Geisel Goes Global: International Beginning Readers

Photo courtesy of Ann Schwab

Ann Schwab is a Senior Librarian with Denver Public Library where she manages the Central Children’s Library. She currently leads the library’s Grade Level Reading project team and is excited to explore new ways to support children in K – 3rd grade (and the adults in their lives!) as they learn to read. 

Sometimes I page through a new book and say to myself, “This looks pretty good.” I read it with award criteria in mind and think, “Actually, this is really good.” My excitement builds, “This could be a contender!” I flip to the author and illustrator bios and there’s that familiar sinking feeling. It’s a no go. Ineligible. The author or illustrator (or both!) live in another country and the award is “restricted to author(s) and illustrator(s) who are citizens or residents of the United States”. Or I discover the book has been translated and “books originally published in other countries are not eligible.” While not eligible for the Geisel, many are excellent examples of other aspects of the criteria and contribute to “the body of children’s literature that encourages and supports the beginning reader".

It’s time to celebrate these books and not let them get lost in the flurry of end-of-year mock excitement! Here are seven titles with an international connection published in the US in 2019. I’ve included publisher, translator and author/illustrator country of residence to the best of my knowledge. Be sure to share your favorite Geisel-worthy international titles from this year in the comments!

Cover of Jump! by Tatsuhide Matsuoka

Cover of Poppy & Sam and the
Mole Mystery by Cathon

Cover of The Clothesline by Orbie

Jump! by Tatsuhide Matsuoka, illustrated by the author (published by Gecko, translated from the Japanese by Cathy Hirano, author lives in Japan)
A board book masquerading as a beginning reader? A beginning reader masquerading as a board book? In the end it doesn’t matter because this gem is full of engaging illustrations, action, and humor. The vertical design may be a challenge for some, but the simple sentences and repeating text help make this an accessible book for new readers.

Poppy & Sam and the Mole Mystery by Cathon, illustrated by the author (published by Owlkids, translated from the French by Susan Ouriou, author lives in Canada)
Young Poppy and her panda pal Sam are back for more detective teamwork in this follow-up to 2018’s Poppy & Sam and The Leaf Thief. This tale of friendship and discovery contains short sentences in speech bubbles with ample white space around the text making this a satisfying graphic novel/picture book hybrid for new readers.

The Clothesline by Orbie, illustrated by the author (published by Owlkids, translated from the French by Karen Li, author lives in Canada)
Reggie has a ritual when he races down the stairs. He likes to yank the clothesline knot and hear the satisfying sound it makes when he releases it. One day he slips in the midst of this ritual yank and finds himself whizzing down the clothesline only to get stuck dangling above the backyard. With straightforward text and watercolor illustrations full of drama and suspense, the plot clearly “advances from one page to the next and creates a ‘page-turning’ dynamic”.

Cover of Hats Are Not for Cats!
by Jacqueline K. Rayner

Cover of Tip and Tucker:
Road Trip by Ann Ingalls
and Sue Lowell Gallion,
illustrated by André Ceolin 

Cover of Soccerverse: Poems
About Soccer by Elizabeth
Steinglass, illustrated by Edson Ikê

Hats Are Not for Cats! by Jacqueline K. Rayner, illustrated by the author (published by Clarion, author lives in the UK) “Hats are not for cats!” decries a pompous canine in this humorous tale while a fun loving, friendly feline sets out to prove otherwise. Simple, rhyming text with lots of repetition, along with expressive illustrations, make this picture book also work well as a beginning reader.

Tip and Tucker: Road Trip by Ann Ingalls and Sue Lowell Gallion, illustrated by André Ceolin
Tip and Tucker: Hide and Squeak by Ann Ingalls and Sue Lowell Gallion, illustrated by André Ceolin (published by Sleeping Bear, illustrator lives in Brazil)
Hamsters Tip and Tucker are the stars of this new entry in Sleeping Bear’s leveled reading series “I Am a Reader!”. Specifically targeted to grades K-1, the series follows the adventures of the hamster duo in teacher Mr. Lopez’s classroom. Italicized text highlights occasional words and phrases in Spanish which may be a welcome addition or stumbling block for readers depending on their background knowledge.

Soccerverse: Poems About Soccer by Elizabeth Steinglass, illustrated by Edson Ikê (published by Wordsong, illustrator lives in Brazil)
In 22 poems in a variety of forms, this book celebrates all things soccer, from equipment to dealing with bullies and ball hogs. The reverso poems “Instructions to Field Players” and “Instructions to the Goalkeeper” gives readers a chance to read the same text twice in a unique way. The poems span the K - 2nd grade reading continuum with some featuring short sentences and words while others contain longer sentences with more advanced vocabulary. The subject matter and imaginative illustrations, however, are sure to motivate many readers and their background knowledge of the game may buoy them through the challenging text.

Cover of Beneath the Bed and
Other Scary Stories by Max
Brallier, illustrated by
Letizia Rubegni 

Beneath the Bed and Other Scary Stories by Max Brallier, illustrated by Letizia Rubegni (published by Scholastic, illustrator lives in Italy)
A collection of scary stories wrapped in an early chapter book package, this title hits the “subject matter must be intriguing enough to motivate the child to read” criteria sweet spot. Rubegni’s detailed, Edward Gorey-esque illustrations reinforce details of the stories. While this title hovers at the upper end of the Geisel target audience, it does so with confident creepiness and flair.

Cast Your Ballot for Guessing Geisel’s 2020 Mock Geisel!

Book covers for 12 Mock Geisel contenders. 

Now's your chance to cast your ballot for Guessing Geisel's Mock! As they do on the real committee, we'll be weighting the responses with 4 points for each first choice vote, 3 points for each second choice vote, and 2 points for each third choice vote. 

This ballot will stay open January 3rd-10th. Please, complete only one ballot per person.

As we did last year, we have narrowed down our ballot to just 12 titles. Our hope is that a smaller number of titles on the ballot will encourage more participation. However, if your favorite is not on the ballot, we invite you to write it in. We'll include all write in titles in our announcement post. 

We invite you to join us for this virtual Mock Geisel with the hope that you’ll discover some new favorites for beginning readers. It's not required that you have read all books to participate, although we recommend reading as many as possible, and reading reviews here and elsewhere. We also invite you to share this virtual mock experience with your colleagues, students, and patrons (see our previous post for ideas). Please feel free to share this ballot via social media, email, etc. The more the merrier!

We are open to the possibility that we, just like the real committee, may have a clear winner after a first ballot, in which case we'll stop there and announce our results. If the first ballot does not produce a clear winner, we’ll conduct a second ballot from January 11th-18th. The real committee would keep going until they met the criteria for determining a winner, but we will stop after our second ballot and determine our winners.

For more about the real committee's process and the benefits of mocking, take a look at our Let's Get Ready to Mock post from a few years ago.
Create your own user feedback survey

I See by Joe Cepada and Where is Mommy? by Pat Cummings

Brian E. Wilson works as a children’s librarian at the Evanston Public Library in Evanston, IL. He served on the 2015 Odyssey Committee and the 2017 Caldecott Committee. He blogs at Mr. Brian’s Picture Book Picks at mrbrianspicturebookpicks.wordpress.com.

One of the best parts of being a children's librarian is sharing new books with young readers in my regularly scheduled storytimes. Every month I visit a preschool class filled with 25 of the most amazing 4- and 5-year-olds, many ready to take on the world when they start kindergarten this upcoming autumn. For this Guessing Geisel assignment, I decided to try out the two new additions to Holiday House's enjoyable I Like to Read series on them. Joe Cepada's I See, which has the publisher's Guided Reading Level B (Middle of Kindergarten) designation, serves as a companion to the author/illustrator's Up and I Dig and stars a boy who examines little creatures with a magnifying glass. Pat Cummings' Where Is Mommy?, given a Guided Reading Level D (End of Kindergarten), shows a girl piecing together clues about her nearby mommy's location after waking from a nap. Would the students enjoy these books?

I See contains very simple sentences never longer than four words. Each double page spread offers only one sentence. The crystal clear, large bold font is easy to read. Cepada's uncluttered illustrations follow the boy up a ladder and into an attic. The older relative (the children said "his dad" or "brother" when I asked about him) accompanying him finds a microscope while the protagonist holds up a magnifying glass.

The boy then travels solo outside carrying his beloved new object. "I see," he keeps saying. The children started saying the words along with me, unprompted. The next page finds the boy examining tiny critters, seen from a distance, with the magnifying glass. "I see," the boy says with a smile. The students already started yelling "ants" by the time I turned the page. And sure enough, they were right. "I see an ant," the boy declares as we see an enlarged view of the happy ant. We then see the child looking at a butterfly, snail, and robin eggs. The children told me they all loved the book. They liked the way Cepada drew the animals. And they loved the final moment that show all the animals following him into his house.

Where Is Mommy? has slightly longer sentences (never longer than six words) and more text. Some spreads have two or three sentences on them. The children had a blast watching the girl trying to solve this lighthearted mystery. Cummings fills the story with delightful visual cues. Mommy has seemingly disappeared, although the girl's cat, and the children in my group, observe mom outside in her garden. They liked knowing something the girl did not notice. When I asked the students their favorite part, they said they loved the girl putting on her mother's glasses, slippers, and scarf. They found the cat funny, the ending happy. The kids followed the story with ease.

I did not ask them which book they enjoyed more. I simply asked "who liked both of the books?" All the hands shot up in the air. Success!!!

Little Penguin's New Friend by Tadgh Bentley

Amy Laughlin works as a youth services librarian at the Ferguson Library in Stamford, CT. She served on the Notable Children's Books committee in 2017 and 2018, and co-wrote a column for School Library Journal from 2014-2018 titled "Mix it Up."

Cover of Little
Penguin’s New Friend
by Tadgh Bentley

Adorable Little Penguin teaches readers a valuable lesson about gossip in this cautionary tale about believing everything you hear.

Little Penguin immediately breaks the fourth wall and addresses the reader directly—“Oh! Hi! Sorry! I did not see you there”—setting the jovial, conversational tone of the book from the very start. All the usual hallmarks of a stand out beginning reader are here: large font, plenty of white space, clear contrast between text and background, and predictive vocabulary that matches the illustrations.

Image from Little Penguin’s New Friend

Readers hear from Little Penguin that a polar bear is traveling all the way from the North Pole to visit the South Pole. He also learns many details about Polar Bears from his friends, including the fact that they have sharp teeth and terrifying roars, they are mean hunters, and they tell very bad jokes. But should we always believe everything that we hear?

When Polar Bear arrives (by boat), she immediately tells Little Penguin a series of bad jokes. Does this mean that all three facts Little Penguin learned about Polar Bears are true? Should Little Penguin be scared for his life?! Instead of laughing at Polar Bear’s humorous jokes, Little Penguin dives behind a rock in fear! Is Polar Bear going to eat him?

Image from Little Penguin’s New Friend

Imagine Little Penguin’s surprise when he learns that Polar Bear has heard something untrue about penguins. The final line of the book, effectively the punchline of a 32-page gag, reads: “I heard that penguins have no sense of humor,” she [Polar Bear] says.” Cue the ba-dum-cha sound on the drums.
Repeated readings of the book reveal a layer of added meta-humor that most books for emergent readers lack, that of the irony that both Polar Bear and Little Penguin believed untrue facts about each other. This irony delivers readers a satisfying chuckle at the end that boosts readers’ confidence—it’s a joke meant to make them laugh without any explanation needed.

Could a book that—more or less—describes the perils of believing gossip become a Geisel honoree? I say absolutely this might win a Geisel!

(Psssst: don’t forget that we shouldn’t always believe everything you hear!)

Our 12 Mock Geisel 2020 Contenders - Read Them Now, Vote Next Month!

This year we here at Guessing Geisel are trying something new. In the past, we would include 30+ titles on our mock ballot. While we loved highlighting so many great books for beginning readers, it could also be overwhelming. This year, with the goal of streamlining to encourage participation, we’ll be featuring just 12 titles on our mock ballot. And we’re sharing them now so you can get a jump start on reading them before voting begins in January, 2020.

Wishing you could have in-person discussions about these titles? Want to introduce your colleagues/patrons/students to excellent books for beginning readers? We encourage you to visit your local library, check out the titles, and share them. Here are a few ideas:

• Put them on a table in a common area. Send out an email to invite colleagues to explore titles at their leisure. 
• Make a display and encourage patrons to read them and provide feedback (written or verbal). 
• Share them at a staff meeting. Take a couple quick minutes to tease the books or spend a longer chunk discussing a handful of titles and invite others to explore the other titles later. 
• Host a mock with your colleagues, patrons, or students. Take a look at past posts from Patrick Gall, DaNae Leu, and Amanda Foulk, as well as our guest post for SLJ, for ideas. 

Without further ado, here are the 12 Guessing Geisel 2020 mock titles listed in alphabetical order by author. 
*Don’t see your favorite on this list? Let us know in the comments! You’ll also be able to vote for write-in contenders on the ballot.

• Chick & Brain: Smell My Foot by Cece Bell
• King & Kayla and the Case of Found Fred by Dori Hillestad Butler, illustrated by Nancy Meyers
• Save the Cake by Molly Coxe
• Let’s Have a Sleepover by Norm Feuti
• Penny and Her Sled by Kevin Henkes
• Whose Footprint is That? by Darrin Lunde, illustrated by Kelsey Oneida
• See Me Play by Paul Meisel
• Frank and Bean by Jamie Michalak, illustrated by Bob Kolar
• Poof! A Bot! by David Milgrim 
• Fox + Chick: The Quiet Boat Ride Other Stories by Sergio Ruzzier
• Charlie & Mouse Even Better by Laurel Snyder, illustrated by Emily Hughes
• Stop! Bot! by James Yang

Ana & Andrew series by Christine Platt, illustrated by Sharon Sordo

Book covers for four Ana & Andrew titles by Christine Platt, illustrated by Sharon Sordo

Siblings Ana and Andrew make their debut in four simultaneously published titles from Abdo. (In 2020 readers can look forward to an additional four titles in this series, as well as Spanish language versions of the first four.) Each title works as a stand alone and can be read in any order. Divided into four chapters, the text includes vocabulary and concepts targeting more confident readers, with many pages featuring 7-9 lines of text. Full color, digital illustrations appear on every page and provide visual support for some words. 

In Dancing at Carnival, the siblings visit their maternal relatives in Trinidad and learn about the origins of Carnival. “Many years ago, there were slaves on the island of Trinidad, just like there were in American,” Uncle Errol tells them. Their paternal grandmother comes to visit the siblings in Washington, DC in A Day at the Museum. She takes the whole family to the brand new National Museum of African American History and Culture. A trip to visit their father’s hometown encourages an oral sharing of the history of the construction of their church by slaves in Summer in Savannah. In A Snowy Day, the title that touches the least on history and culture, Ana and Andrew frolic in the snow with their neighborhood friends and wish their relatives in Trinidad could experience snow too.

Image of family and tour guide outside of the National Museum of African American History and Culture from A Day at the Museum by Christine Platt, illustrated by Sharon Sordo

This series excels at incorporating history and culture into fiction for developing readers, something not done often in the beginning reader world. For example, slavery is mentioned specifically in three titles. On the other hand, not all concepts are adequately explained in the narrative, which could cause confusion for some readers who may not be reading these books with a grown up who could explain the Underground Railroad or what “ancestors” means. An author’s note, glossary, or other back matter to provide more background knowledge would have been a helpful addition. Repetition of words and concepts, happens occasionally, but not as much as one would wish.

Grandpa telling Ana and Andrew about the Underground Railroad from Summer in Savannah by Christine Platt, illustrated by Sharon Sordo

At times the page turning dynamic is held back by mundane digressions that seem extraneous. Will readers really care to read four sentences about the black shutters and red door of a house, or want to read a recap of adventures they’ve just read about? One possible explanation is that these passages were added to achieve a particular word count.

These titles cover a lot of ground when it comes to racial/cultural representations. At the same time they also exhibit gender stereotypes. For instance, Ana is almost always depicted in a dress, in traditionally feminine colors with bows in her hair, and her doll always has a matching outfit. Another example comes after their visit to the museum and each family member is sharing what they enjoyed most. Ana says the dolls, while Andrew liked the old sports team uniforms. Similarly, Mama liked seeing how food was cooked in the past, a contrast to her husband who found learning about African American achievements the best part. 

Overall, although this series has some flaws, it also stands out in a field of contenders sorely lacking in diverse representations.  If I had to pick one, I’d say Dancing at Carnival is the most engaging of the bunch. Is there one title in this series that seems to rise above the rest for you? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Smell My Foot! by Cece Bell

Robbin Friedman is a children's librarian at the Chappaqua Library. She writes reviews for School Library Journal, serves on ALSC's Budget Committee, and reads a lot of science fiction.

In her new early reader series, "Chick and Brain", Cece Bell ostensibly sends up stilted "Dick and Jane" primers. Of course, today’s beginning readers don’t know that. They’ve never heard of Dick and Jane. And the rare child who might understand the reference probably wouldn’t associate those dry slices of white suburbia with these two weirdos.

Image from Chick and Brain: Smell My Foot! by Cece Bell

Fortunately, the first book—Smell My Foot!—shares more DNA with Tedd Arnold or Ethan Long than with Zerna Sharp (two points to anyone who already knew the author of "Dick and Jane").

Using a straightforward comics format broken into four short chapters, Bell introduces her protagonists: Chick, a fastidious yellow bird with a commitment to manners, and Brain, a white human with stick limbs, heart-print boxers, and a brain-like poof of hair atop his head. Bell has mastered the visual elements of comics for early readers, reveling in the intense goofiness of her subjects here.

Simple backgrounds, adequately-sized speech bubbles, and a clean, serif font pair well with the humor of Bell’s oddly-proportioned duo. Characters regularly break the confines of the basic two to four panel pages, but the visual story proceeds smoothly enough that errant feet or beaks won’t confuse beginners. In fact, Bell uses the spatial perspective of the panels beautifully to convey emphasis and tone, as in this page when Brain’s insistent demand grows too large for the panel next to Chick’s consistent denial.

Image from Chick and Brain: Smell My Foot! by Cece Bell

The story—as silly as it sounds—allows for ample word repetition. Brain’s foot smells great! Everyone should smell it! Chick wants to hear please and thank you before agreeing to anything. But once Spot, a hungry dog, has said the magic word, Chick merrily agrees to lunch. Both Brain and the reader recognize that Spot wants to eat Chick. Brain arrives to save Chick and makes Spot pass out because guess what? His other foot smells really bad! Early readers will finish this book experience confidently tackling words like smell, foot, please, sniff, and you’re welcome, some of which will absolutely come in handy again.

With visual support and reinforced vocabulary, this book may offer smooth sailing for some readers looking to branch out from Mo Willems. For certain readers, though, Bell’s quirky Brain may introduce a hiccup. Brain responds to social niceties differently than Chick (and most readers) expect, and while therein lies the fun for some folks, other readers might find the non sequiturs confusing.

Chick corrects Brain and gets the dialogue back on track. But for readers looking to the narrative to confirm they’re reading accurately, Brain’s unusual style may cause them to wonder if they’ve gotten something wrong.

For readers unfazed by Brain’s approach, Cece Bell has brought us something peculiar and effective, presented in a masterful comics package. If the Geisel Committee is looking for a change from more traditional, earnest early readers, they might want to take a big sniff of this one.