Hand Over Hand by Alma Fullerton

Hand Over Hand

Alma Fullerton, Author

Renné Benoit, Illustrator

Second Story Press, Fiction, Mar. 14, 2017

Suitable for Ages: 4-8

Themes: Fishing, Gender roles, Courage, Empowerment, Intergenerational, Multicultural

Opening: On the shores of a Filipino fishing village an old banca boat rocks as waves lick its keel. WHOOSH, WHOOSH, WHOOSH.

Synopsis: Nina wants to convince her grandfather – lolo –  to take her fishing with him on his old banca boat. Lolo’s answer is always the same: “A boat is not the place for a girl. Your job is on shore.”  Nina doesn’t want to dry fish with the women and is determined to show her grandfather that a girl can go fishing and do everything a boy can do. When she promises lolo that she will bait her own hook and remove her own fish, her grandfather says “Okay, we will try it. Just for today.”  The other fisherman scoff.  While lolo’s buckets fill with fish, Nina waits for a single tug. Will she prove to her village that a girl can fish?

Why I like this book:

Alma Fullerton has written a charming story about a Filipino girl with big ambitions and a lot of courage. It is also an empowering story for children to see Nina believe in herself. She wants to prove to her grandfather and her village that a girl can do what ever she wants. She’s smart and doesn’t give up, especially when she’s not getting any nibbles.

This a beautiful intergenerational story that celebrates the relationship between  a grandfather and his granddaughter who spend the day fishing together. Lolo is very patient with Nina and offers her helpful advice. And Nina makes lolo proud when she reels in the biggest catch of the day and proves that she can do anything.

The text is lyrical and has a rhythm to it like the rocking of a boat. Nina observes lolo’s fluid and swift movements “hand over hand ” and “fish after fish.” Children will enjoy the repeating this refrain with Nina throughout the story. Renné Benoit’s illustrations are soft and soothing watercolors that contribute to the mood of the story and show the joy of Nina’s journey .

Resources: This is a perfect classroom discussion book for all young children. Use Hand Over Hand to start a conversation about how girls and boys see each other. Can girls put worms on hooks, become scientists, or drive a truck? Can boys tap dance, babysit, or become a nurse?  The story takes place in another country. Do they think there may be more gender stereotypes for children living in another country like the Philippines?

Alma Fullerton is the award-winning author of the picture books A Good Trade, Community Soup and In a Cloud of Dust, When the Rain Comes. Visit Fullerton at her website.

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 Perfect Picture Books.

Belle, the Last Mule at Gee’s Bend – Perfect Picture Book

Belle, the Last Mule at Gee’s Bend

Calvin Alexander Ramsey and Bettye Stroud, Authors

John Holyfield, Illustrator

Candlewick Press, September 2011,  Historical Fiction

Suitable for: Children 5-8 years

Themes:  Animals in history, Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Opening/Synopsis: Alex sat on bench outside the store.  He wanted to go and play, but his mother had told him to wait for her.  There was nothing to do on the porch but watch an old mule eating in the garden across the street.  There was no breeze.  It was so still that Alex could hear the mule munching on a row of bright collard greens.  An old woman, Miz Pettaway, sat down on the bench next to Alex and chuckled, “Ol’ Belle?  She can have all the collards she wants.  She’s earned it.”  Alex learns from Miz Pettaway that Belle has played a very important role in the history of the civil rights movement.

This is a true story about an amazing mule, from a poor community of Gee’s Bend, Alabama.  Few could afford a car, so the community of farmers depended on the mules to help them work the land.  In 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. visited Gee’s Bend and inspired the African-American community to register to vote.   Miz Pettaway, said “they felt strong after Dr. King spoke.”  So many of the local “Benders” traveled to Camden to vote that the sheriff shut down the ferry.  But, stubborn and determined,  the Benders  boarded wagons pulled by mules and defied the local authorities.   When Dr. King died, Gee’s Bend received a call asking if their mules would pull Dr. King’s coffin through the streets of Atlanta during the funeral.  Belle and another mule Ada, did the honors that day.  Alex sees the mule through new eyes — a hero.

Why I liked this Book:  I applaud the authors, Ramsey and Stroud, for their very fresh approach to telling the story of Dr. King and the civil rights movement.  Holyfield’s bold and colorful acrylic illustrations evoke the determination and the drama of that time in history.  The book is an intergenerational book and should be in every classroom for this year’s Martin Luther King celebrations.  It won a Parent’s Choice Award in 2011.  There is an author’s note at the end of the book about this true story of the mules who pulled the funeral wagon from Ebenezer Baptist Church to Morehouse College in 1968.  Belle and Ada were an important part of history.  And Miz Pettaway did exist, a I found an interview with her.  She was among the famous Gee’s Bend quilters.  Links to resources:  Education World and Teacher Vision.

For more books with resources, please visit author Susanna Leonard Hill’s Perfect Picture Books.  Or click on the Perfect Picture Book Fridays  badge in the right sidebar.