Picture Books

Leaf Trouble

| Tasha

Leaf Trouble by Jonathan Emmett, illustrated by Caroline Jayne Church

Pip, the squirrel,  lives in an oak tree and knows that tree very well.  But something has been happening so slowly that he never noticed: the leaves have changed color and are starting to fall off!  Pip runs around and tries to catch all of the leaves, he and his sister gather them into a big pile, and then they try to reattach some.  That doesn’t work, of course, but his mother appears then and explains about the tree needing to rest over the winter.  She then explains that the leaves are like the setting sun each evening, disappearing but returning in the morning.  The book ends with the young squirrels comparing the reds and yellows of the leaves with the colors of the sunset.

I have read many picture books over the years about children and animals panicking when leaves start to fall from the trees.  But this one deserves a spot on your library shelves because of the intelligent tie-in with the setting sun.  Children will immediately understand the connection to something they experience each and every day.

Emmett has written this in a voice that should be read aloud.  His prose has depth, humor and a nice cadence.  The first paragraph of the book is inviting, clever, and sets the tone nicely for the rest to come.  Church’s illustrations are perfect for the seasonal tone of the book.  Done with paper art, they are filled with tumbling bright-colored leaves that have a dimension and shadow to them.  They will work well with a large group of children because of their size and color.  

A great combination of author and illustrator, this autumnal title will have you falling for it immediately.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Our World of Water

| Tasha

Our World of Water: Children and Water around the World by Beatrice Hollyer

This book focuses on one of the world’s most precious things: water.  Water and its use is seen through the eyes of six children who live around the world.  From Peru to Mauritania, from Tajikistan to Ethiopia, from the United States to Bangladesh, each child uses water to bathe and drink, but there the similarities end as we see deserts and monsoons.  Hollyer’s use of bright, clear photographs helps to bring our understanding of our own relationship with water into clarity as we also learn about the hardships of other cultures from other parts of the world. 

Hollyer’s photographs are windows into the lives of these children.  They show their homes, siblings, families, and daily lives.  Though it focuses on water, readers will also get a sense of the overall culture as they read.  Hollyer has written the prose with simplicity and a great feel for the young reader.  There is just enough detail to be easy to read and interesting. 

Expect a lot of conversation after sharing this with a group of children or even one child.  This is a winning look at our world and our water.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

Stick Man

| Tasha

 

Stick Man by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler.

Stick Man lives in his family tree with his Stick Lady Love and their three stick children.  One morning when out for an early morning jog, he is seized by a dog and used to play fetch.  Then a girl finds him and uses him for a game of Pooh Sticks.  On his misadventures go as he is woven into a swan’s nest, used as a mast for a flag on a sand castle, and many more things.  The seasons change and he becomes the arm of a snowman until finally he is laid in the fireplace as a perfect piece of kindling.  But never fear, someone approaches with a Ho-ho-ho who will make sure that Stick Man gets back to his family.

Donaldson’s words are a delight to read aloud.  She has refrains that repeat as Stick Man is captured by the next person.  She uses rhythm throughout the book to create a brisk pace and jauntiness.  With her style, there is no fear that the repetition in the storyline will become stale.  Scheffler’s illustrations reflect that same jaunty, energetic quality.  They are funny and clever.  I found myself charmed by small details like the Stick Lady’s hair and skirt.  His illustrations gently mark the change in seasons from spring through to Christmas. 

While this is a Christmas book in the end, it is also just a delightful read that could work for talk about the seasons.  It would also make a great inspiration story for children to build their own characters from sticks, twigs, leaves and pipe cleaners.  What fun!  A brilliant read-aloud, this book deserves a spot on the crowded Christmas shelves.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Secret World of Walter Anderson

| Tasha

The Secret World of Walter Anderson by Hester Bass, illustrated by E. B. Lewis.

This picture book biography offers such a strong portrait of American master Walter Anderson that readers will find themselves transported to a different place and viewing things from a new perspective.  Readers follow Anderson on his twelve mile journey to Horn Island, long and solitary row from the mainland.  Though there were no people on the island, Anderson had companions in the animals that lived there.  He kept a journal of his time on the island and of course created art while he was there for weeks at a time.  After presenting Anderson’s unique way of working, the book builds tension about what is in Anderson’s locked room.  The beauty of the reveal after his death is captivating.  This is a true celebration of an artist as author and illustrator embrace his work and life.

The book opens with three strong lines that I found entirely engaging:

There once was a man whose love of nature was as wide as the world.

There once was an artist who needed to paint as much as he needed to breathe.

There once was an islander who lived in a cottage at the edge of the Mississippi, where the sea meets the earth and the sky.

Turning the page, readers will see Anderson climbing a tree to reach a nest and out in the water up to his shoulders to get close to another subject.  Bass’ text draws us into Anderson’s perspective, joyously depicting the barren island and its animal inhabitants and deeply accepting his choices and lifestyle.  Lewis’ watercolor illustrations focus on Anderson himself in his chosen environment.  The various aspects of the island are shown in all of their colors, changing light, and beauty. 

At the end of the book, there is more detailed information about Walter Anderson, his artistic family, and the effect of Hurricane Katrina on their family homes and studios.  Readers of all ages will want to look at the photographs of Anderson’s work.  Make sure to turn all the way to the back for a photograph of that locked room.  Amazing!  There is also a nice bibliography for further reading.

This is a beautiful example of a picture book biography.  Highly recommended for art classes and to expand for children the role and work of an artist. Appropriate for ages 8-12.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

Check out another review at Chasing Ray.

Poetry Friday: Sky Magic

| Tasha

Sky Magic compilation by Lee Bennett Hopkins, illustrations by Mariusz Stawarski

The poems in this lovely compilations move from dawn to night, focusing on the sun, moon and stars.  You will find favorite poems mixed in with new delights.  The book is a lovely lullaby of poetry, filled with great images, wonderful verse, and inspiring language.  The poems are for children, but will speak to all readers.

The poems work well for children, but are not childish.  They are all elevated examples of children’s poetry, accessible and worth stretching for to reach.  Rather like the stars themselves.  Hopkins has paid attention to not only the length of poems, but the rhythm and flow between the poems too.   There are no jarring changes between poems, but instead it feels as if they grow from being next to one another.

Here is one of my favorites from the book.  The choice of which one to share was very difficult!

Moon Lullaby by Rebecca Kai Dotlich

Lull cats to sleep,

let children dream,

shine silver blue

on gentle stream.

Glaze the house

where sleepers sigh…

as hours

as nights

as years go by.

A truly lovely anthology of poems, this book deserves a place in every library.  It will also be a great book to read aloud when studying the sun, moon or stars.  A lovely poetic interlude in science, sounds lovely.  Appropriate for ages 4-8 and older.

Check out all of the Poetry Friday posts at Crossover.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

Also reviewed at Wild Rose Reader and Poetry for Children.

Applesauce Season

| Tasha

Applesauce Season by Eden Ross Lipson, illustrated by Mordicai Gerstein

A perfect book to ease into autumn!  A little boy and his family make applesauce every year just around the time school starts.  They go to the farmer’s market and pick out all sorts of apples for sauce and for eating.  The little boy is in charge of washing the apples when they get home and then his mother and grandmother cut them into pieces.  Into the pot they go with just the right amount of liquid.  When they soften, the little boy gets to help put them through a food mill.  Then a bit of butter, a pinch of salt and just the right amount of cinnamon sugar are added.  The father in the family doesn’t help with the applesauce, instead he makes things to go with it and applesauce cake to use the last of it up.  Throughout the fall, the family makes applesauce together with the color and taste of it changing as the season moves on.

The details of the making of the applesauce is the bulk of this story, though it is about not only the process but a family that cooks together and enjoys it immensely.  Lipson has just the right touch with the text which is explanatory and simple, allowing children to see how it is done.  One delightful part is how much the little boy is allowed to do.  Children will see themselves as part of the action rather than observers.  Gerstein adds the beaming faces of the family as they cook together, the bright colors of the apples, and the changing faces of the applesauce.  His illustrations are just as comforting and welcome as a warm spoonful of applesauce.

This is a lovely celebration of food and family with just the right sweetness and spice.  Highly recommended for apple story times and units, especially for those classrooms and libraries that create applesauce with the children.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

When Stella Was Very, Very Small

| Tasha

When Stella Was Very, Very Small by Marie-Louise Gay.

After several Stella books and some Sam books too, readers will get the treat of seeing a much younger Stella in this new picture book.  A tiny version of the imaginative Stella moves quickly from one imaginative idea to the next.  Stella races her rubber ducks in the bathtub, listens to the stories the trees tell in the wind, and explores the jungle of tall grass in her backyard.  By the end of the book, Stella is bigger and Sam has appeared so she has someone to share her stories and imagination with.

Gay portrays an imaginative child who happily plays in her own creative world alone but just as merrily includes a younger sibling.  Gay uses poetic words to describe Stella and her surroundings.  One of my favorites has the trees outside Stella’s windows talking in the evening.  It gives readers an even clearer sense of Stella’s internal world.  Beautifully and tangibly written and captured.  Gay’s illustrations are just as successful.  Her watercolors offer a vivid glimpse into Stella’s imagination.  Yet the illustrations are more about her reality than her imagination.  Done with just the right touch and tone, this book is a pleasure.

Readers who already love Stella and Sam will be the first in line for this book, but those who are just discovering them will find themselves welcomed into a wondrous new world.  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Nonfiction Monday – Life in the Boreal Forest

| Tasha

Life in the Boreal Forest by Brenda Z. Guiberson, illustrations by Gennady Spirin.

Released on September 29, 2009.

This book so clearly captures the beauty and life in the boreal forest that one can almost hear the birds and smell the freshness of the air.  The great northern forest stretches from Alaska and Canada to Scandinavia and Russia Showing the brevity of the northern summer, the activity of the stark winter months, and the glory of the spring and the return of warmth will bring readers face-to-face with nature and its drama.  Spirin’s illustrations show delicate detail, dazzling vistas, and many many animals.  This is a book to sink into, explore and learn.

Guiberson’s text is filled with sounds, from bird calls to wolves howling to smaller noises like hares hopping on snow.  Each sound and its explanation brings this unique ecosystem to life.  Her words create an understanding through the small details of the importance of this forest for all of us.  Spirin excels as capturing animals with their small details and yet showing the forest itself as more than a background, as a living thing.  Her art is large and breathtaking even while the details are shown.

Highly recommended, this book is a great nature book for children.  For children in the north, this book is like coming home.  For everyone it is important to see forests celebrated in this way.  Appropriate for ages 6-9.

Reviewed from copy received from Henry Holt.

Nonfiction Monday – An Eye for Color: the Story of Josef Albers

| Tasha

An Eye for Color: the Story of Josef Albers by Natasha Wing, illustrated by Julia Breckenreid.

Josef Albers was born in Germany where he saw art everywhere including in the doors his father painted.  As he grew up, he worked with collage and different medium in his art.  When he traveled to Mexico, he found inspiration everywhere.  He began painting rectangles and noticing how colors changed depending on what is around them.  He set out to study color itself and eventually wrote a book, Interaction of Color.  Albers’ colorful squares play a major role in modern art, and readers of this book will understand his importance.

Wing has summed up Albers’ life in a way that is fascinating and very child-friendly.  Her language is simple while the concepts are large.  She has managed to convey facts of his life alongside the wonder of his discoveries.  I especially appreciate the portion of the book where she looks at color specifically, just as Albers does.  Breckenreid’s art pays homage to Albers with its playful use of color and strong use of shape.  She evokes Albers on every page.

Highly recommended for art classrooms but also as an accessible biography for children. Appropriate for ages 5-9.

Reviewed from copy received from Henry Holt.

Check out Natasha Wing’s blog!