Comments on: Kimiko Kajikawa’s ‘Tsunami!’ With Art by Caldecott Medalist Ed Young

By: 1minutebookreviewswordpresscom

1minutebookreviewswordpresscom — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 01:05:49 +0000

P.S. Have you read any Jacqueline Woodson? I was going to do her last Saturday (and will probably to Peace, Locomotion this Saturday). But I got swept up in Enid Blyton after learning that she ranks just behind Shakespeare among the world’s most translated authors.

I am curious about how children react to Woodson because, while Peace, Locomotion is a lovely, well-written novel, it’s so quiet — very little plot or suspense — it’s hard to judge on that level.

By: 1minutebookreviewswordpresscom

1minutebookreviewswordpresscom — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:54:37 +0000

Yes, that's exactly what I was trying to say: Tsunami! seems a bit mature for parents to buy for younger kids and not meaty enough for older ones. But I can see how it would be valuable for school and other libraries, especially because Elizabeth Bird, the SLJ blogger, said that before this one, there wasn't a good picture book on tsunamis for people who wanted one. Bird said that, surprisingly, there are a lot of books on hurricanes but basically none on tsunamis. And with all the extreme weather we have now, it seems that most libraries would want to have a tsunami book for children if they could.

By: speedytexaslibrarian

speedytexaslibrarian — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:36:48 +0000

Well, it’s true that I tend to think about such books more from the standpoint of a librarian and someone helping to educate future teachers, rather than from the standpoint of a parent spending their hard-earned money on a book. In the latter situation, I would have to agree with you, it doesn’t make much sense for a parent to purchase this book. It’s too mature for the younger kids and there isn’t enough “meat” in it to justify the price (especially for a hardbound copy) for an older child. I did add it to my library’s curriculum collection, though!

By: 1minutebookreviewswordpresscom

1minutebookreviewswordpresscom — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:24:24 +0000

Thanks, Amanda. I agree that schools could make good use of this one in an extreme weather unit and that great picture books are produced for older children.

What seems tricky here is that I keep hearing (and, to some extent, seeing) that after about the age of 6, some kids just won’t read picture books. You can give them a book like Tsunami!, and no matter how good it is, they’d rather have the chapter book (sometimes, I’m sure, for the “wrong” reason that they think picture books aren’t cool after a certain age).

So when I write about a books like Tsunami!, I feel as though I need to add some qualifiers for parents who have a limited amount to spend on their children’s books that is, at least raise the possibility that an older child might prefer to have a different kind of book altogether.

But I also think comments like yours are very helpful because they can help parents sort through all the issues that come into play with a book like this one. Thanks again.
Jan

By: speedytexaslibrarian

speedytexaslibrarian — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 23:06:00 +0000

Older children might love Caldecott medalist Ed Young’s dramatic mixed-media cover image of a wave powerful enough to sweep up a Japanese temple gate. But if they’re old enough not to be frightened by it, wouldn’t they be too old for a picture book?

No, no, no.*

There’s a misconception out there that picture books are only for younger children. Since the 70s, more and more picture books are being produced for older readers. While I agree with you that this book really isn’t appropriate for ages 3-5, I could easily see it being used in a folklore unit with older students (middle grades, probably 3-6) or in a unit about extreme weather (hurricanes, tornadoes, etc.).

I love the artwork in this book, but it’s definitely more sophisticated and thus more appropriate for older readers.

(*This knowledge is a result of taking over the teaching of our university’s children’s literature class as an adjunct this past summer when the regular professor became ill–I’m paraphrasing the textbook for the course!)