Review of We All Play, by Julie Flett

We All Play

kimêtawânaw

by Julie Flett

Greystone Kids, 2021. 40 pages.
Review written May 29, 2021, from a library book
Starred Review

We All Play: kimêtawânaw is exactly the kind of book I try to find for Baby Storytime: Just a few words per page, plus images of children and animals on the pages.

The pictures are animals playing. Here’s the first verse, covering several pages:

Animals hide
and hop [Little rabbits on this spread]

and sniff
and sneak [Little foxes]

and peek
and peep [Little owls]

We play too!
kimêtawânaw mîna [Now there are children]

That’s the pattern for three verses, and then in the final verse, the animals go to sleep, and we do, too.

The language being used is Plains Cree, and there are only a few words in the text, but I like the chart at the back. It’s got all thirteen animals that appear in the book, as well as “child” and “baby” and gives the Cree words for One, More than One, and for “Younger, Smaller, Cuter.” There’s also a pronunciation guide at the back, so if I use this in story time, I’ll be able to say the Cree words in the text.

I love Julie Flett’s art! It’s quiet and calming, with subdued colors, but the children and animals playing do convey joy.

This book is simple, and it’s playful and lovely, with lots of room for talking with your little one about what they see – and then playing!

greystonebooks.com

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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*Note* To try to catch up on posting reviews, I’m posting the oldest reviews I’ve written on my blog without making a page on my main website. They’re still good books!

Review of What Happened to You? by James Catchpole, illustrated by Karen George

What Happened to You?

by James Catchpole
illustrated by Karen George

Little, Brown and Company, 2023. 36 pages.
Review written January 30, 2024, from a library book
Starred Review
2024 Schneider Family Award Honor Book, Young Children

This sweet and simple picture book shows a kid named Joe with one leg happily playing pirates on a playground.

When a bunch of kids he doesn’t know come over, they ask Joe what happened to him. He’s tired of answering that question, so he asks, “What do you think?”

The kids offer several responses, always wrong, and some far-fetched. I like the page where a kid asks, “But where’s your leg?” and Joe says, “Here,” pointing to his leg.

“But where’s your other leg?”
“What other leg?”

After some time and particularly ridiculous questions, even the kids and definitely the reader can sense Joe’s frustration. But then the first kid breaks the tension by joining in Joe’s pirate game, spotting a crocodile.

All the kids play happily together, and by the end, the kids no longer need to know what happened.

There are notes to the adult at the back with tips for explaining disability to your kids. This book is a fantastic start! Lots of room for discussion about how it would feel to be asked the same question all the time and what’s important in friendship.

Yes, this is a book with a message, but it’s a truly delightful story at the same time. And features a sweet kid you can’t help but like.

thecatchpoles.net
karengeorge.net
LBYR.com

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Review of Some Dinosaurs Are Small, by Charlotte Voake

Some Dinosaurs Are Small

by Charlotte Voake

Candlewick Press, 2020. 28 pages.
Review written September 3, 2020, from a library book
Starred Review

Here’s a picture book that would be perfect for Toddler Storytime (if I ever get to do those again!). It’s short and sweet, with not a lot of words on a page. It has pictures of dinosaurs and a fun kicker at the end.

The book begins with a happy little dinosaur in a jungle with a basket.

Some dinosaurs are small.

They have tiny flat teeth for munching through fruit and leaves.

On that second spread, we see parts of big dinosaurs behind the trees. Sure enough, what comes next is:

Some dinosaurs are BIG.

The little dinosaur is clearly in danger from the big dinosaurs. They steal the food from his fruit basket and are still hungry.

But the punchline, drawn out over several spreads, is:

Some dinosaurs . . .

are simply . . .

E N O R M O U S !

And the little dinosaur caps it off with the words, “Hello, Mommy!”

A kid may be small, but this is a fun reminder that they’ve got grown-ups looking out for them. And it’s got dinosaurs!

candlewick.com

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*Note* To try to catch up on posting reviews, I’m posting the oldest reviews I’ve written on my blog without making a page on my main website. They’re still good books!

Review of This Is Not That Kind of Book, by Christopher Healy, illustrated by Ben Mantle

This Is Not That Kind of Book

written by Christopher Healy
illustrated by Ben Mantle

Random House, 2019. 36 pages.
Review written September 3, 2020, from a library book
Starred Review

Here’s a fun picture book that plays with a meta-narrative and gets kids thinking about genre and storytelling.

The book starts with “A is for apple.” But Little Red Riding Hood, who’s portrayed with dark skin, interrupts. She says, “Hey! This is not an alphabet book! Sorry, this is a fairy tale. Come see.” And she leads us to the next page.

All through the book, the Apple-with-a-face only says one thing: “I’m an apple!” On Red Riding Hood’s page, she invites it into her basket.

They see a shape in the shadows. Little Red Riding Hood tells the Letter A, “It’s going to be a wolf. I’m very familiar with this type of story.”

However, when we turn the page – it’s a giant robot!

And new characters show up with every page turn, with their own opinions about what kind of book this is – and isn’t. My favorite is probably the banana named Captain Knock-Knock from a joke book.

Finally, Little Red Riding Hood explores outside the book and learns from the back cover:

This is a book about a group of characters who have nothing in common, but who work together to figure out what kind of book they’re in.

And the odd assortment of characters end up making friends. And it’s all very silly and delightful and gets kids thinking about they types of books they read.

Because of the meta-narrative, this edges toward early elementary kids more than preschoolers. But it will get any child thinking about stories and about how books work, which builds their early literacy skills.

christopherhealy.com

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*Note* To try to catch up on posting reviews, I’m posting the oldest reviews I’ve written on my blog without making a page on my main website. They’re still good books!

Review of I Do Not Eat Children, by Marcus Cutler

I Do Not Eat Children

by Marcus Cutler

Little, Brown and Company, 2024. 36 pages.
Review written March 4, 2024, from a library book.
Starred Review

The second I saw the cover of this book, I knew our library needed many copies. I’m afraid I do like picture books about things (or, yes people) getting eaten. So much so, I made a Pinterest board “Someone Gets Eaten,” with a companion board, “Eating Thwarted.”

Okay, stop right now if you don’t like spoilers for picture books.

Because for the sake of parents, I need to tell you exactly what’s in this book. First, it does fit the first of those boards.

And this book might have gone just a tiny bit too far, even for me. I think it’s the sweet little chubby baby that might be a step too extreme. But I still think it’s fun and still showed it to co-workers.

And it’s not only a book about a monster! It’s also a counting-down book. The counting isn’t done for you, but on the first spread, you’ve got a monster in the middle of ten children (including the aforementioned baby), all with some kind of prop. The monster says, “I do not eat children.”

On the next page, there’s a child missing. Their prop is in the place where they stood, but you might want to count to be sure there are fewer. Now the monster is saying, “I would never eat a child.” The kids are carrying on with what they were doing, some interacting with each other, but everybody ignoring the monster.

And each spread has one fewer child. More protestations from the monster.

And just when you’re thinking that surely there’s some different explanation, surely the monster is telling the truth and isn’t actually eating the children (and who will save the BABY???!!!), with four children left, the monster gives an enormous BURP that takes up two spreads — and the big green speech bubble includes additional clothes and items we saw from the missing children.

However, after they all disappear one by one and the very last child is left, the only one whose eyes pointed anywhere near the monster — she tells us that she eats liars.

And on the last page, the Monster is missing with his striped pants in his place.

So — Parents, I want you to be aware that this book will be scary for some little ones. Some children do get eaten. Completely off the page. But still.

Now, mind you, that monster gets eaten, too! He totally gets what he deserves! You can also tell your kid that the girl let out all the other children before she ate the monster. (Or you can try.)

So a lot of kids, especially older ones — and most adults — will find this book funny. It’s even a great excuse to practice counting! But you need to judge where your child will fall on that spectrum. I personally wouldn’t try this book in storytime because of that doubt. Which is sort of a shame, because if you can get in the right mindset, it’s a really fun book with lots to notice. And you can teach about unreliable narrators and seeing from someone else’s perspective!

This book reminds me of Lucy Cummins’ A Hungry Lion or: A Dwindling Assortment of Animals, which I wholeheartedly love, and at least that one doesn’t have a baby being eaten. But this one is a whole lot of fun, too — and I still say that cover is unbeatable!

marcuscutler.com
LBYR.com

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Review of 100 Mighty Dragons All Named Broccoli, by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Lian Cho

100 Mighty Dragons All Named Broccoli

written by David LaRochelle
illustrated by Lian Cho

Dial Books for Young Readers, 2023. 36 pages.
Review written January 29, 2024, from a library book
Starred Review
2024 Mathical Book Prize Honor Book, Grades K-2

This book has grown on me as I read it multiple times for the Mathical Book Prize. First, I didn’t like that you don’t see all 100 dragons on the first page. But then I noted they’re spread out over the title spread and the first page, and the 100 different dragons are each given a distinctive appearance, so you can follow each dragon for however long they last with the group through the rest of the book.

It’s not really a counting book… but come to think of it, early elementary kids don’t really need a counting book. They’re ready for slightly more sophisticated operations and number sense, and this book delivers, in a delightfully silly package.

Here’s how the book begins:

High on a mountain near a deep dark cave lived 100 mighty dragons.
They were all named Broccoli.

One blustery autumn day a tremendous wind blew half the dragons away.

This left. . .

50 mighty dragons, all named Broccoli.

10 dragons sailed away on a cruise ship and became professional surfers in Hawaii.

This left. . .

40 mighty dragons, all named Broccoli.

The oldest dragon and the youngest dragon took a train to New York City and started their own heavy metal band.

This left. . .

So, yes, it’s a counting down book, but it doesn’t change by the same number each time. You have to think a little bit if you want to follow along. Sometimes you have to observe. (“All the dragons wearing sunglasses flew to France.”) And just when kids think they have the pattern down — some dragons come back.

So this is a book that reinforces some basic math, but it’s not about math, it’s about these silly dragons and what they’ll do next.

And at the end, there are 100 new baby dragons — and they are not all named Broccoli. In fact, each baby dragon is pictured, with its name. It reminds me very much of Dr. Seuss’s silly story “Too Many Daves,” but there were just 23 Daves.

And although we’re giving this book a Mathical Book Prize Honor for Kindergarten through 2nd grade, preschoolers will enjoy it, too. They might not be able to do all the math yet, but being exposed to math never hurt anybody, and kids who love detailed illustrations will get hours of fun out of looking at the pictures of these mighty dragons. A whole lot of silly fun!

davidlarochelle.com
liancho.com
penguin.com/kids

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Review of Eclipse, by Andy Rash

Eclipse

by Andy Rash

Scholastic Press, 2023. 36 pages.
Review written January 30, 2024, from a library book
Starred Review

There’s still time! If you can get hold of this picture book before the April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse, do it! But be warned: Your child may want to go on a trip to see it.

If you are already planning a trip to see the total solar eclipse, or if you are lucky enough to live in the zone of totality, this book is the perfect way to introduce the ideas to your child and explain what it’s all about. Even if you’ll only see a partial eclipse, this story will help make things clear.

This picture book is a fictional story about a boy and his dad going to see the total solar eclipse of 2017, based on the author’s own trip with his son. In the book, the boy does the planning — figuring out where to go camping to see the eclipse, getting eclipse glasses, and the wonder and joy of experiencing the eclipse. It talks about the crickets chirping and the crescent-shaped shadows before and after totality. It even mentions the traffic on the way home.

There are maps on the endpapers. The one in front shows the path of totality for the 2017 eclipse, and then the back shows paths for many upcoming eclipses. But it looks like if you miss the 2024 eclipse, the next ones in the continental U.S. are in the 2040s. Still, the book talks about how they made memories with this trip, so it still works as a book about a special father-son outing.

For a child-friendly explanation of what an eclipse is all about, heavy on the experience, light on the science, this book is perfect.

scholastic.com

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of Kitty & Cat: Bent Out of Shape, by Mirka Hokkanen

Kitty & Cat

Bent Out of Shape

by Mirka Hokkanen

Candlewick Press, 2023. 36 pages.
Review written December 6, 2023, from a library book.
Starred Review

Okay, there’s a place for simple books about shapes. They teach little ones something they need to know. Good.

And then we have books about shapes on an entirely different level — books that parent and child will thoroughly enjoy and laugh over — while learning about shapes at the same time.

This book would become a go-to pick for me for Toddler Storytime if I still worked in a library branch. The idea is simple: A cat hiding because he doesn’t want to take a bath.

On the first page we see Cat curled up in a Circle-shaped basket with a speech bubble coming from off the page: “Cat! Time for a bath!”

The next page shows the basket empty, and a small child’s feet nearby, with the speech bubble, “Cat?”

From there on out, we’ve got a repeating pattern: A spread in some room of the house with Kitty and Puppy cavorting about, along with the speech bubble pointing off-page: “Where’s Cat?”

The next spread says “There’s Cat!”

The “There’s Cat!” reveal is where the hilarity comes in. On the frontpapers at the start of the book, we’d seen nine simple shapes named. It turns out, Cat is very good at putting his whole body into these shapes. On each reveal spread, we see that Kitty or Puppy has knocked down an object with a simple shape — and now we see Cat, who’d been hiding behind it, exactly matching the shape.

First, he hides behind a rectangular cereal box in the kitchen, and then my favorite (because it’s just silly) — a triangular vase in the dining room.

And so it goes. The words are as simple as “Where’s Cat? There’s Cat!” but the pictures show Cat frantically trying to stay concealed while Kitty and Puppy romp about the whole house, making mayhem.

Cat’s expression after his bath is priceles, too. And the final shape is a heart with all three animals — but a new threat for Kitty and Puppy.

There’s another page of those same nine shapes at the back of the book — but this time all of the shapes have a picture of Cat inside of them.

Just absolutely silly fun — and Shapes!

candlewick.com

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Review of Hey Otter! Hey Beaver! by Brian Pinkney

Hey Otter! Hey Beaver!

by Brian Pinkney

Greenwillow Books (HarperCollins), 2023. 36 pages.
Review written March 20, 2023, from a library book.
Starred Review

This picture book with swirly-twirly art joins the tradition of friendship stories in books for young children.

“Hey, Beaver!” said Otter.
“The water is flowing. Let’s play!”

“Hey, Otter,” said Beaver.
“Look, flowing water! Let’s get to work.”

This beginning sums up the approach of the two friends. They find sticks, branches, and twigs. Otter wants to play with them, and Beaver wants to build with them.

Their conversation and rivalry is fun and begs to be read aloud. Otter gets to the things first and plays with them. And Beaver says things like:

“Hey Otter,” said Beaver.
“Give me those branches. I need those branches.
Please give me give me give me
those branches right now!”

Yes, there’s some rivalry and taking things back and forth, but it’s all in good fun, with a nice big crash at the end, and the two friends ready for more play and work together.

brianpinkney.net
harpercollinschildrens.com

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Review of The Shape of You, by Muon Thi Van, illustrated by Miki Sato

The Shape of You

by Muon Thi Van
illustrated by Miki Sato

Kids Can Press, 2023. 32 pages.
Review written August 23, 2023, from a library book.
Starred Review

Here’s a picture book that gently leads children into abstract thinking and ends up with love.

I’m not a huge fan of picture books about how much a child is loved — Although every family should have some books like that, they have to be something special to stand out. This book is something special.

First, the art is cut paper skillfully rendered with depth and shadows. Objects at a distance are gently blurred. The images are beautiful and sweet — especially of the mother, child, and dog.

The book starts looking at the shapes of things you can see, including a rectangle door and a square table. Then it gently gets more abstract, first with things you can see:

The shape of this water
is a cup,
but sometimes it’s a cube

or a cloud.

This beautiful spread is still something you can see, but now they’re talking about the concept of “shape” more abstractly:

The shape of light
is all the colors of the sunset —

red, yellow, blue,
tangerine, chartreuse, mulberry, tan.

It progresses to completely abstract, such as, “The shape of thinking is quiet,” and “The shape of learning is a question.”

One of my favorite spreads has a knitted scarf on the cut-paper child, with the wind blurred in the distance:

The shape of the wind
is a scarf flapping.

And the book finishes up with shapes that change, but the wonderful reminders:

The shape of my fingers
will always fit yours.

And the shape of my love
will always be you.

A sweet story about love, edging into abstract thinking, that could be a wonderful conversation starter. What shapes do you see and feel around you?

kidscanpress.com

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