Picture Book Winner

Honor Books

Birdsong
by Julie Flett; illus. by the author
Primary    Greystone Kids    56 pp.
9/19    978-1-77164-473-0    $17.95
e-book ed.  978-1-77164-474-7    $17.95

In spring Katherena, her mother, and their dog Ôhô pack up their “little home in the city by the sea” and move to their “new home [that] sits on a hill.” The new place is in a peaceful, bucolic setting, but it’s quite isolated. At her mother’s urging, Katherena befriends their neighbor, an elderly woman named Agnes who enjoys gardening and working with pottery. Season by season, the young girl and elderly woman continue meeting and talking while sharing their passion for flora, fauna, and art. The passage of time is indicated by brief pauses in the text (“Spring” “Summer” “Fall” “Winter” “Spring”) and with season-specific imagery in the gorgeous digitally composed pastel and pencil illustrations. The text is smooth and lyrical, but the pictures could almost tell the story by themselves, each composition portraying the emotional journey of Agnes and Katherena (and with glimmers of Katherena’s mother). Cree-Métis author/illustrator Flett’s words and images truly capture the warmth and solidarity of the female protagonists and the ideal of respect for our elders. This tender intergenerational friendship story beautifully portrays the ways in which human connections are strengthened through love of art and nature. A glossary of the few Cree words included in the text is appended. SUJEI LUGO

From the November/December 2019 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.

Pokko and the Drum
by Matthew Forsythe; illus. by the author
Preschool, Primary    Wiseman/Simon    64 pp.
10/19    978-1-4814-8039-0    $17.99
e-book ed.  978-1-4814-8040-6    $10.99

“The biggest mistake Pokko’s parents ever made was giving her a drum,” begins this story about a young frog musician’s path to creative fulfillment, benevolent (mostly) leadership, and satisfying self-expression. After that attention-grabbing opening line, the well-paced text builds anticipatory humor by backing up to describe earlier gifts Pokko’s parents regretted: a slingshot, a llama, and a balloon, all shown in uncluttered spreads featuring the game but poker-faced Pokko. Then comes the drum: Pokko’s face lights up (for a second) and she reaches toward her instrument, her now-constant companion. She practices inside the house; her parents send her out. She goes to the forest, where her playing attracts a banjo-strumming raccoon, a trumpet-blowing rabbit, and more; soon she’s trailed by a parade of like-minded, music-making creatures (minus the rabbit, who gets eaten by a wolf: “No more eating band members or you’re out of the band,” deadpans Pokko). There are lots of visual nods and references in Forsythe’s textured, painterly watercolor, gouache, and colored-pencil illustrations — Rousseau, Sendak, Lobel, Ungerer, Keats, Klassen — but, like his amphibian protagonist, this idiosyncratic author/illustrator/animator (The Brilliant Deep, rev. 7/18; Warning: Do Not Open This Book!; the Adventure Time television series) marches to his own beat. ELISSA GERSHOWITZ

From the January/February 2020 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.

The 2020 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award winners and honors were announced at SLJ's virtual Day of Dialog and via live stream on May 27th, 2020. For reviews of the winning titles and more, click on the tag BGHB20.