Southwest Books of the Year
Southwest Books of the Year 2004 - Children's Books
Selections by Deborah Bock, Pima County Public Library reference librarian, and curator of the Elizabeth Steinheimer Collection of Southwest Books for Children and the Arizona Collection.
Ancient Dwellings of the Southwest
by Derek Gallagher, illustrated by Sally Blakemore, pop-up design and production by Arty Projects Studio, Ltd., paper engineering by Eileen Banashek, Sally Blakemore and Anthony Esparsen. Western National Parks Association. 10 pp. $16.95. 5-10 years.
The marvels of pop-up books delight all ages - and this one is no exception. Four of the best-known ruins in the Southwest (Chaco, Casa Grande, Bandelier, Mesa Verde) and the contemporary Taos Pueblo come to life in wondrous 3-D detail and text. Open gently and find the tabs for the moving parts - and be sure to turn the open pages around! You'll observe customs and daily routines in these cleverly designed abodes.
Armadilly Chili
by Helen Ketteman, illustrated by Will Terry. Albert Whitman & Co. 32 pp. $16.95. 5-8 years.
An industrious armadillo is rebuffed by her desert friends (a tarantula, bluebird, and horned toad) as she asks for help in gathering ingredients for her tasty chili. When they are later aroused by its smell, she retorts, "no workin' with Billie, no sharin' the chili!" This new version of "The Little Red Hen" folktale acknowledges a missing ingredient - and a lesson is learned. Vibrant colors and clever costumes capture a southwestern landscape and culture.
Bedtime in the Southwest
by Mona Hodgson, illustrated by Renée Graef. Rising Moon (risingmoonbooks.com). 32 pp. $14.95. 2-5 years.
What happens when Mama or Papa says it's time for bed? Hodgson and Graef depict rambunctious and evasive antics as possibilities that cleverly match the young critters' habits. But in the end, the charm of the winsome characters, the warmth of the softly pencil-colored scenes, and the lilting rhyme of the tale gently guide the listener toward cooperative bedtime behavior.
Climbing the Rainbow
by Joy N. Hulme. HarperCollins. 210 pp. $15.99. 8-12 years.
Quilt blocks created by 10-year-old Dora commemorate the hardships, sorrows, and joys of homesteading in New Mexico in the early 1900s. Hulme has fictionalized a friend's childhood memories, including grim realities such as the death and funeral of a child's closest friend, with heartfelt wisdom, grace, and honesty.
Ghost Fever/Mal de Fantasma
by Joe Hayes. Cinco Puntos Press. 89 pp. $14.95. 9-12 years.
Masterful bilingual storyteller Joe Hayes can make you believe in ghosts! A 14-year-old girl dies suddenly while plans for her quinceañera are being made. Years later the house where she lived appears haunted. This fictional tale rings so true that you think it's from Hayes' own memories of growing up in a small Arizona town. His vivid descriptions of the scenes and thoughtful portrayal of the characters' hardships and dreams can be read in English and Spanish.
Look Who Lives in the Desert
by Brooke Bessesen. Arizona Highways Books. 48 pp. $16.95 hardcover, $9.95 softcover. 3-9 years.
Drawing on her background as a wildlife expert, journalist, and veterinary technician, Bessesen has designed a captivating introduction to 21 desert animals for the young reader. Sly, humorous touches in the patchwork- style illustrations, coupled with "fascinating facts" in sidebars, create revealing looks into the creatures' habitats and traits.
Other children's books published this year:
Angel on Daniel's Shoulder
by Joseph J. Ruiz, translated into Spanish by Maria Christina Lopez, illustrated by Kris Hotvedt. Sunstone Press (www.sunstonepress.com) 106 pp. $12.95. 4-8 years.
From his birth in New Mexico during the Depression, through growing up in Los Angeles during the war years, to his family's return to New Mexico, Daniel was a delightful son with an uncanny ability to direct his parents toward fortuitous situations. Did he have an invisible friend to guide him? This moralizing little tale is presented in English and Spanish.
Baby Coyote Counts; Baby Gecko's Colors; Baby Snake's Shapes
by Neecy Twinem. Rising Moon (www.risingmoonbooks.com). 12 pp. each. $5.95 each. 0-4 years.
These three separate board books introduce little ones to concepts with clever alliteration and charming desert animals in colorfully depicted terrain. All are available in bilingual (Spanish/English) versions as well.
Bentley and the Great Fire
by Nick Pintozzi, illustrated by Guillermo Munro with Connie and Nick Pintozzi. BentDaiSha, LLC: 11020 E. Indigo Place, Tucson, AZ 85748. $16.95. 10 years and up.
Serialized in 15 chapters in the Arizona Daily Star, Oct. 10-24, 2004, the unabridged version is available as a book. Bentley, a clever, companionable Chihuahua dog, saves his friends from an arsonist's fire at an assisted living home in Tucson. Perseverance, compassion, and forgiveness comprise the morals of this tale. Learn more about Bentley at http://www.bentleythedog.com.
Creepy Critters of the Southwest
by David George Gordon. Western National Parks Association. 15 pp. $3.95. 6-10 years.
This inexpensive booklet couples "creepy" facts with color photos of 13 fascinating animals. The introduction encourages appreciation, not fear, of such critters.
Diablo, The Devil Steer
by William Buchanan. University of New Mexico Press (www.unmpress.com). 141 pp. $14.95. 12 years and up.
Two New Mexican teenage boys - one Anglo, one Pueblo Indian - become close friends while overcoming danger, fear, and disappointment as they try to outwit a renegade bull. This exciting, coming-of-age tale provides glimpses into modern day ranch life. Originally published in 1992 as One Last Time.
Do You See What I See? A Southwest Nature Walk You Read
by Abby Mogollon, illustrations by Paul M Mirocha and Rhod Lauffer. Western National Parks Association. $6.95. 26 pp. 0-4 years.
Although not as engaging as a concept book of numbers, shapes, or letters, the bright colors, realistic illustrations and word repetition blend simply in this board book of animal observation.
Firebug
by Marianne Mitchell. Boyds Mills Press. 164 pp. $16.95. 9-12 years.
Teenager Haley finds enough enticing clues to make just about every guest a suspect at her uncle's guest ranch near Sedona. Baffling mishaps—an arson-suspected cabin fire, runaway horses, a virus-infected computer— as well as lore of a hidden treasure surface in this absorbing mystery.
The Ghost of the Grand Canyon
by Carole Marsh. Gallopade International/Carole Marsh Books.145 pp. $5.95. 9-11 years.
"Four friends visit a U.S. Park Ranger friend and her two children. They all get involved in a "grand" mystery that includes one wild river, two runaway rafts, and six slithering snakes in the Grand Canyon." (Book not seen prior to this publication's deadline. This summary is from library catalog record.)
Good Rainbow Road /Rawa ‘Kashtyaa'tsi Hayaani: A Native American Tale in Keres and English Followed by a Translation into Spanish
by Simon J. Ortiz, illustrated by Michael Lacapa, with Spanish translation by Victor Montejo. University of Arizona Press (www.uapress.arizona.edu). 60 pp. $16.95. 9-12 years.
Award-winning author and poet Ortiz crafts his own tale that relies on elements of traditional storytelling. In recounting the difficult journey two brothers are chosen to undertake to benefit their starving, drought-stricken community, he conveys the importance of cooperation, courage, and reverence for sacred ways. Lacapa's bold, graphic style graces the story.
Into Wild Arizona (The Jeff Corwin Experience)
edited by Elaine Pascoe. Blackbirch Press. 48 pp. $9.95. 9-12 years.
Jeff's Corwin's enthusiasm is brimming as he explores Arizona's terrain and gets up really close with desert animals such as snakes, bats, and horny toads. Since the book is based on an episode of his popular Animal Planet TV program, some of the photo illustrations appear a bit small and grainy.
Jess and the Stinky Cowboys
by Janice Lee Smith, illustrated by Lisa Thiesing. (Dial Easy-to-Read Series.) Dial Books for Young Readers. 48 pp. $14.99. 6-8 years.
When odiferous cowboys arrive in town, Deputy Jess and her Aunt Gussy along with the town folk try to enforce the "No-Stink Law" and get rid of the smelly brown cloud. But each time they are met with the cowpokes' refrain, "No baths today! No baths tomorrow! No baths ever!" until Jess saves the day. Dogs in western garb pose as the whimsical characters in this mostly easy-to-read, humorous tale.
The Lost Kachina
by Heather Irbinskas, illustratedby Robert Albert, colorized by Brian Anthis. Kiva Publishing. 32 pp. $15.95. 5-10 years.
A kachina - not just a doll, but the embodiment of a spirit - sits on a school teacher's shelf unable to be understood by children, until a Hopi teacher reveals its meaning and message. Hopi kachina carver and artist Albert brings a unique perspective to this gentle story.
Manuel and the Magic Ring
by Joseph J. Ruiz, translated into Spanish by Maria Christina Lopez, illustrated by Kris Hotvedt. Sunstone Press (www.sunstonepress.com) 107 pp. $12.95. 4-8 years.
For 400 years the Armijo family has been admired in the village of Velarde, New Mexico for their abundant harvests. Now it is young Manuel Armijo's turn to learn about his long line of ancestors who handed down to each generation the family's magical secret for their success. The bilingual text is marred by excessive white space.
North with De Anza: A Historical Novel
by Dorothy Ward Erskine, illustrated by Hubert Buel. University of New Mexico Press (www.unmpress.com). 207 pp. $15.95. 12 years and up.
As Don Juan Bautista De Anza made his second arduous journey from the Mexican presidio of Tubac to California to establish and colonize San Francisco for Spain in 1775-76, 30 families, including115 children, accompanied him. The perilous trek comes to life through the eyes of 12-year-old Pedro. Originally published in 1958 as Big Ride.
Serafina's Stories
by Rudolfo Anaya. University of New Mexico Press (www.unmpress.com). 202pp. $22.95. 10 years and up.
At first, the story told between the "cuentos" seems only to be a literary device to string together the 12 traditional European-influenced folk tales. But as Serafina, a young captive Pueblo Indian woman, relates a tale each night to the colonial New Mexico Governor to win her and other prisoners' freedom, a historical novel unfolds presaging the 1680 Pueblo Revolt.
Tales from Gizzard's Grill
by Jeanne Steig, illustrations by Sandy Turner. Joanna Cotler Books. 72 pp. $16.99. 8 years and up.
Three tall, somewhat silly, tales featuring the warm-hearted, no-nonsense woman sheriff of Fiasco, are cleverly rhymed. But the vocabulary and wit of the verse and the droll, homely, long-faced caricatures depicted in pencil and light wash drawings may be more appealing to adults than children.
The Treasure of Ghostwood Gully: A Southwest Mystery
by Marcia Vaughan, illustrated by Will Terry. Rising Moon (www.risingmoonbooks.com). 32 pp. $15.95. 6-8 years.
Deep colors from eerie moon glow and stylized "bug-eyed" critters add to the spooky feel of a desert night, as a coyote entices his animals friends into a treasure hunt. Just when trickster coyote enjoys a laugh on his buddies, he's tricked as well.
Zinnia: How the Corn Was Saved
by Patricia Hruby Powell, illustrated by Kendrick Benally, translated by Peter A. Thomas. Salina Bookshelf (www.salinabookshelf.com). 32 pp. $17.95. 4-8 years.
Folklore that explains why Navajos plant zinnias among their cornstalks serves as the inspiration for this bilingual (Navajo-English) tale. When the people's crops continually fail, 12-year-old Red Bird is sent to seek Spider Woman's help. On his journey, which is depicted in brilliant colors over imaginative terrain, yellow birds, a lizard, a gila monster, and a rattlesnake send him in the four directions and leave yellow flowers in their places. Spider Woman reveals how to use these flowers.