Picture Books

Review: The Day I Lost My Superpowers by Michael Escoffier

| Tasha

day i lost my superpowers

The Day I Lost My Superpowers by Michael Escoffier, illustrated by Kris Di Giacomo

Told in first person, this picture book celebrates the super hero in all of us.  The child narrating the book learned that they had superpowers when they were first able to fly (tossed in the air by a parent) and from there kept working and practicing to develop their superpowers more and more.  Making things disappears works sometimes on things like cupcakes, but sometimes doesn’t on things like peas.  Going through walls and walking on the ceiling can get you into trouble.  But sometimes you wonder where your powers came from.  Does your mother have powers too?  Just wait until you see the incredible power of the mother in this book!

I love picture books where the narrator is telling a different story than the pictures, and this one works particularly well.  Escoffier has created a great protagonist here, a child who sees the potential for wonder everywhere, particularly in themselves.  Just take a lot of imagination and anything at all is possible, even turning invisible.

Di Giacomo’s illustrations tell the real story here.  The child is often destructive, never really displaying powers, and at the same time is clearly telling the truth from their own point of view.  The illustrations allow the child to be androgynous and the text keeps them that way too.  This is a book that celebrates being whatever you want to be in both images and words.

Funny, honest and a treat, this picture book will be celebrated by any child who owns their own cape.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Enchanted Lion Books.

Review: Gaston by Kelly DiPucchio

| Tasha

gaston

Gaston by Kelly DiPucchio, illustrations by Christian Robinson

Gaston lives with his mother and his three siblings, Fi-Fi, Foo-Foo, and Ooh-La-La.  They are all poodles, but Gaston is something else.  He worked hard to be the best poodle puppy he could be, not slobbering, barking correctly and walking gracefully.  When the poodle family went to the park, they met a bulldog family there that had its own unusual family member who looked like a poodle.  There had clearly been a mix up!  So Gaston switches places with Antoinette.  Now the families look just the way they should, but neither Antoinette or Gaston seem to feel right in their “correct” families.  What is a dog to do?

Right from the first pages, readers will know that there is something unusual about Gaston and how he fits into his family.  It all becomes clear once the other dog family appears in the story and readers may think that fixing the mix up is the resolution of the story.  Happily, it isn’t and the book becomes more about where you feel you fit in rather than where the world might place you.  Gaston is a great mix of energetic bulldog puppy and also a prim poodle attitude.  Antoinette is the reverse, a delicate poodle who plays like a bulldog. 

Robinson’s illustrations are done in acrylic paint that gives texture to the images.  The bold illustrations have bursts of color throughout and are done in a large format that will work well when shared with a group.  All of the dogs have charm, though readers will immediate fall for the bright spunk of Gaston in particular. 

A book about adoption and families that doesn’t hit too hard with the message of inclusiveness and diversity.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Review: Naughty Kitty! by Adam Stower

| Tasha

naughty kitty

Naughty Kitty! by Adam Stower

A follow up to Silly Doggy!, this book also features Lily and now a very large cat.  From the end pages, readers will know that there is an animal loose from the zoo.  Lily though is far too taken up with bringing her new kitten home.  Her mother was sure that Kitty wouldn’t be any trouble at all.  At first that was true, but when Lily left the kitten alone in the kitchen for just a moment, she returned to find it completely trashed.  What Lily doesn’t know but the readers could see clearly was that the tiger that had escaped from the zoo was the one who made the mess.  The same thing happened when Lily left Kitty alone in the living room.  There is even a rug that is ruined with an accident of large proportions.  Happily, Lily remains completely oblivious to the tiger and in the end Kitty gets the credit rather than the blame for what the tiger has done. 

Stower’s humor is zingy and broad here.  He doesn’t hold back on the visual jokes or on Lily’s reactions to the actually sedate little cat.  Children will immediately get the humor of mistaken identity and will pay close attention to spot the tiger on the pages where Lily can’t seem to see him.  The ending is completely satisfying, particularly because Lily continues to be oblivious to what is actually happening around her and readers will be surprised by a full view of the truth as well.

The art tells much of the story here with the narrative almost entirely from Lily’s perspective.  The tiger can be spotted right before each disaster and right afterwards too.  The illustrations are energetic and filled with action and the entire book reads like a cartoon episode.

Funny and a great read aloud, this book is sure to keep attention focused and kids giggling.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Orchard Books.

Review: The Hula-Hoopin’ Queen by Thelma Lynne Godin

| Tasha

hula-hoopin queen

The Hula-Hoopin’ Queen by Thelma Lynne Godin, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton

Kameeka just knows she can beat Jamara at hula hooping, but her mother reminds her that today is Miz Adeline’s birthday, so she can’t go and hula hoop.  Instead Kameeka has to help get ready for the party.  Kameeka helps sweep, dust, wash floors, clean windows, and peel potatoes.  Her mother makes a cake but Kameeka is so distracted that she sets the temperature too low and the cake is ruined.  So her mother sends her out to get more sugar.  On the way home from the store, Kameeka meets Jamara and the two start competing for who can hoop the longest.  It isn’t until another of their family friends walks up that Kameeka remembers Miz Adeline’s party.  Now Kameeka is going to have to explain why there isn’t a cake at the party.  But some quick thinking finds a solution and then Kameeka herself is in for a surprise, hula hoop style.

This clever picture book shows different elements of a community.  There are moments of good-natured competition, times that you have to put your own wishes aside and think of others, and other times where forgiveness is important too.  Godin manages to wrap all of this into a very readable book that invites readers into the heart of a tight-knit community where the older generation may just has some tricks up their sleeves too.

The illustrations by Brantley-Newton show a diverse urban community with busy streets and brightly-colored stores and shops.  She uses patterns to create the curbs on the road, wall coverings and floor textures.  Despite being animated and dynamic, the illustrations keep a lightness on the page that keeps it sunny.

Community-driven, intergenerational and a great look at personal responsibility, this book has a wonderful warmth and charm.  Appropriate for ages 5-7.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: The Numberlys by William Joyce

| Tasha

numberlys

The Numberlys by William Joyce, illustrated by Christina Ellis

In a world where there are only numbers, everything is very orderly and neat.  But it’s also very gray, even the food.  Then five friends started to wonder if there was something more than numbers, something different!  So they started inventing and they slowly came up with letters.  And when they reached the final letter Z, things started to change.  Color entered their dreary lives as the letters fell into place.  Once the letters formed words, real changes started and the entire world was flooded with color and yummy foods and possibilities. 

Based on the app, this is a second picture book from the creators of The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, which also started as an app.  Joyce creates a numeric and order-filled world reminiscent of Orwell’s 1984 in the first pages of the book.  The text here is very simple, allowing most of the storytelling to be done by the illustrations.  Joyce keeps a light hand here and uses humor to show how dark the world is.  Who could imagine a world without jellybeans?

It is Ellis’ art that brings this world to life.  Her orderly world has the feel of wooden toy soldiers and the five friends are wonderfully different and unique even before they invent the alphabet.  The gray tones of the early part of the book give way to jellybean colors that jump on the page. 

This celebration of words and books also examines the importance of independent thought and creativity.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Review: Hermelin by Mini Grey

| Tasha

hermelin

Hermelin: The Detective Mouse by Mini Grey

Released August 5, 2014.

Hermelin is a mouse who lives in the attic of Number 33 Offley Street.  His attic is filled with books and boxes and a typewriter that Hermelin uses to write with.  When Hermelin notices that the Offley Street Notices board is filled with people missing things, he knows just what he has to do.  So he starts working as a mouse detective and solving the mysteries of Offley Street.  He does this by noticing things and then leaving typed notes for the people to help them find their missing items.  Then when tragedy almost strikes the youngest person on Offley Street, Hermelin is the one to save the day!  Soon everyone wants to know exactly who this Hermelin person is, so they invite him to a thank you party in his honor.  He just isn’t quite what they were expecting…

A new Mini Grey book is always a treat and this one is perfectly lovely.  Hermelin is a winning character with plenty of pluck as he goes about solving mysteries.  Happily, the mysteries are just as small as Hermelin himself, making the book all the more jaunty and fun.  Grey spends some time showing Hermelin’s attic and how he lives.  The small details here add a rich warmth to the book and it is also the details that create such a vibrant world on Offley Street with the humans as well.

Done in her signature style, the illustrations are filled with details.  One can read the cereal box, the milk carton, and the titles on the books as well as giggling at the flavors of cat food on the shelf.  Hermelin himself is a lovely white mouse with inquisitive eyes and a face that shows emotions clearly.  The entire book is a pleasure to immerse yourself into and simply enjoy.

Clever and filled with adventure, the vast appeal of this detective story is no mystery at all.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from digital galley received from Edelweiss and Knopf Books for Young Readers.

Review: The Pilot and the Little Prince by Peter Sis

| Tasha

pilot and the little prince 

The Pilot and the Little Prince: The Life of Antoine de Saint-Exupery by Peter Sis

Born in a time when airplanes were just arriving in the skies, French author Antoine de Saint-Exupery had dreams of flying himself.  At age 12, Antoine made his own flying machine that didn’t work.  He spent his days at the nearby airfield watching the pilots fly.  He even convinced one of them to take him up with him.  After serving in the military, Antoine took a job delivering the mail by plane.  Antoine was put in charge of an isolated airfield himself.  It was there that he started to write, but he also kept on flying, helping create new air routes in South America.  He returned to France eventually and got married.  He continued to both write and fly even after moving to New York, having famous adventures and also creating his beloved Little Prince.

Sis beautifully shows the life of a man with two strong passions: writing and aviation.  He very effectively ties the two together, showing how they support one another though they may seem so separate and apart.  This is a book less about the creative process of an artist and more about the adventures that he had that inspired his writing and the eventual creation of a character who is beloved around the world. 

As always, Sis’ illustrations are dazzling in their minute details.  He playfully puts faces on mountains that form the landscape below the plane.  He creates the Manhattan skyline in fine lines with the red of the sun peeking over the horizon.  And then there are the smaller touches on the page that one lingers over and that add further information as well.

A dynamic picture book biography of an unusual author, this book demonstrates that there are many paths to becoming a writer and that the best path is your very own.  Appropriate for ages 6-9.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: The Cosmobiography of Sun Ra by Chris Raschka

| Tasha

cosmobiography of sun ra

The Cosmobiography of Sun Ra by Chris Raschka

Caldecott Medalist Chris Raschka has both written and illustrated this picture book biography of the jazz musician Sun Ra.  Sun Ra claimed that he came from Saturn.  He came to earth in 1914 in Alabama and he was named Herman and called Sonny.  From the very beginning, Sonny loved music.  He learned to be a musician as a young child and also studied about philosophy.  As a teen, Sun Ra was already a professional musician.  When World War II came, he refused to become a soldier and instead was labeled a conscientious objector.  After the war, Sun Ra returned to his music and formed The Arkestra.  They made wild jazz music, created their own costumes, and toured the world sharing their music.  Sun Ra left earth in 1993, having changed it for the better with his music.

Raschka has created a celebration of Sun Ra on these pages.   His text is playful and invites readers into the book.  It opens with the idea that Sun Ra was from Saturn and scoffs at that, but then plays along with it as a premise throughout the book.  Intelligently, children are invited in on the humor and can see what is really happening that way.

Raschka’s illustrations are bright and loose.  They suit the jazz of the music with their free flowing lines, deep colors and they way they capture landscapes as well.  These are illustrations that celebrate music on a deep level.

A beautiful picture book about a jazz legend, this picture book should be welcome in all library collections.  Appropriate for ages 6-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Emily’s Blue Period by Cathleen Daly

| Tasha

emilys blue period

Emily’s Blue Period by Cathleen Daly, illustrated by Lisa Brown

An intriguing mix of subjects, this picture book combines art with divorce and it works gorgeously.  Emily really likes the work of Picasso and the way that he put body parts in odd places in his cubist work.  It reflects the way that Emily feels about her own family life, with her father now living in a different home than the rest of them.  Emily tries to help her father pick out furniture for his new home, but it’s not easy and her little brother quickly becomes problematic at the store and has to be carried out.  Even art becomes less fun for Emily.  She feels blue a lot of the time and not like using any other colors.  Then her art teacher shows her about collage, and Emily finds a way to express her feelings through her art and depict her family in their own unique style.

Told in short chapters, this picture book is just right for elementary students.  The unique combination of subjects works particularly well, each supporting the other and allowing them to be explored in more depth.  Daly manages to use art to show the emotions of children experiencing a divorce and the divorce to show the importance of art in expressing yourself when you can’t find the words. 

Brown’s art is light-handed and friendly.  She captures Picasso’s art with that same light touch and creates Emily’s blue time with plenty of blue but no darkness.  The result is a book that is filled with light, despite it’s more somber subjects.  It keeps the book from being too serious and allows the emotions to surface nicely.

A striking combination of art and real life, this picture book truly shows the power of art in one’s life.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from library copy.