Glass slipper, gold sandal: a worldwide Cinderella by Paul Fleischman, illustrated by Julie Paschkis.

Fleischman has created a picture book that pays tribute to the varied Cinderella stories from around the world.  The storyline of the book follows the Cinderella tale, but touches from each country can be felt.  What could have been a muddled mishmash is a truly amazing experience as readers see the differences and the similarities in Cinderella tales.  A large part of the success is Fleischman’s ability to showcase cultures in single lines, small details and wording.  Another part of the book’s success are the illustrations which have bright colored frames that allude to other details of the story in that culture.  Each frame offers insight into the differences of that exact story, and the book could be read again and again looking at the various pictures.

This is exactly what is meant by a multicultural story.  It is a celebration of both our kinship and our diversity.  A must-purchase for all public libraries, you will find that older children who have a sense of different countries will enjoy this more than 4-6 year olds.  Highly recommended for folktale units or just for the joy of sharing.

Jabberwocky by Lewis Carrol, reimagined and illustrated by Christopher Myers.

Myers has done a courageous and marvelous thing in recreating the battle of the Jabberwocky using basketball.  Jabberwocky is one of my favorite poems, one I remember from my childhood.  The power of the imaginative language and creating images in one’s head about what “brillig” and “slithy” meant.

The illustrations are strange and edgy enough to suit the language of the poetry.  The dynamic motion, deep colors and use of colors even in the words themselves makes this a book that kids will pick up and enjoy even if they don’t understand most of the words.  And what more joy could there be?

Highly recommended for children ages 8-12.  It is the perfect vehicle to introduce children to the poem and the fun of a frabjous day.

Nobody Notices Minerva by Wednesday Kirwan.

Minerva just can’t get noticed by her family!  No matter how very naughty she is, her mother and father just ignore her.   Finally, it is too much to take and Minerva starts to cry.  Her father sits near her and explains that he has noticed her and that she probably wants to be noticed for other things than being naughty.  So Minerva makes up her mind to be noticed for being very good.  And it works!

Minerva is a charming little whirling dervish of a child.  The scowl on her face and the attitude of her body completely encapsulate her attitude.  The illustrations are bright, and vibrantly colored.  The book is well done with just the right amount of information for the reader who will also be worried that Minerva’s parents ignore her!  I haven’t seen a book before on ignoring unwanted behavior, and this one captures it perfectly.

Recommended as a book to share with preschool groups or with your own child.

Paul Bunyan’s Sweetheart by Marybeth Lorbiecki, illustrated by Renee Graef.

Lucette Diana Kensack was quite a large girl, an equal to Paul Bunyan.  She and her similarly large cow, Nel, would mix up rivers of butter, quilt acres of seeds, and create cooling breezes by shaking out her rugs.  When Paul Bunyan comes to meet her, she sets him three tasks.   He tries his best to do her bidding, but somehow never gets it right.  Lucette’s tasks are all about respecting the environment and loving the land they are using.  In the end, she shows Paul and the readers exactly how to do just that.

Lorbiecki has created a book with a rollicking rhythm to the text, a heartiness to the tale and a lovely and worthwhile message for readers.  Her text has nice touches to it that make one read it with a certain woodsy cadence.  Combined with Graef’s illustrations, the book really sings.  The illustrations have a certain Garth William’s feel to them with a similar softness. 

This book begs to read aloud.  Reading it silently will not give you the same feel for the rhythm and joy of the language here.  Recommended for sharing with children for environmental units or just for a rollicking super-sized time. 

Humphrey’s First Christmas by Carol Heyer.

Reading new holiday books is always a treasure hunt.  Some of the titles will be surprising and wonderful while other are distinctly NOT. 

This is one of the treasures.  Humphrey is a camel who is part of the caravan taking the kings to the baby Jesus.  But most of the story is dedicated to Humphrey mourning the loss of his blanket.  He has a plan to get a new blanket from his master by disturbing and bothering him, and it works!  When they reach the manger, Humphrey is surprised by his reaction to this small shivering child. 

The illustrations in the this book will immediately capture children.  They are filled with closeups of Humphrey in all of his bucktoothed glory.  The image of his long lashes and his eye is a marvelous way to start the book.  The pictures are richly colored, filled with details and almost photo realistic.  One can almost feel the chill of the desert at night. 

The prose is also very rich.  The story begins and ends with similar phrases, making it a nicely framed tale.  The language of a grumbling camel is perfectly captured as well. 

Highly recommended as a Christmas tale for ages 4-8.

Little Rooster’s Diamond Button retold by Margaret Read MacDonald, illustrated by Will Terry.

A great story for reading aloud and storytelling, this picture book captures the rambunctious spirit perfectly.  Little Rooster finds a diamond button but before he can take it home to his mistress, he is stopped by the King who takes away the button and claims it for himself.  But the Little Rooster goes to the kingdom and demands the button be returned.  The King disagrees and has the rooster thrown into a well.  Now the story takes a major turn and readers discover that the Little Rooster has a magic stomach!  He drinks up the water in the well.  The King next order the rooster thrown into the fire, but the rooster uses his stomach again and pours the water from the well onto the fire.  They try to throw the rooster into a beehive but the rooster eats up the bees with his magic stomach.  And I wonder if you can guess what happens next?

The retelling is joyously fun to read aloud, filled with great rhythm, repeating patterns, and humor.  The illustrations are equally vivid with their bright colors.  The pop-eyed rooster is lusciously colored and the pictures don’t shy away from the spectacular nature of his magic stomach.  Terry has created a world filled with colors that zing and dance as much as the story itself does. 

Highly recommended for reading aloud in your next preschool story time about chickens or birds.  This one is a certain winner that will have children eager to listen.  Appropriate for ages 4-8. 

The Wishing Club: a story about fractions by Donna Jo Napoli, pictures by Anna Currey.

When Petey wishes on a star for a dollar, he ends up finding a quarter instead.  His little brother wishes for a cookie, but gets half a cookie instead.  His twin sisters each wish for a bag of marbles and each ends up with 10 marbles, 1 eighth of a bag.  The star turns out to be a comet and on the final day it will be visible, the children come up with a plan to put their fractions together into one big wish to get one whole thing.

So many math-based picture books are more about the cleverness of the math than the quality of the story, but Napoli has created a math book with heart and magic.  A large part of it is the strength of her writing and the wonder of the characters at what is happening.  The illustrations work with this wonder in their soft washes that make it seem as if anything is possible. 

Highly recommended for classrooms working with fractions, this book works well as a read-aloud at any time.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Pink by Nan Gregory and Luc Melanson.

Vivi desperately wants to be one of the pink girls who have pink backpacks, pink clothes, pink hair bands all in the perfect shade of pink.  She dreams of the perfect pink life so different from her own.  Vivi then discovers the perfect pink bride doll in the window of a fancy toy store.  She works hard to save money to purchase the doll, doing odd jobs in their apartment building.  But when she reveals to the Pinks at school that she is going to buy the doll, one of them gets there before her and she is devastated. 

This is a book that dances along just like life.  It is a vividly pink look at wishing, wanting, striving and disappointment, only to discover that there are special pink moments in her own life too.  Vivi is a wonderful character, especially for a picture book.  Her parents are equally interesting and their parenting is warm and supportive.  It is a treat to have a book where the parents are role models but the text is not didactic. 

The end of the book is buttoned by music, dance and sunsets, things that everyone can enjoy and share whether they can afford pink perfection or not.  The message of the book is strong but never crosses over into preaching.  The story is allowed to stand on its own strength through clear writing and bright illustrations.

Recommended to both boys and girls (despite the pink focus) ages 5-7.

Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts, illustrated by Noah Z. Jones.

Jeremy desperately wants a pair of those black high tops with white stripes, but there is no extra money to get anything but new winter boots.  To make matters worse, Jeremy’s shoes wear out and he has to wear a pair that fits him taken from the box the guidance counselor keep for kids who need things.  And they are bright blue and Velcro, like ones for little kids.  Jeremy’s grandmother takes him shopping for boots and thinks about getting him the new shoes, but they are too expensive.  Then she willingly takes him to different thrift stores to see if they can find a pair.  And they do!  But the shoes are too small, even though Jeremy tries to curl his toes under his foot to make them fit.  He insists that they buy them, but finally admits that he can’t wear them.  Perhaps someone else can?

This story simply and clearly tells the story of a child who lives in a family where he can’t have everything he wants.  There is no shame here, no squalor, just a normal family where spending money has an impact and choices must be made.  The illustrations in the book show a rainbow of children going to school together.  Friendships are not racially divided and neither is the poverty line.  It is all nicely handled. 

This is one of those books that is important to share with all children of any means.  Children who don’t face choices like this must learn that there are families right in their communities who do, and children who live in homes where finances are tight will be happy to know that they are not the only ones.  We live in a society where items are glorified and children are caught up in having the latest gizmos, gadgets, toys and clothes.  This book puts it all into perspective.  And just might lead to new perspectives in children who get a chance to read it, hear it and talk about it.

Highly recommended for ages 5-8.  This would be a wonderful book to get conversations started in a classroom about money and choices and differences.