Month: November 2009

Zoo Day Ole!

| Tasha

Zoo Day Ole!: a counting book by Phillis Gershator, illustrated by Santiago Cohen.

Abuelita takes her two grandchildren to the zoo where they count the animals from uno to diez.  They see bears, seals, monkeys, parrots and many more animals.  Gershator’s text is simple with Spanish counting words woven in.  Cohen’s art is thick-lined. His use of large blocks of color make it very child-like and friendly.

The mix of English and Spanish is nicely done, though I would have liked to have seen the names for the various animals done in both Spanish and English as well.  As a counting book, this one works well because readers have the option of counting or not counting since it isn’t built into the text. 

An ideal book for toddlers who love Dora the Explorer or Sesame Street with their mix of Spanish and English.  It would also work well for children learning Spanish in Kindergarten.  Appropriate for ages 2-5.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

Pouch!

| Tasha

Pouch! by David Ezra Stein

Joey had lived in his mother’s pouch his whole life, until one day he decided he wanted to hop.  Two hops later, he meets a bee in the tall grass and with a yell of “Pouch!” returns to his mother’s pouch.  Three hops onto the hill, he meets a rabbit and once again returns to his mother’s pouch.  Four hops into the sandy hollow, he meets a bird and flees back again.  Five hops to the pasture fence, and he meets another baby kangaroo!  Now what to do!

This is a delightful story of a youngster who wants to explore but just isn’t quite ready to leave his mother’s side yet.  Stein’s art here is childlike and simple, done in fluid watercolors and deep colors.  His text is also simple, with great repeating phrases and a rhythm that is natural and fun. 

Ideal for the youngest listeners, this book would be super for a toddler story time where the youngsters could hop the right number of hops and run back.  Appropriate for ages 1-3.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

My Name Is Memory – Coming Soon

| Tasha

Cinematical reports that Ann Brashares new book, My Name Is Memory, has created a bidding war between studios.  This new book isn’t due out until June 2010, but the rights have been purchased already by New Regency.

Featuring a college-age couple, I am wondering who the audience is for this new series.  But I’m guessing Twilight fans will enjoy this story of reincarnated souls.

UPDATE:  Thanks to /Film for pointing me to an excerpt from the new book on Brashares’ official site.

Night Lights

| Tasha

Night Lights by Susan Gal

Follow a girl through her evening in this quiet picture book.  The book begins with her biking home with her mother, roasting hotdogs with her dog looking eagerly on, celebrating the dog’s birthday with a huge dog-bone cake, and then her bedtime routine.  Each page has only a few words and those explain the various lights that illuminate the evening.  The story itself is told entirely in the illustrations.

It is those illustrations that make this such a marvelous picture book.  Each page has a glow about it without using any glitter or extra glued on sparkles.  The light comes from inside the illustrations, done in charcoal on paper and digital collage.  The collage effect is subtle here, captured mostly in the fabrics in the pictures.  The illustrations are warm, friendly and cozy, perfect for bedtime.

With its small word count and inviting illustrations, this debut picture book makes a perfect bedtime book for a toddler.  Appropriate for ages 1-4.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

The Goblin and the Empty Chair

| Tasha

 

The Goblin and the Empty Chair by Mem Fox, illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon

Long ago, a goblin caught sight on himself in a reflection.  Frightened so much by what he saw, he vowed never to show his face again.  He spent many years alone.  But then he saw a farmer stop chopping wood, sigh and put his face in his hands.  The goblin went to work that night and though he tried not to be seen, the farmer saw him.  The following day on the same farm, the goblin saw a woman stop  gardening and put her face in her hands.  That night the goblin again worked on the farm and though he tried to be careful, the woman saw him.  The next day, a child on the farm put down her book and buried her face in her hands.  That night, the goblin soothed her and sat with her and though he was careful, the girl saw him.  The next morning, the family gathered for breakfast at a table with one chair that had been empty all winter.  They left the door open for the goblin to come in and fill that empty chair. 

This book told is an original fairy tale by one of the world’s top story tellers.  Mem Fox has created a sympathetic character in a goblin, which one would not expect.  Her skill at the fairy tale format with its repetition and spare style is masterful.  She has created a story that is open wide with opportunity.  There is space here for haunting, for fear, for spine tingles and for a happy ending.

Leo and Diane Dillon took that opportunity and created a goblin that is graceful and princely, with large ears and flowing green hair.  Readers never see the goblin’s face, making him more of a tragic hero than a monster.  There is a touch of the Beast in Beauty and the Beast here, speaking about the quality of the internal rather than external.

A highly successful collaboration between a master storyteller and master illustrators.  Appropriate for ages 4-8. 

You can listen to Mem Fox read the book here.

Reviewed from library copy.

When You Meet a Bear on Broadway

| Tasha

When You Meet a Bear on Broadway by Amy Hest, illustrated by Elivia Savadier

When you meet a bear on Broadway, you stick out your hand and ask them to stop.  Then you politely ask what his business is there.  He bursts into tears saying that he has lost his mother.  The two of you think of how to find her together.  Then you look uptown.  And downtown.  Along the river.  Until you find a forest where the bear climbs a tall tree and shouts for his mother.  But will a mama bear be able to hear him in the middle of a bustling city?

Though the styles are very different, this has the feel of Laura Numeroff’s If You Give a Mouse a Cookie feel.  It is the short lines and the repeating phrase of “When you meet a bear on Broadway.”  Hest takes this form and creates a book about being lost, being helped, and being found.  There is never any sense of panic about the child helping the bear.  It is far more of a problem solving book about what to do when you find a bear on a city street. 

The book has a nice bit of old-fashioned whimsy about it though the setting is modern.  Savadier’s illustrations contribute to this with their gentle lines and watercolor washes.  The little girl and the bear are often the only bright color on the page, magnifying their relationship rather than the largeness of the city itself.

Funny, quiet and very satisfying, this book would be nice paired with any of Numeroff’s If You titles.  It also offers a nice change of pace for any bear-themed stories.  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by A Patchwork of Books.

2010 Kate Greenaway Medal Longlist

| Tasha

The longlist for the 2010 Kate Greenaway Medal has been announced.  This is the UK award for children’s book illustration. 

Here are the nominees:

Allwright, Deborah (text by Jill Lewis) Don’t Read This Book!
Ayto, Russell (text by Andy Cutbill) The Best Cow in Show
Baker-Smith, Grahame (text by Angela McAllister) Leon and the Place Between
Bartram, Simon Bob’s Best Ever Friend
Blackwood, Freya (text by Margaret Wild) Harry and Hopper


Blackwood, Freya (text by Roddy Doyle) Her Mother’s Face
Bright, Rachel What does Daddy do?
Clare, Imogen (text by Sanchia Oppenheimer) Lucy Goes to Market
Clark, Emma Chichester (text by Colin McNaughton) Not Last Night But The Night Before
Cleminson, Katie Box of Tricks
Cooper, Helen Dog Biscuit


Fardell, John Manfred the Baddie
Fearnley, Jan Milo Armadillo
Finlay, Lizzie Dandylion
Foreman, Michael A Child’s Garden: A Story of Hope
Fucile, Tony Let’s Do Nothing!
Gliori, Debi The Trouble with Dragons
Gravett, Emily Dogs
Gravett, Emily The Rabbit Problem
Grey, Mini Traction Man meets Turbodog
Horacek, Petr Elephant


Hyde, Catherine (text by Carol Ann Duffy) The Princess’ Blankets
Ingman, Bruce (text by Allan Ahlberg) The Pencil
Jeffers, Oliver The Great Paper Caper
Kitamura, Satoshi Millie’s Marvellous Hat
Kitamura, Satoshi (text by John Agard) The Young Inferno
Kohara, Kazuno The Haunted House
Lloyd, Sam Mr Pusskins Best In Show
Lord, Leonie (text by Martin Waddell) The Dirty Great Dinosaur


MacLennan, Cathy Monkey, Monkey, Monkey
McKean, Dave (text by Neil Gaiman) Crazy Hair
Milton, Alexandra (text by Giles Milton) Call Me Gorgeous!
Odriozola, Elena (text by Ferida Wolff and Harriet May Savitz) The story blanket
PatrickGeorge A Filth of Starlings
Rayner, Catherine Sylvia and Bird
Riddell, Chris (text by Martin Jenkins) Miguel de Cervantes Don Quixote
Riddell, Chris (text by Neil Gaiman) The Graveyard Book
Roberts, David (text by Julia Donaldson) The Troll
Roberts, David (text by Paul Fleischman) The Dunderheads


Ross, Tony (text by Jeanne Willis) Big Bad Bun
Russell, Natalie Moon Rabbit
Scheffler, Axel (text by Julia Donaldson) Stick Man
Schwarz, Viviane There are Cats in this Book
Sharratt, Nick The Foggy, Foggy Forest
Stojic, Manja (text by Harriet Blackford) Gorilla’s Story
Tatarnikov, Pavel (text by John Matthews) Arthur of Albion
Williams, Marcia My Secret War Diary, by Flossie Albright
Wormell, Chris Ferocious Wild Beasts!

Carnegie Medal Longlist

| Tasha

The 2010 Carnegie Medal Longlist has been announced.  This is the UK’s outstanding children’s book award.  I love that they do a long list and always hope that the Newbery folk are going to add a long and short list to their process.  Talk about adding drama! 

Here are the nominees:

Agard, John The Young Inferno
Allen-Gray, Alison Lifegame
Almond, David Jackdaw Summer
Anderson, Laurie Halse Chains
Anderson, R J Knife
Ashley, Bernard Solitaire
Bowler, Tim Bloodchild
Brennan, Sarah Rees The Demon’s Lexicon
Brooks, Kevin Killing God


Burgess, Melvin Nicholas Dane
Caldecott, Elen How Kirsty Jenkins stole the elephant
Cassidy, Anne The Dead House
Chancellor, Henry The Remarkable Adventures of Tom Scatterhorn: The Museum’s Secret
Christopher, Lucy Stolen
Creech, Sharon Hate That Cat
Crossley-Holland, Kevin Waterslain Angels
Dogar, Sharon Falling
Donaldson, Julia Running on the cracks


Dowd, Siobhan Solace of the Road
Dowswell, Paul Auslander
Finn, Daniel Two Good Thieves
Fisk, Pauline Flying for Frankie
Forman, Gayle If I Stay
Gaiman, Neil The Graveyard Book
Golding, Julia Wolf Cry
Grant, Helen The Vanishing of Katharina Linden


Hardinge, Frances Gullstruck Island
Hearn, Julie Rowan the Strange
Higgins, F E The Eyeball Collector
Hoffman, Mary Troubadour
Kennen, Ally Bedlam
LaFleur, Suzanne Love, Aubrey
Laird, Elizabeth The Witching Hour
Manning, Mick & Granstrom, Brita Tail-End Charlie
Muchamore, Robert Brigands M.C.
Ness, Patrick The Ask and the Answer
Newbery, Linda The Sandfather
Patterson, James Max


Peet, Mal Exposure
Perera, Anna Guantanamo Boy
Philip, Gillian Crossing the Line
Pratchett, Terry Nation
Rai, Bali City of Ghosts
Reeve, Philip Fever Crumb
Riordan, James The Sniper
Riordan, Rick Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian
Sedgwick, Marcus The Kiss of Death


Sedgwick, Marcus Revolver
Strangolov, Lazlo Feather and Bone
Stroud, Jonathan Heroes of the Valley
Valentine, Jenny The Ant Colony
Ward, Rachel Numbers
Whitley, David The Midnight Charter
Wilson, Leslie Saving Rafael

Remember, lots of these may not be out in the US yet.

Thanks to Charlotte for the heads-up that the list was announced!

What’s Coming for Christmas

| Tasha

What’s Coming for Christmas? by Kate Banks, illustrated by Georg Hallensleben

Something was coming, but what could it be?  Images of a farm family on the wintry days before a holiday are filled with snow, icicles, sleds and snowmen.  The home is filled with cinnamon, wrapping paper, and pine.  Even the animals out in the fields know that something is coming.  With lots of foreshadowing and wonderful suspense, this book has a great twist in the end that will delight everyone.

Christmas books can often leave one feeling jaded and distant from the holidays.  Santa in a swimsuit, elves bowling, and the emphasis on piles and piles of presents.  This book does a great job of being about the season itself with its scents, sounds, tastes and activities.  Banks starts each page with a refrain: “Something is coming.”  From there she uses poetry to take readers on a holiday visit to the farm with all of its wonders.  Hallensleben’s illustrations are done in lush, thick colors that reflect the warmth, spice and chill of the season. 

The best holiday book I have seen this year.  Find a spot for it on library shelves and share it for holiday story times.  Appropriate for ages 3-7.

Reviewed from library copy.