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Trish Marx

Autor/a de Hanna's Cold Winter

14 obres 474 Membres 28 Ressenyes

Obres de Trish Marx

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Basically, this book is about the daily schedule for a kindergarten class, and the schedule is the same for another kindergarten half a world away! Both classes in the USA and China have the same schedule, except that one class is sleeping while the other is at school.

This book is two books in one. In the middle of the book, all the pages are suddenly upside down. So, then it is supposed to be flipped over and you see a second front cover. The book can be read, either way, USA day first, or China day first. So much fun!… (més)
 
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WiseOwlFactory | Hi ha 12 ressenyes més | Feb 20, 2022 |
Narrated by young Tibor, this poignant picture-book explores the life of one Hungarian family before and during World War II, and their relationship to the hippopotamuses in the Budapest zoo. Although the family enjoy Sunday outings every week, Tibor and his siblings, Gabor and Eva, particularly love to go to the zoo and see the hippos. Kept warm by the hot springs in the city, the hippos are a popular attraction, and none more so than Hanna, a friendly (and very hungry) female hippo. But then the war comes, with soldiers everywhere, and the family stop visiting the zoo. A terrible winter leaves the rivers frozen, and the hippos huddling in their indoor enclosure, in danger of slowly starving to death. Fortunately, Tibor's Papa has an idea, and soon the citizens of Budapest are donating their straw slippers, doormats and hats to keep the hippos alive...

Apparently based upon true events, related to author Trish Marx when she was visiting the Budapest zoo, Hanna's Cold Winter presents an engaging family story, and a deeply moving historical drama. Tibor's family are ordinary people—his father works at a paprika factory—who find themselves caught up in terrible times. Despite this, they think of the welfare of the animals that they love, and act to save them when they are threatened. I really enjoyed the story, from the loving closeness of the human family, to the happy outcome for the hippos. I also greatly appreciated the artwork (it looks to be done in watercolor) from illustrator Barbara Knutson, who visited the Budapest zoo in order to create the visuals here. I did find myself wondering about the nutritional value of old straw—can straw-eating animals subsist on straw hats and mats, in emergencies?—and discovered, in the course of online searching, that the fate of the Budapest zoo animals during WWII was rather grim. Apparently the zoo was bombarded during the siege of Budapest, destroying most of the buildings and killing the majority of the animals. In the aftermath of the siege, the starving citizens ate most of the survivors, with only 15 animals of an initial 2,000 surviving the period. I looked on the zoo's history page for any mention of the story of Hanna and the hippos, but was unable to find it.

Trish Marx's brief afterword here mentions that more than 9,000 straw items were collected from the citizens of Budapest, in order to feed the hippos, and that Hanna and the hippos survived the war, so perhaps they were among those lucky fifteen. I realize it is outside the scope of the fictional story here, which is meant to be more uplifting—hope in dark times, and so on—but I wish that the author has elaborated on the larger story in her afterword. I also wish that she had provided a written source, rather that just stating that the story was told to her. All that being said, I still enjoyed this one, and recommend it to picture-book readers looking for stories set during World War II, or featuring the sadness of people and animals caught up in conflicts.
… (més)
 
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AbigailAdams26 | Hi ha 2 ressenyes més | Jan 22, 2022 |
"Peace is a relative term in this lengthy photographic essay featuring Alya, an Israeli Palestinian girl, and Yuval, an Israeli Jewish boy. They meet in a summer camp in Israel that’s designed to teach children to replace feelings of fearful hatred with respect through dialogue and a sharing of activities. Commonalities and differences are emphasized by addition of the cultural appreciation of foods and religious traditions to the usual summer-camp fun of swimming, crafts, music and sports. A session on emergency rescue, something both children have experienced due to the prevalence of violent extremism, is meant to offer reassurance that authorities work hard “to keep all the citizens of Israel safe.” Karp’s action-filled color photographs incorporate family scenes with the daily camp doings, giving readers a sense of both Palestinian and Jewish life. The difficult political climate is touched on, but it doesn’t overshadow the admirable efforts of parents and educators to instill a healthy, mutual tolerance, the idea being that the beginning of peace requires separate respectful coexistence. A useful teaching tool and discussion starter for multicultural curricula. (Informational picture book. 8-12)" www.kirkusreviews.com… (més)
 
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CDJLibrary | Hi ha 4 ressenyes més | Sep 28, 2021 |
"Peace is a relative term in this lengthy photographic essay featuring Alya, an Israeli Palestinian girl, and Yuval, an Israeli Jewish boy. They meet in a summer camp in Israel that’s designed to teach children to replace feelings of fearful hatred with respect through dialogue and a sharing of activities. Commonalities and differences are emphasized by addition of the cultural appreciation of foods and religious traditions to the usual summer-camp fun of swimming, crafts, music and sports. A session on emergency rescue, something both children have experienced due to the prevalence of violent extremism, is meant to offer reassurance that authorities work hard “to keep all the citizens of Israel safe.” Karp’s action-filled color photographs incorporate family scenes with the daily camp doings, giving readers a sense of both Palestinian and Jewish life. The difficult political climate is touched on, but it doesn’t overshadow the admirable efforts of parents and educators to instill a healthy, mutual tolerance, the idea being that the beginning of peace requires separate respectful coexistence. A useful teaching tool and discussion starter for multicultural curricula. (Informational picture book. 8-12)" www.kirkusreviews.com… (més)
 
Marcat
CDJLibrary | Hi ha 4 ressenyes més | Sep 28, 2021 |

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Autors associats

Barbara Knutson Illustrator
Cindy Karp Photographer

Estadístiques

Obres
14
Membres
474
Popularitat
#52,001
Valoració
½ 3.7
Ressenyes
28
ISBN
30
Llengües
1

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