BottomlessBookBag

  A dollar for the paper growls a tall man in a raggedy coat. His hair sticks up higgledy-piggledy all over his head. He thrusts a thin newspaper toward Lily's mother. Lily hides, clutching her mother's coat as she peeks out. I was drawn to Lily and the Paperman   simply because of the name Lily. My mother, who preferred being called Peggy, was named after her grandmother. The spelling Lily-dell was a little different and mother could never quite get used to the dell as an addendum to the name Lily. When I read Lily and the Paperman by Rebecca Upjohn and illustrated by Renne Benoit, I was captivated by a little girl whose generous heart also reminded me of my mother as a child. Being very tender-hearted she would have reacted just as our storybook Lily did on a cold city sidewalk.   The story is set in a major metropolitan area in a cold climate. Lily and her parents live in a high-rise apartment with an elevator rather than a front porch or a back...

Sugar In Milk

  Picture books, as a form of publication, are usually written for young readers, even nonreaders. But, there are many "picture books" with higher vocabulary and abstract ideas that would need an adult to explain to a young child. Grandma’s Gift, written and illustrated by Eric Velasquez is one such picture book. Assigned to the genre biography/memoir, the story is the realistic event described by a young boy whose family lives in Spanish Harlem, New York City. Sometimes referred to as El Barrio , this culturally rich community is Spanish speaking and African American in heritage. Receiving the Pura Belpre Award , some would call the story a memoir written by young Velasquez.  The story is set during the Christmas holidays. Young Eric will stay with his grandmother while his parents are working. “Grandma” is a perfect example of a loving, wise grandparent. She and her grandson remind me of Latino children I tutor. Their English language is excellent but ofte...