Category: Contemporary

Abdul’s Story

by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow

illustrated by Tiffany Rose

Salaam Reads (Simon & Schuster), 2022. 36 pages.
Review written April 20, 2022, from a library book

I usually don’t choose to review picture books that were clearly written to tell a message, but this one came with a story that warmed my heart.

Abdul is a kid who loves to tell stories. But he has trouble trying to write them down. His letters don’t like to stay in straight lines, and sometimes they get turned around. He ends up erasing so much, his pages look like a big smudge. Plus, the stories he reads in books don’t sound much like the stories he tells. He decided his stories aren’t meant to be written down.

But then an author came to his school named Mr. Muhammad. He looked a lot like Abdul. And he read a story about a community that sounds a lot like Abdul’s.

But when Mr. Muhammad encouraged the children to write, Abdul erased so much, trying to make it look right, that he tore a hole in the paper with his eraser.

A moment of truth comes when Mr. Muhammad shows Abdul his own notebook — messy as can be, with nothing in straight lines.

Mr. Mohammed encourages Abdul to fill a messy page without erasing and then look for a story inside it. I like this description of the process:

Over the next few days, Abdul rewrote a less messy mess, then an even less messy mess. He smiled when he read his story to himself.

Abdul still has lots of doubt when it’s time to turn the story in, because he knows there are still mistakes.

But when the writer comes back, he likes Abdul’s story so much, he reads it to the class.

I love the way the book ends, as this is where it won my heart:

When they returned to their writing, Abdul whispered to Mr. Muhammad, “What about my mistakes?”

“Writers make mistakes. We’ll work on them.”

As they worked, Abdul thought:
Some people are writers, and I am one of them.

Yes, it’s a message book. But what a great message to give to kids!

Buy from Amazon.com

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

What did you think of this book?

*Note* To try to catch up on posting reviews, I’m posting the oldest reviews I’ve written on my blog without making a page on my main website. They’re still good books.

Every Child a Song

A Celebration of Children’s Rights

by Nicola Davies
illustrated by Marc Martin

Crocodile Books (Interlink), 2020. 36 pages.
Review written December 29, 2021, from a library book

This beautiful picture book honors the thirtieth anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and it does that by celebrating the beauty of each child who is born.

In pulling out clips, I find myself wanting to quote the whole book. Here are the first two spreads:

When you were born, a song began.

Sometimes it didn’t sound much like a song.
Sometimes no one could hear it.

But it was there in every heartbeat,
every breath; tiny, fragile, and unique.

A melody the world had never heard before.

The book goes on to talk about the love and safety the song needs to grow and about how as you learned and grew, your song soared.

All around you, everywhere,
other songs are singing.

Some are loud,
and some are quiet,

some sing a single note
and some a symphony.

And then we have some pages about what each song should be protected from.

Even among storm and change and danger,
every song must be heard above the noise
and chaos of the world.

And the book ends by celebrating each child’s song.

For together, we raise our voices
for the right of every song to sing out loud, bold and unafraid.

This is a simple picture book with lilting language. The pictures mainly use soaring birds as a metaphor for the songs. There are some hints of danger in the pages about what children should be protected from, enough that an adult reading the book could skip over it or simply explain a little more. There are notes about the UNCRC at the front and the back.

nicola-davies.com
interlinkbooks.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/every_child_a_song.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

What did you think of this book?