A Story A Story
By: Gail E. Haley
Medal Winner
Reviewed by: Lara Lleverino
Recommended age: 6 - 12 years of age
Also read and recommended by: Sherry Early
A Story, A Story by Gail E. Haley is a rich and satisfying tale that feels like sitting close to the fire while a master storyteller begins. Drawing from the beloved West African tradition of Anansi, the clever spider, Haley shares a story about how all stories first came into the world. For readers who already treasure Anansi tales or the trickster spirit found in the Brer Rabbit stories of Uncle Remus, this book feels like discovering the wellspring where those voices began.
The artwork deepens the experience. Haley’s bold linoprint illustrations echo the patterns and rhythms of traditional African textiles, giving each page the feel of something both ancient and alive. The colors are strong, the shapes confident, and the overall effect is striking and memorable.
This Caldecott Medal winner is more than a folktale. It is a celebration of the power of storytelling itself, the kind of book that invites reading aloud and reminds us that stories are treasures, hard-won and meant to be shared.
The Angry Moon
By: William Sleator
Illustrated by: Blair Lent
Honor
NOT REVIEWED
The Moon is the villain this imaginative legend. An Indian girl who dares to laugh at the Moon's face is spirited away and made his prisoner. In fear and anger, her friend Lupan shoots his arrows into the sky all that night. The arrows link into a ladder which Lupan climbs into the sky country. With the aid of an old grandmother and her magic, Lupan finds his way to Lapowinsa and frees her. Their flight across the sky country, pursued by the angry Moon, is a triumph of their wits and the grandmother's magic.
Blair Lent has adapted Tlingit Indian designs into his full color paintings of the sky country, and of the Indian characters and Alaskan settings. They lend a haunting vitality to the legend, adapted expressly for the artist by William Sleator. The Angry Moon is an extraordinary experience that touches both earth and sky with wild beauty and imagination.
From the dust jacket
★
REVIEW TEAM FAVORITE
Frog and Toad Are Friends
By: Arnold Lobel
Honor
Reviewed by: Sara Masarik
Also read and recommended by: Christine Kallner, Lara Lleverino, Sandy Hall, Sherry Early
Such a simple, lovely friendship - it is no wonder that so many people today have such a fondness for these two friends.
Read full review
In The Night Kitchen
By: Maurice Sendak
Honor
Reviewed by: Deanna Knoll
This is an odd book...full of imaginative people baking a cake in someone's dreams. I found a lot of the imaging personally disturbing and would not choose to read or keep this book on our shelves.
