3 Picture Books for Older Readers

Paul Fleischman's: Weslandia fuses 6th grade social science concepts with some fantasy to create a young gifted outcast's utopia named for its main character Wesley. Wesley's parents would even stoop to bribery to get their son to be more like the cookie cutter-type children of the very repetitively styled suburban neighborhood in which they reside. Wesley has other plans after learning about civilizations in school, including creating his own civilization complete with staple crop, counting and lettering systems, and clothing. Wesley's summer project gently shows the reader how being different could be an asset while Kevin Hawkes' colorful acrylic illustrations offer many supporting details.

Patricia Polacco writes an autobiographical piece: Thank you, Mr. Faulker. Her story relates the tragedy of Trisha experiencing what so many children have experienced in our educational system. Trisha has the fortune of being assigned to Mr. Faulker who recognizes her problem and finds the help she needs. Polacco's illustrations help to convey the joy and angst of Trisha's childhood experiences. Any teacher who has spent any decent amount of time in a crowded classroom may find it difficult not to shed a tear while reading this simple, endearing story.

Some authors are able to paint with words in a way that sends the reader into a story. The economy of language necessary for a well-told picture book is so artfully employed by Kim L. Siegelson's: In the Time of the Drums. Siegelson's text has a rhythm like the drums of the African homeland and could stand alone without illustration, but the reader will be glad they don't. Brian Pinkney's illustrations tell the magical legend of the Ibo people all by themselves as if they don't need the words. The scratchboard paintings have a movement and rhythm all their own.

Angelou's: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

I decided to read Maya Angelou's autobiographical I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings after reports on a listserv of its being challenged in two Orange County high school districts. I was struct by Angelou's brutal honesty told in such an innocent voice. Her love and connection to her brother compelled me through the beginning chapters. Her guilt over her rape and the events leading to it she was able to make both understandable and shocking in the same innocent voice. The racial prejudices she experiences, learns, overcomes, and feels herself are described in unabashed manner to allow the reader a clear understanding of what it meant to grow up in a small Alabama town and then be transplanted to an urban setting as a teen. Probably not the best choice for most tweens, but definitely a popular choice for some of our library's more mature middle school readers.

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