imagination

Review: Dory and the Real True Friend by Abby Hanlon

| Tasha
Dory and the Real True Friend
Dory and the Real True Friend by Abby Hanlon
This is the second book featuring Dory, better known as Rascal by her family. In this book, Dory is headed to school. Her older siblings insist that she leave her best friend, Mary, who happens to be a monster that only Dory can see, at home. Dory agrees, since Mary had caused so much trouble at school the year before. Dory is going to try instead to be a regular girl and not get into trouble, but that’s not very easy when a new adventure comes her way. She also meets a girl in her class who appears to be a princess and talks about the castle she lives in and her pet dragon. Her siblings don’t believe that Rosabelle isn’t imaginary though. As Dory figures out that this may be a new real friend, thanks to their shared huge imaginations, she may also need help rescuing Mr. Nuggy, her fairy godmother, from the clutches of Mrs. Gobble Gracker.
I adored the first book in this series thanks to its embracing of a character who is wonderfully quirky and entirely unique. Dory is a girl with a huge imagination and also one who does not bow to social conventions easily. From wearing her nightgown all of the time at home to packing salami for lunch and then eating it like cookies, Dory does what makes her happy and doesn’t care for what others think. That is tested when she tries to befriend Rosabelle and while Dory works to make friends she still doesn’t change herself for it. Instead the two create a great synergy of imaginative play together where fairy godmothers with beards, evil sharp toothed women, dragons, monsters, and knights fight an amazing battle.
The illustrations are in the same style as the first book, drawn as if Dory herself was doing them as she tells her story. The entire book bursts with energy and funny moments. I particularly enjoyed seeing favorite characters from the first book return and the consistency of Dory’s imaginative play. While Dory may be entering a new year in school, all of the wild characters she invented in the first book are back in the second.
Fans of the first book will love this second one. Dory is exactly who I’d love as a friend! Appropriate for ages 6-8.
Reviewed from copy received from Dial Books.

Review: Ally-Saurus & the First Day of School by Richard Torrey

| Tasha

Ally Saurus and the First Day of School by Richard Torrey

Ally-Saurus & the First Day of School by Richard Torrey (InfoSoup)

Ally loves dinosaurs, so when she heads off to her first day of school she is hoping to find lots of other kids who love dinosaurs too. But Ally seems to be the only one who is chomping her snack like a dinosaur or answering questions with dinosaur answers. As she starts to talk with the other kids though, she discovers the things that they love too. But some of the kids are not very friendly, like the bossy threesome who loves princesses the best and who don’t let Ally sit at their table during lunch. So Ally sits by herself. She is joined quickly though by other children who want to sit with her and they love dinosaurs and dragons and lunchboxes and lions. Soon she has a group of kids to play with at recess, who are willing to run wild and roar along with her. Even the princesses who snubbed her end up playing along too.

Torrey captures the joy of imaginative play as a child where that subject is all the child thinks about and their major focus of their day. Ally faces her first day of school with positive feelings which is good to see. Torrey doesn’t overplay the negative encounter with other children in the class either, allowing it to unfold naturally and be remedied in the same way. Ally’s use of roaring and munching to make friends adds a silly element that is very welcome in the book, and it also shows the other children who seek her out what kind of girl she is.

Torrey’s art adds to the imaginative play piece of the story. With pastel and black and white illustrations, the imaginative piece looks as if a child drew it on with crayon. As Ally learns more about her classmates they too get their own crayon elements, so the boy interested in astronauts gets a helmet and the princesses get crowns. It’s a clever way to indicate that these are imaginary but still there

A positive and humorous look at the first day of school, this is perfect for sending your own imaginative little one off or for sharing during that first week of school. Appropriate for ages 4-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Sterling Children’s Books and Raab Associates.

Review: Ready Rabbit Gets Ready! by Brenna Maloney

| Tasha

Ready Rabbit Gets Ready by Brenna Maloney

Ready Rabbit Gets Ready! by Brenna Maloney (InfoSoup)

When Ready Rabbit wakes up in the morning, he doesn’t feel like getting right out of bed. But his mother keeps on calling him so he gets up. Then before he starts to get ready to go, he has to build a spaceship. His mother calls for him to pick up his toys and get ready to go. So Ready decides to get dressed. But what should he wear? He has all sorts of costumes to try on and consider until he remembers that rabbits don’t wear clothes! Breakfast is ready but Ready finds it quite boring to sit and eat. He’d rather be doing a daring rescue with an ambulance. Brushing teeth takes some concentration and before you know it, there’s toothpaste everywhere. Will Ready ever be ready for school?

Maloney creates the ultimate distracted child in Ready Rabbit, a rabbit who can’t concentrate on anything except his imagination. The voice of the mother only appears in voice bubbles and she never appears on the page. So the book is fully centered on the protagonist and his vivid imagination. The book works hard to make sure that the tone of the mother is encouraging and not angry and that Ready is actually slowly making progress towards getting ready even as he plays around.

The illustrations make this book particularly special. Ready Rabbit and all of his things are objects with Ready being a knit bunny with a face that is a piece of fabric with changing expressions drawn on it. One might not think it would work, but the result is charming and has a very different vibe than many picture books.

Families trying to get ready in the morning will recognize their own wish to play just a little bit longer. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Penguin.

Review: Pool by JiHyeon Lee

| Tasha

Pool by JiHyeon Lee

Pool by JiHyeon Lee (InfoSoup)

A boy stands at the end of a swimming pool, ready to hop in. But just as he is about to, a crowd of people arrive and take over the pool. It is crammed full of them with their floating tubes and boats, leaving no area of water open. But the boy finds a sliver of water along the side of the pool and dives down underneath the crowd. A girl sees him dive down and heads down herself. The two meet underwater and head deeper together. Down at the bottom of the pool they discover a coral reef filled with wild fish that swim in large schools. There are also tubes large enough for a kid or a colorful eel to hide in. Large toothy fish swim by and then a gargantuan white whale too. The children head up to the surface again, as the rest of the crowd head out of the pool. The two of them are left to dry off side by side and wonder at what else could be underneath that water.

Lee captures the beauty of swimming and the wonder of imagination in this wordless picture book. The two children are distinct from the others floating on the surface, built in a more delicate way and almost matching except for their swimsuits. As they dream of reefs and fish, the water fills with animals. There is a playfulness to their imaginations, creating a world together that is filled with amazing things.

Delicate illustrations are filled with the blue of the pool. As the coral reef appears, there are animals of all sorts, even water spiders. The wonder of the huge white whale is a moment that is lengthened and filled with importance in this picture book. Throughout the pacing is masterfully done, allowing readers time to explore and dream themselves.

A book that encourages long looks and your own fish designs, this picture book is an inspiring and refreshing watery read. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Chronicle Books.

Review: This Is Sadie by Sara O’Leary

| Tasha

This Is Sadie by Sara OLeary

This Is Sadie by Sara O’Leary, illustrated by Julie Morstad

Released May 12, 2015.

Sadie can take a cardboard box and make it into a ship where she looks for land, but not too hard. She can sail all the way around her room before breakfast. Sadie loves to spend time with her friends, whether in real life or in books. She has pretended to be all sorts of things from mermaids to wild boys raised by wolves. She can be Alice in Wonderland or a hero on a horse. She can even have wings, almost invisible ones but they can still take her flying. She fills her days with imagination, play and reading. What could be better?

O’Leary captures the wonder of a child’s imagination in this gorgeous picture book. Right from the beginning the tone is light and playful, inviting the reader to see the world as Sadie does. Perhaps they have wings too? Adults do not appear in the book at all, giving the entire story to Sadie and her imagination. They are referred to in passing, but that’s about it. The book whirls with ideas, all gathered together from heroes to wings to undersea adventures, we are riding along with Sadie in each of her imaginary places. It’s a confectionery of creativity.

Morstad’s illustrations are done in gouache and watercolor. They fully embrace the worlds that Sadie envisions, bringing them into full color vibrancy on the page. The book changes from the imaginative worlds to Sadie’s room and reality, but each are just as winningly portrayed as the other. Her room has lovely touches like a mushroom lamp, beds for stuffed animals, and a chair piled high with books.

An invitation to come and play is clear in this imaginative picture book that will dazzle readers. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from digital galley received from NetGalley and Tundra Books.

Review: My Pen by Christopher Myers

| Tasha

my pen

My Pen by Christopher Myers (InfoSoup)

A new picture book from an award-winning illustrator which shows the power of art in a child’s life. Using powerful sketches, the book talks about the freedom and self-esteem that comes from creating art. Myers also speaks to the importance of imagination and creativity, showing an elephant in a teacup and the protagonist riding a dinosaur. He plays with different perspectives and plays the simplicity of ink and pen art against the complexity of world problems that art also speaks to. Even mistakes and errors are embraced along the way, showing children that the goal is not perfection but the experience of creation.

Beautifully written and illustrated, this picture book is a compelling look at creativity and art. The words in the book demonstrate the various aspects of art, showing a playfulness throughout but also allowing moments of gravity and seriousness as well. The book ends with an encouragement to the reader to pick up a pen and see what worlds they discover inside it.

The real focus of this picture book is the art, which is incredibly beautiful. Done in pen, of course, the art is detailed and distinctive. The boy’s face is expressive throughout, as he takes imaginary travels and as he responds to making mistakes on the page. Thanks to the creative subject, one is never sure what is going to be revealed on the next page. With art of this quality, it’s a delight to turn the pages and discover each new image.

Share this with art teachers or in units that encourage creativity. Then have pens ready for children to create their own art on the page, blots and all. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: I Don’t Like Koala by Sean Ferrell

| Tasha

I Don't Like Koala by Sean Ferrell

I Don’t Like Koala by Sean Ferrell, illustrated by Charles Santoso

When Adam opens his gift and discovers Koala inside, he is not pleased. After all, Koala is “the most terrible terrible.” He has bright yellow eyes that follow Adam around the room. So Adam decides that he must get rid of Koala, but it’s not that easy. Every night Adam puts Koala away in different places all over the house and happily goes to be alone. But when he wakes up, Koala is right there on his pillow, every morning. His parents think that he loves Koala, even though Adam tells them that he hates Koala. Then comes the day that Koala seems to have eaten Adams snack! So Adam hikes up into the forest and leaves Koala there. But Koala is waiting for him at home when he returns. One night though, frightening things loom in the dark and Koala is right there to protect Adam and make him feel safe. But someone else might just be being freaked out by Koala too.

Ferrell captures the creepiness and the appeal of strange stuffed animals. He creates a horror vibe that is just right for young readers with the way that Koala appears in bed in the morning and can’t be left behind anywhere. It’s a funny riff on scary movies, something that some special stuffed animals can evoke with ease. The parents don’t understand or step in to protect their son in the story at all, adding to that eerie feeling throughout that makes the book such fun.

Santoso creates the ultimate creepy stuffed animal in Koala, a strange beast who readers will also grow to love as the book progresses. The expressions on Adam’s face are priceless as he tries to explain why he hates Koala so very much and when he discovers Koala’s return again and again. The use of dark colors for both Koala and Adam unite them as a pair in the book even as Adam struggles to be separate. Santoso’s illustrations continue the dark eerie feel of the story.

An exceptionally dark picture book, this book is great fun and reads aloud well. Share it with children ready for a little fright with their stuffed animals. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Review: Quest by Aaron Becker

| Tasha

quest

Quest by Aaron Becker

This follow-up to the Caldecott Honor winning Journey continues the wordless travels of the two characters from the first book.  The two children head off on a fantasy quest this time after a king comes through a door and hands them a map.  He is dragged off by soldiers but as he goes, he drops his orange crayon, one that is just like their red and purple ones.  The two children go through the door and find themselves in a new world.  They embark on a quest to bring all of the crayons together, venturing into the depths of the sea, onto desert islands, to pyramids and temples.  At each one they gather another crayon color until they reach the pinnacle of the temple where the bad guys almost get them…

Becker has created a wordless book that has the same appeal as the first book.  The pace here is rapid, giving only a few images for each color that is gathered.  That offers the wild pace of an adventure novel or film, so it suits the subject.  The fast ride adds greatly to the appeal here, never bogging down and always revealing new visual wonders to explore. 

Becker’s art shines on the page.  He creates entire worlds that have real depth to them, that take readers on amazing adventures.  There are great details of color on the page, and I love the way that the various creative ideas of the children all remain in place at the end of the book, completely come to life. 

A celebration of art and creativity, this book along with its predecessor will become beloved reads.  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Dory Fantasmagory by Abby Hanlon

| Tasha

dory fantasmagory

Dory Fantasmagory by Abby Hanlon

Dory is the youngest in her family and her older siblings won’t play with her at all.  So she is left to play on her own and thanks to her great imagination, Dory has a lot of fun.  Dory has a best friend, Mary, a monster who sleeps under her bed and is always willing to play.  There are also other monsters all over their house.  When Dory continues to bother her brother and sister, they make up a story about Mrs. Gobble Gracker, a horrible woman who steals baby girls and is looking for Dory!  So when the doorbell rings, Dory knows it is Mrs. Gobble Gracker coming for her.  Hopefully the little man who says he’s her fairy godmother will be able to help defeat her.  In the end though it is Dory’s own creativity and bravery that will save her and maybe even get her siblings to play too.

Hanlon brilliantly captures the wild imagination of a little girl who doesn’t slow down for a minute, zinging from one idea to the next even as those around her groan.  Dory could have been a problematic character, but thanks to the book being told from her point of view, readers will get to see how strong a person she is long before she displays it to her family.

Hanlon’s art makes this a book that younger readers will happily pick up and read.  Her black and white illustrations are more than paragraph breaks, they show the story of Dory and all of the characters she dreams up over the course of the day.  On the page, we see what Dory sees, not what her family doesn’t see and it’s quite a world that she has created.

Fast moving, wild and full of laughs, this book is a dynamic introduction to a fresh new face that will appeal to fans of Junie B, Jones.  Appropriate for ages 6-8.

Reviewed from copy received from Dial.