BOOKS FOR KIDS

FLY HIGH!

The Story of Bessie Coleman

By Louise Borden and Mary Kay Kroeger

Illustrated by Teresa Flavin

Simon & Schuster/McElderry: 40 pp., $16

Written for an older audience than aimed for in either Lynn Joseph’s “Fly, Bessie, Fly” or Reeve Lindbergh’s “Nobody Owns the Sky!: The Story of ‘Brave Bessie’ Coleman,” this informative and insightful picture-book biography of the African American aviator merits attention. Louise Borden and Mary Kay Kroeger, co-authors of “Paperboy,” stress the adversities of Bessie Coleman’s childhood in rural Texas at the turn of the 20th century and emphasize her extraordinary perseverance. As a girl, Bessie struggles to get an education, even when she must pick cotton instead of attending school; later, at 18, Bessie enrolls in “catch-up classes” and is placed in sixth grade at a private college, but her money runs out after only one term. Undefeated in her determination to become “somebody,” Bessie moves to Chicago in 1915 and, later, learns of French women who piloted planes during WWI. From that point on, Bessie resolves to fly; when no American pilots agree to teach her, she saves money and enrolls at a school in France, becoming the first African American to earn a pilot’s license. At once breezy and grounded, the rhythmic text is arranged in short, verse-like lines, which should encourage reluctant readers to climb on board. Teresa Flavin’s pebbly gouaches are atmospheric if a bit stiff, capitalizing on Borden and Kroeger’s optimism. A flight well worth taking. (Ages 9 to 12)

*

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR. KANG

By Susan L. Roth

National Geographic Society: 32 pp., $16.95

Susan L. Roth’s sumptuous, sophisticated collages fittingly chronicle this affecting tale of a Chinese American retiree and his grandson. On his 70th birthday, Mr. Kang makes three wishes: “I want to read The New York Times every day. I want to paint poems every day. And I want a bird, a hua mei, of my own.” The hua mei, a Chinese bird, connects Mr. Kang with his grandfather, who also owned such a bird, and becomes a metaphor through which Roth explores the idea of freedom and choice. On Sundays, Mr. Kang gathers with his friends and their birds at Sara Delano Roosevelt Park in New York City, and when he brings his grandson, Sam, along one day, Sam wonders aloud if the hua mei is happy in his cage. This prompts Mr. Kang to set his beloved bird free. But when grandfather and grandson return home, the bird is waiting for them. In prose as spare as Mr. Kang’s poetry, Roth delicately explores generational and cultural issues (“We save, in old, grown heads,/ a full-blown rose in summer,/ the sound of bamboo leaves when/ the wind is gentle,/ the taste of mooncakes”). Arresting artwork conveys cityscapes and interiors formed from items as varied as photographs, silk brocade fabric and newspaper clippings: Roth overlays a festive birthday celebration atop a Chinese menu with wisps of pink tissue paper; Mr. Kang’s hua mei sports elegant cut-paper “feathers.” This poignant volume honors the value of one’s native heritage while paying homage to America’s great diversity. (Ages 4 to 8)

*

GREGORY’S SHADOW

By Don Freeman

Viking: 32 pp., $15.99

Posthumously published, this ingenuous tale by the creator of Corduroy introduces another endearing, though not likely as enduring, animal character. Gregory Groundhog always feels braver when his best pal, his shadow, accompanies him. On the day before Groundhog Day, Gregory suggests that he and Shadow go find something to eat. “Sure . . . I’m right behind you,” quips his amorphous companion, whom Gregory inadvertently leaves outdoors when he returns to his burrow. After the two are reunited, the groundhog faces another dilemma: He doesn’t want to be separated from his friend again, yet he knows that his appearance with his shadow on the following morning will make the local farmers unhappy, since this augurs six more weeks of winter. Not surprisingly, Gregory devises a simple solution to this quandary that pleases all involved. Less engaging than Don Freeman’s light yet satisfying narrative are his wispy, sketchy pictures--a number of which seem unfinished. Still, the whimsical notion of a groundhog’s all-important shadow taking on a life of its own will pique readers’ imaginations, and the antics of these two earnest buddies will bring smiles to young faces. (Ages 2 to 6)

*

ORANGES ON GOLDEN MOUNTAIN

By Elizabeth Partridge

Illustrated by Aki Sogabe

Dutton: 40 pp., $16.99

Exquisitely complemented by Aki Sogabe’s subtly colored cut-paper illustrations, this unusual tale finds a Chinese boy adjusting to a new life in 19th-century California. Faced with drought and famine, Jo Lee’s widowed mother reluctantly decides to send him to join his fisherman uncle “on Golden Mountain,” as the Chinese then called California. His mother promises Jo Lee that he will never be alone: “Your dream spirit, your Hun, will make sure of that.” She also gives him cuttings from her orange trees, which he dutifully plants and tends after his arrival. Elizabeth Partridge’s perceptive details enrich the story of Jo Lee’s sojourn as he learns to fish in the San Francisco Bay and to “dance” on the shrimp in wooden shoes until they snap out of their shells, all the while saving for his family’s eventual passage to America. Seamlessly constructed, the tale finds its match in Sogabe’s eye-catching art. Her bold, confident lines and sophisticated shades combine the vigor of woodcuts with the delicacy of watercolor. An afterword provides additional information about the Chinese immigrant experience and the concept of the dream spirit. (Ages 5 to 9)

*

THE STRAY DOG

By Marc Simont

HarperCollins: 32 pp., $15.95

In this slender but engaging volume, Caldecott Medalist Marc Simont retells and illustrates a true story told to him by a friend. Picnicking in the country, a family spies a friendly dog. The brother and sister play with him and even name him, but their parents will not let them take Willy back to their city home. “He must belong to somebody,” their mother explains, “and they would miss him.” Returning to the same spot the following weekend, they once again see Willy, this time being chased by a dog warden who deems him a stray: “He has no collar. He has no leash.” In the tale’s most endearing scene, the boy removes his belt and the girl her hair ribbon, which they identify to the warden as Willy’s collar and leash: “His name is Willy, and he belongs to us.” Simont’s art and narrative play off each other strategically, together imparting the tale’s humor and tenderness. The final scenes are simple gems of understatement and wit. “They took Willy home” accompanies a full-bleed picture of the children energetically and messily bathing the dog; “And after that . . . they introduced him to the neighborhood, where he met some very interesting dogs” captions a busy scene of a park full of pooches. A charmer. (Ages 4 to 8)

*

All reviews are provided to Book Review by Publishers Weekly, where they first appeared. Copyright 2001, Publishers Weekly.