Year: 2011

Review: Squish Rabbit by Katherine Battersby

| Tasha

squish rabbit

Squish Rabbit by Katherine Battersby

Squish is such a little rabbit that no one seems to see him or hear him.  So he made himself a stuffed rabbit friend.  But that only helped his loneliness for a little bit.  He tried playing with the trees, but they didn’t play fair.  Finally, Squish lost his temper and threw a tantrum.  He kicked an apple high into the air, and someone saw and thought it was a game.  Squish saw that the squirrel was heading for a cliff chasing the apple and finally found his voice.  And a new friend.

Battersby has created a picture book with an exceptional amount of appeal.  Her text is simple and understated, allowing the pictures to tell the rest of the story at times.  And what pictures they are!  Done in mixed media collage, the illustrations are winningly simple.  They have a charming ease to them, especially the depiction of Squish, done in white with free black lines.  The mixed media comes in with cut paper, fabrics, and watercolors that give great texture and color.

Highly recommended, this is a superb picture book that small children will relate to and that is also beautiful and stylish.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Viking.

Bewitching Cover to Be Changed

| Tasha

Yesterday I posted about an amazing similarity between two covers.  Today, I am pleased to follow up with the news that the cover art for Bewitching by Alex Flinn is going to be changed. 

The entire thing has been handled with a grace and style that is laudable.  Well done!

Review: Zombie in Love by Kelly DiPucchio

| Tasha

zombie in love

Zombie in Love by Kelly DiPucchio, illustrated by Scott Campbell

Mortimer the zombie is lonely.  Cupid’s Ball is approaching and he has no one to take.  He does try hard, giving girls candy, hearts, and even diamonds.  But something about him seems to turn them off.  He tries reading advice books, working out, and dance lessons, but nothing worked.  Finally, he takes out an ad in the paper (which Jimmy Buffet fans will be able to hum along to) that invites that special someone to meet him at Cupid’s Ball.  He dresses up and sits by the punch bowl.  But no one takes any notice of him.  Finally, he decides to leave, until he hears a crash behind him, just in time.

DiPucchio fills this book with plenty of zombie puns.  Just the personals ad alone offers plenty of laughs.  She has created a book that works on many levels.  Children will enjoy the simple storyline while tweens and teens will get the puns and antics. 

A lot of the humor is visual in this book.  Campbell’s illustrations have a great wild and zany quality to them that suits the story.  From the dangling eyeball of Mortimer’s skeleton dog to the worms that appear throughout the book, there is plenty to love here.

A wonderful pick for either Halloween or Valentine’s Day or any day in between, this book is a funny look at love, zombie style.  Appropriate for ages 6-12.

Reviewed from copy received from Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Another Cover Controversy

| Tasha

Two very similar covers, right?  Well, according to the artist who created the cover on the left, the Bewitching cover is a copy.  HarperCollins invited artist Nathalia Suellen to create the cover for Bewitching, but Suellen refused the job because the art had already been sold to another book.

It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.  But the two are strikingly similar, aren’t they?

Thanks to The Centered Librarian for the story.

Review: Baby Unplugged Board Books

| Tasha

BlanketCoverweb HuttonPetsCover Web YardCoverBoxes

I rarely review books by self-published authors, but when I saw the covers for these books, I made an exception.  These are board books that have a particularly sunny and cheery point of view.  Each of these three books takes a subject and then spends time exploring many facets of it.  Blanket will surprise readers with a touch of humor and then ends with bedtime.  Pets talks about a wide variety of pets and ends with an emphasis on connection and love.  Yard, which is my favorite of the three, explores what children will find in their own yard as well as some of the wonder of wider nature. 

The illustrations of the books are done in a flat, friendly style where everyone is happy.  Filled with bright colors and done very simply, the illustrations are just right for the toddler or infant.  The books are written in rhyming pairs that work well, making reading aloud easy.

A particularly successful series of self-published board books, these books speak to the quality of some of the self-published work on the market.  They have a nice blend of modern illustration and timeless subjects.  Appropriate for ages 1-3.

Reviewed from copies received from Baby Unplugged.

Review: Lucky for Good by Susan Patron

| Tasha

lucky for good

Lucky for Good by Susan Patron

This conclusion of the Lucky trilogy will be bittersweet for fans of the series.  Happily, there is one more book with the vivacious Lucky and the intriguing extended family of Hard Pan.  Sadly, it is the final one.  In this book, Lucky struggles with the unknown.  Brigitte’s new café is closed due to a violation of a county ordinance, her best friend is headed to England for the summer, and she even punches a boy.  That ends up with her in serious trouble and she is forced to do a family tree.  That brings up even more questions for Lucky, who doesn’t know how she will handle researching the side of her estranged father.  But nothing keeps Lucky down for long and soon all is heading towards solutions, but not without a few more bumps in the road to keep it all interesting.

Patron does not shy away from difficult topics in this final book.  She deals with the universal themes of family and community as she has in her previous novels.  And what a community it is!  I think all readers of the Lucky series hope to move to Hard Pan, despite the dried out sandwiches.  But Patron explores religion in this novel in a very frank and honest way, voicing the questions that children (and adults) have when they meet someone who believes in a more judgmental universe.  I applaud the courage and bravery of Patron in being so open about these questions, something that young readers will love as well.

Patron also excels at creating characters and all of your favorite characters return in this novel, plus a few new ones.  Lucky is a heroine with real spunk, with her own world view, and a strong sense of self.  Even in her moments of doubt, Lucky never shies away from being exactly who she is. 

An impressive conclusion to the Lucky trilogy, fans of the series will have to have this one.  And for me, I can’t wait to see what world Patron will create for us next.  Appropriate for ages 8-12.

Reviewed from copy received from Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Review: Moo, Moo, Brown Cow, Have You Any Milk? by Phillis Gershator

| Tasha

moo moo brown cow

Moo, Moo, Brown Cow! Have You Any Milk? by Phillis Gershator, illustrated by Giselle Potter

An extended version of Baa, Baa, Black Sheep, this book adds new verses with additional animals.  It begins with the traditional rhyme which then changes a little with the wool becoming a blanket for the little boy’s bed.  The goose provides down for a pillow.  The hen has eggs, the bee honey, and the cow milk, which all make a perfect bedtime snack.  The animals then all head to bed too, and readers are left with the boy fast asleep in his bed with his stuffed animals tucked in close with him: a sheep, goose, hen, and cow.

Gershator has used the same rhythm as the original and it all fits nicely into the song pattern as well, so this book can be sung too.  With each new animal, she gently offers up the noise the animal makes, what that animal provides, and then a use for that product.  It’s a pleasant look at animals, farming and the connection between farm and end product. 

Potter’s illustrations have a wonderful folkart aspect to them that adds a timelessness to the entire book.  For a new version of a beloved nursery rhyme, this is just the right art to set the tone. 

This book is a solid addition to nursery rhyme collections.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Hornbooks and Inkwells by Verla Kay

| Tasha

hornbooks and inkwells

Hornbooks and Inkwells by Verla Kay, illustrated by S. D. Schindler

Head to school with brothers Peter and John Paul in this picture book that shows school days in the 18th century.  The one-room school has hard benches where the children learn math, history and their alphabet.  Punishments for misbehaving are being struck with the rod or wearing neck yokes, as both Peter and John Paul find out.  As winter comes, there is skating on the pond and hauling wood for the schoolroom fire.  With spring, the children are learning more and more, but leave school with the same bursts of energy they started with.

According to the Author’s Note, this book is based on Christopher Docks’ mid-1700s school.  He not only taught the normal courses, but included morals, safety, health, courtesy and social attitudes. The book is written in rhyming verse that reads easily.  The verse captures the activities of the days at school.

Schindler’s illustrations are detailed and really point out the differences between schools today and in the 18th century.   The illustrations have natural colors that offer a feel of life in the past.

A wonderful marriage of picture book and historical content, this book will be appreciated by children studying history as well as the history of studying.  Children returning to school this fall will also appreciate that they go to modern schools.  Appropriate for ages 6-9.

Reviewed from copy received from G. P. Putnam’s Sons.

Also reviewed by The Places You Will Go.

Review: Who’s There? by Carole Schaefer

| Tasha

whos there

Who’s There? by Carole Lexa Schaefer, illustrated by Pierr Morgan

A very active bunny bounces into bed when the moon comes up.  But just as he is curled up and ready to sleep, he hears a strange noise!  What could be making the creak, creak, CRINCH?  When he sits up and listens, nothing is there and everything is quiet.  But then it comes from even closer.  Perhaps it’s a Crusty Dumply Ogre?!  The noise comes closer still.  Maybe it’s a Grimy Gooey Ghoulie!  The noise is even closer.  And now the door is starting to open!  The little bunny gets his flashlight out and shines it at the door.  And what does he see?  You’re just going to have to read the book to find out.

This book reminds me so much of Ruth Brown’s A Dark, Dark Tale which is one of my favorite autumn reads for kids.  This one reads aloud delightfully well too and gives the reader so much to work with from the dramatic pauses to the alarming noises.  The drama is well crafted, so the story builds up and up, each noise and reaction becoming more and more intense. 

Morgan’s illustrations are dark and dramatic, with only the bed and the door in stark colorful contrast to the darkness.  The descriptions and depictions of the imagined monsters adds to the fun, because they are so silly that children will feel a bit of relief from the drama.

Just the right amount of drama and tension for young listeners, this is a tale that will delight.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Viking.