animals

Review: Secrets of the Garden by Kathleen Zoehfeld

| Tasha

secrets of the garden

Secrets of the Garden: Food Chains and the Food Web in Our Backyard by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld, illustrated by Priscilla Lamont

Alice loves it when spring arrives and they can start planting the garden.  Her dad gets the soil ready for planting and then she and her brother start putting the seeds in.  It seems like a long time before the seeds finally sprout.  Then other seedlings are transplanted from pots and potatoes are sown.  Lettuce and radishes are ready to eat first, and Alice spots a rabbit munching on them too.  She also thinks a mouse might be eating the fallen corn.  Hawks hunt in the garden and there are plenty of insects too.  Autumn nears and harvest begins, and the food cycle of the garden is complete for another year.  Throughout the book, the chickens offer commentary about the cycle itself with information about herbivores and carnivores, compost, worms and much more. 

This is an outstanding example an information book for children.  The chickens give the book a lighter tone, even though they are the ones offering the hard science.  The story celebrates gardening, the food cycle, and having a place connects one with nature.  Zoehfeld’s writing is breezy and cheerful, setting just the right tone of exploration, wonder and science.

Lamont’s illustrations add to the delight.  They have a similar feel to Michael Rosen’s with the friendly characters.  The colors tend towards the subtler side, inviting close inspection and learning.

This is a choice book for units on the food cycle or for children looking for information that they will enjoy learning.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from copy received from Alfred A. Knopf.

Review: Into the Outdoors by Susan Gal

| Tasha

into the outdoors

Into the Outdoors by Susan Gal

Learn your prepositions in the fresh air with this book that takes us up into the mountains and down into the forest.  A family heads out on a camping trip.  Along the way they go over a bridge and under the trees.  Once they reach the woods, they head out on a hike, following a trail around the lake, across a stream, and between some large rocks.  They return to their campsite and the fire, where the animals they saw on their hike have followed them back.  The entire book is playful and fun.

Gal has managed to structure a fine little story out of her prepositional phrases.  The family moves through their day, exploring the natural world.  While the book would be of use with prepositions and prepositional phrases, it is also a gem of a short read all on its own. 

Gal’s illustrations lift this book up, giving it a modern freshness that is not without whimsy.  From the very friendly and approachable animals, to the grin of the baby riding in its sling, this book has a merry and jaunty feel that one gets outdoors.

An enjoyable prepositional outdoor hike, this cheerful title will be embraced as a learning tool but also as a great bedtime read.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Alfred A. Knopf.

Review: Tom the Tamer by Tjibbe Veldkamp

| Tasha

tom the tamer

Tom the Tamer by Tjibbe Veldkamp, illustrated by Philip Hopman

Tom may be able to train snails to jump on a trampoline and squirrels to swing from trapezes in the trees, but he can’t convince his father to go outdoors.  His dad is too frightened of all of the animals out there.  So Tom sets out with a plan to bring the animals in to his father.  He starts by heading to the local pet store and buying a polar bear.  He trains the polar bear in the park and by that evening, the polar bear is pretending to be their new furry white chair in the house.  Tom’s father loves the new chair and never notices that it is actually a polar bear.  The next day, Tom heads out and gets even more animals from the pet store, training them all to act like different pieces of furniture.  Soon the entire living room is filled with animals, and Tom’s father loves all of the new “furniture” too.  But what will happen when he finds out that Tom got all of these new things at the pet store?

Veldkamp has created a broad comedy that stretches the imagination in a most wonderful way.  It also takes the parent/child relationship and merrily turns it on its head.  Tom is a very creative young man, seeing the world in his own unique way and definitely not in the way that his father does. 

Hopman’s illustrations add to the fun, from the crowded shelves of the pet store to the graceful curve and smile of a polar bear chair.  The illustrations have a certain wildness but also a friendly style that makes sure that everyone knows this is pure fun.

An exuberant book that is full of zany fun, this Dutch import would be a great addition to an animal story time.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Lemniscaat.

Review: Swirl by Swirl by Joyce Sidman

| Tasha

swirl by swirl

Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Beth Krommes

Two incredible talents worked together to bring us one of the most stunningly lovely books of the year.  It explores the different ways that spirals and swirls appear in nature.  There are the animals curled up for the winter underground, shells, unfurling ferns, hedgehogs, octopus tentacles, whirlpools and tornadoes.  This book is a masterpiece of simplicity and complexity, just like the swirls that it speaks about.

With verse by Joyce Sidman, winner of a Newbery Honor and illustrations by Caldecott winner Beth Krommes, this book is immediately something special.  The two have brought readers a poem spiraled inside intensely lovely images.  One gets the sense of unwinding a spiral when reading the verse, as it loops and dances.  The illustrations too are filled with a movement that is natural and free.

There is a simplicity about the verse that is misleading.  Sidman’s verse is tight and well crafted, showing a restraint and skill.  Krommes’ illustrations on the other hand are filled with details, lines of motion, and jewel tones.  Astonishingly lovely, the illustrations have a fully dimensional feel to them and celebrate the swirl and spiral to great effect.

Highly recommended, this book successfully celebrates shape, design, science and nature in a single beautiful work.  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Check out the book trailer to see the illustrations for yourself:

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Review: Naamah and the Ark at Night by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

| Tasha

naamah and the ark at night

Naamah and the Ark at Night by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, illustrated by Holly Meade

Naamah is Noah’s wife.  In this picture book, she is the woman who sings the ark to sleep at night.  She sings throughout the night, through the rain, soothing the animals as they are restless.  She sings for the night itself, for the moon and for the stars.  She sings for the earth and sky, for her family in the ark.  She sings the entire ark to sleep.

Bartoletti’s Author’s Note speaks to the origin of Naamah’s name.  It also talks about the ancient Arabic structure of the poem she used in this book.  It requires using the same ending word in each couplet, preceded by a rhyming word.  This structure does not seem limiting as it reads, but it is completely unique and immediately caught my eye and ear as something different.

Meade’s art is exquisite.  Her watercolor collages have a texture and depth to them that is delightful.  They have movement and vary from bright colored tigers pacing to silhouettes against a star-filled sky.  She is very successful in showing the vastness of the water and storm around the ark, the beauty of the night sky, and the grace of Naamah as she moves around the ark.

A lovely picture book, this book reveals a little-known Biblical figure.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by:

Review: A Zeal of Zebras by Woop Studios

| Tasha

zeal of zebras

A Zeal of Zebras: An Alphabet of Collective Nouns by Woop Studios

Follow the alphabet on a journey through the beautiful and evocative collective nouns in our language.  You will get to see a galaxy of starfish, an aurora of polar bears, and even an ostentation of peacocks.  Each animal then has a paragraph or two of information on them, small details that show the unique qualities of that creature.  This is all paired with vibrant illustrations that have the feel of vintage posters and are graphic and wild.  This is one alphabet book that is more about the wordplay and the art than the ABCs.

While the paragraphs are well-written and concise, it is really the art that makes this book special.  The printed and distressed quality of the images and the way that the posters are replayed on the pages with words make the entire work visually intriguing. 

As I finished reading this with both of my sons looking over my shoulder and commenting on the incredible collective nouns, we all agreed that whoever named collective nouns was an artist.  The same can be said for this entire book.  It was done by real artists.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by:

Review: What Animals Really Like by Fiona Robinson

| Tasha

what animals really like

What Animals Really Like by Fiona Robinson

Mr. Herbert Timberteeth is happy to present his new song that he composed, “What Animals Like Most.”  He will also be conducting it, just open the red curtains and… There are groups of animals on stage who flatly deliver, “We are lions, and we like to prowl.  We are wolves, and we like to howl.  We are pigeons, and we like to coo.  We are cows and we like to…”  Turn the page to have the chaos begin as the cows change the obvious rhyme into something else entirely.  Best of all, you can tell from the animals’ faces that they are up to something.  They are the only ones on stage grinning.  The same is true of the next grouping.  Children will get the joke immediately when the first rhyme is missed. Finally, Herbert, now bedraggled, allows them to sing the new and non-rhyming version of the song.  He hates it, but the audience has a very different reaction.

Robinson has tapped into a kind of humor that children enjoy.  The unexpected happening when you think you have the structure pegged.  Children will be relaxed and ready for the rhyme to come next.  In fact, they will probably announce that first rhyme before you get the page turned.  Their reaction will be that much better if they do!  The unexpectedness of this entire book is a great treat.

The illustrations are also fun.  Keep an eye out for all of the small touches.  My favorite is where the show is lit by glowworms, and if you look closely one of them has fallen asleep and is no longer lit.  But there are many to enjoy, making this a book that can be read again and again.

This is a definite read-aloud pick for any preschool story time.  It would make a great final book that is sure to keep wiggly children interested and listening.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: What’s New at the Zoo? by Betty Comden

| Tasha

whats new at the zoo

What’s New at the Zoo? by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, illustrated by Travis Foster

This funny book about an overcrowded zoo contains words that are lyrics from the Broadway Show, Do Re Mi.  The zoo is so crowded that the animals are stepping on one another.  The kangaroo’s pouch is stepped on by a bear.  The moose’s snout is stepped on by a goose.  All of the animals demand to be let out of the zoo.  So when the zookeeper arrives at the door, he is stampeded by all of the animals in their rush to escape.  The book combines humor and rhythm into one very appealing read.

Comden and Green had a way with words and rhythm.  I only wish I could have heard the music for the book and kept checking to see if there was a CD that I had missed.  The writing is humorous, offering plenty of laughs for young readers.

Much of the humor is also visual in the illustrations by Foster.  His art adds an appealing cartoonish, slapstick humor to the read.  Children will love the expressions on the faces of the animals as they are trod upon.  There are also several large flaps to lift that add even more fun.

This one is a treat to read aloud, the rhymes and rhythms flow beautifully.  Children will love the animals, the jokes and all of the zany fun.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse by Eric Carle

| Tasha

artist who painted a blue horse

The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse by Eric Carle

A young artist paints a blue horse running against a yellow sky, then continues to paint animals in amazing colors.  There is a red crocodile, a yellow cow, a pink rabbit, and an orange elephant.  The book speaks powerfully and simply to the spirit of creativity, the ability to change the world through art, and the right to express yourself.  This becomes even more clear as the book ends with Carle’s own childhood experiences in Nazi Germany where he first saw the forbidden work of Franz Marc who painted Blue Rider.  This is not a picture book biography, but rather a statement of support for all artists who see the world in unique ways.

Carle’s art is really the center of the book with the words just naming the color and animal.  As I read it, I could see it being used very nicely in elementary art classes to encourage children to break away from the norm.  In toddler story times, it could also be used to learn colors and animals perhaps even with some animal noises thrown in to add to the fun. 

This is a book that will speak to many ages, adapt well to projects and conversation, or simply be used as a color and animal book.  It is infinitely flexible, wonderfully expressive, and makes a powerful statement.  Appropriate for ages 2-8.

Reviewed from copy received from Philomel Books.

You can also check out the auction of art by artists and celebrities that was inspired by this picture book.