complaining

Penguin Problems by Jory John

| Tasha

penguin-problems-by-jory-john

Penguin Problems by Jory John, illustrated by Lane Smith (InfoSoup)

One rather grumpy penguin takes readers on a tour of all the things that are wrong in his penguin life. There is the cold, the snow, the crowd of other penguins who make too much noise and all look like him. The sea is too salty. The sun is too bright. There are predators in the water. He waddles when he walks and can’t fly. It goes on and on. Then a wise walrus overhears the penguin and explains that he is wasting his one life focused on the negative rather than the spectacular beauty around him. But is the penguin ready to hear this? Maybe for a moment or two.

John’s text is uproariously funny. The litany of complaints is cleverly written and ends up having a rather jaunty if petulant rhythm to it. Even children will recognize that there are some people who just complain all the time. The walrus’ wisdom is rich and lovely, delivered as a lecture and something that makes this book even more fun to share aloud. Even better is the penguin’s reaction, which ends the book in just the right way.

Smith’s art adds to the humor. The penguin looks like all the others but has a personality all his own. The illustrations use a subtle color palette filled with shades of whites and grays to create the snowy landscape. Against that, the penguins pop. The dark underwater scenes are deep and menacing, setting a great contrast to the snow.

Don’t miss the book jacket where the penguin greets readers with his attitude right from the start. Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Random House Books for Young Readers.

 

 

Review: The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt

| Tasha

day the crayons quit

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers

Published June 27, 2013

Duncan is all set to color, but when he opens his crayon box he finds all sorts of letters written to him by his crayons.  And they are all letters of complaint!  First, Red wants to complain about being overworked because of all of his work on apples and fire engines.  He even works holidays like Christmas and Valentine’s Day!  Other crayons like Beige are complaining about not being used enough.  Then there is the feud between Orange and Yellow about how is the real color of the sun, since Duncan uses them both.  Peach crayon is upset about having his wrapper peeled off leaving him naked and unable to come out of the crayon box.  Purple scolds Duncan for coloring outside the lines and Pink complains about not being used except by Duncan’s little sister.  Luckily, Duncan has a great solution to all of their complaints.

Daywalt has created a book that is such fun to read aloud.  Each crayon’s letter really has its own voice, making it a pleasure to give new voices for each crayon character.  This mix of tones and voices also results in a very robust story, much more than one might expect for such a simple concept.  The entire book is cheerful and has laugh-out-loud moments throughout.

Jeffers’ art is as always playful with his own particular whimsical touches.  His crayons come to life with just a few lines that convey emotion through eyes, mouth and arms.  Simple and completely convincing.

A colorful look at crayons, personalities and ultimately creativity, this picture book should be shared aloud with plenty of paper for coloring on.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Philomel.