Review of Two Speckled Eggs, by Jennifer K. Mann

Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

two_speckled_eggs_largeTwo Speckled Eggs

by Jennifer K. Mann

Candlewick Press, 2014. 32 pages.
Starred Review

Ginger’s birthday party is coming up, and she wants to invite everyone in the class except Lyla Browning. Lyla Browning is weird. She even brought a tarantula in a pickle jar for Show-and-Tell. But Ginger’s mother says it’s all the girls or none of the girls, so Lyla gets an invitation, too.

At the birthday party, we see, in subtle ways, Lyla behaving more nicely than any of the other girls. And she brings Ginger a present she made herself – a tiny bird’s nest with two speckled, malted-milk eggs.

And so we see the blossoming of a friendship, one which we can see will continue at school.

This book is lovely in the way it shows that sometimes weird can also be quirky; unusual can also be creative; and not-like-everyone-else can also be thoughtful and interesting.

And the message is never stated outright. But you can see it in the blossoming of this friendship between two girls, and every reader can see that Lyla Browning may be weird, but she’s going to make a very good friend.

candlewick.com

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

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.

Review of The Scraps Book, by Lois Ehlert

Art, Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

scraps_book_largeThe Scraps Book

Notes from a Colorful Life

by Lois Ehlert

Beach Lane Books, New York, 2014. 72 pages.
Starred Review

Lois Ehlert makes wonderful picture book art, including the classic which I bought for my oldest son and quickly became a favorite in our family, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.

This book tells a bit about how art found Lois Ehlert since childhood and led to her satisfying career. I say “a bit” because this is a picture book. There’s a little bit of text on each page, but mostly the book is made up of images.

There are pictures of the author as a child with her parents. There is a picture of the folding table her father set up for her to do art. There is a picture of the pinking shears her mother used on fabric, which Lois still uses. And on almost every page, there are elements of art that went into her many different books. She shows her method of collage and has a word of encouragement for budding artists: “If you feel that way too, I hope you’ll find a spot to work, and begin.”

The text is simple, with just a sentence or two of the main thread on each page, with the rest made up of many little notes about the art. The style reminds me of that in Feathers for Lunch, since you can read it on a couple different levels – reading the overarching main text, or getting delightfully absorbed in the details.

This book is fascinating for someone like me who has no desire to be an artist, in that it looks behind the scenes at the creation of some brilliant picture books. How much more inspiring I think it will be for kids who are interested in doing art.

KIDS.SimonandSchuster.com

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

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.

Parents of Toddlers, Beware of This Book!

Animal Characters, Old Favorites, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

cars_trucks_largeCars and Trucks and Things That Go

by Richard Scarry

A Golden Book, New York, 1974. 69 pages.
Starred Review

Today I was reminded of my son’s favorite book when he was a toddler: Richard Scarry’s Cars and Trucks and Things That Go. Tim is now 20 years old, but when he was a year old, we checked out the book from the library and spent the entire two weeks (or three weeks? I don’t remember) reading it over and over.

If you aren’t familiar with this book, it’s basically a story of a pig family going on a picnic. Each extra-large spread shows a different stage of their journey, and they pass every kind of vehicle imaginable along the way. There is a simple storyline about the family’s trip, but the busy pictures are all labeled, and Goldbug shows up on every page, and there are many other things to spot.

The book does, however, take a long time to read. You can try to skip all the extra pointing and only read the story about the pigs, but your child may or may not cooperate with that. So it was with some relief that I turned the book in, when we went back to the library. I was perhaps a bit furtive in the action, and I’m sure I buried the book under others, but I checked out several new books to distract him.

It wasn’t until the next morning that he asked to read Cars and Trucks and Things That Go. I don’t remember what words he used — he still wasn’t very verbal (Though he could say “Car.”) But I knew what he was looking for and said, “Oh Timmy, we took that book back to the library. It’s all gone.”

My son did not take kindly to that news. He went to the back door (the one we used to go to our car), and began a full-fledged temper tantrum, complete with banging his head against the sliding glass door. If I was so horrible as to take the book to the library, then we must go to the library RIGHT NOW!

Well, I survived and managed to not give in to the terrorist. But his dad was on a band trip and was coming back that very day. He liked to bring our sons gifts when he was on a trip. So I called him up and told him that if he had a chance to go to a bookstore (I knew he was staying near a Big Box Borders — they were still new), well, I knew just the book that Timmy would love.

Timmy_Cars_Trucks

Okay, so what made me think of that old story today?

It so happens that my younger sister Marcy (Much younger — she’d never heard this story) has a sweet toddler daughter. Tim and I got to stay at their house in Oregon on our vacation last month, and we both completely fell for her.

This morning, Marcy posted the following on Facebook:

Yeah… when our daughter has a meltdown because “Caws and Tucks” has been returned to the library… we all knew how that was going to end, right?

Her copy arrives Saturday.

I asked Marcy if she was indeed referring to Cars and Trucks and Things That Go, and explained that I’d had the exact same thing happen 19 years ago. She clarified further:

Yep, Cars and Trucks and Things That Go! Returned it yesterday, I’m surprised she made it this long before requesting it. She was super tired though, so the meltdown was NOT surprising, though it was impressively powerful. (After telling her several times we took it to the library, “all gone,” and her continuing to ask, “Caws n Tucks?” I tried to pick her up. THAT led to the “Noooooo!!! No, NOOOOOOO!!!” with her head thrown back and everything.)

Fortunately for us, she’s too young to see a connection between a tantrum and a book arriving THREE DAYS from now.

Dang it, this means I’m going to have to keep reading it. Frog and Toad it isn’t. Oh well. At least she’s ridiculously adorable when she reads it.

Now, as far as I can remember, this is the only book either of my sons ever threw a tantrum about returning to the library. And now my niece has thrown a tantrum about the very same book!

So, consider yourself warned! If you check this book out for your child, you may find returning it a challenge.

Cars and Trucks and Things That Go: Discriminating toddlers demand nothing less.

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on my own copy, purchased by my husband at a Borders in Illinois in 1995.

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.

Review of The Most Magnificent Thing, by Ashley Spires

Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

most_magnificent_thing_largeThe Most Magnificent Thing

by Ashley Spires

Kids Can Press, 2014. 32 pages.
Starred Review

I love this book. A tribute to the power of failure.

A girl has a wonderful idea. She’s going to make the most MAGNIFICENT thing! She enlists the help of her dog best friend and assistant. She takes a big pile of what looks like junk and sets to work.

But when it’s finished:

They are shocked to discover that the thing isn’t magnificent.
Or good. It isn’t even kind-of-sort-of okay. It is all WRONG.
The girl tosses it aside and gives it another go.

This happens over and over. The thing isn’t right. She keeps trying again, adapting her design. It never turns out magnificent.

Finally, getting angrier and angrier, she crunches her finger.

The pain starts in her finger.
It rushes up to her brain…
…and she EXPLODES!
It is not her finest moment.

However, her friend the dog convinces her to take a walk and cool down. And when she returns, she sees her failures in a whole new light. She sees parts of different contraptions that are actually quite right. (And in the background, we see bystanders appreciating her efforts as well.)

The new perspective gives her the energy and excitement to try once more. The final result is not perfect, but it’s truly magnificent.

I love the fine print on the page opposite the title: “The artwork in this book was rendered digitally with lots of practice, two hissy fits and one all-out tantrum.”

This book is a beautiful tribute to persistence, hard work – and failure.

kidscanpress.com

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

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.

Review of A Boy and a Jaguar, by Alan Rabinowitz

Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

boy_and_jaguar_largeA Boy and a Jaguar

by Alan Rabinowitz
illustrated by Cátia Chen

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, 2014. 32 pages.
Starred Review

This is a picture book biography, with Alan Rabinowitz telling his own story. The book stands out because his story is riveting and inspiring, and the paintings by Cátia Chen are a perfect match.

Alan Rabinowitz has always been a stutterer. When he was a child, he was put in a class for disturbed children, because the teachers said that whenever he tried to speak, it disrupted the class.

He explains his predicament simply:

I try to explain, but my mouth freezes, just as I knew it would. I am a stutterer. If I try to push words out, my head and body shake uncontrollably.

However, the book begins with Alan standing in front of his favorite animal, a jaguar, at the Bronx Zoo. He explains why:

I can do two things without stuttering. One is sing – only I can’t sing well – and the other is talk to animals.

Alan builds a special relationship with animals. People treat him as broken because he stutters.

I know that my pets listen and understand. Animals can’t get the words out, just as I can’t get the words out. So people ignore or misunderstand or hurt them, the same way people ignore or misunderstand or hurt me.

I make a promise to my pets.

I promise that if I can ever find my voice, I will be their voice and keep them from harm.

Alan gets through school and college and learns to speak without stuttering, but he still feels broken on the inside. So he sets off to study animals.

Later, in Belize, I am the first person to study jaguars. The jungle makes me feel more alive than I have ever felt.

He’s in a wonderfully atmospheric jungle scene for this spread.

But jaguars are being hunted. Alan needs to speak to the prime minister of Belize for a plea to set up a jaguar preserve. Can he do it without stuttering? Can he keep his promise he made to animals in his youth?

The book finishes off with an amazing encounter. As an adult, back in the jungle studying jaguars, he comes face to face with a large male jaguar.

I know I should feel frightened, but I squat down and look into the jaguar’s eyes, just as I had with the sad old female at the Bronx Zoo. But this animal isn’t sad. In this animal’s eyes are strength and power and sureness of purpose.

We are both whole.

We are both at home.

I lean toward him a little, the way I had at the Bronx Zoo so many years before.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

This is a truly beautiful book with an inspiring message. This is a case where what stands out is the strong story and you realize later that because it’s true, technically, it’s a biography, not a storybook. I do hope that readers will find it in the nonfiction section. We’re going to have to make an effort to pull it out and give it the attention it deserves.

panthera.org
stutteringhelp.org
hmhbooks.com

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

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.

Review of Anna Carries Water, by Olive Senior and Laura James

Contemporary, Cross Cultural, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

anna_carries_water_largeAnna Carries Water

by Olive Senior
illustrations by Laura James

Tradewind Books, 2014. First published in Canada in 2013. 42 pages.
Starred Review

This is a lovely book that takes a situation that would be unfamiliar to most American children and deals with the universal emotions involved in that situation.

Anna’s family lives way out in the countryside, and they don’t get their water from a tap. Every evening after school, the children go to the spring for water. All her bigger siblings carry the water back to the house on their heads. More than anything, Anna wants to carry the water on her head, like they do.

They tell her not to try – she’ll get her clothes wet. She cries when they are right.

But her siblings aren’t mean about it. They tell her not to worry about it, one day it will just happen. And the rest of the book tells about the day when it does. This also has some humor and a relatable situation.

The lovely bright paintings on large pages make the book beautiful.

This book will make a wonderful choice for preschool storytime, but also for any child who wants to do things the bigger kids can do.

tradewindbooks.com

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/anna_carries_water.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

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.

Review of Sparky! by Jenny Offill & Chris Appelhans

Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

sparky_largeSparky!

by Jenny Offill
illustrated by Chris Appelhans

Schwartz & Wade Books, New York, 2014. 36 pages.
Starred Review

The girl in this book wants a pet. After much begging, her mother promises that she can have any pet she wants as long as it doesn’t need to be walked or bathed or fed.

She gets a sloth. She names him Sparky.

Sloths are said to be the laziest animals in the world. It is two days before the girl sees Sparky awake.

She tries to play with Sparky. He’s not very good at Hide-and-Seek or Kung Fu Fighter, but he’s very very good at Statue.

When another girl from school is critical of her pet, Sparky’s owner decides to present a Trained Sloth Extravaganza. Unfortunately, the only trick Sparky learns well is playing dead.

Interestingly, this book doesn’t end with a big bang or a punchy lesson. But we close with the girl sitting in the tree next to Sparky.

“You’re it, Sparky,” I said.

And for a long, long time he was.

This book makes me smile.

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

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.

Review of The Pigeon Needs a Bath, by Mo Willems

Animal Characters, Delightfully Silly, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

pigeon_needs_a_bath_largeThe Pigeon Needs a Bath!

by Mo Willems

Hyperion Books for Children, New York, 2014. 36 pages.
Starred Review

Another pigeon book! Hooray!

This one follows the pattern of the other books, with its own little twists. Once again, the child reader gets a taste of parental responsibility.

The book starts where the bus driver, dressed in a robe and hairnet, and with a towel over his arm, says, “Hi! I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the Pigeon is filthy. So, I could use your help, because: The Pigeon Needs a Bath!”

The pigeon is indeed filthy, as any child will readily agree. But he has plenty of arguments as to why he really doesn’t need a bath. And when even the flies think he smells too bad to be near, he has lots of complaints about water temperature and depth and amount of toys.

When he finally splashes into the tub, oh the joy! The final spread has a full page with TEN HOURS LATER, and then the Pigeon saying, “Can I stay in the tub forever?”

Yes, Mo Willems knows kids!

I had the privilege of reading this book to a 5-year-old girl who has Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! memorized. She was delighted. Another hit from Mo.

pigeonpresents.com
hyperionbooksforchildren.com

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

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.

Review of Dare the Wind, by Tracey Fern

Adventure, Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, History, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

dare_the_wind_largeDare the Wind

The Record-Breaking Voyage of Eleanor Prentiss and the Flying Cloud

by Tracey Fern
pictures by Emily Arnold McCully

Margaret Ferguson Books, Farrar Straus Giroux, New York, 2014. 36 pages.
Starred Review

How wonderful! A nineteenth century young woman navigated clipper ships for her sea captain husband and actually broke speed records because of her daring and mathematical prowess! Who knew? Now this is a true story I’m eager for little girls to know about!

The book starts with Ellen Prentiss as a child, loving the sea. Her father teaches her how to navigate. The illustration shows her using a sextant outside their house, by the sea, under her father’s observation. “Ellen worked for hours by the kitchen fire, learning the complicated calculations needed to navigate a ship.”

Ellen eventually marries a sea captain, Perkins Creesy. He becomes captain of a new clipper ship, built for speed.

If Ellen and Perkins could make the trip faster than any ship ever had, they would receive a bonus – and bragging rights as the best sailors in the world. It was the adventure Ellen had always dreamed of catching!

The author goes on to dramatize Ellen and Perkins’ record-breaking journey, using information from the log. There was plenty of adventure on the voyage, including a broken mast, and time spent in the Doldrums, with Ellen taking a daring new route to escape them.

In the end, on August 31, 1851, they reached their destination and brought passengers and cargo to the California Gold Rush faster than any other ship ever had.

An Author’s Note at the back gives more details of the journey, along with sources of more information for the curious reader.

This is a wonderful picture book about a woman who used her brains to become the best in the world!

traceyfern.com
emilyarnoldmccully.com

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

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.

Review of Don’t Say a Word, Mama, by Joe Hayes

Contemporary, Folk Tales, Picture Book Review, Readalouds 0

dont_say_a_word_mama_largeDon’t Say a Word, Mamá

No Digas Nada, Mamá

by Joe Hayes
illustrated by Esau Andrade Valencia

Cinco Puntos Press, 2013. 40 pages.

Here’s a charming story told in both English and Spanish, and one that’s worth telling in either language.

Rosa and Blanca’s mother has always been proud of how good her daughters are to each other. When they grow up and each grow a garden, each wants to share her bounty with her beloved sister.

First, when their tomatoes harvest in abundance, each sister goes to Mamá and tells her plans to share her windfall with her sister.

Of course, Blanca took some of her tomatoes to her old mother too. She told her, “My poor sister Rosa has a husband and three children. There are five to feed in her house. I have only myself. I’m going to give half of my tomatoes to my sister. But it will be a surprise. Don’t say a word, Mamá”

Both sisters have the same idea, and they don’t even notice the other sneaking to their house in the dark. Mamá sees, but she’s sworn to secrecy.

In the morning, when the tomatoes have mysteriously multiplied, each sister decides to give some of the overflowing tomatoes to her mother.

Mamá now had a very big pile of tomatoes in her kitchen. She shrugged her shoulders. “Oh, well,” she said, “you can never have too many tomatoes.”

The same thing happens when the corn is harvested. But when it comes time to harvest the chiles, Mamá decides that she may not say a word, but she will have to put a stop to the silly charade her loving daughters are carrying out. Because what will she do with all those hot chiles?

This has the humor and charm of a tale worth telling, no matter which language you choose to tell it in.

cincopuntos.com

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

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.