The Man Who Kept His Heart in a Bucket by Sonia Leviton (Jerry Pinkney, Illus.)

This is a very enjoyable book that teaches a message, as many good books do. The story is about a young man who has had his heart broken, and intends to keep his heart in a bucket in order to keep it safe. He meets a beautiful young maiden who steals his heart, and he must solve a riddle in order to get it back. In his quest to solve the riddle, he of course realizes all the friendship and love that he has missed by not risking his heart, and learns to love again.

The illustrations add a great deal to the story. Pinkney has amazing artistic talents, and provides such detail in his drawings that it seems he must have spent a great deal of time planning out his pictures. However, he says "I don't see things until I draw them. When I put a line down, the only thing I know is how it should feel, and I know when it doesn't feel right. I work with a pencil in one hand and an eraser in the other, not knowing what I have until I put it down" (Houghton Mifflin, n.d.). Wow! He has worked extensively with many different authors, and has many awards to his credit.

Other books illustrated by Jerry Pinkney include:

The Patchwork Quilt (written by Valerie Flournoy)
The Tales of Uncle Remus (written by Julius Lester)
Mirandy and Brother Wind (written by Patricia McKissack)
The Talking Eggs (written by Robert D. San Souci)
Half a Moon and One Whole Star (written by Crescent Dragonwagon)
Pretend You're a Cat (written by Jean Marzollo)
Tonweya and the Eagles and Other Lakota Tales (written by Rosebud Yellow Robe)
Back Home (written by Gloria Jean Pinkney)
I Want to Be (written by Thylias Moss)
The Sunday Outing (written by Gloria Jean Pinkney)
Sam and the Tigers (written by Julius Lester)
Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman (written by Alan Schroeder)
The Hired Hand (written by Robert D. San Souci)
Drylongso (written by Virginia Hamilton)
Black Cowboy, Wild Horses (written by Julius Lester)
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi (written by Rudyard Kipling)
Aesop's Fables
The Ugly Duckling (written by Hans Christian Andersen)
Song of the Trees (written by Mildred Taylor)
Rabbit Makes a Monkey of Lion: A Swahili Tale (written by Verna Aardema)
David's Songs: His Psalms and Their Story (written by Colin Eisler)
In for Winter, Out for Spring (written by Arnold Adoff)
A Starlit Somersault Downhill (written by Nancy Wilard)
John Henry (written by Julius Lester)
Tanya's Reunion (written by Valerie Flourney)
The Little Match Girl (written by Hans Christian Anderson)
Goin' Someplace Special (written by Patricia McKissack)
Noah's Ark (written by Jerry Pinkney)
The Old African (written by Julius Lester)
The Little Red Hen (written by Jerry Pinkney)
The All-I-Ever-Want Christmas Doll (written by Patricia McKissack)
Little Red Riding Hood (written by Jerry Pinkney)
Moon Over Star (written by Dianna Huts Aston)
Wild Wild Sunflower Child Anna (written by Nancy Carlstrom)
Their Eyes Were Watching God (written by Zora Neale Hurston)

Houghton Mifflin. (n.d.). Meet the illustrator: Jerry Pinkney. Retrieved August 9, 2009 from http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hmr/mtai/jpinkney.html.

Levitin, S. (1991). The man who kept his heart in a bucket (J. Pinkney, Illus.). New York: Dial Books for Young Readers.