Day: January 13, 2010

Whoo Goes There?

| Tasha

Whoo Goes There? by Jennifer A. Ericsson, illustrated by Bert Kitchen

Everything was dark and quiet.  Owl sat alone on a branch in a tall tree, waiting and watching.  Whenever something rustled, thumped or squeaked, Owl wondered, “Whoo goes there?”  He hoped it was something just right for his dinner.  But each time it was not a fat mouse or squirrel, it was a cat, a skunk or a bat.  Finally, Owl knew it WAS a mouse, and he headed into the darkness to try to catch it.

This book based on a simple premise offers more depth than most repetitive stories.  Here we see nature in action, tension builds with each creature that isn’t edible, and the ending is perfectly satisfying with a touch of humor.  Ericsson’s prose uses the repetition nicely, never becoming sing-songy or dull, but using it instead to create a vivid mood.  Combined with Kitchen’s incredibly lifelike illustrations, this book offers a book that will give children a tingle with no real fear.  Kitchen’s art is beautifully rendered.  He shows the detail of the bark of a tree contrasted with the spines of a porcupine in just one of his masterful images.  Each one is a window into nature and into that creature.

Highly recommended, this is an ideal book for story times with toddlers.  I would consider it for Halloween story times where the children are a bit young for monster books but want a little thrill still.  Appropriate for ages 2-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

The Smallest Snowflake

| Tasha

The Smallest Snowflake by Bernadette Watts

Far above where the geese were flying, the snowflakes were waiting to fall.  The Smallest Snowflake wants just to land somewhere special.  Each snowflake fell in a different place.  One fell on the top of a mountain, another sparkled in the branches of a tree, another at the top of a building in a city, and still another on the wall of a castle.  The Smallest Snowflake kept on flying on the wind until it landed in a window box of a cottage where a merry fire burned in the fireplace, paintings hung on the wall, and another painting was in the process of being painted.  The snowflake had never seen this sort of thing before.  The snowflake watched day to day until one day from underneath came a pushing and green shoots appeared as spring arrived.

This is a gentle story about the journey of a snowflake to just the right spot.  The cottage is where Watts used to live in Wales.  Readers will see her at work, view her cozy home, and catch a glimpse on the final page as she takes her book to the mail.  Watts creates a lovely picture of winter here as each snowflake finds just the right spot to land.  Her illustrations capture the swirl of snow, the chill, and then the warmth of the cottage.  Small touches throughout invite the reader to look closely at the pictures.  A red kite flies high above orange roofs.  Newspaper pages blow out of someone’s hands.  Raccoons huddle together on a cold branch. 

Best shared with a small group or just one child because of the great details and quiet story, this book is a real gem.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from library copy.