Review of A Pig, a Fox, and a Box, by Jonathan Fenske

Animal Characters, Award Winners, Easy Readers, Picture Book Review 0

pig_fox_box_largeA Pig, a Fox, and a Box

by Jonathan Fenske

Penguin Young Readers, Level 2, 2015. 32 pages.
2016 Geisel Honor Book

This beginning reader has the pay-off kids learning to read will love.

Pig and Fox are friends, but Fox likes to play tricks. In the first two parts, Fox tries to be sneaky and play tricks on Pig and both times, it backfires badly. In the third part, we see that Fox has learned his (painful) lesson.

First, this book manages to use rhyme well, a thing that isn’t easy. The story is never sacrificed for the rhyme.

I also like the way the author has the reader make inferences from the pictures. After the first part, Fox has a Band-Aid and a mark on his tail. After the second part, he’s got a cast, a black eye, and two large bandages. Also, when we see a box in the second part, it’s been taped back together after its collapse in the first part.

It’s also fun the way the reader will see that it’s not Pig’s fault at all that Fox gets hurt. The whole book is an exercise in seeing things from another perspective.

There’s also repetition, which is nice for beginning readers. In this case, it adds to the humor when each part starts the same way — but Fox, who is in bad shape, decides in the third part that he’s had enough hiding and playing today.

penguinyoungreaders.com

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Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. 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 Duck on a Tractor, by David Shannon

Delightfully Silly, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

duck_on_a_tractor_largeDuck on a Tractor

by David Shannon

The Blue Sky Press (Scholastic), 2016. 32 pages.
Starred Review

Hooray! A sequel to David Shannon’s classic, Duck on a Bike! Though as is best with a picture book series, you don’t have to read the first one to appreciate the second.

The beginning of the book does refer to the earlier one:

Down on the farm, Duck sometimes got wild ideas. One day he decided he could ride a bike, so he did. Then he spotted the tractor.

“I bet I can drive a tractor,” he said. The other animals weren’t so sure, but they all said, “Well, if he can ride a bike, maybe he can drive a tractor, too!”

So Duck starts driving a tractor and convinces all the other animals to ride along. The fun part here is where we hear what each animal says (an animal sound) – and then what that animal is thinking.

The animals are thinking things like “This is the silliest thing I’ve ever done!” “This sure beats walking!” and “I was going to take a nap, but this should be very interesting!”

The Duck manages, somehow, to drive into town, with a full load of animals on the tractor. Then we hear what the people of the town say – and what they are actually thinking. For example:

Deputy Bob blabbered, “If that don’t beat all!” But what he thought was, “How am I gonna explain this to the sheriff?”. . .

The Mayor almost choked on his pie. “Good gravy!” he sputtered. But what he thought was, “Those pigs are even fatter than I am!”. . .

Farmer O’Dell observed. “That’s a dang nice tractor.” But what he thought was, “Hey, that’s my tractor!”

This is silly fun, and I’m looking forward to trying it for my next storytime. I think it will work best with older preschoolers and early elementary school kids, since there are lots of words on each page and some inside jokes.

We’ve got farm animals, a big tractor, and a silly situation. This one’s destined to be another classic.

scholastic.com

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Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. 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 The White Book, by minibombo

Delightfully Silly, Picture Book Review 0

white_book_largeThe White Book

by minibombo

First published in Italy in 2013 as Il libro bianco, by Silvia Borando, Lorenzo Clerici, and Elisabetta Pica.
Candlewick Press, 2015. 44 pages.

This book makes me smile.

It’s a wordless picture book. The background, like the title says, is white.

We see a boy with several buckets of paint and a paint roller.

Each time he rolls a different color of paint on the pages, a different animal appears, made of the new color of paint, and outlined in white. This makes the boy smile.

But then the animal does something to make the boy frown. The birds fly away. The fish swim away. The dinosaur is scary. The elephant is too big. The giraffe is too tall.

The final animal is – you guessed it – a dog.

Without words, we can easily see that this animal is just right.

This book is for young kids who won’t even wonder how using a roller could outline these animals. Without words, with just simple expressions on the boy’s face, there’s so much to talk about. You can start with colors and animal names, but it won’t be long before kids will be talking about the boy’s feelings and maybe how they would feel about each animal appearing before them.

I do think it’s funny that there’s a copyright notice for the “English translation” at the front. Okay, they did translate the title. And the copyright notice information. I looked at minibombo’s website, and I hope that more titles from this Italian publisher are forthcoming.

minibombo.com
candlewick.com

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Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. 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 The King and the Sea, by Heinz Janisch and Wolf Erlbruch

Fantasy, Picture Book Review 0

king_and_the_sea_largeThe King and the Sea

21 Extremely Short Stories

by Heinz Janisch
illustrated by Wolf Erlbruch
translated by Sally-Ann Spencer

Originally published in Germany in 2008 as Der König und das Meer.
Gecko Press, 2015. 48 pages.

There’s something Zen about this book. The stories remind me of the child-like logic found in Winnie-the-Pooh.

As the title indicates, this book consists of 21 extremely short stories. All of them feature the king. A few feature the sea as well. Each story takes up one double-page spread with a very simple cut-paper illustration.

I think you’ll get the idea of the book if I quote a couple of the stories:

The King and the Sea

“I am the king!” said the king.
The sea answered with a whoosh.
“Hmm.” The king cocked his head thoughtfully.
“I see,” he murmured.
And he stood there quietly, listening to the waves.

The King and the Shadow

“Why do you have to follow me around?” asked the king.
“To stop you from coming up with stupid ideas,” said the shadow.
“And to remind you there are two sides to every story.”
“So there are,” murmured the king, staring at the long dark shadow cast by his small gold crown.

The King and the Ghost

“I don’t believe in ghosts,” said the king.
“I don’t believe in kings,” said the ghost.
“Then one of us must be mistaken,” said the king.
“So it seems,” said the ghost, spiriting himself away.

The King and the Bee

“Buzz off,” said the king, shooing the bee from his flower.
“Don’t you know I’m the king?”
“And I’m the queen,” said the bee, stinging the king’s nose.

That gives you the idea. There’s something peaceful about reading these stories, which are silly, yet wise.

I don’t envision using these with a big group – they don’t provoke a big bang. However, these are perfect for one child – or one adult reading to one child – for a cozy, meditative reading experience. I can’t help but love the king.

geckopress.com

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Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. 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 Supertruck, by Stephen Savage

Award Winners, Delightfully Silly, Easy Readers, Good for the Very Young, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

supertruck_largeSupertruck

by Stephen Savage

A Neal Porter Book, Roaring Brook Press, New York, 2015. 32 pages.
2016 Geisel Honor Book
Starred Review

When I first read this book, I gave it a glance through, and wasn’t tremendously impressed. I automatically cringe from anthropomorphic trucks, so I missed it’s charm.

Then Supertruck won a Geisel Honor. Then I was scheduled to do a Mother Goose Story Time (for ages 0 to 24 months) the day before a blizzard was expected. I checked Supertruck, and it was absolutely perfect.

The text is simple, with only a sentence or so on each page. This is perfect for reading to very little ones, and also perfect for kids just learning to read.

Yes, the trucks are a little bit anthropomorphic, but it’s very simply done. Stephen Savage’s typical graphic design look adds a simple and friendly face to each truck. I love the way the garbage truck wears glasses.

The story is simple. We meet three colorful, important trucks: a bucket truck, a fire truck, and a tow truck. They do important things, while the garbage truck just collects the trash.

Then it starts snowing, and the city is caught in a terrible blizzard.

Just then, the garbage truck sneaks into a garage and becomes . . .

SUPERTRUCK!

The glasses have disappeared, and he now sports a plow blade in front. He digs out the city, makes a path for the other trucks, and saves the day.

The next morning, the trucks wonder about the mighty truck who saved them. Where could he be?

He’s just collecting the trash.

The final picture has snow falling again, and Supertruck heading into a garage with a sly smile on its face. Kids will love being in on the secret. Grown-ups will love the deft play on superhero tropes.

This book is brilliant. Wonderful reading during a storm, but I predict it will still get turned to when the weather is hot. For any kid who loves trucks, as well as any kid who dreams of secret super powers. Or any kid who enjoys a well-told, simple story.

mackids.com

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Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. 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 Monster Trouble, by Lane Fredrickson and Michael Robertson

Delightfully Silly, Picture Book Review 0

monster_trouble_largeMonster Trouble

by Lane Fredrickson
illustrations by Michael Robertson

Sterling Children’s Books, New York, 2015. 28 pages.
Starred Review

Winifred Schnitzel has monster trouble. It’s not that she’s afraid of them.

They try to scare her –

But all of their monsterly mayhem was moot –
because Winifred Schnitzel thought monsters were cute.

It’s true. The monsters who show up in Winifred’s house in this book are cute indeed.

But scary or not, these monsters make lots of noise. She can’t sleep at night, so she falls asleep during the day. Winifred must do something!

Winifred buys a book called Monsters Beware! and tries various tricks to stop the monsters, but none works. Finally, quite by accident, when a monster shows up while she’s dreaming, Winifred learns that the one thing that will frighten monsters away with horror is: Kissing!

I cringed a bit when I opened up this book and saw that it was written in rhyme. But the pictures are so much colorful fun and the secret tip given out is so useful to small children afraid of monsters, I was willing to read on and discovered that the rhyme is actually well done and adds to the fun.

She was dreaming of puppies when a monster went HISS.
She reached out and gave it a big, sleepy KISS.

The monster yelled, “Yuck!” All the others were heaving.
One gagged. And a big monster shouted, “I’m leaving!”

Winifred knew that despite their uniqueness,
she’d discovered that monsters have one silly weakness.

What’s more, I sent my little nieces several picture books I judged for the Cybils last year. This one was Arianna’s strong favorite. So this silly book has the approval of a genuine toddler.

rhymeweaver.com
sterlingpublishing.com

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Source: This review is based on a copy sent to me by the publisher for Cybils judging.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. 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 School’s First Day of School, by Adam Rex, pictures by Christian Robinson

Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

schools_first_day_of_school_largeSchool’s First Day of School

by Adam Rex
pictures by Christian Robinson

A Neal Porter Book, Roaring Brook Press, New York, 2016. 36 pages.
Starred Review

Okay, I wouldn’t have thought it possible, but here is a new twist on the First Day of School theme.

On the title page, you see construction workers and the school being built. Our story begins:

That summer, they dug up the big field, and poured the foundation, and set brick on top of brick until they’d built a school.

At first, the school doesn’t know what’s in store for it.

Most days a man named Janitor came to mop the school, and buff his floors, and wash his windows. “This is nice,” the school said to Janitor. “Just the two of us.”

“Won’t be just us for long,” said Janitor. “Soon the teachers will come, and then you’ll be filled with children.”

The school creaked. “Children?”
“All kinds of children. They’ll come to play games and to learn.”
“Oh,” said the school, “will you be here?”
“You’ll see me after the school day is over,” said Janitor. “Don’t worry – you’ll like the children.”
But the school thought that Janitor was probably wrong about that.

When the children come, there are more of them than the school could possibly have imagined. The school’s feelings are hurt, though, when some kids cry and don’t want to come in. And others say they hate school.

Later he squirted the puffy-haired kid in the face, then felt bad about it afterward.

(Now kids who get squirted by a drinking fountain may think about what they’ve said about their school!)

The school listens in on classroom lessons and is embarrassed when its fire alarm goes off. During lunch, a boy tells a funny joke, and another boy laughs so hard that milk comes out of his nose.

“Now I’m covered with nose milk,” thought the school. He had to admit that it was a pretty funny joke, though. Even the girl with freckles liked it.

This book is a perfect match for Christian Robinson’s childlike illustrations. It’s easy to talk about what anxieties a school might have as compared with anxieties a child might have.

I will go so far as to say that this lovely book is destined to be a classic for kids anticipating going to school. Maybe the school is anticipating their arrival, too!

adamrex.com
mackids.com

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Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. 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 Don’t Throw It to Mo! by David A. Adler

Award Winners, Contemporary, Easy Readers, Picture Book Review 0

dont_throw_it_to_mo_largeDon’t Throw It to Mo!

by David A. Adler
illustrated by Sam Ricks

Penguin Young Readers, 2015. 32 pages.
2016 Geisel Award Winner

The publisher labels this book “Level 2” for the “Progressing Reader.” It uses simple sentences and lots of pictures – but tells a story with a plot and a twist.

Mo loves football, but he’s the smallest and youngest player on his team. He doesn’t play often. Then Coach Steve carries out a plan to get the other team undervaluing Mo. He puts Mo in and tells him to go deep – but tells the team, “Don’t throw it to Mo!”

After a few plays like this, the other team’s not worried about Mo – setting him up to catch a long pass and win the game.

That summary, of course, doesn’t do the book justice. The author uses the simple sentences of an early reader as an asset, building the suspense and making the result believable. I told you what happened. Readers will see and understand what’s happening. And when they read the words themselves, they’ll get a big pay-off when Mo wins the game.

Mo’s not the only winner from this book.

davidaadler.com
samricks.com

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Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. 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 Before Morning, by Joyce Sidman and Beth Krommes

Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

before_morning_largeBefore Morning

by Joyce Sidman
illustrated by Beth Krommes

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, October 4, 2016. 44 pages.
Starred Review

Here’s a beautiful book for children who wish for snow. I’m not absolutely sure parents will want to encourage this kind of wishing, but the book is so gorgeous – with award-winning Beth Krommes’ art more beautiful than ever – and gives such a sense of peace and well-being, I think it’s worth it.

The author has a note at the back that explains what this book does. (There are more words here than the entire main text of the book, which I counted at 66 words.)

How powerful are words? Can they make things happen? Stop them from happening? Can they protect us? Comfort us? Enchant us? This book is written in the form of an invocation — a poem that invites something to happen, often asking for help or support. Humans have been using invocations for thousands of years, to soothe the body and strengthen the soul. Do they work? Maybe. Maybe speaking something out loud is the first step toward making it happen.

What is it you wish for? Find the best words for that wish and speak them aloud. Maybe, in the deep woolen dark, snowflakes will begin to fall . . .

The wish expressed in this book is for snow to fall before morning. But oh, the beautiful words used in the invocation! And the lovely pictures!

The pictures tell the story of a mother who’s a pilot. Since her plane is grounded, she gets to come back to her family, and mother, father, and child go sledding together in the delightful white world.

As I said, there are only 66 words in the main text, and they are slowly distributed through the pages. They are well-chosen words, coming from a poet.

After a set-up over several pages of a cold, brown world and bedtime goodbyes, the text begins:

In the deep woolen dark,
as we slumber unknowing,
let the sky fill with flurry and flight.

Let the air turn to feathers,
the earth turn to sugar,
and all that is heavy
turn light….

I’m tempted to quote the entire text – it’s so lovely – but I don’t want to give the impression that you now know what’s in the book.

This book is an opportunity to talk about wishes as well as a chance to treasure the beauty that snow brings.

And who knows? Maybe the wishing will work.

joycesidman.com
bethkrommes.com
hmhco.com

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Source: This review is based on a book sent by the publisher to my co-worker.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. 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 Two White Rabbits, by Jairo Buitrago and Rafael Yockteng

Contemporary, Picture Book Review 0

2_white_rabbits_largeTwo White Rabbits

by Jairo Buitrago
pictures by Rafael Yockteng
translated by Elisa Amado

Groundwood Books, Toronto, 2015. 48 pages.

I’ll admit that this is a message book. But the message is in the background, which makes it palatable. The story is of a little girl who is traveling with her dad.

When we travel,
I count what I see.

At first the things she sees are normal barnyard things. I thought it was a counting book for a little while.

Then we see them cross a river and we see people camping out.

When we travel, I count the people
who live by the train tracks.

“There are people,” says my dad,
“who live by the tracks.”

The next spread shows people climbing onto a train. On the spread after that, the girl is calmly and happily leaning back against her dad, pointing into the sky. She says:

And if I get tired, I look up and count the clouds. I learned to count to one hundred.

It’s not until the spread after that that we realize she and her dad are on top of an old rusty train car themselves.

Their journey continues. Off the train. They meet some people and her dad makes plans to go further. But the story is told firmly from the girl’s perspective. Here’s what she says later on, when lying in her dad’s lap in the back of a pickup truck:

Sometimes, when I’m not sleeping, I count the stars. There are thousands, like people. And I count the moon. It is alone. Sometimes I see soldiers, but I don’t count them anymore. There are about a hundred.

There is lots of symbolism in the pictures, including in toys and in animals along the way – notably a coyote and two white rabbits. There are many spreads without words, including the final pages.

The story of their journey doesn’t really finish. We see a long fence, a desert, and two white rabbits.

There is a note at the end about refugees from the President of the International Board on Books for Young People. You may or may not wish to read it to your children. I think the letter gives a nice taste of the tone in this book (though it’s much more subtle in the book, not explicitly stated), so I will repeat the letter in full:

The father and daughter in this book are leaving their home and the world they know and love to go to a different country. Maybe it is because the father cannot find work and a way to support his daughter at home. Maybe because the world they live in has been destroyed by violence, war and danger. We don’t know.

What we do know is that millions of people around the world become refugees every year. In North America, close to a hundred thousand children from Central America make the very dangerous trip you see here to try to find safety and a way to survive in the United States. Coyotes, people whom they pay to “help” them make the trip, often betray and abandon them. And when they finally make it to the border, they might be turned back or arrested. Many of the children who come to the United States alone are sitting in American detention centers along the Mexican border waiting to hear their fate.

What do those of us who have safe comfortable lives owe to people who do not?

Patricia Aldana
President, IBBY Foundation

groundwoodbooks.com

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Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. 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.

What did you think of this book?