Even as a child, most of my favorite books were biographies and historical fiction. So when I stumbled on this incredible series put out by Sleeping Bear Press, I couldn’t help but dive in and write a few reviews to spread the word. The writing and illustration work are timeless and beautiful! And the books cover a variety of eras and subject matter – some familiar, some not at all. Here are a few to get you started!
A FIST FOR JOE LOUIS AND ME
by Trinka Hakes Noble and illustrator Nicole Tadgell
Growing up in the suburbs of Detroit, I heard Joe Louis’s name everywhere… But I never heard the story of this big event – the symbolic fight between Joe Louis and Germany’s Max Schmelling in 1938. It became much more than a boxing match. It was a fight between good and evil, a fight against the spread of Nazi ideology. I am so glad I know this incredible story, thanks to Trinka Hakes Noble. The fictional narrative pulls you into the daily experiences of a boy growing up in Detroit and a Jewish boy whose family fled to the US to escape the Nazis. The emotion, movement and colors of Tagdell’s illustrations are a perfect match for the setting and story. Especially love the expressive face on the cover!
MACKINAC BRIDGE: THE STORY OF THE FIVE MILE POEM
by Gloria Whelan and illustrator Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen
If you’re from Michigan, you’ve probably heard of “The Mighty Mac” – the bridge that connects the Lower Peninsula with the Upper. Thanks to fellow Michiganders Gloria Whelan (writer) and Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen (illustrator/painter), the picture book MACKINAC BRIDGE revisits the building of this famous bridge in a stunning and memorable way.
Author Gloria Whelan grew up in the region and remembers when the bridge was being built! And my mom remembers taking the bridge for the first time to visit relatives living near Copper Harbor (yes, I’m half-Finnish by ancestry ; ). Prior to the bridge access, people relied on ferries for crossing. Through young Mark’s eyes, Gloria explores how the new bridge brought immense change to the area, including putting ferry operators like Mark’s father out of work. But the five-mile long bridge is also a technological wonder, and Mark struggles to balance his enthusiasm with his father’s dire predicament.
PAPER SON: LEE’S JOURNEY TO AMERICA
by Helen Foster James and illustrator Wilson Ong
I had never heard the term “paper son”, which was used in the early 1900’s to describe how Chinese American families claimed boys in China as their own. These boys, and sometimes girls (“paper daughters”), sailed to America to escape famine and war. From the first page, Helen Foster James draws you into a dramatic narrative for this little known history. Fu Lee’s parents have been killed by bandits and his grandparents want a better future for him in the US. To pass immigration interrogations he will encounter in San Francisco, the young Chinese boy must memorize information about his new father in America. Wilson Ong’s powerful illustrations are more like paintings you’d find in a museum. Each scene is so expressive, I thought I was watching a short film.
THE LISTENERS
by Gloria Whelan and illustrator Mike Benny
I’d never heard of slave children being “listeners” for the slave communities on plantations in the South. Told in beautiful poetic prose through a little slave girl’s perspective, Gloria Whelan’s narrative drops you into the middle of life on a cotton plantation. Ella May and her friends Bobby and Sue are up with the sun to work all day…until evening comes for listening at the window of the “great house”. The children report crucial news to their community, whether it’s about a new overseer, the possibility of a slave being sold away, or the best kind of news – a new president who believes slavery is wrong and should end. Mike Benny’s moving illustrations translate Ella May’s personal experience into an epic story that will be remembered by all who “listen”. It’s a great book for children and adults. If we forget our past, we are doomed to repeat it. And it’s an important reminder that slavery still exists in many parts of the world.