"Painting Pepette" by Linda Ravin Lodding

"Painting Pepette" 

by Linda Ravin Lodding

40 pages /  Print / Realistic

Summary: A little girl from Paris adopts a small rabbit, Pepette. The girl notices that the walls in her home are covered with painted portraits of each family member, but not Pepette. She decides to wander into town with Pepette to get its portrait painted. The girl and Pepette encounter four famous artists, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Marc Chagall, and Henri Matisse. They all paint Pepette in their own unique style, but none look realistically like Pepette. The girl and the rabbit return home where the girl decides to paint Pepette's portrait herself.

 Evaluation: This book is a work of art, illustrated in beautiful watercolor painting. The book can teach students about different famous artists and what makes their style unique. This would be a good introduction for an art history unit. The theme of "being yourself" is present when the girl decides to illustrate what Pepette looks like.

Appeal Terms: animal, realistic, easy, gentle, art, character centered, vivid, well developed

"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