Review: Goose the Bear by Katja Gehrmann

| Tasha

goose the bear

Goose the Bear by Katja Gehrmann

In a Canadian forest, Fox stole an almost-hatched goose egg, planning to eat roast goose very soon.  But he is so proud of himself that he forgets to watch where he’s going and runs right into Bear.  Bear picked up the egg from the ground after Fox ran off and wondered what it is.  Then the gosling hatched and called him “Mama!”  Bear tried to explain that they were not the same type of animal, but the gosling did not understand.  So Bear decided to show the little goose just how different they were.  Bear demonstrated how well bears climb trees, but the gosling could reach the top too.  Bear showed how fast bears can run, but the little goose ran just as quickly.  Finally, Bear jumped in the river and the little goose followed him in.  Then Bear got very worried.  Would the little creature survive the fall into the water?

Gehrmann has created a picture book that stands out from the many books about foxes chasing smaller animals.  Her addition of a bear as a main character adds a clever twist and throughout the book she continues to surprise the reader.  The writing has been done to create a read-aloud that will also keep young readers guessing about what is going to happen next.  With the theme of a tiny creature who can do just what a big bear can do, this book has strong kid appeal.

The premise of the book is quite unique and so is the artwork.  First published in Germany, the book has a European feel, particularly in the art.  It is humorous and bold with changing colors throughout.  Gehrmann’s depiction of the natural world around the characters is particularly rich and layered.

Fresh, vibrant and full of fun surprises, this book is an exceptional take on fox and goose (and bear) stories.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Banned in America

| Tasha

Moms Demand Action has a very compelling anti-gun campaign.  Part of it is this image that really speaks to me:

You can see more of their efforts on their website.

Review: A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd

| Tasha

snicker of magic

A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd

Felicity’s mother loves to move to new places, so Felicity has lived all over the country.  But when her mother returns to the small town of Midnight Gulch, Felicity quickly realizes she has never lived in any place quite like this one.  Midnight Gulch had once been full of magic of all sorts, but then a curse took the magic away and drove two brothers apart as well.  But there is magic left in town, if you know where to look.  It’s not big magic, just little pieces that were left behind.  Felicity has one of those pieces of magic herself, she can see words everywhere, words spoken aloud and words thought silently.  She is a word collector keeping a list of the words she finds.  Others in town have some magic too, including Jonah, a mysterious boy who calls himself the Beedle and does good deeds around town.  Then there’s also the ice cream factory that makes a flavor that evokes memories both sweet and sour.  Felicity loves Midnight Gulch, but can she figure out a way to keep her mother from moving on to new places again?

This book was such fun.  Lloyd has created an entire town that is filled with a wonderful mix of magic and history.  Throughout the book, we learn about what first made Midnight Gulch so magical and then how it was taken away.  Then little by little in tantalizing ways readers see the magic that is left and are offered clues about how it may return someday.  It’s a book that is surprising and very readable.

Felicity is a great protagonist as she struggles to keep her family in one place.  As she finds out more about her own family history and discovers members of her family and community she never knew before, she finds herself less lonely in a way that she never though possible.  Perhaps the most delightful piece of all is that Felicity does not need her magic to solve her family’s issues, rather it is about piecing together a mystery and solving a riddle. 

Glowing with magic, this novel is a shining read that should be savored just like an ice cream cone on a hot day.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from ARC received from Scholastic.

Review: Time for Bed, Fred! by Yasmeen Ismail

| Tasha

time for bed fred

Time for Bed, Fred by Yasmeen Ismail

It’s time for Fred to go to bed, but this dog is not ready!  Instead of heading to bed, Fred dashes outside and tries to hide in the flower bed.  Then he hides in a tree until he falls out of it.  Fred then runs and lands in a huge mud puddle.  So then it’s bath time for Fred.  But just when he’s finally clean, he dashes outside once more!  Back inside, he hides in all sorts of places, even after he gets read a bedtime story.  Finally, Fred is moved to the right bed and falls asleep at last.

Fred is a dog that every toddler will relate to.  From his busyness as he dashes from place to place to his unwillingness to head to bed to the final collapse in exhaustion at the end of the day, Fred reacts exactly the way a young child does.  Ismail keeps the book moving quickly with her dialogue-only text that captures the reaction of the owner as Fred refuses to head to bed.  This makes the book great fun to read aloud as well.

Ismail’s art is reminiscent of Chris Raschka with her loose lines and free-flowing forms.  It is filled with action and movement as Fred runs through the garden on the loose.  The illustrations have a great ease and freedom to them that works particularly well with the storyline. 

An energetic and playful bedtime read, let’s hope your little puppies settled down at the end too!  Appropriate for ages 1-3.

Reviewed from library copy.

2014 Ezra Jack Keats Book Award Winners

| Tasha

EJKAward_NEWgold_layered

The 2014 winners of the Ezra Jack Keats Book Awards were announced in February.  The awards are given annually to celebrate a new author and a new illustrator. 

The New Writer Award went to

Tea Party Rules

Tea Party Rules by Ame Dyckman.

 

The New Illustrator Award went to

Rain!

Rain! by Christian Robinson

 

Honor books were selected in each category:

New Writer Honor Books

I Love You, Nose! I Love You, Toes! Sophie's Squash

I Love You, Nose! I Love You, Toes! by Linda Davick

Sophie’s Squash by Pat Zietlow Miller

 

New Illustrator Honor Books

My Grandpa Tea Party Rules 13260549

My Grandpa by Marta Altes

Take Me Out to the Yakyu by Aaron Meshon

Tea Party Rules by K. G. Campbell

Review: The Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond by Brenda Woods

| Tasha

blossoming universe

The Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond by Brenda Woods

Violet feels like she just doesn’t fit into her family.  Whenever she goes anywhere with her mother and sister, people are surprised to hear that she is related to them.  They are both white and blonde while she has brown skin and brown hair.  Violet’s father died before she was born, and while her sister knows her other grandparents, Violet has never met hers.  But now Violet takes things into her own hands and starts researching her African-American grandmother who happens to be a well-known artist.  Violet convinces her mother to allow her to go to her grandmother’s new gallery show but things do not go as Violet had dreamed.  Violet just wants to put the pieces of her family into a whole where she fits seamlessly, but it may be too late for that.

It is a joy to have such a charming and positive book that speaks to biracial issues.  Woods does a great job of focusing on both the positive and negative aspects of being bi-racial and having two distinct sides of the family.  I was particularly pleased that all of the adults in the book were supportive and loving towards Violet as she explores her African-American heritage.  Woods also addresses the differences in religions in the book, something that children who come from two religious heritages will appreciate.

Violet herself is a particularly radiant protagonist.  Though she worries about fitting into her family and seeking out the other side of her family, at heart she is an optimist and approaches each event with a sense of adventure and openness.  This is a book that cheers children on to explore their own families and discover others in their world who will adore them too.

Positive, cheery and yet addressing difficult situations, this book is a pleasure to read.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from copy received from Nancy Paulsen Books.

Review: Nest by Jorey Hurley

| Tasha

nest

Nest by Jorey Hurley

This simple and elegant picture book takes a look at a year in the life of a robin.  It begins with an egg in a nest and two proud parents.  By the next page, the egg has hatched into one very hungry baby bird.  As the tree flowers, the little bird is fed by its parents.  Then comes the first flight as a speckled robin chick.  There are berries on the tree to feast on and when autumn comes the green leaves have turned orange and yellow and started to fall.  The last of the berries are eaten while snow flies in the sky.  As spring returns, the young robin meets another young robin and they build their own nest together.  All of this is told in images since the text of the book is simple single words on each double-spread picture.  This is a beautiful and impressive book for the youngest children.

Hurley’s illustrations are strong and clear.  Done in PhotoShop, the illustrations have the feel of cut-paper collage in their simplicity.  They will project well to a group of children.  The storyline is far more than the words on the page, and children will want to discuss what is happening throughout the book. 

A wonderful pick for spring units, this book is a celebration of nature and seasons.  Appropriate for ages 1-3.

Reviewed from copy received from Simon & Schuster.

This Week’s Tweets, Pins and Tumbls

| Tasha

Here are the links I shared on my Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr accounts this week that I hope you find interesting:

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

Children’s Books: A Shifting Market http://buff.ly/1cQkXVp #kidlit

Classic children’s book ‘Harriet the Spy’ turns 50 – The Washington Post http://buff.ly/1ewXfde #kidlit

Fall 2014 Children’s Sneak Previews http://buff.ly/1gzT17l #kidlit #yalit

Getting the right books into every young child’s hands | Dallas Morning News http://buff.ly/OzdFgt #kidlit #reading

Just Enjoy the Pictures: Hand-Crafted Versus Digital Art – The Horn Book http://buff.ly/OzbcTl #kidlit

Kids Are Never Too Old to Be Read to by Parents| Joe Paradise | http://buff.ly/OzdsK3 #reading #kidlit

The Official SCBWI Conference Blog: Marla Frazee: Art of the Picture Book Panel http://buff.ly/OzelCp #kidlit

Passport to a World of Reading: USBBY’s 2014 Outstanding International Books List | SLJ – http://buff.ly/OzbwBs #kidlit #yalit

READER’S CHIT | Nurturing the creative spark http://buff.ly/OzdAJB #reading

Seven Islamic-themed children’s books | The National http://buff.ly/1cQl2IO #kidlit

I like big books and I can not lie.

TEEN READS

Books for National Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2014 – The Horn Book http://buff.ly/Mv9Kzb #yalit

An Epic Chart of 162 Young Adult Retellings | Blog | Epic Reads http://buff.ly/1cQ811S #yalit

Markus Zusak: The Book Thief film’s biggest hurdle was Death | Children’s books http://buff.ly/1cQ7WeG #yalit

The River by Alessandro Sanna

| Tasha

TheRiver_CoverIdeas5.indd

The River by Alessandro Sanna

Travel through four seasons along the Po River in this breathtakingly beautiful book.  Made almost entirely of watercolor images shown as either full-page or a series of panels, this book asks readers to pay close attention to the images and discover the story told there.  Each season starts with a brief paragraph that offers clues to what is going to happen.  Autumn is a season of floods.  Winter is described as warm, which will surprise many young readers as will the newborn calf.  Spring is music and white clouds.  Summer is dry and hot.  Each of those seasons is brought to life with the watercolor images with palettes that change through the seasons, purples in autumn, blues in winter, gold in summer.  Each more beautiful than the last, so that you just want to begin it again when it ends.

This is the first book by Sanna to be printed in the United States, but he is well known in his native Italy.  He has created a book here that is artistic and wildly lovely.  Told primarily through his art, the storylines are consistently seasonal, intense and surprising.  The use of the river as a symbol for the passage of time works perfectly here.  The changing colors also serve to remind readers that time is passing, change is constant and the world is gorgeous.

One big question with this book is what age it is appropriate for.  With its minimal words, it might be expected to be perfect for small children, but thanks to its artistic approach, I believe the audience is quite a bit older.  Children who enjoy art will be able to appreciate it in elementary school.  Yet the audience I see really loving this book are middle and high school teens who will delight in the watercolors, the surprises and a picture book that suits them well.

Beautiful, moving and vast, this nearly wordless picture book will be enjoyed by elementary aged children through adults. 

Reviewed from copy received from Enchanted Lion Books.