Picture Books

Review: Fred’s Big Feelings by Laura Renauld

| Tasha

Fred's Big Feelings by Laura Renauld

Fred’s Big Feelings: The Life and Legacy of Mister Rogers by Laura Renauld, illustrated by Brigette Barrager (9781534441224)

This picture book biography offers a glimpse into the childhood of Mister Rogers along with a look at how he created his legendary program for children. Fred grew up a shy boy whose asthma kept him indoors. He found a way to express himself through music by playing the piano. In 1951, Fred saw children’s television and realized that he could perhaps use this new medium to explain to them how special they really are. By 1954, Fred had his first TV show on a local community-supported channel. It was done live and mainly improvised. In 1968, the first Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood aired with Fred Rogers as the host and his message of acceptance, community and compassion.

This bright and cheery look at Mister Rogers and his impact on children’s television lets readers see how a shy and quiet child transformed into a man speaking before Congress and creating a program that will be remembered by all who watched it. The illustrations are full of life with bright colors erupting from the television and inspiring young viewers. Several of Mister Rogers’ most notable episodes are also captured on the page.

Another winning Mister Roger’s picture book that is worth tuning in for. Appropriate for ages 5-7.

Reviewed from copy provided by Simon & Schuster.

 

Review: Hungry Jim by Laurel Snyder

| Tasha

Hungry Jim by Laurel Snyder

Hungry Jim by Laurel Snyder, illustrated by Chuck Groenink (9781452149875)

Jim wakes up one morning not feeling quite himself, after all he doesn’t usually have a tail to swish. His mother calls that she’s made pancakes for breakfast, but Jim isn’t in the mood for pancakes. He’s feeling beastly, so he heads downstairs for something delicious to eat, his mother! Jim is still hungry after that and heads out into the small town, munching on person after person. It’s not until he meets a hungry bear in the woods and Jim himself may be eaten that he manages to stop. On the way back, he spits out each of the people he ate. But he may not quite be done devouring things after all.

Everyone has some beasty part of their nature. This picture book captures that with a great sense of humor. It has connections to classic stories of gorging, but doesn’t end in quite the expected way, which is delightful. The creators mention Maurice Sendak in their dedication, and one immediately can connect this story with his. There is a great moment towards the end of the book where Jim returns to being human, but not entirely. It’s a reminder that even if we appear human, that beast still lingers and is hungry.

The art by Groenink has a distinct Sendak feel in its lines and color palette. The woods takes on a Wild Things vibe in its drama. The devouring is done in a very fairy tale style with no gore, just gulping, which takes the scariness away and also ties this nicely to classic stories like Little Red Riding Hood.

A book that is sure to appeal to your little beast. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Freedom Soup by Tami Charles

| Tasha

Freedom Soup by Tami Charles

Freedom Soup by Tami Charles, illustrated by Jacqueline Alcantara (9780763689773)

Celebrate the New Year in Haitian style with this picture book. It shares the tradition of making New Year’s soup that honors freedom and the end of slavery in Haiti. The soup is made every year by Haitians around the world and this year, Ti Gran is teaching Belle to make it. They turn on Haitian kompa music that sets the beat for their cooking. Herbs are ground in a mortar and pestle with meat then added. A boiled pumpkin is skinned by Belle. More ingredients are added to the pot after being chopped up. Then Ti Gran shares the story of Freedom Soup with Belle and the story of Haitians fighting for their own freedom from slavery. Soon family members come to celebrate freedom and the new year together, feasting on the soup that celebrates their history and traditions.

Charles’ writing has so many wonderful moments inside it. From Ti Gran telling Belle that she has “a heart made for cooking” to her descriptions of Ti Gran’s “dark-sky eyes” and the “pumpkiny-garlic smell” of the soup cooking. She takes the rhythm of the music and reflects that in her words too, so that one can almost hear it playing. The warmth of the kitchen, the beauty of generations working together, and the spirit of freedom all play across these pages.

The illustrations pick up the rhythms of the text and the music with Belle’s braids flying to the beat and her feet moving across the floor. Her sharp edges next to the soft curves of her grandmother make a visual music of their own. 

This is a delicious picture book worth celebrating. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy provided by Candlewick Press.

Review: Cherry Blossom and Paper Planes by Jef Aerts

| Tasha

Cherry Blossom and Paper Planes by Jef Aerts

Cherry Blossom and Paper Planes by Jef Aerts & Sanne te Loo (9781782505617)

Adin and Dina lived on the same farm. The two of them spent long days together picking cherries on the farm and climbing high in the cherry trees. They ate the cherries and kept the pits, planting them around town in the hopes that trees would grow. But then one day, Adin’s family decided to move to the city. Adin moved to an apartment building, far from any cherry trees. Dina gave him a bag of cherry pits to take with him. He spent time creating paper airplanes, loading them with pits and launching them off his balcony. Dina did get to visit once during their year apart. The two of them quickly fell back into being close friends. When spring came, the cherry pits were gone but a path of blooming trees led right back to the farm from the city. A path that just had to be followed.

This Dutch import has a lovely quiet to it. From the quiet friendship spent together in trees eating cherries to the quiet of loneliness for a close friend, all are captured on these pages. The emotions of a friend leaving are captured beautifully too as is the lasting connection between people and places. The writing is superb, celebrating cherries and trees and steadily building to that moment in spring when trees burst into bloom.

The art of this picture book celebrates the countryside and nature. The book captures the seasons with different colors and silhouettes of the trees. The rich green of summer turns to the browns of autumn to the whites of winter and then to a vibrant light green of spring that reaches to the city with its illumination on the page.

A lovely look at a cherry of a friendship. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy provided by Floris Books.

Review: Numenia and the Hurricane by Fiona Halliday

| Tasha

Numenia and the Hurricane by Fiona Halliday

Numenia and the Hurricane by Fiona Halliday (9781624149993)

Numenia was born in the Arctic with her two whimbrel sisters. At the autumn equinox, they faced a long migration from the far north all the way to the Caribbean along with thousands of other birds. On their journey they are hit by a hurricane, with winds and rain. Numenia is knocked off course, away from her sisters and the other birds. She finds herself tumbling into a city and landing on a windowsill. She rests there for awhile, but is drawn to fly south once again, only half the weight that she had started at. She flies alone until she gets farther south where she sees other birds and finds her sisters waiting for her.

Based on the true story of a whimbrel who was wearing a tracking device when she ran directly into a tropical storm. The device allowed scientists to see where she stopped to rest, how fast she went, and the impact of the storm on her long migration. She both battled the storm and then used the wind to her advantage and flew even faster with their help. Told in poetic lines, this picture book really explores the drama of the arduous migration that covers half the globe. From tiny chicks to quickly flying long distances, these birds are clearly heroes on our planet, their worlds larger than ours by far.

Halliday’s illustrations are dreamy, filled with downy chicks and feathery birds. She uses the natural settings to create moments of beauty, including the triumphant arrival in the south. The scenes in the city are hard and angular, adding to the drama of Numenia’s fall into the hardscape of the city away from nature.

A poetic and haunting look at migration. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from ARC provided by Page Street Kids.

2020 Charlotte Zolotow Award

| Tasha

The Children’s Cooperative Book Center (CCBC) at the University of Wisconsin has announced the 2020 Charlotte Zolotow Award winners. The award is given for outstanding writing in a picture book. Here are the winners:

WINNER

Johnny's Pheasant

Johnny’s Pheasant by Cheryl Minnema, illustrated by Julie Flett

 

HONOR BOOKS

Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story

Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard and illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal

A Map Into the World

A Map into the World by by Kao Kalia Yang and illustrated by Seo Kim

Pokko and the Drum

Pokko and the Drum by Matthew Forsythe

Saturday

Saturday by Oge Mora

Truman

Truman by Jean Reidy and illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins

 

HIGHLY COMMENDED TITLES

Beware of the Crocodile

Beware of the Crocodile by Martin Jenkins and illustrated by Satoshi Kitamura

Daniel's Good Day

Daniel’s Good Day by Micha Archer

Goodbye, Friend! Hello, Friend!

Goodbye Friend! Hello, Friend! by Cori Doerrfeld

My Papi Has a Motorcycle

My Papi Has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero and illustrated by Zeke Peña

One Fox: A Counting Book Thriller

One Fox: A Counting Thriller Book by Kate Read

Small in the City

Small in the City by Sydney Smith

The Thing about Bees: A Love Letter

The Thing about Bees by Shabazz Larkin

Review: Octopus Stew by Eric Velasquez

| Tasha

Octopus Stew by Eric Velasquez

Octopus Stew by Eric Velasquez (9780823437542)

Inspired by her grandson’s picture of Super Octo, his grandmother decides to make octopus stew. So the two set off for the fish market where she gets the biggest octopus in the store. The boy gets a warning about octopi on his phone, but she won’t listen to him. She starts the water and gets out the biggest pot when they get home. As the two sit together in the living room, a strange noise comes from the kitchen. The octopus is now so big that it has blown the lid off the pot! It grabs grandmother and holds on to her. Now it’s up to her grandson to figure out how to get an octopus to let go!

Velasquez has won both a Pura Belpre and a Coretta Scott King John Steptoe Award. Here, he writes a layered story that has a gatefold in the middle where the entire story is revealed to be just that, a tale being told. Cleverly, the book can be read both ways either as a story being shared aloud or as a full-on monster tale. However you choose to read it, the book has brisk pacing and plenty of action. It features a Latinx family with Spanish words and phrases sprinkled throughout the text.

The illustrations offer a dynamic superhero feel that works well, since the main character is a superhero fan. The action is captured with plenty of drama and the size of the octopus is enough to pose quite the threat.

Grab this picture book and squeeze it tight! Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy provided by Holiday House.

 

 

 

Review: The Hike by Alison Farrell

| Tasha

The Hike by Alison Farrell

The Hike by Alison Farrell (9781452174617)

Three girls head out on a hike together. It’s their favorite thing to do. They bring along a notebook, a flag and some feathers. At the beginning, they run as fast as they can, stopping only to eat some thimbleberries. They make leaf baskets to try to bring some berries along with them, but end up eating too much. They get lost, pull out maps and find their way again. They get tired, get carried, and eventually make it all the way to the peak. That’s where they let the feathers go on the wind. Then they head back down and back home.

Farrell captures all of the stages of a hike from the initial burst of energy at being in nature to the discovery of things in the forest to startling deer to making it to your destination after being quite tired by the walk. She adds all sorts of details into her book, offering images and names of some of the most common items children will find on their own hikes. The book ends with images from the notebook brought along on the hike, that show even more information about what the characters have seen and experienced.

The illustrations serve as a merry invitation to join the three friends on their hike. Filled with labels and details, they are worth taking the time to pore over with a child and have discussions about what you may have seen before and what is new. Various animals, plants and birds are labeled on the pages which are also filled with the exuberance and friendship of the three girls as they all take turns leading and solving issues.

Any day is a grand day to take this hike. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: In a Jar by Deborah Marcero

| Tasha

In a Jar by Deborah Marcero

In a Jar by Deborah Marcero (9780525514596)

Llewellyn was a rabbit who loved to collect things in jars. He collected small things from his days like bright yellow leaves in the autumn which would remind him of what he had done and seen. One night when the sunset turned the sky “the color of tart cherry syrup,” Llewellyn went down to the shore with a lot of jars. He gathered the light of the night into his jars and gave one to a girl who came by. Evelyn was amazed to find that the in the jar glowed all night long the color of sunsets. Soon the two of them were gathering all sorts of things in jars like rainbows, the sound of the ocean, and even entire seasons. Their collection got very large, until one day Evelyn’s family moved away. For some time, Llewellyn felt like an empty jar but then he had an idea. He went out one night and collected a meteor shower in a jar and sent it to Evelyn. In turn, she collected the sounds and lights of the big city she now lived in and sent it to Llewellyn. Llewellyn set out on an autumn day to gather a jar for Evelyn and that’s when he met Max, and Llewellyn happened to have a jar for him too. 

Marcero sets the tone for this book right from the first page. You simply know that something amazing and magical is about to happen. She does this with simple words that children will easily follow and then also throws in lines like the sky the color of “tart cherry syrup” and “the wind just before snow falls.” Each of these lines creates a beautiful image and moment for the reader, indicating that something special is happening. This continues through the book, reminding readers that it is these moments that make life magical, whether you can bottle them or not. 

The art here is tremendously gorgeous. Marcero creates pages of meteor showers, sunsets filled with birds soaring, and entire seasons on two pages that are filled with moments of wonder and amazement, and yet that are also moments we could all have and share. There’s a beautiful tension between the beauty on the page and also the normalcy of it all. 

A picture book that shows everyone that these magical moments are there for us all to collect and share. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by G. P. Putnam’s Sons.