Picture Books

Review: The Very Last Castle by Travis Jonker

| Tasha

The Very Last Castle by Travis Jonker

The Very Last Castle by Travis Jonker, illustrated by Mark Pett (9781419725746)

The very last castle stands in the middle of a small town. No one ever goes into the castle and no one ever comes out. A single guard looks out from the tower. The townspeople can hear noises coming from the castle. Some think it might be monsters, others think it could be giants or snakes. Ibb is a girl who lives in the town and thinks about the castle a lot. One day, she gathers her courage and knocks on the huge castle door, but no one answers and she hears a terrible hiss. Soon afterward, Ibb gets an invitation to appear at the castle gate on Sunday. Ibb goes to the castle and is let inside where she discovers the source of the noises and forms a new connection with the man who lives there.

Jonker’s first picture book is impressive. He uses a traditional picture book tone here built on wonder and curiosity. The incorporation of the various noises that emanate from the castle is a very nice touch, making the book all the more fun to share aloud. His writing is focused and tight and the story can be read both as a straightforward tale but also as an allegory for the walls we build in our lives.

Pett creates a winning young heroine for readers, someone who firmly roots this book in the modern age with her backpack and school days. The juxtaposition between the ancient castle and the young girl works particularly well. The art is playful and the reveal of the interior of the castle is worth the suspense.

A picture book worth exploring. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy provided by Abrams.

Review: King Alice by Matthew Cordell

| Tasha

King Alice by Matthew Cordell

King Alice by Matthew Cordell (9781250047496)

Home on a snow day with her family, Alice declares herself “King Alice” and demands that her father plays with her. They settle on making a book together, a story about King Alice and her royal knights. At first, the book is really short, just one chapter. But after her parents suggest that there may be more to the tale, Alice has more ideas. She occasionally takes a break to play with toys but is soon back again creating more chapters. After lunch, the idea is a Unicorn Party in the book but when King Alice gets too enthusiastic and hits her father with her unicorn toy she has to sit in time out. With apologies made, the book and the story continue with new ideas all the way through dinner, bathtime and in bed.

There is such honest on the pages of this picture book. From parents who are loving and also set limits and consequences to Alice’s attention span for a large project like this. It is delightful to have a creative process documented with new ideas taking time but also being immensely exciting. Alice’s parents are involved, but it is also her book done with her father’s support. It’s great when he is caught up in the project and Alice is ready to walk away.

The illustrations are loose and flowing. They show an active family willing to make messes with their daughter. Alice’s book is shown in crayon illustrations and neatly written words by her father.

A creative and imaginative picture book sure to be king of the shelves. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy provided by Feiwel and Friends.

 

2018 New York Times / New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Books

| Tasha

The 2018 New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Books have been announced. The list is always filled with marvelous surprises and gorgeous illustrations in a variety of styles. Enjoy!

Ayobami and the Names of the Animals Dreamers

Ayobami and the Names of the Animals by Pilar Lopez Avila, illustrated by Mar Azabal

Dreamers by Yuyi Morales

Florette The Forest

Florette by Anna Walker

The Forest by Riccardo Bozzi, illustrated by Violeta Lopiz and Valerio Vidali

The Funeral A House That Once Was

The Funeral by Matt James

A House That Once Was by Julie Fogliano, illustrated by Lane Smith

23310770 Run Wild

Our Car by J. M. Brum, illustrated by Jan Bajtlik

Run Wild by David Covell

She Made a Monster: How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein The Visitor

She Made a Monster: How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein by Lynn Fulton, illustrated by Felicita Sala

The Visitor by Antje Damm

Review: Sir Simon Super Scarer by Cale Atkinson

| Tasha

Sir Simon Super Scarer by Cale Atkinson

Sir Simon: Super Scarer by Cale Atkinson (9781101919095)

Simon is a ghost who has haunted a bunch of different places like a forest and a boat. Now he has his first assignment to haunt a house. As a ghost, he has chores that he has to take care of, including moving things around, creaking the stairs and flushing the toilets. After he does that, he has time for his own hobbies. Everything was going well until a child moved in, a child who could immediately see Simon and wanted to talk. Simon decides to have the boy do his ghost chores for him, but things don’t work out quite as planned.

Atkinson tells this story in Simon the ghost’s voice which creates a great tone throughout. The book is filled with humor, from Simon’s previous jobs in haunting to his list of the easiest people to scare to the boy learning to haunt a house. The art adds to that appeal with funny touches like using a flowered sheet to be a ghost. It is done in a style that has a vintage feel and a modern edge.

A great ghost story when you are looking for giggles rather than gasps. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: The Truly Brave Princesses by Dolores Brown

| Tasha

The Truly Brave Princesses by Dolores Brown

The Truly Brave Princesses by Dolores Brown, illustrated by Sonja Wimmer (9788417123383)

This lush picture book explores the ways in which all women are princesses and all women are brave. Each woman’s details are shared, including their name, age, profession and what they love most. Then a brief explanation of their bravery is shared with the reader. Each woman is wonderfully different from the others in terms of race, culture, sexuality, being differently abled, and much more.

The entire picture book has a celebratory feeling. Each woman is given a crown in her portrait, one that matches her personality perfectly. Most charming are the small details that are shared, like the physician’s love of hot chocolate and architect’s connection to the sea. The artwork in the picture book is detailed and filled with color. Each woman gets a close-up portrait and then an image showing her with her family and loved ones actively enjoying life.

A diverse and inclusive look at the strength of all women. Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from library copy. 

 

Review: We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell

| Tasha

We Are Grateful Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell

We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell, illustrated by Frane Lessac (9781632896339)

This picture book looks at modern life in the Cherokee Nation. Looking at being grateful, the book explores the year and its seasons. Along the way, various Cherokee words are shared with the reader both in English lettering and also in Cherokee syllabary. Throughout the book, a strong connection with nature is shared with buckbrush, cane flutes, wild onions, and large gardens. There is also a clear connection with Cherokee history from the Trail of Tears to family members who have passed on to festivals and memorials. This is a book about community that celebrates the earth, survival, and family.

This is Sorell’s debut picture book. A member of the Cherokee Nation, her prose here reflects her skill as a poet, bringing a soaring feel to the moments she shares. The book ends with a glossary of terms that will inform readers about the connection to things like stickball and gigging. Sorell uses the title phrase of “We are grateful” again and again in the book, creating a rhythmic feel of a traditional tale.

Lessac’s illustrations are done in gouache, creating bright and rich colors that show entire scenes on the page. The greens of nature, the blues of the water and sky, the bursts of color in homes and gardens, all have a great depth of color.

A wonderful modern look at Cherokee traditions and our universal gratitude for community and family. Appropriate for ages 5-9.

Reviewed from library copy.

 

Review: Africville by Shauntay Grant

| Tasha

Groundwood Logos Spine

Africville by Shauntay Grant, illustrated by Eva Campbell (9781773060439)

A girl visits the historical site of Africville, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She imagines what the community was once like, how the children would play together. She imagines lunch on the tables, picking blueberries over the hill. She imagines playing games, going rafting, and bonfires by the water. Her great-grandmother had lived in Africville before it was destroyed in the 1960s after surviving for over 150 years. But the black community of Africville never received the same services as the rest of Halifax despite paying taxes. The community was eventually relocated from the site and moved to public housing. Africville is now a park where former residents and their descendants return to remember the community that had once stood there.

Grant gives us a glimpse of what Africville once was. The picture book keeps descriptions short and the focus on children and their lives in the community. There is an author’s note at the end of the book that offers more context for what Africville was and what happened to its residents. The use of a modern child to dream about what might have been in Africville is a great lens through which to look at life there. The peacefulness and sense of community pervade the entire read.

Campbell’s illustrations are filled with deep colors. The bonfire pages glow with reds of fire and sunset. There is lush green everywhere and the houses pop with bright paint colors. She creates the warmth of a real community on the pages, illustrations that seem to have sunlight shining from them.

A gorgeous tribute to a piece of Canadian history. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

 

Review: Imagine by Juan Felipe Herrera

| Tasha

Imagine by Juan Felipe Herrera

Imagine by Juan Felipe Herrera, illustrated by Lauren Castillo (9780763690526)

Poet Laureate of the United States, Herrera here writes a poem that is filled with wonder and possibilities. He invites young readers into his own childhood, filled with tadpoles in creeks, sleeping outside, and feeding chickens. Though his childhood also had goodbyes to people when he moved away and fetching water through the forest. Herrera shares moving to the United States and learning English. Filling pages with words and ink, creating poems and songs. The book ends with him speaking on the steps of the Library of Congress and then asks readers to imagine what they could do.

Herrera’s poem is exquisitely crafted for young readers. He takes them on a full journey of his childhood, showing them the beautiful side, the hard work and the difficulties of learning a new language and moving to a new country. It is a powerful work just right for small children about immigration and the impact the immigrant voices have on our country in so many ways.

Castillo’s art is filled with a sense of memory and longing. She lights her pages with bright sunlight and then haunting moonlight appears. There is a sense of being a witness to Herrera’s life in her work, of watching things happen right at his shoulder. It’s a beautiful way to view someone’s life.

Rich, memorable and timely, this picture book is something special. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Eye Spy: Wild Ways Animals See the World by Guillaume Duprat

| Tasha

Eye Spy Wild Ways Animals See the World by Guillaume Duprat

Eye Spy: Wild Ways Animals See the World by Guillaume Duprat (9781999802851)

This science-focused nonfiction picture book takes a close look at animal eyes and the ways that different animals see the world. Incorporating flaps to lift, readers can lift the eyes of the animals on the pages to see the way that they do. What does it look like to only see things clearly that are a few inches away? How does it change things to only be able to see three colors instead of five? What happens when a bird can see all the way around in a 360 view? How do insect eyes work to form a full image of what they are perceiving? All of these questions and more are answered in this engaging nonfiction picture book.

Beautifully designed, this picture book offers an engaging format combined with fascinating facts. While reading about how other creatures see the world is interesting, being able to actually see what that means in a visual way is incredible. The book includes mammals like cats, dogs, horses, and cows and then moves on to other types of animals like reptiles, insects, and birds. Each page turn brings a new animal with a new flap to peek behind.

The art here is vital. The flaps to lift offer a hidden view into the way these animals perceive the world. The art invites us to look right at the creature and then look at the world through their eyes. It is beautifully done, with all of the animals looking at the same scene so that readers can see the differences clearly.

An eye-opening look at the science of vision and animal eyes. Appropriate for ages 5-9.

Reviewed from copy provided by What on Earth Publishing.