Aliki

Best Friends Together Again is a short picture book about two young boys, Peter and Robert, who are finally reunited after Peter moved away with family. Peter later becomes jealous of Robert because he has so many new and interesting friends. Each of these friends come to Robert's house to meet Peter, and he starts to warm up to them, but only a little. One day, Peter and Robert go to the park to fly paper planes, and so many kids run up to Robert to say hello. Peter then realizes that all show more of these friends are not so bad, and that he should be friends with them as well.

I feel that this story is so important for students who are learning to share. Even though this story is not about sharing any physical item, and is about sharing friends, I believe many children go through this and can relate. Peter as a character develops and becomes more accepting of Robert's friends than where he was in the beginning. He learns that sharing friends is so important because it is much more fun! show less

ORGANIZATION:
William Shakespeare & the Globe (Aliki)

From renown author/illustrator Aliki comes William Shakespeare & the Globe, a stunning and masterful book which captures so much of Shakespeare’s life, times, and works in a fluid, reader-friendly fashion that is meticulously researched and detailed while at the same time remaining clear, relevant, and easily digestible. I was delighted to see that the book’s organization mirrors that of a Shakespearean play—a prologue and five acts, show more each with a few scenes within. (Even the author’s note is titled, “Aside,” referring to lines in a play delivered directly to the audience.) The five acts follow William Shakespeare from his birth and childhood to his illustrious career, and ultimately trace Shakespeare’s influence over the centuries to today. The various scenes bring to life various aspects of Shakespeare’s life and times as young William leaves his home in Stratford to seek his fortune in London, eventually becoming such a well-respected playwright as to be chosen by the king, who became Will’s patron.
The play’s the thing
Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king! (Hamlet, II.ii)
I truly enjoyed learning about how various features of Elizabethan England may have influenced Shakespeare, and how they give context to many aspects of his plays.
Each beautifully illustrated page is filled with content: maps, scenes, diagrams, biographical inserts, landscapes, costumes, etc.—as well as key excerpts from Shakespeare’s plays which appear as sort of captions at key intervals and page-turns. These carefully selected “quotes” both enhance and are enhanced by the scenes they decorate, describe, denote, such as this gem from Julius Caesar:
How many ages hence
Shall this our lofty scene be acted over
In states unborn and accents yet unknown! (III.i)
Indeed, this book continues the narrative well beyond Shakespeare’s death through the reconstruction of the Globe by Sam Wanamaker and ends not with “The End” but with: “Not The End, The Beginning…” In this way, Aliki invites readers to continue their exploration and appreciation of Shakespeare’s works. As Shakespeare’s own good friend and fellow playwright Ben Jonson said of him:
“He was not of an age, but for all time.” With this attractive and well-executed introduction to Shakespeare’s world, Aliki proves Jonson’s point, inviting readers to share in the timeless wonder of the world’s greatest storyteller. show less

Even though it is an information text, this book has a sweet tone and is not at all dry. The narrator is a cartoon cat (in fact, all of the "people" in the book are cats) who loves to read books. I can see children really catching this kitten's enthusiasm as he bounces in joy over "A book for me!"

The bulk of the book provides a thorough explanation of how books are made. Though some of the specific details are outdated (e.g. floppy disks), the book demonstrates the metacognitive skills show more required by writers and editors well. Aliki shows the struggle the writer faces: "It is harder than expected. Sometimes she can't find the right words." This is a powerful message for children, as it is important for budding writers to learn that writing is a process and good writing does not come easily. Another relevant educational aspect of the book is the "designer." In the illustration, the designer is deliberating between fonts, how to format pictures, etc. to best convey the message of the book. Effective design is a skill that does not come naturally to many people. By illustrating the designer's thought process, Aliki models what thoughtful decision-making looks like. In fact, this is a theme continued throughout the book, from the editing process right down to the placement of colors during the print job.

The book ends with the printed word taking on a new life in libraries, and bookstores, and children's homes. The final image of the kitten snuggled up in bed with the book, wishing the book "Goodnight!" leaves the reader with a warm and fuzzy feeling towards books--which is exactly the message I would hope young children would take away from reading picture books. show less

I've frequently heard it said that kids can't, or won't, sit still like they used to. Now, there are a lot of different factors in this - electronics of course, and school schedules, and considering that we are now doing storytimes for babies whereas a few decades ago storytime was for elementary-aged kids. On top of that, quite a few of the picture books produced nowadays are extremely long and kids absolutely will not sit still for them! However, in my experience, toddlers and preschoolers show more will quite happily sit for even a lengthy story if it is a folktale or has a folktale-like cadence.

I don't remember where I originally heard this story; I probably read it as a child, but at some point I realized I needed it for storytime. I purchased an old and rather worn copy online and the kids LOVED it. They even liked my introduction, where I showed them "the mystery book" since it was missing its jacket!

Nevertheless, one can't fully enjoy a book unless you can recommend it to friends and colleagues, and with the only copy in my professional collection, kids coming to the library wanting the book I read in class are bound to be disappointing. So I was THRILLED when I found out that Prestel was republishing this gem!

The story is simple. Boy is exhausted, sitting on a rock, when Tiger shows up. Tiger tells him to run, so he can chase him and eat him, and Boy replies (in my favorite phrase of the book) "Eat me then...I have no more run in me." Tiger is curious, so Boy tells him the story of his adventures, with Tiger responding "That's good" and "That's bad" as one thing leads to another. It turns out, Boy is being chased by Rhino and a wild chase it's been!

Each spread is in dark blue with the shadow of green trees and the figures of Boy and Rhino acting out the story. In the forefront is the face of Boy, the storyteller, and Tiger, the listener, while the text runs on a white background strip below.

When Boy finally gets to the end of his story, there's an unexpected ending for Tiger and Boy's clever tale saves the day and that's good! For Boy at least...

This edition keeps the original art and text, although it's in a larger format than the original I have, which makes it a much better read-aloud. It adds some background information on the author and illustrator and compares the story to the Scheherazade and the Arabian Nights (the use of "virgin" was a little unneeded I think, good luck explaining that to any kids reading it on their own...) The only problem I've had with this story is explaining to kids that Boy is NOT wearing a diaper - I tell them he's wearing special shorts because he lives somewhere very hot.

Verdict: I am delighted to see this classic story back in print and in a lovely edition that's perfect for reading aloud. I can't wait for my friends to be able to share it with a whole new generation of kids, who I promise you WILL sit still for it!

ISBN: 9783791374192; This edition published March 2020 by Prestel; Review copy provided by publisher and added to my professional collection to replace my battered old copy; Purchased another copy for the general library; Included in our emergency virtual storytimes. show less