Wednesday, May 31, 2017

More-igami by Dori Kleber and G. Brian Karas




More-igami by Dori Kleber, illustrated by G. Brian Karas (2016)
Joey loves loves loves things that fold—tacos, maps, the accordion, and his foldaway bed. One day his classmate’s mother demonstrates origami to his class at school, and Joey is enraptured. He begins folding everything he can get his hands on, from his homework to his mother’s recipe cards until, “This folding has to stop.” Demands his mother. Dejected, Joey wonders how he’ll be able to become a master folder if he can’t practice. Adorably, at the Mexican restaurant next door he finds both encouragement and the answer to his problem—folding napkins to decorate the tables.

Themes/topics: persistence, origami, art, practice, problem solving, restaurants

Sample text from three spreads:
One day, Sarah Takimoto’s mother came to school. She took a plain piece of paper. She folded it, and flipped it, and pulled it, until it became…

A crane.

Joey’s eyes popped. His jaw dropped. Mrs. Takimoto called it origami. “I want to make origami,” Joey told her. “Will you teach me?”
“I can show you the folds,” she said, “but if you want to be an origami master you’ll need practice and patience.”


Tuesday, May 30, 2017

How to Find a Fox by Nilah Magruder




How to Find a Fox by Nilah Magruder (2016) #ownvoices

A plucky little adventurer sets out with backpack and camera in hand—determined to find a fox. The narrator explains the best way to go about finding a fox, while the illustrations show the girl stymied at every step and the sly fox always just out of her sight.  As soon as she gives up or turns away, there’s the fox doing just what she wanted it to. Highlights include the fox disguised as an owl and a raccoon. Frustrated, she wants to give up, but the narrator instructs her to take a deep breath and a mental break before going on. And, of course, the fox shows up in the end and the final spread is a bunch of snapshots of their time together. I love that the girl gets to explore nature on her own terms, and the way that the text provides a script for what to do when you’re frustrated and want to give up. Kids will love looking for the fox’s tricky antics.

Themes/topics: Adventure, persistence, nature, animals, searching, tricksters

Sample text from two spreads:

Tread slowly over the ground. Foxes have keen hearing. You don’t want to startle them. Be sure to look for fox tracks. They’re like dog tracks, but sneakier.

Take a picture of a family of raccoons. They have bushy tails kind of like foxes. Put out more bait. Wait longer this time.