Deborah Kogan Ray

Deborah Kogan Ray, whose many excellent picture-book biographies include such titles as Wanda Gág: The Girl Who Lived to Draw and To Go Singing Through the World: The Childhood of Pablo Neruda, here turns her attention to the story of the 18th/19th century Japanese artist known as Hokusai, and the result is simply delightful! Her engaging narrative, which follows the self-styled "peasant from Katsushika" (who used more than thirty names in the course of his life) as he rises from orphaned show more shop assistant to famous artist, is paired with Ray's own lovely artwork, and one reproduction of a Hokusai print, The Great Wave off Kanagawa.

I enjoyed learning more about this extraordinary man and artist, whose name was familiar, but whose life-story was previously unknown to me. How amazing, not just that Hokusai (a name which means "North Star Studio") went from an impoverished orphan to a renowned artist - someone whose funeral procession included one hundred of the shogun's samurai - but also, how remarkable that his creative impulses prompted him to continually try new styles and methods, and to depict unpopular subjects like fisherman, and other working-class people. Ray is to be commended, not just for creating an engaging and informative story, but for really giving the reader a sense of her subject's complexity and depth, as an artist. Hokusai: The Man Who Painted a Mountain (that would be Mt. Fuji), is highly recommended to all young artists and would-be artists, and all young readers interested in the history of art and/or Japan. show less

A young Maine girl tends to her garden and writes to her grandparents - newly moved to California - in this picture-book celebration of the seasons of the year, and the natural bounty to be enjoyed each month. Beginning in icy January, when Lily receives a crate of oranges from her far-off Grandma and Grandpa, Lily's Garden chronicles her active days - tapping for maple sap (and making maple syrup!) in February, planting her garden in April, raking the blueberry crop in August, harvesting show more the pumpkins in October - each of which has its own tasks and treats! Finally, with the coming of December and Christmas, a very special surprise awaits...

An engaging story that functions, not just as a celebration of gardening and the natural world, but of the loving bond between grandparent and grandchild (as well as parent and child) Lily's Garden pairs the main story, in which Lily narrates her experiences, with non-fiction asides that give more information about specific plants and produce. The colorful artwork, while not exactly my "cup of tea," is very engaging, and will keep young readers' attention. All in all, a sweet little book, one I would recommend to young gardening enthusiasts, or to those looking for children's stories that explore the seasons of the year. show less

Pairing selections from the poet's autobiographical writing with her own narrative, Deborah Kogan Ray - whose other biographical picture-books include such titles as Wanda Gág: The Girl Who Lived to Draw and Down the Colorado: John Wesley Powell, the One-Armed Explorer - tells the story of Pablo Neruda's youth in To Go Singing Through the World. Chronicling the shy young boy's childhood in the Chilean frontier-town of Temuco, his loving relationship with his step-mother, who introduced him show more to the stories of Chile's indigenous people (she was Mapuche herself), it also highlights the early years of his life-long friendship with fellow poet Gabriela Mistral, who was the principal of the girls' division of his school, and who became his mentor.

I enjoyed both the dual-strand narrative and the artwork in this book, and was struck by how all three combine flawlessly to capture the intensity of a young Neruda's feelings, and his inward-drawn early life. How interesting that such a phenomenally gifted poet, someone known for his strong voice (even if only his literary voice), was so quiet and withdrawn, as a child. Ray's book makes you feel that it is this very solitude that created the poet - an idea I find rather appealing. After all, before one can truly communicate, one must understand, and listening and observation play such an important part in building understanding. In any case, this is just an immensely engaging biography of an important figure in world literature, and is a book I would recommend to all young poets, and fans of Pablo Neruda. show less

Deborah Kogan Ray, whose many picture-book biographies include such titles as Wanda Gág: The Girl Who Lived to Draw, Dinosaur Mountain: Digging into the Jurassic Age and To Go Singing Through the World: The Childhood of Pablo Neruda, turns her attention, in this newest offering, to the story of Sarah Winnemucca, whose 1883 Life Among The Piutes: Their Wrongs And Claims was the first autobiography to be published by a Native American woman.** Winnemucca - or Thocmentony (meaning "Shell show more Flower") as she was known in her own language - witnessed incredible changes in her life, from her early childhood in her people's homeland in Nevada, before the coming of the white man (she was born around 1844); through her atypical education, learning to speak English, and to read and write, thanks to the far-sighted wisdom of her grandfather, Chief Truckee; to the eventual confinement of her people on a reservation, after a period of forced exile in Yakima, Washington. A dedicated activist for her people, Winnemucca gave hundreds of speeches on their behalf, worked as a translator and scout for the United States Army (sometimes to win concessions for her people), and founded a short-lived school for Paiute children, incorporating the kindergarten methods of one of her patrons, Elizabeth Peabody.

Having read and enjoyed Winnemucca's autobiography, a number of years ago, when it was an assigned text in one of my college Women's Studies courses, I was very excited to discover that Deborah Kogan Ray planned to release a children's picture-book about her! The text-heavy narrative here is most informative, giving a full picture of Winnemucca's long, active life. I was particularly impressed that the less palatable aspects of the story - the almost constant record of wrongs done to the Paiute people, by white settlers - were not neglected or glossed over. I did wonder a bit at the title chosen - I understand that Winnemucca was sometimes billed to white audiences as "Princess Sarah," but since the Paiute had no tradition of royalty themselves, would have preferred something like "Mother Sarah" - the name by which she was known to her own people. Leaving that aside, this is an excellent work, which will serve to introduce young readers to a fascinating figure from American history - one that deserves to be better known!

**The claim is sometimes made that Sarah Winnemucca was the first Native American woman author to be published, but I believe that that honor goes to Jane Johnston Schoolcraft (Bamewawagezhikaquay in Ojibwe), whose stories and poems began to appear in print in 1815. show less