Picture Books

Review: The Bus Ride by Marianne Dubuc

| Tasha

bus ride

The Bus Ride by Marianne Dubuc

Released March 1, 2015.

A little girl sets off on her first bus ride all by herself.  Her mother packed her a snack and her sweater too.  But this is not a normal bus, with its passengers of rabbits, a bear, a turtle, a mouse and a very sleepy sloth.  Stop by stop, the bus picks up and drops off more and more animals.  A family of wolves enters the bus at one point and the little girl shares her snack happily with the little wolf.  The bus goes through a dark tunnel and everything gets mixed around in the dark, but things are quickly sorted back into some sort of normal.  There is even a cunning fox thief that the little girl helps chase off the bus at the next stop.  This is one wonderful adventure for a little girl all on her own who has an amazing ride.

First published in France, this picture book celebrates a child traveling on their own.  Though the larger animals may seem threatening at first, those fears are quickly allayed by their actions.  Even the wolf family acts very appropriately on the bus.  There is the thief but again the little girl is empowered enough to put a stop to his shenanigans herself.  Children in the U.S. will be astonished at the freedom of this little girl and the trust she is given.  They will also love the Little Red Riding Hood ties that are evident in the story.

Dubuc’s illustrations are done in fine lines and subtle colors. That adds to the gentleness of the tale and the feeling that everything is nonthreatening and OK.  Subtle things change on each page and children will want time to look closely at the pictures, particularly after the tunnel switches things around.

Warm and confident, this picture book is a friendly introduction to bus rides even though real life ones aren’t likely to have bears, wolves and sloths as part of the community. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from digital galley received from Netgalley and Kids Can Press.

Review: The Queen’s Shadow by Cybele Young

| Tasha

queens shadow

The Queen’s Shadow by Cybele Young

Released March 1, 2015.

This fascinating and unique nonfiction picture book takes a mystery and turns it into information about how various animals see.  At the Queen’s Ball, several different animals have gathered.  Then there is a flash of lightning and a moment of darkness.  When the lights come back on, the Queen’s shadow has been stolen!  Who stole it and how can they prove it?  One by one, each animal offers testimony to what they witnessed “colored” by the way they are able to see the world.  There are the eyes of the chameleon who can look in two directions at once but only shoot out his tongue when both eyes are focused on the same thing.  The shark excels at seeing contrast more than anything and notices patterns of light and dark. Pit viper sees in heat and cool. Dragonfly offers perspective from compound eyes. It will take each of their ways of seeing the world to solve this mystery. 

Young creates an entirely abstract and amazing world here. There is a strong sense of decorum throughout the book, no animals attacking each other and the human queen unafraid of any of her more predatory guests. She combines information for the mystery about what was witnessed through that specific set of eyes and then shares strictly scientific information in offset text boxes too. The result is a book that keeps you turning pages not only to solve the mystery but to continue seeing the world in such unique ways and learning more.

The illustrations have a feel of vintage illustrations with finely detailed ink drawings washed with color. This style is reworked though when seeing through other animals’ eyes so that with each turn of the page, the art is ever-changing and fascinating.

Peculiar in a delightful way, this nonfiction picture book is one that will appeal to children wanting to “see” more of the natural world.  Appropriate for ages 6-9.

Reviewed from digital galley received from Netgalley and Kids Can Press.

2015 Waterstones Children’s Book Prize Shortlist

| Tasha

The shortlist has been announced for the 2015 Waterstones Children’s Book Prize.  There are 18 books on the shortlist for this British children’s book prize and refreshingly 15 of them are by women.  The winner in each category as well as the overall winner will be announced on March 26.

BEST ILLUSTRATED BOOK

Atlas of Adventures: A collection of natural wonders, exciting experiences and fun festivities from the four corners of the globe. Blown Away

Atlas of Adventures by Lucy Letherland, words by Rachel Williams

Blown Away by Rob Biddulph

The Dawn Chorus The Queen's Hat

The Dawn Chorus by Suzanne Barton

The Queen’s Hat by Steve Antony

The Sea Tiger Where Bear?

The Sea Tiger by Victoria Turnbull

Where Bear? by Sophy Henn

 

BEST FICTION FOR 5-12s

A Boy Called Hope Boy In The Tower

A Boy Called Hope by Lara Williamson

Boy in the Tower by Polly Ho-Yen

Cowgirl Girl With a White Dog

Cowgirl by G. Gemin

Girl with a White Dog by Anne Booth

Murder Most Unladylike (Wells and Wong, #1) Violet and the Pearl of the Orient

Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens

Violet and the Pearl of the Orient by Harriet Whitehorn, illustrated by Becka Moor

 

BEST BOOK FOR TEENS

The Apple Tart of Hope Dead Ends

The Apple Tart of Hope by Sarah Moore Fitzgerald

Dead Ends by Erin Jade Lange

Half Bad (Half Bad, #1) Only Ever Yours

Half Bad by Sally Green

Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill

Smart The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender

Smart by Kim Slater

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

Review: A Tale of Two Beasts by Fiona Roberton

| Tasha

tale of two beasts

A Tale of Two Beasts by Fiona Roberton

Released March 1, 2015

First we hear the story from one point of view, then the other.  A little girl tells of walking in the woods and seeing a little beast in the forest.  He was stuck in the tree and very sad, so she rescued him and took him home with her.  There she bathed him, dressed him in a hat and sweater, gave him nuts to eat and built him a house out of a cardboard box.  She even walked him in a leash to give him exercise.  But in the end, he escaped out of the window.  Alone in her bed, she couldn’t sleep and then the beast returned to get his hat so they headed off into the woods together.  But she couldn’t stop wondering about why he came back.  The second half of the book is told from the little animal’s point of view and it’s a very different perspective.  But in the end, the two of them found a connection despite their different ways of seeing what happened.

Roberton could have kept this book solely about perspectives and had it be full-on humor, but instead she manages to imbue the book with a real heart.  The connection between the two “beasts” is slow to come, with the final moment of real understanding being so freeing for both of them as they in turn realize that the other one is not quite as bad as they had thought.  Using similar language for both stories in that moment really shows their connection, particularly because otherwise their perspectives had been so very different.

Roberton uses her art to frame the story, showing the same exact story not only verbally from different perspectives but also vividly in the images as different from one another.  One moment that stands out is the cardboard box home that she builds the creature, which he detests.  The illustrations show her pleasure at it and then in turn his trapped feeling of being in the box with nothing to do.  And don’t miss their final dash together into the woods and then their clothing hanging on tree branches side-by-side.  Freedom!

Cleverly crafted and told, this picture book explores points of view and how connections are possible even with different beasts.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from online copy from Kane Miller.

2015 Notable Children’s Books

| Tasha

Notable seal image

The Association for Library Service to Children have announced their list of the 2015 Notable Children’s Books.  The books are selected by committee and are defined as “Worthy of note or notice, important, distinguished, outstanding. As applied to children’s books, notable should be thought to include books of especially commendable quality, books that exhibit venturesome creativity, and books of fiction, information, poetry and pictures for all age levels (birth through age 14) that reflect and encourage children’s interests in exemplary ways.”

The list covers preschool through grade 8.  Lots of great reads!

Review: Here in the Garden by Briony Stewart

| Tasha

here in the garden

Here in the Garden by Briony Stewart

Released March 1, 2015.

This import from Australia tells the seasonal story of a boy and his garden.  A boy spends time in his backyard, but is missing someone.  The wind blows, he plants seedlings in the garden, and dreams of his special someone joining his side.  When the rain comes, he watches from the back steps, still missing the one who would love to see the garden turn so green.  Summer comes with its sunshine and heat and the boy continues to feel his loss but begins to realize that he can still be in touch with the one he misses by being out in nature and enjoying the same things they used to do together.

Stewart beautifully allows the book to speak to anyone who has experienced loss.  In the end though, this book is clearly about the loss of a pet rabbit, the same one who is pictured at the boy’s side throughout the story.  That reveal is done tenderly and gently, clearly tying the boy to nature and to his memories of all the times they had together.  It’s beautifully and caringly presented.

Stewart’s art is washed in watercolors, colors that sweep and blow across the page, evoking the movement of air and the freshness of outdoors.  Though the book is filled with loneliness, the art remains resolutely lovely and cheery.  Even the one in the dark of night is filled with a light that illuminates.

A quiet story of grief, loss and the healing power of nature, this is a lovely little foreign title.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from digital galley received from Kane Miller.

Review: Red by Michael Hall

| Tasha

red

Red: A Crayon’s Story by Michael Hall

A blue crayon labeled as red is not very good at being red at all. His fire trucks were all wrong. He thought more practice might help, but his strawberries didn’t look anything like Scarlet’s. When he tried to mix with other colors, like Yellow to make orange, it turned very green on him. His parents tried to warm him up with a scarf, but it didn’t work either. Everyone had advice for him, like just trying harder or sharpening himself to a new point. Nothing made any difference. Then he made a new friend who asked him to make an ocean for her boat to sail on. Red protested at first because oceans aren’t red, but then agreed to try. And suddenly he realized that he had been blue all along!

Told in symbolism that children will immediately understand, this book works on a variety of levels.  It can inspire children to be who they really are on the inside and to be true to that and not the labels that society puts on you. Others will read it as a metaphor for being gay or transgendered and I think it works beautifully for that as well.  Perhaps the best praise that can be given this book is that it can mean so many different things to people.

Hall’s artwork is simple and lovely. His various crayons are different heights and have wonderful color names that range from more normal colors to “Cocoa Bean” and “Hazelnut” and “Grape.”  They all have something to say too, helpful and not-so-helpful alike.  But they are Red’s community and children will see in them things that are said to people who are different in some way.

A celebration of inner diversity, this picture book is all about accepting and celebrating our differences.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from HarperCollins.

Review: In by Nikki McClure

| Tasha

in

In by Nikki McClure

It’s the perfect day to stay in, in your pajamas, inside the house, even hiding inside a basket with your toy giraffe.  A child plays that he is a rocket ship in space.  He puts milk in his tea and marmalade in popovers.  It’s all about being in for him.  But then he looks out the window and decides to play in the rain and in the puddles.  He wants to be out, outside, peeking out of branches.  He will even stay out at night with the owls.  In the end though, he is happy to head back in and get in bed in the warm house. 

Simply told and beautifully illustrated, this picture book explores the opposites of in and out in a poetic and vivid way.  Woven into the narrative, the words of in and out play against one another and even together to build the experience of a young child at play.  Every child will enjoy seeing how they too like the differences between in and out.

McClure’s illustrations are just as wonderful as always.  Done in paper cuts, they are detailed enough that one could mistake them for pen and ink at times.  The play of white and black against the sunny yellow is beautifully done with the yellow being sunshine, moonlight, and marmalade at times.

A day of play combined with the concepts of in and out will have toddlers and little ones inspired to spend their own days both in and out of the house.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy received from Abrams Appleseed.

Review: Gingerbread for Liberty by Mara Rockliff

| Tasha

gingerbread for liberty

Gingerbread for Liberty: How a German Baker Helped Win the American Revolution by Mara Rockliff, illustrated by Vincent X. Kirsch

German-born Christopher Ludwick had come to the Colonies as a young man looking for the opportunity to create his own bakery.  He did just that, creating gorgeous gingerbread for his town.  When the Revolutionary War began, he was eager to defend his America in any way he could, so he headed off to join General George Washington.  When he got there, the soldiers were hungry and complaining about the quality of food they were getting.  Ludwick jumped into action, feeing the armies bread from his ovens.  But the dangers weren’t done yet.  The King of England pulled together armies from other countries and sent them into battle.  The soldiers came from Germany and Ludwick offered to see if he could convince them not to fight.  Once again it was food and the promise of having enough to eat that convinced the soldiers to lay down their arms.  Many battles later, the war was won, but Ludwick and General Washington had one final mammoth baking task ahead of them.

Rockliff keeps the tone of this book quite lighthearted even as Ludwick finds himself taking grave risks with his life.  The writing is jolly and merry throughout.  The tone suits this baker whose optimism shines on the page and whose patriotism seemed to know no limits.  His accomplishments exceed what is shown in this picture book.  Make sure to read the Author’s Note at the end of the book to learn more about this amazing patriot and what he did for children and education as well as liberty.

Kirsch’s illustrations are a gingery delight.  Done in the forms of elaborate gingerbread cookies, the characters are shown as flat brown cookies with plenty of icing.  From the brown outlines to the white lines of icing, there is no mistaking what they are meant to be.  They too add a sweet and optimistic feel to this jolly picture book.

An unsung hero of the Revolutionary War and beyond, this picture book celebrates the impact that one man can have in making history.  Appropriate for ages 6-8.

Reviewed from library copy.