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This month, Susan Thomsen, of Chicken Spaghetti,
considers two books by the prolific author J. Patrick Lewis.
The Snowflake Sisters
Two snowflakes ("One was large and one was small, / One wore fleece and one wore lace") embark on big adventures in
The Snowflake Sisters, a rhyming picture book by J. Patrick Lewis. Blown by "a mighty night wind," they accompany
Santa on his toy deliveries, watch the ball drop at Times Square, almost get squished on 42nd Street, and finally land in
Central Park.
"Along the sidewalk drifts and peaks,
They had a ball for weeks and weeks!"
Lewis tells a companionable story, well-suited for a preschool read-aloud and for first- and second-grade independent
readers, although the Christmas references may limit the book's audience somewhat. I enjoyed the cleverness of the poet's
concept—the passage of winter as related by two observant ice crystals—and especially admired Lisa Desimini's
paper-collage illustrations. They're a joy: she uses a wide variety of colors and textures, fragments of subway maps and
New York Times headlines, and clips from the New York Post and New York magazine. Creative and
inspiring, her pictures may prompt young artists to scissor up the local newspaper and make some wintry scenes themselves.
The sisters stay around until "the splendor-ender, Spring," but winter makes a promise that it will bring them back again
next year. While many of us are still in the throes of the icy season, The Snowflake Sisters makes good
reading—inside, by the fire.
Blackbeard: The Pirate King
Poetry and pirate biography? Why not! J. Patrick Lewis tells a famous pirate's story in a series of twelve poems in
Blackbeard: The Pirate King. Subtitled "Several Yarns Detailing the Legends, Myths, and Real-Life Adventures of
History's Most Notorious Seaman," this picture book, a pirate fan's delight, features a treasure chest of swashbuckling
art, to boot. Each poem is illustrated by full- and double-page spreads, ranging from N.C. Wyeth's "Duel on the Beach" to
18th-century reprints to 21st-century interpretations. In Howard Pyle's 1905 "Attack on a Galleon," the bigger ship glows
golden as a rattle-trap pirate vessel sneaks up behind it. There's art history for the adult reading aloud and wild
drama for the children.
Because of the richness of its vocabulary, Blackbeard skews toward an older crowd of children aged seven and up, but verses
such as the following really capture a kid's imagination. It's from the poem "At Teach's Hole." (Blackbeard's real name was
Edward Teach.)
"The ghostly headless figure
Of Blackbeard, it is said,
Still swims under the moonlight
Looking for its severed head."
A helpful bibliography, author's note, and time line for Blackbeard's life give readers of these "tales of derring-do" even
more resources for sailing along on a pirate theme. Highly recommended.
Books Reviewed:
Blackbeard: The Pirate King. National Geographic Children's Books, 2006. ISBN: 0-7922-5585-2.
The Snowflake Sisters, illustrated by Lisa Desimini. Atheneum/Anne Schwartz Books, 2003.
ISBN: 0-6898-5029-5.
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