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Over a year ago now, I blogged about the beautiful poem Outback written by the then eight-year-old Annaliese Porter and published by Magabala Books in Australia, in a stunning edition illustrated by renowned artist Bronwyn Bancroft. I recently lent our copy of Outback to a friend to use with her class of eight-year-olds here in the UK, when they were learning about aboriginal art, and it was an eye-opening experience for them to work with a book written by someone their own age.

Now Magabala have done it again - they recently published Joshua and the Two Crabs by Joshua Button, “a young man with a keen interest in the saltwater country he has grown up in”.

It’s a delightful story, told with humour, as Joshua chases the two crabs around the beach, telling them,

‘I can see you two!’
‘Well, we can see you too,’ said the crabs.

The three-fold repetition of this satisfying formula perhaps lulls young readers/ listeners into a false sense of this being a wholly imaginary, anthropomorphised tale - so it comes as a bit of a shock when Joshua catches them and then throws them onto the fire to cook for lunch! However, Joshua’s matter-of-fact tone is quite in keeping with the descriptive narrative… I would say the story is a perfect example of a child’s ability to weave fact and fiction together in one breath. We adults sometimes walk a tightrope here. How often have you found yourself in a no-win situation? Either you go along with the imaginings and are berated for saying something which is obviously not true, or you are likewise reproached for throwing in the cold water of fact! Well, Joshua Button seems to have got the blend just right, judging by Little Brother’s reaction.

He was chuckling for a long time that Joshua carried a bucket and spear at the beach - and he loved the pictures - he liked the textures and layering. They are indeed stunning - the colors bring the sea and the creek alive; the crabs are wonderful, as are the vignettes of the waders - and I especially loved Joshua peering down at the crabs in his very goggly goggles!

A while after reading it together, it bcame apparent that Little Brother had been mulling it over:

“Joshua Button does exist.”
“Yes, he does.”
“Do you think this is a true story?
“Yes, I do.”
“But the bit about talking crabs is fiction.”
“Probably.”
“Well, it could say that”
“But it’s a story - fundamentally it’s a story, isn’t it?
“Well, it did happen. It’s a story about two crabs.”

…and he is now thinking about writing his own book. In my post yesterday, I quoted Jarrett Krosoczka and the effect on him of a comment from a visiting author to his school - how much more aspirational then to read a book in print that is written by someone your own age! Not only has Joshua Button given children all over the world the opportunity to find out about a a fun family day out in his corner of Australia, he has opened them to the possibility that they could do it too. Thank you, Magabala Books!

I have started the new year with an optimistic set of intentions which, hopefully, I’ll be able to honor. A few of them have to do with world peace—perhaps not surprisingly, given our world’s state of affairs—but, as the days go by and news of more world conflicts are absorbed, I am reminded that it takes a lot more than good intentions to live up to one’s high ideals.

So with these thoughts in mind, yesterday I headed to my local library to find a children’s book on the theme of new year’s resolutions and/or good intentions. As it turned out, I was introduced to an adorable young boy who knows exactly what he needs to do to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Written and illustrated by Isabel Pin, and translated from the German by Nancy Seitz, When I Grow Up I Will Win the Nobel Peace Prize (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2006) is the tale of a boy who is determined to be good… when he grows up. He will help the poor. He will be kind to everyone. He will protect the environment and help save the planet. When he grows up.

Whereas the text states all his noble intentions, page after page of Pin’s exuberant illustrations depicts him behaving contrary to his ideals. But when the list of what he’ll do when he grows up gets too long, he finally realizes that getting started right away isn’t such a bad idea.

This delightful book will give children and adults lots to ponder and consider about their own good intentions, and should get them acting on them sooner, rather than later.

An afterword provides a brief history of the Nobel Peace Prize and describes the inspiring good deeds of some of its recipients.

For additional peace-related resources, check our reading lists & links. Our “war & peace in children’s books” issue will be up until the end of January.

Although the Tiger’s Choice, the PaperTigers’ online reading group, selects books that are written for children but can be enjoyed by adults as well, National Reading Group Month has brought to mind those books written for adults that younger readers might adopt as their own favorites, and that could launch impassioned discussions between parents and children, teachers and students, or older and younger siblings.

The books on this week’s list are books recommended for teenagers, with content that may be beyond the emotional grasp of pre-adolescents. All of them are available in paperback and in libraries.

1) Ricochet River by Robin Cody (Stuck in a small Oregon town, two teenagers find their world becomes larger and more complex when they become friends with Jesse, a Native American high school sports star.)

2) The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle (Alice is twelve, growing up on a modern-day Wyoming ranch with a mother who rarely leaves her bed, a father who is haunted by the memory of Alice’s rebellious and gifted older sister who ran off with a rodeo rider, and an overly active imagination.)

3) Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod by Gary Paulsen (The author of Hatchet tells the true story of how he raced a team of huskies across more than 1000 miles of Arctic Alaska in what Alaskans call The Last Great Race.)

4) Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (This autobiography of a young girl growing up in revolutionary Iran and told in the form of a graphic novel is rich, original, and unforgettable.)

5) From the Land of Green Ghosts by Pascal Khoo Thwe (An amazing odyssey of a boy from the jungles of Burma who became a political exile and a Cambridge scholar, this Kiriyama Prize winner is a novelistic account of a life filled with adventures and extraordinary accomplishments.)

6) In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez (The Mirabal sisters were beautiful, gifted, and valiant women who were murdered by the Dominican Republic government that they were committed to overthrow. Their true story is given gripping and moving life by their compatriot, Julia Alvarez.)

As the weather becomes colder and the days grow shorter, find your favorite teenager, choose a book, and plunge into the grand adventure of reading and sharing!

The Jane Addams Children’s Book Awards are given annually to children’s books published in the preceding year that effectively promote the cause of peace, social justice, world community, and the equality of the sexes and all races, as well as meeting conventional standards for excellence. On October 17th, winners of the 55th Jane Addams Children’s Book Awards received their awards, gave their acceptance speeches, and signed copies of their books at the United Nations Plaza in New York City.

PaperTigers congratulates:

WINNER - Books for Younger Children Category

The Escape of Oney Judge: Martha Washington’s Slave Finds Freedom, written and illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully

WINNER - Books For Older Children Category

We are One: The Story of Bayard Rustin, written by Larry Dane Brimner

HONORS - Books for Younger Children Category

One Thousand Tracings: Healing the Wounds of World War II, written and illustrated by Lita Judge

HONORS - Books for Older Children Category

Rickshaw Girl, written by Mitali Perkins with illustrations by Jamie Hogan

Honors - Books for Older Children Category

Elijah of Buxton, written by Christopher Paul Curtis

Honors - Books for Older Children Category

Birmingham, 1963, written by Carole Boston Weatherford

You can read Mitali’s acceptance speech and see photos of the event on her blog. Check out Larry Brimner’s Write. Write. Written! — A Writer’s Journal and Lita Judge’s blog as well!

In November our PaperTigers website will focus on the theme of “war and peace in children’s books,” featuring original essays by Lita Judge (One Thousand Tracings) and Jo Montie, former member of the Jane Addams Award committee.