Picture Book Roundup-August 2016

Maggie McGillicuddy’s Eye for Trouble by Susan Hughes and illustrations by Brooke Kerrigan is a delightful story of a friendship between an elderly woman and a young boy who lives next door. The subject of the book is not “race” but this book quietly illustrates an inter-racial, inter-generational friendship built upon the two characters’ mutual imagination that allows them to see dangers that nobody else seems to see.

 

An oldie but goodie. Published two years ago, The Story of Hurry by Emma Williams and illustrated by Ibrahim Quraishi introduces readers to the plight of children in the Gaza Strip, who lack sufficient water, food, and other necessities due to ongoing armed conflict. “Hurry” is one of the donkeys painted to look like a zebra at Happy Land Zoo in Gaza Strip, a place created to allow children respite from the violence and harsh conditions of their every day lives. The illustrations are unusual and beautiful.

 

Books for Children of the World: The Story of Jella Lepman by Sydelle Pearl and illustrated by Danlyn Iantorno tells the true story of a Jewish woman who fled Germany during World War II but returned after the war to make sure German children living in the rubble and destruction that the war had brought had access to good books from around the world. She translated the story of Ferdinand the Bull into German, publishing it as a newspaper for 30,000 children and ultimately established a library, convincing governments from around the world to donate books for the cause.