balls

Review: Run, Dog! by Cecile Boyer

| Tasha

run dog

Run, Dog! by Cecile Boyer

One red ball and one yellow dog create lots of merry chaos in this picture book.  The dog chases the red ball from one scenario to the next, interacting with the people in the scene until finally one of them grabs the ball and throws it off the page.  The pages are filled with action thanks to a tiered page system where you turn on section of the page at a time and the scene changes along with it.  As the sections are turned, the ball bounces in different ways and the dog reacts making the people in the scene react too!

Near wordless, this book just has single words as the ball is thrown to the next page.  The illustrations are bright and pop off the page.  They are as simple as the words but are also very cleverly done.  The structure of the book creates a very dynamic feel and invites small hands to turn the pages to see what happens next.  There is a sense as one reads the book that the reader is the one setting the pace and creating the changes that unfold.

Very engaging, dynamic and great fun, this book is ideal for toddlers who are willing to be careful with the pages.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy received from Chronicle Books.

Review: Peanut & Fifi Have a Ball by Randall de Seve

| Tasha

peanut and fifi have a ball

Peanut & Fifi Have a Ball by Randall de Seve, illustrated by Paul Schmid

Peanut had a brand new ball.  It was blue and special.  But Fifi wanted to play with the ball too.  She tried grabbing it away from Peanut, and she tried being polite and asking “Please.”  But Peanut would not share it.  Then Fifi got creative and started coming up with ideas of how they could play with the ball.  It could wear a hat.  It could be a crystal ball and Fifi could tell fortunes.  It could be bread dough and Fifi could be a chef.  This book about sharing as siblings ends with a believable twist that is clever and satisfying.

De Seve’s text really comes alive when Fifi starts to imagine what she can do with the ball.  He is consistently simple and clear throughout, allowing the story to play out with a natural rhythm and flow.  The pacing is nicely done as well, allowing both sisters to have their space to think and react.

Schmid’s art is what makes this book really stand out.  His hip and modern visual style uses strong black lines and tropical colors.  In just a few lines, Schmid manages to convey a character’s mood clearly but not in an over-the-top manner.  His art is simple and very effective.

A great pick for toddlers and early preschoolers that would make a nice addition to story times or book lists about sharing.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy received from Dial Books.