the websites of The Smithsonian Institurion has lots of information, if you are interested in the culture, history and the life of people of Asian-Pacific American heritage. For more information, click here. Of course, on Saffron Tree, we are proud to say that there is no shortage of children's books focusing on Asian American, and particularly Asian-Pacific flavors.

Here are some past reviews by our contributors - Yellow Umbrella, Minji's Salon, New Clothes for New Year's Day, Zen Shorts , A Place to Grow and Dear Juno.

4) Children’s Book Week: The Children’s Book Council (CBC) of New York is celebrating the week of May 12 – 18, 2008 as children’s book week, which according to CBC is the longest-running national literacy week in the U.S. As part of the celebrations, CBC is organizing the first-ever, child-selected book awards program, the Children’s Choice Book Awards. To see the list of finalists, and if interested in having your child vote - click on this link from the same website. The list could also be useful to check out some popular, mainstream titles this year among children.

Thank you, and see you on our next edition!

Hasta La Vista!

MINJI'S SALON

AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR: Eun-hee Choung

AGE GRP: 3-5 yrs

SPANISH language edition also available

“An ode to the power of children's imaginations (and their parents' patience), Minji's Salon reminds readers that creativity and play are worldwide phenomena.” is what the publisher Kane Miller rightly claims.

Yet another book on pretend-playing and dress-up that I got my hands on, but the overdose doesn’t seem to tire my 4 year old girl!

A simple story line. Mother visits the local salon for a vivid red color and a fancy haircut. Daughter creates a make-believe salon at home assuming the role of the stylist. The guinea pig is her dog companion at home. Smell chaos already? Wait until you see what Minji is up to…

Something really neat in the book is the juxtaposition of equivalent scenes, the city salon on one side and Minji’s home base on the other. This presentation makes it easy for the child to get a grasp of the hilarious on goings in parallel. While the rendezvous of the mom with her stylist progresses on the left, Minji’s date with her canine friend evolves on the right. Similar drill, dialogues and drama. An ice-cream concoction for color, crayons for holding the fuzz, generous use of water colors – all to simulate the hairdresser’s paraphernalia and perform the shear act on her own specimen. Can you imagine the predicament of the dog? Visuals just enough to make the little reader giggle or guffaw.

Another observation would be the fact that mom’s proceedings happen in a confined rectangular window while Minji’s play has no defined boundaries (on the pages), clearly portraying how a child’s imagination has no bounds, whatsoever! And this is the central idea of the book.

Mom is back, pretty and perky. Her initial shock softens into surprise and then a sweet tolerance takes over even as she stands there encompassed in total mess. A feeling that mothers all around the world can comfortably relate to.

“ My goodness! Are you the owner of the salon?”

“Yes Madam. Would you like to make an appointment?”

We see no end to Minji’s frolic. However the book comes to an end with a picture of Minji staring at a mannequin through the glass window of a city store, not to forget the bright red oversized stilettos she has gotten herself into!

Eun-hee Choung lives in South Korea, academically qualified in art and illustration. And I can safely conclude that she has done adequate justice to the above fact in Minji’s salon where visuals dominate text.

MY FRIEND JAMAL

STORY & PHOTOGRAPHY: ANNA MCQUINN

ARTWORK: BEN FREY

AGE GRP: 4-7 YRS.

The book is a boy’s narration of his culturally diverse yet completely uncomplicated friendship with another boy his age. In other words it is a celebration of an unadulterated friendship that oversteps borders, religion and culture.

Our little narrator, Joseph, introduces to us readers, his friend Jamal of Somali origin, however, born in the same hospital as him, the same month! After sharing with us the staples of their friendship built on activities and interests that are typical to boys their age, Joseph lets us into more unexpected specifics. This includes Jamal being a Muslim, Jamal’s dietary restrictions (both cultural and health-related) and an analysis of Jamal’s household - how pasta is served with banana toppings and how his family dines on the floor, more like a picnic! In fact, something that, in my opinion, felt very real and down-to-earth were these lines –

Sometimes I go to Jamal’s house.

It smells different from ours because his mom cooks with special spices.

Isn’t it true that something as simple and different as this can actually be acknowledged and reasoned out by the innocent mind? And books that carry such thoughts, I believe, can provoke and aid open healthy discussions of complex issues of the real world with a growing child.

Marching on, the pages are filled with fun and precious details of their likes and dislikes, commonalities and differences, - about superhero games, basketball teams and automobile preferences, all sure to score a three-pointer with any male child! Joseph then narrates more about the prayer routine he witnesses at Jamal’s, the Koran in Arabic that his friend talks about and the war and fighting in Somalia from which the family fled. What catches the reader’s attention is the non-judgmental and intrigued tone with which the small boy speaks. In fact, everything that revolves around Jamal with whom Joseph shares his life is probably diametrically in contrast to his own settled Christian life and yet he nonchalantly accepts Jamal and his family.

This book can be an ideal pick for discussing cross-cultural friendships with children. The details though raw are real and gentle. The author Anna McQuinn was raised in Ireland and now lives in England adding titles like Lola at the library and Wanda’s washing machine to her credit. The illustrations are a combination of photography and art – bold, colorful and explicit, just as the front cover indicates.

A wonderful work that showcases how children adjust and adapt to strikingly contrasting cultural canvases while holding on to their own individualistic identities, something that nature and puerility seem to take care of.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

One of Arthur C. Clarke's famous laws of prediction is --
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."


One of the great magics for me in my life is the medium of cinema. Cinema has the ability to create life, destroy it, re-imagine it and turn it topsy-turvy in seconds. Sometimes, I feel movies makes one a voyeur -- making us peek in characters, emotions, desires of imaginary, nevertheless real people. Sometimes, I wonder if the people in the cinema can look back at us, voyeurs in great groups, watching their every move.

It is about this great magic called the movie that this wonderful book called - The Invention of Hugo Cabret deals with.

The book is a combination of multi-page illustrations with some pages with written words. It is a massive book, a replacement for a pillow! But, one could easily complete the book in an hour; and keep coming back to it in order dig deep into the illustrations and the words.

The book starts with an introduction by Professor H. Alcofrisbas as he starts describing the story about the kid called Hugo Cabret, living in 1931, whose life changes forever during the course of this story. Hugo Cabret lives inside the railway station and makes sure all the clocks in the railway station are running properly. He is not the official time keeper; but, his uncle is. His uncle had disappeared some time back, but none of the railway official know about it. Although, the railway officer keeps dropping off the monthly cheques for the time keeper's job; Hugo Cabret does not know how to use them. So, they keep accumulating, while Hugo steals food from the various shops in the railway station to keep himself alive.

He has one goal in his life - He has some set of drawings in a treasured notebook and an automaton that does not work. But, he thinks his father had got it to work, just before he died in the fire accident. He gets the automaton and the drawings and starts working on getting the automaton to work. He feels that once he gets it to work, he would be able to read some cryptic message from his father.

One day, he gets caught by a grumpy old man who lives by selling toys near to the railway station. The old man snatches the notebook with drawings from him and keeps it to himself. The old man refuses to give it back. The old man's granddaughter, a girl who reads a lot of books, promises to retrieve it for Hugo Cabret.

The rest of the story is about how the girl and Hugo Cabret retreive the book and try to understand the mystery and the hidden message in the automaton. I would not reveal more than this. But, the rest of the story leads to the story of the Georges Milies, the creator of the first science fiction movie in the history of world cinema - A trip to the moon

It is great combination of fictionalizing based on a real person and a real movie and writing a story around it. It would be a great read and source of entertainment for kids above 10+ (or any one who can start reading English). I enjoyed it a lot. Why don't you try it too?