Book Reviews

Board Books for Cool Babies

| Tasha

Rocker Babies Wear Jeans by Michelle Sinclair Colman, illustrations by Nathalie Dion

Part of the Urban Babies Wear Black series, I consider this one of the best of that group.  Perfect for hip parents who want to raise a little rocker, this book is filled with humor and puns.  Favorite lines are “Rocker babies shake their booties” and “Rocker babies do jam sessions.”  Both showing babies doing very normal baby things.  A winning entry in a popular series.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

 

Yum Yum, Baby Bundt by Jamie Harper

This board book opens with a charming recipe for lunch that combines 1 hungry baby, 1 washable bib, 1 highchair, toys, and then the lunch itself and all of the plates, sippy cup, etc.  The book then moves into more of a narrative story where a helpful big sister gets her younger sibling through a meal of pasta, veggies, fruit and cookies.  The story is told briefly with the humor added through the illustrations.  A recipe for a great read, this book is a gem because of the positive relationship it shows between siblings.

Reviewed from library copy.

Guess Again!

| Tasha

Guess Again! by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Adam Rex

If you have ever been asked to read a story aloud to a class of second and third graders, you know how hard it can be to find the perfect book.  It has to take less than five minutes to read but not insult these elementary children by being too juvenile for them.  Well, have I got the perfect book for you!

The book starts in a traditional format with a rhyming poem that for these older children obviously is talking about a bunny.  You may even get a few eye rolls from the crowd.  How young does this person think we are?!  Turn the page though, and watch the crowd go wild as the entire format of rhyming clues is turned on its head.  Expect a delicious moment of stunned silence and then lots and lots of laughter.  Filled with entirely silly moments, children will still enjoy trying to outguess the joke.  And in the end, they will have one final surprise as a running gag turns on its heel.

This is a book you must pick up and take a look at.  It is delightfully silly, monumentally funny to the target audience, and a complete hoot.  Make sure you are in the mood for laughing, or even better find a kid around 8 years old and laugh together.  As I look at it, it is also a great choice for reluctant readers because there are plenty of pictures, lots of whitespace, and humor! 

This is not a picture book for small children who will not understand the joke.  Save it for the jaded age of 7 and 8 year olds to get the best reaction.  Hey, I just may have to volunteer to read to my son’s class this year just to be able to share this book.

Appropriate for ages 5-8, older the better.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

Also reviewed by A Year of Reading.

Solace of the Road

| Tasha

Solace of the Road by Siobhan Dowd

Holly was now placed with a family of her own after years in a residential home for teens.  Fiona and Ray seemed to want her, but it might turn out the same as the last place where she was sent back.  Best that she leave on her own terms and head to find her mother in Ireland where she was waiting.  Holly dons a blonde wig that makes her look much older than her 15 years and calls herself Solace.  From London, she hitchhikes her way across Britain.  On the way, she meets kindness in surprising places and finds out more about herself and her past. 

There is magic in Dowd’s writing, filled with crystalline moments and complexity and no simple answers.  This road-trip novel has the essential ingredient of slow progression in self-awareness.  Holly is a complicated character, filled with bravado, anger and confusion.  She is portrayed with so many layers, that just discovering her is a joy.  Holly’s use of an alter ego to understand herself is drawn with caring and a supreme gentleness.  There are moments of stillness in the novel where insight is just around the corner, but then life intervenes and the reader must wait patiently for the next moment to come. 

Dowd uses the setting as almost its own character in the novel.  Readers who have never been to Britain will still find themselves picturing it clearly in their head, hearing the birds, visiting the dark towns. 

This is a beauty of a character sketch created by a gifted author whose career ended way too early.  Highly recommended for fans of problem novels, this book will stun with the quality of the writing.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by Abby (the) Librarian and Crossover.

Zoo Day Ole!

| Tasha

Zoo Day Ole!: a counting book by Phillis Gershator, illustrated by Santiago Cohen.

Abuelita takes her two grandchildren to the zoo where they count the animals from uno to diez.  They see bears, seals, monkeys, parrots and many more animals.  Gershator’s text is simple with Spanish counting words woven in.  Cohen’s art is thick-lined. His use of large blocks of color make it very child-like and friendly.

The mix of English and Spanish is nicely done, though I would have liked to have seen the names for the various animals done in both Spanish and English as well.  As a counting book, this one works well because readers have the option of counting or not counting since it isn’t built into the text. 

An ideal book for toddlers who love Dora the Explorer or Sesame Street with their mix of Spanish and English.  It would also work well for children learning Spanish in Kindergarten.  Appropriate for ages 2-5.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

Pouch!

| Tasha

Pouch! by David Ezra Stein

Joey had lived in his mother’s pouch his whole life, until one day he decided he wanted to hop.  Two hops later, he meets a bee in the tall grass and with a yell of “Pouch!” returns to his mother’s pouch.  Three hops onto the hill, he meets a rabbit and once again returns to his mother’s pouch.  Four hops into the sandy hollow, he meets a bird and flees back again.  Five hops to the pasture fence, and he meets another baby kangaroo!  Now what to do!

This is a delightful story of a youngster who wants to explore but just isn’t quite ready to leave his mother’s side yet.  Stein’s art here is childlike and simple, done in fluid watercolors and deep colors.  His text is also simple, with great repeating phrases and a rhythm that is natural and fun. 

Ideal for the youngest listeners, this book would be super for a toddler story time where the youngsters could hop the right number of hops and run back.  Appropriate for ages 1-3.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

Night Lights

| Tasha

Night Lights by Susan Gal

Follow a girl through her evening in this quiet picture book.  The book begins with her biking home with her mother, roasting hotdogs with her dog looking eagerly on, celebrating the dog’s birthday with a huge dog-bone cake, and then her bedtime routine.  Each page has only a few words and those explain the various lights that illuminate the evening.  The story itself is told entirely in the illustrations.

It is those illustrations that make this such a marvelous picture book.  Each page has a glow about it without using any glitter or extra glued on sparkles.  The light comes from inside the illustrations, done in charcoal on paper and digital collage.  The collage effect is subtle here, captured mostly in the fabrics in the pictures.  The illustrations are warm, friendly and cozy, perfect for bedtime.

With its small word count and inviting illustrations, this debut picture book makes a perfect bedtime book for a toddler.  Appropriate for ages 1-4.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

The Goblin and the Empty Chair

| Tasha

 

The Goblin and the Empty Chair by Mem Fox, illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon

Long ago, a goblin caught sight on himself in a reflection.  Frightened so much by what he saw, he vowed never to show his face again.  He spent many years alone.  But then he saw a farmer stop chopping wood, sigh and put his face in his hands.  The goblin went to work that night and though he tried not to be seen, the farmer saw him.  The following day on the same farm, the goblin saw a woman stop  gardening and put her face in her hands.  That night the goblin again worked on the farm and though he tried to be careful, the woman saw him.  The next day, a child on the farm put down her book and buried her face in her hands.  That night, the goblin soothed her and sat with her and though he was careful, the girl saw him.  The next morning, the family gathered for breakfast at a table with one chair that had been empty all winter.  They left the door open for the goblin to come in and fill that empty chair. 

This book told is an original fairy tale by one of the world’s top story tellers.  Mem Fox has created a sympathetic character in a goblin, which one would not expect.  Her skill at the fairy tale format with its repetition and spare style is masterful.  She has created a story that is open wide with opportunity.  There is space here for haunting, for fear, for spine tingles and for a happy ending.

Leo and Diane Dillon took that opportunity and created a goblin that is graceful and princely, with large ears and flowing green hair.  Readers never see the goblin’s face, making him more of a tragic hero than a monster.  There is a touch of the Beast in Beauty and the Beast here, speaking about the quality of the internal rather than external.

A highly successful collaboration between a master storyteller and master illustrators.  Appropriate for ages 4-8. 

You can listen to Mem Fox read the book here.

Reviewed from library copy.

When You Meet a Bear on Broadway

| Tasha

When You Meet a Bear on Broadway by Amy Hest, illustrated by Elivia Savadier

When you meet a bear on Broadway, you stick out your hand and ask them to stop.  Then you politely ask what his business is there.  He bursts into tears saying that he has lost his mother.  The two of you think of how to find her together.  Then you look uptown.  And downtown.  Along the river.  Until you find a forest where the bear climbs a tall tree and shouts for his mother.  But will a mama bear be able to hear him in the middle of a bustling city?

Though the styles are very different, this has the feel of Laura Numeroff’s If You Give a Mouse a Cookie feel.  It is the short lines and the repeating phrase of “When you meet a bear on Broadway.”  Hest takes this form and creates a book about being lost, being helped, and being found.  There is never any sense of panic about the child helping the bear.  It is far more of a problem solving book about what to do when you find a bear on a city street. 

The book has a nice bit of old-fashioned whimsy about it though the setting is modern.  Savadier’s illustrations contribute to this with their gentle lines and watercolor washes.  The little girl and the bear are often the only bright color on the page, magnifying their relationship rather than the largeness of the city itself.

Funny, quiet and very satisfying, this book would be nice paired with any of Numeroff’s If You titles.  It also offers a nice change of pace for any bear-themed stories.  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by A Patchwork of Books.

What’s Coming for Christmas

| Tasha

What’s Coming for Christmas? by Kate Banks, illustrated by Georg Hallensleben

Something was coming, but what could it be?  Images of a farm family on the wintry days before a holiday are filled with snow, icicles, sleds and snowmen.  The home is filled with cinnamon, wrapping paper, and pine.  Even the animals out in the fields know that something is coming.  With lots of foreshadowing and wonderful suspense, this book has a great twist in the end that will delight everyone.

Christmas books can often leave one feeling jaded and distant from the holidays.  Santa in a swimsuit, elves bowling, and the emphasis on piles and piles of presents.  This book does a great job of being about the season itself with its scents, sounds, tastes and activities.  Banks starts each page with a refrain: “Something is coming.”  From there she uses poetry to take readers on a holiday visit to the farm with all of its wonders.  Hallensleben’s illustrations are done in lush, thick colors that reflect the warmth, spice and chill of the season. 

The best holiday book I have seen this year.  Find a spot for it on library shelves and share it for holiday story times.  Appropriate for ages 3-7.

Reviewed from library copy.