Picture Books

Review: Pick a Pumpkin by Patricia Toht

| Tasha

Pick a Pumpkin by Patricia Toht

Pick a Pumpkin by Patricia Toht , illustrated by Jarvis (9781536207644)

This follow up to Pick a Pine Tree invites readers into the autumn bounty of choosing a pumpkin and creating a jack-o-lantern. The book moves quickly through the pumpkin patch with its mix of sweet fall treats and fields of pumpkins. The family then returns home to clean their pumpkins up, find the tools they need, and get set up in the garage. Friends are invited over to carve pumpkins with them. The goopy insides are scooped, faces are chosen and candles are lit inside.

With so many rhyming picture books, Toht’s skill demonstrates what a rhyme should bring to a children’s book. It offers a great rollicking feel to the book and brings a celebratory tone to it as well. Combined with Jarvis’ deep-colored illustrations, the entire book is a pleasure and takes readers directly into the harvest spirit. Jarvis includes a racially diverse cast of characters in his images. Nicely, this book stays realistic and doesn’t introduce witches or ghosts, so it’s just right for little ones who aren’t looking for anything scary at Halloween.

A glowing picture book about pumpkins, jack-o-lanterns and family. Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy provided by Candlewick Press. 

Review: The End of Something Wonderful by Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic

| Tasha

The End of Something Wonderful by Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic

The End of Something Wonderful: A Practical Guide to a Backyard Funeral by Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic, illustrated by George Ermos (9781454932116)

This nonfiction picture book offers a guide to planning your dead pet’s backyard funeral. It is entirely practical, offering the first step as actually having something dead. With a mix of humor and heartfelt connection to grief and loss, the book offers real ideas for what to bury the creature in, what other items that creature might like in their grave with them, and even what sorts of stories to share at the funeral with everyone. The book ends with thoughts of visiting the grave when you need to and then feeling able to move on when it’s the right time for that.

The author offers real empathy for children who have lost a pet, making sure that they feel free to express their feelings along the way and share their experiences. However, she also creates humorous moments throughout the book to make sure that it never becomes oppressively sad or morose. It’s a very readable and remarkably enjoyable guide to funerals. The art by Ermos helps with the mix of light tone and dark subject too, giving glimpses of the skeletons under ground as well as the delight of flowers and ideas for animals too large to bury.

Funny and frank, this funeral guide is just what we all need. Appropriate for ages 6-10.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Small in the City by Sydney Smith

| Tasha

Small in the City by Sydney Smith

Small in the City by Sydney Smith (9780823442614)

When you are small and along in the city, it can be very frightening. A child who knows how to navigate the streets offers some advice even though they can find the city a bit overwhelming too. Alleys make great shortcuts. Dryer vents can offer warmth. Avoid the big dogs that fight. The child hangs posters as they make their way through the city and the falling snow, identifying a place to sit together and options for hiding up high. It’s perfect advice for a lot cat who also could just come back home.

Set in an urban setting with street cars and a maze of lights, streets and sounds, this picture book skillfully captures the confusion of the city. As the child moves through the space with confidence, readers will learn more about both the kid and their city along the way. Readers at first may think that the child is homeless or running away. It takes a little while for their lost pet to be revealed to the reader.

Smith’s illustrations create a fascinating mix of the bustle of urban life but also the quiet of snowfall, the beauty of an empty park, and the small areas of a city just right for a little cat to survive. The images bring a contemplative tone to the book, giving space and opportunity to breathe and feel deeply.

A stellar picture book that reveals the heart of the city and the heart of a child. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

 

Review: Oscar Seeks a Friend by Pawel Pawlak

| Tasha

Oscar Seeks a Friend by Pawel Pawlak

Oscar Seeks a Friend by Pawel Pawlak (9781911373827)

Oscar is a little skeleton who has lost a tooth. He thinks he looks entirely dreadful without it and wonders if he will ever find someone to play with. So when he sees a little girl burying a tooth, he asks her for it. But she is burying the tooth in order to have a wish come true. Then she takes another look at Oscar and starts to laugh. She agrees to give him the tooth if he helps her find a friend. The two head off, and she shows Oscar all of the lovely things she would show a friend, including rainbows, meadows, and the seaside. Oscar then brings her into his world and shows her parks and libraries and sleeping butterflies. The two realize at the end of the day together that they both got what they wished for, tooth or no tooth.

This Polish import is a treat just right for Halloween with its skeleton main character. Oscar is an entirely human skeleton with worries about making friends. The book plays against Oscar being a skeleton nicely as the little human girl isn’t scared of him for even a moment. There’s something very endearing about him and the entire book focuses on connections rather than frights.

The illustrations are what make this book special. Done in paper collage with 3D elements, the images are tactile and full of texture. The worlds of each of the characters is distinct in color and content. Oscar’s is dark with pops of color and the human world is bright and filled with sun, rain and rainbows. The play of the two against one another is visually gorgeous on the page.

Charming rather than scary, this is a autumn treat. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

 

Review: The Scarecrow by Beth Ferry

| Tasha

The Scarecrow by Beth Ferry

The Scarecrow by Beth Ferry, illustrated by The Fan Brothers (9780062475763)

Throughout the seasons, Scarecrow guards the fields, keeping the deer, crows and other animals away. He has no friends and none of the animals have any contact with him. He is alone. Then one spring, a baby crow falls from its nest. Scarecrow does something he has never done before. He beds down and saves that little crow, tucking it safely into his overalls. The two become immediate friends and steadily the crow grows larger and is able to fly. They spend their days and nights together, until one day the crow flies away. Scarecrow is left along again, on a broken pole in the winter snow. Still, seasons change and as spring returns there is hope.

Ferry has written a captivating story about a very lonely scarecrow who makes one compassionate choice that changes his entire existence. Ferry takes time to make sure that readers understand the profound loneliness of the scarecrows time on his pole and then the delight of him moving is a wonderful surprise. The story has a great structure and arc that children will love, watching the relationship build and the seasons change.

As always, the Fan Brothers are superb. In this book, the illustrations are done in pencil, ballpoint and digitally. The landscapes are lush are seasonal, the golden sun of autumn, the muted colors of winter. The painted face of the scarecrow manages to show real emotion somehow without really moving until he is truly distressed.

A great fall read that will work for springtime too. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Here and Now by Julia Denos

| Tasha

Here and Now by Julia Denos

Here and Now by Julia Denos, illustrated by E.B. Goodale (9781328465641)

The team who created the award-winning picture book Windows returns with a look at mindfulness. The book walks readers through a different way to view their own place in the world. It closely examines the ground under our feet and what is happening all around us at any given time, like rain collecting in a cloud. Animals around us are living their lives. We are on a planet spinning in space. New friends are waiting and new connections are being formed. And you, you are becoming something too!

Denos writes in a poetic manner that draws lovely connections between us and our entire environment. She places the reader right in this moment, acknowledging the changes happening all around us and the fact that we ourselves are changing too. This is a book that looks at us as individuals but even more as part of something much larger than ourselves. The illustrations by Goodale are dramatic and impactful. Her diverse cast of characters travel through spinning space along with the reader, enjoying the stars, nature and community along the way.

Inclusive and universal, this book invites you to think differently. Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: You Are My Friend by Aimee Reid

| Tasha

You Are My Friend by Aimee Reid

You Are My Friend: The Story of Mister Rogers and His Neighborhood by Aimee Reid, illustrated by Matt Phelan (9781419736179)

Celebrate the life of the person who became Mister Rogers, a beloved children’s television creator. As a child, Freddie was often sick and filled his days with puppets. He found it hard to make friends and was bullied sometimes. Freddie found that piano was a way he could express his feelings. His mother also told him to look for people around who were helpers, which made him feel safe and supported. His grandfather allowed Freddie to take risks as a child and know that he was adored. When Fred Rogers created his television show, he incorporated all of these childhood inspirations. His show had lots of helpers who shared their talents, talked about difficult subjects, and always told children that they were valued.

Reid draws clear parallels between Fred Rogers’ childhood experiences and the television show he eventually created. The use of his own childhood as inspiration resonates with the readers, allowing them to better understand the impetus behind the iconic show. Even his own talents with puppetry and piano which were highlighted on the show are shown as ways that he expressed himself in the darker times of growing up.

Phelan’s art is done in watercolor and pencil. Special small moments are created in the images such as Freddie Rogers wearing a cardigan or the simple images of Rogers on the television in a variety of situations.

A book that vibrantly captures one of the pioneers of children’s television. Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: This Book of Mine by Sarah Stewart

| Tasha

This Book of Mine by Sarah Stewart

This Book of Mine by Sarah Stewart, illustrated by David Small (9780374305468)

A lovely quiet book about the power finding that book that is just for you. Told in simple words, this picture book explores the joys of reading at all ages. From being so young that you chew on books while you read to having that perfect book of music that you play all your life. From needing a great bedtime after-lights-out read to being inspired to make your own illustrations for a book you love. There is the pleasure of burying your nose in a book and breathing in that smell and the joy of becoming a character from your favorite book. There are books that teach and book that are just for pleasure.

All bibliophiles will adore this book written by a gifted husband-wife team who have brought us award-winning books in the past. This one is such a warm tribute to the immense pleasure of books and reading. It escapes being overly sweet nicely by having a wry sense of humor in its images. Small’s illustrations are done in a dynamic purple with pops of color from the covers of the books. He fills his illustrations with diverse people and makes sure to capture the steps and lions of the New York Public Library.

A wonderful read all about books! Appropriate for ages 3-5, and any age of book lover.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Farrar Straus Giroux. 

Review: Paper Son by Julie Leung

| Tasha

Paper Son The Inspiring Story of Tyrus Wong, Immigrant and Artist by Julie Leung

Paper Son: The Inspiring Story of Tyrus Wong, Immigrant and Artist by Julie Leung, illustrated by Chris Sasaki (9781524771874)

Released on September 24, 2019.

Tyrus Wong entered the United States by using papers that belonged to another Chinese boy. In 1919, Chinese people entering the U.S. had to prove that they were of high status. Tyrus and his father both traveled under other people’s identities, making him a paper son. He had to memorize details of the other boy’s life and village, knowing that he would be tested to see if his identity was real. When they reached immigration, his father was let through easily but Tyrus was held for weeks until he was finally released after being interrogated about his identity. Tyrus didn’t like school much and his father was often away for work. Tyrus loved art, studying both western and eastern art styles. After he graduated from art school, he worked for Disney Studios, doing painstaking work. Then he heard of a new movie, Bambi, that the studio was working on. He began to create backgrounds for the film and Walt Disney loved them. Fired from Disney after a worker’s strike, Tyrus continued to make art throughout the rest of his life.

Leung tells Wong’s story with a lovely clarity. From his entry into the country through his career, Wong’s tale is not linear but rather a series of opportunities that he seized upon. The beginning of the book shows a family trapped in the red tape of immigration and that harrowing experience blossoms into a book about art and opportunity to express one’s self. That again narrows when Wong finds himself doing grunt work for Disney Studios and once again opportunities appear to move him forward. Throughout there is a sense of grace and resilience when faced with real obstacles.

The art work is clearly done with Wong in mind, with its ethereal backgrounds. The images are powerful, often showing things from a unique perspective from a look at a line of people on a long pier to directly gazing into Wong’s window to looking down at an image painted with a mop. The result is dramatic and beautiful.

A picture book biography that celebrates a lesser-known artist whose work we have all seen. Appropriate for ages 6-9.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Schwartz & Wade.