animals

Review: Peter and the Winter Sleepers by Rick De Haas

| Tasha

peter and the winter sleepers

Peter and the Winter Sleepers by Rick De Haas

This snowy book is the story of Peter, who lives with his grandmother and pet dog in a lighthouse.  One day, it snowed, a wonderful clean fluffy snow that was perfect for making snowmen.  But then it just didn’t stop snowing.  They moved the chicken and goat inside to be safe, and then there was a scratching at the front door.  It was a rabbit.  Peter made a bed on the stairs for the rabbit when there came another noise at the door.  It brought more animals: squirrels, mice, hedgehogs, birds, a bat.  It got hard to sleep at night and the droppings were smelly.  After a few more days, the came another knock on the door.  It was a fox.  At first, Peter was eager to welcome a new animal to the lighthouse.  But how in the world was a fox going to live with the animals that it usually eats?

De Haas has created a friendly, cozy world here.   There is a gentle feel to the entire book, a hominess.  Anyone who has been stuck at home during a blizzard will recognize the feeling, and will probably start to wish that the animals would knock at their door next time.  The text of the book has a gentle quality as well, a quiet building as animals enter the lighthouse.

The lighthouse is filled with curved lines from the arched doorways to the curve of the stair to the gentle arc of the walls.  Complementing the curves is the warm yellow tones of the interior, that contrasts well with the cool blues of the snowy landscape outside.  This is a haven that is deliciously warm and welcoming.

A great pick for wintry story times, this book is quiet, gentle and welcoming just like its storyline.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from NorthSouth.

Arctic Board Books

| Tasha

ArcticLand ArcticSea ArcticSky

Arctic Land

Arctic Sea

Arctic Sky

Author Vladyana Krykorka has created three board books that each look at a different aspect of wildlife in the Arctic.  The books are done in accordion style, so they spread out across laps or tables, creating even more of a vista of the Arctic landscape.  Arctic Land features caribou, wolves, musk ox, Arctic hare and polar bears.  Arctic Sea has whales, seals, narwhal, and walrus.  Arctic sky is filled with swan, crane, raven, ptarmigan, loons, and owls. 

There is a short verse that ties the animals together, but the real beauty here are the illustrations.  Done in watercolor, they have a movement that is captivating.  The long line of animals when the book is fully open is beautiful, filled with color and creatures.

While this book’s format may not survive long in public libraries, it will make a charming and education gift for a tiny naturalist.  Appropriate for ages 1-3.

Reviewed from copies received from Annick Press.

Review: Can Hens Give Milk? by Joan Betty Stuchner

| Tasha

can hens give milk

Can Hens Give Milk? by Joan Betty Stuchner, illustrated by Joe Weissmann

Shlomo and Riva live on a farm where they have five children, twelve hens and one rooster.  Rivka wishes that they had a cow to give the family milk and cheese.  That night, Shlomo had a dream that showed him what they could do.  Cows eat grass and give milk, so he reasoned that if the hens were fed grass, they would give milk too.  But the hens refused to eat the grass.  One of the daughters, Tova, came up with the idea of rolling the grass into pellets that look like the grain that the hens usually eat.  But even then, the hens would not eat the grass.  There was only one thing to do, and that was to force the hens to each eat one pellet of grass.  The family then left them to lay eggs and give milk overnight.  What do you think happened next?  All I will say is that in the end, the family had eggs AND milk.  But how?

This story of a fool and his family is written with great humor.  Children will immediately recognize the nonsense of the logic that Shlomo and his family are using, so they will enjoy seeing the story play out.  There is plenty of opportunity for laughter as new solutions are generated and then also proven to not work.  It’s a story that will have you grinning just because of the silliness of the entire book.

Weissman’s art is bright and silly as well, reveling in the humor of the text.  The dreams of milk and cheese are brought to life as are the hiccupping and indignant hens. 

A silly book that will lend a lot of laughter to a unit or storytime on food, this book reads aloud well.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from library copy.

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Review: The Cheshire Cheese Cat by Carmen Agra Deedy

| Tasha

cheshire cheese cat

The Cheshire Cheese Cat: A Dickens of a Tale by Carmen Agra Deedy & Randall Wright, illustrated by Barry Moser

Skilley is an alley cat who is down on his luck, he has a broken tail, tattered ears, and has grown used to dodging brooms and wheels.  So when he hears that Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, a local inn, needs a mouser, he concocts a plan to become that cat.  But Skilley has a horrible, shameful secret that he carries with him: he doesn’t eat mice.  Instead he prefers a good nibble of cheese.  Discovering this, a mouse named Pip strikes up a deal.  The mice of The Cheese will provide Skilley with the cheese he needs in exchange for him pretending to nab them and eat them.  The plan is perfection for a short time, until an evil cat named Pinch enters the inn and more secrets start coming out.  Add some historical British figures and you have an engaging romp of a novel for middle readers.

The authors have created a historical fiction novel that is also an animal novel.  It has figures like Charles Dickens and Thackeray, but mostly focuses on the animals themselves.  It is a novel that explores friendship and accepting yourself even if there are things that you might be ashamed of.  These messages are woven skillfully throughout the story and never become overbearing.

The pacing of the novel is also skillfully done.  There are quieter moments in the novel, but the foreshadowing makes even those uneasy ones.  Once the story really gets going, it reads quickly.  I couldn’t put it down in the last few chapters because I was so caught up in the story.

I’m not a huge animal story fan.  It seems that they tend to be tearful, overly emotive, and generally tragic.  That is not the case here.  Instead readers will cheer on the heroes, worry for their safety, and find themselves in the midst of a grand adventure in Elizabethan England.

Highly recommended, this book is one delicious read with a pleasing mix of sweet and savory.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from copy received from Peachtree Publishers.

Also reviewed by:

Book Review: At This Very Moment by Jim Arnosky

| Tasha

atthisverymoment

At This Very Moment by Jim Arnosky

Every moment that a child is doing something during their day, animals are doing things too.  This book reminds us to think about the entire world, even when doing something as normal as taking a drink.  A deer might be sipping from a stream at just the same moment.  When children are eating, animals are eating too, after catching their meals or gathering them.  As evening comes and children head to bed, animals are getting tired too and sleeping in their own ways and beds.  This is a gentle, reassuring book that celebrates our connections to nature, the environment, and the world at large.

Arnosky uses a gentle verse that is rhyming but also free to create the connections between children and the natural world.  The book begins by reminding readers that every single day there are amazing things happening, then it goes on to show that we are all part of those amazing moments.  It is a book that will have readers mindful of what they are doing and what that means in the larger world, without ever becoming didactic about it.  The endpaper of the book has Notes on Animals, explaining Arnosky’s connection with the animals he has depicted in the book.

Arnosky’s paintings are rich and deep, the colors ranging from yellows to deep blues and purples.  They all capture the natural world with a beauty and accuracy. 

This is a celebration of the connectivity of our world, one that children will relate to easily.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from copy received from Dutton Children’s Books.

Book Review: Sidekicks by Dan Santat

| Tasha

sidekicks

Sidekicks by Dad Santat

Captain Amazing is so busy saving the world from evil villains that he doesn’t have time for his pets back at home.  But Captain Amazing is also getting older, so he decides he needs a sidekick to help out.  His dog, hamster, lizard and even his lost cat decide to audition for the position.  As they vie for the position, rifts develop between them.  But when Captain Amazing finds himself in true peril, his pets must rise to the occasion and put their differences aside.  It will take all of their new skills, fantastic abilities, and their teamwork to save the day.

This graphic novel is inventive and great fun.  It is an appealing mix of superhero, animals and friendship stories.  Santat’s art (which I look forward to seeing in full color, rather than the partial color I got to see in the ARC) is engaging and modern.  Yet it plays directly back to traditional comic books with the battle scenes in particular.  Santat’s story is well paced and even controlled despite the wild antics of its characters and the vibrant action scenes.

Get this in the hands of young graphic novel readers and you will be a superhero too!  Appropriate for ages 7-12.

Reviewed from ARC received from Arthur A. Levine Books.

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Also reviewed by 100 Scope Notes and Fuse #8.

Book Review: I Spy with My Little Eye by Edward Gibbs

| Tasha

ispylittleeye

I Spy with My Little Eye by Edward Gibbs

Children adore books with holes to peek through.  In this book, the frog’s eye on the cover is actually a hole that carries through the book, with the background changing as the page is turned.  The entire book is an I-Spy game where a clue is given and then you can see just a bit of the next page.  My favorite aspect is that as you turn the page, you see the next creature’s eye looking at you.  The book incorporates game play, colors, and logic with great results. 

Gibbs has a real sense of style with this book.  His illustrations are big and bold, the animals bursting off of the pages with the bright colors and the large size.  While the illustrations are large, the lines stay delicate and filled with swirls. 

This is one book that will fly off of library shelves as soon as children spy it with their little eyes.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by Everyday Reading.

Book Review: Animals Home Alone by Loes Riphagen

| Tasha

animalshomealone

Animals Home Alone by Loes Riphagen

When the humans leave the house, the animals are left all alone and do some wild and silly things.  In this wordless book by a Dutch illustrator, there are fifteen animals to try and keep track of.  From one page to the next, they escape their confines, eat things, watch TV, and even fall in love and have babies.  The front endpages have the animals’ names while the rear ones have questions about what happened in the story.  It’s a fun book that requires eagle eyes to spot everything.  It’s not a book you can read entirely in the first sitting.

Riphagen’s illustrations have a great quirky quality to them that adds to the humor and silly feel of the book.  With the crowded page, bright colors and engaging animals, this book has so much to look at and see.  Then add the stories that each of the animal characters is engaged in and you will find yourself flipping back and forth pages to figure out how the jam was spilled, why the goldfish is now yellow, and what happened in the bathroom!

A visual game that has some very funny moments built into the various storylines, this book will be a hit with children who enjoy Where’s Waldo and I Spy books.  Appropriate for ages 6-9.

Reviewed from copy received from Seven Footer Press.

Also reviewed by Bookie Woogie.

Book Review: The Watcher by Jeanette Winter

| Tasha

watcherwinter

The Watcher: Jane Goodall’s Life with the Chimps by Jeanette Winter

Follow Jane Goodall’s life in this vivid picture book.  The book follows Jane from her childhood where she spent a lot of time watching the animals around her, including having a robin nest built on her bookcase in her room.  Jane left home soon after graduating from school, heading to Kenya.  There she met Louis Leakey who was looking for someone to observe chimpanzees.  Jane headed into the jungle to watch the chimpanzees, spending time out near them just quietly viewing them.  She learned all sorts of things that no one had ever discovered before.  Jane spent many years with the chimpanzees learning, but then people began to threaten the chimpanzee habitat, so Jane had to leave them and become their voice, speaking out to assure their survival. 

Winter has created a book that speaks to the heart of what Goodall has done, all of her accomplishments and discoveries pale in the book and in life to her dedication to the animals themselves.  Goodall is a perfect subject for a picture book.  She is a brave woman who braved living alone in the wilderness to do what she felt she was meant to do with her life.  Winter captures all of this in few words, allowing Goodall’s life to speak for itself.

Winter’s illustrations are done in acrylic paint and pen.  They have strong forms, deep colors, and a childlike quality that make the book even more approachable for children.  I especially enjoy the cover image with the reflection of the chimpanzees in the lenses of her binoculars.  It sums up the book delightfully.

There is something special about a book that tells children to follow their hearts, but this one is even more special because it also shows children the value of watching and learning too.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from copy received from Random House Children’s Books.