Piece by Piece

Ernestine's Gift for

President Roosevelt

A TRUE TALE WITH

A CHERRY ON TOP

Millbrook Press

(Lerner Publishing)

(pub. 9.5.2023)

32 pages

Ages 5-9

Author: Lupe Ruiz-Flores

   Illustrator: Anna López Real

Character: Ernestine Guerrero

Overview:

" During the Great Depression, times were tough for families across the United States. In San Antonio, Texas, Ernestine Guerrero and her family relied on wooden crates of free food from the government.

The Mexican American teen was so grateful for the government food aid they received that she wanted to personally thank President Roosevelt. But how? After seeing the plans for a very difficult woodworking project, she decided she would make it herself and send it to the president. Piece by piece, that's exactly what she did. And the clock case she built remains on display in the Roosevelt Presidential Library to this day.

With stunning illustrations from Anna López Real, this picture book tells the inspiring true story of a girl who proved that if you look closely, treasure can be found in unexpected places."

Tantalizing taste:

"One day, her uncle

gave her a woodworking pattern for a clock case

called the Chimes of Normandy.

Ernestine studied it closely

and discovered the pattern required 156 pieces of wood.

Each piece had to fit together

to make the 40-inch-high clock case.

It seemed like an impossible task,

and that's how she knew it was the right way to thank the president."

And something more: Lupe Ruiz-Flores, in the Author's Note explains that "the sculpture and Ernestine's letter to the president are part of an exhibit at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in upstate New York. Unfortunately, the letter from the president thanking Ernestine for the gift was destroyed in a house fire... Ernestine never knew that she had become part of history when her two-year labor of love created from discarded wooden crates became a permanent display in the FDR museum. Her daughters have visited the dispay in New York and are extremely proud that their mother's memory is being kept alive."

To See Clearly

A Portrait of David Hockney

A TRUE TALE WITH

A CHERRY ON TOP

Abrams Books for Young Readers

(pub. 9.19.2023)

48 pages

Ages 4-8

Author and Illustrator: Evan Turk

Character: David Hockney

Overview:

"Growing up under the gray skies of England during World War II, David Hockney used art to brighten his world. He discovered that the more he looked and drew, the more he could see beneath the surface to find beauty, possibility, and new perspectives. In the most ordinary things, whether a splash of water, a changing landscape, or the face of a friend, David always found something to love, uniquely capturing the vibrancy and life of his subjects."

Tantalizing taste:

"David especially loved looking at the swimming pools. He enjoyed the way you could see the surface of the water, but also see through it to what was underneath. He felt that there was always more than one way to see something - and that the more carefully you looked, the more possibilities opened up.

He also liked the way painting made time slow down. He once spent two weeks depicting a giant splash of water that had only existed for a couple of seconds in real life!"

And something more: Evan Turk, in the Author's Note explains that "I remember walking through the David Hockney retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 2017 and feeling the enormous weight and excitement that comes with seeing an artist's life's work laid out in front of you. [I too saw such an amazing comprehensive exhibit at the DeYoung in San Francisco] ... His work is skilled, inventive, varied, and full of joy. As a gay artist myself, it was especially powerful to see his fearlessness ... But beyond that, what inspires me most about David Hockney's work is his relentless curiosity and love of life. The ability to get up every day and choose to see more beauty in the world is one of the greatest gifts an artist can give."

Friend of Numbers

The Life of Mathematician

Srinivasa Ramanujan

A TRUE TALE WITH

A CHERRY ON TOP

Eerdmans Books for Young Readers

(pub. 10.17.2023)

48 pages

Ages 5-9

Author: Priya Narayanan

and Illustrator: Satwik Gade

Character: Srinivasa Ramanujan

Overview:

" Growing up in southern India during British rule, Srinivasa Ramanujan was fascinated by numbers: they made patterns only he could see. Soon he spent as much time as he could in the world of mathematics, exploring concepts and trying to publish his ideas.

In 1914, twenty-six-year-old Ramanujan sailed to England to work with the acclaimed mathematician G.H. Hardy. Cambridge University was so different from home, but Ramanujan’s love of numbers kept him going. He had big questions to ask—and important discoveries to make!"

Tantalizing taste:

"Like an artist exploring forms and colors or a poet exploring words and images, Ramanujan threw himself into exploring numbers.

Soon he lost interest in all other subjects. Every time he opened his English or history book, numbers sneaked and slunk into the pages.

They made patterns only he could see."

And something more: Priya Narayanan on the last page of FRIEND OF NUMBERS explains that "Ramanujan passed away on April 26 1920, when he was only 32. In that short time, he not only worked with his beloved numbers to make important contributions to mathematics, he also fulfilled his childhood curiosity by calculating the length of the equator to be 40,078 km. Today, it has taken us calculators and computers to know that the length is around 40,075 km!"