boats

Review: What This Story Needs Is a Pig in a Wig by Emma F. Virjan

| Tasha

What This Story Needs Is a Pig in a Wig by Emma Virjan

What This Story Needs Is a Pig in a Wig by Emma J. Virjan (InfoSoup)

The pig in a wig comes first in this story where she is quickly floating in a boat on the moat. But then it all starts to get even more silly as a frog, a dog and a goat on a log join her in the boat. A rat and an elephant come next and it gets even more crowded, then a skunk and house! It’s completely full when a mouse and a panda join the floating group. But the pig has had enough and orders everyone to leave. They swim to shore, but then it’s all a bit too quiet for the pig who figures out exactly what they need to stay together.

This very simple rhyming book takes a classic story line of wildly silly building up of creatures in a limited space. The rhymes are silly themselves, often forced in a way that adds to the humor. The entire menagerie of animals have no rhyme or reason them other than rhyming and sometimes not even that. It’s a very silly story and one that is sure to appeal to new readers.

The illustrations are done with simple lines and colors. Looking almost like a coloring book, the illustrations add to the simplicity and the innate appeal of the book.

An early reader that has enough silliness in it to appeal to new readers. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from HarperCollins.

Review: Float by Daniel Miyares

| Tasha

Float by Daniel Miyares

Float by Daniel Miyares (InfoSoup)

This wordless picture book has a boy creating a boat from newspapers that he then takes outside. The sky is dark with rain clouds and the boy protects the paper boat from the sudden downpour with his rain slicker. Then he floats the boat in a quiet puddle. When he lets it into the fast flowing water in the gutter, it scoots away from him, across the road, and down into the sewer. The boy goes to a bridge and sees the limp newspaper page come out of the drainpipe into the pond. It is all droopy and limp, just like the disappointed boy. He heads home, gets dried off, has some cocoa, and then it is back to the  newspapers, this time to make something for the sunny day outside.

Beautifully paced with luminous illustrations, this wordless picture book is filled with simple pleasures. From experiencing the joy of a good rainstorm to having a paper boat that floats so gracefully, the joy is tangible in the early part of the book. Then with the boat racing away from the boy, the pace quickens and the pages turn faster. Readers will know what is going to happen, but hope and hope that it won’t. But it does. The ending of being warm and dry again, with an adult helping and caring for him, makes for a book that celebrates the freedom of playing alone outside but also the importance of having a loving home to return to.

The illustrations are particularly fine. Gray and misty, they embrace the rain and the weather. The boy is a dart of bright yellow on each page, the boat a mix of pastel blues and pinks that sets it apart as well. There is a strong sense of movement on the page from the falling rain to the rushing water. The endpages of the book have folding instructions for both a boat and a paper plane.

A book about playing outside and the joy of nature, this wordless picture book is perfect for rainy days. Just make sure you have plenty of newspaper around. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Review: Whale Trails by Lesa Cline-Ransome

| Tasha

whale trails

Whale Trails: Before and Now by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illustrated by G. Brian Karas

Released January 20, 2015.

A little girl and her father run a whale boat that takes people out onto the water to view the whales in the sea.  Her family has worked the sea there for generations, so she explains how different their search for whales is from those in the past where the whalers were hunting whales.  Each pair of pages shows modern day and then turns in sepia tones to the past.  From changes to the pier and the businesses along it to the design of the boats themselves to the routes and tools used, each pair of pages show how things have changed.  Yet at night as they head home, the bay is the same and so are the whales that live there.

Cline-Ransome has cleverly combined history with always-popular whale watching, creating a book that invites exploration.  Not only is this a look at the changes of the boats over time and what they do with the whales in the bay, but more subtly and importantly, it also looks at the changes in attitudes towards wildlife.  Throughout it is a hopeful book, examining the past with a frank and factual approach. 

Karas’ illustrations clearly show the modern and the historical side-by-side.  His sepia tones spread all the way to edges of the page while the illustrations themselves are framed by lines.  The more colorful modern pages have illustrations that take up the entire page and are less formal feeling thanks to the lack of framing.  These cues will help children keep the two time periods clear.

Clever, smart and engaging, this mix of modern and historical whaling is a superb addition to any library collection.  Appropriate for ages 6-9.

Reviewed from copy received from Henry Holt & Co.

Review: Voyage by Billy Collins

| Tasha

voyage

Voyage by Billy Collins, illustrated by Karen Romagna

The former US Poet Laureate wrote this poem in honor of John Cole who is the Director of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.  The poem celebrates reading and books, and the voyage of discovery that writing and words can take us on.  In the book, a young boy gets on a boat and travels across the open sea.  When he can no longer see land, the boat turns into a book which he starts to read.  When he finishes the book, he becomes the book.  The moon looks down as the boy returns to shore with his boat and his book.

Collins offers children a book that truly introduces them to poetry.  This is a book that asks children to stretch and understand that there is more to the story than is right on the page in the words.  The poem is about reading, about journeys, about wonder and the way that books can inspire and change us.  That is not there on the page, and yet it is there if you look for it.  This is a great book to introduce children to deeper poetry and how it too is dazzling.

Romagna’s illustrations take a literal look at the poem, offering images of what the words are depicting and also hinting at the depths behind them as well.  Filled with moments of whimsy with a friendly moon and a blowing cloud with a face, the illustrations are friendly and celebratory.

A poetic picture book that will make a great gift for book lovers, those who enjoy Billy Collins, and children who are ready for their own voyage into poetry.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Three Bears in a Boat by David Soman

| Tasha

three bears in a boat

Three Bears in a Boat by David Soman

The co-creator of the Ladybug Girl series returns with a completely different type of book.  It is the story of three little bears who accidentally break their mother’s favorite blue seashell, so they set off to find her a new one.  Along the way they meet other bears on boats but only one can give them any advice about finding a blue seashell, they need to look for a hat-shaped island and then look in the right place.  As they travel, the bears look and look for a blue seashell, but don’t find one.  Once they give up hope, they start to argue and as they fight a storm blows up around them.  They may be forced to return home to Mama empty handed, and after all, their mother is a bear!

Soman has created an exceptional picture book.  It hearkens back to many classic picture books, particularly ones by Maurice Sendak like Where the Wild Things Are and the Little Bear series.  It also has ties to the three bears, Beatrix Potter and even Melville.  But best of all, it reads like it is a classic already, one that will be shared with children for years, and very rightly so.  The story arc is brilliantly crafted, moving the story forward and also coming full circle, returning the bears in time for a warm supper with Mama.  It is so strongly built that there is a sense of coming home when reading the story, but also one of surprise and delight at discovering it.

Soman’s art is extraordinary:  from the faces of the little bears that show every emotion clearly despite the fur to the landscapes that are like opening a window to the ocean.  There are page turns where you simply sit for a moment and linger, looking at the new vista before you until you are ready to read the words on the page. 

A top Caldecott contender, this picture book feels like returning home to Mama after a long trip at sea.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Dial Books.

Review: Fog Island by Tomi Ungerer

| Tasha

fog island

Fog Island by Tomi Ungerer

Always expect to be surprised by a picture book by Ungerer.  The Three Robbers is one of our favorites in our house and we’ve also loved the short film of the book and quote lines and sing the song from it years later.  This new book from Ungerer has some of the feel of that earlier title, with fog and darkness and danger.  It is the story of Finn and Cara who lived by the sea.  Their father built them a small boat, a curragh, and warned them to only use it in the bay and never go near Fog Island because people who go there have never returned.  But one day, the two of them were trapped in the fog and a current pulled them out of the bay and towards the doomed island.  Once there, they explored and met the Fog Man, who created the fog from sea water and heat from the center of the earth.  He entertained them and fed them well, but when they awoke the next morning, they were in a ruin rather than his castle.  But where had the warm quilt and hot stew come from?

Ungerer weaves a tale of rural life by the sea and folklore together.  The book could be set during any time at all, with the timeless nature of the story and the way of life.  It has the cadence of a story from oral traditions.  He takes the time to fully introduce the characters, the setting and create a world that contrasts beautifully with the wonder of Fog Island itself.  At the same time, Ungerer is happy to leave the magic of the island unexplained and amazing. 

The art is especially atmospheric, particularly the scenes in the fog with the children adrift.  There is one double page spread with no words that leaves a sense of wistfulness, dread and longing.  One can almost here the bell on the buoy and the silence and muffled world beyond.  Throughout the book, the double spreads are worth lingering over, showing rather than explaining the world that Ungerer has created here.

Magical, dark, and filled with fog, this book would make a great story time paired with The Three Robbers.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Old Robert and the Sea-Silly Cats by Barbara Joosse

| Tasha

old robert

Old Robert and the Sea-Silly Cats by Barbara Joosse, illustrated by Jan Jutte

Old Robert sailed his ship at sea during the day and docked it at night because it was so dark.  At night, he prepared his dinner of toast in buttered milk and ran through his list of things that were all in their proper place, including clean socks, a clock, one dish and one spoon, and the moon.  He was all alone until one night when a dancing cat asked to come aboard.  Old Robert hesitated because there wasn’t much room aboard, but in the end he agreed.  So he made dinner of toast in buttered milk for both of them and when he went to bed, he noticed the moon was bigger.  Now his list included the cat in its hammock as he went to sleep.  On subsequent days, another two talking cats joined him on board, for dinner, and on his list.  And the moon got bigger still.  Finally, a cat that didn’t talk at all arrived and Old Robert let it on board too.  There was no room for a hammock, for Old Robert let it sleep on his chest.  Finally, the moon was full and Old Robert sailed off into the moonlit night with all of the cats. 

I expected quite a different book when I saw the cover.  I thought it was going to be silly, zany, and rather wild.  Instead, this book has a beautiful quietness to it, a thoughtfulness, and makes for a perfect bedtime read.  Joosse incorporates repetition so well here that it becomes a lullaby.  His listing of his belongings doesn’t change much, except for the size of the moon and the number of cats.  It speaks to the simplicity of his life, but also to how lonely he is.  This is shown rather than told, giving the book a lovely little ache that heads right for the heart.

Jutte’s illustrations too have a mix of silly and quiet.  They have a vintage feel, of old comic books that will make readers feel right at home.  They have great color with explosions of pinks, blues and yellows that pop and glow. 

A great read aloud, this would make a great bedtime pick but it is also a good one to turn into reader’s theater for children.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Philomel Books

Book Review: Hopper and Wilson by Maria van Lieshout

| Tasha

hopper and wilson

Hopper and Wilson by Maria van Lieshout

Hopper and Wilson try to imagine what is on the other side of the big sea.  Wilson, the mouse, thinks there will be lots of lemonade there.  Hopper, the elephant, imagines a staircase to the moon!  So they decide to head out in their boat and see what actually is on the other side of the sea.  They bring their red balloon with them too.  They sail through the day and night, until they are awoken by rain and wind.  Soon the waves are huge and dangerous.  When the sea calms, Wilson is alone in the boat.  As he sails on alone, he asks animals if they have seen Hopper, but neither the turtles, nor the penguins, nor the whale had seen him.  Finally, Wilson sees a bird with a familiar red thread and discovers Hopper afloat on the balloon.  Happily after that they reach the other side of the sea.  And there they find they are home, what luck that home is at both the end and the beginning of the world.

This is a warm and lovely book about friendship and the meaning of home.  It has a great adventure at its center too.  Van Lieshout’s writing is friendly and welcoming.  There are small, sweet touches like the two characters saying farewell to their pet cactus before heading out, the reaction when the friends are reunited, and the moment they discover they are back home again.  This all adds up to a story that has a genuine heart.

A large part of the appeal of the book are the illustrations.  They are done in a mix of watercolors, ink, collage, colored pencil, crayon and acrylics “with some technology to pull it all together.”  They have the appealing liquidity of watercolors, the texture of pencil and crayon, and the deep black edges of ink. 

Highly recommended, this book has a radiant, timeless appeal.  Share it with your small adventurer who will also be happy to come back home at the end.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Philomel Books.

Also reviewed by On My Bookshelf… and You Know, For Kids.

Book Review: The Abandoned Lighthouse by Albert Lamb

| Tasha

abandonedlighthouse

The Abandoned Lighthouse by Albert Lamb, illustrated by David McPhail

A bear finds a rowboat near his favorite waterfall and promptly falls asleep in it.  The rowboat carries him through the sea and to a rocky shore with a lighthouse.  Then the rowboat drifted away.  It appeared on the beach near a young boy and his dog.  When his ball got stuck in the boat, the boy climbed in.  He and his dog were carried to the same lighthouse.  There, the boy and the bear met, spent time together, and slept.  But the little dog was awoken in the night by a storm and they all spotted a very large ship about the crash on the rocks.  They worked together to light the lamp and warn the ship to safety.  In the end, the rowboat carried the bear and the boy back to their own shores and the ship safely into its port.

This appealing book tells a simple story in a straight-forward way, perfect for young readers.  It is formatted as a reader rather than a picture book, though it would be successful in either format.  The story has enough mystery to keep the pages turning and then enough action to finish up on a high note.  It is a rather mystical book, filled with possibilities, but can still be read as a simple story as well.

McPhail’s art is lovely.  He plays with jewel tones in the sea, light and dark in the storm.  His art is easy to understand, making it very appropriate for the title.  Yet in his art, there is also the potential to see more too. 

A very nice early reader for library collections, this book is gentle and mysterious.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.  Reviewed from copy received from Roaring Brook Press.