Review: Whale Shines by Fiona Robinson

October 28, 2013 | Tasha

Whale Shines: An Artistic Tale by Fiona Robinson

Published November 5, 2013.

Whale is a living billboard, swimming slowly through the ocean with a poster to advertise the upcoming art show. Along the way, he passes all sorts of sea creatures creating art. The hammerhead shark is working on sculptures from sea debris. Eel is forming lines in the sand. Octopus, cuttlefish and giant squid were scaring each other to collect their ink. Whale mutters to himself that he wishes he could make something too. That’s when the plankton around him tell him to try. But whale just can’t think of anything that he’d be able to do. After all, he doesn’t squirt ink, and he can’t slither in the sand. It’s going to take a lot of creativity and some risk for whale to even try creating art.

Robinson has created a simply gorgeous book here. Her writing is lovely, slow-paced and languid just like Whale floating by displaying his advertisement. Whale is a solitary figure in the story, lone and distant from the others. As he drifts past, he is separate from everyone else. Robinson successfully manages his transformation from wallflower to fully-engaged artist in a way that rings honest and doesn’t seem rushed.

Her art is lovely, filled with the deep colors of the ocean. It is green and blue hues that shine. Popping against those are the bright colors of the creatures and the coral in reds and yellows. The result is a picture book with stunning visuals that truly evoke life underwater.

A luminous picture book with glowing underwater scenes, this book will speak to all artists, even those reluctant to reveal themselves. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Abrams Books for Young Readers.

This Week’s Tweets and Pins

October 25, 2013 | Tasha

Here are the links I shared on my Twitter and Pinterest accounts this week that I hope you find interesting:

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

Award-winning author Cynthia Voigt talks about her new mystery for kids | http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2013/10/24/3275598/award-winning-author-cynthia-voigt.html …

Hervé Tullet: The Illustrated Interview — @100scopenotes 100 Scope Notes http://buff.ly/16n1NFA #kidlit

Ten Best Read-Aloud Halloween Picture Books for Kids http://buff.ly/1h1fRqp #kidlit

“You can’t go broke overestimating the intelligence of children” – Chris Van Allsburg — Fuse #8 http://buff.ly/1h1fGvm #kidlit

LIBRARIES

Detroit’s Heartbreaking Bankruptcy, Told Through Stunning Photos of One Public Library – PolicyMic http://buff.ly/1aEGJ9w #libraries

Japan’s public libraries add services to get more people reading – The Japan Daily Press http://buff.ly/1aEGtHx #libraries

A Library By The Highway Serves As Billboard For Reading, Learning, Exploration http://buff.ly/1aEGBa3 #libraries

Turning A Page Inside A Rural One-Room Library : NPR http://buff.ly/HdjTOx #libraries

READING

E. B. White on the Future of Reading: Timeless Wisdom from 1951 | Brain Pickings http://buff.ly/16vepdT #kidlit

How Amazon and Goodreads could lose their best readers http://buff.ly/16vdCcZ

TEEN READS

The Compulsive Reader: The Road Less Traveled: YA Books that Break from the Mold http://buff.ly/16mYLB8 #yalit

First Chapter of ALLEGIANT » EarlyWord – http://buff.ly/178p78G #yalit

Stacked: October Debut YA Novels http://buff.ly/16n06rJ #yalit

Review: Rawr! by Todd H. Doodler

October 25, 2013October 22, 2013 | Tasha

Rawr! by Todd H. Doodler

Meet Rex, a very polite and well-behaved dinosaur, who is here to tell you that being a dinosaur in modern human society is hard. He’s bigger than everyone else in his class, even his teachers. He doesn’t fit in a desk. He isn’t good at hide-and-seek. And he is so big that everyone thinks he is scary. But really, Rex isn’t scary at all. He is helpful, polite and even has a great (big) smile. What everyone should remember is that when Rex gives a really big “Rawr!” he is trying to say hello. So don’t be scared of dinosaurs, they just might be as friendly as Rex.

Doodler has created as story that simple and straight forward, making it perfect for very small children. He has inserted plenty of humor into the story, which will be a welcome diversion for both parents and children. Rex is a character that pops off of the page with his energy and his size. Doodler’s art has great appeal and is filled with bright colors encased in thick black lines.

Expect this to be a new favorite at bedtime! Appropriate for ages 1-3.

Reviewed from copy received from Scholastic.

Review: The Tortoise & the Hare by Jerry Pinkney

October 24, 2013October 22, 2013 | Tasha

The Tortoise and the Hare by Jerry Pinkney

Wow. This companion book to Pinkney’s Caldecott Medal winning The Lion & the Mouse is another outstanding book. Set in the deserts of the Southwest, the story has all sorts of animals gathered to watch the race, including badgers, lynx, mice, and vultures. All of them wear at least one piece of clothing, from hats to bandanas to pants. As the pages of the book turn, readers will get to see how each of the animals approaches the race, from the frenzy and then sloth of the hare to the steadiness of the tortoise. Readers will get a sense of the slowness also from the words on the page that every so tantalizingly make out phrases as the pages turn.

Told in few words, the book is all about the illustrations which are magnificent. Filled with tiny details to linger over, each illustration is beautifully composed and helps move the story forward. Pinkney stays true to the classic tale, not changing any of the storyline. He manages to take stories that can become overly wordy and with images alone tell their story and make them appropriate and thrilling for a young audience. I will always see his illustrations when I hear this story. That is talent!

Quite simply, this is another masterpiece by Pinkney. A must-have book for every library serving preschoolers. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize Awarded

October 24, 2013 | Tasha

Rebecca Stead has won the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize for Liar & Spy. Stead is the first American to win the prize. It was opened to American writers in 2012.

"It’s always interesting in children’s fiction to see what’s coming from the US, and it’s appropriate that this Newbery-winning author be highly regarded in the UK too," Eccleshare said. "It is a quiet book, but although the drama is finely-tuned, the overall impact is powerful, moving and surprising."

A Tale Dark & Grimm–The Movie

October 23, 2013October 22, 2013 | Tasha

Deadline has the news that A Tale Dark & Grimm by Adam Gidwitz will be made into a live-action film. It will be directed by Henry Selick, who also directed several popular stop-action films: A Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach, and Coraline.

I look forward to seeing this dark but very funny take on the Brothers Grimm tales brought to life. I’m hoping that they keep the ages as young as in the book because that’s what adds to the delight and horror.

Review: Tea Cakes for Tosh by Kelly Starling Lyons

October 23, 2013October 22, 2013 | Tasha

Tea Cakes for Tosh by Kelly Starling Lyons, illustrated by E. B. Lewis

Tosh loved spending time with his grandma Honey, who baked him tea cakes. She told him stories of the cakes, dating all the way back to his great-great-great-great-grandma Ida who made the best tea cakes around. But those tea cakes were not for her children, they were for her owners since she was a slave. Sometimes though, she would make some extra cakes for her children to promise that things would change. Honey started to forget things, like where she parked her car and phone numbers. Then one day, she forgot how to make tea cakes. Luckily, Tosh knew just how to help.

Lyons has created a relationship between grandmother and grandchild here that is warm and loving and filled with sweet baked good too. She shows the importance of generation in a family by tying in the history of the tea cakes. I appreciate seeing a boy’s relationship with his grandmother where the boy is also interested in his heritage and being in the kitchen.

Lewis has illustrated the book with realistic watercolors that capture the relationship of the two main characters. He switches to black and white images when family history is discussed and shows the tea cakes on recipe cards too. The entire book is filled with warm colors that speak to the sunny relationship being depicted.

A beauty of a book, this picture book celebrates family heritage, grandparents and the power of food to bring people closer together. Appropriate for ages 5-7.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: The Big Wet Balloon by Liniers

October 22, 2013 | Tasha

The Big Wet Balloon by Liniers

Inspired by his daughters aged 3 and 5, this book celebrates a rainy day. When Matilda wakes up on a Saturday morning, she is delighted by everything she can do that day. Clemmie, her little sister, gets excited too. But then their day turns out to be filled with rain. Matilda is undaunted and sets out to persuade Clemmie to join her out in the rain. Clemmie is very hesitant, insisting that it is wet, until Matilda shows her the umbrella and how to use it. Clemmie then enjoys the rain until her red balloon floats off when she gets too excited. But Matilda finds a way to make that right as well.

Liniers shows his adoration for his daughters in this book. Clemmie is clearly a toddler and expresses herself in early sentences and short words. Matilda is an enthusiastic older sibling who wants to spend time out in the weather. It is a pleasure to see a sibling relationship depicted with such warmth and evident love for one another. Matilda is never frustrated by the situation, always coming up with another way to approach it. The words and art dance together here. Both help tell this story of a rainy and wet Saturday.

My children always loved rain more than sun, so this is a book that they would have loved. Time to get out rain slickers and umbrellas and play in the rain! Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

The Red House Children’s Book Award 2014 Shortlist

October 22, 2013October 22, 2013 | Tasha

The 2014 shortlist for the UK’s Red House Children’s Book Award has been announced. It is the only national award in the UK that is voted on entirely by children. The finalists are broken into three age groups and children are able to vote on the books through mid-January 2014. Here is the shortlist:

Books for Younger Children