Dillon, Diane Books

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears: A West African Tale

Verna Aardema

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

This is an awesome tale! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I read this book as a small child when it originally received the Caldecott medal and I have loved it ever since. It has even become a favorite of my children who love the pictures and laugh everytime the mosquito gets WHACKED at the end. This is a also a great story to use to discuss cause and effect and I have had some wonderful discussions with my students utilizing this book. I would consider this a must read for any little person and adults alike!

Onomatopoeia 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I randomly selected this book at the library and was surprised to find that I could use it in my classroom! We just happened to be studying onomatopoeia at the time. Onomatopoeia is the use of words that imitates the sound it is describing (buzz, bam, pow, hiss, etc.). I had my seventh graders listen to the story as I read it aloud. They had to write each example of onomatopoeia that they heard. They loved the story, and it was a great reinforcement for what we were studying.

Editorial Review:

In this Caldecott Medal winner, Mosquito tells a story that causes a jungle disaster. "Elegance has become the Dillons' hallmark. . . . Matching the art is Aardema's uniquely onomatopoeic text . . . An impressive showpiece."--Booklist, starred review. Full color.

Dream: A Tale of Wonder, Wisdom & Wishes

Susan V. Bosak

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

"Dream" is a winner of 10 national awards: * International Reading Association Children's Choice -- 10,000 children across the country vote on the books they like best! * Teachers' Choice * Pinnacle Award -- Best Gift Book * Benjamin Franklin Award -- Best Book Celebrating the Human Spirit * Independent Publisher Award -- Best Children's Book * ForeWord Book of the Year Award -- Children's * American Booksellers Association Book Sense Children's Pick * Children's Book Center -- Starred "Our Choice" * iParenting Award * Adding Wisdom Award

15 of the top illustrators in the world each offer a gorgeously illustrated page in a beautifully told poetic story about life's hopes and dreams from childhood to adulthood, inspiring both children and adults.

From the smallest personal beginnings to the largest human triumphs, why are we here if not to dream? As you open the Dream Chest, you're whisked away on a colorful journey of a lifetime. WHOOSH through the teddy bears and castles of childhood. WHOOSH again into the labyrinths and mountains of adolescence and adulthood. Richly detailed contemporary art, thought-provoking quotations from historical sages, and a multilayered story combine to convey a simple yet powerful message -- you're never too young or too old to dream.

"Dream: A Tale of Wonder, Wisdom & Wishes" is a one-of-a-kind collaboration five years in the making. Bestselling author Susan V. Bosak (Something to Remember Me By, Science Is...) has teamed with fifteen internationally-acclaimed illustrators -- including winners of the Hans Christian Andersen Medal and Caldecott Medal. You'll find original illustrations by Wayne Anderson, James Bennett, Christian Birmingham, Raúl Colón, Leo and Diane Dillon, Robert Ingpen, Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher, Michèle Lemieux, Barbara Reid, Shaun Tan, and more.

Don't forget to hunt for the star each artist has hidden in their illustration -- and make a new wish with each one you find! Teachers can get classroom-tested reading tips and activities to use with "Dream" at legacyproject.org.

This is an inspiring celebration of living and dreaming for all ages. It's a book to explore and discuss with children, a keepsake and collector's item, and a lovely gift book for milestones like a birth or graduation, the holidays and birthdays. "Dream" offers wonder, wisdom, and good wishes -- for everyone who dreams.

Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions (Picture Puffin Books)

Margaret Musgrove

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

The alphabet at its best 5 out of 5 stars.
22 of 22 people found this review helpful.

Ho hum, thought I when I first saw this book. Yet another African alphabet book. It wasn't too long ago that I read, "Jambo Means Hello", the Swahili alphabet book by Muriel Feelings that was published in 1974. That book was okay, but I was disappointed that it didn't distinguish between tribes or acknowledge the advance of technology in Africa in the 1970s. Then I picked up this 1976 Caldecott winning book and upon reading it I was stunned. This book is everything that "Jambo Mean Hello" SHOULD have been. With meticulously researched information, delicate details, and stunning illustrations this book deserves to be read to every single child in elementary school for as long as there are either children or schools.

The book goes through the alphabet by naming a different tribe for each letter. First of all, I was surprised that there actually was an African tribe for every letter in the alphabet. Shows what I know. As we view each tribe we get a stunning illustration of their clothing, towns or villages, and activities. Author Margaret Musgrove describes their life, picking out the most interesting details for each. Through this method we learn that in Baule legend the crocodiles aided them when they were at war with the Ashanti. Or we find out that in the Tuareg tribe the men are veiled and the women do most of the talking, storytelling, and poetry. From A to Z we see a wide spectrum of African inhabitants, ending with a map of Africa that shows where each tribe resides.

But it doesn't stop there. Feelings explains in her Author's Note in the front that modern technology is changing the face of African life, though she contends that the traditions pictured in this book are still being passed on from generation to generation. She points out that some customs mentioned here are unique and relate only to that particular tribe while other values and philosophies are shared by all. She is even so careful as to point out that many (not all) African language prefixes are added to denote the plural. She, however, has used the root words throughout the book for simplicity's sake. Should you have any doubts about the background of this author, you can read in a tiny note on the publication page that she lived and studied in Ghana for years and a list of publications consulted is included. And if you've any doubts about the illustrations, don't. As noted, even the interwoven designs at the corners of the pages are based on Kano Knots. Every article of clothing, every animal, every home depicted here is accurate and beautiful.

I don't mean to pooh-pooh "Jambo Means Hello", but that book hasn't got anything on the amazing "Ashanti to Zulu". It's stunning.

Editorial Review:

Artists Leo and Diane Dillon won their second consecutive Caldecott Medal for this stunning ABC of African culture. "Another virtuoso performance. . . . Such an astute blend of aesthetics and information is admirable, the child's eye will be rewarded many times over."--Booklist. ALA Notable Book; Caldecott Medal. Full color.

To Every Thing There Is A Season

Leo Dillon, Diane Dillon

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Leo and Diane Dillon have collaborated on 40 illustrated books and won a shelfful of major awards for their artistic work, including two Caldecott Medals. No surprise, then, that this book is a feast for the eyes--but it's remarkable even by their exalted standards. The text, printed in large, clear capitals along the bottom of the pages, consists simply of the famous verses from Ecclesiastes: "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die...." Each phrase is illustrated by one of 16 panels, and each panel stems from the artistic style of a different culture, from Egyptian tomb friezes, to Japanese harvest scenes, to Aboriginal bark paintings, to Greek vase paintings. The rich, sophisticated illustrations may appeal more to parents than to their children--and verses like "a time to kill" may be too much for the very young--but there could be no more beautiful vehicle for the old wisdom that we have to know, expect, and live with both the good and the bad that life will inevitably bring us. At the end of the book the authors provide interesting information on the style and the art history behind each illustration. (Click to see a sample spread. Illustrations copyright © 1998 by Leo & Diane Dillon. Permission from The Blue Sky Press, Scholastic, Inc.) (Ages 5 and older) --Richard Farr

Rap A Tap Tap (Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Books)

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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Arts & Music -> Performing Arts -> Dance -> Fiction

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A Tribute to the Greatest Tap Dancer of All Time..... 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

As Leo and Diane Dillon tell the reader in their illuminating Afterword: "Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (1878-1949) is know as the greatest tap dancer of all time. His fame has reached mythic proportions. He had charm and charisma and, it was said "He talked with his feet." His rhythms were so intricate and fast it was impossible for other dancers to repeat some of them..." The Dillon's introduce a whole new generation to the sheer joy of Mr Bojangles, a dancer who made "art with his feet" in this deceptively simple and creative picture book biographical sketch. Their short rhyming text with its engaging and repetitive "Rap a tap tap-think of that!" is filled with rhythm and motion. But it's their clever, bold, bright, and elegant illustrations that make this book stand out and sparkle, and youngsters will feel the passion and energy with each page turn as they watch Bojangles almost dance off the pages. Perfect for little ones 3-7, Rap A Tap Tap is a playful and captivating, interactive celebration of both Bill Robinson and tap dance...Rap a tap tap-think of that!

Editorial Review:

This simple book for young children tells the life story of a ground-breaking African-American tap dancer. Bill "Bojangles" Robinson was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1920s-30s. People said he "talked with his feet," and in the Dillons' graceful paintings of old New York, he dances from page to page to the tune of a toe-tapping rhyme.

Who's in Rabbit's House? (Picture Puffins)

Verna Aardema

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

One of our very favorites 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

We found this by chance at the library and it is now one of our favorite books. During the three weeks we had the book we read it over 20 times and looked through it often. And we've checked it out a few times since then, too. Hmm, maybe we should buy it!

My boys have acted out the story repeatedly and I hear them quietly reciting the story to themselves.

The pictures are fantastic - bright, beautiful, so full of life. The text is superb and has a wonderful moral as well.

You will love this book and so will your kids.

A book for all ages 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Who's in Rabbits House is one of those few book that people of all ages can enjoy. The book is beautiful to look at, the illustrations informative and clever. (Check out the lions.) It reads aloud beautifully, and even the youngest reader can be given a part to become part of the experience. The cultural contect is respectfully presented. The reader becomes one who learn that of the Masai vilagers that strength is less important than intelligence.

Editorial Review:

A Masai tale, presented in the form of a play, in which the frog gets the job of getting a monster out of the rabbit's house after the leopard, elephant, and rhino bungle the job.

The Hundred Penny Box (Picture Puffin Books)

Sharon Bell Mathis

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Intergenerational Friendship 3 out of 5 stars.
8 of 9 people found this review helpful.

The Hundred Penny Box tells the story of young Michael and his Great-Great Aunt Dew.
Aunt Dew moved in with Michael and his family so that they could assist with her care
because her failing health made it impossible for her to stay in her home alone. Aunt
Dew is 100 years old and as proof she has a box, which she calls the "Hundred Penny Box"
which contains her collection of 100 pennies. The pennies in her collection represent
the years she has lived, and each birthday she adds a newly minted penny to her
collection. Michael and Aunt Dew play a special game where he counts the pennies while
she interjects memories about what was going on in her life during a that particular
year. Aunt Dew has told her nephew many times that if someone were to take her Hundred
Penny Box they would be taking her life. Because Michael's mother often makes decisions
without discussing them with Aunt Dew the two women do not have the closest of
relationships. When one of Michael's mother's decisions puts the Hundred Penny Box in
danger, what will Michael do to protect it?

While the illustrations in this book clearly reflect the abilities of the Dillon team
they seemed to miss the mark in this book. I felt the artwork took away from the story
considerably and overall it gave a heartwarming story an eerie vibe. Still this is an
enjoyable story about a special intergenerational friendship and love.

Reviewed by Stacey Seay...

Editorial Review:

Michael loves his great-great-aunt Dew, even if she can’t always remember his name. He especially loves to spend time with her and her beloved hundred penny box, listening to stories about each of the hundred years of her life. Michael’s mother wants to throw out the battered old box that holds the pennies, but Michael understands that the box itself is as important to Aunt Dew as the memories it contains. Winner of a Newbery Honor, this beautiful story will be available in a collector’s edition featuring heavy interior stock embossing and silver ink on the cover, and a thread-sewn binding for added durability. A timeless story of the relationship between a boy and his elderly relative, this new edition is one that families young and old will treasure for years to come.

Earth Mother

Ellen Jackson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Earth Mother Shines 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

At a time when quieter books for children are sadly few and far between, reading Ellen Jackson's EARTH MOTHER is especially rewarding. The illustrations illuminate her lyrical text, with phrases such as "a robe fringed with falling rain" and "placed a piece of summer in a flower's seed." Earth Mother smiling and walking on with no verbal response to the complaints from Man and Frog is as it should be, and my 4-year-old nodded along approvingly. She already knows, as Jackson does, that Earth Mother knows best.

I would recommend this book for anyone interested in sharing the beauty and wonder of the world with a child.

Editorial Review:

The circle of life turns in unexpected ways.
Earth Mother awakes with the dawn. As she walks the land, swims the seas, and climbs the mountains, nurturing all of creation, she comes across
Man, Frog, and Mosquito. They each give her thanks for nature’s bounty,
yet can’t help but give her advice about making their lives better. Everybody’s got an opinion, it seems, and Earth Mother is amused when it becomes clear that the circle of life is not without a healthy dose of cosmic humor.
Leo and Diane Dillon lend their formidable talents to Ellen Jackson’s original folktale about the unexpected and sometimes humorous ways that life
is interconnected.

The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks (Picture Puffins)

Katherine Paterson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Love Takes Wing 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This beautifully illustrated book and equally beautiful story is very moving. It is set in old Japan and is a look at Japanese history and culture.

It is the story of love; of being willing to take chances to protect another and about kindness rewarding many times over. It speaks to the ripple effect of how one single act of kindness, in this case freeing an imprisoned drake will be rewarded lovingly.

Great Read Aloud! 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This book is great to read to kids! It has suspense and it also shows kids how doing the right thing can seem bad, but soon you'll get something back. I liked the moral of the story and I like the way they illustarted it to look just like ancient Japan.

Editorial Review:

A beautiful mandarin duck is captured and caged by a greedy lord who wants to show off the bird's magnificent plumage. But the wild creature pines for his mate. When Yasuko, the kitchen maid, releases the bird against her lord's command, she and the one-eyed servant, Shozo, are sentenced to death. The grateful bird intends to return their kindness, but can he outsmart the cruel lord?

Winner of the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award for Illustration, and a New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year.

One Winter's Night

John Herman

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Gloriously soothing 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is a very gentle story, enthrallingly soothingly told, with illustrations that make you feel cozy despite the preponderance of snow depicted on every page. The parallel between Martha the cow's birth story and the sparely told Nativity is just right--not overdone, never preachy. The willingness of the human couple to exercise concern for Martha is a nice touch and lends a magical feature to the story. My 15-month-old son is just beginning to develop an interest in story time, and this is one he insists on almost every night!

Editorial Review:

It is a cold winter’s night, and Martha is looking for shelter. Even a cow needs a safe, warm place to give birth to her baby. The house she finds is abandoned; the barn she finds is locked. Then one bright star guides Martha to a stable. There, a man and a woman have found shelter as well—and another very special baby is about to be born. Leo and Diane Dillon’s beautiful art blends seamlessly with John Herman’s lyrical text in this tale of two mothers’ miraculous journeys on the first Christmas night.