ALA Notable Books

The ALA (American Library Association) notable awards shall include awardees of the Newberry, Caldecott Award/honors, Batchelder Award, Sibert Medal/honors, Pura Belpre Medal/honors and the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award winners/honors from that year. Other books worthy of notice and considered distinguished may be honored as an ALA notable. Annually approximately 60 books are listed by the Notable Children’s Books Committee of the ALSC (Association for Library Service to Children) for this honor.

                                                                                           

                                                                                                                               

Ehlert, L. (1992). Moon rope. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.      

     English/Spanish Children’s Book: A Peruvian Folktale. While visiting Peru, Lois Ehlert became enthralled with the colors, textiles, and jewelry of the country. She also loved the folktale she learned of a fox and a mole who dared to venture to the moon. In this native folktale, fox yearns to visit the moon and talks a reluctant mole into accompanying him. Devising a braided grass rope that they cajole some friendly birds into tying to the tip of the crescent moon, they begin their climb. Halfway there, mole loses his grip and falls back to earth. Ridiculed by his animal friends, mole finds refuge under the ground. And to this day mole will only come out at night, avoiding his friends and never again listening to a fox. Some say on a bright full moon, fox’s face can yet be seen shining out at them.  Lois incorporates vibrant Latin colors with the silver of the jewelry to form her illustrations. Written in both English and Spanish, this book is an excellent teacher choice for a narrative read aloud to K-2^nd children in bilingual classes, and a beautifully illustrated parent choice for any child ages four to seven. Moon Rope was also included in New York Public Library’s Best Children’s Books for 1992.  

                                                                                 

Ehlert, L. (2006). Leaf man. Singapore: Harcourt, Inc. 

            Fiction:  Narrative. This book is solely illustrated with photographs of leaves, acorns and burrs. With minimal text the author/illustrator follows the journey of leaves, originally forming a leaf man, as they are blown by the fall wind. As the story progresses the leaves are blown past the chickens, the lake, high-flying birds, and past the spotted cows. Each double-spread layout has natural art arranged to resemble the animals, vegetables and landscapes that the leaves blow through. Engaged in the journey, the reader is asked to wonder, where will the leaf man land? Lois’ story of the leaf man’s travels is told primarily through the illustrations, but the flowing prose incorporates elements of alliteration and assonating vowel sounds. Highly recommend as a whimsical read-aloud for children ages three to six; the pictures are an inviting element for inter-active engagement of the child. View also as a science and art tie-in to seasonal activities. Leaf Man was a Boston Globe/Horn Book award-winning book in 2006. 

Velasquez, E. (2010). Grandma's gift. New York, NY: Walker & Company.

                    Children’s Picture Book: Realistic. This a semi-autobiographical story of the author’s childhood, growing up in New York and spending his winter break with his Puerto Rican grandmother. Eric and his grandmother exchange promises that she will take him to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a school project if he will assist her in the making of the traditional pasteles for Christmas dinner. Although not a bilingual book, grandmother’s dialogue is written in Spanish with parenthetical translations. The reader learns the intricacy of preparing pasteles while Eric fulfills his promise, and then gleans insight into the difficulty non-English speakers face when Grandma accompanies Eric to the museum. Velasquez’s authentic and rich oil paintings lend an authenticity to the narrative. View as an excellent read-aloud for bilingual/English classrooms ages 3-7. The theme of respect for family traditions resonates; highly recommend as a read-aloud for ages 8-11 for teaching theme and cultural diversity, an independent read for ages 7-adult.  Listed as an ALA Notable Book in 2011.

           Reynolds, A., & Cooper, F. (2010). Back of the bus. New York, NY: Philomel Books.

             Children’s Picture Book: Historical Fiction. Narrated by a little boy, he is seated on the same bus as Rosa Parks on that historical day when she defies the Montgomery Transit Authority. The tiger-eye marble he is playing with becomes a metaphor for his tale, as he swings it up the aisle and then has to keep it hidden when an influx of ‘lima bean folk’ come on the bus. He takes his marble out after Rosa is arrested, admiring its shininess and believing it doesn’t have to be hidden any more. Reynolds narrative is a combination of black vernacular dialogue, appropriate to the setting, interspersed with figurative language that provides stark visual images (e.g. “she’s got her strong chin on” or “eyes all fierce like a lightnin’ storm”). Award winning artist Floyd Cooper paints in oils, using a subtractive method to diffuse and soften the illustrations. His approach lends a poignancy and age-ago sensibility to the narrative. View as a read-aloud for ages 6-9 for its historical significance. View as an independent read for ages 9-adult for its message and excellent combination of narrative and illustration. Highly recommend to high-school art teachers teaching variances in oil paint techniques. Awarded an ALA Notable Award in 2011.

            

Grey, M. (2005). Traction man is here!. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf

                           Children’s Book: Realistic Fantasy. A young boy lives through his favorite action figure, Traction Man. Events in his day that the young boy dreads are acted out in his imagination by Traction Man and his side-kick Scrubbing Brush. Especially entertaining are the scenarios played out in this little guy’s head as his hero battles insurmountable circumstances. Grey narrates each scene in her book with a page of text, illustration and extemporaneous text boxes to allow the reader a full picture of Traction man’s actions as he attempts to help his young owner take a bath and brave a visit to grandma’s house. View as an appropriate read-aloud for ages 5-9, and an independent read for ages 6-adult. View as a useful mentor text when teaching genres. Listed on ALA Notable Honor List in 2006