Migrant Story

PANCHO RABBIT AND THE COYOTE: A MIGRANT'S TALE by Duncan Tonatiuh. Abrams, 2013.

A rabbit family crosses the border in search for a better life. However, a drought drives Pap Rabbit to head off for greener pastures. When he does not arrive home when he is expected, his son, Pancho heads off in search of his father. Along the way, Pancho meets a coyote who promises his assistance. This modern day fable cum allegory is just one example of how picture books could be used with older readers. Young readers can experience the tale at one level; older readers with different background experiences will find more within the text and themselves as they read.

That's what it's all about

HOKEY POKEY by Jerry Spinelli. Knopf, 2013.

In a town called Hokey Pokey, life is simple and wonderful for kids. There are bikes to ride, games of catch to play, ice cream to eat. Jack has loved living in Hokey Pokey; his life has been that ideal childhood, the one you never question until something changes. And change is coming. Jack feels it in his bones. His beloved bike, Scramjet, is stolen by a GIRL who paints it bright yellow and adds glitter and streamers to the handlebars. Jack is not sure exactly what is happening, but is sure does not feel good. Is it inevitable?

Spinelli has crafted an incredible coming of age story, an allegory of childhood and the changes one faces that make life change drastically seemingly within one moment. The STORY, the bikes, a baseball mitt, a statue: nothing is here that does not create memories of our own long agos and make us yearn for those carefree days.

Lyrical Art

THE MASTERWORK OF A PAINTING ELEPHANT by Michelle Cuevas with pictures by Ed Young (FSG 2011) can be deceptive at first glance. It appears to be a slim, small book for young readers. However, open the book and read Chapter One, and it is readily apparent that the intended audience is a tad older and more rich in literary experience. For what follows is a lyrical allegory about family, about friends, about art, about love, and more. Birch, a white elephant, works in a car wash doomed to a life of spraying water to rinse the cars as they pass along. What he wants to do is to paint, to create art. He also secretly longs to reconnect with the graceful acrobat who once danced on his back. Into his life comes Pigeon, a young boy whose parent abandon him at an orphanage. Pigeon, though, crawls away. Somehow Pigeon and Birch connect. Now Pigeon lives on Birch's back. The two are inseparable, the bond that connects them as strong as Birch's trunk and Pigeon's belief that one day he will find his parents. To tell more would deprive you of the rare reading experience in store for you. This book begs to be read aloud (and even studied, though please not so deeply that it loses its charm for the reader). Tie this one to THE MAGICIAN'S ELEPHANT, THE DREAMER, PETER NIMBLE AND HIS FANTASTIC EYES, THE GIRL WHO CIRCUMNAVIGATED FAIRYLAND IN A SHIP OF HER OWN MAKING, and so many more titles that connect the heart of this story. <524>