Sunday, March 05, 2017

Leather Shoe Charlie

"In a small village in England," Charlie's grandfather, a cobbler, made Charlie a pair of leather shoes. "The shoes were well made and comfortable, and Charlie was proud of them." 

When Charlie and his brother were young boys, they moved with their parents to work in a city textile factory. 

Gyeong-hwa Kim tells the story of Britain's Industrial Revolution, with its polluted air, and harsh working conditions for children and adults alike. It is also a story of a sacrifice that Charlie is willing to make for his sick mother.

Illustrated by Anna and Elena Balbussothe book has a handsome cubist/constructivist style reminiscent of Marc Chagall

With a map of the global economy and a timeline of events, Leather Shoe Charlie works as both a picture book and a history book, with present-day relevance.



PAPERBACK; Published: 2/18/2017
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5473-5
36 Pages
Trim Size, in inches: 10.5" x 9"
Ages 6-10

illustration jpeg from theispot.com


Thank you to Eerdmans for the review copy.



Friday, March 03, 2017

Daniel Finds a Poem

He looks up in surprise when he hears Spider say, "To me, poetry is when morning dew glistens." 

Daniel Finds a Poem  by  Micha Archer is a lovely book about a boy hearing poetry in the park. I love Daniel's expressions of awe, as each animal speaks to him.

Made with oil paint and collage, the illustrations have wrinkles and paper edges so crisp that you have to touch the pages to make sure they're only two-dimensional.











Wednesday, March 01, 2017