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Books in a pod

Charlotte at Charlotte's Library reviewed a new book I've not seen yet. Rabbit & Squirrel: A Tale of War and Peas is apparently not your garden-variety garden book, and I'm gonna find it and I'm gonna read it. It's by the team that came up with Ugly Fish - the illustrator of The Luck of the Loch Ness Monster and the author of the Rocko and Spanky books.

Charlotte was kind of queasy about the book - mostly because she's feeling very protective of the baby peas in her garden. I know how she feels. We've been getting enough peas for dinner every night this week and there is nothing as sweet and full of life as a mouthful of peas you just picked out of your own garden. All that tilling, and planting the li'l suckers in cold crappy March, and it comes down to a tiny green burst as they pop between your molars.

I wonder what it is about peas, though, that so inspires children's authors? There's Little Pea, of course, Pickin' Peas, and The Pea Blossom. We met Henry, who believes that peas bring on an uncontrollable physical reaction in him, in Night of the Veggie Monster, reviewed earlier here, and another picky eater in Don't Let The Peas Touch. There was Paul the pea in The Runaway Dinner, although he got eaten by a duck, so that's kind of sad.

Rachel Isadora, Lauren Child, Harriet Ziefert, and Mini Grey have coaxed multiple princesses (and one penguin) into attempting to sleep on multiple peas. There's The Monster Who Ate My Peas, The Cowboy and the Black-Eyed Pea, and Shanté Keys and the New Year's Peas. We've got Pea Pod Babies, which is especially gruesome if you know how my sons and I eat our peas. There's even a picture book biography of Gregor Mendel, fer Pete's sake!

My theory - and you know I have one - is simple. Just as it is easy to grow peas - the seeds are big and easy to handle, the soil needn't be tilled too deeply, they're early enough that weeds and powdery mildew don't really come into play - it is easy to draw peas. Get a green marker. Draw a slightly irregular circle. Color it in. Hey! You drew a pea! Draw a face on your pea. Hey! You drew a character! Now all you need is a plot, some dialogue, a friendly editor, a publishing house, and you are on your way!*

In fact, here's a plot for you. Thank me later.

When he says "giraffe" I'm fairly certain he means "raft".

*I am joking. No disrespect intended. Keep writing about peas.

Labels: age: PreK - Grade3, folk/fairy, picture books

It's been a very good year - gifts for teachers

Now, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the Target gift card. God knows she can use it. A Staples gift card works too, or one from Amazon (heh heh). But in our family, we always give a book. Each of the books on this list works well as a tribute to the man or woman who has sacrificed economic prosperity (and probably his or her immune system) so that your child's mind may have been properly cared for and nurtured this year.

Ms. MacDonald Has a Class by Jan Ormerod
Just what it sounds like, a reworking of "Old MacDonald" set in the classroom, with happy children dancing and creating and taking a field trip to a farm. Anyone who likes kids (as teachers, we hope, do) will enjoy Jan Ormerod's beautiful, spunky, active drawings of the multicultural kindergarten kids.

How the Tiny People Grew Tall by Nancy Wood
I came across this "original creation tale" in Daedalus Books - I don't think it's in our library. The title makes it an obvious choice as a gift for those brave individuals whose job it is to foster the intellectual development of our children, so I was kind of expecting a tiresome hammer-and-nails fable. But when I opened it up, I was pleasantly surprised to find an entertaining, thought-provoking, good-looking story about how new experiences and generous guides create brave, thoughtful, resourceful, smart people. A sparkling, clever, good-hearted gift - not too much text for kindergartners, enough to think about for maybe up to 4th or 5th grade.

I Will Make Miracles by Susie Morgenstern, illustrated by Jiang Hong Chen
Reviewed by me earlier, this book is a sumptuous gift. Not that expensive, but large and wide, it's a slab of toothy board saturated with deep inky color. A pleasure to hold. And as a gift, it's not just about the miracles the child might accomplish, but it's also a tribute to the incremental miracles that the teacher performs with every kid, every year. I'm hoping to get a tear out of the first grade teacher with this one.

To Be Like the Sun by Susan Marie Swanson and Margaret Chodos-Irvine
Reviewed earlier by me. The seed-flower metaphor is used (a lot) in the educational context, and I might hesitate to drag it out one more time, if it weren't for To be like the Sun. There is the potential encapsulated in the tiny seed, then there is the nurturing sun and rain and human helper, yeah yeah, but in To be like the Sun, we see the plant grow and produce its own seeds, which the little girl saves over the winter to plant in the spring.

Magic Beach by Crockett Johnson
An uncompleted manuscript by author of Harold and the Purple Crayon, Magic Beach has been published with all the pencil lines and erasures intact. It's a lovely story. Two bored little kids wander along the beach wishing they had a snack. They soon discover that they can conjure up whatever they want by writing its name in the sand - when the waves wash away the words, the words are replaced by the real thing.

This is strong stuff about possibility and dreams and actuation and the power of words. Suitable for teachers of upper grades, for graduates, as a wedding gift, and it's even a great book to read to kids.

Labels: age: adult children, age: Grade3 and up, age: PreK - Grade3, gift books, picture books

Over 'Goodnight, Moon' - Best board books for babies

Our favorite board books:

Hug by Jez Alborough

Moo Baa La La La by Sandra Boynton (gets a special endorsement from Big Friend's ma)

Big Red Barn Board Book by by Margaret Wise Brown

The Very Hungry Caterpillar board book by Eric Carle

Inside Freight Train by Donald Crews

Jamberry by Bruce Degen (the rhythm of this book is really jazzy and the illustrations keep even older children interested)

Touch and Feel: Pets (or any Touch and Feel book) by Nicola Deschamps

Is Your Mama a Llama? by Deborah Guarino. "You are right about that: I think your mama must be a bat!"

Counting Kisses: A Kiss & Read Book by Karen Katz

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. You know, I have never liked this book, but I am a member of a miniscule minority in this regard.

Baby Faces by Margaret Miller

Yummy Yucky (Leslie Patricelli board books) by Leslie Patricelli

We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury

Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathman

10 Minutes till Bedtime by Peggy Rathman. These two books by Peggy Rathman are almost wordless but high on interwoven detail. They both work for a large age range.

Peekaboo Kisses by Barney Saltzberg

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Mr. Brown can moo! Can you? by Dr. Seuss

Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw. Very simple but funny and with a great rhythm plus terrific colored pencil illustrations.

Caps for Sale: A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys and Their Monkey Business by Esphyr Slobodkina. The monkeys say "chee chee chee!".

Dinosaur Roar! by Henrietta Stickland and Paul Stickland. The winner and all-time champion favorite little-kid book in our house.

Tails by Matthew Van Fleet. A new entry in the canon. Lots of touchy, wiggly, shiny features.

Don’t let the pigeon drive the bus! by Mo Willems

And for your next trick... see also my list of Great Books for PreK and Great Books for Kindergarten.

Not so tall for six by Dianna Hutts Aston, illustrated by Frank W. Dormer - review

Not so tall for six by Dianna Hutts Aston, illustrated by Frank W. Dormer
Dianna Hutts Aston is the author who brought us the gorgeous and informativeAn Egg Is Quiet and A Seed Is Sleepy. Not so tall for six is not like those books - I should get that out of the way.

Kylie Bell is the not-so-tallest kid in first grade. Generally, she doesn't let her size get her down, but a new large bully-type boy in her class is not letting her forget it.

Kylie deals with the (mild) bullying by thinking about her family forebears: polite Great-great Grandmother, fast Big Brother, brave Great-uncle. Her decency and courage win the day. This is a sweet, kicky book with Southwestern details and scenery - just right for a shrimpy kid with a big heart.

Labels: age: PreK - Grade3, picture books, problem solving

Good Morning China by hu yong yi

Good Morning China by hu yong yi
Paradoxically, this good morning book makes a perfect bedtime book. Beautifully illustrated in strong colors and gentle washes, this book quietly describes the early morning activities and routines of Chinese people in a park. There is card playing, there is tai chi. At the end, a large fold-out illustration of the park as a whole places each of the individual vignettes into context.

Labels: age: PreK - Grade3, diverse cultures, picture books

A Day with dad by Bo R. Holmberg, illustrated by Eva Eriksson - review

A Day with dad by Bo R. Holmberg, illustrated by Eva Eriksson
Non-custodial father spends the day with his son. Snif.

Often, books like this one, written for a specific audience and/or for a specific purpose, are less well-written, or the illustrations are sort of at a lower standard, than picture books that are "just" written for fun. I am happy to report that the semi-hipster dad and eager little boy in A Day With Dad are sensitively drawn in toothy colored pencil, and the text relates their day together (hot dogs, movie, pizza, library, pastry) in a simple, joyful way, without getting bogged down in the history and mechanics of their present relationship.

I did notice, however, that at the end of the visit, when the boy is waving to his dad from the train platform, Mom keeps her hands in her pockets. I have a feeling she's gonna need a strong one tonight while Tim tells her all about his wonderful day eating junk food with wonderful Dad.

Labels: picture books, problem solving

Ladybug Girl by David Soman and Jacky Davis - review

Ladybug Girl by David Soman and Jacky Davis
Well, I'm just in love with Ladybug Girl. She's about four, I'd say, too little to play baseball with her big brother, and too little to read. She could easily be any of my friends' little daughters. Left to her own devices for the morning, she at first declares that there's nothing to do, but then travels through the back yard with her faithful dog Bingo, rescuing ants, building a fort, braving the shark that probably lives in the big puddle.

I feel like you can never have enough make-your-own-fun books, and you certainly can never have too many books illustrated as winningly as Ladybug Girl.

Endpaper bonus: Lulu in a variety of costumes and poses, from astronaut to unicorn.

Labels: age: PreK - Grade3, girl books, picture books

Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson, narrated by Alfred Molina - review

Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson, narrated by Alfred Molina
Yesterday afternoon, as my friend Sam came to pick up his kid, I was on the porch with my laptop. "Blogging again?" Sam asked.
"I was just going to write a review of Treasure Island." I said, shutting the laptop.
"Don't let me stop you," he said. "I can just get [Nature Girl] and go."
"Nonsense." I replied. "The book's been out for 130 years, there's no need for me to review it any time soon. Sit down. See if there's any beer in the fridge. Get me one, in fact."

And that's how it goes at my house. That's also, by the way, the major reason I don't write myself. No gift for dialogue. Or plot.

Which brings me to Robert Louis Stevenson, whose gifts for both you don't need me to point out. Henry James praised the book, for Pete's sake. It's captivating:

""

Enthralled by the action, tickled to recognize the seminal appearance of familiar elements such as the Black Spot, the talking parrot, and "X marks the spot". Spellbound.

It is very worth reading. Or, actually, not.

Hear me out: I never read Treasure Island as a kid. Or Kidnapped, or The Last of the Mohicans, or Robinson Crusoe, The Swiss Family Robinson, Around the World in 80 Days, or even The Three Musketeers. I was a kid who read constantly and convulsively, anything I could put my hands on. I read while I walked to school, and relied on my friends to stop me before I walked out into traffic. But even though I knew there were wonderful stories inside those books - I'd seen the movies on The Wonderful World of Disney - I just couldn't get past the language. There's a lot to get past:

""

You might as well have snipped up a hundred words, dropped them in a hat, and pulled out any 41, for all the sense that paragraph makes to my little boys, or to me, for that matter. If I were reading it out loud to my kids, I wouldn't have the first clue how to do it - it's hard to put emphasis in the right place when you don't understand what you're saying. I would stumble, and they would be bored, and we'd miss the chance to enjoy the book together.

Imagine my pleasure, then, to discover this audio version. Alfred Molina, who made his film debut 27 years ago as the treacherous guide in the opening scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark, reads this book as only an adult British male actor could. Smoothly sailing through narration larded with terms such as "mizzen" and "coracle," "jolly-boat" and "foc'sle," Molina's voice is neither too fast nor too slow, and while he spares no effort bringing his characters to life, he never injects corny suspense or surprise as he reads Jim's narration - he lets Stevenson's words convey the emotion.

Those characterizations, though: amazing. It's as if the entire adult male cast of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies are living in our CD player. Molina does outsize and swaggering, like Geoffery Rush's Barbossa; husky and mournful, like Stellan Skarsgård's Bootstrap Bill; his Dr. Livesey sounds as cultured as Lord Cutler Beckett... I swear, Gore Verbinsky could have saved a fortune by simply hiring Alfred Molina and shaving him seven different ways.

We've just finished the book, and it was a terrific thing to share. I would stop the CD every now and then to explain things, "Did you get that? He was in the apple barrel and he overheard Long John Silver planning to take over the ship?" and we Netflix'ed the movie at one point, but by and large the abstruse language fell away, and the story came right through, for all the world like a magnificent ship under sail, cresting the waves.

Labels: adventure, age: Grade3 and up, audiobooks, boy books, fiction, historical fiction, superstar books

Goodnight, Me by Andrew Daddo, illustrations by Emma Quay - review

Goodnight, Me by Andrew Daddo, illustrations by Emma Quay
I'll bet it's just me. Probably. I'll bet that everyone else will read this beautiful little book, about a baby orangutan saying goodnight to each of his body parts, and just be charmed to pieces.

After all, I thought it was adorable too ("Legs, get some rest. We've got a lot of jumping to do tomorrow."), right up until he said goodnight to his chest, and admonished it to "keep breathing". And all of a sudden I got that Goodnight Moon vibe. Goodnight Moon always freaked me out, and I am not the only one. Saying goodnight to the air, and to sound - it sounds a lot like death to me, and I think that's kind of exactly what you have to avoid when you are soothing an anxious child to sleep.

Of course, there are plenty of children who are not anxious about going to bed, and Goodnight, Me is a fine little bedtime book for those kids. But a lot of time, if a parent is looking for a bedtime book, it's because they have a kid who has trouble letting go, and I think reading this book to a certain kid who is tense at bedtime is asking for trouble.

Emma Quay's sensitive, delicate pencil and paint drawings of the little orang deserve special mention. You just want to scoop up that sweet, hairy little kid and cuddle him to sleep. I'm going to look for Cheeky Monkey, also by these two. Like I said, it's probably just me.

Labels: age: PreK - Grade3, animals, bedtime, picture books, problem solving

Big Plans by Bob Shea and Lane Smith - review

Big Plans by Bob Shea and Lane Smith
Bob Shea (New Socks) and Lane Smith (John, Paul, George & Ben, which I think only I liked, because I loved it when it came out, and then I never saw hide nor hair of it again)? These two guys? Together? Dayum.

What's more, Big Plans totally lives up to the talent behind it. Our hero, who is sitting in the corner for being too amazing, dreams about his BIG PLANS and what he's going to do when he's in charge. "YOU! Dig a hole!" he'll say. "PENNSYLVANIA! Build a rocket ship!" "The rest of you, mill about! MILL ABOUT, I say!"

Ok, this is another loud book. Maybe it's clear by now that I like loud books. I like books that explode any suggestion that reading is for the meek. Books, and the people who read them, are often brash, daring, and emphatic, and I like to model that to kids as often as possible.

The illustrations, the text, and even the design fit together seamlessly. A plus for new readers: each character's speech and the (minimal) narration are distinguished by the use of a specific typeface and color.

It's funny. It's fast-paced. It's sly and self-referential and powerful. I Will Make Miracles is a more profound statement of this concept, but Big Plans says it loud and says it proud. (Either, by the way, would make an excellent gift for the graduate.)

Labels: age: adult children, age: Grade1 and up, boy books, funny, picture books, superstar books

Max's Dragon by Kate Banks, pictures by Boris Kulikov - review

Max's Dragon by Kate Banks, pictures by Boris Kulikov
I liked Max's Words, in which imaginative Max shows his big brothers how much fun story-making can be. I don't seem to have managed to review it, but I recommend it a lot.

In Max's Dragon, the three boys are enjoying an afternoon outdoors, and Max befriends an invisible dragon. Speaking in rhymes, he again draws his brothers into his game, attributing a sudden storm to a fight between Max's dragon and a dinosaur.

Somewhat impressionistic, vivid illustrations capture the atmospherics of the boys' summer day.

Labels: age: Grade1 and up, picture books

The Cat on the Mat is Flat, written by Andy Griffiths, illustrated by Terry Denton - review

Oh, baby. As the mother of a first grader, let me tell you how happy I am to see this book. It's a first reader that's actually entertaining and funny. Cats get hit by baseball bats. Bees menace children. There are accidents involving both superglue and cactus. THANK YOU. I can hear my son giggle as he pushes his way through page after page. Learning to read is hard - you've just got to make it worth the effort, and not a lot of books do.

The pen-and-ink Krazy Kat-like illustrations hit just the right slapstick note, without looking slapdash.

Actual cats, however, are apparently not impressed with this book.

Labels: age: Grade1 and up, animals, Beginning Reader, boy books, funny, graphic novels, superstar books

My Travelin' Eye by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw - review

My Travelin' Eye by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw Wow. There's a lot to look at in this book.

Little Jenny Sue, who was born with a "lazy eye," apparently grew up, went to art school, and started collecting paper, because her collages are about 147 kinds of awesome! She can draw, too, and she tells her story, of appreciating her two different eyes as different sides of her personality, then of having the "lazy" eye strengthened and how her mom helped her through the process, in an entertaining and heartfelt way.

So what we have here is a spectacular book about strabismus and ambylopia. Not exactly a storytime book, but certainly a read-aloud in the school setting. I would say that "lazy eye" could stand in for any difference that is experiential in nature, such as hearing deficit, Asperger's syndrome, even dyslexia.

My Travelin' Eye is food for thought.

Labels: age: Grade1 and up, diversity, picture books, problem solving

Bugs in my hair?! by Catherine Stier, illustrated by Tammie Lyon - review

Bugs in my hair?! by Catherine Stier, illustrated by Tammie Lyon Well, if you need a head lice book - and what school doesn't? - this is definitely the one to buy.

Ellie LaFleur is one of those perfect little girls, with cute outfits and shiny hair and a beautiful mom... and if it can happen to Ellie, it can happen to anyone.

Jaunty watercolor illustrations and straightforward, realistic text make this book relatable, informative, and actually kind of interesting. At the end, Ellie makes her own information sheet about lice just for kids, with lots of color and good advice.

The Summer Reading Club theme for this summer is Buggy About Reading, so when we first spotted this book, we were happy to have another bug book to recommend. Then we realized it was a "difficult themes" book about head lice. Oh well. But now that I've read it, I don't know - I might recommend it as a fun Summer Reading book anyway!

Labels: age: Grade1 and up, funny, picture books, problem solving

Punk Wig by Lori Ries, illustrated by Erin Eitter Kono - review

Punk Wig by Lori Ries, illustrated by Erin Eitter Kono Happy Monday to everyone! Today the cart of new books gives us head lice, depression, physical handicap, strabismus, and cancer! Some days are just like that, I guess.

In Punk Wig, the little boy's mom has cancer. Pale but plucky, she endures chemotherapy at the hospital and then comes home to recuperate on the couch. Our brave boy brings her lunch and plays checkers with her.

When she feels a little better, they go to the wig shop, where they clown around with the wigs. Mom rejects a wig that looks just like her own hair and instead embraces the moment, choosing a bright orange spiky 'do. Go, Mom!

The book doesn't pretend that cancer treatment is short and sweet - the illustrations make it clear that seasons are passing while Mom is getting better - but all the smiles, even the tired ones, keep this cancer book for kids on the up and up.

Labels: age: Grade1 and up, picture books, problem solving

Taking a bath with the dog and other things that make me happy by Scott Menchin - review

Taking a bath with the dog and other things that make me happy by Scott Menchin Our pirate-kerchiefed little girl is sad today. Her ma asks her, "What would make you happy?" and she is so sad that she can't think of anything that will make her happy. I know that feeling, and I've seen my kids get that feeling.

Luckily, she does something about it: she asks the moon, and a lady with crazy hair, and her dog, and a snake, and everyone else, "What makes you happy?" Just hearing other people sharing their idea of happiness takes her out of her bad mood, and when her ma asks her, "Did you find out what makes you happy?" she answers with a catalog of activities both shared and solitary, physical and mental, creative and silly, including, yes, taking a bath with the dog.

Prescriptive without being dogmatic, Taking a bath with the dog will be a great book to have around for the grumpy day, the day when the play date cancels or the demolition derby is rained out. Everybody has those days.

Labels: age: adult children, age: PreK - Grade3, picture books, problem solving, superstar books

Best Friend on Wheels by Debra Shirley, illustrated by Judy Stead - review

Best Friend on Wheels by Debra Shirley, illustrated by Judy Stead Are the rhymes a little sing-song-y? Is the plot a little forced? Sure. But I haven't seen a better book about how Kids in Wheelchairs Are Just Like Us ever. And I need this book - at the very least, I need it for the Early Childhood Development students at the local college. I also probably need it for the school library, and for the occasional parent.

The protagonist first meets her new best friend, Sarah, when the teacher asks her to show "the new girl" around school. The teacher fails to mention that Sarah uses a wheelchair, giving our hero the opportunity to model the confused and nervous reaction that many children (and adults - the text makes that clear) have when they meet someone who is physically handicapped.

I was so nervous, I stammered and stuttered. I might say the wrong thing, I thought - so I muttered. I wanted to get a good look at her chair, but I felt like a jerk, so I tried not to stare.

In my opinion, "I felt like a jerk" sells this book. If you're going to talk to kids about responding to difference, you have to acknowledge that discomfort is a common reaction, and it's best to do that using direct and honest language. But then the book moves right along. Everyone knows that the best way to make a new friend is to find something in common, and that's just what our hero does. She discovers that Sarah is into rock collecting, and they're off and running.

As I said, there are minor quibbles about plot and word choice - the book might have worked better if it didn't have to rhyme - but that is not going to stop me from recommending it wherever and whenever a book about difference is needed. A big thank you to the authors for filling a gap.

Labels: age: Grade1 and up, picture books, problem solving

Triplets turn three! Best books for three year olds

Our friends Heather and The Toddfather have triplets. Yep, a girl and two boys: C, D, and E, all three just as cute and full of fun as a pillowcase full of puppies. It's their birthday - they're three - as well as the birthday of the admirable Heather.

In their honor, I am running down the best books I know for three-year olds. Three is such a great age. They can stand a bit of story in their books, but not much. They get a few jokes. They like strong colors and funny noises. They're a little young for alphabet books, but counting books and colors go over well. Best of all, the end of diapers is in sight.

Ravenous Beast by Niamh Sharkey. Lots of visual cues and repeating elements - our boy Mao started "reading" this one out loud to himself when he was about 3.

Dinosaur Roar! by Henrietta and Paul Stickland

The Seven Silly Eaters by Mary Ann Hoberman

Chicka chicka boom boom by Martin and Archambault. This book taught our Zhou all his letters before he was two. He was like a bar trick there for a while.

Sunshine by Jan Ormerod.

Bark, George by Jules Feiffer

I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean by local hero Kevin McSherry, the t-shirt pimp of the Mt. Royal corridor.

The Pigeon books by Mo Willems, plus Leonardo, the Terrible Monster. I recently reviewed The Pigeon Wants a Puppy! here.

Not a Box and Not a Stick by Antoinette Portis. Here's what I wrote about Not a Box.

Penguin by Polly Dunbar

Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers

No, David! and the other David books by David Shannon

Bubble Bath Pirates and Good Night, Monkey Boy by Jarrett Krosoczka

Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina. I just want to see Todd going, "Chee! Chee! Chee!".

Henny-Penny and Mrs. Mustard's Beastly Babies by Jane Wattenberg.

Good Night, Gorilla and 10 Minutes to Bedtime by Peggy Rathmann

Monkey and Me by Emily Gravett. Reviewed here earlier.

Living Color, Sisters and Brothers, and What Do You Do When Something Wants To Eat You? by Steve Jenkins. Living Color reviewed here.

Runaway Dinner by Allan Ahlberg. This is the one that I said reads like Tom Waits.

Pigs from 1 to 10 by Arthur Geisert. I like the rest of Geisert's books for older kids.

Hello, Day by Anita Lobel. Reviewed here just the other day.

Color by Ella Doran. Reviewed here previously.

Grumpy Bird and Me Hungry! by Jeremy Tankard. Reviewed here previously.

Where is Coco Going? and the other Coco books by Sloane Tanen. Except the grown-up Coco books: Bitter with Baggage Seeks Same: The Life and Times of Some Chickens, Going for the Bronze: Still Bitter, More Baggage, and Hatched!: The Big Push from Pregnancy to Motherhood, although I totally recommend those for Heather.

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. Last but not least. A classic.

Snoring Beauty by Bruce Hale, illustrated by Howard Fine - review

Snoring Beauty by Bruce Hale, illustrated by Howard Fine
This is not a bedtime book. This is not a book for the gentle reader. No, Snoring Beauty is a book for a person who can SNORE like a DRAGON. It's a book for the person who really enjoyed reading Ruby Sings the Blues, and Carolinda Clatter!, and The Worm Family.

In short, this is a book for the fee-fi-fo-fummer in your family.

And it's FUNNY. Oversize personalities, hearing impairment, nutty names (Umpudine! I'm going to name our next pet that!), and did I mention the snoring? The art is also funny (and beautiful, done in rich watercolors) - each face is full of life, with exaggerated features that made me think of Tenniel's Red Queen, or Gothic caricatures. Howard Fine was the best thing about All Aboard the Dinotrain and Ding Dong, Ding Dong, but in Bruce Hale, he has met his match! I hope they make fifty books together.

Like most folk / fairy tales, it's a bit long on text, so pick this up for kids maybe 4 and up.

Labels: age: Grade1 and up, folk/fairy, funny, superstar books

Monkey and Me by Emily Gravett - review

Monkey and Me by Emily Gravett
My colleague Dances With Chickens storytimed this book today. It's a storytime kind of book, perfect for jumping around and making animal noises and slinging your sock monkey around.

Ain't nothing wrong with happy.

You know, I am seriously considering ending this review right here. It's fun, it's got animals, what else do you want to know? Oh ok. It's also EMILY GRAVETT, genius creator of Wolves and Orange Pear Apple Bear. Now are you taking out this book?

Labels: age: PreK - Grade3, animals, picture books, superstar books

to be like the SUN by Susan Marie Swanson and Margaret Chodos-Irvine - review

to be like the SUN by Susan Marie Swanson and Margaret Chodos-Irvine
I love picture books about plants and gardening. This time of year, I always like to bust them out. Some of my favorites:

Eddie's Garden and How to Make Things Grow

How Groundhog's Garden Grew

Tippy-Tippy-Tippy, Hide!

Bud

The Gardener

A Seed Is Sleepy

And now, To Be Like the Sun. I love the bold, textured illustrations, "created using a variety of nontraditional printmaking techniques and materials." I'm not positive, but I think that may mean that a lot of tissue paper and maybe even a couple of potatoes gave up their chance at happiness for this book. "This is a good death," as Chiwitel Ejiofor says in Serenity.

And I adore the prose. I plant a lot of seeds, and I'm 42 years old and NOT prone to spiritual thoughts, but when I push a seed in the ground I am almost always dubious that such a small thing can suck up a bunch of water and minerals and make a whole plant. It is one of life's enduring sources of amazement for me.

The little girl in this book, planting a sunflower seed, thinks to herself:

Hello, little seed,
striped gray seed.
Do you really know everything
about sunflowers?

Yup, that sums it up for me. She continues observing the sunflower through the seasons, as it grows, develops a bud, creates its own seeds and sheds them. In the winter we see that she has saved some seeds and will plant them next year.

It's the nearest thing to a miracle that I know, and now I have this book, to explain that to my kids better than I could.

Labels: age: PreK - Grade3, science, seasons

In a Blue Room by Jim Averbeck, illustrated by Tricia Tusa - review

In a Blue Room by Jim Averbeck, illustrated by Tricia Tusa
Tricia Tusa is one of those illustrators with a wonderful, gestural style, whose work I always feel like I've seen before. Her Alice reminds me of the little girl in How to Make a Ni...oops yes well that's because Tricia Tusa illustrated How to Make a Night. Well that was a good night-time book too. Maybe somebody's pigeonholed Tricia Tusa as a go-to-bed illustrator. Weirder things have happened. Eric Carle has his own museum.

In this book, Alice says she can only sleep in a blue room. Her Mama (a very patient, loving mama, by the way) brings her four items to soothe her senses: flowers, tea, a soft quilt, and a windchime, and then, as Alice is finally just barely hanging on to consciousness, she turns off the light and the room is bathed in blue moonlight. The last pages show Alice's house on the Earth and the Earth in space, in a celestial "blue room".

You want to get some sleep? I'm telling you - this is one sweet, soothing big blue marble glass of warm milk.

Labels: age: PreK - Grade3, bedtime, picture books, problem solving

Hello, Day by Anita Lobel - review

Hello, Day by Anita Lobel
The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." What they meant was "Hello, day!"
Later on, the owl said "Whoo-oo." What she meant was, "Good night."

Jeez, Louise, what else do you need? For storytime, for little kids, for bedtime - knocks Goodnight Moon out of the park. The illustrations, done in markers, pencil, colored pencil, watercolors and gouache, are colorful and rhythmic and textured and dimensional. They're like Van Gogh meets Warhol, but beautiful.

Endpaper bonus: gorgeous, dense bands of brilliant flowers. I want a skirt made of that pattern.

Labels: age: baby, age: PreK - Grade3, animals, bedtime, picture books, superstar books

Trainstop by Barbara Lehman - review

Trainstop by Barbara Lehman
I am not always completely gung-ho about Barbara Lehman's books. Oh, I like them myself, and I always spend a little while reading and admiring, and... then I put them back on the shelf. They're just not all that accessible to little kids, and bigger kids usually pooh-pooh them because they're wordless.

But Trainstop is a bit less abstract than The Red Book or Museum Trip. A little girl takes the subway with her parents, and after her parents doze off, the train stops at a beautiful land populated with adorable little people, who are possibly toys.

She gets back on the train, which continues on its regular route, but then is visited by a couple of the tiny people after she returns home.

In her author's note, my fellow Pratt alum Barbara Lehman mentions that she used to work for the Transit Authority, "making books about using the subways to get to school." There's a page in Trainstop that shows the little girl looking excitedly out the subway window as the subway goes through the city, into the tunnel, then out of the tunnel and into the sunny magic world. That's a page drawn by a person who loves the subway - I would recognize that kind of person anywhere.

Labels: age: Grade1 and up, fantasy, picture books, superstar books

Looking for loons, written by Jennifer Lloyd, illustrated by Kirsti Anne Wakelin - review

Looking for loons, written by Jennifer Lloyd, illustrated by Kirsti Anne Wakelin - review
Everybody should have a house on a lake in Maine. Everybody should be able to wake up at dawn, snag the binoculars, snuggle up in an Adirondack chair on the deck and watch for loons. Everybody's Grandma should make them hot chocolate while they wait, and everyone's mom should bring out an old quilt in case they're chilly. Their dad should get up and make pancakes and bacon while Grandpa makes a fire in the stone fireplace.

Sigh.

This book is like Time of Wonder by Robert McCloskey. I always read that book with at least as much envy as admiration.

The illustrations here are magnificent. Watercolor and pencil on Arches paper, atmospheric and warm, packed with keenly-observed portraits of wildlife. If I ever had a vacation on a lake with the family, I'd get Kirsti Anne Wakelin to draw it. Since I'm not likely to, I'll get this book.

Endpaper bonus: pencil sketches of wildlife.
Minor quibble: the painting on the cover is very low-contrast and kind of busy. I don't think it serves this beautiful book very well.

Labels: age: adult children, age: Grade1 and up, animals, picture books, superstar books

Arabella Miller's Tiny Caterpillar by Clare Jarrett - review

Arabella Miller's Tiny Caterpillar by Clare Jarrett
A book about what now? The life cycle of a butterfly you say? How novel!

No, don't listen to me, I'm totally being a crank today. If you have room in your heart or on your shelf for one more butterfly life cycle book, or if, for some reason, you don't have one yet, you should definitely buy this one.

The art is simple and clear, with a springy palette that suits the subject. The text rhymes, and is set to a somewhat unusual meter. I like it - it makes for kind of a halting read, mimicing the caterpillar's locomotion. I also like that the book focuses on Arabella's observation of her little friend without feeling like a textbook.

Labels: age: Grade1 and up, age: PreK - Grade3, picture books, science

The cow that laid an egg by Andy Cutbill, illustrated by Russell Ayto - review

The cow that laid an egg by Andy Cutbill, illustrated by Russell Ayto
By the same token, cows are mostly silly in children's books. Often they'd like to differentiate themselves from the herd. Cutbill's cow, Marjorie, is no exception. She feels like she isn't special. "I can't ride bicycles and do handstands like the other cows. I just feel so ordinary."

And poof! just like that, The cow that laid an egg proves itself to be anything but ordinary. There follows a tale of goodhearted chickens, shrieking farm folk, fame, jealousy, accusation, suspense... and a happy ending.

Today I handed it to a kid who had proudly shown me his first library card. He's just beginning to read on his own, so I gave him this book and There Is a Bird On Your Head!.

Labels: adoption, age: PreK - Grade3, animals, funny, picture books, superstar books

Bear's Picture by Daniel Pinkwater, illustrated by D.B. Johnson - review

Bear's Picture by Daniel Pinkwater, illustrated by D.B. Johnson
Why are bears such conduits for wisdom in picture books? Think of Drawing Lessons from a Bear. Zen Shorts (ok pandas aren't really bears but still). Winston of Churchill. Maybe because they're percieved to be big and fuzzy, strong but gentle. I guess it's all Gentle Ben's fault.

Pinkwater's bear is an artist. He dabs and daubs his painting to life, attracting the attention of two stuffy gentlemen critics, who tell him he can't paint, because "Bears aren't the sort of fellows who can do whatever they like."

Sound familiar? Like... a CHILD can't do whatever he likes? Oh, wait, if you didn't get it, "Besides... that is a silly picture. Nobody can tell what it is supposed to be."

The bear sticks up for himself, continues working on his beautiful picture, into which the men are swallowed. The painting eventually turns out to depict all the things that the bear treasures, and eventually, the bear himself.

Maybe I'm just in a cranky, cynical mood, but I just don't see the need for another book telling kids that they shouldn't listen to what other people say, they should go ahead and make art and be happy. Fact is? Nobody these days tells kids that their art is worthless because you can't tell what it's supposed to be. Nobody tells kids that they shouldn't try something new. This book would be fantastic if it were for 5th through 7th graders, who all of a sudden stiffen up and decide that if they can't be excellent at something right away, they're not going to do it.

The bear's picture, by the way, is terrific. Beautiful colors, super shapes. It's fun to watch it coming together.

Labels: age: PreK - Grade3, animals, art, picture books

On the Farm by David Elliott, illustrated by Holly Meade - review

On the Farm by David Elliott, illustrated by Holly Meade
Simple, observation-based poems complement the large, bold woodcut-and-watercolor illustrations in this book of animal poems for the very young.

The Pig Her tail? As coy as a ringlet. In her eye there's a delicate sheen. Some look at her and see a sow; I see a beauty queen.

I don't ask much from poetry written for little kids - if it's got a good beat and you can read it out loud without tripping over your tongue, then I am all for it. But David Elliott, the author of the Evangeline Mudd books, which I quite liked, manages to create tone and atmosphere, and shoehorn unexpected observations into his extremely short poems. Nicely done.

Labels: age: PreK - Grade3, animals, picture books, poetry

Mary had a little lamp by Jack Lechner, illustrated by Bob Staake - review

Mary had a little lamp by Jack Lechner, illustrated by Bob Staake
I always read the front-matter of picture books. My dad used to do that so that we wouldn't ask him to read to us: he'd start with the copyright statement and we'd bitch and moan but he would not desist, and we'd get mom to read to us instead.

So I don't read that stuff out loud to my kids, but when I preview books, I always check it out. Authors and illustrators sometimes leave Easter eggs in there for people like me. Bob Staake left me a message in the front of Mary had a little lamp.

"Art created digitally in Adobe Photoshop using nothing more than a mouse, some imagination, and a reasonable amount of coffee."

Sigh.

And thus were a hundred crappy quickie picture books born. Listen, Bob Staake, don't reveal your methods. Don't make it sound so easy. We all know it's not, that you don't imbue a gooseneck desk lamp with a winsome but insouciant personality without putting in some serious time and effort, but there are a jillion illustrators (and editors) out there reading this cheeky little artist's statement and going, "Hmmm! He doesn't even have a tablet and stylus! Cheap!"

So knock it off. Say that the color palette for your work was sampled from an extensive study of Umbrian frescoes and antique Halloween decorations. Your woodgrain texture is based on the path of woodworms eating through the dead dogwood in your front yard. Say that you developed your arsenal of compositional tricks after spending 5 years in the Himalayas watching ancient cartoons and eating mushrooms.

And be sure to mention that rhyme-smiths such as Jack Lechner just don't fall into a guy's lap.

Lechner, formerly the executive vice president of development and production for Miramax(!) has written an adorable and witty take on "Mary Had a Little Lamb". Mary takes the lamp to school, to the movies, to her cousin Debbie's wedding, and, rather inevitably, to her therapy appointment, thus providing Bob Staake with lots of fun illustration opportunities.

For everyone's Bob Staake collection, and as a fun, silly read-aloud, this book is a winner.

Labels: age: PreK - Grade3, funny, picture books, superstar books

The Elephant Quilt: Stitch by stitch to California! by Susan Lowell, pictures by Stacey Dressen-McQueen - review

The Elephant Quilt: Stitch by stitch to California! by Susan Lowell, pictures by Stacey Dressen-McQueen
This is probably the best picture book about the journey west I have ever seen. The author uses the creation of a quilt - fabric scraps embroidered with dates and places - as a metaphor for the overland journey, and indeed, the book's little girl protagonist, Lily Rose, encounters the whole spectrum of frontier experience. She meets Native Americans, sees buffalo and cactus for the first time, fords rivers and eats mountain snow. The various members of her family each have different reactions and motivations for taking the trip.

The illustrations carry the quilt metaphor forward. Without looking too trompe-l'oeil, background elements are often painted as printed fabrics, and illustration elements are often surrounded by a subtle line of painted stitches or outline.

In addition, the characters are firmly drawn and likable. There's a baby born en route, and even a custom version of "Oh, Susanna" that everyone can sing along with at storytime.

Labels: adventure, age: Grade1 and up, historical fiction, picture books, superstar books

The pigeon wants a puppy! words and pictures by Mo Willems - review

The pigeon wants a puppy! words and pictures by Mo Willems
Mo Willems really knows how to draw. Oh, that pigeon, he wears his heart on his sleeve - every gesture, every shift in posture or roll of the eyes speaks volumes. Remarkably, Willems communicates this rich, finely shaded, three-dimensional emotional range using only a few swift, sure, minimal lines. It is such a pleasure to drink in these illustrations, in which style and technique are honed to an exquisite point. And, really, I don't mean to downplay all that when I say that the art is not the best thing about the pigeon books.

The real genius of the pigeon books, The pigeon wants a puppy! being no exception, is the empowering effect that reading this book aloud has on a very young audience.

The pigeon catches the child's eye. "Oh, hello."

The pigeon confides in the child. "By the way, do you know what I want?"

The child recognizes the absurdity of the pigeon's request. "NO you can't drive the bus/stay up late/have a puppy!"

The pigeon pleads and whines, and the child continues to veto the request. Keep in mind that the adult is speaking the pigeon's part, so it's the adult who is doing the pleading and whining - and the kid who is shaking a finger and saying "No!". Empowering, no?

After being denied several times, the pigeon has a major wig-out. "I WANT A PUPPY! RIGHT HERE! RIGHT NOW!" The role reversal, with the adult mimicing tantrum behavior, is hilarious to most kids. If the grownup can manage to go cross-eyed and red in the face, so much the better.

The kid, by the way, is well aware that the pigeon is acting like a child. In laughing at the adult pretending to be the pigeon, who is behaving like a child, the child is laughing at his or her own out-of-proportion reaction to having been denied a Slurpee/another book/the last red gummy bear.

And then there's always a twist at the end.

Labels: age: PreK - Grade3, animals, funny, picture books, problem solving, superstar books

Kingdom Keepers by Ridley Scott - review

Kingdom Keepers by Ridley Scott.
There are a few things my husband and I believe we will never do. We will never live outside of the city limits. We will never go on a cruise. We will never go to a Disney park.

I don't feel like I'm missing anything, really, by hewing to these few resolutions. They're not iron-clad, anyway - I have an idea that in twenty years, that cruise is going to look a lot more attractive. And in lieu of that third item, I sometimes read about Disney World. I love hearing about the tunnels, and the staff in-jokes. Cory Doctorow is pretty much my Disney lens. That guy is obsessed. His Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom is a book I recommend to young adult and adult readers all the time.

Kingdom Keepers provides another neato, after-the-park-is-closed view of Disney World, and that is FUN. Here's the premise: Finn, our main character, along with his 4 middle-school colleagues, is tasked with solving a riddle and obtaining a magic talisman in order to thwart the evil forces threatening to take over the Magic Kingdom and beyond.

There is an inscrutable old man to serve as guide. There is an inscrutable and heart-stoppingly beautiful young woman (two, actually) to cause Finn to question motives and loyalties. There are thrilling chases through darkened rides. BUT. Kingdom Keepers suffers from a paradigm conflict. On the one hand, there are those meddling kids, using logic and detective work to solve the mysteries, figure out who the bad guys are, and plan their moves... but on the other hand, there's one heck of a lot of magic going on: Finn, who is part hologram, can from time to time walk through walls and stuff; and the villain (Maleficent, the evil witch from I think Sleeping Beauty) can throw fireballs, fly, and crash network servers.

In general, when you pit the human detective against the supernatural villain, it becomes really difficult to make the detective's methods seem worthwhile. Unless you set up very clear (and tedious) rules, magic is enough of a deus ex machina that it can knock your detective's deductions into a cocked hat. It's why Batman rarely comes up against bad guys with supernatural powers – he battles human criminals who make weird wardrobe decisions, not elemental forces gone berserk. Like fights like.

I could come up with other examples here – John Constantine comes to mind – but I just read WIRED magazine today and I keep thinking of the geek who got an entire convention full of gaming nerds to put on an impromptu re-enactment of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. And I don't want to be that guy.

Further, Kingdom Keepers suffers from open-end-itis. When you've finished the book, a number of questions are left hanging - Who was she? How come that worked? That kind of sequel-bait to me is just cheating.

In conclusion. Kingdom Keepers. Let me put it this way: it's just exactly like Scooby-Doo. Five kids, an empty amusement park, costumed villains trying to take over – except there's no use ripping the mask off that pirate – he's an Audio-Animatronic.

Bonus for you: animated LEGO Monty Python.

Labels: adventure, age: Grade3 and up, fiction, mystery