Picture Books

We discovered this little gem years ago, after falling in love with two of the authors' other books: The Good Master and The Singing Tree. I was thrilled to recently discover that Bethlehem Books is bringing it back into print.

The story begins in a small village near Prague. In this village, young girls are expected to leave home and work as servants in the big city during their early teen years; returning home at the age of sixteen, with experience in all manner of household service and ready to start their own families.

Philomena is an orphaned young girl raised by her "Babushka" with the thoughtful wisdom and advice of the beloved parish priest of the village. She travels to Prague to seek employment in her aunt's household with complete confidence in her Babushka's guidance from Heaven - which comes through in surprising and often humorous ways (that generally require a LOT of patience). Her adventures and the journey to find her missing aunt make for a lovely and entertaining story for all ages.

The writing is deeply engaging, and is greatly enhanced by the author's vibrant, spirited illustrations.

You can preview the first chapter of this book online in the Bethlehem Books' Reading Room.

This delightful little story is the first of two Texas 'small tales'. Sweetness, the tiniest orphan, is aptly named which is one reason why the good-hearted but somewhat clueless sheriff can't resist her. The story is told in Texas twang entirely from the sheriff's point of view, but the clever illustrations provide a broader picture and add to the fun. There are elements of adventure, danger, cruelty, humor, justice, and goodness, all culminating in generous, fatherly love. What more could you want?

We've always been big fans of the Provensens. Martin and Alice Provensen authored and illustrated so many of our early childhood favorites including The Year at Maple Hill Farm, Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm, and A Book of Seasons. The two also illustrated The Color Kittens by Margaret Wise Brown as well as the original Fuzzy Duckling. Their folksy artistic style is rich in character and their humor and insight appeals as much to parents as to children.

I had always known about the Provensen's picture books for older children, but hadn't started reading them until now. It seems my oldest son is the perfect age (9) for beginning an appreciation of The Buck Stops Here, and he's taken to it like a duck to water.

This book defies categorization in more ways than one. It is not for the very young, as many references are lost on children. It is not for the older crowd because of the simplicity of style and whimsy of rhymes. It isn't a History book in the sense that there is not much text or explanation of historical references. And if it is an art book, the subject is strange and the style plain.

So what is it exactly? It is all of these things together and none of them alone. The Buck Stops Here is a collection of artistic renditions and catchy rhymes for young and old about the first 41 presidents of the United States. The large, square watercolor portrait of each president is decorated with the ideas, events, and dilemmas that shaped each presidency, and thus the history of these fifty United States. Rhymes such as, "Reagan, Forty, reached his goal, Acting out his favorite role," and "Thomas Jefferson, Number three, Rigged the sale of the century" have a way of staying with a person. I have since read reviews online of this book and have not been surprised to read about grown men remembering the order of the presidents and key points of American history by turning the pages of this book over in their imaginations.

We've only just begun to enjoy this work, but I see it is has become a fast favorite as I just heard my son repeating, "Teddy Roosevelt, Twenty-six, Whisper softly, wave big sticks."

This newest edition presents some colorfully illustrated tales of a more religious nature. Passages from the Bible include "the Story of Daniel and the Lion's Den", "the Healing of a Paralytic", "the Call of Samuel", "the Little Lost Lamb", the 23rd Psalm, and "Miriam and the Floating Basket." Other stories involve St. Christopher. St. Martin of Tours and St. Augustine's famous "Walk by the Sea" where a little boy (believed to be Jesus or an Angel) had a conversation with him about the mysteries of God. Classic tales by Leo Tolstoy and Oscar Wilde, beautiful poems and hymns, and the stories of Amazing Grace and of the historical event which was the origin of the celebration of Hannukah are also included. There are thirty-three stories in all.