Robert Munsch
Illustrated by Michael Martchenko
Elizabeth was a beautiful princess who was to marry Ronald, until a dragon comes and burns everything in the kingdom but a paper bag. Then Elizabeth tries to rescue Ronald from the dragon, wearing only her paper bag.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Seen Art?
Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith
While looking for his friend Art, people show him the art inside the MoMA instead.
While looking for his friend Art, people show him the art inside the MoMA instead.
I Don't Like Gloria!
Kaye Umansky
Illustrated by Margaret Chamberlain
Calvin the dog really doesn't like it when Gloria the cat comes to live with the family. The only thing that Gloria and Calvin can agree on is that they do not like Jeffrey, the new bunny to the family.
Illustrated by Margaret Chamberlain
Calvin the dog really doesn't like it when Gloria the cat comes to live with the family. The only thing that Gloria and Calvin can agree on is that they do not like Jeffrey, the new bunny to the family.
Baloney (Henry P.)
Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith
This is the story of why Henry P. Baloney, an alien, is late for school. Decoded by the authors, it uses many languages in place of common words.
This is the story of why Henry P. Baloney, an alien, is late for school. Decoded by the authors, it uses many languages in place of common words.
Swimming Lessons
Betsy Jay
Illustrated by Lori Osiecki
Jane doesn't want to learn how to swim, and doesn't think she will ever need to learn, but she soon realizes how fun swimming can actually be.
Illustrated by Lori Osiecki
Jane doesn't want to learn how to swim, and doesn't think she will ever need to learn, but she soon realizes how fun swimming can actually be.
Toot & Puddle Charming Opal
Holly Hobbie
Opal comes for a visit, and loses her tooth during her stay.
Opal comes for a visit, and loses her tooth during her stay.
Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse
Kevin Henkes
Lilly wants to be a teacher when she grows up, until mean Mr. Slinger takes her new plastic purse, quarters and glasses away from her.
Lilly wants to be a teacher when she grows up, until mean Mr. Slinger takes her new plastic purse, quarters and glasses away from her.
Toot & Puddle You Are My Sunshine
Holly Hobbie
Toot is moping, and the only thing that can clear it up is a good rainstorm.
Toot is moping, and the only thing that can clear it up is a good rainstorm.
Squids Will Be Squids
Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith
If you want to say something bad about someone, change their name to a type of animal and call it a fable!
If you want to say something bad about someone, change their name to a type of animal and call it a fable!
Priscilla Superstar!
Nathaniel Hobbie
Illustrated by Jocelyn Hobbie
Priscilla wants to become the roller skating princess, but instead is cast as the wind. Her friend convinces her it really is the best part in the roller ballet.
Illustrated by Jocelyn Hobbie
Priscilla wants to become the roller skating princess, but instead is cast as the wind. Her friend convinces her it really is the best part in the roller ballet.
Pajama Anytime
Marsha Hayles
Illustrated by Hiroe Nakata
Tells what months of the year (all of them) are good for pajamas.
Illustrated by Hiroe Nakata
Tells what months of the year (all of them) are good for pajamas.
Toot & Puddle The One and Only
Holly Hobbie
The new girl is copying Opal, and is also the teachers pet and becoming popular in class, but there are some things that the new girl can't beat Opal at.
The new girl is copying Opal, and is also the teachers pet and becoming popular in class, but there are some things that the new girl can't beat Opal at.
Oh, Tucker!
Steven Kroll
Illustrated by Scott Nash
What happens when Tucker gets up in the morning and goes in for breakfast.
Illustrated by Scott Nash
What happens when Tucker gets up in the morning and goes in for breakfast.
Hugville
Court Crandall
Illustrated by Joe Murray
Welcome to Hugville, where there is a large amount of different hugs to be given.
Illustrated by Joe Murray
Welcome to Hugville, where there is a large amount of different hugs to be given.
Miles Away From Home
Joan Cottle
Miles is on vacation with his family, but he feels like he is in the way and doesn't belong until he saves someone from the ocean.
Miles is on vacation with his family, but he feels like he is in the way and doesn't belong until he saves someone from the ocean.
The Runaway Rice Cake
Ying Chang Compestine
Illustrated by Tungwai Chau
The Chang family only have enough to make one rice cake for their new year celebration, but when the rice cake runs away and the Chang's don't get any of it, the neighbors come to the rescue.
Illustrated by Tungwai Chau
The Chang family only have enough to make one rice cake for their new year celebration, but when the rice cake runs away and the Chang's don't get any of it, the neighbors come to the rescue.
The Story of Paper
Ying Chang Compestine
Illustrated by Yongsheng Xuan
Tells the story of the Kang brothers, and after getting in trouble at school again, decide to try to make something to write on.
Illustrated by Yongsheng Xuan
Tells the story of the Kang brothers, and after getting in trouble at school again, decide to try to make something to write on.
Stop Drop and Roll
Margery Cuyler
Illustrated by Arthur Howard
Jessica is a worrier, and this book teaches kids about fire safety through the eyes of a worrier.
Illustrated by Arthur Howard
Jessica is a worrier, and this book teaches kids about fire safety through the eyes of a worrier.
The Cello of Mr. O
Jane Cutler
Illustrated by Greg Couch
When war destroys a small village and the relief trucks that were running to it, the only peace a small town can get is from the music of Mr. O.
Illustrated by Greg Couch
When war destroys a small village and the relief trucks that were running to it, the only peace a small town can get is from the music of Mr. O.
The Mystery of the Monkey's Maze
Doug Cushman
Following the casebook of Seymour Sleuth as he tries to find out who is out to stop Dr. Irene A. Tran as she finds the cure for hiccups in Borneo.
Following the casebook of Seymour Sleuth as he tries to find out who is out to stop Dr. Irene A. Tran as she finds the cure for hiccups in Borneo.
The Mystery of King Karfu
Doug Cushman
Told in the style of a journal, we follow Seymour Sleuth as he investigates the mystery of the missing stone chicken of King Karfu.
Told in the style of a journal, we follow Seymour Sleuth as he investigates the mystery of the missing stone chicken of King Karfu.
The Polar Express
Chris Van Allsburg
A boy boards the train Polar Express one night and finds himself in the North Pole at Santa's workshop.
A boy boards the train Polar Express one night and finds himself in the North Pole at Santa's workshop.
John Willy and Freddy McGee
Holly Meade
John Willy and Freddy McGee are guinea pigs that are bored living in a cage life, but when they try to live in the pool table, they realize that sometimes boring is better.
John Willy and Freddy McGee are guinea pigs that are bored living in a cage life, but when they try to live in the pool table, they realize that sometimes boring is better.
But Excuse Me That is My Book
Lauren Child
Lola wants to go to the library to check out her book on bugs, beetles, and butterflies, but someone already has it. Can Charlie convince Lola to try another book?
Lola wants to go to the library to check out her book on bugs, beetles, and butterflies, but someone already has it. Can Charlie convince Lola to try another book?
I Am Not Sleepy and I Will Not Go To Bed
Lauren Child
Charlie has a tough time getting his little sister Lola into bed.
Charlie has a tough time getting his little sister Lola into bed.
Jimmy Zangwow's Out-Of-This-World Moon Pie Adventure
Tony DiTerlizzi
Jimmy really wants a Moon Pie, but his mother thinks it will spoil his dinner. How far would Jimmy go to get a moon pie?
Jimmy really wants a Moon Pie, but his mother thinks it will spoil his dinner. How far would Jimmy go to get a moon pie?
Stellaluna
Janell Cannon
Stellaluna is a bat that grew up with birds. Some of the things they do seem strange to her, but despite their differences, Stellaluna and the birds she grew up with are friends.
Stellaluna is a bat that grew up with birds. Some of the things they do seem strange to her, but despite their differences, Stellaluna and the birds she grew up with are friends.
Charlie Hits it Big
Deborah Blumenthal
Illustrated by Denise Brunkus
Charlie is a guinea pig that dreams of working in Hollywood, but are his big screen dreams really what he wants?
Illustrated by Denise Brunkus
Charlie is a guinea pig that dreams of working in Hollywood, but are his big screen dreams really what he wants?
Slippers at Home
Andrew Clements
Illustrated by Janie Bynum
Slippers the dog tells about the four people that live in the house with him.
Illustrated by Janie Bynum
Slippers the dog tells about the four people that live in the house with him.
Frank's Great Museum Adventure
Rod Clement
Frank the dog and his owner are off in search of history at the local museum.
Frank the dog and his owner are off in search of history at the local museum.
The Gum Chewing Rattler
Joe Hayes
Illustrated by Antonio Castro L.
A young boy likes chewing bubble gum, and always has some on him. One day a snake tries to bite him, but instead gets a wad of bubble gum.
Illustrated by Antonio Castro L.
A young boy likes chewing bubble gum, and always has some on him. One day a snake tries to bite him, but instead gets a wad of bubble gum.
A Bad Case of Stripes
David Shannon
Camilla likes lima beans, but is afraid to admit it. But not admitting to who she is and what she likes gives her a bad case of stripes!
Camilla likes lima beans, but is afraid to admit it. But not admitting to who she is and what she likes gives her a bad case of stripes!
Duck at the Door
Jackie Urbanovic
Max is a duck that did not migrate with his flock, instead he spends all winter with Irene and her animals. Everyone tires of Max by the end of winter, but once he leaves they all start to miss him.
Max is a duck that did not migrate with his flock, instead he spends all winter with Irene and her animals. Everyone tires of Max by the end of winter, but once he leaves they all start to miss him.
Walter the Baker
Eric Carle
Walter the Baker will be banished from the kingdom unless he can make a special new bread. He ends up inventing the pretzel.
Walter the Baker will be banished from the kingdom unless he can make a special new bread. He ends up inventing the pretzel.
Princess Justina Albertina
Ellen Dee Davidson
Illustrated by Michael Chesworth
Princess Justina Albertina is whiny, and she wants a pet! What lengths will her nanny go to get her one?
Illustrated by Michael Chesworth
Princess Justina Albertina is whiny, and she wants a pet! What lengths will her nanny go to get her one?
Hattie Hippo
Christine Loomis
Illustrated by Robert Neubecker
Short stories about hattie hippo, who loves to dance and throw tea parties.
Illustrated by Robert Neubecker
Short stories about hattie hippo, who loves to dance and throw tea parties.
Love, Ruby Valentine
Laurie Friedman
Illustrated by Lynne Avril Cravath
Ruby Valentine's favorite day of the year is Valentine's Day. What happens when she sleeps through Valentine's and can't give out her gifts.
Illustrated by Lynne Avril Cravath
Ruby Valentine's favorite day of the year is Valentine's Day. What happens when she sleeps through Valentine's and can't give out her gifts.
Library Mouse
Daniel Kirk
Sam was a mouse who lived in the library. He decides he wants to write his own stories, and the people of the library want to meet him, but instead Sam shows everyone that an author lives in everyone.
Sam was a mouse who lived in the library. He decides he wants to write his own stories, and the people of the library want to meet him, but instead Sam shows everyone that an author lives in everyone.
Grumpy Bird
Jeremy Tankard
Bird is really grumpy, too grumpy to eat, too grumpy to fly. When he starts walking and his friends join him, he forgets to be grumpy and starts having fun.
Bird is really grumpy, too grumpy to eat, too grumpy to fly. When he starts walking and his friends join him, he forgets to be grumpy and starts having fun.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Andrew's Bright Blue T-Shirt
Jessica Wollman
Illustrated by Ana Lopez Escriva
Andrew loves his bright blue shirt with a soccer ball on it so much he refuses to take it off, even after he gets bigger and the shirt gets tight.
Illustrated by Ana Lopez Escriva
Andrew loves his bright blue shirt with a soccer ball on it so much he refuses to take it off, even after he gets bigger and the shirt gets tight.
How the Tiny People Grew Tall
Nancy Wood
Illustrated by Rebecca Walsh
A Creation tale showing what happens when little people learn from animals.
Illustrated by Rebecca Walsh
A Creation tale showing what happens when little people learn from animals.
The Scarab's Secret
Nick Would
Illustrated by Christina Balit
A little scarab beetle saves the life of an Egyptian prince, and tells the story of how he became honored.
Illustrated by Christina Balit
A little scarab beetle saves the life of an Egyptian prince, and tells the story of how he became honored.
Bear Feels Sick
Karma Wilson
Illustrated by Jane Chapman
Bear is feeling sick, can his friends help him feel better.
Illustrated by Jane Chapman
Bear is feeling sick, can his friends help him feel better.
Bear's New Friend
Karma Wilson
Illustrated by Jane Chapman
There is someone new in the forest, but bear and friends cannot guess who it is.
Illustrated by Jane Chapman
There is someone new in the forest, but bear and friends cannot guess who it is.
The Dumpster Diver
Janet S. Wong
Illustrated by David Roberts
The dumpster diver turns trash into treasure, and shows us how to reuse some old stuff in new ways.
Illustrated by David Roberts
The dumpster diver turns trash into treasure, and shows us how to reuse some old stuff in new ways.
How I Became a Pirate
Melinda Long
Illustrated by David Shannon
Jeremy Jacob becomes a pirate one day, and finds out they are cool because they do whatever they want. But are they really cool once Jeremy Jacob finds out some of the things they don't do?
Illustrated by David Shannon
Jeremy Jacob becomes a pirate one day, and finds out they are cool because they do whatever they want. But are they really cool once Jeremy Jacob finds out some of the things they don't do?
Grumpy Gloria
Anna Dewdney
When Gloria's best friend gets a doll, Gloria feels left out and grumpy, and nothing will cheer her up.
When Gloria's best friend gets a doll, Gloria feels left out and grumpy, and nothing will cheer her up.
Hilda Must be Dancing
Karma Wilson
Illustrated by Suzanne Watts
When Hilda the Hippo dances everything moves with her! The animals tire of their homes being shaken about, so they try quieter hobbies, but Hilda want to keep on dancing. Will they ever find a quieter hobby that Hilda likes.
Illustrated by Suzanne Watts
When Hilda the Hippo dances everything moves with her! The animals tire of their homes being shaken about, so they try quieter hobbies, but Hilda want to keep on dancing. Will they ever find a quieter hobby that Hilda likes.
Bear Wants More
Karma Wilson
Illustrated by Jane Chapman
Bear wakes up from hibernation, and he is hungry. Every time he eats, he realizes he just wants more.
Illustrated by Jane Chapman
Bear wakes up from hibernation, and he is hungry. Every time he eats, he realizes he just wants more.
The 39 Apartments of Ludwig Van Beethoven
Jonah Winter
Barry Blitt
Fact: Beethoven moved to 39 different apartments. Fact: He had 5 legless pianos. What happens to the movers when he wants to move again.
Barry Blitt
Fact: Beethoven moved to 39 different apartments. Fact: He had 5 legless pianos. What happens to the movers when he wants to move again.
If I Had A Robot
Dan Yaccarino
Phil wonders what he could do if he had a robot, but sometimes the rewards are better if you do it yourself.
Phil wonders what he could do if he had a robot, but sometimes the rewards are better if you do it yourself.
The Lima Bean Monster
Dan Yaccarino
Illustrated by Adam McCauley
Sammy hates lima beans, and when the pile he has of them in the vacant lot next door get struck by lightning, it becomes the lima bean monster.
Illustrated by Adam McCauley
Sammy hates lima beans, and when the pile he has of them in the vacant lot next door get struck by lightning, it becomes the lima bean monster.
Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum
Lisa Wheeler
Illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith
A whole load of animals get stuck in a piece of gum on the road.
Illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith
A whole load of animals get stuck in a piece of gum on the road.
Oswald
Dan Yaccarino
Oswald just moved into town and is worried he won't make any friends. Then his piano rolls away.
Oswald just moved into town and is worried he won't make any friends. Then his piano rolls away.
An Octopus Followed Us Home
Dan Yaccarino
A girls wants to keep an octopus that followed her home, but her father reminds her of all the pets that are still in the house.
A girls wants to keep an octopus that followed her home, but her father reminds her of all the pets that are still in the house.
Deep in the Jungle
Dan Yaccarino
Lion is king of the jungle, and all the animals know it. One day a lion tamer comes and offers him a chance to be a star, but it isn't what lion had expected.
Lion is king of the jungle, and all the animals know it. One day a lion tamer comes and offers him a chance to be a star, but it isn't what lion had expected.
Unlovable
Dan Yaccarino
Alfred is a pug who thinks he is unlovable. All the other dogs make fun of him, and so do the cats and fish. Then he tells the new dog next door a lie about who he is, and when he finds out the truth will he think Alfred is unlovable too?
Alfred is a pug who thinks he is unlovable. All the other dogs make fun of him, and so do the cats and fish. Then he tells the new dog next door a lie about who he is, and when he finds out the truth will he think Alfred is unlovable too?
Monday, May 19, 2008
Verdi
Janell Cannon
Verdi is a snake who's mother wants him to grow up to be big and green, but Verdi wants to be yellow instead.
Verdi is a snake who's mother wants him to grow up to be big and green, but Verdi wants to be yellow instead.
I'm Gonna Like Me: Letting off a little self-esteem
Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell
A book that encourages boys and girls to feel good about themselves.
A book that encourages boys and girls to feel good about themselves.
Such A Prince
Dan Bar-el
Illustrated by John Manders
Marvin isn't powerful or rich, or even very handsome, but can an unusual fairy help him win the heart of Princess Vera and turn him into a prince.
Illustrated by John Manders
Marvin isn't powerful or rich, or even very handsome, but can an unusual fairy help him win the heart of Princess Vera and turn him into a prince.
Whopper Cake
Karma Wilson and Will Hillenbrand
Grandad want to make a whopper of a cake for grandma's birthday, and makes a mess of everything.
Grandad want to make a whopper of a cake for grandma's birthday, and makes a mess of everything.
Falling For Rapunzel
Leah Wilcox
illustrated by Lydia Monks
A retelling of Rapunzel, which involves the prince and Rapunzel getting into some misunderstandings.
illustrated by Lydia Monks
A retelling of Rapunzel, which involves the prince and Rapunzel getting into some misunderstandings.
Dance by the Light of the Moon
Joanne Ryder
Illustrated by Guy Francis
It's the annual barnyard party, and all the animals are ready to dance! Based on "Buffalo Gals" originally published in 1844.
Illustrated by Guy Francis
It's the annual barnyard party, and all the animals are ready to dance! Based on "Buffalo Gals" originally published in 1844.
Hello, Red Fox
Eric Carle
Mama Frog gets a surprise when guests arrive for Little Frog's Birthday party. The book explores complementary colors.
Mama Frog gets a surprise when guests arrive for Little Frog's Birthday party. The book explores complementary colors.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Cowboy and Octopus
Jon Scieszca and Lane Smith
Grade 1–5—Picture-book readers meet an unlikely pair of friends here: a refined octopus and a cowboy who is a little rough around the edges. The two are actually paper cutouts: the title page reveals that Cowboy has been snipped from a Western Heroes paper-doll book and Octopus from a comic strip. Seven hilarious short stories are presented, beginning with the origin of the friendship, in which Cowboy is confused about a teeter-totter that doesn't seem to work until Octopus "repairs" it by sitting on the opposite end, and concluding with the pair gazing into the sunset of a picture postcard. All of the vignettes are silly and perfectly absurd; Scieszka captures a childlike dialogic cadence and ends the pieces with the sudden, agreeable solutions to problems that kids often come up with. Incorporating mid-20th-century illustrations, graphic art, newspaper clippings, and toys, the collage and mixed-media artwork perfectly matches the wacky text. The colors are slightly muted and the paper appears to have yellowed with age. The delightful paper protagonists never change poses, though Smith occasionally dresses them in zany paper hats and silly costumes, and their static nature adds to the humor. Share this title with devotees of Scieszka's and Smith's other collaborations and with fans of Mini Grey's Traction Man Is Here! (Knopf, 2005). Cowboy and Octopus prove that we all get by with a little help from our friends.
Grade 1–5—Picture-book readers meet an unlikely pair of friends here: a refined octopus and a cowboy who is a little rough around the edges. The two are actually paper cutouts: the title page reveals that Cowboy has been snipped from a Western Heroes paper-doll book and Octopus from a comic strip. Seven hilarious short stories are presented, beginning with the origin of the friendship, in which Cowboy is confused about a teeter-totter that doesn't seem to work until Octopus "repairs" it by sitting on the opposite end, and concluding with the pair gazing into the sunset of a picture postcard. All of the vignettes are silly and perfectly absurd; Scieszka captures a childlike dialogic cadence and ends the pieces with the sudden, agreeable solutions to problems that kids often come up with. Incorporating mid-20th-century illustrations, graphic art, newspaper clippings, and toys, the collage and mixed-media artwork perfectly matches the wacky text. The colors are slightly muted and the paper appears to have yellowed with age. The delightful paper protagonists never change poses, though Smith occasionally dresses them in zany paper hats and silly costumes, and their static nature adds to the humor. Share this title with devotees of Scieszka's and Smith's other collaborations and with fans of Mini Grey's Traction Man Is Here! (Knopf, 2005). Cowboy and Octopus prove that we all get by with a little help from our friends.
Time To Say "Please"
Mo Willems
PreSchool-Grade 3–This painless introduction to good manners is sure to produce a generation of more civilized beings. With tongue firmly in cheek, Willems uses an army of mice and a cast of multicultural children to cover the basics of polite conversation: please, excuse me, sorry, and thank you. The tiny rodents are responsible for maneuvering the colorful text bubbles (and parachutes, arrows, signs, hot-air balloons, sails, wrecking balls, etc.). Framing the words in creative ways against expansive white backgrounds reinforces their importance while providing a boost to beginning readers. The examples speak directly to a young child's experience, thereby inspiring the motivation to try the author's suggestions: If you ever really want something–the illustration shows an entranced girl eyeing a cookie jar–...don't just grab it! Go ask a big person and please say ˜please'! Other relevant situations follow as the mice instruct and cajole the youngsters on the art of approaching adults while remaining sincere. A certain pigeon makes a cameo appearance, and a simple board game decorates the endpapers. While treatises on good manners abound, this entertaining and practical guide is closest to the spirited style of Sesyle Joslin's What Do You Say, Dear? (HarperCollins, 1958). Willems offers no sermons, no sentimentality, just good sense–and fun, thank you very much
PreSchool-Grade 3–This painless introduction to good manners is sure to produce a generation of more civilized beings. With tongue firmly in cheek, Willems uses an army of mice and a cast of multicultural children to cover the basics of polite conversation: please, excuse me, sorry, and thank you. The tiny rodents are responsible for maneuvering the colorful text bubbles (and parachutes, arrows, signs, hot-air balloons, sails, wrecking balls, etc.). Framing the words in creative ways against expansive white backgrounds reinforces their importance while providing a boost to beginning readers. The examples speak directly to a young child's experience, thereby inspiring the motivation to try the author's suggestions: If you ever really want something–the illustration shows an entranced girl eyeing a cookie jar–...don't just grab it! Go ask a big person and please say ˜please'! Other relevant situations follow as the mice instruct and cajole the youngsters on the art of approaching adults while remaining sincere. A certain pigeon makes a cameo appearance, and a simple board game decorates the endpapers. While treatises on good manners abound, this entertaining and practical guide is closest to the spirited style of Sesyle Joslin's What Do You Say, Dear? (HarperCollins, 1958). Willems offers no sermons, no sentimentality, just good sense–and fun, thank you very much
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Henry the Dog with No Tail
Kate Feiffer
Illustrated by Jules Feiffer
Henry wantedone thing in life.
He wanted a tail.
All the other dogs he knew had tails.
Grady, a black Labrador,
had a great big black tail.
Pip, a pug, could do
tricks with her tail.
Larry had a big
puffy ball tail...
WHAT WAS
HENRY TO DO?
Illustrated by Jules Feiffer
Henry wantedone thing in life.
He wanted a tail.
All the other dogs he knew had tails.
Grady, a black Labrador,
had a great big black tail.
Pip, a pug, could do
tricks with her tail.
Larry had a big
puffy ball tail...
WHAT WAS
HENRY TO DO?
The Incredible Book Eating Boy
By: Oliver Jeffers
Henry loved books, not reading them, but eating them! Eating books turns out to be very beneficial, with each book he eats he gets smarter. However, soon a good thing turns into a bad thing and all the information starts to get jumbled up. Will Henry find a way to still be able to enjoy books now that he can no longer eat them?
Henry loved books, not reading them, but eating them! Eating books turns out to be very beneficial, with each book he eats he gets smarter. However, soon a good thing turns into a bad thing and all the information starts to get jumbled up. Will Henry find a way to still be able to enjoy books now that he can no longer eat them?
Purplicious
Victoria & Elizabeth Kann
Pinkalicious gets upset because all the other girls think that pink is just for babies. They all like black now. However, when Pinkalicious meets another girl who likes pink, things turn around.
Pinkalicious gets upset because all the other girls think that pink is just for babies. They all like black now. However, when Pinkalicious meets another girl who likes pink, things turn around.
Pinkalicious
Victoria & Elizabeth Kann
Pinkalicioius has turned pink after eating too many pink cupcakes. When one more turns her red, she knows that the only way to be herself again is to eat green foods.
Pinkalicioius has turned pink after eating too many pink cupcakes. When one more turns her red, she knows that the only way to be herself again is to eat green foods.
Fancy Nancy Bonjour, Butterfly
Jane O'Connor
Illus: Robin Preiss Glasser
Nancy is thrilled to be going to a butterfly birthday party, but then her parents tell her that she has to go to her Grandparents anniversary party instead. Will she be able to have fun or will she be in a sour mood the whole party?
Kari gives this one 5 stars!
Illus: Robin Preiss Glasser
Nancy is thrilled to be going to a butterfly birthday party, but then her parents tell her that she has to go to her Grandparents anniversary party instead. Will she be able to have fun or will she be in a sour mood the whole party?
Kari gives this one 5 stars!
Monday, May 12, 2008
Julius: The baby of the world
Kevin Henkes
Lilly is not so sure about her new brother. She thinks he is smelly, loud, and obnoxious. What will it take for Lilly to accept her new baby brother?
Lilly is not so sure about her new brother. She thinks he is smelly, loud, and obnoxious. What will it take for Lilly to accept her new baby brother?
The Surprise
Sylvia van Ommen
Sheep wants to get a special present for his friend. He dies his wool red, shaves it off, and turns it into a sweater.
Sheep wants to get a special present for his friend. He dies his wool red, shaves it off, and turns it into a sweater.
The Great Kapok Tree
Lynne Cherry
A young man walks into the rainforest to cut down a tree. Soon he tires out and falls asleep at the base of the tree. The animals/people of the rainforest come to him while he sleeps and whisper to him about why he should not cut down the tree. When he wakes up he looks at all the animals, did they manage to change his mind?
A young man walks into the rainforest to cut down a tree. Soon he tires out and falls asleep at the base of the tree. The animals/people of the rainforest come to him while he sleeps and whisper to him about why he should not cut down the tree. When he wakes up he looks at all the animals, did they manage to change his mind?
Big Al and Shrimpy
Andrew Clements
Illus: Yoshi
Little Shrimpy is too small, and he has no friends. When playing tag one day, Big Al and Shrimpy are kicked out of the game because they are too slow to catch the other fish. This leads them to becoming good friends. How will smart little shrimpy end up saving the day and earning the respect of the other fish?
Illus: Yoshi
Little Shrimpy is too small, and he has no friends. When playing tag one day, Big Al and Shrimpy are kicked out of the game because they are too slow to catch the other fish. This leads them to becoming good friends. How will smart little shrimpy end up saving the day and earning the respect of the other fish?
Big Al
Andrew Clements
Illustrator: Yoshi
Big Al is a kind fish, but he is big, ugly, and scary looking. None of the other fish want to be his friend. What will it take for the littler fish to realize that just because he is big doesn' t mean he is mean?
Illustrator: Yoshi
Big Al is a kind fish, but he is big, ugly, and scary looking. None of the other fish want to be his friend. What will it take for the littler fish to realize that just because he is big doesn' t mean he is mean?
But Excuse Me That is My Book*
Lauren Child
"Charlie and Lola" Charlie and Lola go to the libary and Lola wants to get her favorite book. However, someone already has it checked out. What will Lola do when she can't get "her" book? Maybe she will find out that other books are good to read also.
"Charlie and Lola" Charlie and Lola go to the libary and Lola wants to get her favorite book. However, someone already has it checked out. What will Lola do when she can't get "her" book? Maybe she will find out that other books are good to read also.
Punk Farm*
Jarrett J. Krosoczka
The farmer has gone to bed, but what about the animals? The animals are getting ready to put on a show! Old MacDonald has never been sung quite like this.
Kari gives this book 5 stars!!
The farmer has gone to bed, but what about the animals? The animals are getting ready to put on a show! Old MacDonald has never been sung quite like this.
Kari gives this book 5 stars!!
The Fabulous Bouncing Chowder*
Peter Brown
Chowder is back! Chowder wants to be an acrobat, but it's No Dogs Allowed. Instead he goes to Fabu Pooch Boot Camp. However, Chowder doesn't quite fit in. Find out how Chowder bounces into everyone's hearts in the First Annual Fabu Pooch Pageant.
Kari gives this book 5 stars!!
Chowder is back! Chowder wants to be an acrobat, but it's No Dogs Allowed. Instead he goes to Fabu Pooch Boot Camp. However, Chowder doesn't quite fit in. Find out how Chowder bounces into everyone's hearts in the First Annual Fabu Pooch Pageant.
Kari gives this book 5 stars!!
It's Hard to Be Five: Learning How to Work My Control Panel
Jamie Lee Curtis
Illustrated by Laura Cornell
The creative team behind Today I Feel Silly amiably addresses the challenges of being a five-year-old—especially the pesky problem of learning self-control. In the story's wry opening, the narrator observes, "It's hard to be five. I'm little no more. Good old days are gone. 'Bye one, two, three, four." Among the trials he faces are controlling his temper when dealing with his younger brother ("My mind says do one thing, my mouth says another"), avoiding dirt and starting school ("School seems so scary. School seems so strange. I'm only five. My whole world's going to change"). Curtis's singsong verse also focuses on some of the pluses of being five: though his brother is strapped into a stroller, the hero can walk by himself ("It's fun to be five! Big changes are here! My body's my car, and I'm licensed to steer") and school entails some entertaining activities ("At five I'm a worker—a bee among bees. I build things and grow things, say thank you and please"). Cornell's buoyant, teeming spreads and spot illustrations convey the boundless energy and changeable moods of this likeable five-year-old with on-target, hyperbolic humor. Though the narrative winds to a rather corny close, this cheerful book with its clever visual details will surely appeal to fans of the collaborators' earlier books as well as those looking for a reassuring, age-appropriate tale for the kindergartner in their lives. Ages 4-8.
Illustrated by Laura Cornell
The creative team behind Today I Feel Silly amiably addresses the challenges of being a five-year-old—especially the pesky problem of learning self-control. In the story's wry opening, the narrator observes, "It's hard to be five. I'm little no more. Good old days are gone. 'Bye one, two, three, four." Among the trials he faces are controlling his temper when dealing with his younger brother ("My mind says do one thing, my mouth says another"), avoiding dirt and starting school ("School seems so scary. School seems so strange. I'm only five. My whole world's going to change"). Curtis's singsong verse also focuses on some of the pluses of being five: though his brother is strapped into a stroller, the hero can walk by himself ("It's fun to be five! Big changes are here! My body's my car, and I'm licensed to steer") and school entails some entertaining activities ("At five I'm a worker—a bee among bees. I build things and grow things, say thank you and please"). Cornell's buoyant, teeming spreads and spot illustrations convey the boundless energy and changeable moods of this likeable five-year-old with on-target, hyperbolic humor. Though the narrative winds to a rather corny close, this cheerful book with its clever visual details will surely appeal to fans of the collaborators' earlier books as well as those looking for a reassuring, age-appropriate tale for the kindergartner in their lives. Ages 4-8.
Roadsigns: A Harey Race with a Tortoise
Margery Cuyler
Illustrated by Steve Haskamp
The classic Tortoise and Hare race is told through traffic signs
Illustrated by Steve Haskamp
The classic Tortoise and Hare race is told through traffic signs
Monkey and Me
Emily Gravett
A little girl and her toy monkey love imitating different animals, everything from jumping like kangaroos to waddling like penguins! Open this book and play along with them.
Can you guess what animal they are now?
A little girl and her toy monkey love imitating different animals, everything from jumping like kangaroos to waddling like penguins! Open this book and play along with them.
Can you guess what animal they are now?
Pancakes, Pancakes!
Eric Carle
The barnyard rooster crows to tell Jack it's time to get up. It's very early in the morning -- and Jack is so hungry that what he really wants is a large pancake for breakfast. But first, Jack's mother needs flour from the mill, an egg from the black he, milk from the spotted cow, and butter churned from fresh cream. Will it ever be time for breakfast and that large pancake?
The barnyard rooster crows to tell Jack it's time to get up. It's very early in the morning -- and Jack is so hungry that what he really wants is a large pancake for breakfast. But first, Jack's mother needs flour from the mill, an egg from the black he, milk from the spotted cow, and butter churned from fresh cream. Will it ever be time for breakfast and that large pancake?
My Apron
Eric Carle
PreS-Gr 1-When an eight-year-old boy helps his uncle at his job as a plasterer, he takes a fancy to his workman's apron with a pocket. As a result of his fascination, his aunt makes him an apron of his own and he spends a few days as his Uncle Adam's assistant. The text is brief and simple but clearly conveys the warmth between the man and his nephew and the child's satisfaction in a job well done. The line/tissue paper illustrations are colorful and somewhat geometric, reminiscent of French Cubist Leger's work featuring laborers
PreS-Gr 1-When an eight-year-old boy helps his uncle at his job as a plasterer, he takes a fancy to his workman's apron with a pocket. As a result of his fascination, his aunt makes him an apron of his own and he spends a few days as his Uncle Adam's assistant. The text is brief and simple but clearly conveys the warmth between the man and his nephew and the child's satisfaction in a job well done. The line/tissue paper illustrations are colorful and somewhat geometric, reminiscent of French Cubist Leger's work featuring laborers
Today is Monday
Eric Carle
PreSchool-Grade 3-- Featuring the artist's familiar bold and colorful style, this song was originally illustrated as a frieze in 1977. Now adapted as a picture book, it is a joyous invitation to "all the hungry children"--shown at a multiethnic banquet at the end of the book--to ". . . Come and eat it up!" Each double-page spread shows a line from the song, with a different animal for each day of the week, eating a different food. Most of the animals are eating a predictable food (a fox with a chicken, a pelican with a fish), but there are some nonsensical scenes (a snake with spaghetti, an elephant eating "zoop"). Overall, the verse has a catchy, cumulative rhythm, but it's the dazzling illustrations--gorgeously displayed with a mastery of design and form--that make this a simple, yet memorable, picture book.
PreSchool-Grade 3-- Featuring the artist's familiar bold and colorful style, this song was originally illustrated as a frieze in 1977. Now adapted as a picture book, it is a joyous invitation to "all the hungry children"--shown at a multiethnic banquet at the end of the book--to ". . . Come and eat it up!" Each double-page spread shows a line from the song, with a different animal for each day of the week, eating a different food. Most of the animals are eating a predictable food (a fox with a chicken, a pelican with a fish), but there are some nonsensical scenes (a snake with spaghetti, an elephant eating "zoop"). Overall, the verse has a catchy, cumulative rhythm, but it's the dazzling illustrations--gorgeously displayed with a mastery of design and form--that make this a simple, yet memorable, picture book.
Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born
Jamie Lee Curtis
Illustrated by Laura Cornell
PreSchool-Grade 2?While Curtis's fame as an actor may get this adoption story special attention, it deserves recognition in its own right. If the title suggests a blow-by-blow description of the birth process, readers are quickly set straight; the news arrives by telephone. The narrator's adoptive parents rush to the hospital via plane, and any questions about the identity of the birth mother are brushed aside; she is simply "too young" to take care of her child. The new parents see their daughter in the nursery, howling wide-mouthed and oblivious to their pleased and loving gazes. Both participate equally in this tale; the first night home with the baby, the father tells her about baseball, holding her and a bat cradled in his arms. The humor implicit in the text is made explicit in the illustrations: watery, cartoonstyle watercolors with fine-pen accents to show outlines and facial features. This book exudes action and light; nothing here will lull children to sleep, except the warmth of feeling and comfort. It does not delve into the complexity of adoptive dynamics, but simply affirms family love, the pleasure parents feel about new babies, and how pleased children are to hear the story of their birth.?
Illustrated by Laura Cornell
PreSchool-Grade 2?While Curtis's fame as an actor may get this adoption story special attention, it deserves recognition in its own right. If the title suggests a blow-by-blow description of the birth process, readers are quickly set straight; the news arrives by telephone. The narrator's adoptive parents rush to the hospital via plane, and any questions about the identity of the birth mother are brushed aside; she is simply "too young" to take care of her child. The new parents see their daughter in the nursery, howling wide-mouthed and oblivious to their pleased and loving gazes. Both participate equally in this tale; the first night home with the baby, the father tells her about baseball, holding her and a bat cradled in his arms. The humor implicit in the text is made explicit in the illustrations: watery, cartoonstyle watercolors with fine-pen accents to show outlines and facial features. This book exudes action and light; nothing here will lull children to sleep, except the warmth of feeling and comfort. It does not delve into the complexity of adoptive dynamics, but simply affirms family love, the pleasure parents feel about new babies, and how pleased children are to hear the story of their birth.?
Will and Squill
Emma Chichester Clark
PreSchool-Grade 2–A sweetly told tale about the friendship between a boy named Will and a squirrel named Squill. They do just about everything together until Wills parents surprise him with a kitten, and she becomes Wills new playmate, leaving Squill to feel lonely and left out. However, the boy soon discovers that Kitty likes to sleep most of the day and doesnt appreciate his favorite games. Will and Squill reunite, and the child realizes that old friends should not be abandoned for new ones. Lively watercolor-and-colored-pencil artwork keeps the message simple and soft. The repetition in the text makes the reading predictable and pleasurable and suitable for young children.–
PreSchool-Grade 2–A sweetly told tale about the friendship between a boy named Will and a squirrel named Squill. They do just about everything together until Wills parents surprise him with a kitten, and she becomes Wills new playmate, leaving Squill to feel lonely and left out. However, the boy soon discovers that Kitty likes to sleep most of the day and doesnt appreciate his favorite games. Will and Squill reunite, and the child realizes that old friends should not be abandoned for new ones. Lively watercolor-and-colored-pencil artwork keeps the message simple and soft. The repetition in the text makes the reading predictable and pleasurable and suitable for young children.–
The Secret Science Project That Almost Ate the School
Judy Sierra
Illustrated by Stephen Gammell
Grade 1-3–A nameless girl needs an idea for her science project. Her solution is to go on the Internet, where she comes across Professor Swami's Super Slime–a mutant yeast with just a piece of dragon DNA. Of course, she orders it and doesn't follow the directions on the box: do not open until the science fair, then feed the slime sugar until it expands to 1000 times its size and watch it explode into a harmless cloud of gas. The child finds herself with a large, green, slimy glob that begins to grow and swallow those who are rude to it: her cat, which hisses; her dad, who complains of a smell; her third-grade teacher–Eeew! What is that big, digusting creature?–and so on. Finally the child remembers the sugar and, once kids have pelted the goo with sweets and sprayed it with soda, it explodes. My project didn't win first prize, and that was fair...I guess..../Miss Fidget kept me after school to clean up all the mess.
Illustrated by Stephen Gammell
Grade 1-3–A nameless girl needs an idea for her science project. Her solution is to go on the Internet, where she comes across Professor Swami's Super Slime–a mutant yeast with just a piece of dragon DNA. Of course, she orders it and doesn't follow the directions on the box: do not open until the science fair, then feed the slime sugar until it expands to 1000 times its size and watch it explode into a harmless cloud of gas. The child finds herself with a large, green, slimy glob that begins to grow and swallow those who are rude to it: her cat, which hisses; her dad, who complains of a smell; her third-grade teacher–Eeew! What is that big, digusting creature?–and so on. Finally the child remembers the sugar and, once kids have pelted the goo with sweets and sprayed it with soda, it explodes. My project didn't win first prize, and that was fair...I guess..../Miss Fidget kept me after school to clean up all the mess.
I am Dodo: Not a True Story
Kae Nishimura
PreSchool-Grade 3–In this quirky story, readers are taken back to once upon a time, when dodo birds became extinct. One quicker and smarter bird manages to survive, and one dedicated professor who had studied dodo birds for more than seventy years stubbornly believes in its existence. After traveling the world, this sole dodo settles in New York City, where he can dance and spend a lot of time in the park. Then one day, he and the professor have one of those big-city chance encounters. The professor wants to catch the bird so that people will finally believe his theory, but Dodo really doesn't want to be caught. Finally, after high pursuit and a clever twist, Dodo and the professor become close friends who dance and spend a lot of time in the park. Done in rich watercolors with thick lines, the offbeat illustrations add punch and details that bring out the wry humor of the story. A note on the dedication page reminds readers caught up in Dodo's adventures that Unfortunately, as far as we know, the dodo (Raphus cucullatus) really is extinct. This amusing tale is a treat to read aloud and pays special tribute to New York City and the two unlikely friends.
PreSchool-Grade 3–In this quirky story, readers are taken back to once upon a time, when dodo birds became extinct. One quicker and smarter bird manages to survive, and one dedicated professor who had studied dodo birds for more than seventy years stubbornly believes in its existence. After traveling the world, this sole dodo settles in New York City, where he can dance and spend a lot of time in the park. Then one day, he and the professor have one of those big-city chance encounters. The professor wants to catch the bird so that people will finally believe his theory, but Dodo really doesn't want to be caught. Finally, after high pursuit and a clever twist, Dodo and the professor become close friends who dance and spend a lot of time in the park. Done in rich watercolors with thick lines, the offbeat illustrations add punch and details that bring out the wry humor of the story. A note on the dedication page reminds readers caught up in Dodo's adventures that Unfortunately, as far as we know, the dodo (Raphus cucullatus) really is extinct. This amusing tale is a treat to read aloud and pays special tribute to New York City and the two unlikely friends.
I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Penda Diakite
Illustrated by Baba Wague Diakite
Kindergarten-Grade 4–This story recounts a child's visit to Mali, where she loses her tooth. After she hides it under a calabash, she waits for the African Tooth Fairy to replace it with a chicken. When her patience runs out and she returns to the gourd to retrieve her tooth, a chicken and a rooster emerge. She is delighted. The strength and enduring warmth of her African extended family emerge fully through thoughtful detail. Grandma N'na gives her a blessing each morning: May you rise high with strength and knowledge. When the child returns home to Oregon, Uncle Madou volunteers to take care of the chickens until her return. The vivid ceramic-tile illustrations expand the text, revealing a range of animals, houses, and greenery. At the end are the words to Grandma's Good Night Song, the recipe for African Onion Sauce, and a glossary of Bambara words, all of which add to the authentic feel of the story. In his illustrator's note, Baba Diakité states, Storytelling is a gift to me from my elders and I simply wanted to pass this gift along to my children. He has succeeded, as his artistry supports his daughter's storytelling beautifully
Illustrated by Baba Wague Diakite
Kindergarten-Grade 4–This story recounts a child's visit to Mali, where she loses her tooth. After she hides it under a calabash, she waits for the African Tooth Fairy to replace it with a chicken. When her patience runs out and she returns to the gourd to retrieve her tooth, a chicken and a rooster emerge. She is delighted. The strength and enduring warmth of her African extended family emerge fully through thoughtful detail. Grandma N'na gives her a blessing each morning: May you rise high with strength and knowledge. When the child returns home to Oregon, Uncle Madou volunteers to take care of the chickens until her return. The vivid ceramic-tile illustrations expand the text, revealing a range of animals, houses, and greenery. At the end are the words to Grandma's Good Night Song, the recipe for African Onion Sauce, and a glossary of Bambara words, all of which add to the authentic feel of the story. In his illustrator's note, Baba Diakité states, Storytelling is a gift to me from my elders and I simply wanted to pass this gift along to my children. He has succeeded, as his artistry supports his daughter's storytelling beautifully
Llama Llama Red Pajama
Anna Dewdney
PreSchool-K–With its sweet rendering of the trials of bedtime and separation anxiety, this book's familiar theme will be a hit with youngsters. Baby Llama, all tucked in and kissed after his bedtime story, watches his mama leave the room with a worried expression on his face. When he calls her and she does not come back immediately, he succumbs to a fit of wailing and weeping, finally bringing his panic-stricken mother at a full gallop. After her reassurance that "Mama Llama's always near, even if she's not right here," Baby Llama settles and drifts off to sleep. This story has a simple rhyme scheme, using natural language that children will enjoy. The large, boldly colored pictures have a grand and sweeping quality, extending out to the edges of the pages. Baby Llama's facial expressions capture his fear and alarm wonderfully. The contrast between light and dark enhances the drama in the story. This effective read-aloud will be a popular choice for storyhour and one-on-one sharing
PreSchool-K–With its sweet rendering of the trials of bedtime and separation anxiety, this book's familiar theme will be a hit with youngsters. Baby Llama, all tucked in and kissed after his bedtime story, watches his mama leave the room with a worried expression on his face. When he calls her and she does not come back immediately, he succumbs to a fit of wailing and weeping, finally bringing his panic-stricken mother at a full gallop. After her reassurance that "Mama Llama's always near, even if she's not right here," Baby Llama settles and drifts off to sleep. This story has a simple rhyme scheme, using natural language that children will enjoy. The large, boldly colored pictures have a grand and sweeping quality, extending out to the edges of the pages. Baby Llama's facial expressions capture his fear and alarm wonderfully. The contrast between light and dark enhances the drama in the story. This effective read-aloud will be a popular choice for storyhour and one-on-one sharing
Pirate Girl
Cornelia Funke
Illustrated by Kerstin Meyer
K-Gr. 2. With this tale of a bonny lass kidnapped by pirates who live to regret their choice of victim, Funke and Meyer deliver a booster shot of the girl power they celebrated in The Princess Knight (2004). Afloat in a dinghy with a flowered sail and clad in sensible shorts and a T-shirt, redheaded Molly is snatched and held for ransom by Captain Firebeard, an infamous buccaneer who causes "the knees of honest seafaring folk [to] shake like jelly." But Molly remains unfazed, for she knows something Firebeard does not: her mom is Barbarous Bertha, queen of a crew of fierce maidens and matrons. The tale comes to an oddly abrupt conclusion, and the premise of a little girl alone on a ship of rum-guzzling male delinquents may cause some children and parents to wince. But Meyer's whimsical, color-soaked line-and-watercolor illustrations ensure that the captors appear more as burly dimwits than genuine threats, and the premise of a defiant kid duping a nasty adult through personal cleverness and parental heroism has universal appeal.
Illustrated by Kerstin Meyer
K-Gr. 2. With this tale of a bonny lass kidnapped by pirates who live to regret their choice of victim, Funke and Meyer deliver a booster shot of the girl power they celebrated in The Princess Knight (2004). Afloat in a dinghy with a flowered sail and clad in sensible shorts and a T-shirt, redheaded Molly is snatched and held for ransom by Captain Firebeard, an infamous buccaneer who causes "the knees of honest seafaring folk [to] shake like jelly." But Molly remains unfazed, for she knows something Firebeard does not: her mom is Barbarous Bertha, queen of a crew of fierce maidens and matrons. The tale comes to an oddly abrupt conclusion, and the premise of a little girl alone on a ship of rum-guzzling male delinquents may cause some children and parents to wince. But Meyer's whimsical, color-soaked line-and-watercolor illustrations ensure that the captors appear more as burly dimwits than genuine threats, and the premise of a defiant kid duping a nasty adult through personal cleverness and parental heroism has universal appeal.
The Wildest Brother
Cornelia Funke
Illustrated by Kerstin Meyer
Kindergarten-Grade 1–Ben is a brave and loyal little brother. Sure, he uses Anna's makeup to paint red blobs on her desk. But really they're drops of blood from the man-eating monster standing behind her, fork in hand, sprinkling her hair with a soupçon of salt. He instructs her to hide inside her wardrobe and make monster noises (no giggling–this will inflame the creature) while he attacks the suddenly ferocious armoire with his plastic artillery. While Anna extricates herself from her vanquished furniture, Ben is battling the green bathroom slime, the weekly burglar, and the backyard bears. His strength and courage are distinguished by a trail of spilt and broken things left in the wake of his heroics. Yet when night sneaks in through the windows, Ben is up against the wildest monster of all and he is so very glad to have a sister to shelter him. Meyer's color-soaked cartoons are bursting with a zany energy in which fantasy becomes real. While the text is somewhat awkward, Meyer takes up the slack whenever the words falter. This is not so much the story of a small boy's daytime bravery and nighttime fears as it is the tender description of a special sibling relationship.
Illustrated by Kerstin Meyer
Kindergarten-Grade 1–Ben is a brave and loyal little brother. Sure, he uses Anna's makeup to paint red blobs on her desk. But really they're drops of blood from the man-eating monster standing behind her, fork in hand, sprinkling her hair with a soupçon of salt. He instructs her to hide inside her wardrobe and make monster noises (no giggling–this will inflame the creature) while he attacks the suddenly ferocious armoire with his plastic artillery. While Anna extricates herself from her vanquished furniture, Ben is battling the green bathroom slime, the weekly burglar, and the backyard bears. His strength and courage are distinguished by a trail of spilt and broken things left in the wake of his heroics. Yet when night sneaks in through the windows, Ben is up against the wildest monster of all and he is so very glad to have a sister to shelter him. Meyer's color-soaked cartoons are bursting with a zany energy in which fantasy becomes real. While the text is somewhat awkward, Meyer takes up the slack whenever the words falter. This is not so much the story of a small boy's daytime bravery and nighttime fears as it is the tender description of a special sibling relationship.
Olivia Saves the Circus
Ian Falconer
When it comes time to tell the class what she did on her vacation, Olivia isn't at all nervous. In fact, she remembers it quite clearly--she went to the circus, you see. "But when we got there, all the circus people were out sick with ear infections." What are the odds? But the show must go on! Fortunately, Olivia jumps right in to help out--riding elephants, posing as the Tattooed Lady (she draws on the pictures with a marker), taming lions, walking tightropes, juggling, clowning around, and more. In a marvelous fold-out, four-panel spread, our porcine heroine even reigns supreme as the Queen of the Trampoline. "And that's how I saved the circus. And now I am famous." Olivia looks proud. Her teacher looks mad.
When it comes time to tell the class what she did on her vacation, Olivia isn't at all nervous. In fact, she remembers it quite clearly--she went to the circus, you see. "But when we got there, all the circus people were out sick with ear infections." What are the odds? But the show must go on! Fortunately, Olivia jumps right in to help out--riding elephants, posing as the Tattooed Lady (she draws on the pictures with a marker), taming lions, walking tightropes, juggling, clowning around, and more. In a marvelous fold-out, four-panel spread, our porcine heroine even reigns supreme as the Queen of the Trampoline. "And that's how I saved the circus. And now I am famous." Olivia looks proud. Her teacher looks mad.
Iggy Peck, Architect
Andrea Beaty
Illustrated by David Roberts
Meet Iggy Peck—creative, independent, and not afraid to express himself! In the spirit of David Shannon’s No, David and Rosemary Wells’s Noisy Nora, Iggy Peck will delight readers looking for irreverent, inspired fun.
Iggy has one passion: building. His parents are proud of his fabulous creations, though they’re sometimes surprised by his materials—who could forget the tower he built of dirty diapers? When his second-grade teacher declares her dislike of architecture, Iggy faces a challenge. He loves building too much to give it up! With Andrea Beaty’s irresistible rhyming text and David Roberts’s puckish illustrations, this book will charm creative kids everywhere, and amuse their sometimes bewildered parents.
Illustrated by David Roberts
Meet Iggy Peck—creative, independent, and not afraid to express himself! In the spirit of David Shannon’s No, David and Rosemary Wells’s Noisy Nora, Iggy Peck will delight readers looking for irreverent, inspired fun.
Iggy has one passion: building. His parents are proud of his fabulous creations, though they’re sometimes surprised by his materials—who could forget the tower he built of dirty diapers? When his second-grade teacher declares her dislike of architecture, Iggy faces a challenge. He loves building too much to give it up! With Andrea Beaty’s irresistible rhyming text and David Roberts’s puckish illustrations, this book will charm creative kids everywhere, and amuse their sometimes bewildered parents.
The Princess Knight
Cornelia Funke
Illustrated by Kerstin Meyer
King Wilfred's three sons learn to become big, bad knights the way any boisterous boys would: "They learned riding and jousting, fighting with swords...They learned how to stride proudly and how to shout very loudly." At her father's urging, young Princess Violetta tries to keep up with the same lessons, "even though she was so small she could hardly lift a sword at all!" Despite her brothers' teasing and laughing, Violetta continues to practice--even secretly at night. Soon enough, Violetta becomes "so nimble and quick" that when practicing with her brothers, "their spears and swords just hit the empty air." But then King Wilfred does the unthinkable: For his Violetta's sixteenth birthday, he plans a jousting tournament designed to bring "the bravest knights in the land flocking to the castle" to win…her hand in marriage! Violetta is outraged: "You want me to marry some dimwit in a tin suit?" Fortunately, of course, the princess finds a way to come to her own rescue.
Illustrated by Kerstin Meyer
King Wilfred's three sons learn to become big, bad knights the way any boisterous boys would: "They learned riding and jousting, fighting with swords...They learned how to stride proudly and how to shout very loudly." At her father's urging, young Princess Violetta tries to keep up with the same lessons, "even though she was so small she could hardly lift a sword at all!" Despite her brothers' teasing and laughing, Violetta continues to practice--even secretly at night. Soon enough, Violetta becomes "so nimble and quick" that when practicing with her brothers, "their spears and swords just hit the empty air." But then King Wilfred does the unthinkable: For his Violetta's sixteenth birthday, he plans a jousting tournament designed to bring "the bravest knights in the land flocking to the castle" to win…her hand in marriage! Violetta is outraged: "You want me to marry some dimwit in a tin suit?" Fortunately, of course, the princess finds a way to come to her own rescue.
Half a World Away
Libby Gleeson
Illustrated by Freya Blackwood
Kindergarten-Grade 2—Best friends Amy and Louie build pretend towers, see magical creatures in the clouds, and regularly climb through a hole in the fence into one another's yards. The special "Coo-ee Am-ee" or "Coo-ee Lou-ee" call is enough to bring one or the other running. But then Amy's family moves "to the other side of the world" and the two friends are bereft. They think about each other night and day until Louie comes up with a way to send his special call out to his friend. Blackwood's watercolor paintings depict the imaginary world in which the two children are immersed. There are playful touches, such as tissue-box shoes, a colander hat, and a laundry-basket tower. But their playfully colorful world changes when Amy leaves. Though clad in red, Louie looks out on a neighborhood awash in gray as her moving van pulls away. A tiny Amy, also clothed in red, stares up at the gray skyscrapers and apartment buildings of her new city. Both children appear downcast and alone on subsequent pages, but the power of the imagination triumphs in the end. Loss of a friend is a common childhood experience and is the subject of many picture-book stories. This one is unique in that a new friend doesn't immediately come along and the two children must find a way to cope.
Illustrated by Freya Blackwood
Kindergarten-Grade 2—Best friends Amy and Louie build pretend towers, see magical creatures in the clouds, and regularly climb through a hole in the fence into one another's yards. The special "Coo-ee Am-ee" or "Coo-ee Lou-ee" call is enough to bring one or the other running. But then Amy's family moves "to the other side of the world" and the two friends are bereft. They think about each other night and day until Louie comes up with a way to send his special call out to his friend. Blackwood's watercolor paintings depict the imaginary world in which the two children are immersed. There are playful touches, such as tissue-box shoes, a colander hat, and a laundry-basket tower. But their playfully colorful world changes when Amy leaves. Though clad in red, Louie looks out on a neighborhood awash in gray as her moving van pulls away. A tiny Amy, also clothed in red, stares up at the gray skyscrapers and apartment buildings of her new city. Both children appear downcast and alone on subsequent pages, but the power of the imagination triumphs in the end. Loss of a friend is a common childhood experience and is the subject of many picture-book stories. This one is unique in that a new friend doesn't immediately come along and the two children must find a way to cope.
Hooway for Wodney Wat
Helen Lester
Illustrated by Lynn Munsinger
PreSchool-Grade 2--Poor Rodney Rat is teased mercilessly by all the other rodents because he can't pronounce his R's in this beginning to read title by Helen Lester (Houghton, 1999). When Camilla Capybara joins the class and announces that she is bigger, meaner, and smarter than any of the other rodents, everyone is afraid, especially Wodney. One day he unwittingly catches Camilla out in a game of Simon Says, and surprises himself and saves his classmates from big bully Camilla. This retelling nicely reflects Wodney's transformation from shy rodent with a speech impediment to hero of the class. Narration is accompanied by synthesized music and some sound effects. Side one includes page-turning signals (that sound like a small rodent being squeezed), while side two contains an uninterrupted reading. This book and tape set will be popular in school and public libraries.
Illustrated by Lynn Munsinger
PreSchool-Grade 2--Poor Rodney Rat is teased mercilessly by all the other rodents because he can't pronounce his R's in this beginning to read title by Helen Lester (Houghton, 1999). When Camilla Capybara joins the class and announces that she is bigger, meaner, and smarter than any of the other rodents, everyone is afraid, especially Wodney. One day he unwittingly catches Camilla out in a game of Simon Says, and surprises himself and saves his classmates from big bully Camilla. This retelling nicely reflects Wodney's transformation from shy rodent with a speech impediment to hero of the class. Narration is accompanied by synthesized music and some sound effects. Side one includes page-turning signals (that sound like a small rodent being squeezed), while side two contains an uninterrupted reading. This book and tape set will be popular in school and public libraries.
Bobbie Dazzler
Margaret Wild
Illustrated by Janine Dawson
PreSchool-Grade 2—Bobbie, a red-necked wallaby, discovers that practice makes perfect in this Australian import. She can jump, skip, balance, stand on her head, do somersaults, and perform a number of other gymnastic feats, but she cannot do splits. Koala, Wombat, and Possum tell her it doesn't matter, but it bothers her tremendously. One morning, the determined animal finally manages to slide into the desired position, but she can't get up without the help of her friends. Eventually, with lots of practice, Bobbie—and her pals—master the tricky maneuver. This story of encouragement doesn't have much of a plot, but the straightforward message is sure to be understood by even the youngest readers. The illustrations are engaging and cheerful, and the simple text is easy to read. This story isn't much of a dazzler, but it may inspire children to keep trying until they accomplish their goals.
Illustrated by Janine Dawson
PreSchool-Grade 2—Bobbie, a red-necked wallaby, discovers that practice makes perfect in this Australian import. She can jump, skip, balance, stand on her head, do somersaults, and perform a number of other gymnastic feats, but she cannot do splits. Koala, Wombat, and Possum tell her it doesn't matter, but it bothers her tremendously. One morning, the determined animal finally manages to slide into the desired position, but she can't get up without the help of her friends. Eventually, with lots of practice, Bobbie—and her pals—master the tricky maneuver. This story of encouragement doesn't have much of a plot, but the straightforward message is sure to be understood by even the youngest readers. The illustrations are engaging and cheerful, and the simple text is easy to read. This story isn't much of a dazzler, but it may inspire children to keep trying until they accomplish their goals.
Gorilla! Gorilla!
Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross
PreSchool-Grade 2–While searching for her lost baby, a mouse is chased by a great, big, hairy, scary ape! The gorilla follows her from the rainforest to China, to America, to Australia, and even to the Arctic, yelling, Stop! all the way. But the mouse keeps on running, exclaiming again and again, Help! Help! He'll catch me!/He'll squash me and scratch me,/He'll mince me and mash me,/And crunch me up for lunch! Young readers will guess what the mother mouse, in her terror, can't see–that the seemingly fierce gorilla is simply trying to return her baby to her. The brief, lively text and the melodramatic refrain make for a humorous and boisterous read-aloud. Ross's bright pastel illustrations capture the mouse's fear and the gorilla's determination with verve. This deceptively simple, satisfying tale is sure to be a storytime hit, and it subtly conveys a great message about prejudices to boot.
PreSchool-Grade 2–While searching for her lost baby, a mouse is chased by a great, big, hairy, scary ape! The gorilla follows her from the rainforest to China, to America, to Australia, and even to the Arctic, yelling, Stop! all the way. But the mouse keeps on running, exclaiming again and again, Help! Help! He'll catch me!/He'll squash me and scratch me,/He'll mince me and mash me,/And crunch me up for lunch! Young readers will guess what the mother mouse, in her terror, can't see–that the seemingly fierce gorilla is simply trying to return her baby to her. The brief, lively text and the melodramatic refrain make for a humorous and boisterous read-aloud. Ross's bright pastel illustrations capture the mouse's fear and the gorilla's determination with verve. This deceptively simple, satisfying tale is sure to be a storytime hit, and it subtly conveys a great message about prejudices to boot.
I'm Mighty
Kate and Jim McMullan
PreS-Gr. 2. Like the garbage truck in the McMullans' I Stink! (2002), the tugboat that narrates this picture book tells his story with more than a splash of moxie. Strong ink drawings define the harbor setting from a variety of perspectives and show the emotions of the anthropomorphic figures of boats and trucks, while color brightens the scenes and heightens the drama. As the little tugboat heads into the harbor in the morning, he checks his gear and revs his engines. Taking charge of an oil tanker, he guides it through the channel and parks it at the dock. Next up is a "six-decker doozie" carrying a cargo of automobiles, followed by "Queen Justine, a super-duper cruiser, as WIDE as she is long" (an absurd statement to make about a ship that is clearly longer than it is wide). Kids aren't likely to worry about that for long, though, when there's so much here to enjoy: the energetic writing, the boastful tug's bravado, and the well-conceived illustrations. Best of all, the big boats need help from the little boat instead of the other way around, making this an appealing nautical version of every preschooler's dream.
PreS-Gr. 2. Like the garbage truck in the McMullans' I Stink! (2002), the tugboat that narrates this picture book tells his story with more than a splash of moxie. Strong ink drawings define the harbor setting from a variety of perspectives and show the emotions of the anthropomorphic figures of boats and trucks, while color brightens the scenes and heightens the drama. As the little tugboat heads into the harbor in the morning, he checks his gear and revs his engines. Taking charge of an oil tanker, he guides it through the channel and parks it at the dock. Next up is a "six-decker doozie" carrying a cargo of automobiles, followed by "Queen Justine, a super-duper cruiser, as WIDE as she is long" (an absurd statement to make about a ship that is clearly longer than it is wide). Kids aren't likely to worry about that for long, though, when there's so much here to enjoy: the energetic writing, the boastful tug's bravado, and the well-conceived illustrations. Best of all, the big boats need help from the little boat instead of the other way around, making this an appealing nautical version of every preschooler's dream.
I Stink
Kate and Jim McMullan
"I stink!" How can you not love such swagger and candor? And Kate and Jim McMullan's big-eyed, loudmouthed garbage truck really must stink--by its own admission, and given all those smelly bags it's been cramming into its huge back hopper.
"I stink!" How can you not love such swagger and candor? And Kate and Jim McMullan's big-eyed, loudmouthed garbage truck really must stink--by its own admission, and given all those smelly bags it's been cramming into its huge back hopper.
Most kids already love garbage trucks on general principle, and one assumes that can only go double for a sass-mouthed, animated dumper like this one, out on its early-morning rounds: "See those bags? I SMELL BREAKFAST! Crew? Get me to the curb! Lights? Blink! Brakes? Squeal! Tail gate? SAY AH!" The many opportunities for loud, large-type sound effects should make for spirited readings, and a recipe for "alphabet soup" lets young readers practice their letters, working through the ABCs from apple cores to zipped-up ziti with zucchini.
The text to I Stink!, while fun, is nowhere near as clever as the art. But fortunately Jim McMullan's fun, fat drawings and type treatments more than make up the difference, loading Dumpsters full of personality into this grimacing, grinning, growling--even burping!--big rig. Kids will have a good time doing diesel-powered imitations, but even more importantly, they'll learn where they'd be without their neighborhood trash truck: on top of "Mount Trash-o-rama, baby." (Ages 4 to 8)
Heckedy Peg
Audrey Wood
Illustrated by Don Wood
Although text and art in this picture book match as hand and glove, it is really the ornate illustrations that carry it aloft to the dimension of classic fairytale. The mother of seven children (who are named for each day of the week) leaves for the market with a list of things for thembutter, knife, pitcher, honey, salt, crackers and egg pudding. The witch Heckedy Peg who "lost her leg" drops in on the kids and turns them into foodbread, pie, milk, porridge, fish, cheese and roast rib. The mother finds her children and saves them by matching each food item on her list, as in bread and butter, cheese and crackers, etc. The story has essential elements of playfulness and eeriness; also evident is a poetic license that effects a looseness in structure. The realistic figures of the happy inhabitants of the cottage are bathed in bursts of light, in contrast to the shadowy, ghastly hideout of Heckedy Peg. Ages 4-8.
Illustrated by Don Wood
Although text and art in this picture book match as hand and glove, it is really the ornate illustrations that carry it aloft to the dimension of classic fairytale. The mother of seven children (who are named for each day of the week) leaves for the market with a list of things for thembutter, knife, pitcher, honey, salt, crackers and egg pudding. The witch Heckedy Peg who "lost her leg" drops in on the kids and turns them into foodbread, pie, milk, porridge, fish, cheese and roast rib. The mother finds her children and saves them by matching each food item on her list, as in bread and butter, cheese and crackers, etc. The story has essential elements of playfulness and eeriness; also evident is a poetic license that effects a looseness in structure. The realistic figures of the happy inhabitants of the cottage are bathed in bursts of light, in contrast to the shadowy, ghastly hideout of Heckedy Peg. Ages 4-8.
If You Give A Mouse a Cookie
Laura Joffe Numeroff
Illustrated by Felicia Bond
Who would ever suspect that a tiny little mouse could wear out an energetic young boy? Well, if you're going to go around giving an exuberantly bossy rodent a cookie, you'd best be prepared to do one or two more favors for it before your day is through. For example, he'll certainly need a glass of milk to wash down that cookie, won't he? And you can't expect him to drink the milk without a straw, can you? By the time our hero is finished granting all the mouse's very urgent requests--and cleaning up after him--it's no wonder his head is becoming a bit heavy. Laura Joffe Numeroff's tale of warped logic is a sure-fire winner in the giggle-generator category. But concerned parents can rest assured, there's even a little education thrown in for good measure: underneath the folly rest valuable lessons about cause and effect. Felicia Bond's hilarious pictures are full of subtle, fun details. Fans will be happy to know that this dynamic author-illustrator pair teamed up again for If You Give a Moose a Muffin and If You Give a Pig a Pancake. (Great read aloud, ages 4 to 8)
Illustrated by Felicia Bond
Who would ever suspect that a tiny little mouse could wear out an energetic young boy? Well, if you're going to go around giving an exuberantly bossy rodent a cookie, you'd best be prepared to do one or two more favors for it before your day is through. For example, he'll certainly need a glass of milk to wash down that cookie, won't he? And you can't expect him to drink the milk without a straw, can you? By the time our hero is finished granting all the mouse's very urgent requests--and cleaning up after him--it's no wonder his head is becoming a bit heavy. Laura Joffe Numeroff's tale of warped logic is a sure-fire winner in the giggle-generator category. But concerned parents can rest assured, there's even a little education thrown in for good measure: underneath the folly rest valuable lessons about cause and effect. Felicia Bond's hilarious pictures are full of subtle, fun details. Fans will be happy to know that this dynamic author-illustrator pair teamed up again for If You Give a Moose a Muffin and If You Give a Pig a Pancake. (Great read aloud, ages 4 to 8)
Who is Melvin Bubble?
Nick Bruel
Kindergarten-Grade 4–The author begins by sharing a letter from Melvin's friend, suggesting that Mr. Bruel write a book about his pal, so that everyone can know him. What follows are interviews with Melvin's family, dog, teddy bear, and other assorted characters, including Santa, a big ugly monster with three eyes that lives in the boy's closet, and a talking zebra. Each perspective is relayed in humorous monologues that, naturally, reveal more about the speakers than they do about the subject. Dad claims he's a chip off the old block as black-and-white photos of a clumsy, clueless parent contrast with similar shots in color of a talented, tender son. The zebra is too preoccupied with his fear of lions to think about anything else. (Readers who peek under the dust jacket will hear from a lion–an example of the attention paid to detail in the overall design.) It is Melvin's friend who shares something sure to endear the protagonist to children: He can whistle 'The Itsy-Bitsy Spider' through his nose! Gigantic dialogue bubbles frame the text and the bold, watercolor caricatures animating the descriptions; the speakers report from the sidelines. In the end, the bespectacled, skinny kid with the baggy jeans gets his turn to talk. While teachers will find this a delightful choice for exploring point of view or the concept of identity, children will simply think it's great fun. The layered perspectives ultimately show that Melvin is one cool kid.
Kindergarten-Grade 4–The author begins by sharing a letter from Melvin's friend, suggesting that Mr. Bruel write a book about his pal, so that everyone can know him. What follows are interviews with Melvin's family, dog, teddy bear, and other assorted characters, including Santa, a big ugly monster with three eyes that lives in the boy's closet, and a talking zebra. Each perspective is relayed in humorous monologues that, naturally, reveal more about the speakers than they do about the subject. Dad claims he's a chip off the old block as black-and-white photos of a clumsy, clueless parent contrast with similar shots in color of a talented, tender son. The zebra is too preoccupied with his fear of lions to think about anything else. (Readers who peek under the dust jacket will hear from a lion–an example of the attention paid to detail in the overall design.) It is Melvin's friend who shares something sure to endear the protagonist to children: He can whistle 'The Itsy-Bitsy Spider' through his nose! Gigantic dialogue bubbles frame the text and the bold, watercolor caricatures animating the descriptions; the speakers report from the sidelines. In the end, the bespectacled, skinny kid with the baggy jeans gets his turn to talk. While teachers will find this a delightful choice for exploring point of view or the concept of identity, children will simply think it's great fun. The layered perspectives ultimately show that Melvin is one cool kid.
Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity
Mo Willems
Knuffle Bunny returns, but this time he has a doppelganger. Trixie is off to school, and things are going well enough—until she notices that Sonja is holding her own Knuffle Bunny. Arrgh! The afternoon results in dueling bunnies, which are confiscated by the teacher. Happily, they are returned at the end of the day, but at 2:30 a.m. realization hits: the bunny Trixie is sleeping with is not her own. Despite parental protestations, phone calls are placed, bunnies are exchanged, and the girls, bonded during the trauma, become best friends. This has much of the charm of Knuffle Bunny (2004), a Caldecott Honor Book, but the premise is stretched here: the middle-of-the-night meeting is energetic, but it seems overplayed. As in the previous title, the slice-of-life artwork is smashing. Willem's cartoon-style art, set against crisp black-and-white photos of New York City interiors and exteriors, catches every bit of the plentiful emotion. Keen-eyed kids will have fun keeping track of the Knuffle Bunny as he's lost, then found again.
Knuffle Bunny returns, but this time he has a doppelganger. Trixie is off to school, and things are going well enough—until she notices that Sonja is holding her own Knuffle Bunny. Arrgh! The afternoon results in dueling bunnies, which are confiscated by the teacher. Happily, they are returned at the end of the day, but at 2:30 a.m. realization hits: the bunny Trixie is sleeping with is not her own. Despite parental protestations, phone calls are placed, bunnies are exchanged, and the girls, bonded during the trauma, become best friends. This has much of the charm of Knuffle Bunny (2004), a Caldecott Honor Book, but the premise is stretched here: the middle-of-the-night meeting is energetic, but it seems overplayed. As in the previous title, the slice-of-life artwork is smashing. Willem's cartoon-style art, set against crisp black-and-white photos of New York City interiors and exteriors, catches every bit of the plentiful emotion. Keen-eyed kids will have fun keeping track of the Knuffle Bunny as he's lost, then found again.
Boing
Nick Bruel
PreSchool-Grade 1–Told mainly through bright, cheerful pictures that are enhanced by bits of dialogue and pertinent sound effects, this simple story will make children smile. A young kangaroo is learning to hop with the help of its mother and their friends, a grasshopper, a rabbit, and a frog. Despite the repeated demonstrations and many words of encouragement, the joey tries is unable to duplicate the resounding "boing" produced by its mother and the others, only managing a feeble "bloomp" or "blop." Finally, a koala that has been looking on from a perch in a tree suggests that the youngster empty its pocket. After pulling out a carefully itemized collection of amusing belongings including, among other things, "1 sock," "2 jacks," "a red ribbon," "a green ribbon," and "a banana," the little kangaroo joyously leaps into the air and off the page in an unexpected pop-up illustration. Pair this charming title with Emily Arnold McCully's First Snow (HarperCollins, 1985), another tale told in pictures of a young animal's triumph over a seemingly insurmountable challenge.
PreSchool-Grade 1–Told mainly through bright, cheerful pictures that are enhanced by bits of dialogue and pertinent sound effects, this simple story will make children smile. A young kangaroo is learning to hop with the help of its mother and their friends, a grasshopper, a rabbit, and a frog. Despite the repeated demonstrations and many words of encouragement, the joey tries is unable to duplicate the resounding "boing" produced by its mother and the others, only managing a feeble "bloomp" or "blop." Finally, a koala that has been looking on from a perch in a tree suggests that the youngster empty its pocket. After pulling out a carefully itemized collection of amusing belongings including, among other things, "1 sock," "2 jacks," "a red ribbon," "a green ribbon," and "a banana," the little kangaroo joyously leaps into the air and off the page in an unexpected pop-up illustration. Pair this charming title with Emily Arnold McCully's First Snow (HarperCollins, 1985), another tale told in pictures of a young animal's triumph over a seemingly insurmountable challenge.
Madlenka
Peter Sis
"In the universe, on a planet, on a continent, in a country, in a city, on a block, in a house, in a window, in the rain, a little girl named Madlenka finds out her tooth wiggles." To further illustrate where exactly this girl fits into the universe, Peter SÃs's endpapers depict a tiny blue planet Earth with a red dot, then a bigger Earth and a bigger red dot, then an aerial view of the south part of Manhattan Island, then city blocks, then lo! a small Madlenka in an apartment window. And, since she has a loose tooth that wiggles, she simply must tell everyone.
As she traipses around New York, she sees the whole world in the way a child might peer into a sugar egg at a colorful three-dimensional diorama within. At Mr. Gaston's patisserie, he tells her about Paris as he bakes croissants and madeleines. Readers peer through a die-cut square in his bakery window to glimpse the Eiffel Tower. Turn the page, and an exciting blue landmark map of Paris unfolds. (Is that a tiny petit prince we see as well?) At Mr. Singh's newspaper stand, our window on the world takes us to winged elephants and onion domes and the many-armed gods of India. Mr. Ciao from Italy ("Buon giorno, Maddalena") makes visions of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and cats on gondolas and the Coliseum dance through our heads. Throughout SÃs's enchanting, moody illustrations dances blonde-haired, lavender-clad, yellow-booted Madlenka with her yellow umbrella--reminding us of what is really important. "Madlenka! Where have you been?" "Well... I went around the world. And I lost my tooth!"
"In the universe, on a planet, on a continent, in a country, in a city, on a block, in a house, in a window, in the rain, a little girl named Madlenka finds out her tooth wiggles." To further illustrate where exactly this girl fits into the universe, Peter SÃs's endpapers depict a tiny blue planet Earth with a red dot, then a bigger Earth and a bigger red dot, then an aerial view of the south part of Manhattan Island, then city blocks, then lo! a small Madlenka in an apartment window. And, since she has a loose tooth that wiggles, she simply must tell everyone.
As she traipses around New York, she sees the whole world in the way a child might peer into a sugar egg at a colorful three-dimensional diorama within. At Mr. Gaston's patisserie, he tells her about Paris as he bakes croissants and madeleines. Readers peer through a die-cut square in his bakery window to glimpse the Eiffel Tower. Turn the page, and an exciting blue landmark map of Paris unfolds. (Is that a tiny petit prince we see as well?) At Mr. Singh's newspaper stand, our window on the world takes us to winged elephants and onion domes and the many-armed gods of India. Mr. Ciao from Italy ("Buon giorno, Maddalena") makes visions of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and cats on gondolas and the Coliseum dance through our heads. Throughout SÃs's enchanting, moody illustrations dances blonde-haired, lavender-clad, yellow-booted Madlenka with her yellow umbrella--reminding us of what is really important. "Madlenka! Where have you been?" "Well... I went around the world. And I lost my tooth!"
Wild About Books
Judy Sierra
Pictures by Marc Brown
PreS-Gr. 2. In this rollicking story, librarian Molly McGrew accidentally drives her bookmobile into the zoo, and then the fun begins! The animals draw close to listen to a Dr. Seuss story, and soon they begin stampeding "to learn all about this new something called reading." Many picture-book authors who try their hands at rhyme have less-than-stellar results. Here, the best part of the book is Sierra's handy way with a rhyming text that not only scans properly but also is both clever and full of images that will amuse children ("Tasmanian devils found books so exciting / That soon they had given up fighting for writing"). The wild animal goings-on offer illustrator Brown an opportunity to get away from his vaguely aardvarklike Arthur and create some real animals--in fact, about every animal one can think of. All the slaphappy art fits nicely into double-page spreads that allow the energetic action room to breathe. That's good because there are tons of things to look at, all in sunny colors. Not only are the animals reading books but they are also hugging them, licking the pictures off the pages, and trying their "hands" at writing. A wonderful advertisement for the joys of a literary life.
Pictures by Marc Brown
PreS-Gr. 2. In this rollicking story, librarian Molly McGrew accidentally drives her bookmobile into the zoo, and then the fun begins! The animals draw close to listen to a Dr. Seuss story, and soon they begin stampeding "to learn all about this new something called reading." Many picture-book authors who try their hands at rhyme have less-than-stellar results. Here, the best part of the book is Sierra's handy way with a rhyming text that not only scans properly but also is both clever and full of images that will amuse children ("Tasmanian devils found books so exciting / That soon they had given up fighting for writing"). The wild animal goings-on offer illustrator Brown an opportunity to get away from his vaguely aardvarklike Arthur and create some real animals--in fact, about every animal one can think of. All the slaphappy art fits nicely into double-page spreads that allow the energetic action room to breathe. That's good because there are tons of things to look at, all in sunny colors. Not only are the animals reading books but they are also hugging them, licking the pictures off the pages, and trying their "hands" at writing. A wonderful advertisement for the joys of a literary life.
Ballerina!
Peter Sis
Young ballerinas who love to leap, twirl, flutter, or float in their leotards and tutus will be enchanted by Peter SÃs's graceful celebration of dance in Ballerina!. A little girl named Terry changes from pink tutu to blue gown to violet cape to white feather boa as she dances and imagines herself as the prima ballerina in The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Swan Lake. In her mind's eye, the little girl she sees in her bedroom mirror becomes a willowy, poised, grownup dancer with all the glamorous trappings of a real performance. By the end of her own performance, Terry gathers her many different colored scarves and becomes the best ballerina of all, while her audience (her mother and father) "claps and claps and claps."
Peter SÃs, creator of such favorites as Madlenka and the Caldecott Honor book for older kids, Tibet: Through the Red Box, brings the joy of dance to the printed page. Terry appears on the left pages in each successive costume, while on the right page readers see a transformed ballerina reflected in her big bedroom mirror, captioned by a dance position or movement: "tiptoe," "dip," "stretch." (Ages 4 to 7)
Young ballerinas who love to leap, twirl, flutter, or float in their leotards and tutus will be enchanted by Peter SÃs's graceful celebration of dance in Ballerina!. A little girl named Terry changes from pink tutu to blue gown to violet cape to white feather boa as she dances and imagines herself as the prima ballerina in The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Swan Lake. In her mind's eye, the little girl she sees in her bedroom mirror becomes a willowy, poised, grownup dancer with all the glamorous trappings of a real performance. By the end of her own performance, Terry gathers her many different colored scarves and becomes the best ballerina of all, while her audience (her mother and father) "claps and claps and claps."
Peter SÃs, creator of such favorites as Madlenka and the Caldecott Honor book for older kids, Tibet: Through the Red Box, brings the joy of dance to the printed page. Terry appears on the left pages in each successive costume, while on the right page readers see a transformed ballerina reflected in her big bedroom mirror, captioned by a dance position or movement: "tiptoe," "dip," "stretch." (Ages 4 to 7)
Dinosaur!
Peter Sis
PreSchool-K-A wordless picture book that takes readers on a wild adventure of the imagination. A boy and his toy dinosaur are in the tub when a larger dinosaur appears, and then another, and as the beasts loom larger, the boy and his surroundings become smaller. The culmination is a three-page spread revealing a full-color herd of dinosaurs racing across the page, and if children look very closely, they'll see a tiny boy in his tub. Then, magically, the oversized creatures disappear, and all that are left are the boy and his bath toy and his mother, who appears with a towel. This imaginative story with wonderful endpapers naming the creatures should appeal to all young dinosaur lovers. S's's barely fleshed-out, cookie-cutter cartoons tell the story. He masterfully plays with white space and perspective, conveys action, and captures a full range of emotions with the absolute minimum of line and detail. As in Fire Trucks (1998) and Trucks, Trucks, Trucks (1999, both Greenwillow), the author's bold artwork and simple plot are right on the mark for this audience.
PreSchool-K-A wordless picture book that takes readers on a wild adventure of the imagination. A boy and his toy dinosaur are in the tub when a larger dinosaur appears, and then another, and as the beasts loom larger, the boy and his surroundings become smaller. The culmination is a three-page spread revealing a full-color herd of dinosaurs racing across the page, and if children look very closely, they'll see a tiny boy in his tub. Then, magically, the oversized creatures disappear, and all that are left are the boy and his bath toy and his mother, who appears with a towel. This imaginative story with wonderful endpapers naming the creatures should appeal to all young dinosaur lovers. S's's barely fleshed-out, cookie-cutter cartoons tell the story. He masterfully plays with white space and perspective, conveys action, and captures a full range of emotions with the absolute minimum of line and detail. As in Fire Trucks (1998) and Trucks, Trucks, Trucks (1999, both Greenwillow), the author's bold artwork and simple plot are right on the mark for this audience.
Llama Llama Mad at Mama
Anna Dewdney
PreSchool-K—In this sequel to Llama Llama Red Pajama (Viking, 2005), the hoofed protagonist goes shopping with his mother. Gradually the small annoyances of the Shop-O-Rama ("Yucky music,/great big feet./Ladies smelling way too sweet....Try it on and take it off./Pull and wiggle,/itch and cough") send the youngster into a tantrum: "It's no fun at Shop-O-Rama./Llama Llama/MAD at Mama!" With admirable patience and parenting skills, Mama tames the "llama drama," explaining to her son that they can make the chore fun by working together. Soon Llama Llama is helping Mama clean up the messy results of his meltdown and complete their purchases, and then they are off to pursue more pleasurable activities. Children will giggle at Dewdney's rhythmic rhymes. The inviting, oversized paintings are bold and colorful, and Llama Llama's priceless expressions carry the emotional arc of the story to its gentle conclusion. Add this amusing tale to your storytime repertoire or recommend it for one-on-one sharing.
PreSchool-K—In this sequel to Llama Llama Red Pajama (Viking, 2005), the hoofed protagonist goes shopping with his mother. Gradually the small annoyances of the Shop-O-Rama ("Yucky music,/great big feet./Ladies smelling way too sweet....Try it on and take it off./Pull and wiggle,/itch and cough") send the youngster into a tantrum: "It's no fun at Shop-O-Rama./Llama Llama/MAD at Mama!" With admirable patience and parenting skills, Mama tames the "llama drama," explaining to her son that they can make the chore fun by working together. Soon Llama Llama is helping Mama clean up the messy results of his meltdown and complete their purchases, and then they are off to pursue more pleasurable activities. Children will giggle at Dewdney's rhythmic rhymes. The inviting, oversized paintings are bold and colorful, and Llama Llama's priceless expressions carry the emotional arc of the story to its gentle conclusion. Add this amusing tale to your storytime repertoire or recommend it for one-on-one sharing.
Princess Grace
Mary Hoffman
Illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu
This year two girls will be selected as princesses in the town parade, and Grace can’t wait to be one of them. It’s the perfect opportunity to dress up—but how, exactly, should a princess costume look? Grace asks her teacher for help, and soon the whole class is learning that there’s more to princesses than pink dresses and frills. From Kenya to China and from warriors to spies, princesses are a multicultural and multitalented bunch, and there are just as many kinds of happily ever afters—both for the royals and for Grace’s community and its princess parade.
Illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu
This year two girls will be selected as princesses in the town parade, and Grace can’t wait to be one of them. It’s the perfect opportunity to dress up—but how, exactly, should a princess costume look? Grace asks her teacher for help, and soon the whole class is learning that there’s more to princesses than pink dresses and frills. From Kenya to China and from warriors to spies, princesses are a multicultural and multitalented bunch, and there are just as many kinds of happily ever afters—both for the royals and for Grace’s community and its princess parade.
My Taxi Ride
Paul Dubois Jacobs and Jennifer Swender
Illustrated by Selina Alko
Ho taxi! Yo taxi!Where to Miss? Where to Mister?Where to brother? Where to sister?All around New York town!"Take a wild ride in a yellow taxi that's "buzzin' down the street like a bumblebee," visiting famous New York sites along the way, including Broadway, the Empire State Building, Greenwich Village, and Central Park. This book is perfect for people everywhere who love New York City, and a fun multicultural jaunt into the Big Apple for kids everywhere.
Illustrated by Selina Alko
Ho taxi! Yo taxi!Where to Miss? Where to Mister?Where to brother? Where to sister?All around New York town!"Take a wild ride in a yellow taxi that's "buzzin' down the street like a bumblebee," visiting famous New York sites along the way, including Broadway, the Empire State Building, Greenwich Village, and Central Park. This book is perfect for people everywhere who love New York City, and a fun multicultural jaunt into the Big Apple for kids everywhere.
The Princess and the Pea
Rachel Isadora
PreSchool-Grade 2—Isadora drops her simplified and humorless retelling of Andersen's tale into an African setting without adding meaningful cultural context to this story of a prince who travels the continent looking for a wife. Africa is treated as one culture except for three spreads that show individual princesses. These spreads are wordless except for a phrase: "Iska Waran," "Selam," or "Jambo, Habari." No translation is provided in the body of the book, so readers only learn on the last page that the words mean "hello" in three different languages. Awkward phrasing like "What a sight the rain and the wind had made her look" slows the pace of the story. Isadora uses oil paints on palette paper and decorative print paper to interpret the story visually and infuses her art with exuberant color and stylized figures. The prince and his entourage appear as shadowy figures that contrast dramatically with the deep reds and oranges of a setting sun. The three princesses are vividly portrayed: one is covered in body tattoos and looks menacing, another has light skin and an elegantly long neck covered in multicolored jewelry, and a third is dark and heavy. Faces exhibit paint strokes and look flat with minimal expression. One effective spread shows the "real" princess perched on top of "twenty feather beds on top of the mattresses" as she complains to the king and queen that she is "black and blue all over."
PreSchool-Grade 2—Isadora drops her simplified and humorless retelling of Andersen's tale into an African setting without adding meaningful cultural context to this story of a prince who travels the continent looking for a wife. Africa is treated as one culture except for three spreads that show individual princesses. These spreads are wordless except for a phrase: "Iska Waran," "Selam," or "Jambo, Habari." No translation is provided in the body of the book, so readers only learn on the last page that the words mean "hello" in three different languages. Awkward phrasing like "What a sight the rain and the wind had made her look" slows the pace of the story. Isadora uses oil paints on palette paper and decorative print paper to interpret the story visually and infuses her art with exuberant color and stylized figures. The prince and his entourage appear as shadowy figures that contrast dramatically with the deep reds and oranges of a setting sun. The three princesses are vividly portrayed: one is covered in body tattoos and looks menacing, another has light skin and an elegantly long neck covered in multicolored jewelry, and a third is dark and heavy. Faces exhibit paint strokes and look flat with minimal expression. One effective spread shows the "real" princess perched on top of "twenty feather beds on top of the mattresses" as she complains to the king and queen that she is "black and blue all over."
Leonardo the Terrible Monster
Mo Willems
Starred Review. PreSchool-Grade 1–Leonardo is a terrible monster–terrible as in he can't scare anybody. He's not big, doesn't have hundreds of teeth, and isn't even weird. So one day he comes up with an idea: He would find the most scaredy-cat kid in the whole world…and scare the tuna salad out of him! After much research, he chooses Sam, sneaks up on him, and [gives] it all he [has]. When the boy cries, Leonardo is convinced that he is a success. But Sam proceeds to recite a litany of wrongs that actually brought on his tears: My mean big brother stole my action figure right out of my hands…, and on and on. Leonardo makes a decision that is sure to surprise and delight readers. Willems's familiar cartoon drawings work hand in glove with the brief text to tell this perfectly paced story. It is printed on pastel grounds in large, fancy letters that change color for emphasis. Sam's list of woes marches across a spread. Leonardo, a small greenish-beige creature with tiny horns; blue eyes; and pink nose, hands, and feet, first appears in a lower right-hand corner looking dejected, but when he makes his momentous decision, his circular head fills two pages. His antics to produce a scare will have youngsters laughing, while the asterisk next to the number of monster Tony's teeth (*note: not all teeth shown) will have grown-ups chuckling, too. A surefire hit.
Starred Review. PreSchool-Grade 1–Leonardo is a terrible monster–terrible as in he can't scare anybody. He's not big, doesn't have hundreds of teeth, and isn't even weird. So one day he comes up with an idea: He would find the most scaredy-cat kid in the whole world…and scare the tuna salad out of him! After much research, he chooses Sam, sneaks up on him, and [gives] it all he [has]. When the boy cries, Leonardo is convinced that he is a success. But Sam proceeds to recite a litany of wrongs that actually brought on his tears: My mean big brother stole my action figure right out of my hands…, and on and on. Leonardo makes a decision that is sure to surprise and delight readers. Willems's familiar cartoon drawings work hand in glove with the brief text to tell this perfectly paced story. It is printed on pastel grounds in large, fancy letters that change color for emphasis. Sam's list of woes marches across a spread. Leonardo, a small greenish-beige creature with tiny horns; blue eyes; and pink nose, hands, and feet, first appears in a lower right-hand corner looking dejected, but when he makes his momentous decision, his circular head fills two pages. His antics to produce a scare will have youngsters laughing, while the asterisk next to the number of monster Tony's teeth (*note: not all teeth shown) will have grown-ups chuckling, too. A surefire hit.
Blue Goose
Nancy Tafuri
When Farmer Gray takes a trip, Blue Goose, Red Hen, Yellow Chick and White Duck decide to paint their black-and-white farm. Red Hen paints the barn red and White Duck paints the fence white. Then Blue Goose and Yellow Chick pour their paint together to make green for the grass and trees. By the time Farmer Gray comes back, the whole farm is full of color--what a wonderful surprise! Incorporating primary and secondary colors, as well as animals, this is a simple and engaging way for young children to learn basic concepts.
When Farmer Gray takes a trip, Blue Goose, Red Hen, Yellow Chick and White Duck decide to paint their black-and-white farm. Red Hen paints the barn red and White Duck paints the fence white. Then Blue Goose and Yellow Chick pour their paint together to make green for the grass and trees. By the time Farmer Gray comes back, the whole farm is full of color--what a wonderful surprise! Incorporating primary and secondary colors, as well as animals, this is a simple and engaging way for young children to learn basic concepts.
Sweet Tooth
Margie Palatini
Illustrated by Jack E. Davis
Kindergarten-Grade 3–Stewart is an "average, everyday kid" with a talking molar that inevitably lures him into trouble. At his cousin's wedding, the tooth demands a large chunk of cake, and when the boy crams it into his mouth, his parents deny that he's their son. At school, its clamoring for candy causes the boy's teacher to send him to the principal's office yet again. He foists off blame with the predictable phrase, "It's The Tooth!" The illustration adds to the hilarity as the molar peeks out of the boy's mouth with an impish and belligerent smirk, its fist raised in apparent anger. Throughout, the mixed-media cartoon artwork extends the comedy of Palatini's text and enriches her characterization of Stewart. In one spread, readers look down on him as he lies on the floor with a stomachache after raiding an Easter basket. This scene adds visual interest with a change in perspective, showing only the feet of his family members–even the paws of the cat–clustered around the sick boy. When Stewart finally tells his molar that he's switching to a "Healthy diet," Davis uses rosy red to perk up the palette and show the youngster's new determination to win the war with the tooth. Finally, Stewart extracts it with the help of a big carrot and the Tooth Fairy administers justice in an upbeat ending. With a rollicking text and charming illustrations, this adventure is a scrumptious delight.
Illustrated by Jack E. Davis
Kindergarten-Grade 3–Stewart is an "average, everyday kid" with a talking molar that inevitably lures him into trouble. At his cousin's wedding, the tooth demands a large chunk of cake, and when the boy crams it into his mouth, his parents deny that he's their son. At school, its clamoring for candy causes the boy's teacher to send him to the principal's office yet again. He foists off blame with the predictable phrase, "It's The Tooth!" The illustration adds to the hilarity as the molar peeks out of the boy's mouth with an impish and belligerent smirk, its fist raised in apparent anger. Throughout, the mixed-media cartoon artwork extends the comedy of Palatini's text and enriches her characterization of Stewart. In one spread, readers look down on him as he lies on the floor with a stomachache after raiding an Easter basket. This scene adds visual interest with a change in perspective, showing only the feet of his family members–even the paws of the cat–clustered around the sick boy. When Stewart finally tells his molar that he's switching to a "Healthy diet," Davis uses rosy red to perk up the palette and show the youngster's new determination to win the war with the tooth. Finally, Stewart extracts it with the help of a big carrot and the Tooth Fairy administers justice in an upbeat ending. With a rollicking text and charming illustrations, this adventure is a scrumptious delight.
Where Do Balloons Go? An Uplifting Mystery
Jamie Lee Curtis
Illustrated by Laura Cornell
This far-fetched tale by the creators of Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods That Make My Day may well raise youngsters' spirits as verse and art muse fancifully on the possible fates of wayward balloons. Cornell casts the balloons in human roles as the young narrator, a boy who has accidentally let go of his balloon's string, wonders, "Where do they go when they float far away? Do they ever catch cold and need somewhere to stay?" The zany accompanying cartoon pictures show a balloon sitting on the couch in a doctor's waiting room and another approaching a hotel, its string attached to a suitcase. In other scenarios, balloons dine in a restaurant, write postcards home and "cha-cha with birds" on the wing of an airplane, culminating in a four-page fold-out spread of "a big balloon dance." Bursting with color and balloons of all shapes, sizes and functions (many balloons making encore appearances bear clever messages or advertisements), Cornell's busy art provides ample diversion for young readers. Though not as memorable as some of the collaborators' earlier work, this volume, like the high-flying balloon that sets a boy's imagination soaring, is way out thereAin a kid-pleasing way. Ages 4-8.
Illustrated by Laura Cornell
This far-fetched tale by the creators of Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods That Make My Day may well raise youngsters' spirits as verse and art muse fancifully on the possible fates of wayward balloons. Cornell casts the balloons in human roles as the young narrator, a boy who has accidentally let go of his balloon's string, wonders, "Where do they go when they float far away? Do they ever catch cold and need somewhere to stay?" The zany accompanying cartoon pictures show a balloon sitting on the couch in a doctor's waiting room and another approaching a hotel, its string attached to a suitcase. In other scenarios, balloons dine in a restaurant, write postcards home and "cha-cha with birds" on the wing of an airplane, culminating in a four-page fold-out spread of "a big balloon dance." Bursting with color and balloons of all shapes, sizes and functions (many balloons making encore appearances bear clever messages or advertisements), Cornell's busy art provides ample diversion for young readers. Though not as memorable as some of the collaborators' earlier work, this volume, like the high-flying balloon that sets a boy's imagination soaring, is way out thereAin a kid-pleasing way. Ages 4-8.
David Gets in Trouble
David Shannon
"No" and "David" were the first words David Shannon learned how to spell. Shannon's Caldecott Honor Book No, David! is based on a book he made as a child showing a kid doing all the things he isn't supposed to do. In the sequel David Goes to School, it turns out that teachers say no, too. And in this third picture book, it's David's turn to talk back. What does he say when he gets in trouble? "I didn't mean to." (Skateboarding into a lamp table.) "It was an accident!" (Hitting a baseball into a window.) "I forgot!" (Happily walking down the street... in his underpants.) "But Dad says it!" (Boy in corner with mouth full of soap.) Of course, the cat-tail-pulling, burping, grape-juice-dropping, runny-egg-hating, out-of-control David wins us over in the end. A defiant "No, it wasn't me!" evolves into a guilt-ridden, late-at-night shout, "Yes! It was me! I'm sorry. I love you, Mom." Awwww. Shannon's expressive, childlike paintings of the round-headed, shark-toothed David-in-trouble perfectly capture the manic joys of early boyhood. (Ages 3 and older)
"No" and "David" were the first words David Shannon learned how to spell. Shannon's Caldecott Honor Book No, David! is based on a book he made as a child showing a kid doing all the things he isn't supposed to do. In the sequel David Goes to School, it turns out that teachers say no, too. And in this third picture book, it's David's turn to talk back. What does he say when he gets in trouble? "I didn't mean to." (Skateboarding into a lamp table.) "It was an accident!" (Hitting a baseball into a window.) "I forgot!" (Happily walking down the street... in his underpants.) "But Dad says it!" (Boy in corner with mouth full of soap.) Of course, the cat-tail-pulling, burping, grape-juice-dropping, runny-egg-hating, out-of-control David wins us over in the end. A defiant "No, it wasn't me!" evolves into a guilt-ridden, late-at-night shout, "Yes! It was me! I'm sorry. I love you, Mom." Awwww. Shannon's expressive, childlike paintings of the round-headed, shark-toothed David-in-trouble perfectly capture the manic joys of early boyhood. (Ages 3 and older)
My Dog is as Smelly as Dirty Socks and other funny family portraits
Hanoch Piven
Grade 2–4—Filled with plays on words and similes, this delightful offering will encourage children's creativity. The narrator makes a line drawing of her family but explains that it doesn't do them justice. "And what about this drawing of my mom? Sorry, but it doesn't tell the whole story. My mommy is as soft as the softest FLUFF and as bright as the brightest LIGHT." This section ends, "That's my yummy mommy!" The gouache-and-watercolor illustrations are embellished with glued-on objects like a lightbulb for a nose, a croissant for a mouth, and a boa for hair, in this case on Mom. The pictures support the text and add to the subtext. The book ends with an invitation to readers to create images of their families. Younger children will enjoy the story, but older kids will love the nuances, the opportunity for individuality, and the challenge of portraying their own relatives in this style. An author's note describes a workshop that Piven conducted for children hospitalized with cancer; their wonderful creations adorn the endpapers.
Grade 2–4—Filled with plays on words and similes, this delightful offering will encourage children's creativity. The narrator makes a line drawing of her family but explains that it doesn't do them justice. "And what about this drawing of my mom? Sorry, but it doesn't tell the whole story. My mommy is as soft as the softest FLUFF and as bright as the brightest LIGHT." This section ends, "That's my yummy mommy!" The gouache-and-watercolor illustrations are embellished with glued-on objects like a lightbulb for a nose, a croissant for a mouth, and a boa for hair, in this case on Mom. The pictures support the text and add to the subtext. The book ends with an invitation to readers to create images of their families. Younger children will enjoy the story, but older kids will love the nuances, the opportunity for individuality, and the challenge of portraying their own relatives in this style. An author's note describes a workshop that Piven conducted for children hospitalized with cancer; their wonderful creations adorn the endpapers.
The End
David LaRochelle
PreSchool-Grade 3—Turning the standard fairy-tale formula on its head, LaRochelle begins his story at the end. The endpapers depict a princess and a knight waving good-bye to a long line of intriguing characters who are marching away from the castle. The text begins, "And they all lived happily ever after. They lived happily ever after because…" and proceeds backward through a madcap chain of events that includes a skittish dragon, a giant tomato, a pack of ferocious bunnies, and a fortuitous bowl of lemonade. Only on the last page are readers rewarded with the anticipated phrase, "Once upon a time." Egielski's illustrations are a triumph. The flattened, static quality of the characters calls to mind Maurice Sendak's In the Night Kitchen (HarperCollins, 1995), and the warm, muted tones evoke the fairy-tale art of Trina Schart Hyman, but the fanciful details—a blue, winged pig; a pair of runaway lemons—are completely original. The hand-lettered text, enclosed in streaming banners, consists of terse, declarative statements that are lavishly expounded upon by the illustrations. The tension between the simplicity of the narrative and the richness of the artwork allows this tale to transcend its clever gimmickry. Though the book can be appreciated in one reading, and would work well when shared aloud, multiple perusals are necessary to spot all of the details. When youngsters reach the beginning of The End, they will want to start all over again
Richard Egielski
PreSchool-Grade 3—Turning the standard fairy-tale formula on its head, LaRochelle begins his story at the end. The endpapers depict a princess and a knight waving good-bye to a long line of intriguing characters who are marching away from the castle. The text begins, "And they all lived happily ever after. They lived happily ever after because…" and proceeds backward through a madcap chain of events that includes a skittish dragon, a giant tomato, a pack of ferocious bunnies, and a fortuitous bowl of lemonade. Only on the last page are readers rewarded with the anticipated phrase, "Once upon a time." Egielski's illustrations are a triumph. The flattened, static quality of the characters calls to mind Maurice Sendak's In the Night Kitchen (HarperCollins, 1995), and the warm, muted tones evoke the fairy-tale art of Trina Schart Hyman, but the fanciful details—a blue, winged pig; a pair of runaway lemons—are completely original. The hand-lettered text, enclosed in streaming banners, consists of terse, declarative statements that are lavishly expounded upon by the illustrations. The tension between the simplicity of the narrative and the richness of the artwork allows this tale to transcend its clever gimmickry. Though the book can be appreciated in one reading, and would work well when shared aloud, multiple perusals are necessary to spot all of the details. When youngsters reach the beginning of The End, they will want to start all over again
Richard Egielski
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Dooby Dooby Moo
Doreen Cronin
Betsy Lewin
Kindergarten-Grade 3–When Duck discovers an ad in the paper announcing a talent show at the county fair (first prize, a slightly used trampoline), Farmer Brown's animals are unstoppable. The cows and sheep concentrate on their singing while the pigs work on interpretive dance. How the suspicious farmer could ever confuse all this noise with routine snoring is a bit of a stretch, but the hilarious late-night practice scenes inside the barn will help readers make the leap. At the talent show, the cows and sheep impress some of the judges, but lack of sleep has the pigs truly snoring when it is time to perform. Fortunately, Duck steps in to save the day with a winning version of Born to Be Wild. After the talent show, Farmer Brown suspects nothing until he hears boings coming from the barn. Comical watercolor illustrations provide the punch lines to many jokes within the well-paced text. Some of the sophisticated humor will go over the heads of most children, especially the witty footnotes that pepper the story. However, like Click, Clack, Moo (2000) and Giggle, Giggle, Quack (2002, both S & S), this story makes a great read-aloud, and fans of the series will be ecstatic to see another episode of mischief in the barnyard.
Betsy Lewin
Kindergarten-Grade 3–When Duck discovers an ad in the paper announcing a talent show at the county fair (first prize, a slightly used trampoline), Farmer Brown's animals are unstoppable. The cows and sheep concentrate on their singing while the pigs work on interpretive dance. How the suspicious farmer could ever confuse all this noise with routine snoring is a bit of a stretch, but the hilarious late-night practice scenes inside the barn will help readers make the leap. At the talent show, the cows and sheep impress some of the judges, but lack of sleep has the pigs truly snoring when it is time to perform. Fortunately, Duck steps in to save the day with a winning version of Born to Be Wild. After the talent show, Farmer Brown suspects nothing until he hears boings coming from the barn. Comical watercolor illustrations provide the punch lines to many jokes within the well-paced text. Some of the sophisticated humor will go over the heads of most children, especially the witty footnotes that pepper the story. However, like Click, Clack, Moo (2000) and Giggle, Giggle, Quack (2002, both S & S), this story makes a great read-aloud, and fans of the series will be ecstatic to see another episode of mischief in the barnyard.
Betty Lou Blue
Nancy Crocker
Pictures by Boris Kulikov
Kindergarten-Grade 3–Betty Lou Blue had the world's biggest feet. Whackety, thwackety, flappety feet. Being different isn't easy, and the other kids often tease the doe-eyed child. 'If those feet were wings,' they would yell, 'you could fly!' Although her mother tries to reassure her, telling her that everyone's perfect and each living thing has a reason to be, Betty Lou doesn't believe her. Then one wintry day finds her tormentors trapped in waist-deep snow, and the youngster is conflicted about helping them. During this internal struggle, her mother's words of wisdom come to mind: …everything's ugly/that's done out of spite;/But you can be beautiful doing what's right. Although the message is predictable and the language almost too nice, the sophisticated city background and mixed-media illustrations with odd perspectives strike a balance. A fun seasonal selection and a great starting point for conversations about bullies and choosing to do the right thing.
Pictures by Boris Kulikov
Kindergarten-Grade 3–Betty Lou Blue had the world's biggest feet. Whackety, thwackety, flappety feet. Being different isn't easy, and the other kids often tease the doe-eyed child. 'If those feet were wings,' they would yell, 'you could fly!' Although her mother tries to reassure her, telling her that everyone's perfect and each living thing has a reason to be, Betty Lou doesn't believe her. Then one wintry day finds her tormentors trapped in waist-deep snow, and the youngster is conflicted about helping them. During this internal struggle, her mother's words of wisdom come to mind: …everything's ugly/that's done out of spite;/But you can be beautiful doing what's right. Although the message is predictable and the language almost too nice, the sophisticated city background and mixed-media illustrations with odd perspectives strike a balance. A fun seasonal selection and a great starting point for conversations about bullies and choosing to do the right thing.
Wiggle
Doreen Cronin
Art by Scott Menchin
PreS–There's not a lot of story here, but there is plenty of fun as a playful, rump-shaking pup leads toddlers through some of the many ways to move around: "Do you wake up with a wiggle?/Do you wiggle out of bed?/If you wiggle with your breakfast,/it might wind up on your head." The dog goes on to jiggle and dance with various objects and creatures before falling asleep beneath the moon. Menchin's lively, digitally rendered art incorporates elements of reality–photographic bits and pieces–that are well integrated into broad, bright cartoon illustrations. Cronin's nonsensical text is rhythmic and buoyant. Pair this sunny, silly book with Jonathan London's Wiggle Waggle (1999) or Katie Davis's Who Hops? (1998, both Harcourt) for an active storytime about animals in motion.
Art by Scott Menchin
PreS–There's not a lot of story here, but there is plenty of fun as a playful, rump-shaking pup leads toddlers through some of the many ways to move around: "Do you wake up with a wiggle?/Do you wiggle out of bed?/If you wiggle with your breakfast,/it might wind up on your head." The dog goes on to jiggle and dance with various objects and creatures before falling asleep beneath the moon. Menchin's lively, digitally rendered art incorporates elements of reality–photographic bits and pieces–that are well integrated into broad, bright cartoon illustrations. Cronin's nonsensical text is rhythmic and buoyant. Pair this sunny, silly book with Jonathan London's Wiggle Waggle (1999) or Katie Davis's Who Hops? (1998, both Harcourt) for an active storytime about animals in motion.
Click, Clack, Splish, Splash
Doreen Cronin
Betsy Lewin
Fast on the webbed feet of Click, Clack, Quackity Quack: An Alphabetical Adventure comes this counting companion, again starring Duck as the instigator of mischievous, though well-intentioned fun. As the farmer naps on the couch near his soothing fish tank ("1 farmer sleeping"), Duck ("2 feet creeping") and the barnyard crew sneak into the house on a hush-hush mission—something that involves "3 buckets piled high" outside the window and "4 chickens standing by." At book's end, readers learn that Duck's master plan was to liberate the farmer's finned friends (a clue is planted on the title page). Though not quite as charming as its abecedarian cousin, this slight volume still offers a comical introduction to numerals one through 10. Lewin's black-outlined menagerie is as breezy as ever, tiptoeing, climbing or splashing through lots of white space to the final destination. Ages 2-5.
Betsy Lewin
Fast on the webbed feet of Click, Clack, Quackity Quack: An Alphabetical Adventure comes this counting companion, again starring Duck as the instigator of mischievous, though well-intentioned fun. As the farmer naps on the couch near his soothing fish tank ("1 farmer sleeping"), Duck ("2 feet creeping") and the barnyard crew sneak into the house on a hush-hush mission—something that involves "3 buckets piled high" outside the window and "4 chickens standing by." At book's end, readers learn that Duck's master plan was to liberate the farmer's finned friends (a clue is planted on the title page). Though not quite as charming as its abecedarian cousin, this slight volume still offers a comical introduction to numerals one through 10. Lewin's black-outlined menagerie is as breezy as ever, tiptoeing, climbing or splashing through lots of white space to the final destination. Ages 2-5.
Bunny and the Beast
Molly Coxe
Paintings by Pamela Silin-Palmer
In this retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Molly Coxe (Big Egg) casts a rabbit and a bull terrier in the starring roles, while Pamela Silin-Palmer outfits them in spectacular, lavish costumes, placing them in positively sumptuous settings. The story is familiar: a wealthy merchant falls on hard times, much to the dismay of his two snooty daughters. The third, sweet daughter makes the best of the situation, even when the hapless dad gets in a pickle, requiring young Bunny to be packed off to a beast's castle. Her pure love for the beast breaks the spell he's been under, transforming him back to his original form as a handsome rabbit prince, fortuitously enough. The magic here is in the glorious illustrations, although the quick-as-a-bunny narrative is appealing, as well. In her rich oil paintings, Silin-Palmer juxtaposes whimsical situations with a formal style inspired by "sixteenth-century painters, medieval tapestries, and the pre-Raphaelites." The long-legged Bunny gracefully leaps across the pages, flower blossoms, butterflies, and stars abundantly scattered in her path. Her Beast is hardly the terrifying monster of Coxe's description ("His eyes were angry, his teeth were sharp, and his claws were long"); but his ever-drooling tongue and aggressive stance does bring to mind the less-than-amicable traditional relationship between rabbits and dogs. Children familiar with the classic fairy tale will delight in Coxe and Silin-Palmer's remarkable version--the message of selflessness and blind love certainly remains intact. (Ages 4 to 8)
Paintings by Pamela Silin-Palmer
In this retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Molly Coxe (Big Egg) casts a rabbit and a bull terrier in the starring roles, while Pamela Silin-Palmer outfits them in spectacular, lavish costumes, placing them in positively sumptuous settings. The story is familiar: a wealthy merchant falls on hard times, much to the dismay of his two snooty daughters. The third, sweet daughter makes the best of the situation, even when the hapless dad gets in a pickle, requiring young Bunny to be packed off to a beast's castle. Her pure love for the beast breaks the spell he's been under, transforming him back to his original form as a handsome rabbit prince, fortuitously enough. The magic here is in the glorious illustrations, although the quick-as-a-bunny narrative is appealing, as well. In her rich oil paintings, Silin-Palmer juxtaposes whimsical situations with a formal style inspired by "sixteenth-century painters, medieval tapestries, and the pre-Raphaelites." The long-legged Bunny gracefully leaps across the pages, flower blossoms, butterflies, and stars abundantly scattered in her path. Her Beast is hardly the terrifying monster of Coxe's description ("His eyes were angry, his teeth were sharp, and his claws were long"); but his ever-drooling tongue and aggressive stance does bring to mind the less-than-amicable traditional relationship between rabbits and dogs. Children familiar with the classic fairy tale will delight in Coxe and Silin-Palmer's remarkable version--the message of selflessness and blind love certainly remains intact. (Ages 4 to 8)
Miss Nelson Is Back
Harry Allard
James Marshall
Miss Nelson goes away for a week, and the kids in Room 207 fear that they'll have the dreaded substitute teacher, Viola Swamp. Instead, they get Principal Blandsworth, who bores them into taking drastic measures. "A nutty sequel to Miss Nelson Is Missing," PW stated. "Marshall's color cartoons and the twisty tale rise to stratospheric heights of buffoonery."
James Marshall
Miss Nelson goes away for a week, and the kids in Room 207 fear that they'll have the dreaded substitute teacher, Viola Swamp. Instead, they get Principal Blandsworth, who bores them into taking drastic measures. "A nutty sequel to Miss Nelson Is Missing," PW stated. "Marshall's color cartoons and the twisty tale rise to stratospheric heights of buffoonery."
The Library Dragon
Carmen Agra Deedy
Illustrated by Michael P. White
When an elementary school advertises for a "thick-skinned professional" who is "on fire with enthusiasm," it gets just that-and then some. A bespectacled, dress-wearing dragon, Miss Lotta Scales replaces all the books with spanking clean ones, and refuses to let the students ("with their gooey fingers and snotty noses") touch them. The kids' grades are "going up in smoke," but neither the principal nor the teachers can convince the headstrong dragon to let the pupils near the stacks until one myopic girl accidentally wanders into the library and begins to read a story ("Snuff the Magic Dragon") aloud. The tale manages to soften the librarian's scaly skin-figuratively and literally. Deedy (Agatha's Feather Bed) is an accomplished storyteller, and kids will likely enjoy her frequent puns and wordplay. White heads off imminent cutesiness with droll, stylized illustrations, filled with vibrant color and lots of comical details. Ages 6-10.
Illustrated by Michael P. White
When an elementary school advertises for a "thick-skinned professional" who is "on fire with enthusiasm," it gets just that-and then some. A bespectacled, dress-wearing dragon, Miss Lotta Scales replaces all the books with spanking clean ones, and refuses to let the students ("with their gooey fingers and snotty noses") touch them. The kids' grades are "going up in smoke," but neither the principal nor the teachers can convince the headstrong dragon to let the pupils near the stacks until one myopic girl accidentally wanders into the library and begins to read a story ("Snuff the Magic Dragon") aloud. The tale manages to soften the librarian's scaly skin-figuratively and literally. Deedy (Agatha's Feather Bed) is an accomplished storyteller, and kids will likely enjoy her frequent puns and wordplay. White heads off imminent cutesiness with droll, stylized illustrations, filled with vibrant color and lots of comical details. Ages 6-10.
Sheep in a Jeep
Nancy Shaw
Illustrated by Margot Apple
Beep! Beep! Sheep in a jeep on a hill that's steep." This story, much like the jeep, gathers momentum from page one. When five foolish sheep cram into one jeep, their high spirits and occasional lack of foresight (like forgetting to steer) combine to make a riotous, if ill-fated, road trip. Plummeting over a hill, tumbling into a mud puddle, yelping for help, these muttonheads just can't get their act together, much to the delight of young readers.
Illustrated by Margot Apple
Beep! Beep! Sheep in a jeep on a hill that's steep." This story, much like the jeep, gathers momentum from page one. When five foolish sheep cram into one jeep, their high spirits and occasional lack of foresight (like forgetting to steer) combine to make a riotous, if ill-fated, road trip. Plummeting over a hill, tumbling into a mud puddle, yelping for help, these muttonheads just can't get their act together, much to the delight of young readers.
I Love My Pirate Papa
Laura Leuck
Illustrated by Kyle M Stone
PreSchool-Grade 2—In well-fashioned rhyming text, a little boy takes readers through a day onboard his father's ship, listing all of the reasons he loves his pirate-captain dad: "I love my pirate papa!/He's the bravest buccaneer./He helps me put my earring on/and buckles up my gear." After a day full of adventures together, the man tucks his son into his bunk, reads him a book about Captain Hook, and kisses him goodnight saying: "I spent my life a-plundering./My treasures bring me joy./But there's nothing I prize more than you,/my dearest pirate boy." Bright, jewel-toned acrylic and mixed-media cartoon illustrations add to the fun, drawing children into the main elements of a pirate's life—ferocious crew, skull-and-crossbones flag, desert island, etc.—but also offering interesting humorous details sprinkled throughout the pages, such as the skinny mice in almost every scene who participate in the action. The father sports an eye patch, tricorne, and unbelievably long mustache, all authentic but somehow managing not to look too scary. Both front and back endpapers display a pirate treasure map. Given the fascination children have for the topic and the relative scarcity of easy pirate books, this tale will surely be met with delight by the youngest buccaneers.
Illustrated by Kyle M Stone
PreSchool-Grade 2—In well-fashioned rhyming text, a little boy takes readers through a day onboard his father's ship, listing all of the reasons he loves his pirate-captain dad: "I love my pirate papa!/He's the bravest buccaneer./He helps me put my earring on/and buckles up my gear." After a day full of adventures together, the man tucks his son into his bunk, reads him a book about Captain Hook, and kisses him goodnight saying: "I spent my life a-plundering./My treasures bring me joy./But there's nothing I prize more than you,/my dearest pirate boy." Bright, jewel-toned acrylic and mixed-media cartoon illustrations add to the fun, drawing children into the main elements of a pirate's life—ferocious crew, skull-and-crossbones flag, desert island, etc.—but also offering interesting humorous details sprinkled throughout the pages, such as the skinny mice in almost every scene who participate in the action. The father sports an eye patch, tricorne, and unbelievably long mustache, all authentic but somehow managing not to look too scary. Both front and back endpapers display a pirate treasure map. Given the fascination children have for the topic and the relative scarcity of easy pirate books, this tale will surely be met with delight by the youngest buccaneers.
Wait! I Want To Tell You A Story
Tom Willans
Kindergarten-Grade 4–Willans borrows the old campfire chestnut of an endless chain story, adding his own punch line that will tickle the funny bones of many a reader. The book opens with, "Once there was a muskrat sitting quietly in a tree." Along comes a tiger who wants to eat him, but the smaller creature's quick thinking fends off the large orange beast. Muskrat says, "Wait! I want to tell you a story." His repetitive yarn tells of a series of other animals in the same predicament. A frog about to be eaten by a shark tells the tale of a lizard about to be eaten by a snake, etc. Eventually a predator gets wise. " 'I don't want to hear it!' said the spider. And the spider ate the fly." Tiger then steps in to pounce on muskrat. " 'Wait!' shouted the muskrat. 'There's more….'" In the silly denouement, the tiger gets his just deserts. The simple text and energetic, loose-line drawings with watercolor washes proffer a fun read-aloud that's bound to tempt some listeners to share the joke with someone else–perhaps in long succession.
Kindergarten-Grade 4–Willans borrows the old campfire chestnut of an endless chain story, adding his own punch line that will tickle the funny bones of many a reader. The book opens with, "Once there was a muskrat sitting quietly in a tree." Along comes a tiger who wants to eat him, but the smaller creature's quick thinking fends off the large orange beast. Muskrat says, "Wait! I want to tell you a story." His repetitive yarn tells of a series of other animals in the same predicament. A frog about to be eaten by a shark tells the tale of a lizard about to be eaten by a snake, etc. Eventually a predator gets wise. " 'I don't want to hear it!' said the spider. And the spider ate the fly." Tiger then steps in to pounce on muskrat. " 'Wait!' shouted the muskrat. 'There's more….'" In the silly denouement, the tiger gets his just deserts. The simple text and energetic, loose-line drawings with watercolor washes proffer a fun read-aloud that's bound to tempt some listeners to share the joke with someone else–perhaps in long succession.
Chowder
Peter Brown
Grade 1-4–Chowder is not like most bulldogs. Instead of burying bones, he busily arranges them into a skeletal formation, as an archaeologist would. He gets about town with his doting owners in the type of backpack that a toddler would ride in, and he uses the toilet like a human. His quirkiness leads the neighborhood canines to conclude that he would be better off in a zoo, so it is with mounting excitement that he spots the grocery stores new Critter Corral through his balcony telescope and looks forward to making friends there. Browns static, acrylic-and-pencil compositions and the repetition of visual elements across the page yield strong designs. The rounded figures and precise patterning suggest a Playmobil™ world, with a touch of texture. The scenes depicted through the telescope are circular close-ups, framed in black. The parting shot, showing how Chowder communicates with his new friends even when they cant be together, requires a bit of visual sophistication, as does the book in general. Its wacky comedy and the quest for acceptance will best be appreciated by those whove been around the block a few times. Fans of Anthony Browne and Craig Frazier will sit up and beg for more.
Grade 1-4–Chowder is not like most bulldogs. Instead of burying bones, he busily arranges them into a skeletal formation, as an archaeologist would. He gets about town with his doting owners in the type of backpack that a toddler would ride in, and he uses the toilet like a human. His quirkiness leads the neighborhood canines to conclude that he would be better off in a zoo, so it is with mounting excitement that he spots the grocery stores new Critter Corral through his balcony telescope and looks forward to making friends there. Browns static, acrylic-and-pencil compositions and the repetition of visual elements across the page yield strong designs. The rounded figures and precise patterning suggest a Playmobil™ world, with a touch of texture. The scenes depicted through the telescope are circular close-ups, framed in black. The parting shot, showing how Chowder communicates with his new friends even when they cant be together, requires a bit of visual sophistication, as does the book in general. Its wacky comedy and the quest for acceptance will best be appreciated by those whove been around the block a few times. Fans of Anthony Browne and Craig Frazier will sit up and beg for more.
Miss Nelson is Missing!
Harry Allard
James Marshall
The kids in Room 207 are misbehaving again, but when Miss Nelson goes missing and Miss Viola Swamp comes in, the kids start to shape up.
James Marshall
The kids in Room 207 are misbehaving again, but when Miss Nelson goes missing and Miss Viola Swamp comes in, the kids start to shape up.
Miss Nelson Has a Field Day
Harry Allard
James Marshall
The Smedley Tornadoes have a big football game coming up, so Miss Nelson calls in dreaded substitute teacher Viola Swamp to whip the team into shape. Ages 4-8.
James Marshall
The Smedley Tornadoes have a big football game coming up, so Miss Nelson calls in dreaded substitute teacher Viola Swamp to whip the team into shape. Ages 4-8.
Do Princesses Scrape Their Knees?
Carmela LaVigna Coyle
Illustrated by Mike Gordon
When I grow up can I be sporty like you? You can do anything you set your mind to. This is NOT your average big-sister princess! This active princess plays soccer, does yoga, falls on the ice, and scrapes her knobby knees while showing her little brother how to be sporty, too. This charming story helps children see that it's okay to fall down and scrape their knees when trying something new, even when showing off for a sibling. It's the trying and the fun that count. Through belly-flops and missed baskets, our priceless princess discovers that doing your best is all that really matters, even when your little brother is tagging along.
Illustrated by Mike Gordon
When I grow up can I be sporty like you? You can do anything you set your mind to. This is NOT your average big-sister princess! This active princess plays soccer, does yoga, falls on the ice, and scrapes her knobby knees while showing her little brother how to be sporty, too. This charming story helps children see that it's okay to fall down and scrape their knees when trying something new, even when showing off for a sibling. It's the trying and the fun that count. Through belly-flops and missed baskets, our priceless princess discovers that doing your best is all that really matters, even when your little brother is tagging along.
Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots?
Carmela LaVigna Coyle
Illustrated by Mike Gordon
PreSchool-Grade 1-This book may just fit the bill for some young royal wanna-bes; however, if they prefer their princess to be fighting off witches or saved from fierce dragons, they may be disappointed by the lack of plot elements. In a rhyming text, a little girl asks her mother various questions about princesses. She wants to know if they play in the sand and dirt, wear jeans and a messy old shirt, do chores, follow rules, eat vegetables, snort as they laugh, etc. Each spread has a one-line question facing the mother's one-line response. Gordon's whimsical paintings in pleasant pastel shades are a good match for the funny text. At the end, the child asks, "-do princesses seem at all like me?" She is told to "Look inside yourself and see-." The final page features a mirror with the message, "A princess is a place in your heart." This is as sweet as a little candy heart, but not a must-purchase.
Illustrated by Mike Gordon
PreSchool-Grade 1-This book may just fit the bill for some young royal wanna-bes; however, if they prefer their princess to be fighting off witches or saved from fierce dragons, they may be disappointed by the lack of plot elements. In a rhyming text, a little girl asks her mother various questions about princesses. She wants to know if they play in the sand and dirt, wear jeans and a messy old shirt, do chores, follow rules, eat vegetables, snort as they laugh, etc. Each spread has a one-line question facing the mother's one-line response. Gordon's whimsical paintings in pleasant pastel shades are a good match for the funny text. At the end, the child asks, "-do princesses seem at all like me?" She is told to "Look inside yourself and see-." The final page features a mirror with the message, "A princess is a place in your heart." This is as sweet as a little candy heart, but not a must-purchase.
Gallop!
Rufus Butler Seder
There's never before been a book like Gallop! Employing a patented new technology called Scanimation, each page is a marvel that brings animals, along with one shining star, to life with art that literally moves. It's impossible not to flip the page, and flip it again, and again, and again.
A first book of motion for kids, it shows a horse in full gallop and a turtle swimming up the page. A dog runs, a cat springs, an eagle soars, and a butterfly flutters. Created by Rufus Butler Seder, an inventor, artist, and filmmaker fascinated by antique optical toys, Scanimation is a state-of-the-art six-phase animation process that combines the "persistence of vision" principle with a striped acetate overlay to give the illusion of movement. It harkens back to the old magical days of the kinetoscope, and the effect is astonishing, like a Muybridge photo series springing into action—or, in terms kids can relate to, like a video without a screen. Complementing the art is a delightful rhyming text full of simple questions and fun, nonsense replies: Can you gallop like a horse? giddyup-a-loo! Can you strut like a rooster? cock-a-doodle-doo!
There's never before been a book like Gallop! Employing a patented new technology called Scanimation, each page is a marvel that brings animals, along with one shining star, to life with art that literally moves. It's impossible not to flip the page, and flip it again, and again, and again.
A first book of motion for kids, it shows a horse in full gallop and a turtle swimming up the page. A dog runs, a cat springs, an eagle soars, and a butterfly flutters. Created by Rufus Butler Seder, an inventor, artist, and filmmaker fascinated by antique optical toys, Scanimation is a state-of-the-art six-phase animation process that combines the "persistence of vision" principle with a striped acetate overlay to give the illusion of movement. It harkens back to the old magical days of the kinetoscope, and the effect is astonishing, like a Muybridge photo series springing into action—or, in terms kids can relate to, like a video without a screen. Complementing the art is a delightful rhyming text full of simple questions and fun, nonsense replies: Can you gallop like a horse? giddyup-a-loo! Can you strut like a rooster? cock-a-doodle-doo!
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