Doctor Meow’s Big Emergency by Sam Lloyd

The author of Mr. Pusskins has a new series.  This first in the Whoops-a-Daisy World series, follows a day with Dr. Meow and her trusty ambulance driver, Woof.  When the phone rings saying "Emergency, emergency,"  Dr. Meow finds that Tom Cat has fallen out of a tree.  Off she rushes with Woof driving to find him.  They take him back to the hospital, x-ray his broken leg, and put on a cast.  In the end, even Mr. Bird, who was being chased by Tom Cat when he fell, is in a happy mood.

This book has a very small-town, old-fashioned feel that will appeal to adults and children alike.  Dr. Meow is a calm, rational character whose thrilling job is handled with just the right tone.  Allowing children to be excited about racing to the rescue, but also offering a calm reaction to an everyday crisis.  Lloyd’s illustrations and text work well together, filled with sunny yellow and bright reds. The text is equally friendly and warm. 

A lovely first visit to Whoops-a-Daisy World, I look forward to the others in the series.  Great read aloud potential for even toddlers because of the friendly nature of the book but also the amount of action.  Appropriate for ages 2-5.

 

Sourpuss and Sweetie Pie by Norton Juster, illustrated by Chris Raschka.

Return to the effervescent, colorful world that Juster and Raschka created in their award-winning The Hello, Goodbye Window.  Nanna and Poppy never quite know who is going to show up, Sourpuss or Sweetie Pie.  Their granddaughter can be either one.  At times she is kind, polite, respectful and a joy.  But at other times she is rude, angry, and hurtful.  This picture book looks with clarity and spunk at the temperament of a child and will be familiar to all children, all parents and all grandparents.

Raschka’s illustrations are just as evocative as in the first book.  They remain loose, brightly colored, and perfectly capture the emotions swirling through the book.  The pleasure of returning to these wonderful grandparents and their loving relationship with their creative granddaughter is particularly sweet.  Juster’s words capture the emotions of a small child with ferocity, delight and high contrast.  The book makes a great read aloud and will spark plenty of discussion about feelings and self-control.

If you loved the first book, you will adore this second outing.  This is a book to share with children, who will connect to it effortlessly.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

I Feel a Foot! by Maranke Rinck and Martijn van der Linden

This is a clever new take on the Blind Men and the Elephant story.  Here, five animals come across something strange on a dark night.  Turtle thinks it is a huge turtle because of the foot.  Bat thinks he feels a huge bat wing.  Octopus feels a long tentacle.  Bird feels a beak.  And finally Goat discovers a large goatee.  By the end, children will have figured out the animal easily, but the five animal friends are all surprised to find an elephant! 

The text and illustrations work perfectly together here.  The text is simple and great fun, though the tale has a timelessness about it, the text and dialogue have a modern, up-beat feel.  The illustrations really shine, especially against the dark background.  The colors are vivid and pop right off the page.  This is a perfect story time read for a large group because they will be caught in the mystery at first and the illustrations will project well to a big audience.

Highly recommended for story times, this would be a wonderful addition to elephant, turtle, bat, or even octopus themed programs!  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Who Made This Cake? by Chihiro Nakagawa, illustrated by Junji Koyose

Take the sweetness of baking a cake, mix it with construction vehicles, and populate it with charming tiny beings, and you have this book.  A family calls to order a birthday cake, and they spring into action.  The little people are about a quarter-inch tall as seen in scale with a stick of butter, so they need construction vehicles to make the cake.  Along the way, children will see the stages of baking a cake and will enjoy the fun and color of the tiny people using large machinery to do such easy work.

The illustrations are large and vibrant, but because of the small figures it is best to read this to one or two children at a time.  A large part of the fun is poring over the actions of the tiny people as they work hard to make this cake.  The illustrations make great use of white space and pops of color.  The story is secondary to the illustrations, and with few select words talks of the steps of baking.

Charming, delicious and clever, this book will appeal to all sorts of children.  From those who only want books with diggers to those who love to cook to the broad number of children who enjoy the tiny and interesting.  This book will zoom off of shelves all on its own.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

The Black Book of Colors by Menena Cottin, illustrated by Rosana Faria.

This is a remarkable book.  One that offers insight into what it’s like to be blind.  It is a book about colors that contains only the color black.  Each color has a separate page with glossy raised pictures that are meant to be touched, not seen.  White text accompanies these images, describing what you are touching. 

Here’s an example of the text from the "green" page:

He says that green tastes like lemon ice cream and smells like grass that’s just been cut. 

Lovely, isn’t it?  Each page is like that, offering different ways to sense color and experience it. 

I applaud Faria, the illustrator, for not only taking on a colorless project, but creating images that when touched as just as evocative as when seen.  When we finished reading this book, my sons started trying to read the braille alphabet and traded back and forth going over the dark images again and again.  There is something wondrous in this book.

Highly recommended for art classes, diversity units, and just for the amazement of the book itself.  Sure to start discussions and interest, this could be nicely paired with Helen Keller’s biography.  Appropriate for a wide range of ages because of the fascination inherent in the book.  This could be used with even middle school students successfully.

Jake Starts School by Michael Wright

This second Jake book by Wright follows Jake as he starts on his first day of school.  Jake happily gets ready for school but is very surprised by how many kids are at the school, how huge the door is, and by his teacher too.  He grabs his parents around the knees and refuses to let either of them go.  So there is no other choice, all three of them have to attend class together while Jake holds on.  But Jake can’t do much while holding onto his parents, and though it takes awhile, he is finally able to let go.

Wright has taken the classic first-day-of-school-book and turned it into a screamingly funny picture book.  His characters are long-faced and often quizzical.  They emote wonderfully and often there are small touches that add even more humor.  The text is rhyming, once more evoking traditional picture books, but again Wright merrily decides to add gas passing and popular gags to the text.

This book is not ideal to use with kindergarten children heading to their first day because it really is not aimed at easing fears.  But first and second graders will howl at the humor and adore this book.  Recommended for ages 6-8.

Sandy’s Circus: a story about Alexander Calder by Tanya Lee Stone, illustrated by Boris Kulikov.

Alexander Calder is known for his incredible mobiles like the one on the right.  But this book focuses on one of his first creations, from sketches and wire designs to his amazing circus built from wire.  The circus worked through springs and levers, sending the wire characters through their acts. 

Through play and wonder, this book captures Calder at his most elementary and most childlike.  The story is captivating and vividly written, letting children understand that though Calder did not consider himself an artist, he certainly was one.  Kulikov’s art perfectly captures the time period and Calder’s art.

A perfect book to share with art classes in elementary school, this is a great introduction to Calder and his art.  Recommended for ages 4-8.