Molly Bang

Knowing that I love the traditional Japanese folktale of The Crane Wife, a friend recommended this American retelling, in which the story is transplanted to a nineteenth-century New England coastal village (thanks, Jude!). Despite my mixed feelings about revisionist folkloric retellings, in which tales are transplanted from one culture to another, I decided to give Dawn a try, and I'm glad I did! One of the things I look for, in such projects, is a sense of why this new setting is necessary show more for the story: what cultural parallel does it highlight? What new insight does it bring? If I get the sense that the author/artist just wants the characters to look different - to be from a different culture or race, in order to make readers feel more comfortable - than I'm less than impressed. But if it's obvious they're drawing something from the tale, and applying it to another setting or culture, than I'm intrigued.

Molly Bang seems to be doing the latter, and it's easy to see why: the original tale features a sail-maker, and speaks to a culture that is oriented to the sea. So too were (and are) the fishing villages of New England, and while the latter aren't regularly visited by cranes, they do see quite a few Canada geese. And so this retelling is very true, in some ways, to the original, despite being set in a very different place, and featuring a different species of bird. It also offers some additional details and insight, not found in the original, and can lead the reader to consider what happens next. I found the narrative here - related after the fact to the couple's daughter - very moving, as it really speaks to the husband's futile regret, his remorse, his longing. The open-ended conclusion - does Dawn (the daughter) ever succeed? - was very impressive: no neatly tied off end here, folks! The artwork, too, is most moving, alternating between black and white drawings and color paintings, both of which capture the sense of mystery and beauty to be found in the story.

All in all, this is a lovely little book, one I am glad to have picked up, and one which I recommend to young readers who enjoy sad stories, and (quality) revisionist fairy-tales. show less

Happily absorbed in her play, Sophie is unprepared when her sister grabs her toy gorilla, and absolutely infuriated when her mother points out that it is her sister's turn to play with it. Boiling over with rage, feeling like a volcano about to explode, Sophie does what she always does when she gets very, very angry: she runs...

Chosen as a Caldecott Honor book in 2000, When Sophie Gets Angry -- Really, Really Angry is illustrated in vibrant, primary colors that perfectly capture the show more emotional register of each scene. Sophie begins the story outlined in a happy yellow, but her quick descent into anger is accompanied by a red halo that grows with her rage, becoming almost another being - a red shadow being - as she throws a temper tantrum. As she slowly calms down, soothed by the quiet beauty of the natural world around her, her outline returns to less strident hues.

I really appreciated Molly Bang's use of color here, finding it very astute, and think her artwork will grab young readers' attention. That said, I have to agree with my friend Chandra, in wondering if it was really worthy of a nod from the Caldecott committee. I also had some mixed feelings about the story itself. While I applaud Bang's sympathetic portrait of a child's emotions, I wasn't sure I approved of the way in which the sibling conflict was resolved. I don't know about you, but when I get very angry, removing myself from the situation and calming down - while absolutely necessary - are just the first step. There needs to be discussion, possibly apologies, before everything is back to "normal." Still, despite these reservations, I think this is a good title to use with children, to explore handling strong anger. show less

There definitely are many many other better books about dealing with anger, but I still do enjoy this book. I'm particularly drawn in by the vibrant illustrations and the message that your family still loves you no matter how angry you get. Storming out as a child into the forest by yourself without letting anyone know isn't the best coping mechanism for being angry over an altercation about sharing toys, but the part where she sits on the beech tree realizing how insignificant her problems show more are compared to the wide world is lovely. Nature solves a lot of our problems. I also noticed how everything is outlined in different colors based on their mood or energy; the toys are outlined red when Sophie is angry. show less

I didn't realize this was a series! I read and loved Ocean Sunlight, but somehow missed a couple other titles along the way. Today, I'm looking at Buried Sunlight.

Beginning with dark blue endpages, speckled with starry points of light, this lovely book explains fossil fuels in a simple, accessible way. The sun, who acts as the narrator, explains how its energy is trapped in plants through photosynthesis and then hidden deep under the earth. That energy is accessed when we burn the fuels. A show more sense of the eons of time required to build up fossil fuels is shown in the friendly language and art, showing the slow build up of tiny, sparkling motes of energy, shown in little explosive stars of light against the black strata under the earth. The second half of the book explains how the rapid use of the fuels it took so long to build up damages the planet and atmosphere and causes changes, first small and later likely to be severe, to occur. Simple graphs show how the normal changes in the planet's atmosphere are disrupted and happening far more rapidly than ever before. The final pages blaze with the sun's light as it asks "Will you work together to use my ancient sunlight more slowly, to find other sources of energy, and invent ways to thin the blanket of CO2? The choice is yours."

Three pages of extensive notes expound on the concepts introduced, offering more information to parents and children who want to learn more. Some of the other reviews I looked at criticized the book for not offering "things kids can do" and normally I would like to see that as an option, to keep titles like this from being too scary and depressing for their readers, but in this case I don't think that's needed. First of all, I would agree with Paul Fleischman in his latest title for teens, Eyes Wide Open that making it sound like recycling will save the earth is too simplistic, even for kids (seriously, one book I read suggested kids write on both side of the paper to save the earth. Uh, really?). Secondly, this title has a matter-of-fact, scientific tone that informs without being frightening or overly dramatic. This would be a good book to start with to teach kids the scientific concepts behind why we recycle, walk or bike when possible, use public transportation (if the option is available), conserve water, keep the heat or a/c off when possible, or whatever other environmental measures are right for your family.

Verdict: This is the best explanation of fossil fuels for young listeners and readers that I've seen - it even made sense to me! The text is clear and interesting and the inspired illustrations richly complement the text. A definite must-have for your collection.

ISBN: 9780545577854; Published 2014 by Blue Sky Press; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Added to the picture books/neighborhoods backlist for future ordering. show less