Henry Wants More

Henry Wants More by Linda Ashman illustrated by Brooke Boynton Hughes (2016) #ownvoices?

A loving, multigenerational multi-racial family tries to keep Henry, the youngest, entertained throughout the day as his insatiable desire for repetition exhausts them all. There’s no shortage of love in the family however, and this title is sure to charm young and old—a perfect choice for storytime. I’ve also used it in my lapsit storytime by shortening it and sharing just a few spreads.

Themes/topics: family, love, having fun, siblings, grandparents, behavior

Sample text from two spreads:

 Papa’s lifting Henry high above his head. Henry’s face is joyful. Papa’s face is red. UP and UP and UP again. His arms are getting sore. Papa stops to catch his breath, but Henry hollers: [page turn]

MORE!

Grandma Play piano—it’s Henry’s favorite song. Henry, on her lap, claps and sings along. She plays it once. She plays it twice. She loses count at then. Our ears are getting weary, but Henry cheers: [page turn]

AGAIN!

In Plain Sight

In Plain Sight by Richard Jackson and Jerry Pinkney (2016) #ownvoices

Sophie lives with her parents and wheelchair bound grandfather. Every day she visits him after school and he just happens to have lost some small object that he needs Sophie to search for until—in plain sight!—there it is. On morning Sophie is about to burst into his room, but is stopped by Mama because he’s still sleeping. Sophie hatches a plan to surprise Grandpa by hiding herself in his room. The adoring relationship between the two is the heart of this wonderful story, and Grandpa’s cat is an additional element for reader’s to observe throughout the story.

Themes/topics: Grandparents, searching/looking/lost, hide and seek, days of the week, games

Sample text from two spreads

And after school each day, Sophie looks in. “Here I am, Grandpa,” she says. “How was the morning?”

“Surprising,” he says. “I had me a paperclip, you know? Nice and shiny. Now it’s vanished. Help me find it, will you, with your bright eyes?”

“Where?” says Sophie.

“That’s just it, honey. You have to look.”

If you lean in close you might hear Sophie say, “Oh.” And eventually, you might hear her say, “There!”

“Good, says Grandpa. “Thanks honey.”