Last Stop on Market Street by Matt De La Peña

Last Stop on Market Street by Matt De La Peña, illustrated by Christian Robinson
G.P. Putnam's Sons

Rating: 5 stars

Just a few minutes ago I was driving along and had to stop because two big ol' white geese were crossing the road. I stopped and watched them waddle past slowly, not caring how long it took them to get to the other side of the road. These two geese serve as some sort of proof that my kids don't know what it's like to grow up in a city, have a bus be their main (and perhaps only) form of transportation, or experience walking through a constant flow of humanity. The city life is just not my kids' experience.

But I want them to know that there are other experiences out there. I want them to step in other kids' shoes and see what other types of lives are like.

Thanks to Matt De La Peña's latest (and perhaps greatest) book Last Stop on Market Street, my kids can do just that. They can see what city life is like, and what a thoughtful, others-before-me day is like--all in one book.

A young boy named C.J. walks out onto the street, free from an hour of church, yet not yet totally free--this boy is not done with his Sunday routine. C.J. and his grandmother board a bus--Mr. Dennis' bus.  We're not sure where they're going just yet, but the ride gets off to a good start when Mr. Dennis pulls a coin from behind C.J.'s ear.

A scene you don't see often in picture books...

As all kids do, C.J. complains a bit about having to go on this errand when his friends are off playing. But, his grandmother reminds him, his friends "won't know the people he knows. And I'm sorry about that." As he looks around the bus, he sees a great sampling of our great, diverse nation. C.J. sees a tattooed man (he gets no mention, but I like that he exists, in this picture book, with all his tattoos). He talks with a blind man, who says you don't have to have eyes to see.

When C.J. envies two teenagers' iPod, his grandmother points out he's got the real, live version in a guitar-holding passenger across the aisle. She suggests he request a song, and the musician strikes up a diddy just for C.J. The performance earns the coin Mr. Dennis pulled from his ear.

Finally, they arrive to the last stop on Market Street: a soup kitchen.

"Why's it always so dirty here?" C.J. asks.

"Sometimes, when you're surrounded by dirt, C.J., you're a better witness for what is beautiful," his grandmother wisely and patiently replies.

The two greet the men and women at the soup kitchen and take their places to serve them.

I'd like my kids to walk in C.J.'s shoes in more ways than one. As a former volunteer with the Missionaries of Charity and the Peace Corps, I look forward to the days when my kids will take their places to serve others.

Dog Heaven by Cynthia Rylant

Dog Heaven by Cynthia Rylant

Rating: 5 very sweet, very sad stars

This morning a friend of mine and her son came over for a playdate.  Our sons--her first and my third--are about six months apart and play together well.  More importantly, I really like her.  She's wonderfully grounded in the Real Things That Matter, more sure of herself than I ever will be, and a big reader of both children's and adult books.

Plus, she's a dog lover.  In fact, two weeks ago Kiefer and I went to her house to play, and we had the privilege of meeting their family Golden Retriever.  Goldens, in case you didn't know, are the most lovable of all dogs; we had one growing up. My friend's Golden and my childhood Golden both had big goofy grins and big tail wags.  They were sweet, friendly, and looking to give love to and receive love in every set of hands their noses touched.

So I was saddened, to put it lightly, to hear that a few days after we met him, their ten year old Golden simply collapsed during a simple walk in their woodsy backyard.  The next day, she got a call from the vet that every dog lover/owner dreads.  He was gone.  There was no advanced warning, no time to prepare her son, no thought given to hiding away little remembrances of a great dog.  Their family dog--furry playmate, welcome-homer, late night companion--is gone.  I am sad for their family.

I've seen Dog Heaven at the library before, but had no reason to check it out.  Today when I saw it up on display, I grabbed it.  It was a sign, and I believe in signs.

Rather than focus on the inevitable sadness, Cynthia Rylant (an author to remember) focuses on the happy: where dogs go once they leave their Earthly homes.

They will be there when old friends show up.
They will be there at the door.

It is definitely a little religious--in my opinion, in a good, open-armed sort of way--but I love it.  I LOVE it.  It is one of those smile-through-the-tears sort of books.  I really want to type out the whole book here, but here are a few of my favorite passages:

When a dog first arrives in Heaven, he just runs. Dog Heaven has clear, wide lakes filled with geese who honk and flap and tease.  The dogs love this. 

And, oh, the dog biscuits.  Biscuits and biscuits as far as the eye can see.  God has a sense of humor, so He makes His biscuits in funny shapes for His dogs.  There are kitty-cat biscuits and squirrel biscuits.  Ice-cream biscuits and ham-sandwich biscuits.  Every angel who passes by has a biscuit for a dog. 

Every dog becomes a good dog in Dog Heaven.

This is a good book to know about, and to remember.  Because if you're reading this and you're a dog lover and you've got kids, you might need this book.  Actually, this book is proof that children's books are for all ages.  It is a fantastic book to remember even for those tough-seeming but actually tender grown ups whose hearts are going to break when their beloved pup passes away.  Imagining your great dog chasing geese in heaven, getting biscuits in heaven, and hearing that he is, finally (for my dogs) a good dog....it might help put a small smile on your face.

Good dog, Paddington.  Your people miss you greatly.

Drummer Boy by Loren Long

 Drummer Boy by Loren Long

Rating: 5 stars

Some families choose grocery stores for the quality of their produce.  Others choose one for low prices.  Our family?  I like grocery stores that have a nice selection of books.  Last night the trio and I found ourselves at Wegmans (which I actually like for all three reasons); in between the produce and dairy departments we had a pit-stop at the book shop. Lorelei and Ben were sprawled out way too comfortably on the floor reading Curious George books, and I found Drummer Boy, which I thought was just the song with illustrations by one of my favorite illustrators, Loren Long.  I put it in my cart without reading it.

In case you didn't know, Loren Long is the illustrate President Obama chose to illustrate his book, Of Thee I Sing.  When the President wants you, you know you're good.  But he was fantastic before (and after) that--his grand illustrations are sweeping beauties that pull you in completely.  Read all of my review of his books by clicking here.  Plus he has a weimaraner, like us.  (His is probably more well-behaved...maybe he wants two more...hmmm...)

When I got home, after the groceries were put away and the kids were asleep, I read it.  This book might be my favorite Christmas book of all time.

A boy receives a mystery gift on his doorstep some weeks before Christmas: a drummer boy.  "Just what I wanted," he says, and the drummer boy's heart feels warm.  After some days of drumming for the boy, the tail of the boy's dog sweeps the drummer boy into the trash, and he gets taken away into the back of a garbage truck.

The drummer boy is stunned and sad to find himself in a heap of trash, with a rat snarling at him.  But he plays for the rat...

Boom pum pum boom pum,Boom pum pum boom bum,Boom pat pat boom pat,Boom pat pat boom tat.

The owls grew quiet and drifted off to sleep.

The rat's snarl softens as he listens, but suddenly an owl swoops in and picks up the drummer boy.  When delivered to her nest, hungry baby owl beaks squawk at him.

Boom pum pum boom pum,Boom pum pum boom bum,Boom pat pat boom pat,Boom pat pat boom tat.

They fall asleep to the now-comforting sound of the drum.  After several other trips-turned-concerts, a raccoon carries him to a cemetery   The drummer boy is colder and lonelier than ever; he feels quite lost and very sad.  He feels that the statues and stones are surrounding him are waiting, waiting.  "So, with a heavy heart, he plays his drum for them."

Boom pum pum boom pum,Boom pum pum boom bum,Boom pat pat boom pat,Boom pat pat boom tat.

The next morning, after a heavy snowfall--you can only see the tip of the drummer boy's hat in yet another gorgeous illustration--the little boy comes to deliver a poinsettia to the gravestone in front of the drummer.  "Merry Christmas, Grandpa," he says quietly.  And, delighted, he finds his drummer boy.  They return home together, and the little boy places the drummer boy in his family's nativity scene, next to baby Jesus.

Boom pum pum boom pum,Boom pum pum boom bum,Boom pat pat boom pat,Boom pat pat boom tat.

And the drummer boy's heart feels very warm.

I have never found a children's book that is a better lesson on giving--on giving what you have (which can often be so little) so selflessly.  It is a beautiful story and the message, so moving.  The drummer boy is taken--helpless to move himself, he never has a choice whether to stay or go--from one place to the next.  Always, at first he feels alone, but when he finds someone to whom he can give this gift of music (or maybe it is with whom he should share it?), his heart is warmed.

It is so very appropriate that this book was tucked among beets and tomatoes and strawberries, chicken and steak and milk.  All those things nourish us, as do books.  The lessons within this particular book last so much longer as we teach and re-teach it to our children, and learn and re-learn it ourselves.

Bless Me: A Child's Good Night Prayer by Grace Maccarone

Bless Me: A Child's Good Night Prayer by Grace Maccarone, illustrated by Sam Williams

Rating: 5 stars

I recently gave rave reviews to the book Miss Lina's Ballerinas, and every time I read that book to Lorelei I kept thinking, "Man, I know Grace Maccarone wrote something else I like."  Tonight I realized this book is it! 

I really love this book.  There are a handful of books that are wonderful good night books, but this one is near the top of the list...maybe the very top?  I'd have to think hard about that...but I keep meaning to post some "list" posts of some favorites...it's on my to-do list...

Anyway, this book is a little religious, which is perfect in our family.  It's a soft, quiet rhyme blessing a handful of things in a child's life: cars, chairs, bears, mouse, dollhouse, toes, head, and finally "Bless the water, earth, and air / Bless the children everywhere."  The illustrations are perfect--some stuff to look at, but not too many things to distract a child at the all important time in a parent's life: bedtime.

This is an off-the-beaten-path book, which I think make it a great gift for the birth of a baby or a 1 to 2 year old.  That's when Grammy gave it to Ben!  And I just read it to him (and his pink pajama-ed big sister, who gave him a priceless hug and kiss before leaving the room with me) an hour ago.

A Child's Good Night Book by Margaret Wise Brown

A Child's Good Night Book by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Jean Charlot

Rating: 5 stars

Our board book A Child's Good Night Book has a hole in it. Ben liked it so much he ate it.

So I am not a big fan of Good Night Moon. I admit it! But this book is great. We actually bought it for my sister's yet-to-be born son, but, um, well...it didn't quite make it to her house. Oops. This book is right up there with Karma Wilson's Sleepyhead for quality bedtime books, in my never humble opinion. It's a Caldecott winner, not surprisingly, but I don't understand why more people know about it. When we give it as a gift, people are surprised by it and then fall in love with it.

The storyline is wonderfully simple: Brown says good night to a bunch of different animals, ending their few sentences with "sleepy bunnies" or "sleepy wild things" or "sleepy sheep." The pictures are very nice and actually pretty sleepy, showing animals falling onto their paws, onto each other, into their mamma's laps, falling asleep. The book ends with "And the children stop thinking and whistling and talking. They all say their prayers and go to sleep. Sleepy children." The next two pages are just one large illustrations, and the book ends with a gentle prayer. I say gentle because it's a quietly Christian book, not obnoxiously religious or anything like that. For me, that makes it all the better, even though I'm stepping into that complicated topic of religion and children. I think I'll end this paragraph now before I have to draw lines in the sand...

The only funnily odd thing about the book is the page on wild things. If you had to choose three wild animals to write about and draw, what would they be? My thoughts immediately go to Africa, and images of zebras and lions and gorillas come to mind. Brown chooses lions and monkeys. Okay, I'm with you on these two. But then mice. Mice? Wild mice? I don't know...it makes me actually stop short and wonder what she was thinking. Maybe if she had made them all wild animals we see regularly--deer, raccoons, birds. Or maybe I just don't like mice because a few months ago I realized they were living in my toddler snack-infested car? Perhaps. Anyway, I still think this book is a gem despite the inclusion of mice as a wild animal.