Picture Books

Review: Boot & Shoe by Marla Frazee

| Tasha

boot and shoe

Boot & Shoe by Marla Frazee

Boot and Shoe were born in the same litter and now live together in the same house.  They eat out of the same bowl, pee on the same tree, and sleep in the same bed.  They do spend their days apart though, one on the front porch and one on the back porch.  Everything was blissful until a squirrel started messing with them one day.  After a ferocious chasing around the house, Shoe found himself on the back porch, where Boot should be, and Boot was on the front porch with no Shoe in sight.  The two waited and waited for the other to show up, they missed dinner, and got drenched in a rainstorm, but the other one never showed up.  They even made sure to check the other porch, but they both did it at the same time and missed each other.  How will they ever find one another?  Read the book and find out!

Frazee has written a book that is very funny but also filled with a wonderful friendship between these two identical dogs.  The fact that they spend their days apart but their activities so closely meshed adds to the pleasure of the book.  The wonderful peace of the way they spend their day is just so perfect that it’s almost a relief when chaos enters with the squirrel.  Then the fun begins!

Frazee’s art is as warm as ever.  She has a wonderful comedic timing that is shown off particularly well in this story with two dogs and two interwoven storylines.  The squirrel chase alone, captured in a single two-page spread, is worth the read.

Another treat from the amazing Frazee, this book is pure fun and a great read-aloud too!  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Beach Lane Books.

Review: A Rock Is Lively by Dianna Hutts Aston

| Tasha

rock is lively

A Rock Is Lively by Dianna Hutts Aston, illustrated by Sylvia Long

Another stellar collaboration by the team that created An Egg Is Quiet, A Seed Is Sleepy, and A Butterfly Is Patient, this nonfiction picture book focuses on rocks and minerals.  The book begins with rock melted as magma beneath the earth.  It talks about what makes up rocks and how old they are, as well as the rocks that we find in space.  Rocks as tools and weapons are explored, mixed in with the amazing rock interiors that surprise and delight. The different types of rocks finish off the factual piece of the book, but the bright and beautiful illustrations continue all the way to the final lapis lazuli endpages. 

Aston manages to write nonfiction as if each sentence is filled with delight.  Her enthusiasm for the subjects she writes about is evident in her writing, inviting young readers to get just as interested as she is.  The art carries that same enthusiasm in its bright colors and details.  Done in watercolor, the colors are surprisingly deep and lush. 

If you have the first three books from these amazing collaborators, this is a must-buy.  It should be on the shelves of any school or public library, sure to get young people exploring a new subject.  Appropriate for ages 7-9.

Reviewed from copy received from Chronicle Books.

Review: Who Built the Stable? by Ashley Bryan

| Tasha

who built the stable

Who Built the Stable?: A Nativity Poem by Ashley Bryan

Dazzling art meets an equally vibrant poem in this Christmas book that focuses on the shepherd boy who built the stable where Jesus was born.  Award-winning illustrator and author, Ashley Bryan has crafted a story of the young boy who built the stable, a boy who is also a shepherd and a carpenter.  It is a story of craft and devotion, also one of diversity and acceptance.  Told in rhyming verse, this is a Christmas story that celebrates children and all they have to offer at the most joyous time of the year. 

While the poem has gentle rhymes, it also has a beautiful strength of story at its core that makes it very appropriate for the celebration of the Nativity.  Creating a story of another child whose own service echoes that of Jesus’ own is a powerful statement about how we can all have a role no matter how young we are. 

The art here is simply spectacular.  It reminds me of stained glass with its thicker outlines and brilliant colors.  Filled with swirls of colors, the images fairly dance on the page, creating a new vision of the holiday that is much more than green, red and white.  Beautiful!

Add some real beauty to your holiday with this bright, vibrant book that speaks to the true meaning of Christmas.  Appropriate for ages 5-7.

Reviewed from copy received from Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Review: Underground by Denise Fleming

| Tasha

underground

Underground by Denise Fleming

Explore the wonders of what happens underground in a garden with this picture book from the Caldecott Honor medalist, Denise Fleming.  This book takes the joys of digging in the dirt one step farther, offering a simple poem that invites children to explore and then illustrations that show a cross section that reveals all of the action happening below the surface.  Roots grow, moles and chipmunks make tunnels, a turtle lays her eggs, worms are pulled by a robin. 

Fleming’s simple poetry makes this a great option for small toddlers, those same ones with the dirty hands from digging in the dirt.  She then takes her signature pulp-paper collage and brings life to the book.  The pulp paper offers a texture and richness that is specific to that medium.  It is bright, deeply colored, and has a dimension that is remarkable.  Here the use of it to build that rich underground world is ideal.  The illustrations are large enough to use with a group, but detailed enough that there is plenty to explore up close.

Turn to the back pages for more details about the animals shown in the illustrations.  Ideal to read in the garden with a pail and shovel nearby for immediate exploring.  It will also make a great addition for any spring-themed units or story times.  Appropriate for ages 1-3.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Mice by Rose Fyleman

| Tasha

mice

Mice by Rose Fyleman, illustrated by Lois Ehlert

Ehlert has combined her bright collage illustrations with a poem from Rose Fyleman.  The poem is all about why mice are nice.  They have small faces, pink ears and white teeth.  No one else seems to like mice, because they run around the house at night and nibble on things.  But in the end, mice are nice. 

It’s a very simple poem with a wonderful playful spirit.  Ehlert’s illustrations add to that playfulness with her triangular mice who run their jaunty way through the pages.  The two of them are a delight as they munch on Cheerios in the baggie, try on lipstick, and peek into mirrors.  Ehlert labels objects in her illustrations too, offering new words as vocabulary.

This is one fun picture book filled with bright illustrations and a cheery attitude.  And I think it and mice are nice too.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy received from Beach Lane Books.

Review: Island: A Story of the Galapagos by Jason Chin

| Tasha

island

Island: A Story of the Galapagos by Jason Chin

Follow the birth of a group of islands to the present day in this book that beautifully documents the wonders of the Galapagos.  Opening with the drama of a volcanic eruption six million years ago, the book shows how plants and animals arrive at a new island in the ocean.  As time goes by, the island turns from barren rock to a place of lush green.  Specific attention is paid to the evolution of creatures and plants that are found only on these islands.  Young readers will fully understand why finch beaks grew larger, seagulls got larger eyes, and tortoise shells changed shape.  The book ends with Darwin arriving on the shores of one of the islands.  This book is a celebration of these islands and the wonders of nature.

Chin’s book offers information that is solid and fascinating packaged with illustrations that capture the details of what is being explained.  It makes for a book that is bright and energized and that is clearly nonfiction as well.  The story of the birth and life of an island makes for a magnificent tale that readers are sure to respond to.

In his art, Chin brings the reader up close to what is happening on the island.  We get to look between the mangrove roots at sharks, watch pelicans feast on fish in the lagoons, and see land iguanas float on logs to reach the island.  Even better, as I mentioned earlier, the process of evolution is detailed so that readers can see the gradual but necessary changes that occurred.

This is one incredible nonfiction book that teachers, parents and students will enjoy looking through and learning from.  Appropriate for ages 6-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

Goodreads Choice Awards 2012–Picture Books

| Tasha

The GoodReads Choice Awards were voted on by users of GoodReads.  The results are now in and the Best Picture Book of 2012 is:

Olivia and the Fairy Princess by Ian Falconer

The other top vote getters that round out the top ten are:

  

The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? by Mo Willems

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin

 

This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen

Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Peter Brown

 

Listen to My Trumpet! by Mo Willems

Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett

  

Boy + Bot by Ame Dyckman, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

One Cool Friend by Toni Buzzeo, illustrated by David Small

Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems

Review: Animal 123 & Animal Spots and Stripes by Britta Teckentrup

| Tasha

animal 123 animal spots and stripes

Animal 123 by Britta Teckentrup

Animal Spots and Stripes by Britta Teckentrup

This pair of lift-the-flap books for preschoolers are very cleverly done.  My favorite of the two is the counting one, where the flap on each page lifts to reveal the next number and another one of the animals to count.  Spots and Strips also has flaps which in this case lift to reveal related animals with either spots or stripes that contrast and complement the animals on the main page.  The flaps on both books are large and sturdy, making these books that libraries could have on their shelves.

Teckentrup’s graphics are really what make these books special.  Her use of bold colors and large sized illustrations are striking.  The animals are jaunty and filled with life, fairly bouncing off of the page.  Add the appeal of lifting flaps and you have books that small children will ask to have read to them again and again.  Even more special is that the flaps are really part of the design of the books themselves.  They are much more than just added appeal, instead they are inherent to the way the books function. 

Great picks for libraries, but also equally great picks for holiday gifts for toddlers and preschoolers.  Appropriate for ages 2-4, as long as they are past the board book phase and able to be gentle with pages. 

Review: A Perfect Day by Carin Berger

| Tasha

perfect day

A Perfect Day by Carin Berger

Celebrate a wonderful winter day in this picture book!  Join the children as they make the first tracks in the snow, glide on skis, and lose their dog in the drifts.  There are snowball fights and building snowmen too.  Others make a fort in the snow and sled down big hills.  There is ice skating, snow angels, and even an icicle stand.  This is one gorgeous snowy day.

Told in very simple words, this picture book really shows what makes for an exceptional wintry day.  The collage illustrations are really what make the book shine.  The snowy hills are textured by the faint lines on pages and by the words that had been written on them.  Against this subtle background, the bright-colored and sharp-edged characters pop.  The trees too stand dark and strong against the white.

A wonderful winter read, this picture book is a perfect ending to your own snowy day.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Greenwillow Books.