Messages of Strength and Kindness for Today

Sometimes when I venture to the library and have no specific plan but to browse for any book that appeals to me for one reason or another, I grab a bunch of picture books. Not long ago I brought home over a dozen books. Of these, I discovered two I especially liked beyond their large titles, bubbly fonts, and large-eyed characters pictured on the covers. Both books provide messages that I feel are definitely timely thanks to the climate (and I'm not talking about weather right now) in the world presently.

Poor Little Guy Written and illustrated by Elanna Allen (c) 2016
Dial Books for Young Readers (publisher)

A new addition to my Wrinkle Award list features a little yellow fish with glasses who the other ocean creatures, of varying sizes, think is adorable. Not only is he adorable to look at, he's adorable to play with, and according to the octopus, the little guy probably even tastes cute.

The story reminds me of the time I saw a cat playing with a chipmunk. The cat held it and then released the chipmunk, who would take a few steps away, and then appear to wait before becoming a play toy again. Unlike the yellow fish, the chipmunk seemed resigned to its fate and I had to stop watching because I did not want to be around when and if the poor little guy met its demise. The yellow fish, or Little Guy, though, is not resigned to his potential fate and has a surprise in store. Looks can be deceiving.

Allen illustrated the pages in shades of sea green, white, and eventually grey-blue that increasingly darkens as the story approaches its climax, and then lightens after the satisfying conclusion. The hand lettering for the story text follows the flow of each illustration. Only Little Guy, the fish, is in bright yellow.

Unlike chapter books, I did not "vet" this book before I read it to Little Sapling. It is a bit disturbing, dark, yet funny, but Little Sapling thought the book was a little scary. Despite the darkness in the tale, Little Sapling claims to like the book, especially when seeing the faces of the other animals in response to Little Guy's surprise.

I love stories where the "little guy" wins. This picture book is a simple and fun story that reminds us that no matter how little we may be or how others view us, we each have power in some form, to fight back.
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If You Plant a Seed Written and Illustrated by Kadir Nelson (c) 2015
Balzer + Bray (publisher)

I like picture books where the illustrator brings me to the level of the characters where I can literally see what they see through their eyes, at their eye level. The story begins with a rabbit and a mouse planting a tomato, a carrot, and a cabbage seed. By taking care of the seeds, over time, they grow. As the animals enjoy their eventual bounty, five birds fly down and want to share the food. The rabbit and mouse do not have interest in this idea. Through the detailed, realistic, and colorful images, the reader and viewer of the book can see the emotion in the facial expressions of the animals, and the chaos when selfishness ensues. It is only when everyone takes a look at themselves that they appear to recognize the ridiculousness of how being selfish does nothing but create a mess. Being kind is what leads to everyone getting along, and it really does not even take long.

Nelson's message is simple and honest with few printed words. Instead, it's his vivid illustrations via full color oil paintings with near life-sized animals that tell the story by beautifully bringing the viewer to the eye level of the animals. One can argue that the story is not necessarily so great as it was the rabbit and the mouse who lovingly cared for their seeds and grew the vegetables. Did they have to share with anyone else? Perhaps not, or perhaps they created more than they truly needed and we know that fresh produce does not always last long once picked. The birds could have easily just helped themselves, but instead they approached the rabbit and mouse first. In the end, when everyone tries to get along and work together, the rewards are greater than they would have been had the rabbit and mouse kept everything to themselves.

The intended audience is within the age range of 4-8 years olds. My daughter, at age five, has not questioned about the rabbit and mouse doing the initial work and why they even needed to share. She identified the lack of sharing and was able to see that when the animals did share, it made everyone happier. She could name this through her listening to the words and her interpreting the illustrations.

Simple messages are welcome in this complicated world we now live. If children understand these messages, adults should be able to, too.

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What are some books or stories that you feel share messages of strength, sharing, and kindness? Leave a comment with some of your favorites (geared for any age group) below.

Thank you again for reading my musings.

Today and tomorrow,

~Tamara Riva

Just Another Wrinkle

If I could transfer my thoughts directly to the page by only thinking, this post would have been completed in time for Monday, but I got distracted. I am allowing myself to accept that sometimes there is just another wrinkle that gets in the way of a smooth journey. That's what  happened since Friday's post.
A wrinkle--something unexpected, unplanned that may have a positive outcome, a negative outcome, or just an outcome that makes one think. That's what a medical diagnosis of thyroid cancer appears to be, as of now--just a wrinkle. It may be the most common and easily treated type with little to no complications, but it was unexpected, and not welcome. And perhaps it will all be fine. I'm sure, though, that  those who have told me, "Oh, I know people who had that done, and they're just fine" may not remember, I'm guessing, that the initial diagnosis likely terrified those people for a time as well as filled them with a mix of emotions for a bit. So, whatever I feel belongs to me and is allowed.
As for the diagnosis, it is what it is.
I have surgery on Wednesday, and should be "okayish" on Thursday. Writing these posts enlightens me. When I can express myself via writing, I am in my element. Content. Peaceful. Focused. Writing is my life and feeling motivated by something that I am passionate about, is a true gift.
So, I shall accept this recent wrinkle, and work to smooth out the fabric that comes after.
Now, on to my fun post.

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An assignment in my graduate class toward becoming a media specialist involved the creation of an award for literature. I considered several directions, but due to time limitations (imagine a full semester course fit into only one month with a 10-day residency for another graduate program thrown into the mix) I settled on the idea of  the "Wrinkle Award" for picture books with "an unusual twist" or “wrinkle” that usually makes a reader groan or scratch her head or laugh or just continue thinking about it long after the book closes.
I am a lover of bad jokes--not raunchy ones, just the ones that elicit groans. I love an unexpected good twist, dark humor, and of course thought-provoking tales.
While I created a page to share my Wrinkle Award choices (you can click here to see it and view the criteria or choose directly from the link under "Literature Pages"), I wish to start an ongoing list of books that meet the Wrinkle criteria. I may or may not like all of the books as I grow my list, but other readers may have a different perspective. So, all Wrinkle books have merit.

These are all just one girl's opinion.

My first "wrinkle" book of memory:
The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story by Lemony Snicket; Illustrated by Lisa Brown; Copyright 2007.
I gave this book to an interfaith couple at the holiday time several years ago, knowing that they would probably enjoy the humor.
This dark humor story brings the reader to a house where a potato latke has been "born". As with people, this latke enters the world screaming. It happens when it starts to cook in hot oil. Terrified and in pain, it leaps out of the pan and runs away, encountering a variety of Christmas associated items such as colored lights, a candy cane, and a tree.  Each item questions the latke about his screaming. The latke explains a facet of the Chanukah story and Chanukah symbolism. Then the Christmas item responds with its potential comparison from the Christmas story. Each time, the latke grows frustrated as he explains how he is not part of Christmas. "It's a totally different thing!" he declares, screaming again.

While sitting under the tree, a family approaches. The father carries an axe. Each member fawns over what they see, but it's not what the reader might expect. The father wonders why he carries an axe as the family excitedly takes home the latke.  Family members welcome the latke into their home as they understand what a latke is and how it fits into the holiday. Then, they eat it.

This story makes me laugh every time. To increase the humor so you have a taste, I found a video of a cantor reading the book. While the video quality of the book is not so great, not much is missed by not seeing the pictures as the story still works as an audio version. The cantor's vocals, complete with different voices and screaming, make for an entertaining read-aloud presentation. Take a listen here.

Cupcake by Charise Mericle Harper; Copyright 2010
I accidentally came across this book while searching the library bins for something else. I chose to read it as my daughter loves cupcakes, and how could she resist a book with a cover that features a cupcake wearing a happy face wrapper and sitting inside a sparkly glittery circle, surrounded by multi-colored polka dots.

This book follows friendly Vanilla Cupcake from his "birth" to where he joins his brothers and sisters, such as Pink Princess Cupcake, Stripy Cupcake, and Fancy Flower-Top Cupcake for a special event. At the end of the event, Vanilla Cupcake stands alone, not feeling special. He says, "Nobody picked me. I'm too creamy white and plain!"

A green candle hears the crying cupcake and commiserates. He talks about his fancy brothers and sisters including Balloon Candle, Twisty Candle, and Number Candle. Now both feel sad until Candle comes up with an idea to find a topping that will make Cupcake special.

Cupcake tries on the various toppings, but turns down the ideas for reasons such as pickles being too salty, spaghetti being too swirly, and a squirrel being too furry. Accidentally, Candle winds up sitting on Cupcake's head which makes for a perfect looking cupcake; however, this is not the end of the story. It's only a moment for Candle to think of another idea to try.

The twists include the candle who doesn't quite get it, and for me, the dark humor of a cupcake who feels  saddened that he is not chosen, which essentially means he is sad that he doesn't get devoured.
Disturbing. Of course, to my daughter, this book is quite funny and she does not recognize the disturbing elements. So, this book is definitely a Wrinkle book.

I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen; Copyright 2011.
A Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor book, and a recipient of the E.B. White Read Aloud Book award, I Want My Hat Book includes dark humor with an ending that Klassen leaves open to interpretation.

A bear searches for his lost hat. Along the route of his search, he asks animals if they have seen his hat. The entire story is written via dialogue, but without quotation marks. Colored text indicates speaker changes. At times, the bear talks and processes only to himself. He desperately wants his hat back, but has become so routine in his questioning that he does not even realize when he questions the animal wearing his hat who responds in a suspiciously guilty manner. After the bear confers with three more animals, processes aloud to himself, and then talks with yet another animal, he suddenly remembers that he had seen his hat. He races past the animals and confronts the one wearing his red pointy hat. After a stare-down between the bear and the thief, the large bear sits alone with the out-of-proportion red pointy hat atop his head.

What happened to the animal thief? That is up to the reader to determine. I know what I concluded, and it's morbid. But, I have learned that children do not automatically come to the same conclusion.
This book truly is a fun read-aloud. The spare, brown-toned illustrations (with the exception of the red hat, and the background when the bear finally figures things out), along with the eyes and droll facial expressions on each of the animals define Klassen's style.
I personally love this book.

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Do you have other Wrinkle books to add? I would especially love to learn of older books, but also wish to keep on top of newer ones. Let me know in the comments so I can review the books and add them to the master list. Be sure to include the author and copyright date (if you can), along with any of your own comments.

As for my own personal wrinkle, no pity please. Be sad. Be grumpy. Be calm. If you pray or send blessings to the universe, please add me to yours and send some my way. Even if all will be good, positive vibes sent into the atmosphere definitely have a de-wrinkling effect. I'll take it!

~Tamara