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THE MEMORY COAT

Name: THE MEMORY COAT
Author: Elvira Woodruff
ISBN: 0-590-67717-9

by Elvira Woodruff ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1999

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Through the experiences of two children, Rachel and her orphaned cousin Grisha, readers learn why Russian-Jewish families fled to America for refuge at the turn of the century, the arduous 14-day journey they faced on the ocean, and the critical physical inspections that occurred at Ellis Island that could determine their futures. For Rachel’s family, their moment of peril comes when Grisha, whose eye has been scratched, is marked for deportation with chalk on the back of the ragged jacket that was sewn by his mother. Rachel quickly thinks to turn his jacket inside out and he is examined again, by a kinder doctor, and is allowed to stay with the family. Dooling’s dramatic oil paintings reflect the fears and hopes of not only Rachel’s family, but of all immigrants who arrived at Ellis Island hoping for freedom from religious persecution and for more prosperous futures. Woodruff (The Orphan of Ellis Island, 1997, etc.) includes information about on her inspiration for this book, the atrocities of life in Russia, and the history of Ellis Island since its opening in 1892. (Picture book. 7-10)

Pub Date: March 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-590-67717-9

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1999

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
FEARLESS
by Elvira Woodruff

- BOOK REVIEW
SMALL BEAUTIES
by Elvira Woodruff & illustrated by Adam Rex

- BOOK REVIEW
THE RAVENMASTER’S SECRET
by Elvira Woodruff

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WAITING FOR BABY

illustrated by Rachel Fuller ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 2010

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One of a four-book series designed to help the very young prepare for new siblings, this title presents a toddler-and-mother pair (the latter heavily pregnant) as they read about new babies, sort hand-me-downs, buy new toys, visit the obstetrician and the sonographer, speculate and wait. Throughout, the child asks questions and makes exclamations with complete enthusiasm: “How big is the baby? What does it eat? I felt it move! Is it a boy or girl?” Fuller’s jolly pictures present a biracial family that thoroughly enjoys every moment together. It’s a bit oversimplified, but no one can complain about the positive message it conveys, appropriately, to its baby and toddler audience. The other titles in the New Baby series are My New Baby (ISBN: 978-1-84643-276-7), Look at Me! (ISBN: 978-1-84643-278-1) and You and Me (ISBN: 978-1-84643-277-4). (Board book. 18 mos.-3)

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2010

ISBN: 978-1-84643-275-0

Page Count: 12

Publisher: Child's Play

Review Posted Online: June 3, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2010

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
ESPERANDO AL BEBE / WAITING FOR BABY
by Rachel Fuller ; illustrated by Rachel Fuller ; translated by Teresa Mlawer

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GRANDAD'S PRAYERS OF THE EARTH

by Douglas Wood ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1999

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Wood (Making the World, 1998, etc.) tackles the enormity of death and the meaning of prayer in a way that is both accessible and meaningful. A boy walks with his grandfather, who is his best friend. As they stroll through woods and past streams, the boy asks those questions that grandparents are on earth to answer—“Why?” “What if?”—and about prayers. Lucidly, the grandfather explains that trees “pray” as they reach for the sky, that waters pray, that the wind prays and sings at the same time. When people pray, “a prayer is often its own answer.” The grandfather dies, and the narrator finds it impossible to pray anymore; one day, when he is older, he discovers the woods again, and finds his own prayers. The deeply naturalistic watercolors portray the wild exquisitely, and the boy and grandfather are timelessly rendered in jeans, corduroys, and plaids. Some of the spreads are stunning: a close-up of the boy in the grass with a tiny clover in his fist, and only Grandad’s knees visible; or a ground-level view, looking up, past the upturned faces of the pair to the sun shining through the trees above. This is a depiction of the spiritual that is without reference to a particular faith or tradition, and that doesn’t lapse into greeting-card platitudes; Wood conveys a sense of something larger in the world, and gives voice to the human longing to understand. (Picture book. 6-10)