Fact Friday: Drawn Across Borders: True Stories of Human Migration by George Butler

Image: Candlewick Press

Drawn Across Borders: True Stories of Human Migration written and illustrated by George Butler. 56 p. Candlewick Studio/ Candlewick Press, March 16, 2021. 9781536217759. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher.)

Happy Friday! We made it through another week and this weekend marks the beginning of spring! The vernal equinox will take place tomorrow, March 20 at 5:37 EDT. Our daylight/ night hours will be roughly equal and each day after, we will have just a bit more daylight on our march to the summer solstice on June 20. As someone who is definitely affected by dwindling daylight, my spirits are lifting. 

Fact Friday features Drawn Across Borders: True Stories of Human Migration written and illustrated by George Butler. Mr. Butler is a journalist and artist who, from 2011 to 2018, traveled to twelve locations in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East to sketch and interview people who were forced by a variety of circumstance to leave their home. 

One man migrated to Russia in order to work and send money home to his family, others were forced to leave because their homes were destroyed by bombs or no longer safe to live in. Unlike photojournalists, who can snap a photograph from a distance without ever interacting with a subject, Mr. Butler spent time with his, interviewing each subject while he sketched. The result is this hefty, beautifully designed portfolio/ journal. 

Arranged chronologically beginning in 2011, readers take an international journey and learn about why there are refugees and the plight they face finding new homes, often enduring discrimination and racial or ethnic hatred.

The text is spare, compelling and emotionally resonant, as are the pen, ink and watercolor illustrations. Each invites lingering.  Drawn Across Borders is a work of art that needs to be shared widely. This book erases the monolithic "them" and places human faces front and center. The past few years has seen the publication of a variety of books depicting the refugee experience for young readers such as, When Stars are Scattered or The Unwanted. among others. Drawn Across Borders is a superb addition to that collection.

Fact Friday: Follow Those Zebras: Solving a Migration Mystery by Sandra Markle

Happy Friday! Happy Lunar New Year as well! We made it to Friday and our February break! I hope you have big reading plans for break! I have daily book talks scheduled to post, so be sure to check here next week for some ideas of what to read next.

Image: Lerner Publishing Group

Follow Those Zebras: Solving a Migration Mystery by Sandra Markle. 40 p. Millbrook Press/ Lerner Publishing Group, April, 2020. 9781541538375. (Review of finished copy borrowed from public library.)

Fact Friday features Follow Those Zebras: Solving a Migration Mystery by Sandra Markle. Many animals migrate for a variety of reasons. What causes animals, in this case a herd of plains zebras in Namibia and Botswana near the Chobe River, to leave their home and just vanish? Scientist Robin Naidoo and a team of scientists fitted some of the zebras with GPS trackers to find out. They were shocked to discover that the herd travels a record 155 mile to Botswana's Nxai Pan National Park. This distance is record breaking. But why?

Read this fascinating book to find out. The narrative is well-organized and engaging. Each page features one or more full-color pictures of the herd, individual zebras and the scientists at work as well as maps and helpful sidebars. The book is beautifully designed. Useful back matter provides a glossary and points budding conservationists to other sources for further reading. Follow Those Zebras is a sturdy addition to Ms. Markle's Science Discovery series. 

Bonus Non-Fiction Monday: The Long, Long Journey: the Godwit's amazing migration

by Sandra Markle. Illustrated by Mia Posada. 32 p. Lerner Publishing Group, April 28, 2013. 9780761356233. (Borrowed)

One of the perks about being a solo librarian who chooses to manually catalog her library's books is seeing the books right out of the box. Smelling the smells, cracking the books for the first time, reading the cover and jacket flaps. I can catalog a book pretty quickly when I put my mind to it, but more often than not, I get sidetracked by reading the first chapter or two. Or three. 

Ditto when my colleague over at the elementary school sends over some of her oversized picture books for me to cover. I usually take a few minutes to zip through the books she sends over. Such was the case this morning when this beauty came through the inter-school courier.

Godwit eggs hatch out in June on the mudflats of Alaska's western shore. They can walk and scrounge for food immediately and eat madly because within four months, by the next change of season, they must have enough body fat to help them make a tremendous migration south the New Zealand. Alone. In September, first the adult females flock and depart, then the adult males. A month later, the young godwits flock and begin the amazing journey. They just know where to go.

Clear, accessible language describes the life of the adorable nestlings. Soft watercolor collages depict the beauty of the environment as well as the dangers. The palette is watery and the collage pieces provide lovely texture. The end-pages feature downy nestling feathers in front and mature feathers at the end. All the illustrations invite the reader to stay awhile on the page.

Lovely addition to any school or public library. Particularly useful in schools where migration is studied. Maps included as are resources, one of which was a Wikipedia citation, which initially caused some chagrin, since we teachers don't allow use of the website in research. However, this was a link to a video of the birds feeding. Unfortunately, neither computer I tried to view it on had the necessary software to run the video.

I  might purchase this one to pair with Moonbird by Philip Hoose. This is a 2013 favorite.