imagination

A Beach Tail

| Tasha

A Beach Tail by Karen Lynn Williams, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

When Gregory drew a Sandy Lion in the sand on the beach, his father suggested that Sandy needs a tail.  He also told Gregory not to go in the water and not to leave Sandy.  Gregory drew a tail with his drawing stick.  When he came to a jellyfish on shore, he draw a loop around it.  He went up and over an old sandcastle.  He zigzagged around a horseshoe crab.  He swirled around the hole of a ghost crab.  He wrote his name.  Then he turned around and realized how far he was from his father!  How could be find him on the huge beach?  Gregory followed Sandy’s tail back to the beginning all on his own.

This is a story of a beautiful day at the beach combined with a boy’s imagination.  The words use some repetition of the father’s instructions not to go into the water or leave Sandy.  I also appreciate a book where a child moves some distance away from a parent with no fear and uses his own ingenuity to return safely. 

It is the pastel illustrations by Cooper that really bring this book to life and raise it to another level.  The entire book is done with the detail you see on the cover image above.  Gregory’s face reflects his moods, his intentness, his creativity so clearly.  The use of a fairly limited tan and brown palette really works here, uniting the boy and the beach without losing either one of them.  The soft grainy illustrations capture the gritty feel of a sandy beach.

You will almost be able to smell the salt air with these illustrations.  A vacation in a book, it is appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Check out Karen Lynn Williams’ blog and Floyd Cooper’s website.

Mathilda and the Orange Balloon

| Tasha

Mathilda and the Orange Balloon by Randall de Seve, illustrated by Jen Corace.

Mathilda’s world is small, only a few things in it: gray skies, green grass, green barn, gray stones, and gray sheep.  It was all ok, until she saw the bright orange balloon float past.  Then all she wanted to be was an orange balloon herself.  First, she made herself as round as the balloon.  The hardest part is turning herself orange.  The other sheep offer up ideas of things that are orange: fierce tigers, the sun, autumn leaves.  Mathilda imagined herself orange and round as hard as she could and suddenly, there she was, a Mathilda-shaped orange balloon.  That was when the lives of all of the sheep changed.

A wonderful book about the power of dreams and imagination, this book is simple and delightful.  De Seve’s writing is straight-forward and plain, offering a wonderful contrast between it and the subject matter.  Corace’s illustrations use white space to great advantage, emphasizing the simplicity of Mathilda’s world until imagination enters it.  Her sheep have great personality, with winning facial expressions.

Bravo for such a creative little book that takes imagination into reality with no hesitation.  This will make any sheep story time less gray and more colorful!  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Harper Collins.

Also reviewed by Creative Literacy.

My Garden

| Tasha

My Garden by Kevin Henkes

A little girl helps her mother in her garden.  It is a nice garden, but if the little girl could create her own garden, it would be very different!  There would be no weeds.  No plants would die.  If you imagined the flowers different colors and patterns, they would change.  Rabbits would not eat lettuce, instead they would be chocolate rabbits meant to be eaten.  There would be lots of birds and butterflies, and unique things would suddenly grow.  This beauty of a book will inspire children to dream their own gardens and perhaps plant a seashell to see what will happen.

With his gentle feel, Henkes has created a creative look at gardening that will have a permanent spot in everyone’s spring story pile.  His art is done in ink and watercolors, offering a soft palette perfect for the story.  The flights of fancy in the book are whimsical and wonderful, capturing a welcoming friendly invitation to explore a garden of dreams.

I can see this leading to a craft where children design their own imaginary gardens or write a story about what should be in their gardens.  It is such a springboard for dreams and imagination!  Appropriate for ages 2-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by Brimful Curiosities.

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A Small Brown Dog with a Wet Pink Nose

| Tasha

A Small Brown Dog with a Wet Pink Nose by Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen, illustrated by Linzie Hunter

Amelia wants a dog, specifically a small brown dog with a wet pink nose.  But her parents don’t think they are ready for a dog.  At first, Amelia tries begging every day.  When that doesn’t work, she begins to ask different questions.  What could the dog’s name be?  Where would he live?  If he got lost would they look for him? Could Amelia walk and feed him herself?  A few days later, Amelia imagines that she has a dog like the one she dreams of.  She makes sure he can’t escape out the door, plays with him every day, and is warmed by him at night.  That is until the morning she wakes up and he is missing.  Now her parents had assured her that if they did have a dog, they would search for him if he got lost.  So off they go.  Will they find him?

Amelia’s actions in the book could be seen as manipulative, except she shows real emotion when she is imagining her dog and when he is lost.  I read it as a strong wish turned into a pretend dog that becomes real to her.  Stuve-Bodeen’s writing is simple and offers repetitive elements that will work well for sharing aloud.  Hunter’s art is filled with details that make this a book best shared one-on-one or with a small group.  Done digitally, it exudes a warmth and friendliness throughout. 

A crash course in advertising and PR, and imagination, this book is sure to be a hit with children who think they need a dog in their house too. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by A Year of Reading and What’s Carol Reading?

I Am a Backhoe

| Tasha

I Am a Backhoe by Anna Grossnickle Hines

A perfect book for toddlers who love trucks, this book invitingly combines imaginative play and real trucks.  The little boy plays pretending to be a backhoe, a bulldozer, a roller, a flatbed truck, and more.  As he plays, he describes what he is doing and then the reader gets to guess what kind of truck he is pretending to be.  Printed on thick paper with bright, clear illustrations, this book is a welcome addition to even the most crowded of truck shelves.

Written in simple rhymes that have a gentle rhythm, children will enjoy guessing what truck the boy is pretending to be.  The digital art is simple and welcoming as well, especially for the youngest children who will quickly be able to “read” this book to themselves.  Done in rich and deep colors, the illustrations will work well with a group, thanks to the clarity of the illustrations. 

Ideal for toddler story time or for sharing one-on-one, this book is sure to find an audience in your library.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from library copy.

Tell Me a Dragon

| Tasha

Tell Me a Dragon by Jackie Morris

Explore the world of wondrous dragons that come in all sizes and colors.  There are huge white dragons that fly through night skies, dragons that breathe flower petals not flame, and enormous dragons with tails as long as rivers that share cupcakes.  There are also tiny dragons, dragons made of fire, dragons that whisper stories and songs in your ear, and dragons that curl around you in your bed.  So the question is, with so many dragons what does yours look like?

Morris has created a book that is a lyrical song in honor of individuality and imagination.  Her dragons are all very different but all have curling talons and gleaming eyes in their combination of feline and lizard.  Dragons here are not to be feared but adored as the illustrations show.  The range of dragons from ice to water to fire and beyond is a delight to page through. 

This book is a great conversation starter or would serve as a wonderful basis for dragon art where children could draw their own dragon.  My 8-year-old is often unwilling to indulge in the questions of picture books anymore, but this one really spoke to him.  By the end, he had his own large dragon firmly in mind, a combination of all of the elements with all sorts of fire and ice breath and a deep blue-black color.  He was also eager to look at the end pages of the book and select which of the eggs his dragon would emerge from. 

A book that is beautiful in its own right and one that also demands that children participate, dream and wish on their own as well.  Appropriate for ages 4-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

Featured on 7-Imp.

Eliot Jones, Midnight Superhero

| Tasha

Eliot Jones, Midnight Superhero by Anne Cottringer, illustrated by Alex T. Smith

Eliot is a very quiet child by day.  He reads books and feeds his fish.  But when midnight strikes, Eliot becomes a superhero!  He has all sorts of adventures: returning lions to the zoo, saving ships, and recovering the crown jewels.  Tonight he has to stop a huge meteor that is heading right for earth!  In a series of adventures and mishaps, the question becomes whether he can save earth in time.

Imagination to the rescue!  Eliot has great classic adventures that will appeal to children.  His quiet identity at home is also a classic superhero alter-ego, which will be appreciated.  The text is written to be read aloud with fonts that call for crashing noises, loud explosions, and even quiet.  Smith’s illustrations are a great mix of collage and drawing, creating an exciting setting for each of Eliot’s adventures.  They are clever, wry and very silly, perfection for the book.

Recommended for children who have their own capes, this book will fly into eager hands.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from library copy.

Firefighter Ted

| Tasha

Firefighter Ted by Andrea Beaty and Pascal Lemaitre

When Ted woke up one morning, he smelled smoke.  He knew that he needed a firefighter!  Unable to find a firefighter anywhere in his room, he become one.  He did have to make his own fire extinguisher our of whipped cream and an air tube from the fish tank.  Firefighter Ted started the day by putting out a breakfast fire, much to his mother’s dismay.  He then rescued a kitten from the hot sidewalk.  This made him late to school.  Met at the door by the principal, Ted became alarmed that the principal was overheating, so he wrapped him in hazard tape and used his fire extinguisher on him.  When the class went to the science fair, Ted had to leap into action again to make it all safe.  In the end, there was a real fire and you know who came to the rescue!

This second Ted book follows Doctor Ted.  Done with the same humor and spunk as the first, readers will be very happy to have a second adventure that hints at a third.  Ted is a great character who takes imaginative play to an entirely different level.  He combines ingenuity with courage, never paying attention to what others have to say about his costumes or what he does to help.  The illustrations are done with thick black lines and bright colors.  They are inviting, fun and fresh.

Recommended for all public libraries, this series will fly off of the shelves.  It will also make a welcome addition to fire safety story times and units.  Appropriate for toddlers through preschoolers, this series will be enjoyed by ages 2-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

The Yellow Tutu

| Tasha

The Yellow Tutu by Kirsten Bramsen, illustrated by Carin Bramsen

For her birthday, Margo got a bright yellow tutu.  First she wore it around her waist and danced a bit, but then she had a brilliant idea and put it on her head instead!  Since it was a school day, she headed off to school with the tutu still on.  She looked like the sun, making flowers grow bigger, grass grow longer.  And she imagined what the others at school would say when they saw her, certain that they would be amazed and impressed.  But no.  Instead the other kids laughed, teased, and tried to tug it off!  In the end, Margo found another girl who was happy to put a pink tutu on and be flowers together.

This sister team has created a book that really speaks to imagination and individuality.  Margo is a sparkling character with bright eyes, great ideas, and lots of spunk.  Kirsten has written a book that nicely explains the imaginative process and what Margo is thinking.  Carin’s illustrations are soft-edged but not too sweet.  The dancing theme because of the tutu is secondary to the book, instead it is really about finding a new and innovative use for an item and also finding a friend.

Perfect for any imaginative child who views his or her world through a slightly different lens.   Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

Also reviewed at PlanetEsme.