Hush! by Minfong Ho illustrated by Holly Meade

Bookseller blurb: In an endearing lullaby, a mother asks a lizard, a monkey, and a water buffalo to be quiet and not disturb her sleeping baby.

And of course there is a delightful twist on the last page. This book has wonderful illustrations and it would be a beautiful gift for a young child or a new baby. I wonder if a board book edition was ever made?

Black cat, black cat,

don't come creeping.

Can't you see that

Baby's sleeping?

Black cat, black cat,

don't you cry,

My baby's sleeping

right nearby.

Hush was published in 1996 with a new edition in 2000. My copy was purchased for the library I visit each week in 2012. Hush! won a Caldecott honor in 1997 for Holly Mead (1956-2013). This book is still available to buy. 

In this video the text has been changed into a song - this is well worth watching. 

Exceptionally beautiful cut-paper-and-ink illustrations in earth tones use the varied textures of the paper to wonderful effect, depicting traditional Thai textiles, basketry, and building styles. All of young children's favorite elements are here: a reassuringly predictable, rhyming text, animals and their sounds, a mischievous subplot in the pictures, and an ever-so-slightly naughty child who fools everyone in the end. A sure winner. Kirkus

Minfong Ho was born in Rangoon, Burma, and raised in both Singapore and Bangkok, Thailand. Her parents are of Chinese origin, so she spoke fluent Chinese in her home, Thai in the marketplace of Bangkok and English in school. She was educated in Thailand and Taiwan, before moving to the United States to attend Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. While attending Cornell University, Ho began writing her first short story, in an attempt to combat strong feelings of homesickness. She recognized that many Americans had false notions about life in Asia and she set out to change this by writing based on her own experience there. 

The Umbrella Queen by Shirin Yim Bridges illustrated by Taeeum Yoo

For hundreds of years the people of this village in Thailand have been making umbrellas. Large, small, paper, silk, in all colours with beautiful designs of flowers and butterflies. Every year on New Years Day the village people hold a big parade which is led by the woman who has painted the most beautiful umbrella. 

Noot is very young. She would love to lead the parade but she has not yet been allowed to paint an umbrella. Finally Noot is allowed to try some painting but she must follow exactly the same pattern as the one painted by her mother. Noot does an excellent job but when she is trusted to continue painting on her own she changes the set pattern and adds

"... an elephant chasing the butterflies instead. Around the rim of the umbrella, the little elephant chased butterflies. On her second umbrella .. the little elephant ... was practising handstands."

Noot is in trouble. The umbrellas made by her family must follow the traditional pattern. Noot knows her family need money so she paints the set patterns but at night she uses scraps of materials to make her tiny creations with her own elephant designs. You can probably guess the ending especially when I tell you the King will make a visit to the village and Noot's tiny and different umbrellas catch his eye.

Read the full plot description here. 

This story made me nostalgic for a story I adored as a child - The Chinese Umbrella by Dorothy Rowe. Tonight I made an amazing discovery.  I have an old book from my childhood called The Youngest Omnibus edited by Rosalind Vallance.  I previously mentioned this book as the source of that story but in my mind the illustrations were in colour and in the omnibus they are black and white. Then I remembered one of my old school readers (and luckily I have a copy) - Travelling On. I found my story with coloured illustrations. My smile tonight is huge!

Click here to see a pdf of the whole book (The Chinese Umbrella is from page 32)

Pairing a picture book with a novel can be a powerful way to extend understanding and appreciation of a text.  Many years ago I recommended this little book - Silk Umbrella's to a Grade 3 teacher. She loved reading this with her class but I do wish I had known about The Umbrella Queen because it is the perfect companion read.

I would also pair this book with The Tiny Kite of Eddie Wing.

Shirin Yin Bridges is the author of one of my favourite picture books - Ruby's wish illustrated by Sophie Blackall.

And I made another discovery (I am having such a happy time with The Umbrella queen).  Taeeun Yoo is the illustrator of another book I often refer to - Strictly no Elephants. And she did the cover for Tua and the Elephant. You might also look for The Little Red Fish which a child once gifted to our school library because he had loved it SO much.

Kirkus review

 

Home Now by Lesley Beake illustrated by Karin Littlewood

I have been looking for books to link with the CBCA short listed titles.  I do like to extend our reading of these books with an exploration of the author or illustrator or perhaps the topic.

Home now links quite nicely with One step at a time.   Listen to an interview with Jane Jolley and Sally Heinrich.  They talk about the horror of land mines and their impact on the people and animals in Thailand.

In Home now we meet Sieta, has recently become an orphan in South Africa, and read how a special baby elephant is able to help her as she adjusts to her new life.

"Sieta remembered a green garden in a dry land. ... Sieta remembered when she and Ma and Pa went to church on Sundays."

Sieta goes on a school excursion to an elephant park.  She meets orphan elephants and forms an immediate bond with Satara - the baby. "Sieta smelled his elephant smell and it smelled like wild places far, far away."  The next day, straight after school,  Sieta goes back to visit Satara.  Back in her village she looks on the scene with new eyes.  This is a new and strange place but perhaps it can become her new home - a place for new memories and new pictures in her mind.

After reading Home Now you might compare this with The colour of home which has the same illustrator - Karin Littlewood.  For class reading you could also use Tua and the elephant and Elephant Mountain from the Aussie Bites series.

Tua and the elephant by RP Harris illustrated by Taeeun Yoo

If you need to explain determination to a young child look no further than Tua and the elephant.  This is very special little novel which will introduce younger readers to Tua who is determined to protect her new friend - a baby elephant.  This book will also give you a very authentic insight into the culture of Thailand - the sights, sounds and smells.

Tua means peanut but Tua is not a peanut she is a brave little girl who shows enormous courage when she sees a small elephant is being very badly mistreated by some  opportunistic thieves. "These two ... were scruffy as sewer rats, beady eyed and sharp of tooth. Whiskers grew in sparse patches on their cheeks and chins like mildew. They were both shifty, but one was long and lean, and the other was squat and pudgy."

Woven into this story are many Thai words but these are not hard to work out from the context.  There is a glossary but I rarely referred to it.

Tua rescues the elephant whom she names Pohn Pohn which means double happiness. The difficulty is how do you hide an elephant especially when the aforementioned bad guys what this prize possession back.  Tua must use all her courage, commonsense and initiative to take Pohn Pohn on the long journey to an elephant refuge where she knows she will be safe.

Tua and the elephant is a fairly short novel at just 200 pages but there are moments when I simply gasped out loud hoping Tua could escape the two crazy elephant thieves.  In one scene near the end of the book Tua herself is tied up in the hammock where she is sleeping and kidnapped.  This time it is Pohn Pohn who comes to her rescue.

I will admit I might have walked past this little book in the shop if my friend and fellow Teacher-Librarian had not recommended it. Another reason why it is fun to shop for books with a friend. Here is a set of very comprehensive  teaching notes and here is a set of web links to extend your study of the setting and culture of Thailand.  Take a minute to watch this video trailer where you can see some of the illustrations from this book.

If you enjoy Tua and the Elephants I recommend you also look for Silk Umbrellas by Carolyn Marsden.

The plot unfolds quickly and involves a kitchen sink of obstacles and allies: a Chevy Chase-style scene in a vegetable market, a treacherous river crossing, delightful teenage monks, an elephant-­kidnapping, ransom negotiations, and high- (and low-) speed chases as the devious mahouts search for Tua and the elephant. 

New York Times