Summertime and our nation’s birthday bring together books
that feature the infinite variations of cultures and traditions that mingle to
strengthen the freedoms we share. These freedoms and the choices we decide make
our country strongest when we include each other in, emphasizing what draws us
together, and valuing what makes us most remarkable. Happy Birthday to us!!
My Freedom Trip:
A
Child’s Escape from North Korea
by Frances Park and Ginger Park
Illustrations by Debra Reid Jenkins
A
small Korean girl, Soo, escapes in the middle of the night with Mr. Han, a guide.
They travel by train, climbing through the woods, and up a mountain, to cross a
river, where her father waits. Footsteps in the woods signal danger from
soldiers on patrol.
Her
mother remains behind. “Less people means less danger of being captured,” her
father tells her before he leaves. When it is Soo’s turn, her mother tells her,
“Be brave, Soo!”
Glowing
oil paintings capture the intensity of the threat Soo’s family feels. She longs
for her mother, as she and the guide hide in the bushes away from the moonlit
night. Despite their care, a soldier with a gun confronts them as they near the
river. Mr. Han must go back, but the guard allows Soo to cross to freedom where
her father is waiting, waving from across the blue water.
Despite
the sad ending – Soo never sees her mother again – this solemn tale of quiet
bravery is mesmerizing. The universal need for freedom and the independence we
celebrate this month lend power to this story. This story is an excellent
beginning for a conversation about the heroic experiences of many immigrants to
our cherished country. (A paragraph at the beginning and end bookend the story
with a brief explanation of the setting and aftermath.)
Boyds Mills Press,
$18.95
Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 3
Chik Chak Shabbat by
Mara Rockliff
Illustrated by Kyrsten Brooker
This
wonderful story celebrates multicultural America, with the pleasures of good
neighbors and friends. Every week the neighbors in Goldie’s apartment building
smell the fragrance of the cholent
(stew) she makes beginning on Friday afternoon. Vegetables, dried beans and
barley simmer in a broth until Saturday supper. Then Goldie invites everyone in
for Jewish Shabbat.
Gathered
around the table they discuss what makes cholent so delicious: The Italian
neighbor says tomatoes. Barley, suggests the neighbor from Korea. The family from India believes it’s the
potatoes. But the Latino family agrees it’s the beans. However, for Goldie,
“the taste of cholent is . . .
Shabbat!”
One
week, when Goldie is too sick to prepare cholent,
each neighbor brings something to the table: Indian potato curry, Korean barley
tea, Italian tomato pizza, Spanish beans and rice. Combined with their concern
for Goldie the usual splendid meal becomes superb.
Brooker’s
oil paint and collage illustrations are humorous and detailed. Distinctive
characteristics showcase the individuals. The food traditions shared around
this warmly welcoming table strengthen the loving bonds while highlighting the
differences. A recipe for cholent is
included: a stew that cannot be hurried, chik
chak.
Candlewick Press,
$15.99
Interest Level: Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 2
Red, White, and Boom! by Lee Wardlaw
Illustrated by Huy Voun Lee
If
you’re looking for a perfect book to give youngsters a taste of Fourth of July
celebrations, choose this! The flag colors are central in Wardlaw and Lee’s
joyful rhyming picture book.
Detailed collages of people at a
parade, picnicking on the beach, and watching fireworks span the generations. This
story poem is a fine representation of the cultural variety in gatherings
across our country. Cut-paper patterns bounce with energy and vivid textures.
Readers and listeners can hear the
match as rhythmic words and pictures combine: “Shoulder seat/Thumping beat/July
4th drums down the street!” And as the day continues: “Shoulder
seat/Seagull fleet/July 4th with sandy feet!” Until the fireworks
conclude the day: “Rockets wing/Crackle, sing/Burst and zoom/Red, white, boom!”
This delightful picture book is a rainbow commemoration of our country’s
heritage of freedom.
Henry Holt, $16.99
Interest Level: Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 2
Time to Pray by
Maha Addasi
Arabic Translation by Nuha Albitar
Illustrated by Ned Gannon
During
her first night visiting her grandmother, in an unnamed Middle Eastern country,
Yasmin hears the call to prayer. Her understanding of a few Islamic customs
increases as the story continues. Especially highlighted are the five daily
prayer times. Teta makes prayer clothes for her granddaughter, buys her a
prayer rug, and takes her to the mosque.
The
oil paintings, in warm golden tints, show lovely geometric designs and Arabic
architecture. Regional cultural characteristics in the illustrations are thoughtfully
chosen. Carefully woven with a heartfelt family story, together they engage
readers and listeners.
When she returns home to her
family, Yasmin finds a surprise gift from Teta to help with her prayers. A
translation in beautiful Arabic script is paired with the English text on each
page. An explanation of Prayer Times is included at the end. Especially during
this time in our nation’s history, this story offers beginning understandings
of family and freedom.
Boyds Mills Press,
$17.95
Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 3
My Shoes and I by
Reni Colato Lainez
Illustrated by Fabricio Vanden Broeck
With
his father, Mario leaves home in El Salvador to reunite with his mother, who
sent him new shoes from the United States. He is confident that his shoes will
take him across three countries.
They
walk, ride buses, climb mountains, and cross a river on their trip north. There
are many difficulties on the way: hungry dogs eat their food, Papa loses his
wallet. Mario’s shoes get dirty and muddy, a nail tears a hole; even a
rainstorm drenches them. Yet, each time he takes care of his shoes, singing a
familiar Hispanic nursery rhyme parents use to comfort a hurt child: “Sana, sana, colita de rana…” (The poem
and its English translation are included at the back.)
On
the book’s cover, title page, and at the back, as well as at each page turn,
the shoes are the main focus. Weathered backgrounds strengthen the intensity of
brilliantly colored illustrations. The authentic emotional power of the story
is highlighted by the encouragement the boy repeats, “my shoes and I keep
going.” And by the determination and courage highlighted in the artwork by
dramatic details of city and countryside.
This
timely tale gives readers a poignant sense of both the hardships and
adaptability of those who must uproot their lives in their search for freedom.
Boyds Mills Press,
$16.95
Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 3
