Chris Raschka
Watching Chris Raschka working with a group of kids reveals a lot about his books as well as about the artist himself. His audience joins lustily in the refrain as he reads from Charlie Parker Played Be Bop. He involves large numbers in reenacting other stories while their friends listen attentively and appreciatively. He obviously enjoys inviting youngsters into his work, particularly when it includes the music which is such a vital part of his life and has become an ongoing theme in his picturebooks. "The rhythm in the text is tied to the rhythm of a particular piece of music; it is closely connected to the music itself, because poetry has musical elements in it already," he notes later.
Although born in Pennsylvania, Raschka spent much of his childhood abroad. He spoke both German and English, recalling that the earliest stories he heard were Viennese fairy tales. The European illustrators he remembers liking were in the world of Ludwig Bemelmans and Roger Duvoisin. "That approach I loved as a child," he recalls. "Even as a child I liked a raw edge to the pen drawing or the paintbrush. Somehow it was more interesting to me than overly careful illustration." He also admires the work of British artists like Quentin Blake, Babette Cole, Ronald Searle, and Ralph Steadman.
Back in the United States, he remembers only the Dick and Jane books. He had planned to be a biologist, then thought about becoming a doctor. But his two strongest interests were in art and music. His hopes for a career in music were dashed when he developed tendonitis and could no longer play the viola. So he concentrated on illustration instead of medical school.
As he illustrated books by other authors, he began to see what was involved in creating picturebooks. "And most of all, this work taught me to see the book as a whole work and not just one illustration after another," he notes, a vision that is clear in the books he produces. At this point, he felt ready to try something new, combining his interest in music, particularly jazz, with his art in a picturebook. Charlie Parker was the result.
Raschka has continued his efforts to bring jazz to the attention of young readers. In Mysterious Thelonious, which he calls a "visual score," he notes he was able to "use the language as a vehicle of rhythm. The language is tied very much to the music, and it therefore brings the music into the book more strongly, as it also does in Charlie Parker." When he works with children on this book, he has had good responses. "What I like to do with Thelonious is discuss the relationship between twelve tones in music and twelve color tones and we piece together a color wheel. Then I show how that might become a visual score for this piece of music and how the background harmonies of tone become the background harmonies of color. Then sometimes I sing it, sometimes I just read it, sometimes I have the kids read it, and I've been very happy doing that in classrooms."
His most recent pairing of jazz and picturebook, John Coltrane's Giant Steps, began as a visual improvisation on "My Favorite Things." Wary of legal problems with the original composers, he decided to use some of the elements he had used in his first dummy, "kittens, raindrops, snowflakes, packages tied up in strings; what if they just became elements of this piece of music? I could build them up and layer them as is the case in a piece of music. I decided to use those elements as visual abstractions and as quasi-characters to introduce a way of talking about music, maybe a visual way into the music," he notes. "The thing that I hoped to get across with this book was mostly a feeling of the potential for complexity that comes from a very simple layering of abstract things. Which is the case in Coltrane's music. It's more a visual experimentation to see what happens if you follow principles that are developed in music and try to translate them into graphic materials. I didn't really want to make this a visual sound track, to require a sound track to make sense. I wanted to just follow some of the ideas that, as I understood them, to be in the music, and see where they would take me if I would follow them in art. And along the way, allow a narrator to talk about John Coltrane as a means of telling a little bit of the story of John Coltrane. There are a lot of things that don't quite make it in terms of John Coltrane's music, because I've taken four elements and assigned them to four different visions... and really, since I'm talking about John Coltrane's music, it would make more sense if it were all in some way tied specifically to John Cotrane's saxophone. My initial first idea was more strictly speaking on target, but it ran into those wrinkles."
Raschka has, of course, used many other subjects in his books. His style, however, avoids detailed backgrounds and isolates action in space. "The books I tend to wind up doing are very much impressionistic. When you get to impressions, you get more personal. If you are illustrating some Wild West story, you have to look at something, like stagecoaches, and draw it. You either make a mistake or you don't. Fishing in the Air was an attempt to go in the other direction and bring more sense of space. I think I will continue to go in that direction occasionally. I was pretty happy with that book because it did have more of the traditional aspects of background... It was also fairly loose and allowed me to just enjoy painting." He also would like to do a "traditional biology-based book, with very careful paintings of flowers; a very simple, almost traditional approach. It would be fun. I think if I stopped writing and illustrating I would go back to school and study botany."
Discussion of his award-winning Yo! Yes? brought us to the question of race. "I think that in our country race is still probably the thing we all use most to divide ourselves. As we read in the papers now, schools are re-segregating themselves. I am shocked to hear, for example, when discussing Yo! Yes? that some people who are not from the children's book world but from the graphic arts world were intrigued by it, but they were so clueless about race that they couldn't quite grasp the concept. So I think that it's still something that needs to be thought about."
Considering the controversy that arose with Happy to Be Nappy, he commented, "At worst it makes me feel a little silly that somehow I've become the white illustrator who illustrates black theme books. But that's only when I look at it from a perspective that's not my own. My own perspective is that bell hooks asked me to illustrate her lovely text and I said 'sure,' and that's the level on which I view it. although I pretty much can't help but be aware of questions of who's painting what, and writing what, and saying what. Most of bell's life work is about this very question, so I feel that if she is happy to ask me to illustrate her poems, that is all I need."
He went on to comment on the difference between illustrating his own story versus that of others, "I think that any time you illustrate anybody's work, it takes a certain amount of audacity on the illustrator's part. You have to be willing to put your own almost literal stamp on someone else's precious words, that they are very protective of, that are close to their heart. The fewer words you write, the more precious they become. And bell writes very distilled texts. I always have to get over that, realizing that what I do has to come from my own strongest feelings. You can't get away from your own blind spots. You just have to trust that you can do it. You have to hope and trust that you don't do something terrible with someone else's words. They'll let you know! That's the nice thing about bell; she'll let you know. Generally when I write my own text, I'm writing at the same time as I'm drawing the initial drawings, so they can immediately affect one another. Sometimes the drawings lead and the text is almost an afterthought. I'm feeling that I will illustrate other people's work less. But it's hard for me to turn down wonderful texts..."
Offering insight into the rectangles in the illustrations in his recent celebration of boyhood, Be Boy Buzz, Raschka noted, "I wanted the figures to be painted with big brushes and have that calligraphic feel. I think I wanted to define the space a bit to give a counterpoint to that washiness with a hard-edged pencil line which I used to describe their clothes. I felt that the spread needed that, somewhat like the stamps on a Chinese painting ground things in the flat paper, keeping you there, keeping the tension. It's a design element, but I used it metaphorically on the hug page, where the designs are hugging each other."
He clarified this when he mentioned some of the influences on his work from the art world. "Along with Klee and Kandinsky, lately I've been totally drawn to the Chinese Wing at the Metropolitan Museum, not so much the old masters, but the newer painters from the last and the 19th centuries. John Coltrane's Giant Steps comes out of that a little bit, with the big fat brushes. I'm trying to learn how to use both ends of the brush at the same time, not just the point but the fat end, and make all edges with the same brush stroke There was a wonderful calligraphy show at the Metropolitan two years ago, from the dawning of calligraphy. That kind of thing fascinates me and I think I will definitely follow it, combining the two."
Right now, Raschka is working on his own version of Peter and the Wolf. "In this case I have given the characters of the story words to say, and those words are tied fairly closely to their motifs in the piece, so they describe what they are doing in the rhythms of those musical motifs. They appear within this story as they do in the piece of music. If in the music you have the little bird's theme and the cat theme alternating, then I try to alternate their speaking to each other." This intriguing idea is one we can eagerly anticipate, as Raschka continues also to include in his art his desired "openness to the world, and to cultural and racial differences."
Interview by Ken and Sylvia Marantz, January, 2003
To return the the current feature about Chris Rashka and additional reviews of his books, click here.
Reviews
Another Important BookMargaret Wise Brown
Pictures by Chris Raschka.
In this wonderful, newly-released sequel to the popular The Important Book, text and image combine to celebrate the attributes of children aged one through six. One is important because "life has just begun," two is important because of "all the things that you can do" and so on. Margaret Wise Brown's text, rhyming with a gentle rhythm, is finely complemented by the bright, active children of Caldecott Honor winner Chris Raschka's illustrations. Young and old alike should enjoy this tale of life and growth. 1999, Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins, Ages 3 to 7, $15.95. Reviewer: Heidi Green
ISBN: 0-06-026282-6
ISBN: 0-06-026283-4
Best Books:
Children's Catalog, Eighteenth Edition, 2001 ; H.W. Wilson; United States
The Children's Literature Choice List, 2000 ; Children's Literature; United States
Recommended Literature: Kindergarten through Grade Twelve, 2002 ; California Department of Education; California
School Library Journal Book Review Stars, September 1999 ; Cahners; United States
School Library Journal: Best Books, 1999 ; Cahners; United States
Awards, Honors, Prizes:
National Association of Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA) Winner 1999 Preschool United States
State and Provincial Reading Lists:
2X2 Reading List, 2000 ; Texas
Arlene Sardine
Chris Raschka.
Arlene is a little fish who dreams of becoming a sardine. Now that is a little unusual, since sardines are two-year-old brislings that are netted, killed, and processed into sardines. Strange as it may seem, this lesson on the preparation of sardines is quite informative and anthropomorphizing Arlene has not put off this sardine lover, although kids may not be quite so sanguine. The illustrations are appealing and the text in broad-brush script is splashed over the scenes. The jacket is designed to resemble a sardine can. It is an unusual book that may have difficulty finding its audience. 1998, Orchard, $15.95. Ages 6 to 9. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot
ISBN: 0-531-30111-7
ISBN: 0-531-33111-3
Best Books:
Adventuring with Books: A Booklist for Pre-K--Grade 6, 12th Edition, 1999 ; National Council of Teachers of English; United States
Publishers Weekly Book Review Stars, June 1998 ; Cahners; United States
Be Boy Buzz
bell hooks
Illustrated by Chris Raschka
This exuberant celebration of boyhood honors a boy's delight in his goodness and manic glee in his badness. Vitality, speed, and the occasional moment of rest in a frenetic boy's life, the dashing mood swings from laughing to crying, and the acknowledgment of "talking way too loud" have equal weight and are relished. For every boy who struggles to be himself in a world which too often says, "Be quiet" and "Simmer down," this book affirms the sensation of being all boy, wanting hugs, wanting independence, seeking stimulation, seeking quietness. The active, zippy illustrations add depth and candor to the text. 2002, Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children, $16.99. Ages 5 to 9. Reviewer: Elisabeth Greenberg
ISBN: 0-7868-0814-4
ISBN: 0-7868-2633-9
ISBN: 0-7868-1643-0
Best Books:
Publishers Weekly Book Review Stars, September 30, 2002 ; Cahners; United States
The Blushful Hippopotamus
Chris Raschka
A vulnerable young hippo tends to blush when he is teased and criticized by his older sister. However, when he starts to listen to and believe the affirmations of his duck friend, his self-esteem grows while big sister's influence gets smaller. Bold, child-like illustrations in watercolor and ink show the humor of the "blushful" hippopotamus and his gradually shrinking sister. 1996, Orchard, $14.95. Ages 4 to 9. Reviewer: Gisela Jernigan
ISBN: 0-531-09532-0
ISBN: 0-531-08882-0
Best Books:
Publishers Weekly Book Review Stars, August 1996 ; Cahners; United States
Can't Sleep
Chris Raschka
This book will comfort the bedtime fears of the toddler-preschool set. When the whole family goes to bed, the moon is always there, keeping watch ever everyone. The moon stays awake until everyone is sleeping and keeps everyone safe. When morning comes, however, the moon goes to sleep and the children may then stay awake to keep the moon safe. This final exchange of places will delight the youngest ones, making them feel as important as the moon. The illustrations in bright watercolors, mostly blues, keep the book from being too scary and dark, even as it talks about the nighttime. 1995, Orchard Books, $14.95 and $15.99. Ages 2 to 5. Reviewer: Marla Frenzel
Kids, just like adults, sometimes have difficulty falling asleep. For them, the noises and shadows of night can be a little scary. Raschka paints a soothing picture and offers a poetic text for those getting ready to drift off but who just can't seem to get to sleep. A blue background rather than the more frightening black of nighttime fills most of the pages. There are small insets bathed in the yellow glow of moonlight--for it is the moon who is constantly attentive while little ones listen to the nighttime sounds of a brother snoring and parents preparing for bed. Sleep finally comes, and after watching out for everyone, the moon goes to bed during the day, and we are asked to watch out for her and keep her safe. Raschka's simple strokes and splashes of color produce illustrations of surprising complexity and emotion. The original picture book works equally well in this new board book format. 1999 (orig. 1995), Orchard, $6.95. Ages 2 to 6. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot
ISBN: 0-531-09479-0
ISBN: 0-531-08779-4
Best Books:
Bulletin Blue Ribbons, 1995 ; Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books; United States
Publishers Weekly Book Review Stars, July 1995 ; Cahners; United States
School Library Journal Book Review Stars, September 1995 ; Cahners; United States
Charlie Parker Played Be Bop
Chris Raschka
Exuberant and wacky, sound-filled and life-affirming--that's how I'd sum up this book. The text is jazzy, crammed with boomba sounds and reeti-footi tweets. And famed saxophone player Charlie Parker is bigger than life. His horn, torso, and head fill the page, spill beyond the margins. Raschka's combination of big block shapes and busy, curling doodles create a sense of energy and spontaneity, a visual tribute to jazz music. Check out the hair on Parker's arms, the lines on his sax. And those absurd, parading figures--chickadees, overshoes, bus stops--are delightful. 1992, Orchard Books, $15.95, $16.99 and $5.95. Ages 4 up. Reviewer: Mary Quattlebaum
ISBN: 0-531-05999-5
ISBN: 0-531-08599-6
ISBN: 0-531-07095-6
Best Books:
Notable Books for Children, 1992 ; American Library Association-ALSC; United States
Doggy Dog
Chris Raschka
This book is a series of statements about what the dog is not--a cat, a lampshade, a footstool, a potato. The vocabulary is basic. The sentence structure is simple and repetitive so that after several readings, the students would be able to recite or complete the sentence. The illustrations are simple and uncluttered, though not very colorful or realistic. This book could be used for developing the concept of "not" or simple vocabulary development. It would be enjoyed by those in preschool and pre-kindergarten. (Thingy Things.) 2000, Hyperion Books, Unpaged, $3.99. Grades Preschool-PreK. Reviewer: Deborah Paratore (Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 13, No. 4))
ISBN: 0-7868-0642-7
Fishing in the Air
Sharon Creech
Pictures by Chris Raschka.
The unnamed boy in this charming, lyrical story of a fishing trip is extraordinarily lucky. His father knows how to describe to his young son even the most ordinary objects and make them magical. Street lamps become tiny little moons, and trees become sentries on guard duty. The breeze comes in bubbles. Birds singing become angels. The father would like to "take those clouds, that sun, those bubbles of breeze, and those angel birds home with me." As the two of them fish companionably, the child, who has a feather on his line instead of a hook, casts the line higher and higher. He asks his father to describe the house in which he grew up, and his own first fishing trip. "And who taught you to fish...?" asks the child His father says, with his eyes closed tight, "it was my father." Now each cast the child makes 'catches' one of the things they have talked about. He will take home more than the fish his father caught. Highly recommended. 2000, Joanna Cotler, $15.95 and $15.89. Ages 5 to 8. Reviewer: Judy Silverman
ISBN: 0-06-028112-X
ISBN: 0-06-028111-1
Best Books:
Children's Book Sense 76 Picks, Spring/Summer 2001 ; Book Sense 76; United States
Publishers Weekly Book Review Stars, July 2000 ; Cahners; United States
The Genie in the Jar
Nikki Giovanni
Illustrated by Chris Raschka
A poem with words that flow is illustrated with warm and loose drawings of an African American girl dancing. She spins around and then is encircled in a group. You sense the protection of the group. She is cuddled by a mother figure and advised not to hurt herself. The young dancer then takes to the air and weaves the sky. There is a sense of support and community that takes shape in repeated readings. The illustrations are wonderfully emotional and free flowing. 1998 (orig. 1996), Henry Holt, $6.95. Ages 2 to 8. Reviewer: Kristin Harris
ISBN: 0-805-04118-4
Best Books:
Best Children's Books of the Year, 1996 ; Bank Street College of Education; United States
Lasting Connections, 1996 ; American Library Association; United States
School Library Journal Book Review Stars, May 1996 ; Cahners; United States
Happy To Be Nappy
bell hooks
Illustrated by Chris Raschka
This little board book will be a nice addition to a teacher's multicultural collection. The author gives an array of descriptions of hairstyles for African-American little girls, including words that children from other nationalities might not be familiar with, such as "plaits." The watercolor illustrations give a depiction of girls and their "hairdos." (1st board book ed.) Fiction. 2001, Hyperion Books, Unpaged, $6.99. Grades PreK. Reviewer: Terri Rounsaville (Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 14, No. 4))
ISBN: 0-7868-0756-3
I Pledge Allegiance: The Pledge Of Allegiance
With commentary by Bill Martin Jr. and Michael Sampson
Illustrated by Chris Raschka
Bill Martin, Jr. states, "It's a miracle that children can even recite the Pledge of Allegiance with its sophisticated and complex language, yet they jump right in." To help them know what they are saying he and Sampson have defined single words and phrases of the entire text. The history of the pledge, reasons for the colors of the flag, and etiquette while saying the pledge can all be found in the explanations. In discussing the words, "under God" they state, "Many people believe that a democracy is a reflection of how God thinks--every single person is important." Raschka's illustrations are created with ink and torn paper. The people have a childlike, chalkboard retro look which will broaden the appeal to a wider reader age range. The full pledge, without breaks, is included in the back of the book. This book can be used not only to help a child or new immigrant understand the pledge, but also as a discussion starter in social studies classes. 2002, Candlewick Press, $15.99. Ages 6 to 9. Reviewer: Sharon Salluzzo
ISBN: 0-7636-1648-6
Best Books:
The Children's Literature Choice List, 2002 ; Children's Literature; United States
School Library Journal Book Review Stars, December 2002 ; Cahners; United States
John Coltrane's Giant Steps
Remixed by Chris Raschka
Once again, as in Charlie Parker Played Be Bop and Mysterious Thelonius, Raschka makes connections between music, in this case jazz, and visuals on the pages of a book. The transparent plastic jacket with his almost crude linear black kitten covers the cover's overlapping areas of transparent watercolors. The book plays with these elements in response to some imagined "sheets of sound." The text encourages us to "see" a Coltrane composition as colored shapes intermix and the kitten moves across the pages. "Steady! 1234! Hey. Whoa! Careful!" There's even an internal analysis of "some trouble spots" and then the correction. To "dig" this picturebook, one probably should be familiar with the sounds of Coltrane or at least of some of his jazz contemporaries. Or perhaps to try to compose some of your own. Some information on Coltrane is included. 2002, A Richard Jackson Book/Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, $17.00. Ages 4 to 8. Reviewer: Ken Marantz
Branford Marsalis say that "Jazz is not for kids" but Chris Raschka has attempted a metaphorical explanation of how John Coltrane's jazz compositions work in the ear and mind of the listener. Whether the book's target audience gets it depends on their experience with music. Raindrops supply the tempo, and a box supplies the bass or base. They are represented by a drop shape and a pleasantly rounded rectangular shape. Add a snowflake as the piano harmony, represented by triangles that overlay the other shapes, and add a kitten taking giant steps across the page. That's melody. But once the music starts, as the pictures indicate, too much is going on chaotically. In the voice of a friendly conductor, the text tells us to stop and take a look at what has happened. The text, which has previously appeared as a line or two on the page, then lengthens to blocks of directions to each participant, and suggests what to change in order to be more like Coltrane's music. Visually, the chaos of color and shape and cat become more orderly before taking a bow. Even the transparent jacket with the black line melody cat floating on top of the book cover with the other three elements as background is a metaphor for the music. Whether you think this is subtle, obvious or opaque depends on whether you "see" music--a concept many children will simply accept as they are used to dreaming along inside a tune. Raschka's simple paintings underlie a complex but simple idea--that music has order and a certain sympathetic resonance with the order found in visual art. While the oversize format and artwork suggest a young audience, it is just the sort of picture book that older children would find fascinating, especially if they are students of music themselves. 2002, Richard Jackson/Atheneum, $17.00. Ages 4 up. Reviewer: Susan Hepler
Kwanzaa recognizes seven important principles, including kuumba or creativity. One book that celebrates creativity is Chris Raschka's innovative John Coltrane's Giant Steps. The book is both a tribute to jazz master Coltrane and an adaptation of his style to the picture book form. Raschka briefly introduces Coltrane's signature "sheets of sound" and then asks characters--a kitten, raindrop, snowflake, and box--to demonstrate the sound visually. Especially delightful is Raschka's analysis of what went wrong on one double-page spread and his kindly directions on how to better play the music. Play (in all its meanings) is the emphasis, indeed, in this 32-page virtuoso performance. Why not go for a doubly fun experience by pairing the book with a Coltrane CD? 2002, Atheneum/Simon and Schuster, $17.00. Ages 4 up. Reviewer: Mary Quattlebaum
ISBN: 0-689-84598-7
Best Books:
Publishers Weekly Book Review Stars, June 24, 2002 ; Cahners; United States
Like Likes Like
Chris Raschka
It is not fun being alone and white cat's expressive face and posture show his dejection. He searches high and low until he spies another cat, and happily they become a pair. No longer alone, he and she frolic in the roses--all smiles on a sunny yellow page. The deceptively simple illustrations tell the story in concert with the spare text. It is a book that will resonate with kids and adults, and anyone who has ever felt alone. 1999, DK Ink, $15.95. Ages 4 up. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot
Smaller in size than Rashka's Caldecott Honor Book, Yo! Yes?, the style of this one is just as effective. A small white cat is left behind from a crowd of animals "two by two" and dejectedly travels about to seek his destiny. Upon finding a brown cat, the phrase like likes like appears and with the simple statement of "Oh how lucky, not alone now," the cats go frolicking off. Reminiscent of the graphics in Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, the oil pastel line drawings added to watercolors on colored paper are dramatic and pleasing. The simple story is enriched with the careful choice of phonetic elements such as exclamations, homonyms, and subtle changes of similar words. The book is recommended as a pleasing addition to early childhood libraries. Fiction. 1999, Richard Jackson/DK Ink, Unpaged, $15.95. Grades PreK-2. Reviewer: Shirley Petersen (Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 12, No. 1)
ISBN: 0-7894-2564-5
Best Books:
The Best Children's Books of the Year, 2000 ; Bank Street College of Education; United States
Children's Catalog, Eighteenth Edition, 2001 ; H.W. Wilson; United States
Publishers Weekly Book Review Stars, January 1999 ; Cahners; United States
School Library Journal Book Review Stars, March 1999 ; Cahners; United States
Little Tree
e. e. cummings
Story and paintings by Chris Raschka
The entire text of cummings' 1925 poem about a little tree which is cherished by some children as a Christmas tree forms the basis of Raschka's retelling and is reprinted as an opener. Raschka tells the story from the tree's point of view as he wonders where he is going, rides the truck and train to a "little big city." There a family finds him on a sidwalk and take him home, up the little elevator, where they decorate him in their little apartment and he glows and shines. It's the kind of book that makes a child sigh with contentment and the illustrations are a triumph of triangles and other patterned shapes to represent forests, cities, exteriors and interiors, and the childlike drawings of the people. Greens dominate with plenty of other colors to make this fun for close-up looking but a little too complicated to share well in large groups. All in all, it's a beautiful contribution to the literature of Christmas and brings to light a poem not familiar to many children and rarely anthologized. 2001, Hyperion, $16.99. Ages 3 up. Reviewer: Susan Hepler
ISBN: 0-7868-0795-4
ISBN: 0-7868-2629-0
Best Books:
The Best Children's Books of the Year, 2002 ; Bank Street College of Education; United States
Publishers Weekly Book Review Stars, September 2001 ; Cahners; United States
School Library Journal Book Review Stars, October 2001 ; Cahners; United States
Moosey Moose
Chris Raschka
Reminiscent of oriental art in which a few brush strokes create a word or an image, Raschka creates his character Moosey Moose. Moosey is mad, but at the end of this very short story, Moosey is happy when his long pants are put to a most unusual use. The very simple text (13 different words) is designed to teach children to read by using simple sounds along with easy word repetitions. Part of the "Thingy Things" series. 2000, Hyperion, $3.99. Ages 18 mo. to 3. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot
ISBN: 0-7868-0581-1
Best Books:
The Best Children's Books of the Year, 2001 ; Bank Street College of Education; United States
Movin'
Edited by Dave Johnson
Pictures by Chris Raschka
Teens who were gathered around libraries in New York City one summer were encouraged to come and join in the creation of poetry. The result is an inspiring look into the voices of teenagers. Their thoughts, fears, emotions, and dreams are elegantly composed and shared in this anthology of poems. Some poems are impressions that the teens have of their world while others delve deeper into their most private thoughts. The poems are generally G-rated and are appropriate to use with younger children. The book provides background and contact information on the project that could be helpful for librarians and teachers interested in pursuing a similar project. 2000, Orchard Books, $15.95 and $6.95. Ages 10 up. Reviewer: Melissa A. Caudill
This compilation of poems will appeal to the teen poets in every school. All the poems are from teenage poets, many of whom are from New York City. The poems vary in length from the very short (six to seven lines) to a longer length. However, even the longest of poems does not go longer than two pages. The subjects of the poetry include the humorous and the serious. One poem is entitled "Ode to Eyebrows." Another is named "Through the Eyes of a Native American." The only drawback to the book is that it is so short. It has only 52 pages. The reader will wish to have more information about the actual writers of the poems, too. 2000, Orchard Books, 52p, $15.95. Grades 7 and up. Reviewer: Monica Irwin (Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 13, No. 4))
ISBN: 0-531-30258-X
ISBN: 0-531-07171-5
Best Books:
The Best Children's Books of the Year, 2001 ; Bank Street College of Education; United States
Poetry Picks, 2000 ; Voice of Youth Advocates; United States
Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, 2001 ; American Library Association-YALSA; United States
Mysterious Thelonious
Chris Raschka
Whether or not you know anything about jazz, this tribute to Thelonious Monk will bring pleasure. Raschka has presented a combination of color and text to give kids a "feel" for the music. The syllables dance across the pages like the notes on sheet music. You can hear and see the rise and fall of the music and the repetition and variations that constitute jazz. Interspersed are amusing watercolor images of Monk and his piano. The presentation is intriguing enough that kids may want to sample Monk's music, especially "Misterioso," the inspiration for the book. 1997, Orchard, $13.95 and $14.99. Ages 6 up. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot
ISBN: 0-531-30057-9
ISBN: 0-531-33057-5
Best Books:
Children's Catalog, Eighteenth Edition, 2001 ; H.W. Wilson; United States
Fanfare Honor List, 1997 ; Horn Book; United States
Not Just for Children Any More, 1998 ; Children's Book Council; United States
Not Just for Children Any More, 1999 ; Children's Book Council; United States
Notable Books for Children, 1998 ; American Library Association-ALSC; United States
School Library Journal Book Review Stars, September 1997 ; Cahners; United States
Awards, Honors, Prizes:
New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of the Year Winner 1997 United States
A Poke in the I
Selected by Paul Janeczko
Illustrated by Chris Raschka.
Twenty-seven offerings poke, prod, delight, confuse and surprise the reader/viewer with concrete poems, words that also shape an idea--like STOWaWAY. There are five choices from the master, Robert Froman, including his well-known lightbulb-shaped definition of a seeing poem. Raschka adds a delightful "Cat Chair"--a chunk of paper on which the word "cat" appears, largely claiming ownership of a torn-paper- rendered plush chair. A pair of Popsicle-shaped poems--one obscure and challenging for older readers about childhood memories, by Robert Hollander, and another a sensory exploration that would appeal to younger readers, by Joan Bransfield Graham--show how poets play with the same summer treat. Anyone, young to young adult, can see the humor in the way Monica Kulling's "Tennis Anyone?" makes your head turn back and forth from left page to right page just to read the poem. Raschka uses torn origami paper, checkered cloth, watercolors and ink to create quirky and slightly off-balance images and each double-page spread has some sort of unifying color or texture. What a treat--to see words, illustrations, and ideas at play. Even the endpapers, repeating fragments of Helen Chasin's "Joy Sonnet in a Random Universe," make you smile. La la la. Whack a doo. 2001, Candlewick Press, $15.99. Ages 5 up. Reviewer: Susan Hepler
ISBN: 0-7636-0661-8
Best Books:
The Best Children's Books of the Year, 2002 ; Bank Street College of Education; United States
Bulletin Blue Ribbons, 2001 ; Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books; United States
Capitol Choices, 2001 ; The Capitol Choices Committee; United States
Children's Catalog, Eighteenth Edition, Supplement, 2002 ; H.W. Wilson; United States
Middle and Junior High School Library Catalog, Supplement to the Eighth Edition, 2002 ; H.W. Wilson; United States
Notable Books for Children, 2002 ; American Library Association-ALSC; United States
Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts, 2002 ; National Council of Teachers of English; United States
Publishers Weekly Best Children's Books, 2001 ; Cahners; United States
School Library Journal Book Review Stars, April 2001 ; Cahners; United States
Reading Magic Awards, 2001 ; Parenting; United States
School Library Journal: Best Books, 2001 ; Cahners; United States
Awards, Honors, Prizes:
ABC Children's Booksellers Choices Award Winner 2002 Special Subjects United States
New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of the Year Winner 2001 United States
State and Provincial Reading Lists:
Emphasis On Reading, 2001-2002 ; Alabama
Louisiana Young Readers' Choice Award, 2004 ; Louisiana
Maine Student Book Award, 2002-2003 ; Maine
Utah Children's Book Awards, 2003 ; Utah
Ring! Yo?
Chris Raschka.
In this sequel (of sorts) to his successful Yo! Yes? Chris Raschka presents a one-sided telephone conversation, with the object of amusing while stimulating the imagination of the reader as to what might be happening on the other end of the phone line. At the end of the mysterious exchange, he gives a possible "answer" to the puzzle with a recapitulated conversation; this time supplying both sides. In order for such a book to work, it requires a patient and creative audience, and a particularly dramatic delivery. His earlier book focused on friendship; but his latest one, with its very obscure monosyllabic interlocutor, and its "right" answers at the back of the book, is less useful in a teaching setting and only vaguely entertaining as a one-on-one read. 2000, DK Publishing, $15.95. Ages 7 to 10. Reviewer: Martha Cunningham
ISBN: 0-7894-2614-5
Best Books:
Publishers Weekly Book Review Stars, January 2000 ; Cahners; United States
Simple Gifts: A Shaker Hymn
Illustrated by Chris Raschka
This Shaker hymn has inspired numerous artists among them are Paul Klee and Chris Raschka who has created this version. The text is in crayon-like script at the bottom or top of each page. The stylized animals and plants that illustrate the text are outlined in black crayon. The colors seem rather somber, but on careful observation that becomes less important as the images are examined they reveal a menagerie of characters. Blue jays, cats, rabbits and turtles all make an appearance. A brief history of the hymn completes the book along with the sheet music. 1998, Henry Holt, $15.95. Ages 2 to 8. Reviewer: Kristin Harris
ISBN: 0-8050-5143-0
Best Books:
Capitol Choices, 1998 ; The Capitol Choices Committee; United States
Sluggy Slug
Chris Raschka
A few simple strokes and dabs of paint create a character named Sluggy Slug. The problem is motivating him to move, which apparently not even a delicious looking lollipop can do. "No, Sluggy Slug simply won't go." The very simple text (12 different words) is designed to teach children to read by using simple sounds along with easy word repetitions. Part of the "Thingy Things" series. 2000, Hyperion, $3.99. Ages 18 mo. to 3. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot
ISBN: 0-7868-0584-6
Best Books:
The Best Children's Books of the Year, 2001 ; Bank Street College of Education; United States
Table Manners: The Edifying Story of Two Friends Whose Discovery of Good Manners Promises Them a Glorious Future
Vladimir Radunsky
Illustrated by Chris Raschka
From the hilarious before-and-after-table-manners end papers to the enclosed "free instructional poster" recommending against burping, slurping, gravy painting and booger flicking, this is not a guide to dining etiquette that could gain the blessing of Miss Manners. The do's and don'ts of fine dining offered by Raschka and Radunsky, through a dialogue between their alter-egos Chester and Dudunya, are limited mainly to: use a napkin to wipe your mouth (rather than wearing it as a crown or waving it as a flag), chew your food, and don't eat with your mouth full (to avoid producing a chocolate-covered father, a mother with sprinkles, or a candied dog). Those in search of actual guidance to proper dining behavior should look elsewhere. But the book as a whole is a one-of-a-kind, boldly designed, brightly colored, oversized, comic romp of unrelenting, non-stop, kid-pleasing silliness. 2001, Candlewick Press, $16.99. Ages All. Reviewer: Claudia Mills
These two always inventive and outrageous author/illustrators have given their imaginations free rein in this exposition of good manners for boys and girls along with some reasons for using them. They include side notes on folding napkins for the visiting queen or president, multilingual forms of "please" and "thank you," and an unfolding chart of "no's" to remember, all in good, slapstick fun. The pages are replete with photographic collage, crude paintings, hand calligraphy, lots of letterforms and blocks of color, and more. Don't miss the "before" and "after" endpapers, the self-portraits and the nutty notes on the jacket/cover. One doesn't "read" this book; one experiences it! There are also useful rules to learn; this approach may be a good way to learn them. 2001, Candlewick Press, $16.99. Ages 4 to 8. Reviewers: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz
ISBN: 0-7636-1453-X
Talk to Me About the Alphabet
Chris Raschka
Savvy and stylized drawing coupled with a sparse onomatopoeic text is what the promotional copy says. Raschka's latest is an adventure through the alphabet with a strange little gentleman in a brown hat who is accompanied by his yellow kitten and velocipede. Now there is a new word for the ABC crowd. This really is a phonics exercise and one that is very cleverly disguised. The gentleman sounds a lot more hip than he looks as he says "Talk to me about the alphabet. Don't give me numbers, Don't give me 1. 2. 3. Give me letters! Give me ABC!" He really is animated at this point and looks like a fan cheering at a sporting event. The poor cat is thrust about and sometimes put upon, but by the time they get to P it is "Give me P for Purr and Q is for Quiet and R is for Rest" they really are at rest. Just to mix it up and keep things a bit more interesting, Raschka throws in a little French and even a bit of German as he heads out of this alphabetic adventure just the way he started with the yellow cat in the basket of his velocipede. 2003, Henry Holt, Ages 2 to 5, $16.95. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot
ISBN: 0-8050-6782-5
Waffle
Chris Raschka
In another original work, the author/illustrator of the Caldecott Honor Book Yo! Yes? presents the character Waffle. Waffle has a squarish, waffle-shaped head created with a swash of color in acrylic and ink. He wears red checkered pants with high heeled black boots. He is worried. Should he try something new? Smiley faces in a variety of colors assemble and reassemble into a circle, a square and other shapes as Waffle contemplates his worries and waffling in brief sentences. At the climax, one hand-lettered, double-page spread is filled with the word, waffle. A second spread separates the same six letters until "waffle" becomes "waffle flew." The ending shows Waffle flying, demonstrating victory over his fears. Raschka has an interesting impressionistic style that portrays the essence of emotion. However, young children understand the word, "waffle," to mean a square breakfast cake rather than indecisiveness. Children unable to read will also not appreciate the inventive rearrangement of letters to convey the message. Instead of preschoolers, this picture book should be used with elementary school students or adolescents. Teachers and counselors can encourage students to fill in the blanks of the minimal text with their own concerns and worries. 2001, Atheneum, $16.00. Ages 5 to 10. Reviewer: Jackie Hechtkopf
ISBN: 0-689-83838-7
Whaley Whale
Chris Raschka
Simple strokes and splashes of color create great images, but the logic of this tale is not evident. It is the most implausible book in the series. It makes little sense for Whaley Whale to be hiding, especially since she is in a house and not in the water. The very simple text (17 different words) is designed to teach children to read by using simple sounds along with easy word repetitions. Part of the "Thingy Things" series. 2000, Hyperion, $3.99. Ages 18 mo. to 3. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot
ISBN: 0-7868-0583-8
Best Books:
The Best Children's Books of the Year, 2001 ; Bank Street College of Education; United States
Wormy Worm
Chris Raschka.
With a minimum of detail and dabs of paint, Raschka creates a worm with character. Wormy Worm is a happy fellow--he wiggles and woggles and has a good laugh, but can anyone tell his front from his back? The very simple text (15 different words) is designed to teach children to read by using simple sounds along with easy word repetitions. Part of the "Thingy Things" series. 2000, Hyperion, $3.99. Ages 18 mo. to 3. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot
ISBN: 0-7868-0582-X
Best Books:
The Best Children's Books of the Year, 2001 ; Bank Street College of Education; United States
Yo! Yes?
Chris Raschka
Even if you were to try to read this book silently to yourself, the boldly painted text would shout out loud at you. Raschka captures the street poetry of a one-syllable dialogue between two boys who meet, check each other out, and end up being friends. Their single-word conversations takes turns with the posturing of the drawings of the boys in carrying the story to the reader. Before they know each other, the boys' shyness and awkwardness is obvious in their reluctant stances. By the end of the book, their friendship explodes off the page in jubilation. Besides being fun to read aloud or to act out in the classroom, this book would also be great for children just beginning to read. Yo! Yes! 1993, Orchard, $14.95. Ages 3 up. Reviewer: Cathryn A. Camper (The Five Owls, May/June 1993 (Vol. 7, No. 5))
ISBN: 0-531-08619-4
ISBN: 0-531-05469-1
Best Books:
Adventuring with Books: A Booklist for Pre-K--Grade 6, 1997 ; National Council of Teachers of English; United States
Children's Catalog, Eighteenth Edition, 2001 ; H.W. Wilson; United States
Kaleidoscope, A Multicultural Booklist for Grades K-8, Second Edition, 1997 ; National Council of Teachers of English; United States
Notable Books for Children, 1993 ; American Library Association-ALSC; United States
Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts, 1994 ; National Council of Teachers of English; United States
Awards, Honors, Prizes:
Randolph Caldecott Medal Honor Book 1994 United States
Added 03/25/03
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