mothers

Review: Ol’ Mama Squirrel by David Ezra Stein

| Tasha

ol mama squirrel

Ol’ Mama Squirrel by David Ezra Stein

Stein’s latest picture book is an uproarious read aloud and will be a welcome addition to any storytime.  Mama Squirrel knows that all sorts of creatures want to eat her baby squirrels, but she won’t let that happen.  She scolds all sorts of creatures away with her fierce “Chook, chook, chook!”  Cats, dogs, owls, even humans scatter at her determination to protect her babies.  Until one day when a bear comes to her tree.  Mama Squirrel tries scolding, she tries throwing nuts, but the bear stays and then says that he will eat her entire tree!  Mama Squirrel has one last trick though, and it’s an amazing one!

This book is one amazing read aloud.  It is designed specifically to be shared aloud and I think will shine with a good sized group in particular.  The scolding noise of the mother squirrel will have everyone “chook, chook chooking” along with her.  The result will be one of my favorite sorts of story times: loud shared love of a story. 

Stein’s art will work well with a group too.  Her fierce defense of her babies projects straight from the page from her lowered brows and the set of her entire body.  The illustrations have a rough edge to them that adds to their appeal.

Get this into your pile of books to share at your next story time, or keep it stored like fall nuts for the next time you need a great read aloud.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Penguin.

Review: Mom, It’s My First Day of Kindergarten by Hyewon Yum

| Tasha

mom its my first day

Mom, It’s My First Day of Kindergarten by Hyewon Yum

A little boy is all set for the first day of Kindergarten, eager to start.  His mother, on the other hand, is not quite to eager to see her little boy start school.  The boy runs to school with his mother trailing behind, worried and blue.  His mother frets about how big the school is, that they don’t know anyone there, but the boy is set to head in.  Then in the hall, things change and suddenly it is the boy who is smaller and bluer and more concerned and his mother is glowing and ready for him to start.  This book perfectly captures the mixed emotions of the first day of school for children and parents alike. 

Yum manages in a just a few words to really show the eagerness the boy feels and the reticence of the mother.  The boy is thrilled to be a big boy and head off to school, the mother is obviously seeing him a completely different light.  The book really comes into its own when the change happens and suddenly the mother feels confident and the boy is unsure.  It is that switch, that change that makes the entire book really work well.

Yum’s art also helps capture the emotions of the day.  At first, the boy is much larger than his mother, bright colored and dashing.  The mother is blue, almost wizened and delicate, worn away with worry.  When the change of attitude happens, the mother grows steadily in size and gains color as the boy shrinks to normal size and becomes bluer.  It’s a delight to watch the change come full circle by the end of the book where the day has ended and they are both large and bright.

A perfect pick for families facing their first day of Kindergarten this fall, this book will make a great jumping off place for discussions about the mixed emotions that everyone is sure to be feeling on the big day.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Farrar Straus Giroux.

Review: When I Was Small by Sara O’Leary

| Tasha

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When I Was Small by Sara O’Leary, illustrated by Julie Morstad

Henry asks his parents what they were like when they were small.  The book starts out normally enough with his mother explaining that she was called Dot because her full name, Dorothea, was too big for her.  But then things get creative!  Dot was so small she wore the same shoes as her doll.  She swam in the birdbath.  She jumped rope with a piece of yarn.  Her bed was a mitten.  Her father built her a doll house, and she lived in it.  At the end of this story from his mother, the two of them agree that one of the reasons that his mother looked forward to growing up was to share stories with a child of her own. 

O’Leary writes with a quiet joy that infuses the entire book.  There is a gentle playfulness throughout and children will immediately know that this is a story being told and not the truth.  Morstad’s illustrations have a delicacy to them that works particularly well with the more tall tale parts of the story.  The illustrations have a sweetness to them that make me think of the old Golden Books.  They are never saccharine thanks to their whimsy.

This is the third in the series about Henry, but the first one that I have read.  The first book in the series won the 2007 Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award in Canada, so that one is definitely worth seeking out too.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from pdf received from Simply Read Books.

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Review: Pregnant Pause by Han Nolan

| Tasha

pregnant pause

Pregnant Pause by Han Nolan

Released September 19, 2011.

Eleanor has always made the worst decisions but this one may top them all.  She’s now pregnant and married to her boyfriend.  Oh, and stuck in a cabin, at a weight-loss camp, with her in-laws who definitely don’t approve of her.  Her parents have left her to return to Kenya and their missionary work with AIDS infants.  Everyone wants Eleanor’s baby.  Her older sister who has been struggling with infertility wants the baby.  Her in-laws who lost a child in infancy want it too.  But Eleanor and her husband are the only ones who can decide what they are going to do.  As Eleanor works at the camp with the children, she learns that she has a real skill with kids.  And of course, she does it in her own way.  Now she just has to figure how to handle her marriage, pregnancy, and a baby.

Nolan’s writing is exquisite.  She has created a protagonist in Eleanor who is definitely a hero, but also challenges the reader with her anger, her biting wit, and her choices.  Eleanor reads as a real person, with self-doubts and real emotions that originate naturally from the story line.  Nolan writes with a confidence and skill here, showing that there is life beyond pregnancy but it is filled with difficult choices and unexpected events.

A strong and riveting look at teen pregnancy, this book reaches far beyond a single issue and straight to the heart of a compelling character.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from ARC received from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Book Group.

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Book Review: Loon Baby by Molly Beth Griffin

| Tasha

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Loon Baby by Molly Beth Griffin, illustrated by Anne Hunter

Loon Baby lives happily with his mother in the northern woods.  His mother dives under the water for Baby’s dinner but he is too little to follow her underwater.  Loon Baby waited, floating and paddling.  At first he is sure that his mother will return just as she always had.  But she stays away and he begins to wonder if something has happened to her.  He tries to dive down into the water, but keeps bobbing back to the surface.  After diving so many times, Loon Baby can’t remember where home is anymore.  Everything looks the same to him on the banks of the pond.  Loon Baby has had enough and wails a cry that wavers and sinks.  His mother pops up by his side, his dinner in her mouth.  In his happiness, Loon Baby dives deep into the water, discovering that he can indeed dive just like his mother.

Griffin tells this story in prose that reads like poetry.  It is spare, simple and ideal for young children.  The story speaks to the panic a lost child can feel when their mother disappears, gently guiding children to the parallels between Loon Baby and themselves. 

Hunter’s illustrations are a lovely mix of watercolors and lines that crosshatch and offer details.  The green and blue colors evoke the northern woods.  Pulling back to a larger view, they emphasize the lone Loon Baby as he seeks his mother. 

A lovely book for preschoolers about being lost and being found again.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by Katie’s (Little Ones) Learning Lounge.

Book Review: Leap Back Home to Me by Lauren Thompson

| Tasha

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Leap Back Home to Me by Lauren Thompson, illustrated by Matthew Cordell

A little frog takes his first small leaps over a ladybug, over a bee, and over the clover before returning to his waiting mother.  His leaps get bigger and he leaps over the creek and over the beavers.  Then they get even bigger, leaping over trees and hills!  After every outing he returns to his mother who is waiting for him with either a book to share, food to eat or a hug.  Soon the little frog is leaping out into space and the stars, but no fear, his mother is still there for him.

Thompson has created a picture book that is very simple with just a few lines on each page and a gentle concept.  Her text has an infectious rhythm to it, adding to the jaunty tone of the book.  The humor of the book builds as the little frog leaps over larger and larger things.  Children will love the humor and will delight in the final pages as the little frog enters outer space. 

Cordell’s illustrations echo the jaunty tone of the text and add a friendliness, warmth and plenty of color to the story.  The little frog soars into the sky with a joyous freedom, his froggy legs and arms waving merrily. 

An ideal book for toddler story times featuring frogs, this is sure to become a favorite of young listeners.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy received from Margaret K. McElderry Books.

Also reviewed by 100 Scope Notes.

Pecan Pie Baby: Warm and Sweet

| Tasha

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Pecan Pie Baby by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Sophie Blackall

Gia is not looking forward to the new baby coming.  In fact, she is sick and tired of hearing about the “ding-dang baby” all the time.  That baby is copying her and her mother’s love for pecan pie.  It’s going to take all of her old outgrown clothes.  So when Gia is told that the baby will come with the first snow of the year, she wishes a secret wish for no snow at all.  Her friends at school want to talk about the baby coming just like her aunties, who don’t have the time anymore to play tea party with Gia.  Finally, Gia has had enough and yells “I’m so sick of that ding-dang baby!” at Thanksgiving dinner.  She is sent to her room and when her mother comes up to talk with her, Gia finds out that her mother too will miss all of their special times alone together. 

Woodson’s writing skills translate finely into the picture book format.  She has created a very readable, very engaging book for all of the new siblings out there.  The depth of Gia’s feelings are an important piece of the story as are her worries about her entire life changing because of this interloper.  Nicely, Woodson does not feel a need to “fix” Gia’s feelings, instead she validates them and allows her the anger and concern.  In fact, the lack of a baby at the end and the resolution of Gia’s feelings is not here.  That makes it a much more powerful book.  Though snow has begun to fall as the book closes.

Blackall’s art is warm and rich, depicting a loving relationship between mother and daughter.  This relationship is at the heart of the book and is celebrated on almost every page.  Additionally, the multicultural children and adults make for a book that has a very inclusive feel to it.  

A warm and lovely book, this is an honest look at the conflicting feelings of expecting a new sibling.  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Putnam.

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Mad at Mommy: Beautiful Anger

| Tasha

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Mad at Mommy by Komako Sakai

Released in October 2010.

A new book from the creator of The Snow Day, this book offers an accurate portrayal of child anger. 

Little Bunny is very angry at his mommy.  And he is more than willing to tell her exactly why.  She sleeps late on Saturdays.  She never lets him watch cartoons.  She always yells for no reason.  She is always telling him to hurry up and then not hurrying herself.  She always forgets to do the laundry.  She told him he can’t marry her when he is older.  So he’s decided to run away.  For a moment or two.

Sakai has created a very spare and minimal picture book.  The use of texture and roughness in the illustrations complements the frustration of Little Bunny.  Originally published in Japan, the book does feel different than American picture books, especially in its illustrations. The subject matter is universal.  The book is told in the child’s voice, which Sakai captures winningly.  The complaints are offered as a list, one to the next, as if they are occurring to him as he speaks.  The effect is a rather dynamic feel to the book, leaping from one idea to the next.

A beauty of a book that will make a great contrast to other anger books like When Sophie Gets Angry – Really, Really Angry by Mollly Bang and Mean Soup by Betsy Everitt.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Scholastic.

Snore, Dinosaur, Snore

| Tasha

Snore, Dinosaur, Snore! by John Bendall-Brunello

Three little dinosaurs wake up from sleeping on their mother’s spiny back.  But their mother is still asleep.  She doesn’t move when they prod and pinch her.  She just continues to snore.  They try tickling, clawing and elbowing her.  More snores.  Then they roll her over and slide her down a hill!  Snores.  After rolling down and splashing into a muddy puddle, she just might be waking up.  But they won’t be sure until those snores turn into ROARS!

Simple and perfectly paced for a toddler audience, this book has the appeal of dinosaurs mixed with silliness and giggles.  The little dinosaurs are mischievous.  Children will delight in the thought of rolling a mother down a hill and into mud.  And the reaction at the end is just loud and surprising enough to cap off this fun romp of a book. 

Appropriate for ages 2-4, this book will be welcomed by young dinosaur enthusiasts and should not snore for long on any library shelf.  Not with little dinosaurs around! 

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.