The Lady with the Books: A Story Inspired by the Remarkable Work of Jella Lepman

Written by Kathy Stinson

Illustrated by Marie Lafrance

Kids Can Press

978-1-5253-0154-4 

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

October 2020

 

"Let us set this

upside-down

world right again

by starting with

the children.

They will show

the grown-ups

the way to go."

– Jella Lepman, 1943

 

So begins Kathy Stinson's homage to Jella Lepman, creator of the International Youth Library and a key player in the founding of IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People). But while The Lady with the Books honours her efforts to bring books to children, Kathy Stinson's newest picture book is much more than a biography. It is a tome of hope that books have the promise to nurture during difficult times.

 

From The Lady with the Books by Kathy Stinson, illus. by Marie Lafrance

In the aftermath of World War II, a little girl, Anneliese, and her younger brother, Peter, wander the streets of Munich looking for food. What they do find, in addition to a bit of orange peel, is a line of people heading into a great hall filled with books. With memories of going to a library with their Papa, now both gone, the children are captivated and time flies until Anneliese and Peter are told by a kind lady that the exhibition was closing.

 

From The Lady with the Books by Kathy Stinson, illus. by Marie Lafrance

 

The next day they return to hear the same lady reading The Story of Ferdinand and are touched by the titular bull's pacifism, especially Peter who is drawn to flowers like Ferdinand. When this lady suggests that Anneliese might enjoy another book about a clever Pippi, Anneliese begins to imagine beyond the desolation of their daily lives, especially the struggle for food. The stories they hear at the exhibit and those that Anneliese weaves at night for her brother become a new source of sustenance, offering hope where there had been little.

Kathy Stinson's stories have always found ways to offer hope and comfort, easily getting into the heads of her characters and recognizing what is important to them. Whether it's colour (Red is Best) or music (The Man with the Violin) for children or a squirrel to The Dog Who Wanted to Fly, Kathy Stinson's picture books help children realize the importance of their dreams. At the onset of The Lady with the Books, Anneliese wonders why the women are clearing away rubble with their bare hands and sweeping the pavement when "Couldn't they see that the street would never be what it had been before the war?" However, by the story's end, she decides "she would join the women with their brooms. She would help clear the street around the damaged library. And maybe someday, the building would again be filled with books." There was hope again.

Marie Lafrance's illustrations, rendered in graphite pencil and coloured digitally, may reflect the devastating impacts of war, from bombed buildings to hunger, but the hope of Kathy Stinson's text and Jella Lepman's work–discussed in notes at the conclusion of the story–is there in the life peppering the scenes. From hardworking women with brooms, and men with wheelbarrows, trees and flowers growing out of rubble, markets of bright food, and books, books and more books, Marie Lafrance offers that buoyancy to the story, letting readers know that there is life and goodness out there.

Jella Lepman extended a hand to children after World War II, recognizing that more than food fed lives. Through book exhibitions, donations and ultimately the establishment of the International Youth Library, the largest international collection of children's books in the world, she nourished young lives, especially those disrupted by war and other disasters, to hope for better and more.

From The Lady with the Books by Kathy Stinson, illus. by Marie Lafrance

Hungry Bird

Written and illustrated by Jeremy Tankard

Scholastic 

978-0-545-86417-6

32 pp.

Ages 3-5

September 2016

Jeremy Tankard’s award-winning Bird is back in his third volume, after the successful Grumpy Bird (Scholastic, 2007) and Boo Hoo Bird (Scholastic, 2009), and this time the little blue guy with the attitude is hungry.  He and his friends–Fox, Beaver, Sheep, Raccoon and Rabbit–have gone off for a hike when Bird, who continues to look grumpy, suffers a grumbling stomach.

While his friends are well prepared for their hike, sporting backpacks some of which contain their favourite snacks, Bird is supply-less, though he is the first one to feel peckish.  Unfortunately,  instead of asking his friends politely if they might share a treat with him, he wants to know if they packed anything for him.  Worse yet, when each answers him, politely offering to share, Bird declines.  At first, he refuses with relative politeness, but, just as in Grumpy Bird and in Boo Hoo Bird, Bird’s responses become more impassioned, ranging from “Are you crazy?” and “YUCK! That sounds DISGUSTING!” to demanding food and shouting, “HOW ON EARTH CAN I EAT A CARROT?!”  At last, Bird’s pleas escalate till he is convinced he will starve to death –of course, he won’t–and crawls with weakness to his friends, finally agreeing to try their snacks.

From Hungry Bird by Jeremy Tankard

As egocentric as Bird is, he’s not unlike the very young children (and self-centered adults!) who see everyone as there to meet their demands and needs immediately.  Only when he’s desperate does Bird relent and recognize that his friends have always been there to help him and are more than willing to share.  The only impediment to having his needs met is the petulant Bird himself.

Jeremy Tankard’s animals are distinct, walking on two legs, and colourful in bold colours of blue, orange, gold, tangerine, red and white.  With distinctive features like large buck teeth and characteristic tails and ears, the six creatures are easily identifiable while still unlike any other animals ever created in illustrations.  These coarsely-outlined creatures, displayed in landscapes of generally single colours, always stand out, never lost in backgrounds of irrelevant details.  Hungry Bird, like its predecessors, is all about the characters, both in illustration and story, with subtle messages about responsibility, courtesy, sharing, and trying new things. Lots of life lessons for an ornery but lovable, little blue bird.

From Hungry Bird by Jeremy Tankard