The Box Turtle -- Perfect Picture Book Friday

Title: The Box Turtle
Author and Illustrator: Vanessa Roeder
Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2020.

Themes: Self-esteem, creativity/imagination, determination

Little Terrance the box turtle is born without a shell. His parents gave him a a shell that fit just right. Terrance was happy until one day some other turtles told him his shell was weird. Off he went to find something better. Terrance tries many shells, but each has something not quite right. Tag along with Terrance and his hermit crab friend to see what he discovers.

What I like about this book:

The artwork! Illustrations are created with Prismacolors, acrylics, and a box full of digital tricks. You can see from the cover that the colors are bright and cheerful. There is a lot going in in some of the illustrations, but you always know where to look to find Terrance and discover the problem.

Humor: Many of the box choices are so silly, kids will be laughing and pointing out why the idea was so bad.

Sweetness/Cuteness factor: This is just adorable, but not saccharine sweet, sunny and endearing sweet which make it appealing to so many kids.

Search and Find: Throughout the illustrations, there are little threads you can follow from characters appearing before their scene, to color palettes, and the raccoon.


Activities and resources:

Before you turn and look at the back end pages, see if you can think of other things that Terrance could use as a shell? Did you come up with some that Vanessa didn't illustrate? Did you come up with the ones that she did?

Check out the Teacher's Guide. It is STEAM Powered! and created by Marcie Colleen

If you haven't already read Lucy and the String, be sure to get your hands on that one too.

Learn more about Vanessa and her books on her website. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram too.

Be sure to check out Susanna Hill's Perfect Picture Book Friday Posts. Not only will you find out what she likes, but there's a list of books recommended by authors and illustrators too.

Perfect Picture Book Friday -- Frida Kahlo

Happy Friday to you! Kids are heading into summer vacation mode with time to play, read, and make art on their own terms. If you haven't read this wonderful biography of Frida Kahlo, this summer would be wonderful time to meet the artist and her many beloved animals.

Title: Frida Kahlo and her Animalitos
Written by: Monica Brown
Illustrated by: John Parra
Publisher: North South Books, 2017
Pura Belpre Honor Book

Themes: art, biography, imagination, pets

About the book: This picture book biography of the artist Frida Kahlo is the story of her life as seen through her relationship with her many beloved pets.

Why I love this book: I too love animals. Frida's pets were grand and varied. I wonder what it would be like to have monkey's as pets?

Animals and art were therapy for Frida. This would be a wonderful introduction for children who have health problems or may be struggling emotionally. It tells a child she/he is not alone and gives them ways to move through the difficult times.

Art is so important. As they say, "Earth without art is Eh." This book is a double dose of art. First the story of an artist and secondly, the artwork created by John Parra.  I had the opportunity to listen and watch as he showed us how he creates his illustrations. Each illustration is many many layers of paint with cutting and masking of sections, building up to the final piece. You can learn more about his process here.

We need more art. Kids need to make art and be exposed to art. This book does that in spades!

A couple articles on the importance of making art which Arree Chung posted on his Facebook page and I share with you here:

https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2019/arts-teaching-become-important-maths-tech-based-future-education-expert

https://www.edutopia.org/video/powerful-effects-drawing-learning

Activities:

• Color a picture of Frida Kahlo
• Draw a self-portrait. What are your your favorite features? Who would be in the portrait with you?
• Experiment with different art styles.
• Visit an art museum, gallery, and/or local artists group to see what types of art other people are making. In my town, our art league shows their artwork at two local libraries throughout the year and offers a day of art for kids at a summer event.
• Learn more about Frida Kahlo
• Find out about the Pura Belpre Award
• Learn more about the Illustrator, John Parra
• Learn more about the author, Monica Brown
• Take some time to understand the meaning of the Spanish words in the book. You may even want to begin learning the language. Many public libraries offer access to online language learning programs. If you are taking a trip with lots of travel time, you could all learn together. Be sure to join the Summer Reading Program too. You and your kids will be more prepared than ever to head back to a new school year in the fall.

Be sure to check out Susanna Hill's Blog where you can look for reviews by book, title, and by themes. And you can check out her weekly #PPBF post along with links to many more wonderful posts here.