A Picture Of Ruby From Rainbow High
Flaviano Bada
Alder, David A., ill. Samuel Byrd. A Picture Book of Harriet Tubman. New York, New York: Holiday House, 1992.
This is a biography of Harriet Tubman, a "conductor" on the Underground Railroad. Harriet Tubman risked her life to secure her freedom and then to help other slaves gain theirs as well. She was independent, determined and courageous. I struggled with the decision of whether to include this book because a troubling fact is that when she was helping slaves escape, she would not allow them to turn back and threatened to kill them with her gun if they did not continue. While I object to this threat of force, it is not the central focus of the story or of Tubman's efforts. The extraordinary heroism of her life is too compelling to omit.
John and Alexandra Wallner. A Picture Book of Florence Nightingale. New York, New York: Holiday House, 1992.
Traces the life of the nineteenth-century English woman who followed her calling to work in hospitals and improve the conditions under which the sick were treated.
Alexander, Sue, ill. LLoyd Bloom. Nadia the Willfull. New York, New York: Pantheon Books; Toronto, Canada: Random House of Canada Limited, 1983. K-Gr 3
When her favorite brother disappears in the desert forever, Nadia refuses to let him be forgotten, despite her father's bitter decree that his name shall not be uttered. Nadia's courage, determination, wisdom and love enable her to confront her father and help him understand the importance of sharing memories of her brother so they can both grieve AND remember him.
Aragon, Jane Chelsea, ill. Ted Rand. Salt Hands. New York, New York: E. P. Dutton; Toronto, Canada: Fitzhenry and Whiteside Limited, 1989.
In the middle of the night a young girl wakens to a sound, goes outdoors, discovers a deer with whom she sits quietly and lets him lick salt she has sprinkled on her hands.
Baehr, Patricia, ill. Laura Lydecker. Mouse in the House. New York, New York: Holiday House, 1994. PreS-Gr 1.
Mrs. Teapot is an independent older woman who is happy with her ordered life until a mouse makes his home in her home. She acquires four different pets to rid her house of the mouse. Since each one fails and creates a problem of their own, Mrs Teapot gives away all her pets. She sees that it is easier to live with the mouse than to get rid of him. Her practical solution is to change her attitude since she cannot change the situation.
Berry, Christine, ill. Maria Cristina Brusca. Mama Went Walking. New York, New York: Henry Holt and Company; Markham, Ontario, Canada: Fitzhenry and Whiteside Limited, 1990.
Sarah saves her mother from a series of imaginary dangers, from lions in the Jaba-Jaba Jungle to scritchy-witchy things in the Gonagetcha Forest.
Booth, Barbara, ill. Jim Lamarche. Mandy. New York, New York: Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Books, 1991.
Hearing-impaired Mandy risks going out into the scary night, during an impending storm, to look for her beloved grandmother's lost pin.
Brett, Jan. Trouble With Trolls. New York, New York: G. P. Putman's Sons, 1992.
While climbing Mt. Baldy, Treva outwits some trolls who want to steal her dog. In addition to the main story line, at the bottom of each page are illustrations that show the trolls preparing for a dog in their underground home. While they are out trying to steal Treva's dog, a hedgehog makes its way in and falls asleep in the dogbed. The reader will enjoy Treva's clever ploys to keep her dog and delight in the knowledge that when the trolls return to their home they will have a pet after all, even if it is a hedgehog rather than a dog!
The Wild Christmas Reindeer. New York, New York: The Putnam and Grosset Group, 1990.
After a few false starts, Teeka discovers the best way to get Santa's reindeer ready for Christmas Eve. Teeka learns that her loud, bossy approach is not effective in training the animals. When she treats them with respect and speaks to them gently, they respond well. Teeka is smart enough to realize that she has created an impasse which she solves by changing her own behavior. With this cooperative spirit, she successfully trains the reindeer and has them ready just in time for Santa's Christmas eve sleigh flight.
Brisson, Pat. Magic Carpet. New York, New York: Bradbury Press; Don Mills, Ontario, Canada: Collier Macmillan Canada, Inc., 1991.
Aunt Agatha and Elizabeth imagine the travels of the rug on which they are sitting, from China across the sea to the west coast of the United States, and onward in a journey designed to let its carriers stop only in cities beginning with the letter "S."
Maryann Cocca-Leffler. Wanda's Roses. Honesdale, Pennsylvania: Boyds Mills Press, Inc., 1994.
Wanda mistakes a thornbush for a rosebush in the empty lot. She clears away the trash around it and cares for it every day, even though no roses bloom. Undeterred, she adorns it with "roses" for a teaparty to which she has invited the neighbors. Her guests are so inspired by her hope and determination that they bring rosebushes and help Wanda turn the empty lot into a real rosegarden.
Browne, Anthony. Piggybook. New York, New York: Alfred A. Knopf; Toronto, Canada: Random House of Canada Limited, 1986.
When Mrs. Piggott unexpectedly leaves one day, her demanding family begins to realize just how much she did for them.
Bunting, Eve, ill. Donald Carrick. The Wednesday Surprise. New York, New York: Clarion Books, 1989.
On Wednesday nights when Grandma stays with Anna everyone thinks she is teaching Anna to read. In truth, Anna is teaching Grandma to read.
Caines, Jeannette, ill. Pat Cummings. Just Us Women. New York, New York: Harper and Row, Publishers, Inc.; Toronto, Canada: Fitzhenry and Whiteside Limited, 1982.
A young girl and her favorite aunt share the excitement of planning a very special car trip for just the two of them.
Carlson, Nancy L. I Like Me! New York, New York: Viking Penguin Inc., 1988.
By admiring her finer points and showing that she can take care of herself and have fun even when there's no one else around, a charming pig proves the best friend you can have is yourself.
Carlstrom, Nancy White, ill. Dennis Nolan. Heather Hiding. New York, New York; Macmillan Publishing Company, 1990.
Wishing she were taller and faster like her big brother Peter, Heather plays hide and seek with him and demonstrates how good she is at hiding.
Castaneda, Omar S., ill. Enrique O. Sanchez. Abuela's Weave. New York, New York: Lee & Low Books, Inc., 1993.
A young Guatemalan girl and her grandmother grow closer as they weave some special creations and then make a trip to the market in hopes of selling them.
Cole, Babette. Princess Smartypants. New York, New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1986.
Pressured by her parents, but not wishing to marry any of her royal suitors, Princess Smartypants devises difficult tasks at which they all fail, until the multitalented Prince Swashbuckle appears. In a twist on classic fairytales, her magic kiss turns the prince into a toad, freeing her to live unmarried happily ever after.
The Trouble With Mom. New York, New York: Coward-McCann, Inc., 1983.
A young boy's mother, who is a witch, is not immediately accepted by the parents of the children in his new school. When the school catches fire, her ability to fly saves the day.
Cole, Robert, ill. George Ford. The Story of Ruby Bridges. New York, New York: Scholastic, Inc., 1995.
For months, six-year-old Ruby Bridges must confront the hostility of segregationists when she becomes the first African-American girl to integrate Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans in 1960. She does so with grace and goodwill toward her harassers.
Cone, Molly, photographs Sidnee Wheelwright. Come Back, Salmon. San Francisco, California: Sierra Club Books for Children, 1992.
Describes the efforts of the Jackson Elementary School in Everett, Washington, to clean up a nearby stream, stock it with salmon and preserve it as an unpolluted place where the salmon could return to spawn.
Cooney, Barbara. Hattie and the Wild Waves. New York, New York: Viking Penguin, 1990.
A young girl from Brooklyn, New York enjoys her summer at the beach where she can paint and listen to the wild waves.
Miss Rumphius. New York, New York: Puffin Books, 1982.
Great-aunt Alice Rumphius was once a little girl who loved the sea, longed to visit faraway places, and wished to make the world more beautiful.
dePaola, Tomie. The Legend of Bluebonnet. New York, New York: Putnam Publishing Group, 1983.
A retelling of the Comanche Indian legend of how a little girl's sacrifice brought the flower called bluebonnet to Texas.
Strega Nona's Magic Lessons. New York, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1982.
Strega Nona is not fooled when Big Anthony disguises himself in order to take magic lessons from her.
DiSalvo-Ryan, DyAnne. City Green. New York, New York: Morrow Junior Books, 1994. K-Gr 3
A sweet story of reclaiming an empty lot, spearheaded by a girl and her adult friend Miss Rosa. The young heroine has the imagination to envision the empty lot as a garden and the persistence to work through the process of renting it from the city. She builds community support for the project and people get involved. In the end they have a community garden. A lovely book that shows children they can do something, even something so big that it affects and transforms the whole neighborhood!
Dragonwagon, Cresent, ill. Emily Arnold McCully. Annie Flies the Birthday Bike. New York, New York: Macmillan Publishing Company; Don Mills, Ontario: Maxwell Macmillan Canada, Inc., 1993. PreS-3
Annie gets the bicycle of her dreams for her birthday, but finds riding it is harder than she thought. She had imagined herself "flying" on it. It requires persistence, but she keeps trying with the help of a friend even when she is discouraged. Annie achieves her goal and learns to ride. Then she tries to "fly" it down the hill but falls and skins her knee. Annie does not give up, though, and has confidence that she will be able to "fly" her bicycle again sometime without falling.