The Children's Corner / Caldecott Award Winners

It's a treat to mention two of the finest children's books published this year, both of which were designated "Caldecott Honor Books" in the recent annual award ceremony.

Hot Air -- The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride by Marjorie Priceman, $16.95, ISBN #0-689-82642-7.

Marjorie Priceman is no stranger to the Caldecott Honor award, having earned one for her book, Zin! Zin! Zin! Most of her book is filled with her highly-colorful illustrations of hot-air balloons and baskets and animal participants and onlookers, which make it ideal for the under three set, but older children will appreciate extensive text at the endpapers, which tells Montgolfier's story in an intelligent narrative.

Rosa by Nikki Giovanni, illustrated by Bryan Collier, $16.95, ISBN #0-8050-7106-7.

One would expect to see a children's book about civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks emerge in Black History Month (would that the day would come when no publisher looks at the calendar when timing works about African-Americans), but it is sadly apropos coming right on the heels of Parks's recent death. This is not a book for pre-schoolers; its substantial narrative content tells the story of an exhausted seamstress slumping into a bus seat at the end of the day and simply refusing to move. (It is unfortunate that an author with Giovanni's skill chose to portray the event as simple folklore; it's well known that her action was the crescendo of well-organized community planning, something older children could find inspiring). An attractive feature in this handsomely-illustrated book is a foldout that depicts marchers stretching determinedly for blocks.