Chester by Melanie Watt

Author Melanie Watt is trying to write a book about a mouse, but her cat Chester is trying to get her to write a book about HIM.  So Melanie will write a page, and Chester will take his red pen and edit it to suit his story.  It leads to a power struggle between the author and her cat, filled with laugh-out-loud funny moments. Who will win in the end?  You’ll just have to read and laugh along to find out.

The illustrations are great fun here, because Chester does his best to change the detailed illustrations with his red marker.  Watt has done a fine job of creating two styles of illustration laid together.  She has also written a book that reads aloud very well with lots of personality and energy. 

This is one of those books that will get a classroom of children just shouting with laughter.  I highly recommend sharing this with a group of children ages 5-8.  The humor will draw in even the most jaded of elementary school children. 

The Story of Charles Atlas, Strong Man by Meghan McCarthy.

This is a picture book biography of Charles Atlas, who started life with the name of Angelo Siciliano.  Atlas came to the U.S. from Italy through Ellis Island.  Throughout his boyhood he was the victim of bullies.  When he saw a statue of Hercules at a museum, Atlas was inspired to get himself into shape.  But the first weights he used don’t seem to work.  Finally, Atlas created a new fitness routine and his body started to change.  His career after that was all based on his muscles and body.  He sold his fitness course to millions of people and his measurements are on file as the perfect human specimen. 

Picture book biographies often are dry and uninspiring, but this one will hold the interest of readers.  Even children uninterested in body building will be inspired by the way Atlas refused to give up and persevered in changing his life and build.  There is much more here than muscles, there is a real heart.

Recommended for children who normally won’t read picture books, this melding of picture book and true story will perfectly suit some readers.  The book also reads aloud well, and could be used in elementary school as a great example of a biography. 

The Boy Who Painted Dragons by Demi.

Ping is a boy who paints dragons, but he doesn’t do it out of love or joy, he does it because he is terrified of dragons.  Each dragon he paints, he hopes that he will no longer be afraid.  He covers entire rooms in dragons, but his fear doesn’t lessen.  When the dragons in heaven take an interest in his painting, Ping is sent on a quest for three treasures.  Ping learns to face his fear and truly honor the dragons with his paintings.

The illustrations in this book are marvelous, filled with metallic and brightly-colored Chinese dragons.  Children will be immediately drawn into the story with the promise of dragons and may be surprised to learn about the traditions of dragons in the East.  The story is told with flourishes and touches that match the flamboyance of the illustrations.  It is a single unified story.

The lessons of the dragons:  Seek Your Truth, Find Your Truth and Dare to Be True will resound with children and adults alike.  It would make an interesting book to start a discussion on fears and overcoming them. 

Recommended for its multicultural focus and strong storytelling, this book will work well with a group.  It will be most appreciated by children age 6-8.

Orange in January by Dianna Hutts Aston, illustrated by Julie Maren.

Reading like a poem, this picture book follows an orange from the blossom to the hands of a child.  The language of the book is beautiful, creating a very mellow and deep view of the world, just the right type of voice for a book about fruit. 

Here is one page, after the boy brings the orange home:

That night,
as ice gleamed on the branches,
he dreamed
of a land that shone
in summer light.

But there are so many pages with that sort of lovely language on them.  And do you see how child-friendly it is, but still emotionally deep and speaking volumes? 

And let’s talk about the illustrations.  Maren has created images that echo the depth of the words, filled with rich colors of deep blues, bright oranges, and in the same way the illustrations are child-friendly but somehow deeper and richer than most. 

Highly recommended as a perfect intro to poetry for children.  Share it in storytimes, it reads aloud almost magically and the illustrations are perfect for sharing.  Or it is also a perfect book to curl up and read on a snowy evening, while snacking on an orange of course!

Diary of a Fly by Doreen Cronin, pictures by Harry Bliss.

Continuing the series that started with Diary of a Worm and Diary of a Spider, Cronin has once again written a seriously funny book that children will adore.

This is the story of a fly who is headed to school for the first time.  She has many of the usual worries of a child.  Why can’t she have her own room?  Will everyone eat the same food at lunch?  What do her class pictures look like?  But she is also purely a fly, much to the joy of the reader. 

The art is lots of fun and carries the jokes in the text forward.  The two together form a winning and humorous pairing.  Because of the humor, even 8 and 9 year olds will enjoy this series of books.

Highly recommended for a good laugh, this can be used with a fairly small group of children, but shouldn’t be used for a big group.  Part of the fun of the book is the detail of the illustrations and you don’t want that to get lost.  Appropriate for ages 5-9.