Tuesday, October 11, 2016

ABC, Adoption and Me-A Book Review


"Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother"-Oprah Winfrey


          As a teacher and a book blogger for children, I am always looking for books and other resources that can reach children, especially children from different cultural backgrounds. We must take into consideration that families can differ. The authors of ABC Adoption and Me, establish a clear depiction of different types of families through the subject of adoption wonderfully. I believe that more books should be written that discuss sensitive topics. 

        The topic of adoption can bring a lot of unanswered questions, I really do believe books like these can help. I like how ABC, Adoption and Me, has a section in the beginning that outlines how to use the book in different areas when discussing adoption. On the following page, the authors talk about Adoption-attunement Quotient (AQ). The quotient shows how adoption influences a child. The two pages can help the adoptee, the adoptive parent(s), and the birth parent(s). These pages can also help teachers, counselors, and individuals who work in Family Services on educating others about how adoption works.

        Currently, I have a child in my Pre-K Program who is in the process of being adopted and I would love to read this book to him or recommend this book to his adoptive parents. ABC, Adoption and Me, expresses the topic of adoption so well through colorful illustrations. I like how they use the alphabet to explain words that correlate with adoption. My favorite part in the book is the letter “T”. The letter “T” discusses about trust and truth when it comes to adoption and I believe those two words are so important when dealing with family. I will recommend this book to people who work directly with young children and teenagers.

*A copy of this book was given to me by the author.  Opinions in this review are my own.

Saturday, October 1, 2016

Illustrator/Author Spotlight-Kadir Nelson

 
"I feel that art’s highest function is that of a mirror, reflecting the innermost beauty and divinity of the human spirit; and is most effective when it calls the viewer to remember one’s highest self. I choose subject matter that has emotional and spiritual resonance and focuses on the journey of the hero as it relates to the personal and collective stories of people."-Kadir Nelson

 Kadir Nelson became my favorite illustrator when I saw a cover he created for The New Yorker. My first thought was that nobody could make such a inspiring and realistic drawing for a magazine, but I was wrong. I felt like I was seeing colors in slow motion that came together all by themselves. So I did some research on this wonderful artist, because I wanted to know more about him.

Nelson was born in 1974 and started his love for drawing and painting at the age of three. He also was an apprentice to his uncle, who was an artist and also an art instructor. Nelson's work can be found in art galleries, museums, and also in the private collection of famous people. He has created artwork for esteemed clients and artwork for music albums.  He created the album cover for Drake's, "Nothing was the Same" and Micheal Jackson's album entitled "Micheal".

Now we get to my favorite part, Nelson is also an author and illustrator of several children books. He has worked with Spike Lee and his wife, Debbie Allen, and many more with creating children's literature . Nelson started his career in children books when he was asked to illustrate a book by Jerdine Nolen. I am fortunate to have some of his books within my book collection. I really enjoy the collaborations he does with authors and others to make these books come alive. Please enjoy his beautiful books below! I know you will enjoy just looking at the book covers! For more books and artwork please checkout Kadir Nelson's website http://www.kadirnelson.com.


Awards
2009 Sibert Medal for We Are the Ship
Coretta Scott King Award for Ellington Was Not a Street, written by Ntozake Shange
NAACP Image Award for Just the Two of Us,
2008 Caldecott Honor for Henry's Freedom Box, written by Ellen Levine
New York Society of Illustrator Award Big Jabe
NYT Best-Selling picture books including, “WE ARE THE SHIP: The Story of Negro League Baseball” and “Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans