Michael Garland (1)

"I was six years old in 1936 the day we left the farm in Mississippi. Between the boll weevils, the floods, and the landlord, there was no way a family could scratch out a living there anymore." So begins this poignant work of picture-book historical fiction, narrated by a young girl named Cassie, whose African-American family migrates from the Deep South to Chicago, looking for work and a better life. Part of the Great Migration - a term given to the massive 20th-century population shift in show more the African-American community, from the rural South to the urban North - Cassie's family is sustained by their love for one another, and for the Blues, a musical form that her father and Uncle Vernon love...

Pairing an emotionally resonant tale with beautiful, eye-catching artwork, Daddy Played the Blues is an immensely engaging book, one which explores an important part of 20th-century American history, as well as important musical art form. Author/illustrator Michael Garland is obviously a great lover of the blues, something attested to, not just in the dust-jacket blurb about him, but also in the extended afterword he included, discussing the musical form and its many famous practitioners. I found the story here touching, the after-material informative, and I thought the artwork, which looks almost like it was done using wood-block cuts, quite appealing. I definitely prefer this style to the more glossy one Garland uses on some of his other books, like his recent Grandpa's Tractor. Recommended to anyone looking for children's stories about the Great Migration, as well as those searching for picture-books about the Blues and its cultural significance. show less

Bored stiff at his parents' country home, a young French boy named Pierre heads over to the neighbors' house, where he observes Magritte in his studio, enjoys a marvelously surreal walk with Mr. and Mrs. Margritte and Salvador Dali, and then enjoys an entertaining dinner. Returning home to find his (extremely staid) parents essentially unmoved, he heads off to bed, where he drifts into surreal dreams...

Chosen as on of our January selections over in The Picture-Book Club to which I belong, show more where our theme this month is "Books About Artists," Dinner at Magritte's would make an excellent introduction to the topic of surrealist art for younger children. Not only are two of this artistic school's most famous proponents features as characters - there is an afterword giving more details about each - but the illustrations themselves are clearly inspired by their work. Michael Garland's text is clearly a vehicle for the artwork, and for an exploration of Surrealism, but that's OK - the end product works just fine, both as a story and as an educational experience. Recommended to anyone looking for books to use in introducing Surrealist art to children. show less

Zack is ready for another boring school year ("Why would this year be any different from the last one?") when punk rock Miss Smith arrives to disrupt his expectations in the best way. When she reads aloud from her special storybook, the stories come alive - for real! But when Miss Smith is late one day and Principal Rittenrotten reads from the book instead, chaos breaks out. Can Zach and his classmates restore order before Miss Smith returns? A humorous ode to the power of stories.

See also: show more Dear Substitute; Louder, Lili!; Take Your Pet to School Day show less

Tommy has an enjoyable time when his school is closed for a Snow Day and his Aunt Jeanne leaves a series of instructions for him, leading him out into the wintry world. As he runs around town, enjoying all the adventures that a snowy day has to offer, he is continually prompted by little messages in rhyme, leading him on to the next step. The reader, in the meantime, has been give instructions at the beginning of the book to look out for certain things - book titles, different words for show more snow, silhouette depictions of various winter sports - as they read through...

Although not the greatest fan of search-and-find books - I tend to be too impatient, and never want to devote the time necessary to find everything I am meant to - I did think that Super Snow Day: Seek and Find was an engaging example of the type. I liked the fact that there was more than one category of thing that the reader was meant to find. I also liked the fact that Garland worked book titles into his illustrations, and greatly appreciated the different words for snow, particularly the Irish and Inuktitut ones. There's a key at the end of the book that will allow readers to double-check whether they have found everything that is there. Although not a particular fan of Garland's illustration style - it looks too flat, and computer-generated to me - I did appreciate his use of vibrant colors here. Recommended to anyone in the market for "search and find" picture-books. show less