Picture Books

Review: Ask Me by Bernard Waber

| Tasha

Ask Me by Bernard Waber

Ask Me by Bernard Waber, illustrated by Suzy Lee (InfoSoup)

A little girl and her father take a walk through their neighborhood. Along the way, the girl asks her father to ask her questions like “Ask me what I like?” and he does, question after question. She finds a lot of nature along the walk to enjoy, from frogs to geese in the air and in the water, bugs, beetles, and flowers. She asks him to ask if she likes ice cream cones and they both happily walk away with cones after she announces how much she loves them. The two talk about trips they have taken together, favorite colors like the red balloon, stories, birds, and much more. Once back home, it’s time to think about her upcoming birthday and then time for bed.

Waber adeptly creates a realistic relationship between father and daughter here on the page. The use of her questions is particularly clever as it gives the book a repeating structure that feels natural and unforced. Parents will also recognize the way children want to be asked questions and have them answered. It is very effective to have this sort of relationship where the girl is saying what she wants out of their conversation and the father is happily agreeing. The entire day spent together is blissful and lovely and is entirely about their relationship with one another. Gorgeously structured and written.

Lee’s art is done in pencil. It dances along with gentle colors until suddenly fall bursts on the page. The deep rich colors don’t seem like pencil until you see the drawing lines on the page. The illustrations celebrate the closeness of this father and his daughter, playing with perspectives and celebrating their day outside in nature together.

Gorgeous illustrations and writing combine into one special picture book that is a dazzling book to share aloud. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: The Little Gardner by Emily Hughes

| Tasha

The Little Gardener by Emily Hughes

The Little Gardener by Emily Hughes

The gardener loves his garden and he works hard in it, but he’s not that good at gardening. He feels often that he is too small for the job. He does manage to grow one tall red flower that gives him energy and hope. After working so hard, he knows that if something doesn’t change he will soon be out of food, out of a home, and no longer able to live in the garden he loves so much. He falls asleep, exhausted after making a wish that something will happen. Someone notices his flower in the garden and start to work. As the gardener sleeps, the people work on the garden, transforming it into flowers rather than weeds. The little gardener’s flower inspired them to make a change and in turn their work allowed him to live on as the gardener in the place he adores.

Told very simply, this picture book from the author of Wild is about a truly tiny gardener who is smaller than the weeds that he is battling. The writing is simple with a wonderful tone, very understated with the illustrations bringing the real truth to the reader. At the same time, there is a sense of wonder throughout the text that speaks to the power of wishes, the joy of being in just the right place for yourself, and the pleasure of a simple life.

Hughes’ illustrations are phenomenal. She captures the wildness of the weeds, the beauty of a single red flower rising above them, and then the bounty of a newly planted garden. She also captures the size of the little gardener, showing him to be almost fairy-like in his size, dwarfed and protected by the plants around him. That size allows Hughes to focus closely on the plants, creating a jungle out of the garden.

Beautifully illustrated and with a lovely look at a little life well lived, this picture book would be a great addition to gardening story times. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from digital galley received from Flying Eye Books.

Review: Wait by Antoinette Portis

| Tasha

Wait by Antoinette Portis

Wait by Antoinette Portis (InfoSoup)

As a boy and his mother move through an urban setting rushing to get on the train, the little boy just wants to slow down and look at things. There are ducks to feed, an ice cream truck to linger near, a butterfly to try to touch, and much more. Each little item has the boy saying “wait” while the mother says “hurry.” It’s a dance that parents will immediately recognize. A rain storm has them hurrying to put on a raincoat. Just as the pair are about to catch their train successfully though, the rain ends and there is a rainbow that stops them both and has them waiting together.

This very simple book has only two words throughout: wait and hurry. It’s one of those books that will allow very young children to try to read it to themselves once they can identify the two words. Children and parents alike will also see their own morning rush in the book. While they may not catch a train, they will have to wear coats, try to get ice cream, and see neat animals almost every morning themselves.

Portis’ illustrations are friendly and large. Done with thick black lines with lots of texture using charcoal, pencil and ink, the illustrations perfectly capture the tug of slowing down with the need to hurry. The urban setting is done in the friendliest of ways and the various distractions are too. These are the merry things that slow toddlers and young children to a crawl even as time ticks away.

Toddlers will love this book about how important it is to stop and see the rainbows, the ducks, the butterflies, and everything else! Appropriate for ages 1-3.

Reviewed from copy received from Roaring Brook Press.

Review: Leo: A Ghost Story by Mac Barnett

| Tasha

Leo a Ghost Story by Mac Barnett

Leo: A Ghost Story by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Christian Robinson

Released August 25, 2015.

Leo has lived for a long time alone in his house. Most people can’t see Leo, because he’s a ghost, but if you are reading this book you are one of the special people who can see Leo. When a new family moves into the house, Leo tries to be welcoming by bringing them tea, but the family is frightened of the floating tray. After hearing how much they dislike him because he’s a ghost, Leo leaves his house and roams the city. He is invisible to everyone until he meets Jane, a little girl with a lot of imaginary friends. She thinks that Leo is just another of them and since Leo was so hated because he was a ghost, he doesn’t correct her. The two of them have a grand time playing together and she even gives him a sheet and pillow to sleep by his side. Leo is so happy that he can’t sleep. So he heads downstairs and that’s where he meets the robber who has entered Jane’s house. But what is an invisible ghost to do to stop a robber?

Barnett immediately invites readers into his world by allowing them to suddenly “see” Leo with the first page turn. It creates a real connection with the story and makes Leo all the more tangible to the reader. Barnett excels at creating a simple story but one that has strong implications to real life running throughout. This is a delight of a light ghost story, but it is also about acceptance, honesty and embracing who you really are.

Robinson’s illustrations are light hearted. Her art is done with acrylics and construction paper. Leo himself is see-through and rendered in what looks like crayon, making him very childlike and welcoming. While Leo is pale or completely transparent, the others are all rendered in deep blue construction paper except for the pale-skinned thief.

A book about acceptance and the power of a strong imagination, this picture book will be a welcome addition to Halloween story times. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Chronicle Books.

Review: The Moon Is Going to Addy’s House by Ida Pearle

| Tasha

The Moon Is Going to Addy's House by Ida Pearle

The Moon Is Going to Addy’s House by Ida Pearle (InfoSoup)

When Addy’s play date is finished, she is taken home in a car by her father and mother. Her little sister is along for the ride too and the moon shines outside of their windows. It is sometimes high in the sky, other times low under a bridge. It follows them over a bridge, through the hills. It is sometimes so close that you would think you could catch it in your hands. The moon goes all the way to their home with them, waiting outside during their bath and then celebrates along with Addy during her nighttime dance. It’s even there when she finally goes to bed.

Pearle has written a poem to the moon, celebrating the way that it shines on all children from up above. She captures the way that the moon seems to shift positions as you drive, the joy of open windows and wind, and the peek-a-boo that the moon plays with clouds and objects. The text is simple and poetic, creating a mood of joy and universal pleasure in heading home at night.

The illustrations here are stunningly beautiful. Done in cut-paper collage, they are astonishing. Pearle captures the feel of a dog’s fur, the play of moonlight across large buildings, the deep purple of the night as it arrives. She also changes the color of the moon as the journey continues, allowing it to take over the final pages with its splendor.

This moonlit book is gorgeous and just right for a bedtime read. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Dial Books.

Review: On the Shoulder of a Giant by Neil Christopher

| Tasha

On the Shoulder of a Giant by Neil Christopher

On the Shoulder of a Giant by Neil Christopher, illustrated by James Nelson (InfoSoup)

Based on a traditional Inuit folktale, this picture book shows what happens when a massive giant takes an interest in a small human. Inukpak was big even for a giant. When he walked across the land, he could easily step over rivers and wade the deepest lakes. He could cross the Arctic on foot in only a few days, fishing for whales along the coasts. Then one day he met a hunter, whom he mistook for a little child. Before the hunter knew what has happening, Inukpak had adoped him as a son and placed him on his shoulder. In just a few steps, they were so far from the hunter’s home that he didn’t know how to return. As Inukpak got them dinner in the form of a huge whale, he almost drowned the hunter just from the huge waves that splashed as he walked in the water. When a polar bear attacks the hunter, Inukpak just laughs and tosses it away. In time, the two became good friends, the giant and the hunter.

The stage is set very nicely for this story with an introduction that explains what stories the book is based on and how the author came to know so much about Arctic folklore. The pages after the story expand the topic of Arctic giants even further with explanations of different kinds of giants. The storyline is not as linear as European tales, allowing readers to get a sense of the giant and a different rhythm of storytelling at the same time. The huge and kind giant is full of appeal thanks to his huge sense of humor and the merry way he approaches life in the Arctic.

Nelson’s illustrations are playful and jolly as well. They show the various areas of the Arctic from the seashore to the more inland areas. The size difference between the giant and the human is kept fairly consistent throughout the book, This giant is much larger than most and that adds to the appeal as well. The natural landscapes of the book are thoughtfully done as are the various animals. The lifelike depictions of these elements make the giant all the more believable.

One huge giant and one little man create a great story together and one that can nicely be shared aloud. Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Beach House by Deanna Caswell

| Tasha

Beach House by Deanna Caswell

Beach House by Deanna Caswell, illustrated by Amy June Bates (InfoSoup)

A family is headed to a beach house after waiting a year for summer to return. When they arrive it’s not time for the beach yet. The car has to be unloaded and things have to be unpacked. The kids make their beds, but can’t stop looking out the window at the waves and the beach. Then chores are done and it’s time to go! The family heads out to the beach where they spend the day in the water, building sandcastles, clam digging, chasing crabs and much more. In the evening, they have a campfire and roast hotdogs before heading inside for baths and bed. And one last moonlit look at the beach before falling asleep.

Caswell captures the beach and the sun and the water and sand in her rhyming couplets. It could be a sea, it could be a lake, it’s all about the experience of being near water and playing in waves. A day spent with family soaking in the sun and then being together still when the day is done. Families who have spent time together near the water will all recognize their days of sun and waves on these pages.

The illustrations shine with golden sand and dancing water. They are filled with the movement of the breeze at the beach, with the joy of the sun and the connection with family. One can almost smell the campfire smoke in the air or the ocean salt. The pictures here sing with freedom and long days spent together. The washes of watercolor that make the waves and the sky create a sense of timeless ease on the page.

A book of family connection and love that brings the glory of a beach vacation right off the page. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Chronicle Books.

Review: The Night Children by Sarah Tsiang

| Tasha

Night Children by Sarah Tsiang

The Night Children by Sarah Tsiang, illustrated by Delphine Bodet

When night starts to come and replace daytime, you should run home quickly before the night children come out. They wear the shadows and chase the fireflies. They are the ones who etch the frost on your windows into delicate designs. They can be carried on the wind high above the rooftops and disappear when you try to glimpse them out your window. They scatter leaves on the yards and stretch webs across the doorways. They are the ones who steal parts of the moon each night too. But you, you awake at dawn just as they are disappearing. And you bring the light of the day with you. If you try hard too, you will see the last of the night children as you head off to school.

Tsiang’s prose here reads like poetry. She uses such strong imagery throughout that she creates a nighttime world filled with magical moments. In her gathering darkness “light spills in puddles on the pavement” and the leaves the night children scatter are “like toys on the lawn.” Each page has some special phrasing on it that adds to the wonder of this book. The writing is rich and surprising, just like the night itself.

Bodet’s illustrations take Tsiang’s imagery and brings it fully alive. The art is filled with a play of light and dark. The puddles of light glow on the pavement as actual puddles catch the last of the sun’s rays. Stolen pieces of the moon glow in small hands as the night children dance across the roof with their prize. When the day comes, the light is warm and bright, glowing on the page and filled with bright color. The night colors contrast with that, more rich and deep and mysterious.

A poetic and lovely book, this is a luminous bedtime story. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from digital galley received from Annick Press and Netgalley.

Review: Bob and Flo by Rebecca Ashdown

| Tasha

Bob and Flo by Rebecca Ashdown

Bob and Flo by Rebecca Ashdown (InfoSoup)

In a story perfect for small children starting daycare or preschool, this picture book shows how to make new friends and share. Bob really likes Flo’s pink bucket that she brought with her to school. When Flo is busy painting a picture, her bucket disappears. She looks for it everywhere. She notices that Bob has a new pink hat at one point. Then she sees him making a tall tower of blocks standing on something pink. She sees him playing a pink drum. And then at the playground, she finally spies her bucket by the slide. Bob is there too, stuck at the top of the slide. Happily, Flo knows just what to do to help and all it takes is a good pink bucket.

Such a simple book but told so very well. Ashdown perfectly captures the unique ways preschool children interact with one another, often playing alongside each other than right together. She weaves in the humor of Flo seeing her bucket over and over again and not recognizing it. That plays nicely against the creativity that Bob uses when playing with the bucket on each page. Toddler audiences will love spotting the bucket on each page spread.

Ashdown’s illustrations are cheery and bright. The sunny yellow background allows the grey and white penguins to shine on each page. The basic toys around them, evoke every preschool or daycare around. Then the penguins themselves have texture and patterns that give them personality and also make them seem more real and more childlike.

Perfect for returning to preschool in the fall, this picture book is just as much fun as a bucket. Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from library copy.