Debbie Friedman was a Jewish girl who felt music stir her soul from the time she was child. Text ©Ellen Leventhal. Illus. ©Natalia Grebtsova When Debbie Friedman was a little girl, music bubbled up inside her. All the time. Notes and melodies. Loud and quiet. Fast and slow. All swirling around inside her just waiting … Continue reading Debbie’s Song – Perfect Picture Book Friday
It's Women's History month, so I thought I'd feature this fabulous biography of someone who didn't let gender stop her from claiming her independence as a "masterless woman." Text ©Beth Anderson Illustration ©Anne Lambelet I love this first sentence: Deborah Sampson's spirit was always a little too large. And then it's followed by three "maybes," … Continue reading Cloaked in Courage – Perfect Picture Book Friday
One of the things I often love about books not published in the U.S. is how they clearly put an author and/or illustrator's obsessions on display. In contrast, U.S. picture books can feel a little too similar or too familiar. BUT, surprise!!! This book WAS written and published in the U.S. and is a testament … Continue reading Woven of the World – Perfect Picture Book Friday
Attention musicians! Well, really anyone who wants to be inspired by a woman who created "her own story," who didn't "wait for things to happen" to her, who "made her own opportunities." Text ©Shannon Stocker Illustration ©Devon Holzwarth Here is Evelyn, enjoying life on her family's farm in Aberdeen, Scotland. This image took me back … Continue reading Listen: How Evelyn Glennie, a Deaf Girl, Changed Percussion – Perfect Picture Book Friday
My introduction to Glenn Gould, the amazing pianist, came in 1993 when the film, 32 Short Films About Glenn Gould was released. Who knew that a skilled author (Sarah Ellis) and illustrator (Nancy Vo) could create such an engaging and masterful picture book biography about this man? (It is a master class for PB writers/illustrators.) … Continue reading As Glenn As Can Be – Perfect Picture Book Friday
Here's another exquisitely beautiful book in translation from 2021 that nearly missed my radar. Of course it's published by Enchanted Lion. You might think you know what a river is: a strip of water that flows from a source(s) to a delta, whether the mouth of the delta is on the ocean like the Mighty … Continue reading What Is a River? – Perfect Picture Book Friday
When I first heard Maggie Tokuda-Hall talk about her book based on her grandparents, I knew I had to have it for my own library. It's a true story about how love can miraculously be found under the most trying of circumstances. Take note of the armed guard in the tower outside the window of … Continue reading Love in the Library – Perfect Picture Book Friday
On the half-title page, we are treated to a quote from Nina Simone: "When I die...I'm gonnna know that I left something for [my people] to build on. That is my reward." This biography elegantly shows the progression of a woman bent on making a living through her music, to a woman bent on fighting … Continue reading Nina: A Story of Nina Simone – Perfect Picture Book Friday
In my early teens, ©️I learned to play The Entertainer, loving its rhythm and the feeling that my hands were somehow accomplishing great feats while I enjoyed the song (after many hours of brainwork and practice that it took to keep my left hand hitting the backbone notes while my right hand capered off to … Continue reading King of Ragtime – Perfect Picture Book Friday
What we have here today, for your perusing pleasure, is history at its smelliest—a fascinating story that leads me to think more about the stench that emanates from San Francisco's storm drains every summer. But I digress. Let's head to London. From its water-borne disease vector endpapers to its funny and macabre illustrations, The Great … Continue reading The Great Stink – Perfect Picture Book Friday
Jilanne Hoffmann 