friendship

Book Review: Clancy & Millie and the Very Fine House by Libby Gleeson

| Tasha

clancymillie

Clancy & Millie and the Very Fine House by Libby Gleeson, illustrated by Freya Blackwood

When Clancy and his family move to a new house, everyone is delighted, except Clancy.  Clancy think everything about the new house is too big.  He fondly remembers his old room, the old fireplace, the old house.  Clancy heads outside to play and discovers the huge pile of cardboard boxes left from the move.  He starts to play in them and then hears someone’s voice.  It’s Millie, a new neighbor.  The two play together with the boxes, finally building a house out of them, a very fine house.

Gleeson has captured the uncertainty of a move.  She never descends into melodrama here, instead speaking directly to Clancy’s feelings and reactions to the new home.  Children who have experienced a move, even one they enjoyed, will recognize the emotions here.  Gleeson’s use of the moving boxes as a way to deal with the move and make a new friend is very clever.  They change from a symbol of what Clancy moved away from into a symbol of what he moved to. 

Blackwood’s illustrations show the move from Clancy’s point of view.  The rooms of the new house loom, gray and empty around him.  The images from his memories are brighter and cozier, clearly contrasting with the new home.  The tower of boxes seems taller than the houses when Clancy heads outside.  The potential is there is the gravity-defying stack. 

This is a great book about moving, making new friends, and the power of imagination to create new connections and memories.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

 

Book Review: Say Hello to Zorro! by Carter Goodrich

| Tasha

sayhellozorro

Say Hello to Zorro! by Carter Goodrich

Mister Bud had a great life.  He had his own bed, his own toys, his own dish, and best of all, his own schedule.  His schedule had plenty of nap time, meal time, and walks.  Everyone followed the schedule.  Period.  But one day, the schedule was interrupted when a stranger showed up.  Zorro, a new dog, was moving in with them.  At first it was tough and there were fights, but then both Mister Bud and Zorro realized that their lives were a lot better together.  And everyone followed the new schedule.  Period.

Goodrich writes with a real sense of comic timing.  The book reads aloud beautifully, often using a page turn to add to the suspense of a sentence.  The growing friendship of the two dogs is a pleasure to read.  Especially noteworthy is the fact that neither dog changed their personalities as the book progresses, but rather found common ground for their friendship.

The illustrations make great use of the white background.  They tell the story with visual humor that adds to the book’s tone.  The colors are bright and friendly.  Best of all, the illustrations capture emotions perfectly.  There is the joy of a walk, the quiet of a nap, the anger of a new dog, and the silent lean of a dog waiting to be fed. 

Pet lovers, this is a book that you will relate to immediately.  A great addition to any dog story time, this book will also work for friendship or new sibling units.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Simon & Schuster.

Also reviewed by:

Book Review–Three by the Sea by Mini Grey

| Tasha

threebythesea

Three by the Sea by Mini Grey

Dog, Cat and Mouse all live happily together by the sea with their household chores neatly divided.  But when a Fox comes ashore, he causes all sorts of trouble.  He brings tempting items from The Winds of Change company that will change their lives.  Dog’s gardening is criticized for only being buried bones, so the stranger offers Mouse herb seeds and new cookbooks.  Dog is encouraged to wear a new collar and is upset at Cat’s laziness.  Cat is shown how dull and repetitive Mouse’s cheesy recipes are by the Fox offering some canned fish.  Soon all of them are at odds with one another.  In the end, Mouse heads away along the shore, but is picked up by a wave and carried out to sea.  When Cat tries to help, she has trouble floating.  So finally Dog, rescues them both.  Now the lives of the three look very different, so was the Fox actually helpful or harmful?

Grey’s book is about cooperation, working together, and also outside influences which can be seen in different ways.  She has created a picture book that is not definitive about the Fox and his influence.  The nuanced conclusion offers room for discussion and speculation.  Grey’s illustrations continue to charm.  She incorporates photographs and cut paper art into them to great effect.  They have a whimsical charm that invite readers right into the world she creates.

Another winner from a great picture book author and illustrator, this book will be a great addition to any beachy story time.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Alfred A. Knopf.

Also reviewed by:

Board Book Reviews–Hello Friends Series by Emma Quay

| Tasha

sleep-tight-a-book-about-bedtime letsplayhouse 

puddlejumping yummy-ice-cream-a-book-about-sharing

Good Night, Sleep Tight by Emma Quay and Anna Walker

Let’s Play House by Emma Quay and Anna Walker

Puddle Jumping by Emma Quay and Anna Walker

Yummy Ice Cream by Emma Quay and Anna Walker

Four new board books welcome the youngest readers into a group of three friends.  There is Panda, Sheep and Owl, who are all different, enjoy different things, but manage to be the best of friends despite that.  The series has warm illustrations that are done with a mix of paint and fabric.  This lends a real richness and friendliness to them.  The text of the books is brief, humorous and engaging.  These are stories that are simple and great fun.

Good Night, Sleep Tight is a bedtime story.  The three friends decide to go camping in their sleeping bags.  They all settle in, but both Owl and Sheep are uncomfortable.  Only Panda is cozy, so the other two decide to join Panda in the one sleeping bag.

Let’s Play House has the friends building a play house together out of a blanket and some chairs.  But the house doesn’t work out so well, especially after Panda stands up to leave, taking the roof with him.  But all is not lost, as a new game is invented.

Puddle Jumping is about bravery.  Owl and Panda have great fun jumping over a big puddle the three friends discover.  But Sheep is scared to try, scared she will fall on her bottom and get hurt.  Eventually Sheep does try to jump the puddle, and she ends up having a lot of fun in an unexpected way.

Yummy Ice Cream is about sharing.  Sheep and Panda both have ice cream cones that are very yummy.  But Owl doesn’t have any.  The three friends find a very inventive way of making two ice cream cones into more.

As you can see, children will recognize their own play and activities in these books.  These are modern, stylish board books for the youngest of children.  Appropriate for ages 1-3.

Reviewed from copies received from Penguin Books.

Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen–A Family Favorite

| Tasha

harrisandme

Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen

When I first read Harris and Me, I had it along with me on a family trip with my husband and parents.  I ended up reading entire portions of it aloud to a room of adults who all hooted and laughed and begged for me to continue.  Then when my older son was around the right age, I read it aloud to him.  He loved it.  This week, I finished reading it aloud to my younger son, who loves to be read to but doesn’t care to read to himself much.  He asked for his own copy so he could read it whenever he liked.

Some lines from the book have entered our vocabulary in our family.  If I get grumpy, my husband (far too often) says “Now, Buzzer…”  Whenever a little car revs past our house, I say “the engine starved for oxygen its entire life.”  And perhaps even worse, we all get the joke and laugh, immediately thinking of the scenes from Harris and Me.

Paulsen has created a book that is so funny.  It reads aloud like a dream, and having read it aloud cover-to-cover at least 3 times by now, I should know.  The humor is often naughty, involving things like peeing on an electric fence, being kicked in the groin by a cow, and attempting to kill a very evil rooster.  At the same time, it is belly-laugh funny, quoting lines great, and will linger with you after you finish it.

And the ending, well.  Let’s just say it’s the most challenging part to read aloud because no matter how many times I read it, I will always cry.

So if you are looking for a book to hook a kid with its humor, with its inappropriateness, with its pure appeal, look no further!  This one is a winner with every person I have ever shared it with.  It’s a definite family favorite for three generations of our family.

Without You: Fractured Friendship

| Tasha

withoutyou

Without You by Genevieve Cote

The pig and bunny from Me and You return in this second book about their friendship.  After pig accidentally dumps bunny’s items out of a wagon, the two of them decide they can no longer be friends.  They list the things that they will happily do apart from one another from cooking to reading to painting and music.  Then they realize that things are indeed much more fun together.  Food tastes better, colors are brighter, and music is sweeter.  This celebration of the ups and downs of friendship will resonate with children.

Cote  has written this book in a fresh engaging first person style where the two characters take turns talking in their own voices.  The lack of any framing statements makes for a very engaging book that is a pleasure to read aloud, changing between the two distinct voices of the characters.  The illustrations echo the same freshness with their pastel palette, light lines and free form colors. 

A great choice for friendship story times, this book’s springtime colors will also make it a natural fit for any spring story time.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Kids Can Press.

Also reviewed by Young Readers.

Blue Chameleon: Colorful Companionship

| Tasha

bluechameleon

Blue Chameleon by Emily Gravett

Gravett’s latest is a charmingly simple picture book that showcases her illustrations.  The featured character in the book is a chameleon who is feeling blue because he is lonely.  So he sets off to find a friend.  As he meets different objects and animals, his color changes to mimic theirs.  He turns yellow like the banana.  He turns pink like the cockatoo.  He even turns spotty like a ball and striped like a sock.  But he just can’t find a friend.  As he mopes gray on a rock and then disappears white against the page, he finally finds a friend who is just as colorful as he is.

Gravett has created a book about colors where the colors are a vital part of the story being told, making it very different than some picture books about colors that don’t read nearly as naturally.  Adding to the appeal is the emotive chameleon himself and his attempts at making friends.  Children will get the humor of the situation, love the moment he begins to show patterns, and also will relate to making friends.

Gravett’s illustrations and text work well together.  The bulk of the text is just the color and the object the chameleon is interacting with.  The chameleon also makes friendly comments to the potential friends, adding a welcome touch of more humor to the title.  The illustrations are bright, large and will work equally well with groups or reading to one child.

Highly recommended for any library’s colorful shelves, this book will be enjoyed by any preschooler or toddler.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy received from Simon & Schuster.

Also reviewed by:

I’m Not: Funny Friendship

| Tasha

imnot

I’m Not by Pam Smallcomb, illustrated by Robert Weinstock

Evelyn is everything that the narrator is not.  Evelyn is not ordinary.  She is fast, jumping, fashionable, artistic, and imaginative.  Our narrator is not.  But when Evelyn slows down, our quiet narrator discovers that there are things that she herself is good at and Evelyn is not.  Evelyn cannot spell well; she can’t do karate; she’s scared of the dark.  And what Evelyn needs most is a best friend.  Now that is something that our narrator definitely IS.

Smallcomb has captured the tension of friendship between an outgoing person and a quieter person.  I appreciated that Evelyn is not a pushy person or a bully.  Rather she is loud, gregarious and fun.  Our narrator could be read as shy or as quiet, which many children will relate to.  Smallcomb writes with a clever voice, allowing readers to really experience Evelyn with the wonder and thrill that our narrator feels.  Readers will happily take away the lesson that we all have something to offer, whether we are in the spotlight or not.

Weinstock’s illustrations add to the humor of the book.  His style is similar to the beloved James Marshall of George and Martha fame.  Thanks to the illustrations and writing style, this book has a timeless feel that will welcome young readers.

Highly recommended, this is a perfect addition to friendship units or story times.  It will read aloud well and young readers will connect with the characters easily.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Schwartz & Wade Books.

Also reviewed by:

Ribbit Rabbit: Great Rhyming Fun

| Tasha

ribbitrabbit

Ribbit Rabbit by Candace Ryan, illustrated by Mike Lowery

Frog and Bunny are the best of friend.  They swim together.  Fight monsters together.  Even share peanut butter sandwiches.  But sometimes something happens and they stop getting along.  Like when they find a robot with a key.  One of them ends up with the robot, the other with the key.  And they don’t want to share.  After a bit of alone time though, they come together ready to share and have fun once again.

Ryan’s text is such fun to read aloud.  It trips, gallops, dashes and dances on the tongue.  The rhythm of the book is a delight and the silly rhymes add joy to the book.  It is impossible to read it without grinning. 

Lowery’s illustrations have a wonderful modern, fresh feel to them.  Done in pencil, screen printing and print gocco, they are finished digitally.  They have a simplicity that works well here.  The soft colors have an intriguing pop to them and the texture from the screen printing adds to the appeal.

Highly recommended, this is a top choice for toddler and preschool story times.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from ARC received from Bloomsbury.

Also reviewed by The Bookbag and Young Readers.