Review of Becoming Babe Ruth, by Matt Tavares

Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, History, Picture Book Review 1

Becoming Babe Ruth

by Matt Tavares

Candlewick Press, 2013. 40 pages.

Who knew Babe Ruth went to reform school at age 7? Becoming Babe Ruth looks at George Ruth’s childhood and how even he had to work at becoming a great baseball player.

The book focuses on his years at St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys, where he played baseball and learned from Brother Matthias. Years later, when he was famous, he still had a special relationship with the school and helped them raise money to rebuild after a fire. The band from the school got to go on the road with the New York Yankees for the last two weeks of the 1920 baseball season, special guests of Babe Ruth.

This is also a beautiful picture book, with extra large pictures of a larger-than-life baseball player. I like the focus on a boy down on his luck who works hard and makes it big, but still remembers where he came from.

The author says in a note at the end, “Becoming the king of baseball took countless hours of practice and plenty of support and guidance from his school and from his teacher and mentor, Brother Matthias. And even at the height of his fame, he remained eternally grateful to those who helped him become Babe Ruth.”

candlewick.com

I’m posting this review today in honor of Nonfiction Monday, hosted today at Booktalking.

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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 Loopy Coop Hens: Letting Go, by Janet Morgan Stoeke

Animal Characters, Picture Book Review 0

The Loopy Coop Hens
Letting Go

By Janet Morgan Stoeke

Dial Books for Young Readers, 2013. 32 pages.

Janet Morgan Stoeke came to our library in May. I love her work. She has mastered the art of expressing the mind of a child – or in this case the minds of three childish hens.

The format is a full-sized picture book, but the book is perfect for beginning readers, complete with four short chapters. And the entire book is short enough to use in Storytime and will appeal to a wide age range.

The story is that the three silly hens Midge, Pip, and Dot are sitting in the shade under a tree, when apples begin to fall on them. They decide a fox must be throwing them and ask Rooster Sam for help. Children will delight in finding the flaw in the hens’ logic.

When Rooster Sam gets frightened away by another falling apple, Dot bravely decides to go up a ladder and investigate. She manages to explain to the other hens that the apples aren’t being thrown, they are letting go. The book comes to a nice conclusion when the hens all climb the ladder, see the pretty view, and decide to let go like an apple.

Now, parents might feel the need to explain to very young readers that hens with feathers, even if they can’t fly, aren’t at as big a risk falling from a tree as children. But children can probably figure that out, and the book shows the hens dazed, but eager to do it again.

I like the simple good-hearted fun in this book. We have a puzzle for the hens to solve, in which children will be way ahead of them. Then they turn it into an adventure, which children might not anticipate. This book works on many different levels.

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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 Mighty Lalouche, by Matthew Olshan and Sophie Blackall

Historical, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

The Mighty Lalouche

by Matthew Olshan
illustrated by Sophie Blackall

Schwartz & Wade Books, 2013. 40 pages.
Starred Review

Magnifique!

One hundred and a few-odd years ago, in Paris, France, there lived a humble postman named Lalouche. He was small, Lalouche, and rather bony, but his hands were nimble, his legs were fast, and his arms were strong.

For company, he kept a finch named Geneviève.

When Lalouche loses his job because the postal service wants to use the new electric cars, he sees an ad for boxers. Lalouche is much smaller than the other boxers, but he overwhelms them with his speed and agility, and wins every time.

There’s a final showdown with The Anaconda, but Lalouche takes up the cry, “For country, mail, and Geneviève!”

However, despite all Lalouche’s surprising success, stationery stores with envelopes and stamps still make him sad. The happy ending turns that all around and makes the reader think about what success really means.

So, it’s all a charming story. There are even photos in the back and an author’s note that French boxing was actually like that – where speed and agility could win out over muscle and bulk.

But what makes this book over-the-top wonderful are the cut-out illustrations by Sophie Blackall. (Well, okay, and the way the story is perfectly paced to match them.) They have amazing attention to detail and wonderfully give the feel of nineteenth-century France. Let me strongly encourage you to check out this book and look at the pictures yourself. I have little doubt you’ll be charmed as well.

I am going to feature this book in a “Family Storytime” at the library. It’s too much fun to keep to myself.

For country, mail, and Geneviève!

matthewolshan.com
sophieblackall.com
randomhouse.com/kids

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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 Tiny Little Fly, by Michael Rosen and Kevin Waldron

Animal Characters, Picture Book Review, Readalouds, Starred Review 0

Tiny Little Fly

by Michael Rosen
pictures by Kevin Waldron

Candlewick Press, 2010. 32 pages.
Starred Review

I’ve found a book I simply must read for my next Baby Storytime. It’s got great big pages and features great big animals – and one tiny little fly.

Tiny Little Fly lands on Great Big Elephant, and Great Big Hippo, and Great Big Tiger. They each wink one eye and try to catch the fly, with appropriate sound effects. They all fail.

The big vivid pictures make this perfect for a group reading, especially combined with the chorus of sounds like “Tramp! Crush! Tramp!” for the elephant. I especially like the winding trail of the fly pictured behind it. You can almost feel the fly landing.

And how common is that situation? You can easily relate to the animals saying to themselves, “I’m going to catch that fly!” But it’s so easy to believe they would vigorously try and fail.

My, oh my,
Tiny Little Fly!

At the end, there’s a big fold-out spread, with all three animals fruitlessly after the fly.

Tiny Little Fly
winks one eye. . . .
“See you all soon.
Bye, everyone, bye!”

Just right for a beginning experience with books. It’s got animals, rhymes, repetition and predictability, big lovely pictures, buzzing sounds, things to chant, and even a happy ending.

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 Frog Song, by Brenda Z. Guiberson and Gennady Spirin

Children's Nonfiction Review, Picture Book Review, Science 0

Frog Song

by Brenda Z. Guiberson
illustrated by Gennady Spirin

Henry Holt and Company, New York, 2013. 32 pages.

Frog Song is a beautifully illustrated celebration of frogs all over the world. Each two-page spread has a painting that features one particular species of frog. The text gives an onomatopoetic sound like the frog makes (Psst-Psst, Click-Clack, TinkTinkTinkTink) and tells something distinctive about that frog, usually how it lays and cares for its eggs.

Here’s an example:

In northeastern Australia, the Scarlet-sided pobblebonk sings by a pond after heavy rain. Bonk . . . Bonk . . . Bonk. The female frog lays her eggs on the water and whips the gooey mass into a ball of bubbles. Fwish! This floating raft protects the eggs until the tadpoles hatch.

There are notes at the end with facts about the featured frogs, as well as a bibliography, online links, and a message about frogs being endangered.

But what makes this book really stand out are the gorgeous paintings. They go so beautifully with the poetic language. Yes, you get facts in this book, but they are presented in a way that fills the reader with wonder.

brendazguiberson.com
gennadyspirin.com
mackids.com

I’m posting this review today in honor of Nonfiction Monday, hosted today by Perogies & Gyoza.

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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 Mary Wrightly, So Politely, by Shirin Yim Bridges, illustrated by Maria Monescillo

Contemporary, Picture Book Review 0

Mary Wrightly, So Politely

by Shirin Yim Bridges
illustrated by Maria Monescillo

Harcourt Children’s Books, Boston, 2013. 32 pages.

As someone who had a soft voice as a child, and someone who tried to follow the “rules,” I thought this book was wonderful.

Mary Wrightly was a good, polite little girl who spoke in a small, soft voice. Whenever she asked for something, Mary Wrightly would, so politely, say “Please.” She always, so politely, said “Thank you,” and sometimes even “Thank you very much.”

But when Mary goes shopping with her mother for a toy for her baby brother’s first birthday, things get rough. Other shoppers are grabbing the best toys while her mother talks with a neighbor. When Mary spots the perfect toy, can she speak up loudly enough to save it for her brother?

I love it that a good girl’s featured in this book, but also that it shows that situations can come up where being polite isn’t the answer. The bright colorful illustrations bring you right into Mary Wrightly’s world, with a nice variety of perspectives.

And who knows? Maybe some of Mary Wrightly’s politeness will rub off.

goosebottombooks.com
monescillo.es
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 The Dark, by Lemony Snicket and Jon Klassen

Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

The Dark

by Lemony Snicket
illustrated by Jon Klassen

Little, Brown and Company, New York, 2013. 40 pages.
Starred Review

This book is hard to describe. We have a boy, fascinated but afraid of the dark.

The dark lived in the same house as Laszlo,
A big place with a creaky roof,
smooth, cold windows,
and several sets of stairs.

The Dark sometimes hides in the closet or behind the shower curtain, but mostly it lives in the basement. Of course, at night it goes out and spreads itself against the windows and doors of Laszlo’s house.

One night, the dark comes and visits Laszlo in his room. It calls his name. It asks him to come so the Dark can show him something… something downstairs in the basement. Though Laszlo had never dared to come to the dark’s room at night before.

And there’s still room for Lemony Snicket’s philosophizing! I love the page just before he finds what the dark is going to show him.

You might be afraid of the dark, but the dark is not afraid of you. That’s why the dark is always close by.

The dark peeks around the corner and waits behind the door, and you can see the dark up in the sky almost every night, gazing down at you as you gaze up at the stars.

Without a creaky roof, the rain would fall on your bed, and without a smooth, cold window, you could never see outside, and without a set of stairs, you could never go into the basement, where the dark spends its time.

Without a closet, you would have nowhere to put your shoes, and without a shower curtain, you would splash water all over the bathroom, and without the dark, everything would be light, and you would never know if you needed a lightbulb.

Oh and Jon Klassen’s illustrations? Perfect! Most of the scenes are shadowy, with the dark hiding in corners. But at night, we’ve got pitch black backgrounds, lit only by Laszlo’s flashlight.

And there’s a happy ending, with Laszlo no longer afraid of the dark.

This is the perfect slightly scary story for children too young for scary stories. I don’t *think* it will make a child afraid. I think instead it will give them a wonderful vehicle for talking about things they might be afraid of.

And this Dark is decidedly friendly.

LemonySnicketLibrary.com
burstofbeaden.com
lb-kids.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 Revolutionary Friends, by Selene Castrovilla and Drazen Kozjan

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

Revolutionary Friends

General George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette

by Selene Castrovilla
illustrated by Drazen Kozjan

Calkins Creek (Highlights), Honesdale, Pennsylvania, 2013. 40 pages.
Starred Review

This is what a nonfiction picture book should be. It tells a story, complete with flourishes, such as inserting French words in spots. And it also gets in the facts, particularly in the form of pictures of parchment on many pages, with quotations from Lafayette or Washington, talking about the episode featured on that page.

I didn’t know much about Marquis de Lafayette. I knew he was important during the American Revolution, but didn’t really know why. Now I do. And now I understand his deep friendship with George Washington, which began during the war and extended through the rest of their lives.

The book begins in 1777, when nineteen-year-old Lafayette came to America and introduced himself to General Washington, eager to help. Washington was not so impressed — at first. Other Frenchmen had come but had held themselves above the Americans and not bothered to learn English.

Lafayette was blissfully unaware of Washington’s opinions.

He had adopted the motto cur non — “why not.” Having come this far, why not go further?

Lafayette was anxious to be trained and eager to communicate. He had studied English while on the rough sea.

He adored America. And because Washington represented America, Lafayette idolized him.

Washington approached.

Enchanté!

The commander complimented Lafayette on his noble spirit and the sacrifices he had made. He invited Lafayette to live in his quarters.

Voilà!

To Lafayette, the cementing of their bond was as simple as that.

The book goes on to tell how the Americans were in a tight spot, and Congress wouldn’t trust Lafayette with a command. He finally proved himself in a way they couldn’t ignore, risking his life at the Battle of Brandywine. Washington told the doctor, “Take charge of him as if he were my son, for I love him with the same affection.”

There are several pages of back matter after this ending, the decisive cementing of their friendship. It tells how the friendship continued, gives timelines for both their lives, and even lists places to visit.

The strong point of this book, well supported with the rest, is the accessible story, a story of two men who became friends in a time of war. And changed the world.

SeleneCastrovilla.com
DrazenKozjan.com
calkinscreekbooks.com

This review is posted today in honor of Nonfiction Monday, hosted today at Shelf-Employed.

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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 Infinity and Me, by Kate Hosford and Gabi Swiatkowska

Contemporary, Mathematical, Picture Book Review 0

Infinity and Me

by Kate Hosford
illustrations by Gabi Swiatkowska

Carolrhoda Books, Minneapolis, 2012. 36 pages.

I wish I’d had this book when my son was young and obsessed with Infinity. He liked to make up numbers “bigger than infinity,” like “zappazudus” and “H-aloppus.”

This picture book follows a little girl who looks up at the stars in the sky and thinks about infinity. Then she asks all the people around her how they think of infinity, and gets a different answer with each person.

The pictures imaginatively express the abstract ideas. We’ve got numbers going on forever, driving on an infinity symbol forever, population expanding, things lasting forever, cutting things in half forever, and more and more.

The culmination? Love for her Grandma “as big as infinity.”

This is a lovely picture book perfect for setting minds spinning and starting cozy conversations.

khosford.com
chocolateforgabi.com
lernerbooks.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 In Our Mothers’ House, by Patricia Polacco

Contemporary, Picture Book Review 0

In Our Mothers’ House
By Patricia Polacco

Philomel Books, 2009. 48 pages.

This is a warm and wonderful book about a nontraditional family. The point isn’t that the family has two mothers. The point is that they have a lot of love.

Told from the perspective of the first adopted child, we hear about all the loving times in their big house, which hosts family gatherings and block parties and neighborhood festivals. The family has a black girl, an oriental boy and a red-haired Irish child, so they are diverse in more ways than one.

Patricia Polacco is a good storyteller, and she makes a story of this family. There’s lots of hugging in all the pictures, and people of all ages having fun.

There is one exception. The one person on the block who doesn’t like them (It doesn’t specify why, except that she says, “I don’t appreciate what you two are.”), Mrs. Lockner, is on the cartoonish side. But mostly it’s about family togetherness, complete with cooking, costumes, parties, special events. Patricia Polacco manages to tell these retrospective stories without stepping too far on the side of sentimentality.

Your kids will meet families like this. I appreciate that the book never makes a big deal about there being two mothers or mixed races in this family. It just tells about two marvelous people and the loving household they built.

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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.