Month: May 2010

Little Green Goose

| Tasha

The Little Green Goose by Adele Sansone, illlustrated by Anke Faust

In 1999, North South books published this story with illustrations by Alan Marks.  Now it has been re-released with new art.  This is the story of a goose who desperately wants to be a father.  When he approaches the hens and asks for eggs to hatch, they refuse to give him any.  So he sadly heads to the woods where Daisy the dog points him to an egg she uncovered in her digging.  Mr. Goose takes the egg home and sits on it.  Eventually, it cracks open and out pops a green chick with scales!  Mr. Goose was proud of his son and when he finally showed him to the others in the barnyard, they were shocked.  The little green goose was told by some of the hens that he is not a proper goose because he is green and doesn’t have feathers or a beak!  Distraught, little green goose heads out to find his real father.  But no animal is quite like him.  It isn’t until he is exhausted and hungry that he realizes that he knows just who will love him no matter whether he is a proper goose or not.

This book is about families and how they are about love alone, not about whether members look similar at all.  I particularly appreciated that it is MR. Goose who wants a baby.  That’s a male role that we don’t see much in children’s picture books.  Sansone’s text is light and a pleasure to read aloud.  Her dialogue is interestingly written.  Her setting is well developed.  She has created a wonderful world in which a baby dinosaur can not only exist but thrive. 

Faust’s illustrations are done in digital collage.  She has a knack for finding interesting visual textures that really create a feast for the eye.  The feathers on Mr. Goose are particularly successful as are the grasses, stones, wood and leaves.  She has captured the freshness and patterns of nature and used them with great effect here.

Highly recommended, this story will appeal to many families and children.  Keep it on hand for any goose or farm story times, where it will add another dimension and a bit of diversity.  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from copy received from NorthSouth Publishers.

Sylvia Jean, Scout Supreme

| Tasha

Sylvia Jean, Scout Supreme by Lisa Campbell Ernst

This is the second book about the irrepressible Sylvia Jean.  In this book, Sylvia Jean’s Pig Scout troop is working on getting their Good-Dead Badge.  Each of them has to select one a good deed to do.  Sylvia Jean realizes that she can help her neighbor Mrs. VanHooven who twisted her ankle and can’t walk.  Sylvia Jean gathers everything she is going to need to help Mrs. VanHooven and arrives on her doorstep merrily blowing her tuba in case Mrs. VanHooven has difficulty hearing.  Sylvia Jean arrives with too much energy and ends up tripping and falling on top of Mrs. VanHooven.  The doctor then insists that Sylvia Jean not visit any more to let her have rest.  But Sylvia Jean is not that easily turned away.  She comes up with a clever solution that allows her to keep helping her neighbor without her neighbor knowing.  But what happens when she has to turn in her information for her badge and no one knows how helpful she has been?

Ernst has poured so much energy and creativity into this young pig that she is more than a breath of fresh air.  She is a gale.  Sylvia Jean is a great character who young readers will enjoy spending time with.  Ernst’s writing and illustrations are filled with plenty of humor and the book moves along at a brisk pace.  The story is interesting and has more depth than many picture books.  There is more text here than in some picture books.  It reads aloud very easily and the details add to the story and the fun.  Ernst’s illustrations are done in warm colors and gently waving lines.  They are equal in humor and energy to the story itself.

Recommended as a read aloud, this book will be enjoyed by a wide range of ages and children.  Appropriate for ages 4-8.

Reviewed from copy received from Penguin Books.

The Best Family in the World

| Tasha

The Best Family in the World by Susana Lopez, illustrated by Ulises Wensell.

When Carlota is told that she has been adopted by a family, she lets her imagination range over what kind of family she will be joining.  It could be a family of pastry chefs who would let her have chocolate pastries for every meal.  Or perhaps a pirate family who will let her search for treasure and wear an eye patch and a peg leg.  Maybe a family of tiger trainers so she could take a cub to school with her.  It might be a family of astronauts and she could count the stars to fall asleep at night.  When the Perez family shows up the next morning, they are the best family in the world for Carlota who finds many of her dreams have come true in small ways.  Most importantly, she has found a family that loves her.

This is a marvelous book about adoption.  It captures the dreams of the child and then the reality itself where the reality may not be as flashy but is perfect none-the-less because they love her.  Created by an author and illustrator from Spain, this book is universally appealing.  Lopez’s text is friendly and effusive.  The daydreams are fanciful and interesting, but Lopez has allowed the reality to be the real star here.  Wensell’s illustrations are charming and friendly.  They invite young readers into the story, reveal the humor of the daydreams, and linger lovingly and warmly on the real family.

Recommended for all library collections, this book about adoption is something special.  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Kane Miller Publishing.

Also reviewed by Jen Robinson and A Patchwork of Books.