"The Arrival" by Shuan Tan

"The Arrival" 

by Shuan Tan

128 pages /  Print / Fantasy

Summary: In an imaginary world, a man must leave his wife and daughter behind to create a better life for them. Through illustrations only, Shuan Tan tells us an inspiring story of immigration and a man's love for his family. We follow the man's struggle of not knowing his new country's language, and finding a place to live and sleep. After some time, the wife and daughter and reunited with the man in the new country and build a new life together instead of isolation.

Evaluation: A beautiful story of immigration that captures the emotions of arriving in a new place with no knowledge of the language, culture or people. Shuan Tan uses an imaginary world, with imaginary text for the man to read, which makes the reader feel alien just as much as the protagonist in the story. The illustrations allow us to look into the mind and backstories of the characters in the story to help the reader realize that everyone in the imaginary land is an immigrant too. This book is a great way to introduce a unit on immigration. The artwork is captivating, Tan uses different dark shades to signal to the reader different passages of time and perspectives. We are to believe that every immigrant has left their country to escape some dark force, or make their life better. The book reads like a filmstrip, which makes for a very interactive reading experience.

Appeal Terms: adventure, graphic novel, historical, science fiction, engrossing, dark, hopeful, mystical, melodramatic, episodic, plot centered, resolved ending, family centered, life like, vivid, multiple point of view, imaginary, introspective

"Harold and the Purple Crayon" by Crockett Johnson

"Harold and the Purple Crayon" 

by Crockett Johnson

64 pages /  Print / Fantasy

Summary: Harold explores a world as he draws it with his purple crayon. He draws himself into different situations; climbing mountains, sailing the see, and sharing a picnic with animals. When it is time for bed, Harold draws him back back home with the help of the moon.

Evaluation: What a great book that captures the imagination of a young child. The illustrations are simple but important to the plot of the story. Johnson's use of line on each page makes your eye follow the shapes and movement of Harold's journey. The line from the purple crayon moves the story along and leaves you excited with the next magical thing to happen. The visual clues left on each page makes you guess what will happen next. This is a great story to read as a class and guess where Harold will go off to next!

Appeal Terms: adventure, easy, humorous, magical, gentle, well developed

"Blueberries for Sal" by Robert McCloskey

"Blueberries for Sal" 

by Robert McCloskey

52 pages /  Print / Humor

Summary: A little girl goes blueberry picking with his mother in the countryside. Kuplink, kuplank, kuplank! Little do they know, mother bear and baby bear are also looking for blueberries on the other side of the mountain. The little girl and baby bear get separated from their mothers, but eventually they get back together and go home with blueberries for jam.

Evaluation: This Caldecott honor book is a beautifully illustrated story with simple themes, making it a great read! Published in 1948, we are taken back in time to simple days of walking around outside with mom. This story has a great beginning, middle, and end leaving the reader with a feeling of happiness when both little girl and baby bear are reunited with their mothers. The illustrations help the story by making the reader feel like they are wandering the wilderness with the characters in the story. The onomopeia (Kerplunk, Garumph!) adds playful sounds to the story that are fun to read and imagine. Stories like these make us remember how beautiful the little things are in life, and how we admire to our mothers.

Appeal Terms: animal, adventure, leisurely, humorous, gentle, multiple plot lines, resolved ending