Author: Tasha

The Man Who Lived in a Hollow Tree

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The Man Who Lived in a Hollow Tree by Anne Shelby and Cor Hazelaar.

An Appalachian folk tale is turned into a charming picture book with this title.  Harlan Burch was a man who lived in a hollow sycamore tree.  He was a carpenter and knew immediately when he saw the grand hollow tree that he wanted to make it his home.  He lived there for years and years, planting trees.  Then something magical happened and he began to get younger.  He courted and wed and had a brood of children who all lived in the family tree.  And there he lived and lived and lived for a good long time.

The folklore is woven in the very cloth of this tale.  Repetition and rhythm tie it even more firmly to oral storytelling.  Shelby has done a wonderful job of telling a tale simply but with style.  Hazelaar’s illustrations are acrylic on linen which make them feel quilted, adding to the resonance of the book.  Additionally, she included small quilting squares in each of the illustrations that help tell the story.

A friendly and warm folk tale that reads well aloud, this book is ideal for an Arbor Day story time or for any green or Earth Day unit.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Hello, My Name is Bob

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Hello, My Name Is Bob by Linas Alsenas

Bob is a very quiet bear.  His favorite things are counting toothpicks, humming and mostly sitting.  His best friend Jack is the opposite.  Jack likes roller coasters, dancing and adventure.  But the two of them can still be best friends and very different. 

The differences between the two bears are vivid and make for a funny and interesting juxtaposition.  We all have a bit of Bob and some Jack in us.  There are small touches that make the book very clever and funny, including the end papers each painted by one of the bears.  Bob’s boring activities are livened up by Jack and then when Jack is exhausted they are moving at just Bob’s speed. 

Clever illustrations and a friendly message make this book a winner.  Children will enjoy the dramatic differences between the two friends.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Slob

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Slob by Ellen Potter

Owen is the butt of everyone’s jokes.  Other kids make farting noises when he passes and he’s not sure if a suggestion to get a fat exemption from gym class was meant nicely or cruelly.  Now someone is stealing Owen’s one pleasure in life: the three Oreo cookies he is allowed each day.  Owen is also working on Nemesis, a television that will show the past.  And he has one specific day in mind that he has to see.  But things are getting out of hand.  Owen is being bullied by his gym teacher, his best friend might just be turning on him, and his little sister belongs to a group that has her dressing in boys clothes and insisting on being known as Jeremy.   Owen has tried sitting still and not reacting to things, perhaps it’s time to take a different approach.

Potter has written a pitch-perfect novel of the miseries of middle-school.  Filled with sarcasm and lots of humor, the story is filled with intriguing characters, believable and unique.  Each character including the adults has a small memorable feature that is part of the story.   The mystery of the missing cookies may take center stage in my synopsis, but the book is far more about relationships, anger, revenge and heroism.  All of which make this funny book deeper than most.

The characterization here is so strong that readers will have no trouble with the rather large cast of characters.  Owen is a traumatized boy whose life slowly is revealed to the reader.  Jeremy is a savvy take on a girl who wants to be in control but can’t figure out how.  Nima, the Buddhist who lives in Owen’s building, adds a vehicle for Owen to begin to question his way of life.  It all comes together into a wonderful mix of great people all seen through Owen’s wry lens.

Appropriate for ages 11-13, this book has a winning cover and its humor will have readers sharing it with friends.  A must-have for middle school libraries everywhere.

Red Sings from Treetops

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Red Sings from Treetops: a Year in Colors by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski.

Move through the seasons with the colors built into verses dedicated to a color and the season.  Delight in the fact that spring is more than just green as Sidman weaves all of the colors into spring some in quite surprising and insightful ways.  The whimsical paintings of Zagarenski also offer a complexity and uniqueness to the title.  This is much more than spring being green and filled with flowers.  Here spring is red with cardinals, white with lightning, blue sky, yellow goldfinches, and pink with baby birds.  Summer, autumn and winter follow each with all of the colors found and celebrated in different ways. 

Sidman’s poetry will pull the reader into the book, offering lovely moments such as the yellow of summer:

Yellow melts

everything it touches…

smells like butter,

tastes like salt.

Isn’t that summer captured in a color?  And that is just one color in one season.  The senses are involved in this color book, as is rhythm and a sense of the actual season itself.  It is a picture book that allows you to think of the colors you associate with a season, the unexpected, the small touches.  I can see this being used in an art class to inspire students to paint more than the usual colors for seasonal pieces as well as a very successful poetry picture book for use in general classes.

Appropriate for ages 5-8, this book will work best with time afterwards for discussion because it will have everyone buzzing with new ideas.

Urso Brunov and the White Emperor

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Urso Brunov and the White Emperor by Brian Jacques, illustrated by Alexi Natchev.

This second Urso Brunov book continues the adventures of the Little Father of All Bears.  Urso Brunov is awoken by a call for help carried on the wind.  It is two young polar bears, a Prince and Princess who are lost and unable to return home after being carried away on an iceberg.  Urso Brunov is willing to help and uses his connections with other animals, all called by his bugle, to return the polar bears to their royal parents. 

The joy here is the skill of the writing by Jacques.  It has a folk tale quality and is written with such skill that it reads aloud with ease, flowing together into a seamless story that is equally effortless to listen to.  Natchev’s illustrations capture the animals and snowy landscape well.  They will project nicely to even a large group of listeners.

A great readaloud for slightly older audiences, this book is appropriate for 5-8 year olds.

Mousetraps

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Mousetraps by Pat Schmatz

Maxie is a person who looks at the world through her cartoon lens as she draws pictures of everything around her.  Her family is large, boisterous and close and little has happened to challenge her security.  Except that incident with Roddy her friend in grade school whom she abandoned when things got tough.  Now Roddy, who calls himself Rick, has returned to the community, high school and Maxie’s life.  Maxie is confronted on many fronts by how her own choices and her familial security have kept her blind to many complex situations right in front of her. 

It is a joy to watch Maxie make realizations and change in believable and interesting ways without losing what makes her herself.  Schmatz writes with an intriguing mixture of forthright plot-based writing and occasional glimpses of poetry and musing.  Maxie is an intriguing character who is neither pretty nor ugly, girly or tomboyish, lonely or popular.  She is what most teens are: somewhere in the middle but also very special and talented in her own way.

The book is also very timely in its subject matter.  Readers will get to explore the issues of being gay, bullying and violence in a book that takes each of them seriously and offers hope and solutions.  The homosexual characters in the book are far from stereotypical and offer a look at how modern families have adapted and grown to not just accept but embrace all family members.  This is done very believably and lacks any heavy-handedness.  The tone is perfection.

Appropriate for ages 14-16, this is a clever, interesting and often surprising novel.

A Young Dancer

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A Young Dancer: The Life of an Ailey Student by Valerie Gladstone, photographs by Jose Ivey.

Enter the world of the prestigious Ailey School in New York City and view it through the eyes of Iman Bright, a thirteen-year-old student.  As she goes through her lessons in ballet, jazz, modern and West African dance, readers will understand the dedication it takes to study dance at this level.  At the same time, readers will see a normal thirteen year old who goes to school and plays the violin.  The book strikes exactly the right balance. 

Ivey’s photographs nicely capture the movement and poses of dance.  He is equally successful capturing Iman when she is out of school with her friends and family.  Gladstone’s text comes from Iman’s point of view and is simple and frank about what she is doing. 

A strong nonfiction dance title, this book takes it beyond popular dance with sparkly costumes and to a more studious and serious level.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

The Snow Day

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The Snow Day by Komako Sakai

On a very snowy day, a little rabbit awakens to discover that the snow has cancelled school.  His mother doesn’t want him to go out in the storm, but he sneaks onto the balcony to make a snow dumpling.  His mother can’t go to the grocery store, so they play cards together.  His father can’t return from his trip because of the storm.  All around them it is only snow, no traffic, just them and the snow.  When the little rabbit is getting ready for bed, he realizes the snow has stopped and he can go outside.  In the dark, they play together in the snow.

There is a tenderness in this book, a timelessness that is so beautiful.  Sakai’s art is expressive and beautiful, showing an artistry that is unusual for children’s books.  The rabbit’s ears show so much of their feelings, a small note that really carries the book.  The words of the book are understated and brief.  One can feel the emotions through the illustrations, but the words do not thrust them upon the reader.  Each reader brings themselves to the book and can see themselves reflected in its subtlety.  Simply masterful.

This is one of my favorite books of the year.  Highly recommended for a quiet snow day at home, this book will not work for a raucous group of preschoolers because of its quietness.  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Pirates, Ho!

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Pirates, Ho! by Sarah L. Thomson, illustrated by Stephen Gilpin.

This jaunty, funny book is an ideal read-aloud for any swashbuckling event you may be planning.  The pirates here are cartoony and friendly, but also willing to send someone to Davy’s Locker if necessary.  They chase down other ships, seek treasure, and force people to walk the plant.  All accompanied with the cry of Pirates, Ho!  Everything children love about pirates is right here for them to enjoy.

Gilpin’s silly illustrations very effectively make this a fun book.  Where the text could take it in a darker direction, the illustrations keep it firmly in a light-hearted spirit.  Thomson’s words are rhythmic and one can almost hear the music in them: a jaunty pirate tune of course. 

A winning pirate book that is one of the easiest to read aloud that I have seen, this book is appropriate for ages 4-6.