Books to lend a helping hand
Children trust the messages imparted in books. These new gems offer gentle advice and reassurance for today’s occasionally confusing times. They also help open eyes to tolerance, kindness and hope.
“Marwan’s Journey” by Patricia de Arias; illustrated by Laura Borras; minedition; 32 pages; $17.99.
A young boy named Marwan walks across the desert and remembers his mother’s advice: “keep going, walk, and walk, and walk.” So he keeps going, with thousands of others, and with his mended clothes, notebook, pencil and photograph of his mommy. As he walks on, Marwan remembers a garden, a cat and his parents, before the night “they came ... and swallowed up everything: my house, my garden, my homeland.” For now, he keeps going, to “another country, another house, another language,” but vows to someday return to his hometown and plant a garden full of flowers and hope.
Young readers will understand that refugee children have the same hopes and dreams they do — of rays of sunlight and walls painted with happiness. Beautiful and heartfelt, Patricia de Arias’ thoughtful words have an air of faith and determination, while Laura Borras’ desert watercolors are gentle and kind. “Marwan’s Journey” is an important one, and should help young children summon empathy and understanding for those less fortunate.
“Rescue & Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship” by Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes; illustrated by Scott Magoon; Candlewick Press; 32 pages; $16.99.
Rescue the pup is sad and afraid he’ll let others down when he realizes he’s not cut out to be a guide dog. On the other side of town, a girl named Jessica loses part of her leg and becomes an amputee, and she doesn’t want to let anyone down by not being able to walk. Rescue works hard to learn to be a service dog, while Jessica struggles with the changes of trying to walk with crutches. But when the girl meets another person’s rescue dog, she begins to see hope, applies for her own dog and meets Rescue, and the two become best friends.
Realistic illustrations from Scott Magoon showcase the love between the girl and dog, the setbacks they tackle and the accomplishments they share. The pair learns to play Frisbee in the park, swim together and, most of all, snuggle and appreciate each other.
Penned clearly and in a matter-of-fact, uplifting manner, “Rescue & Jessica” is based on the real story of a girl injured in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and her black lab, named after a downed firefighter. An author’s note at the back explains more, including information on the service dog organization NEADS.
“Snowboy and the Last Tree Standing” by Hiawyn Oram; illustrated by Birgitta Sif; Candlewick Press; 32 pages; 16.99.
Greedy Greenbackboy explains a game to Snowboy: If they cut down all the trees in the forest and snatch up all the fish in the seas, they’ll construct items and sell things and make the all mighty “Ka-Ching.” Snowboy, a wee blond lad with a pointed hat, knows “we can’t breathe without trees,” and that fish without a sea is a dead fish, so he quickly saves one tree and two fish. He leaves Greenbackboy with his chest of “Ka-Ching” and journeys with his Ice Troopers (two pigs) and the Polar Bear King to nurse the tree back to life and check on the fish, who soon have little fish of their own.
Wouldn’t you know, the greedy, now starving boy comes back, having realized he can’t eat the money, and Snowboy feeds him with honey from a hive of bees in the tree. Soon, Snowboy naps upon his polar bear pal knowing he’s saved the world from the fantasy of “Ka-Ching” — “for now at least.”
A whimsical but powerful tale of hope, Hiawyn Oram’s latest picture book reaffirms that in the face of devastation, one person’s actions can turn the tide — a message everyone needs. Birgitta Sif ’s glowing illustrations have the feel of a classic storybook, beaming with determination and love.