Boys | Children's Books Heal

What Boys Do

Jon Lasser, Author

Robert Paul Jr., Illustrator

Magination Press, Fiction, Nov. 9, 2021

Suitable for ages: 4-8

Themes: Boys, Embracing individuality, Diversity, Self-esteem, Kindness, Friendships, Rhyme

Opening: “There are many ways to be a boy, and so many more ways to be you!”

Book Jacket Synopsis:

What exactly do boys do?

The answer is ANYTHING and EVERYTHING!

From eating to dreaming, making mistakes to exploring, to hurting and loving, there is more to being a boy than meets the eye.

In this fun, affirming book that holds no restraints to traditional norms about what it means to be a boy, readers will rejoice at all of the possibilities.

Why I like this book:

Jon Lasser’s inspiring book celebrates boyhood and encourages boys to embrace all the many things that make them each unique. Readers will meet boys who love to create, explore, try new things, ask questions, share feelings, team-up with others, pursue dreams and do things they’ve never tried. It’s all about letting go and being themselves.

The rhyming is exceptional, with each sequence ending in a question to readers. What a clever way to encourage discussion on every page. “Do you share a story or something to eat? / Notice your feelings when you gather and meet?” Do they listen to others? Are they kind? Can they overcome hardships. Are they okay with being different? Are they making a difference in their world? This is definitely a read aloud.

This is book speaks to boys, but Robert Paul’s illustrations are inclusive and represent all kinds of kids — even girls. His large expressive and vibrant illustrations include a diverse cast of characters representing different cultures and those who are differently abled. And look at that spectacular cover!

Resources: This book is a resource and will spark many interesting discussions at home and in the classroom. Make sure you check out the Reader’s Note at the end which includes information on how gender role stereotypes can be harmful to boys and how parents and teachers can “support healthy emotional development in boys by supporting their personhood rather than a more narrowly defined boyhood.”

Jon Laser is a school psychologist and professor at Texas State University in San Marcos. Jon is the co-author of Grow Happy, Grow Grateful, and Grow Kind. He lives in Martindale, Texas. Visit him @JonSLasser on Twitter.

Every Friday, authors and KidLit bloggers post a favorite picture book. To see a complete listing of all the Perfect Picture Books (PPB) with resources, please visit author Susanna Leonard Hill’s website.

*Review copy provided by the Magination Press in exchange for a review.

Thirteen ways of Looking at a Black Boy

Tony Medina & 13 Artists

Penny Candy Books, Poetry, Feb. 13, 2018

Pages: 40

Suitable for Ages: 6-11

Themes: Poetry, Black boys, Everyday life, Emotions, Creativity, Potential

Opening: Anacostia Angel

Fly bow tie like wings

Brown eyes of a brown angel

His Kool-Aid smile sings

Mama’s little butterfly

Daddy’s dimple grin so wide

Synopsis:

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Boy by Tony Medina offers a fresh perspective of young men of color by depicting thirteen views of everyday life: young boys dressed in their Sunday best, running to catch a bus, going to school, sitting on stoops on hot summer days, flirting with girls, participating in athletics, and growing up to be a teacher who gives back to the community who raised him. Each of Tony Medina’s tanka poems is matched with a different artist―including recent Caldecott and Coretta Scott King Award recipients.

Why I like this book:

Tony Medina has penned a stunning collection of 13 poems that celebrate the lives of black males, from birth to adulthood, who are brimming with potential. He focuses on the beauty found in the everyday lives of Black boys, who Medina considers “an endangered species.”

Medina’s has collaborated with 13 award-winning artists who show off their splendid skills through oil, watercolor, pen and ink sketches, collage, and mixed media. I wanted to name all of the artists so readers will understand the powerful art that bring each poem to life. They include Floyd Cooper, Cozbi A. Cabrera, Skip Hill, Tiffany McKnight, Robert Liu-Trujillo, Keith Mallett, Shawn K. Alexander, Kesha Bruce, Brianna McCarthy, R. Gregory Christie, Ekua Holmes, Javaka Steptoe, and Chandra Cox.

The poems are written in tanka form, a Japanese syllabic, verse form, much like haiku. It consists of 31 syllables distributed along five lines. Each poem is short, passionate and timely and introduces young people to reading and writing poetry.

This collection is a treasure for parents to read and reread to their children. There many creative ways to use this book at home and in the classroom.

Resources: There is a beautiful poetic Introduction by Medina. The backmatter includes information on the artists, and Notes that address the title, the poetic style (tanka), and the history of the Anacostia area in Washington D.C. This would be an excellent opportunity to encourage children to try write a poem using tanka or haiku. Or use the art in the book as inspiration to create their own drawing using a variety of mediums.

Tony Medina is a two-time winner of the Paterson Prize for Books for Young People (DeShawn Days and I and I, Bob Marley), is the author/editor of nineteen books for adults and young readers. A Professor of Creative Writing at Howard University, Medina has received the Langston Hughes Society Award, the first African Voices Literary Award, and has been nominated for Pushcart Prizes for his poems. Jacar Press recently published his anthology Resisting Arrest: Poems to Stretch the Sky, on police violence and brutalities perpetrated on people of color. Tu Books published Medina’s debut graphic novel I Am Alfonso Jones in 2017. He lives in Washington D.C.

Every Friday, authors and KidLit bloggers post a favorite picture book. To see a complete listing of all the Perfect Picture Books (PPB) with resources, please visit author Susanna Leonard Hill’s website.

*Reviewed from library copy.