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Hello, Crochet Friends!: Making Art, Being Mindful, Giving Back: Do What Makes You Happy

Today at Wrapped in Foil blog we are featuring the picture book autobiography Hello, Crochet Friends!: Making Art, Being Mindful, Giving Back: Do What Makes You Happy by Jonah Larson and Jennifer Larson, with photographs by Erin Harris..

Jonah Larson is a phenomenon. Born in Ethiopia, a family from Wisconsin adopted him when he was an infant. Later he struggled at school until one day — at five years old — he picked up a crochet hook. Soon crocheting became his passion and it has changed his life. Now he says he wants to share the joy of crocheting with everyone.

Although this is an autobiography, Jonah tells one part of his story and his adoptive mother Jennifer Larson tells another part. The duel points of view are poignant.  Jonah also shares one crochet pattern (this is NOT a how-to book).

I was so impressed with the map that shows the location of all his crochet friends from around the world. He really is spreading the joy.

Hello Crochet Friends! is a one-of-a-kind book about a one-of-a-kind boy.  It might just inspire readers to find their own passions.

Copyright © 2019 Roberta Gibson All Rights Reserved.

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Moth: An Evolution Story

Moth: An Evolution Story
by Isabel Thomas (Author) and Daniel Egnéus (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Against a lush backdrop of lichen-covered trees, the peppered moth lies hidden. Until the world begins to change…

Along come people with their magnificent machines which stain the land with soot. In a beautiful landscape changed by humans how will one little moth survive?

Snippet:


See the book trailer.

Nonfiction Monday

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Copyright © 2020 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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Spies, Lies, and Disguise

Spies, Lies, and Disguise: The Daring Tricks and Deeds that Won World War II
by Jennifer Swanson (Author) amd Kevin O’Malley (Illustrator)

Booktalk: In the late 1930s, times were desperate. The world found itself at war again, less than twenty years after the first World War had ended. No one could quite believe it. And no one wanted it. The leaders of every country involved were left with no choice. They had to try to end the war as fast as possible, using whatever means they could.
That meant coming up with secret operations meant to deceive, deflect, and confuse their enemies. Poison the cattle that the Germans eat? Deliberately float a corpse dressed up as a spy across the water to have it wash up on Germany’s shore? Create a unit of top secret commandos with a license to kill? These were all real tactics attempted with the ultimate goal of defeating Hitler. In this off-center look at history, readers will be captivated by the classified and covert efforts made by each side as they tried to gain the upper hand and win the war. Restricted access is lifted to give the reader a peek into the top secret operations of the daring men and women who fought the war under a cloak of secrecy.

Snippet:
PRIVATE PENS
Roald Dahl, British spy? Yep? That is correct. Before Dahl became the award-winning children’s author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda, he was a British secret agent. His mission? To hobnob with the American president, vice president, and other American dignitaries to get them to commit to entering the war.

Nonfiction Monday

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Copyright © 2019 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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Predator and Prey

Predator and Prey: A Conversation in Verse
by Susannah Buhrman-Deever (Author) and Bert Kitchen (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Who wins, the assassin bug or the spider? The bat or the frog? The ant or the honey bee? The male firefly . . . or the female? The battle for survival between predator and prey is sometimes a fight, sometimes a dance, and often involves spying, lying, or even telling the truth to get ahead. Biologist Susannah Buhrman-Deever explores these clashes in poems and prose explanations that offer both sides of the story.

Snippet:


A 2019 Cybils Poetry nominee

Nonfiction Monday

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Copyright © 2019 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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Ordinary Hazards

Ordinary Hazards: A Memoir
by Nikki Grimes (Author)

Booktalk: Growing up with a mother suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and a mostly absent father, Nikki Grimes found herself terrorized by babysitters, shunted from foster family to foster family, and preyed upon by those she trusted. At the age of six, she poured her pain onto a piece of paper late one night – and discovered the magic and impact of writing.

Snippet:
ON OUR OWN

No one warned me
the world was fill of
ordinary hazards
like closets with locks and keys.

I learned this lesson when Mom,
without her cousin to fall back on,
left us daily with
a succession of strangers
while she went to work.
One woman was indisputably
a demon in disguise,
full lips grinning slyly
as Mom waved goodbye
each morning.
“See you after work,”
Mom said on the first day.
The second she was out of sight,
Demon’s smiles melted like
hot paraffin.
Snatching up Carol and me,
she dragged us, kicking, to
the bedroom closet.
She shoved us in, quick as the witch
in “Hansel and Gretel”
jamming the key in the lock.

A 2019 Cybils Poetry nominee

Nonfiction Monday

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Copyright © 2019 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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My First Book of Haiku Poems

My First Book of Haiku Poems: a Picture, a Poem and a Dream; Classic Poems by Japanese Haiku Masters
by Esperanza Ramirez-Christensen (Author) and Tracy Gallup (Illustrator)

Booktalk: A fully bilingual children’s book, this poetry collection includes the original versions of the Japanese poems (in Japanese script and Romanized form) on each page alongside the English translation. Commentaries offer parents and teachers ready-made “food for thought” to share with young readers and stimulate a conversation about each work.

Snippet:


A 2019 Cybils Poetry nominee

At the end of the book, you are invited to write a haiku for the painting . . .

Will you take the next step and write your own children’s book in 2020?

Nonfiction Monday

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Copyright © 2019 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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Dreams from Many Rivers

Dreams from Many Rivers: A Hispanic History of the United States Told in Poems
by Margarita Engle (Author) and Beatriz Gutierrez Hernandez (Illustrator)

Booktalk: From Juana Briones and Juan Ponce de León, to eighteenth century slaves and modern-day sixth graders, the many and varied people depicted in this poetry narrative speak to the experiences and contributions of Latinos throughout the history of the United States, from the earliest known stories up to present day. A middle grade verse history of Latinos in the United States told through many voices.

Snippet:

CONQUEST MEANS CRUELTY


PEDRO DE ACEVEDO
Puerto Rico, 1493

As the cabin boy on this ship,
I am a witness to the excitement
of Colón, whose first journey reached
other islands.

Now, this second voyage brings us reality.
It won’t be easy to find the spice trees we seek.

When I see a boy around my age,
I learn his name, Guacarigua.

He will be one of the captives,
a person enslaved.

A 2019 Cybils Poetry nominee

Nonfiction Monday

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Copyright © 2019 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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Computer Decoder

Computer Decoder: Dorothy Vaughan, Computer Scientist
by Andi Diehn (Illustrator) and Katie Mazeika (Illustrator)

Booktalk: A picture book biography about Dorothy Vaughan, one of NASA’s first African American managers and one of the groundbreakers on the front line of electronic computing. Includes hands-on STEM activities for an introduction to coding.

Snippet:


Nonfiction Monday

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Copyright © 2019 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.