The Story of Robert McCloskey, Nancy Schön,
and Some Very Famous Ducklings
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Random House Studio
(pub.4.11.2023) 48 pages
Author: Angela Burke Kunkel
Illustrator: Claire Keane
Characters: Robert McCloskey & Nancy Schön
Overview:
" In the beginning, there was a boy named Robert McCloskey, growing up in Ohio, his hands always moving, always creating. Many years later, after attending art school in Boston, he would reflect on his days wandering through Boston Garden and write the classic picture book Make Way for Ducklings.
In the beginning, there was also a girl named Nancy Schön. She grew up in Newton, Massachusetts, working in her father's greenhouse, twisting wire and boughs into wreaths. Many years later, Nancy would look at Robert's drawings in Make Way for Ducklings and get the seed of an idea. That seed became the beloved bronze sculptures of Mrs. Mallard and her eight ducklings that stand in Boston Garden today.
Tantalizing taste:
" Bob works until he has it just right. And finally, in sepia tones, what he captures most of all is a feeling - of looking for safety, a family, and of coming home, all wrapped up in a book."
...
"Still, even into high school, what Nancy can't outrun is the question in the back of her mind – where does she belong? She feels like a seed in the dirt, dormant and waiting to sprout. The only place she thrives is art class, her hands in the clay."
And something more: Angela Burke Kunkel, in the Author's Note explains that "The bronze figures [of the ducklings] were installed in the Boston Public Garden on a rainy October day in 1987, perfect weather for ducks. Schön's work on the project cemented a friendship with McCloskey that lasted until his death in 2003. With his blessing, Schön went on to sculpt characters from his other books, including the boy and dog from Lentil and the bear from Blueberries for Sal."
MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Candlewick Press
(pub.4.11.2023) 40 pages
Author: Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrator: Frank Morrison
Character: MacNolia Cox
Overview:
"In 1936, eighth grader MacNolia Cox became the first African American to win the Akron, Ohio, spelling bee. And with that win, she was asked to compete at the prestigious National Spelling Bee in Washington, DC, where she and a girl from New Jersey were the first African Americans invited since its founding.
She left her home state a celebrity—right up there with Ohio’s own Joe Louis and Jesse Owens—with a military band and a crowd of thousands to see her off at the station.
But celebration turned to chill when the train crossed the state line into Maryland, where segregation was the law of the land. Prejudice and discrimination ruled—on the train, in the hotel, and, sadly, at the spelling bee itself."
Tantalizing taste:
" The judges, mostly from the segregated South,
couldn't seem to stump her.
Then they threw a curveball,
a word that MacNolia hadn't studied -
nemesis.
N-E-M-A-S-I-S, she answered.
MacNolia's teacher and the newspaper reporter
protested. They argued that the word nemesis
was not on the official list. Furthermore,
in MacNolia's dictionary, the word was a proper noun-
referring to a Greek goddess - and thus not acceptable.
The judges stood by their decision.
Can you spell unfair?
U-N-F-A-I-R"
And something more: The Epilogue states: "MacNolia Cox was smart enough to excel at any career. However, she could not afford to attend college and wound up working as a maid for a doctor. She died in 1976 at age fifty-three ... In 2021, fourteen-year-old Zaila Avant-garde became the first African American to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee ... That same year the US Senate passed a resolution honoring MacNolia Cox's life, legacy, and achievements."
Blazes a Trial to Congress
The Story of Jeannette Rankin
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Calkins Creek
(Astra Books)
(pub.2.7.2023) 40 pages
ages 7-10
Author: Gretchen Woelfle
Illustrator: Rebecca Gibbon
Character: Jeannette Rankin
Overview:
" Jeannette Rankin was always a take-charge girl. Whether taking care of horses or her little brothers and sisters—Jeannette knew what to do and got the job done. That’s why, when she saw poor children living in bad conditions in San Francisco, she knew she had to take charge and change things.
But in the early twentieth century, women like Jeannette couldn’t vote to change the laws that failed to protect children. Jeannette became an activist and led the charge, campaigning for women’s right to vote. And when her home state, Montana, gave women that right, Jeannette ran for Congress and became America’s first congressWOMAN!"
Tantalizing taste:
" When she finally spoke, she lambasted congressmen who had voted to spend $300,000 to study food for hogs, and only $30,000 to study the needs of children.
She said, 'if the hogs of the nation are ten times more important than the children, it is high time that women should make their influence felt.'"
And something more: In the Acknowledgments, author Gretchen Woelfle writes "...My esteemed writers' group - Alexis O'Neill, Caroline Arnold, Ann Stampler, and Sherrill Kushner - having read multiple drafts of this book, know (and love) Jeannette nearly as well as I do ... [and] I've been a fan of Rebecca Gibbon's art for many years now, and am honored to share Jeannette's story with her."
