Tar Beach, by Faith Ringgold

Ringgold, Faith. Tar Beach. Crown, 1991. 32 pages. $15.00, ISBN 0-517-58030-6

AGE LEVEL
3 and 4 year-olds

GENRE
Picture book

REVIEW
Ringgold based this Caldecott honoree and King Award winner on her childhood memories of growing up in Harlem.  As the book begins, we are immediately transported into narrator eight-year-old Cassie Louise Lightfoot's imagination as she declares, "I will always remember when the stars fell down around me and lifted me up above the George Washington Bridge." In a completely absorbing folk style, Ringgold paints in peaches, corals, and pale green-blues against deeper blue nighttime skies.  It is revealed that the Bridge is important to Cassie's family history and relates to her touching wish for a better life for her father and mother.  The social climate of the time the picture book takes place, which appears to be the late 1930s, is included in the text, as Cassie states, "Well, Daddy is going to own that building, 'cause I'm gonna fly over it and give it to him.  Then it won't matter that he's not in their old union, or whether he's colored or a half-breed Indian, like they say."  This book is a tour-de-force -- words, images, and themes create a powerful story together -- and is very highly recommended for three and four year olds, athough the imaginations of younger children will also take flight based purely on the illustrations.  An image of Ringgold's stunning Tar Beach story quilt and an informative article about her follows the story text.

LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IDEAS
Due to the book's focus on flight, the following is a possible action rhyme to pair with it at preschool storytime:

          BIRDS

          If I were a bird, I'd sing a song,
          (tuck hands in armpits to represent wings) 
         
          And fly about the whole day long.
          (stretch arms out at sides and rock body as if flying)
         
          And when the night came,
          (give yourself a hug and make shivering motion)
         
          Go to rest, up in my cozy little nest.
          (flap arms and them cup hands to form nest)

Rap a Tap Tap: Here's Bojangles -- Think of That!, by Leo and Jane Dillon

Dillon, Leo & Jane. Rap a Tap Tap: Here's Bojangles -- Think of That!  Blue Sky Press, 2002. 32 pages. $17.99, ISBN 978-0439455978

AGE LEVEL
1 and 2 year-olds

GENRE
Picture book

REVIEW

This King Award honoree about the achievement and gifts of legendary tap dancer Bill Robinson (Bojangles) is an exemplary book on many levels.  First of all, the gouache artwork is quite striking, composed of layers of translucent paint depicting several copies of Bojangles' legs in each scene, showing his quick and graceful movements. The city dwellers whom Bojangles dances by are also illustrated in beautifully layered colors. The rhyming text of the book and repeated "Rap a tap tap -- think of that!" refrain makes this book perfect for 1 and 2 year-olds. And in the midst of all this -- while focusing mainly on the joy that Bojangles brought into peoples' lives -- the authors also ground their book in reality, alluding to the social climate of the early 20th century in lines such as "He danced past doors; some were open, some closed".  An afterword with some brief information on Bojangles' achievements is included. A visual feast and wonderful read aloud for all ages of children.

LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IDEAS
At storytime, this book could be followed by this dance for toddlers:

          CAN YOU POINT YOUR FINGERS AND DO THE TWIST?

          Can you point your fingers and do the twist?
          Can you point your fingers and do the twist?
          We're gonna go up
          And down,
          Go back up
          And turn around.
          Can you point your fingers and do the twist?

          Can you stand on one leg and shake your hands?
          Can you stand on one leg and shake your hands? 
          We're gonna go up
          And down,
          Go back up
          And turn around.
          Can you stand on one leg and shake your hands?

Little Eight John, by Jan Wahl

Wahl, Jan. Little Eight John. Illustrated by Wil Clay. Lodestar Books, 1992. 30 pages. $14.99, ISBN 0-525-67367-9

AGE LEVEL
3 and 4 year-olds


GENRE
Traditional Literature (Folktale)

REVIEW  
In memorable opening lines, Wahl establishes exactly the kind of little boy we are about to meet: "Once there was a fine-looking boy named Little Eight John. He looked fine. But he didn't act fine. He was as mean as mean there was."  Little Eight John is a boy who just can't resist doing what he is not supposed to do, and who laughs at the bad fortune of others. If his mother advises him that climbing trees in his nicest outfit will bring grief to the family, up the nearest trunk he goes. When the family's potatoes won't grow as a result, John giggles. But as the conclusion of the story shows, no one can escape the consequences of meanness forever.  Although there isn't a large amount of text in this book, a few pages may contain a bit more than is appropriate for 0-4 year olds. However, the repetitive nature of the story, with its sequence of several instances in which John deliberately disobeys his mother's wishes, compensates for these few longer pages. The tone is enjoyably conversational and the text includes direct address of the reader such as "Well sir, right then he had to go count his teeth."  The illustrations, which appear to be drawn in colored pencil, fill each page with life and movement. The expressions on characters' faces are well detailed, reflecting a range of emotions. This Coretta Scott King award winner would make a fun read-aloud for preschoolers, and for many toddlers as well.

LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IDEAS
This story could be shared at a special periodic folktale storytime.  Such folktale storytimes may help to make more patrons aware of the fact that there are many works of fiction in the portion of the library organized by Deewy Decimal numbers.