Book Review: Black and White by David Macaulay

• Title:   Black and White
  
• Reading level: Ages 4-8
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Sandpiper (October 24, 2005)
• ISBN-10: 0618636870
• ISBN-13: 978-0618636877
• Themes: Caldecott Medal, Perception, Imagination, Ages 4 - 8

When more than one person experiences something, be it a train wreck, a snowstorm, or even a drive out in the country, each persons story is going to be slightly different. Their story will depend upon a number of factors, including where they were during the event/trip, their previous knowledge base, and how much they were paying attention at the time.

What the book Black and White does is to take the idea of how the same event can be perceived in many different ways, and places 4 different  views on each page. Each view is an individual story, which when combined with the other three stories (or viewpoints) creates a fifth story. The individual stories are: Seeing Things, Problem Parents, A Waiting Game, and Udder Chaos.

This is an amazingly inventive and creative way to tell a story. It is a book which can be read numerous times, and each time will be a little different from the last. I wouldn't recommend reading this to a large group of children, but it would be a fantastic book to read with one or two children.

Although the recommended reading level is 4 - 8, I think this could be a fantastic book for older students to teach about point of view and perception.

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Book Review: Penny From Heaven by Jennifer L. Holm

• Title:  Penny from Heaven
• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Yearling (December 26, 2007)
• ISBN-10: 0375836896
• ISBN-13: 978-0375836893
• Themes: Prejudice, World War II, Death, Family, Italian-Americans

Eleven-year old Penny lives with her mother, Me-Me and Pop-Pop in New Jersey in the early 1950's. Her late father's Italian-American family love to give Penny gifts, and Penny greatly prefers Nonny's cooking over Me-Me's!

Penny's two favorite people are her mother and her Uncle Dominic. Uncle Dominic is a bit different, but he and Penny share a love of the Dodger's. Although all her uncles love to give her gifts, Uncle Dominc's are her favorite.

Frankie, an older cousin, is Penny's best friend. He talks Penny into escapades which aren't always good ideas. This summer, one of Frankie's escapades takes a tragic turn. One that ultimately brings family secrets into the open, and changes the lives of both sides of Penny's family.

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Penny from Heaven is one of those books which grabs you from the beginning and makes you not want to put it down until you are finished. It will make you laugh, cry, gasp in horror, cringe, and rejoice. This book deals with a little known aspect of World War II in the United States. Most people know about how the Japanese-Americans were treated during that time, but not so much has been written about the treatment of Italian-Americans. Just one innocent incident, and two families lives changed forever.

I would suggest reading this book with your child - especially a 9 or 10 year old. It will certainly spark many thoughtful conversations on the effects of prejudice, the importance of family, and learning how to forgive.

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