Author: Tasha

The Mitten

| Tasha

The Mitten retold by Jim Aylesworth, illustrated by Barbara McClintock

This is a retelling of Ukrainian folktale made popular by Jan Brett whose beloved version is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.   A little boy heads out to play in his new hat, scarf and mittens that his grandmother has knitted for him.  While playing, he loses one of his mittens.  The mitten is found by a squirrel, a rabbit, a fox, and a bear who manage to squeeze into the mitten and be nice and warm.  But when a mouse comes by and begs to join them too, it is too much for even grandmother’s strong knitting.  The mitten explodes with a satisfying burst. The boy and his grandmother find the scraps in the snow and the grandmother knits him another mitten.

Aylesworth changes the tone and style here with great skill, creating an American folktale feel that is filled with charm.  McClintock’s art is perfectly matched here with her vintage feel.  The bright red mitten is changed from the original white, adding a punch of color on each page.  Her art and Aylesworth’s writing both evoke folktales, cold snow, warm firesides and the smell of damp wool mittens. 

This is a retelling that is equal to the original, which is astounding.  Because the text and art is reworked, it was able to take on the same story with a very different style and do it successfully.  Appropriate for ages 2-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

You and Me and Home Sweet Home

| Tasha

You and Me and Home Sweet Home by George Ella Lyon, illustrated by Stephanie Anderson

In poetic form, Lyon tells the story of a young girl, Sharonda, and her mother who have a Habitat for Humanity house built for them.  The story moves from them living in a tiny room together in her Aunt Janey’s apartment and through the process of the home being built and completed.  Beginning with the empty lot and hope, the story is built as sturdily and lovingly as the home itself.

Lyon’s poetry does not rhyme and for most children will not read as a poem, but it is.  Filled with imagery, captured moments and truth it is a powerful message of community.  Anderson’s illustrations add so much to this book.  They too are real, concrete and yet elevated.  Her paintings have unique perspectives, strong emotions and great composition that allow for deep colors. 

A beautiful picture book that really speaks to the power of hope, community, and family.  Appropriate for ages 4-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

The Secret Plan

| Tasha

The Secret Plan by Julia Sarcone-Roach

Four friends, Milo, Hildy, Henry and Harriet are always being interrupted by bedtime!  So they hatch a cunning plan to get to stay up later.  Of course, their first few plans don’t work as well as they had hoped as their parents discover them hiding around the house, see through their disguises, and not even sneaking out works.  In their final plan, they pretend to be getting ready for bed as usual, then Milo the elephant dons his big furry monster slippers to sneak up the stairs.  They head to the attic where they find costumes, books, and snacks.  Eventually they start to get sleepy and head back down to bed.

This is such a winning book.  The four main characters are real scamps and their plans and the outcomes are deliciously naughty and very funny.  I especially appreciated Milo blending in with the wallpaper by painting stripes on himself.  Their disguise is equally funny with all of them working together.  But it is the ending of the book that really makes it work.  Instead of getting into any trouble in their late night escapade, they have a quiet time with books and a tea party in the attic.  There is no parental outrage, no repercussions, just the immense pleasure of a late night with friends.

Sarcone-Roach’s art works very well here.  Done in acrylic paint, the illustrations are rich, vivid and engaging.  A lot of the humor here is visual, though the wry tone of voice of the text offers some of the laughs.  The house that the animals share is wonderfully tippy and upright, filled with stairs. 

A great book to share for a bedtime story or a special late night read.  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

Berenstain Bears – The Movie

| Tasha

I seem to be posting a lot about films these past couple of days, but by far the most puzzling to me is the announcement of an upcoming film based on The Berenstain Bears!

The film will be done by Walden Media with Shawn Levy producing.  They will be a mix of live-action and computer animation.  That’s the part I find puzzling.  Why not do entirely computer animation?

This quote also worries me:

“I’d like the film to be un-ironic about its family connections but have a wry comedic sensibility that isn’t oblivious to the fact that they’re bears,” Levy says. “The comedy comes from this bear family coexisting in a more recognizably real world.”

Levy compared his vision of the film to the tone of Will Ferrell‘s Elf, which had a sweet, earnest hero who clashed with his cynical surroundings. “I think the movie will be witty but never sarcastic,” he says.

So will the Bear family be the only bears?  Is it a human world?  Because that is an inherent change from the series where everyone surrounding the Bear family were also bears.

Golly, this one has me bewildered.  Luckily I am not a die-hard fan of the books because I find them far too honey sweet for my liking.

My Friend Mei Jing

| Tasha

My Friend Mei Jing by Anna McQuinn, artwork by Ben Frey, photography by Irvin Cheung

Following My Friend Jamal, this book captures the friendship of Monifa and Mei Jing.  The two friends both love art, the color purple, and they both plan to be veterinarians when they grow up.  Even when the two friends are different, there are things that resonate in their cultures.  Both of them have names that mean something in the language of their grandparents.  Both have grandmothers that make really weird food like chicken feet and cow foot.  And best of all, both of them are best friends!

McQuinn has created a series where our differences and similarities are celebrated side-by-side.  The power of friendship is at the core of the book and that friendship is based on the fact that the girls are so similar in personality and what they enjoy, even though their backgrounds seem very different on the surface.  The art in books is a vibrant combination of photography and painting.  Though the girls are seen with their heads as photographs, usually their clothing is painted and so is most of their surroundings.  This technique makes for visually interesting illustrations.

A book that will get all children seeing how they are more alike than they are different, this book should have a place on most school and public library shelves.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

Mortal Instruments – The Movie

| Tasha

Variety reports that The Mortal Instruments trilogy by Cassandra Clare will be made into a film.  For me, the most interesting piece of it is that the three novels City of Bones, City of Ashes and City of Glass are going to be merged into a single script. 

Now, I have copies of this series on my shelf but have yet to read them.  For those of you who have, do you think this merging of the first three hefty novels will work?

It’s Kind of Funny Story – the Movie

| Tasha

The team behind Half Nelson and Sugar are bringing It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini to film.

 /Film has a post on the newly announced cast: 

 

Keir Gilchrist as the lead, Zack Galifianakis as his mentor, and Emma Roberts as the love interest

The Big Storm

| Tasha

The Big Storm: A Very Soggy Counting Book by Nancy Tafuri

As the storm starts to blow, animals take shelter in the hill hollow.  Young readers will get to count one-by-one as the animals squeeze in together and out of the rain.  The thunder rumbles over their heads, but they soon realize that they are hearing another rumble that is coming from the back of the cave.  Readers then get to quickly count backwards from 10 to 1 as the animals run out into the newly sunny fall day.

Tafuri excels at creating concept books for the youngest of readers that are filled with great art and a basic story with a fun twist.  Her art is done in concentrated watercolor inks, pigma micron pens, and watercolor pencils.  There is a great depth to the colors paired with a delicacy of line.  The animals are all bright-eyed and friendly with the drama of the story coming from the storm and the discovery in the back of the cave!  Tafuri’s pacing is perfect for the twist with steady counting leading up to 10 animals, a reveling of the storm, and then the reveal. 

A perfect choice for stormy toddler story times, autumn reading, and a nice addition to so many specific animals story times thanks to the rabbit, squirrel, skunk and more.  Appropriate for ages 1-4.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

Start Saving, Henry!

| Tasha

Start Saving, Henry! by Nancy Carlson

Carlson’s Henry books are always inviting discussions of concepts.  In this book, Henry is faced with the task of saving his allowance to get a more expensive toy.  He had been used to just spending his money as soon as he got it, until he wanted a $30 Super Robot Dude.  So week-by-week in $5 increments he saves his money.  Of course, it’s not that easy.  He buys a comic book which sets him back.  Then he loses a library book that he has to pay for himself.  He reaches his goal in the end, but not before one more surprise changes things again!

Carlson’s ability to write a full story in very few words is remarkable.  She is concise and simple, allowing the humor of the circumstances themselves to get laughs and groans.  Her bright-colored art is done in an almost child-like style that is very friendly.  This is an ideal book to introduce saving money and sound finances to children because it is kept very simple and to the point. 

Fans of Henry will love this new book and it is sure to create new fans of the series as well.  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.