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2 Big and Beautiful New Picture Books

| Tasha

Big Bike, Little Bike by Kellie DuBay Gillis, illustrated by Jacob Souva (9780063315235)

Duck finds a bike just sitting there, but it’s too big for him. After a crash, Rhino finds the bike but it’s a bit too little for him! The bike turns out to be too slow for Cheetah, but too fast for Turtle. After some messiness and some more crashing, the bike is left in the muck and sold as junk. But one person doesn’t think the bike is too old and soon has it up and going again for his daughter. Time passes and she outgrows the bike, until it is found once again by someone new. 

This merry and dynamic picture book celebrates reuse of items even if they might be the wrong size for someone or too old. It’s a look at opposites at first filled with plenty of action and then the book leans into its environmental look at how one person’s garbage can be reworked and recreated into something new and fresh. Written in easy language with lots of repetition and plenty of crashes, this picture book is inviting. The illustrations of a variety of animals and their experiences on the bike are funny and full of cycling silliness. 

Ideal for little ones learning opposites or great for bicycle storytimes. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by HarperCollins Publishers.

Big Enough by Regina Linke (9780316531153)

Ah-Fu’s grandfather decided that he was now big enough to bring home the ox from the field in the evening. He explained that Ah-Fu was too small to ride the ox. Ah-Fu set off until he met a flock of swallows who explained that Ah-Fu shouldn’t try to lead the ox by the horns as he was too small. Next, Ah-Fu met a frog who explained that Ah-Fu was too small to herd the ox from behind. Ah-Fu whispered all of these rules to himself until he found himself facing an enormous ox. He was not big enough at all!  Ah-Fu soon learned that the ox may be big but he was maybe even more scared and worried than Ah-Fu. Soon the two worked together to get home but Ah-Fu would have to break all the rules to make it happen. 

This charming tale reads like a traditional folktale with its talking animals and the structure of building a list and then breaking it down. The ox being so large and so gentle-hearted adds to the story as Ah-Fu must become the courageous one. The luminous illustrations were done digitally using traditional Chinese gongbi and xieyi techniques. They are stunningly beautiful with their misty qualities that work particularly well for this story. 

Beautifully crafted and just right to share aloud. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Not Little by Maya Myers

| Tasha
Cover image for Not Little.

Not Little by Maya Myers, illustrated by Hyewon Yum (9780823446193)

Dot is the smallest person in her family. Everybody thinks that she’s too little to do things, but they are all wrong. She can do all sorts of things. She’s also the smallest person in her class. People even ask if she is in preschool. That’s when she proves them wrong by talking about all the things that she knows. When a new student joins her class, Sam is even smaller than Dot is. He is quiet and seems to be afraid of Dot. At recess, she sees that the mean boy is talking to Sam, and it’s clear he isn’t being nice. Dot decides to sit with Sam at lunch, both to talk to him about the bully but also to measure and make sure she is taller. Before she can reach the table though, the mean boy is there again and he is saying that Sam is a baby! Sam slumps lower and lower, while Dot gets angrier and angrier. The bully then makes the mistake of calling Dot little. But Dot has found her voice and knows she needs to stand up as tall and brave as she can.

Myers captures the indignities of being small for your age with Dot. Beautifully, Dot uses her words to fight back at the stereotypes, both by demonstrating what she knows out loud and also in the end by standing up to a bully. Dot’s push back at being called “little” is cleverly handled, as is her desire to not be the smallest when Sam arrives. It’s all lovely and richly human.

Yum’s illustrations show a protagonist from a multiracial blended family. Dot dresses in polka dots with bright colors that draw the eye directly to her on the page. Even if she is sometimes the smallest thing on the page, she is the focal point.

A big hearted book for tall and small alike. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy provided by Neal Porter Books.

Your Place in the Universe by Jason Chin

| Tasha

Your Place in the Universe by Jason Chin (9780823446230)

Looking at relative size, Chin begins this exploration of how small we actually are in the universe by bringing in 8-year-olds, ostriches and giraffes. Those are soon dwarfed with the tallest trees on Earth, then the tallest buildings. Soon though the mountains fill the page. Chin then takes the reader into space to first view the entire planet and then orbits. Move out to the galaxy level and look at the Milky Way. Then how far away is the Andromeda galaxy or galaxy clusters! Pull out even farther and you can see the cosmic web, chains of galaxies and millions of light-years long. Chin then takes us right back to green grass, 8-year-olds and a starry night.

Chin grips readers’ attentions right away as he quickly moves through what are tall animals and then on to other tall things on earth. Using layered narrative with additional facts along margins and embedded in the images, Chin offers plenty of information in this nonfiction picture book. One the book enters space, Chin manages to keep perspective for everyone, using measurements for comparisons and touchpoints that let us see where we small humans on Earth actually are.

Throughout the book, he makes breathtaking visual comparisons. Just seeing Mount Everest compared to the tallest buildings in the world is remarkable. The space section of the book is filled with stars, spirals of galaxies and the observable universe. These are difficult concepts, but Chin’s art allows readers to begin to think about them, stretching their minds.

A marvel of a nonfiction book, it invites us to understand our size in the universe but also how amazing the universe actually is. Appropriate for ages 5-9.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Neal Porter Books.

Review: So Big! by Mike Wohnoutka

| Tasha

So Big! by Mike Wohnoutka

So Big! by Mike Wohnoutka (9781547600793)

A very positive picture book about first-day jitters when starting school. Bear is “so big,” a refrain that carries through the entire book. He is big enough to get himself dressed. He is so big that he can make his own breakfast too. He packs his own bag, ties his shoes, and heads out to the bus stop. But when the bus gets there, it is so big! The kids around him are big too. So is the large school. Bear is worried and sits down on the steps. There he notices a smaller child hesitating to go in too. The two join hands and head into the big school together where they discover that it’s not too big after all.

Wohnoutka’s story is told in the simplest of words by repeating “so big” and other phrases multiple times. It’s a story about confidence that starts strong, is lost along the way and rediscovered too. The bravery that it takes to try something completely new and then the resilience that is necessary to keep moving forward even when scared is shown deftly in this simple story.

The art is bright and centers entirely on Bear and the other children. Perspective is used very effectively to show how large the bus, the children and the school appear to a small child. Other times when he is more confident, Bear takes up space on the page and the perspective shifts to allow that.

Great for first day jitters, this book is simple and effective. Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from ARC provided by Bloomsbury.

Review: I Am Small by Qin Leng

| Tasha

I Am Small by Qin Leng

I Am Small by Qin Leng (9781525301155)

Mimi is very small for her age. She’s the shortest in her class at school and the shortest in her family too. Mimi thinks about all of the problems with being the shortest, like viewing pastries in the bakery or being unable to write higher on the blackboard. Her friends see it differently. They point out that she wins at hide-and-seek, that she gets to be first in line at lunch and gets the biggest piece of cake. At home there are advantages too. Mimi can fit between Mom and Dad in their bed, she can swim in the bathtub, and she can even ride on the back of their dog! So when someone even small than Mimi joins the family, Mimi knows just what to say.

Leng has illustrated many several books for children and this is her first time authoring a book. She has created an ode to the challenges and beauty of being small that children on the small side will easily relate to. As the book progresses, Mimi’s tone about her size changes to a much more positive one, just in time for her new little brother to appear. There is a focus on self-acceptance in this picture book that will shine no matter what your size.

Leng’s illustrations are whimsical and fresh. In Mimi, she has created a wonderfully androgynous little girl grappling with her size. Leng populates her pages with small touches and details that bring her scenes to life. Just the feel of characters clothing and the play of movement on the page are special.

A book about self-esteem that proves that size doesn’t matter. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Who’s the Biggest? by Delphine Chedru

| Tasha

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Who’s the Biggest? by Delphine Chedru (9780500651490)

This is a very simple picture book that is all about size and teaches the concepts of bigger and smaller. The book focuses on which animal is bigger, comparing one to another. One each page, one of the animals declares “I am!” There are big things on the page like elephants and trees. Then there are also smaller objects like flowers and bees to compare. The book is just right for very small children to learn the concept in a positive and fast-paced way. As mentioned in the book, with a little creativity, the book can be read to say which one is smallest too.

Chedru’s text is simple, yet she plays with some of the phrases, making sure that each animal speaks in their own distinct way. The illustrations are strong and graphical with deep colors combined with bright ones that burst on the page. Even though the story has a strong structure, there are surprises on each page with the page turn.

A book worth exploring with toddlers. Appropriate for ages 1-3.

Reviewed from library copy.

 

Review: Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy

| Tasha

Dumplin by Julie Murphy

Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy (InfoSoup)

Willowdean doesn’t spend her days worrying about how fat she is, though her mother’s nickname of “Dumplin'” can be a problem, especially when used in public. Her mother is in charge of the local beauty pageant and has never encouraged Will to enter, though she has told Will’s best friend Ellen that she could win. When a boy at her work at a local fast food joint starts to flirt with Will, she is shocked. Bo is a gorgeous guy and someone that moves in a different social level than Will. When the two of them start to make out after work in their own secret place, Will begins to question her comfort with her body. As Will’s confidence plummets, she makes a big decision. She’s going to enter the Miss Clover City pageant. As she reclaims her self-image, she ends up helping other girls do the same.

Murphy’s novel is simply brilliant. Willowdean is a wonderful protagonist and the claustrophobic setting of a small southern town is also perfection. It’s that setting that lets Will really shine, since it wears on her and the reader. Add in the Dolly Parton songs, the loss of a beloved aunt who served as a second parent, and a handful of red suckers, and this novel will have you head-over-heels in love with Will and everything that she stands for.

Murphy gets the fat-girl personality just right. The feeling of complete self-acceptance that you can have and then the way it can disappear as if it never existed. Murphy though does not accept that. Instead Will fights back, recovers from her funk about herself, insists on relationships on her own terms, and heck even falls in love for good measure.

A book that will have you turning on Dolly yourself, this novel for teens shines and dazzles. It’s for girls of every size, because none of us feel worthy enough. Appropriate for ages 13-17.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Little Big by Jonathan Bentley

| Tasha

Little Big by Jonathan Bentley

Little Big by Jonathan Bentley

A little boy thinks that it would be much better to be big than so little. After all, his older brother can reach the cookie jar and ride a bicycle. If the little boy had legs as long as a giraffe, he would be able to outrace his brother up the hill. On the other hand, he wouldn’t be able to ride in the wagon behind his brother’s bike anymore. If he had big hands like a gorilla, he would be able to open the cookie jar with no problems. But then, he wouldn’t be able to fit in his playhouse to eat them. If he had a mouth as big as a crocodile’s, he could tell his brother to go to bed early. But then, he would miss him too. Perhaps being little isn’t entirely bad after all.

Originally published in Australia, this picture book has a lot of playful appeal. The universal feeling of younger siblings is that they wish that they were bigger. Here, that yearning for being bigger is combined with some even larger animals. The book tells the story purely in the little boy’s voice, keeping the perspective clearly that of a small child. Yet the logic all works from that point of view too.

The illustrations are a mix of watercolors, pencil and scanned textures. They have a warmth and vibrancy to them which is very appealing. While the thought of a small child wanting to be bigger is not unique to this book, it is the illustrations which make this a book worth seeking out. The animals that the toddler dreams of being like are his toys that he carries around from one page to the next, making for a book that has a completeness and wholeness about it.

A delightful book that shows littler ones that they have advantages too, this picture book is ideal for sharing one-on-one so the details of the illustrations are not missed. Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy received from Eerdmans Books for Young Readers

Review: You Are (Not) Small by Anna Kang

| Tasha

you are not small

You Are (Not) Small by Anna Kang, illustrated by Christopher Weyant

An orange bear declares to a smaller blue bear that the shorter one is “small.”  The little one says that that is not true, rather the orange bear is “big.”  The orange bear shows that he has other big creatures just like him and just his size, but so does the blue bear.  The two groups start to argue and fight about whether they are big or small.  Then another creature arrives and another one yet that help put size into perspective for everyone. 

This very simple book has a great sense of humor throughout.  The creatures that seem like bears to me are fuzzy and friendly.  Against the white background, the bears pop on the page.  With only a few lines per page, this book will be enjoyed by small children learning about concepts like big and small.  The humor makes the entire lesson in size and relativity completely enjoyable and it will be a book that children will ask to be read again.  There is even a great little (or big) twist at the end.

Weyant’s illustrations are a large part of the appeal of the book.  The New Yorker cartoonist has created fuzzy creatures that are loveable and cute as can be, no matter what size they are.  Weyant has clearly loved playing with the differences in sizes, creating characters who live large on the page.

Bold illustrations, charming characters and funny situations make this a winning picture book for the smallest (and largest) among us.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from ARC received from Two Lions.