Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
By: William Steig
Medal Winner
NOT REVIEWED
Sylvester Duncan lived with his father and mother at Acorn Road in Oatsdale. One of his hobbies was collecting pebbles of unusual shape and color. One rainy day during vacation he found a magic pebble that had the power to grant all wishes.
Starting home to amaze his father and mother, he was frightened by a lion, and the wish that he wished led to a year of sorrow and separation for the Duncan family. The lost son and his parents faced their problems with bravery and determination, until the happy conclusion reunited the endearing donkey with his loving and steadfast father and mother.
In this beautiful story, William Steig blends humor and tenderness as only he can.
From the dust jacket
Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse
By: Leo Lionni
Honor
NOT REVIEWED
"Alexander may look like Frederick," says Leo Lionni, "but he is definitely not the same mouse: Frederick is a country mouse—Alexander is a city mouse; Frederick is a poet—Alexander is a very practical mouse."
In view of the above, and other noteworthy distinctions, we are happy to present to you the one and only ALEXANDER, his friend THE WIND-UP MOUSE, and THE MAGIC LIZARD—all involved in the inimitable Lionni combination of delicate fantasy and visual beauty.
From the dust jacket
Goggles!
By: Ezra Jack Keats
Honor
Reviewed by: Sandy Hall
Recommended age: Ages 4-8
Ezra Jack Keats and his family knew persecution, having escaped the anti-semitism of Poland, and he grew up in Brooklyn; his books reflect this understand of prejudice as well as the inner-city. I have walked the streets of Brooklyn and seen the crowdedness, the lack of a place to play, and the noise.
After using his art talent to help in World War II, he studied art more formally. In the 1950s, he illustrated the well-loved Danny Dunn books. His first attempt to write and illustrate children's books came in the 1960s, and his book The Snowy Day was awarded the 1963 Caldecott Medal. You can read his acceptance speech here: https://www.ejkf.org/caldecott-award-acceptance/
In Goggles!, Keats tells the story of two young boys, Archie and Peter, who find a pair of motorcycle goggles. Their delight soon turns to trouble as older boys fight to get them. A chase and hideout ensues. They watch the action through a large discarded pipe. I love the perspective of the boys looking through the pipe at the scene. Eventually, their dog Willie saves the day, and the boys take the goggles home.
It seems that Peter in this story the same little boy as in The Snowy Day, as Keats wrote and illustrated six books with that young black boy as the main character. His illustrations reflect the city in which he grew up: bright colors, urban streets and buildings, and the children who lived there.
It's interesting that The Snowy Day inspired Grace Lin to write and illustrate A Big Bed for Little Snow, using friends of my daughter in Canada as the mother and child in the book. So Keat's inspiration continues to another generation.
The Judge: An Untrue Tale
By: Harve Zemach
Illustrated by: Margot Zemach
Honor
NOT REVIEWED
A horrible thing coming this way,
Creeping closer day by day.
Its eyes are scary
Its tail is hairy
I tell you, Judge, we all better pray!
Anxious prisoner after anxious prisoner echoes and embellishes this cry, but each time in vain. The fiery old Judge, impatient with their foolish nonsense, calls the prisoners scoundrels, ninnyhammers, and throws them all in jail. In the end, though, justice is done . . .
The Judge is a rowdy and most satisfying comdey. Harve Zemach's verse tale is so infectious that children won't be able to avoid memorizing it; and Margot Zemach has elaborated it in pictures that are as handsome as they are hilarious.
From the dust jacket
Pop Corn & Ma Goodness
By: Edna Mitchell Preston
Illustrated by: Robert Andrew Parker
Honor
NOT REVIEWED
Ma Goodness she's coming a-skippity
skoppetty
All doon the hill.
Pop Corn he's a-coming a-hippity
hoppetty
All doon the hill.
And what happens when these two engaging characters meet? Why, just what you would expect, for this alliterative nonsense sage sums up the human story.
They cotch them a horse, go a-clippitty
cloppetty
The preacher he weds them a-lippitty
loppetty
They build them a house all a-chippetty
choppetty
They make them a farm all a-tippitty
toppetty.
Rhythmical nonsense? Yes, but also love and marriage, birth and death, summer and winter, tears and laughter. Exquisitely illustrated in water color and filled with tongue-tripping words that demand to be read aloud, this is a book that celebrates life.
From the dust jacket
Thy Friend, Obadiah
By: Brinton Turkle
Honor
NOT REVIEWED
What was a silly sea gull doing, following Obadiah around like a pet? It even spent the night roosting on the chimney opposite Obadiah's bedroom window. Obadiah was annoyed.
But one bitter winter day when Obadiah needed a friend, the sea gull wasn't to be seen, and Obadiah missed it. Then, when the sea gull was in trouble and Obadiah was able to help, he suddenly discovered how simple and pleasant it is to make a real friend.
Glowing pictures of old Nantucket set the scene for a story full of warmth and delightful understanding of the feelings of a very real little boy.
From the dust jacket
