Bunting, Eve. The Man Who Can Call Down Owls. Macmillan Publishing Co., 1984.

A boy becomes the apprentice of a man who has the ability to call owls and heal them. Then a stranger comes to town looking to steal his magical ability. When the stranger calls the owls, the owls seek vengeance and attack the stranger. The boy who is good?hearted becomes the new healer of the owls. This is a picture book with a dramatic story and equally dramatic penciled illustrations by Charles Mikolaycak. The plot is a simple one about good and evil, but coupled with the pictures that sweep across the pages, it makes for a compelling story.

Bunting, Eve. Night of the Gargoyles. Clarion Books, 1994.

When the art museum closes late at night, the gargoyles that decorate the building come out and play. This wonderful story takes us through several rooms in a New York art museum.

Chorao, Kay. Lemon Moon. Holiday House, 1983.

Kay Chorao's book is about a young child who does not want to go to bed. She puts off her sleep by telling her grandmother fanciful stories about the pictures on her quilt. The little girl imagines the moon grew the stars and a cat ate the stars with a spoon. Black and white illustrations by Kay Charao are used specifically to highlight yellow in the moon. This is the only color used in the book. Words tumble across the page as the child's stories become more and more inventive. This makes for a good bedtime story.

Clifton, Lucille. My Friend Jacob. E. P. Dutton, 1980.

Sam is a young African American boy, who befriends Jacob a White teenage boy who is mentally challenged. Despite their differences, their friendship is a strong one. They like to play basketball together as well as even share their birthdays. Sam gets a sense of satisfaction by helping Jacob learn how to knock on a door before entering.

Hoban, Tana. Over, Under & Through. MacMillan Publishing Co., 1973.

An easy reader, this book emphasizes directional words for the preschooler. Black and white photographs show children acting out the directions. Colors are used as a backdrop to highlight words. I would suggest this one to parents who are looking for a spatial concept book for the new reader in the family.

Macaulay, David. Rome Antics. Houghton Mifflin Co., 1997.

A homing pigeon carries an important letter through Rome. Magnificent pen and ink drawings show a pigeon flying through such sights as the Forum and the Pantheon. Macauley's drawings show different perspectives as the bird flies upside down, straight up, and sideways. My favorite of the ten books I have annotated here, I would highly recommend this book to any child going to Rome or who just wants to know more about it.

MacLachlan, Patricia. What You Know First. HarperCollinsPublishers, 1995.

In this beautiful tale, a little girl's family is moving away from their farm. She is worried that her baby brother will not remember the home that has meant so much to her. Her parents reassure her that one always remembers what they knew first. They also tell her that she can help her brother remember by telling him stories of the farm. Barry Moser illustrates this book with etchings that truly give the reader a calm feeling and a sense of peace on the farm. This excellently written and illustrated story draws the reader in and makes him care about this girl.

Rice, Eve. Goodnight, Goodnight. Greenwillow Books, 1980.

This is a bedtime story about people who live on a single street preparing for bed. The adults come home from their jobs, the chestnut vendor goes home for the night, and all over town people are saying goodnight. This is a perfect bedtime story. The illustrations are multimedia with a combination of lithographic crayon, black pencil, and pen and ink. There is some yellow used to show the moon and lights in the houses.

Van Allsburg Chris. The Garden of Abdud Gasazi Houghton Mifflin Co., 1979.

Fritz the dog is left in the care of young Alan Mitz. Strange things happen when Fritz runs away to the garden of the magician Abdul Gasazi. Gasazi hates dogs and turns Fritz into a duck. When the duck flies away, Alan tries to come up with something to say to the owner.

Van Allsburg, Chris. The Widow's Broom. Houghton Mifflin Co., 1992.

A witch's broom gives out and she falls into the vegetable garden of a lonely widow. The witch is injured and the widow nurses her back to health. The broom is given to the widow as a gift for her kindness. It has magical powers and helps the widow with work around her house. The widow has to cleverly outwit the frightened neighbors who wish to destroy the broom. A creative story with amazing drawings.

Wright, Dare. The Lonely Doll. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1957.

Edith is a very lonely doll who longs for company. Her life changes one day when two teddy bears arrive. Little Bear and Edith become playmates and have lots of fun. But, when they get into mischief and Mr. Bear gets mad, Edith is afraid they will leave her. This story explores the feelings of loneliness and belonging which all children experience. It lets children know that if someone is angry it doesn't mean they don't love you. Dare Wright also introduces children to the art of photography. The black and white photographs illustrating the story bring the doll's world to life. Action and emotion are represented in the composition of the photos and the poses of the dolls. Submitted by Lynn Dorwaldt

Wright, Dare. Edith and the Duckling. Doubleday & Company, Inc., New York, 1981.

Edith and Little Bear find a nest of duck eggs with no mother. When one hatches, Mr. Bear teaches them how to care for the duckling. But when the duckling grows up, they must say goodbye. This is another story in The Lonely Doll series. It reinforces the ideas of friendship and belonging. Submitted by Lynn Dorwaldt

Suggestions for Using These Books in the Library

• Teaching Colors. Kindergarten and First Grades teachers who are teaching colors should not forget about black and white! The librarian would throw a black and white party where the children dress only in black and white, have black and white decorations, and the librarian reads stories with black and white illustrations.
• Using Color to Create Mood. The librarian would invite a third or fourth grade art class to show them how color is used in art to create mood. Books such as The Man Who Could Call Down Owls, Night of the Gargoyles, and The Widow's Broom, use black and white to create a scary feeling in the reader. What You Know First uses black and white to recall a bygone era such as black and white television.
• Examples of Different Media. The librarian would invite an art class to the library and show different examples of media in picture book illustrations. What You Know First would be and example of etchings, Rome Antics would show pen and ink, The Man Who Could Call Down the Owls, would illustrate pencil, Night of the Gargoyles, would display pastels, and Goodnight, Goodnight, would be multimedia. This class would show children the differences in finished products.
• Illustrations. This class would be for first and second graders to show them the different choices illustrators make when they create their drawings. Some black and white books would be used in conjunction with other kinds of illustrations to demonstrate to children the various choices that one can choose.
• Halloween. Black and white books lend themselves naturally to Halloween themes. A librarian who would like to entertain the children during this time of year, but still have a concrete theme, may choose to use only black and white books. The Widow's Broom, and Night of the Gargoyles would be perfect for Halloween!
• Paint pictures in color for The Lonely Doll and Edith and the Duckling. Lynn Dorwaldt

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