helpfulness

2 Friendly New Picture Books for Helping Hands

| Tasha

Oh Dear, Look What I Got! By Michael Rosen, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury (9781536235685)

The masters who gave us We’re Going on a Bear Hunt reunite for another great read-aloud picture book in a similar style. A little boy heads from shop to shop asking for something but instead getting a rhyming item. He asks for a carrot and gets a parrot. He asks for a hat and gets a cat. Along the way, his lineup of animals steadily grows until he finally asks for a cup and gets a pup who manages to set in motion a real mess. In the end, the animals are returned to the shop keepers and the boy gets the items he wanted all along. 

This book is filled with energy and romping rhythms that make it a treat to read aloud. Rosen cleverly builds his rhymes into the story, creating moments that children can guess what the animal might be. He also uses repeating lines that audience members will enjoy saying along with the book character. “Do I want that? No, I do NOT!” The illustrations are pure Oxenbury joy, mimicking the structure of Bear Hunt while also creating something fresh and new. 

A great read-aloud pick that will be a new classic. Appropriate for ages 2-5.

Reviewed from copy provided by Candlewick.

Piccolo by Dan Yaccarino (9780316574563)

Piccolo creates a list of the places he wants to visit in his Italian city that day. He makes it to the gelato store and almost gets to start eating, but his friend Mr. Rosso needs help carrying his artwork to the museum. Luckily, the museum is on Piccolo’s list of favorite places. Soon Piccolo is being asked to help with all sorts of things around town. He manages to either check most of the items off his list of places to visit or to do something very similar as he helps everyone. Unfortunately though, he doesn’t make it back in time for the gelato shop to be open. What’s a shrew to do? Happily, his friends come through. With Yaccarino’s signature illustration style, this Italian picture book merrily brings readers into the city and all around. Filled with all sorts of animals, the city is lively and active.

All the better to learn a bit of Italian along the way. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Hachette Book Group.

3 Picture Books That Rumble and Roll

| Tasha

Every Monday Mabel by Jashar Awan (9781665938150)

Mabel has a Monday routine. Her family thinks she’s cute and funny, but she doesn’t care. First, she needs a chair. Then she pours herself dry cereal for breakfast, then it’s out to the driveway to watch and wait. Finally it’s here! The glorious garbage truck. It’s the best part of the day and everyone else missed it.

I could read this picture book again and again, it’s so joyous. Awan captures the pleasure of a routine, the amazement of large machinery and the focus of a small child with such a mix of humor and dignity. Let’s be honest, there aren’t many books out there where a truck-loving girl can see herself reflected. And lots of truck books don’t work well for reading aloud. This one does!

Perfect for a trashy story time. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Faith Takes the Train by Kesi Augustine, illustrated by Mokshini (9780063251342)

Faith and her mother are taking the train home from Grandma’s house. They take this train often. Faith is eating a peanut-butter-and-jelly-and honey sandwich. Then she sees their old neighbor Isaiah stand up and ask for some help or some food. Even though her heart pounds, Faith offers Isaiah the rest of her sandwich. Faith wonders if there’s a way to continue to help Isaiah and his family. Perhaps it’s one sandwich at a time.

The jaunty train ride turns into something more profound as one little girl reaches out and makes a difference. The writing is easy to read aloud and the illustrations share a diverse urban experience.

A great addition to any storytime about transportation or helping others. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by HarperCollins.

Midnight Motorbike by Maureen Shay Tajsar, illustrated by Ishita Jain (9780823456628)

When it is too hot to sleep, Amma takes her daughter for a ride on her motorbike. The two travel through Indian villages heading to the Bay of Bengal. The journey is one of many senses from the bright flowers to the smell of chai and dosas, to the sight of rice flour designs to fool the red ants. There is the smell of the jasmine flower garlands and the beauty of the fabrics in the silk shop. When they reach the bay, there is the huge moon waiting for them and the little girl falls asleep in the moonlight.

This is such an evocative book based on the author’s summers with her mother in rural South India. The story is a mixture of magical motorcycle ride that is dreamlike and connection with India’s sensory experiences of flowers, food and customs. The illustrations are just as lush as a hot night, filled with rich colors that weave a gorgeous nighttime journey.

Just the right bedtime story for hot summer nights. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Ty’s Travels: Super Ty! By Kelly Starling Lyons – Book Review

| Tasha

Ty’s Travels: Super Ty! by Kelly Starling Lyons, illustrated by Niña Mata (9780063083721)

Ty becomes a super hero in this newest book in the award-winning beginning-reader series. When Ty puts on his mask and cape, he’s ready to save the day just like his favorite super heroes. So when a dad needs someone to open the door for him, Ty saves the day! At the playground, when a boy is frightened of the slide, Ty saves the day by sliding with him. Mom can’t find her keys, but Ty can! Ty takes a break from all of his hard work as a super hero but when his paper plane gets stuck in a tree, Ty may be the one who needs to be saved.

Done in simple and readable language that is accessible to beginning readers, this book continues the themes of community and family that run through the entire series. Though the book’s language is simple, the story has a great depth to it and asks questions about being a helper and also accepting help from others. The illustrations are bright and cheery. They capture Ty’s imagination in childlike sketches that pop against the otherwise smoothly drawn images.

Another great book in a series that can’t be missed. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by HarperCollins.

Hurricane by John Rocco

| Tasha
Cover image for Hurricane.

Hurricane by John Rocco (9780759554931)

The boy who narrates this story of a hurricane has a neighborhood dock that he loves. No one ever uses it except for him. It’s old, splintery and weathered, and just perfect. He can fish from the dock, catch crabs and swim. One day when he returned home from the dock, the air felt different and his father was putting boards over the windows. A storm was coming. The winds were big enough to shake the whole house and the river crept up the street. The next morning, the boy headed back to his dock, ready to fish. But his neighborhood looked different and the dock was destroyed. The boy asked everyone for help rebuilding the dock, but they were busy fixing their homes. So he knew he had to do it himself. Day after day, he worked on the dock all alone. Just when he was about to give up, help arrived. The whole town helped rebuild the dock into something that they could all share.

Caldecott-Honoree, Rocco, continues his exploration of natural disasters with this third book following Blizzard and Blackout. Rocco captures the joy of being near water, both when you have a treasured place that you can use alone and when it’s bustling and shared. The connection with nature is evident throughout the book, with the unnamed protagonist taking solace during the storm by imagining himself under his dock. The hard work the boy does to get his special place back is then supported by the community and shows the power of helping one another.

Rocco’s illustrations are full of sunshine and water at first. They show how the boy loves his time at the dock. Then the storm comes and Rocco has captured the unique lighting of pre-storm hours and then the darkness that descends. The devastation afterwards is realistic and dramatic, with trees down, shingles on the ground, and a flooded road. The moment that the boy sees his dock is particularly heart-wrenching and also a moment of resilience.

This picture book celebrates nature and community even in moments of devastation. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Little, Brown and Company.

I Can Help by Reem Faruqi

| Tasha
Cover image for I Can Help.

I Can Help by Reem Faruqi, illustrated by Mikela Prevost (9780802855046)

Zahra loves to volunteer to help a boy in her class. Kyle has problems with reading, writing, cutting and gluing. Kyle is great at drawing and other things though. As Zahra helps him, she discovers that he is generous, funny and kind too. Then one day, when Zahra is swinging high on the swings and seeing the new colors of the leaves, she overhears some girls saying mean things about Kyle. She stops swinging and one girl asks her why she volunteers to help Kyle anyway. The next day, the girls stare at Zahra as she is asked to help Kyle cut some paper. Zahra makes a poor choice and stops helping Kyle, telling him to do it himself. Zahra has become a mean girl that she doesn’t even recognize. The next year, at a new school, Zahra has a chance to make different decisions and do better, and that’s just what she does.

The author of Amira’s Picture Day returns with a book based on her own experience as a child. It’s a look at a child who longs to be helpful but allows peer pressure to lead her away from who she sees herself being. The bullying nature is written so accurately, not overblown into something but kept slick and insidious. Zahra’s own response is honest and real, the shame of acting that way and not seeing a way forward. This book could have turned didactic very quickly and nicely shows a child making her own decisions and coming out of it having learned something about herself and who she intends to be.

The illustrations offer a diverse classroom. They use plenty of white space while expanding to larger images at times too. The children’s faces are done very effectively, showing a wide range of emotions.

Sure to create opportunities for discussion, this picture book gives space for children to make mistakes and recover from them. Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from copy provided by Eerdmans.

The Perfect Plan by Leah Gilbert

| Tasha

The Perfect Plan by Leah Gilbert (9781547605262)

Maya dreams of having the “most incredible and wonderful” fort in the woods. So she researches, designs, plans and gathers supplies. Then she found the perfect spot in the woods for it. But when she started trying to build the fort, it didn’t turn out the way she had planned. But Maya didn’t give up. She went to the beavers at the river and asked them for help. They soon had plenty of branches, but they were too heavy to move. Maya spotted a moose in the trees and asked the moose to help them lift the branches high into the trees. But none of them could climb well enough. So Maya asked the bears for help. Soon they had a frame, but it wouldn’t stay in place. Maya and her team called to the birds for help and they twisted and wound vines around the frame to hold it. The fort was almost perfect, but then a storm blew in and Maya had to go home. Would the fort be ruined after all their hard work?

This story shows how working together and having each creature use their own unique talents can create something very special. At first, the book has Maya working in a solitary way with her own plans. That quickly changes when she needs help and asks for it. As the book proceeds, the words Maya uses to describe the fort they are building change too, to better reflect what that creature brings to the overall project. It’s a dynamic use of language, showing how Maya’s perspective changes with the help of others.

Gilbert’s art really reveals the magic of the forest on the page. Her illustrations are luminous with streaks and rays of sunlight coming through the trees. The greens are fresh and welcoming while the rainstorm is a threatening purple in the sky. The use of colors is very effective throughout the book.

A STEM look at building a fort with friends. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy provided by Bloomsbury.

Too Small Tola by Atinuke

| Tasha
Cover image.

Too Small Tola by Atinuke, illustrated by Onyinye Iwu (9781536211276)

Tola lives in Lagos, Nigeria with her older brother and sister and her grandmother. Tola is the youngest and quite small, though she notices throughout these three stories that often the smallest people turn out to be the strongest too. In the first story, Tola goes with her Grandmommy to the market because she is the best at counting change. She and her grandmother carry the heavy groceries and items back on their heads, stopping along the way for treats. In the next story, the water stops working in their apartment, so Tola wakes her siblings to get water from the well early so they aren’t late for school. But her clever idea doesn’t quite work out as expected. In the last story, Tola and her brother help their neighbor the tailor after he gets into an accident and can’t ride his bike. Thanks to her way with numbers, Tola can measure the clients for their new clothes and her brother is strong enough to pedal them all over the city.

Any new book by Atinuke is a treat, but one that introduces a new character and her family is a particular delight. As always, Atinuke shows both the poverty in Nigeria but also the strength of the community. Tola works hard throughout the book, making sure that she is taking care of her grandmother, her siblings and her neighbors. She uses her own particular skills to help, including her ability to notice small things, count correct change, and measure closely. She also uses her innate kindness and love for others to motivate herself.

The illustrations are done in friendly and often funny line drawings. These drawings show vital elements of the story such as the size of the rice bag that Grandmommy carries on her head and the length of the line at the well. They also help to break up the text, making this early chapter book approachable and adding clever humor.

Another charmer from a master Nigerian storyteller. Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from copy provided by Candlewick Press.

Hamish Takes the Train by Daisy Hirst

| Tasha

Hamish Takes the Train by Daisy Hirst (9781536216592)

Hamish the bear and Noreen the goose love to watch trains together. Hamish longs to take a train to the city, but Noreen isn’t interested. So Hamish set off, following the train tracks on foot. When he got to the station though, he found he needed a ticket, so he just kept on walking. As night fell, he came to a railroad yard and discovered a caboose all lit up inside. There he found Christov who was sick with the flu and too ill to go to work in the morning and run a big crane. So Hamish offered to help. He borrowed Christov’s hat and jacket and headed into the city on the train. When he got to the building site though, he didn’t have any boots, luckily he was able to find some nearby. Then it was time to run the huge crane. Hamish worked hard, running the crane from the cozy cabin. He did it for the five days that Christov was sick and was offered a job himself by the end. But Hamish was missing Noreen and took a train home, to share his adventures with her, and maybe have some new ones together.

Hirst tells a charming tale of Hamish, a bear with a taste for adventure and trying new things. He is also a very helpful and thoughtful character, helping out where he can and finding unique solutions to problems he encounters along the way. I was most impressed that Hamish was a success as he tried to help. It became a celebration of trying new things, learning and succeeding rather than what is often seen in children’s books like Curious George where helping becomes failing in a funny way.

The art is simple and friendly, capturing both the expanse of the countryside and the bustle of the city streets. Some of the pages are fully colored while others use white space and smaller images that move the story ahead. Throughout there is a sense of happy positivity.

A glorious adventure full of trains and cranes. Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Candlewick Press.

Little Wise Wolf by Gijs van der Hammen

| Tasha
Cover image of Little Wise Wolf

Little Wise Wolf by Gijs van der Hammen, illustrated by Hanneke Siemensma, translated by Laura Watkinson

Little Wolf loves reading lots of books. It’s how he knows so much about the world. All of his neighbors called him Little Wise Wolf and sought him out to answer their difficult questions. But Little Wolf didn’t want to interrupt his reading and kept his door closed. When the king’s crow comes to ask him to help the king, who is ill, Little Wolf refuses at first. After being convinced that he can’t refuse, Little Wolf sets off across the countryside. Along the way, it’s clear that the wolf needs help, but the other animals are busy doing their own things. When he finds himself wet, lost and missing a boot in the dark forest, Little Wolf discovers a camp already set up where he could eat and sleep warmly by a fire. It was all of the animals who had decided to help him after all. Little Wolf continued on his way to the king, asking for help as he needed it along the way. When he had saved the king and returned home, he made sure that he was never too busy to help a neighbor again.

This picture book celebrates knowledge and community. While learning from books is seen throughout the story as very valuable, it doesn’t really make its full impact until it is used to help someone else. Originally published in the Netherlands, this picture book has a delightful European feel. The text is straight forward but with space for interpretation and some dreaming too. The pace of the book is very similar, full of adventure but also time for meandering a bit.

The illustrations are marvelously gauzy, showing a black wolf with a white face and bright red boots on his journey. There are leafy patterns, rounded hills, puddling rain, and much more. The pages have a luminous quality as well as offering a haunting landscape.

A journey worth taking. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Kids Can Press.