[BOOK REVIEW] The Art of Miss Chew by Patricia Polacco

Title:  The Art of Miss Chew

Author:  Patricia Polacco

Genre:  School / Drama / Family / Art

Year Published: 2012

Year Read:  2016

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (Nothing Objectionable)

Now, I have been reading many of Patricia Polacco’s books over the years and even though I continued to be mesmerized by her childhood stories, I have always wondered how Patricia Polacco became such a prolific artist, as well as being an effective storyteller.  So, when I got around to reading one of Patricia Polacco’s newer books “The Art of Miss Chew,” I finally found out how Patricia Polacco became such a talented artist!

After Trisha spent the summer with her grandmother who was a talented artist, Trisha wanted to become an artist herself. Unfortunately, her school does not have an art class that Trisha could participate in until her Irish teacher Mr. Donovan, suggested that Trisha could join a special art class at the high school that is being taught by none other than Miss Chew!  Trisha loved having Miss Chew as her art teacher, as Miss Chew helped Trisha learn the language of art and how she could see the objects she draws in a whole new light.  Unfortunately, a tragic day happened when Mr. Donovan’s father passed away and Mr. Donovan had to attend his father’s funeral, leaving his students in the care of a substitute teacher named Mrs. Spaulding.  Mrs. Spaulding was often cruel towards Trisha as she would not give Trisha enough time to work on her tests, since Trisha was a much slower learner than the other students; and Mrs. Spaulding even threatened to have Trisha thrown out of Miss Chew’s art class since she believed that the art class was distracting Trisha from her studies.

Can Trisha and Miss Chew convince the student board that Trisha should stay in art class?

Read this book to find out!

What I always loved about Patricia Polacco’s works is that her books allow the readers to take a look at her childhood and be inspired by the various teachers that helped her throughout her school life.  I always loved the emotional touches that Patricia Polacco brings to her work as you truly feel her sorrow as she struggles through school due to her learning disability and it was great that she had teachers that really cared about her and try their hardest to help Trisha pass her classes.  As soon as I picked up this book, I knew that I was going to automatically fall in love with both Miss Chew and Mr. Donovan!  Even though Mr. Donovan’s name was not in the title of this book, I loved the fact that Trisha had another teacher who was supportive of her and the fact that he was from Ireland and loved his father dearly really made me love his character!  But let us talk about the true star of this book and that is Miss Chew herself, as she was clearly the one who inspired Trisha to fulfill her lifelong dream to become an artist!  I loved the fact that Miss Chew showed Trisha how to look at the objects she draws in a different light and I also loved the way that she continues to encourage Trisha to follow her dreams of becoming an artist no matter how impossible the odds may be.  I really loved the fact that both Mr. Donovan and Miss Chew were teachers that came from foreign countries (Mr. Donovan came from Ireland and Miss Chew came from China) as it brought a whole new perspective of the teaching experience for young children.  Patricia Polacco’s artwork is magnificent as the characters look so realistic and gorgeous and I loved the fact that we have a book in Patricia Polacco’s works that detailed her inspiration in becoming an artist!

Overall, “The Art of Miss Chew” is a truly beautiful and touching book about the power of art and the importance of supporting students who are struggling in school.  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since the length of the book might be a bit difficult for some smaller children.

 

[BOOK REVIEW] Ron's Big Mission by Rose Blue and Corinne J. Naden

Title:  Ron's Big Mission

Authors:  Rose Blue and Corinne J. Naden

Artist:  Don Tate

Genre:  History / Biography / African American / Racism / Library

Year Published: 2009

Year Read:  2011

Publisher:  Dutton Books for Young Readers

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 4+ (Themes of Racism)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

I have read many children’s books that deal with the racism that many African-Americans had to face during the 1950s, but I have actually come upon a book that was a true inspiration to me! “Ron’s Big Mission” is a children’s book by Rose Blue and Corinne J. Naden and illustrated by Don Tate and it details the big mission that a young boy named Ron must accomplished.  “Ron’s Big Mission” is certainly one brilliant book about the importance of standing up for yourself that many children will love for many years!

The book starts off with a young boy named Ron McNair getting ready to complete a mission. Ron’s mission was to go to the library and check out a book, since during that time, it was forbidden for African-Americans to check out books in the library.  So, when Ron tried to check out a book from the library and the desk clerk refused to let Ron check out a book, Ron decided to make a stand and demanded that he checked out a library book.

Wow! This book was just so simply amazing as it told the life of an African-American boy in 1950s South Carolina in an extremely simplistic way!  Rose Blue and Corinne J. Naden did an excellent job at writing the biographical story about an African-American boy named Ron McNair who was based off the real Ron McNair and his struggles in trying to check out a book from the library.  It was really tragic in seeing how African-Americans had to struggle to get their rights during the 1950s and when I saw the page where Ron actually stood on the library desk and demanded to check out his books like everyone else, I was completely blown away by this image!  Whenever I read this book, I always think to myself that if I was in Ron’s position and I wanted the right to check out a library book like everyone else, I definitely would have done the same thing that Ron had did in this book.  Rose Blue and Corinne J. Naden has done a splendid job at presenting the nonviolent nature of Ron’s stance on racism and I loved the way that Ron never resorted to violence to stand up for his rights as a citizen.  Don Tate’s illustrations are extremely cute and effective, especially of the images of Ron standing on the desk at the library as he tried to tell the librarians that he wanted to check out books like everyone else.  Even though I will admit that Don Tate draws the characters with large heads, the facial expressions on the characters’ faces were extremely effective in portraying the message in this story.

Overall, “Ron’s Big Mission” is a truly inspirational book for children who want to learn more about racism in the 1950s and about how to stand up for what they believe in and children all over the world will definitely enjoy reading this wonderful book for years to come!  I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since the format is simple enough for small children to read and understand.

* 2012 Flicker Tale Children's Book Award Nominee for Picture Book

[BOOK REVIEW] Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine

Title:  Henry's Freedom Box

Author:  Ellen Levine

Artist:  Kadir Nelson

Genre:  History / Slavery / African American

Year Published: 2007

Year Read:  2011

Publisher:  Scholastic Press       

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+  (Themes of Racism and Slavery)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

This is another book that I was reading for the Children’s Book Club for Black History Month and I will admit that I just loved this book to death!  “Henry’s Freedom Box” is a Caldecott Honor Book by Ellen Levine along with illustrations by Kadir Nelson and it is about a runaway slave named Henry “Box” Brown who thinks of a clever plan to get out of slavery after his family is sold.  “Henry’s Freedom Box” is a truly inspiring and dramatic book for children who want to learn more about the horrors of slavery.

I am so glad that I had the opportunity to read this book because I wanted to learn more about black history, being that this is black history month and I wanted to learn more about the horrors of slavery for blacks.  Ellen Levine had done an excellent job at writing this true story about Henry “Box” Brown’s clever escape from slavery.  I loved how Ellen Levine made this story extremely dramatic and breathtaking at the same time as I was really moved by Henry’s loss of his family and how he wanted to escape from the cruel life of slavery and I was so amazed at how Henry escaped slavery by mailing himself in a box to freedom because that idea sounded so ingenious and risky that I was practically worrying about Henry’s safety in arriving to a land of freedom.  I also loved how Ellen Levine provided a note at the end of the book about how Henry Brown was one of the most famous runaway slaves and how there were over four million slaves living in the United States and that information alone was enough to let me ask myself about how could we have so many innocent people as slaves?  It really gave me so much knowledge about Henry Brown that I never knew before and how his plan made him such a famous runaway slave, which I think that his recognition in black history is greatly well deserved because his plan was so brilliant.  Kadir Nelson’s illustrations are extremely beautiful in this book as they realistically portrayed the pain and sorrow that Henry has to endure during his days of slavery.  The image I really loved was a close up shot of Henry’s sad face after his wife Nancy told him that their children might be sold and you can see the sadness on Henry’s face and what truly made this image so breathtaking was how the light from the window reflected off of Henry’s face, which seems to make this image look like a foreshadowing about what is in store for Henry.

All in all, “Henry’s Freedom Box” is a truly touching book that children who want to learn more about slavery and the heroic figures during slavery will easily enjoy this book!  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up due to some sad scenes.

* 2008 Caldecott Honor
* 2008 Comstock Read Aloud Honor Book