Review of One Special Day, by Lola M. Schaefer and Jessica Meserve

Contemporary, Picture Book Review 0

One Special Day

A Story for Big Brothers and Sisters

by Lola M. Schaefer
illustrated by Jessica Meserve

Disney Hyperion Books, New York, 2012. 36 pages.

This story is simple. Yes, it’s blatantly for big brothers. (And I guess you can use it for big sisters, but the one in the story is a rambunctious boy.)

The book goes from predictable niche marketing to utterly charming by the illustrations. They remind me tremendously of Maurice Sendak’s in A Hole Is to Dig. Spencer is exuberant and playful and all over the place.

The format is such that children will be able to “read” along quickly.

Spencer was a boy.

He was strong —

strong as a

[Here there’s a picture of a bear eating honey from a beehive while Spencer holds the branch down.

The same pattern shows us Spencer as fast as a horse, as tall as a giraffe, as loud as an elephant, as funny as a monkey, as wild as tiger, as messy as a pig, and as free as a bird. In all of them, the animal’s name is not written out, but is shown with the enchanting pictures.

The climax has all the animals watching curiously, along with Spencer:

Until one special day
when Spencer was quiet and waiting.
And then he was gentle,
because, for the first time ever —
Spencer was a brother.

A fun discovery is that the endpapers show the baby in the future as a toddler being influenced by Spencer’s more typical behavior.

The illustrations make this charming. Perfect for a very young big brother.

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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 Spirit Seeker, by Gary Golio

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

Spirit Seeker

John Coltrane’s Musical Journey

by Gary Golio
paintings by Rudy Gutierrez

Clarion Books, 2012. 42 pages.
Starred Review

I admit, I was hoping I’d see this book mentioned in the Coretta Scott King awards, if not the Caldecott.

This picture book biography is written for elementary school readers. The story of John Coltrane’s life talks about how his love of music combined with his spiritual quest to produce something beautiful. His grandfather was a preacher and his father was a musician. Both those men died when John was still a boy, and he lived the rest of his childhood in poverty. But he’d already gotten a foundation of music and of faith.

The book doesn’t flinch from some side trips that Coltrane took. Here’s the text on one of the double-page spreads:

Moving back to Mama’s house in Philadelphia, John saw his world come to a sudden stop. His body was sick, and his pockets were empty.
Now he had to choose, between the dead end of drugs or a life rich with music.
Waking one morning, John remembered his grandfather’s words — the promise of Spirit, and of healing. He asked Mama and Naima for help.
With nothing to eat and only water to drink, he stayed alone in his room, resting and praying, as the drugs slowly left his body. It was painful, but John felt that he was being cleansed — made new again.
When he came out, a few days later, he was free.

But I haven’t talked yet about the paintings!

The illustrations here are what transform this from an excellent, serviceable biography and good story into a stunning work of art.

Much of the text talks about spirituality and music, and the expressionistic paintings put that on the page. The mood of each page matches the text, and you can almost hear the music. The pages give us a wide variety of colors and scenes, but all express a feeling.

But it’s hard to talk about pictures, when you can check out this book and in a few moments grasp the power of these paintings to make you feel what the words are telling. This one’s worth taking a look at.

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

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Nonfiction/spirit_seeker.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.

Please use the comments if you’ve read the book and want to discuss spoilers!

Review of Abe Lincoln’s Dream, by Lane Smith

History, Paranormal, Picture Book Review 1

Abe Lincoln’s Dream

by Lane Smith

Roaring Brook Press, New York, 2012. 32 pages.

I like this book. The idea is simple. The execution is complex. The impact will stick with you.

There’s talk of a ghost in the White House. Over the years, different White House dogs won’t go into a certain room. Then one day, a little girl wandering from her tour sees the ghost of Abraham Lincoln. He’s still sad and worried about the union. She leads him to the door.

“Oh no, I never leave the Executive Mansion,” he protested.
“You should,” she said. “A lot has changed since 1865. . .
including the name of the Executive Mansion. We just call it the White House now.”

The ghost did the flying.
The girl answered the questions.
“Are the states united?” he asked. “Did that work out?”
“Yes, that worked out fine.”

“And equality for all?” he asked.
“That’s working out too,” she said.
“It’s getting better all the time.”

And on it goes. It’s a simple story, and the concepts are simplified to something children can easily understand. Lane Smith throws in some corny jokes attributed to Lincoln and some White House trivia. He also includes that marvelous Lane Smith art work, recognizable as his own, but not exactly like anything he’s done before.

One of the things that made me like this book was that it reminded me that when I was in elementary school or junior high, I used to daydream about having Louisa May Alcott come to visit and showing her all that had changed for women since her time. Since Jo wanted to run and play with the boys, I thought she would be so excited to see me wearing pants, and I’d think about all I could show her. This book is like that. Despite all our remaining troubles, I do think Abraham Lincoln would be reassured if a little girl could take him on a tour of what America is today and what Americans have done.

And what a fun way to reflect on that!

lanesmithbooks.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 Zorro Gets an Outfit, by Carter Goodrich

Animal Characters, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Zorro Gets an Outfit

by Carter Goodrich

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2012. 42 pages.
Starred Review

Here’s a picture book about feelings that tells a fabulous story at the same time. The pictures make the book. We’ve got Zorro, a dog with a pattern on his face that looks like a mask, and the other dog who lives in that house, his friend Mister Bud. Humans in the household are expressed as body parts and disembodied voices.

Bud and Zorro are ready and eager for their daily walk, but something delays them. Their owner has an outfit for Zorro. It’s a hood and cape.

A whole double-page spread is given to the words: “Zorro was embarrassed.” Zorro is sitting in the hallway, definitely not looking happy.

As he reluctantly goes on a walk, other dogs and even the neighboring cat all laugh at him.

Zorro is moping when everything changes. A new dog comes to the park.

He was fast!

He did amazing tricks!

And he had an outfit . . .

. . . Just like Zorro.

The three dogs play together, and we can easily see that Zorro’s entire outlook has changed.

On the way home Zorro tried to cheer up Mister Bud about coming in third.

“Maybe it’s because you don’t have an outfit!”

Actually, Mister Bud didn’t really mind about coming in third.

He could tell Zorro was happy now.

It’s a simple story, but the pictures are completely delightful. It’s about feelings every child can relate to, and gives them a way to talk about them.

A story that will leave you smiling.

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.

Review of Olivia and the Fairy Princess

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

Olivia and the Fairy Princesses

by Ian Falconer

Atheneum Books for Young Readers, New York, 2012. 36 pages.
Starred Review

Dare I say it? I hadn’t yet been won over into an Olivia fan. But when I read Olivia and the Fairy Princesses, something hit me, and I like this pig. This is no Eloise knock-off celebrating being naughty. This is a little girl pig with style and originality.

Olivia is depressed. She explains to her parents:

“That’s the problem,” said Olivia. “All the girls want to be princesses.”

“At Pippa’s birthday party, they were all dressed in big, pink ruffly skirts with sparkles and little crowns and sparkly wands. Including some of the boys.

“I chose a simple French sailor shirt, matador pants, black flats, a strand of pearls, sunglasses, a red bag, and my gardening hat.”

She has some perfectly legitimate questions:

“Why is it always a pink princess? Why not an Indian princess or a princess from Thailand or an African princess or a princess from China?

“There are alternatives.”

I love Olivia’s solution on Halloween. Everyone else dressed as a princess. She dressed as a warthog. “It was very effective.”

Olivia’s eventual decision of what she’d like to be is the perfect capstone.

Part of what makes this book so much fun are some throwaway lines and images. For example, there’s an extra pig in the mirror who’s not in the classroom. I like the busy family page, with the dog bringing a ball to Olivia. Then there’s Olivia struggling with her outfit, mirroring the modern art hanging in her room. But my favorite is, superimposed on an image of Versailles, Olivia saying, “Or I could be a reporter and expose corporate malfeasance.”

This book simply made me laugh. While at the same time making a valid point. And Olivia’s most interesting logic is the perfect touchstone for some interesting conversations with little girls, and some boys, all across the world.

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/olivia_and_the_fairy_princesses.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 One Two That’s My Shoe! by Alison Murray

Contemporary, Good for the Very Young, Mathematical, Picture Book Review, Readalouds 0

One Two That’s My Shoe!

by Alison Murray

Disney Hyperion Books, New York, 2012. First published in Great Britain in 2011. 28 pages.

Simplicity. This book has it, in a beautiful form.

I recently had the joy of being promoted to Youth Services Manager at my library branch, so I get to do children’s programs again! Tomorrow, I’m doing a Mother Goose Time for babies from birth to eighteen months. In Mother Goose Time, we mainly do rhymes and songs in the parent’s lap. But I like to work in three books that are short and simple and that the parents can read along with me.

One Two That’s My Shoe! is perfect. The text is reminiscent of the old rhyme “One Two Buckle My Shoe,” going from one to ten with a rhyme after every second number. However, this book puts a story to the rhymes. With One Two, a dog has taken a little girl’s shoe, and is running away with it.

With each number, the pictures show that many objects that the dog is running past — toys, butterflies, flowers, trees, chicks and hens. The ten hens add a little inside joke. You’d expect Nine, Ten to rhyme with “Big Fat Hen” as in “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe,” but instead the girl shoos them away, recovers her shoe, and hugs the dog with the words “Friends again!”

This book is simple. The illustrations are done with printmaking, and look old-fashioned and classic. With at most three words on a page, you can read it quickly for the little one with a short attention span, but there’s plenty to talk about. Will the dog get away with the shoe? What will stop him?

As a counting book, it’s also excellent. All the objects passed are easily counted, with none tricky to find, but covering a wide scope of objects, and variety within the objects. The objects are not identical, but it’s easy to see that they belong together. Each number is both written out in the text and represented by a numeral in a corner. Next to the numeral, there are silhouettes of the object counted in the picture, so it’s nice and clear.

This is simply a lovely first counting book, and one that parents and children won’t get tired of any time soon. I’m happy to show it off at Mother Goose Time tomorrow.

disneyhyperionbooks.com
12thatsmyshoe.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 the Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I write the posts for my website and blogs entirely 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 Exclamation Mark, by Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Tom Lichtenfeld

Delightfully Silly, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Exclamation Mark

!

by Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Tom Lichtenheld

Scholastic Press, New York, 2013. 52 pages.
Starred Review

It’s impossible for me not to love this book. It’s not even for my main audience — the preschool story time crowd. It is for kids in early elementary school who are learning about punctuation. And it’s simply perfect. Those kids are not the only ones who will love this book.

The expression of this story is completely visual. It plays out on the background of school writing paper. We’ve got a row of periods with little faces — and one exclamation mark.

He stood out from the very beginning.

It’s easy for the reader to see that the exclamation mark doesn’t fit in. He is different. He tries to be like his friends. But he becomes confused, flummoxed, and deflated, with appropriate illustrations of his top part in a twist.

Then one day, he meets a question mark.

The question mark asks one question after another. (Hilarious questions, I might add.)

When the exclamation mark shouts for him to stop, it is indeed an exclamation.

He didn’t know he had it in him.

He then explores his newly discovered power. I love the way the question mark eggs him on, always with questions (“How’d you do that? Can you do it again?”)

His exclamations get more and more excited, colorful, and all over the page. “It was like he broke free from a life sentence.”

Question mark: “Isn’t he something?”
Periods: “There was never any question in our minds.”

Okay, as I write this, it occurs to me that maybe I love this book so much because I love puns. In a sense, this whole book is a pun, done perfectly. And it’s a happy story about being an individual and making your mark. And it teaches about punctuation in a way no kid will ever forget. Hmm. Is that why they call it pun-ctuation? (Sorry.)

Way too much fun!

whoisamy.com
tomlichtenheld.com
scholastic.com

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/exclamation_mark.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 the 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 Penny and Her Marble, by Kevin Henkes

Animal Characters, Beginning Chapter Books, Picture Book Review 0

Penny and Her Marble

by Kevin Henkes

Greenwillow Books, 2013. 48 pages.

Hooray! Another Penny book for beginning readers! In fact, this book, with four chapters, assumes a progression in reading skills. We have Penny pushing her doll in a stroller — the same doll she received and named in Penny and Her Doll.

Penny finds a marble in Mrs. Goodwin’s yard. She picks it up and keeps it. It’s a beautiful marble, as blue as a piece of the sky.

But Penny is eaten up with guilt. Will Mrs. Goodwin be angry with her for taking the marble?

All ends happily. Spoiler alert: Mrs. Goodwin put the marble on her lawn, hoping Penny would find it and take it.

I didn’t like this story nearly as well as the others. In fact, it made me mad at Mrs. Goodwin. Why didn’t she give the marble to Penny in the first place, for heaven’s sake? All that agony of guilt was completely unnecessary and what kind of adult would give a marble to a child by placing it in her lawn anyway?

But aside from that annoyance with the storyline, this book has the same charmingly realistic child behavior. Kevin Henkes never says Penny feels guilty. Instead he tells that she looks around before she puts the marble in her pocket, races home, goes in her room and shuts the door, and hides behind the curtain when she sees Mrs. Goodwin in her yard. Penny isn’t hungry and even dreams about Mrs. Goodwin and the marble that night.

Fortunately, Penny decides to make things right before Mrs. Goodwin makes the speech she should have made in the first place. But it’s all told in a simple story that gives new readers plenty of repeated words and visual clues.

KevinHenkes.com
harpercollinschildrens.com

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/penny_and_her_marble.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 the 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.

Please use the comments if you’ve read the book and want to discuss spoilers!

Review of Jack and the Baked Beanstalk, by Colin Stimpson

Fairy Tale Variant, Fantasy, Folk Tales, Picture Book Review 0

Jack and the Baked Beanstalk

by Colin Stimpson

Templar Books (Candlewick Press), 2012. 36 pages.

Here’s a cinematic retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk set in what looks like 1930s America. Jack and his mom run a diner, but when a huge overpass is built, all their business goes away, and they’re down to their last few pennies. Jack’s mother sends him to buy some coffee beans, but then Jack meets a guy who looks like a bum under a city bridge who offers to sell him a can of magic baked beans.

Now Jack had read enough fairy tales to know that you don’t turn down an offer like that. Also, baked beans were his favorite food in the whole world, so he couldn’t resist tasting some magic ones. Thanking the man, Jack exchanged his last pennies for the beans and ran home.

You know how the story goes. This vine, instead of growing regular beans, grows cans of baked beans as it stretches high into the sky.

But this story has all the unkind and unethical bits taken out.

“We have visitors,” boomed the giant.

“So I see,” squawked the chicken.

“And we know just what to do with visitors, don’t we?” said the giant. “Now you STAY THERE. I’ll be back in a jiffy.” And with that the giant grabbed a handful of the chicken’s eggs and marched off to his kitchen. Soon the sound of clattering pots and pans was making the table tremble.

“Is he going to eat us, Chicken?” squeaked Jack.

“Don’t be silly!” cackled the chicken. “He just wants to make you some lunch. He hasn’t cooked for someone new in a long, long time.”

You see, it’s all good-hearted and ever so friendly. No nasty running off with the harp or stealing the goose that lays the golden eggs. (And instead of a harp, it’s a magic radio. Instead of eggs of gold, the chicken lays eggs that taste good.)

I wasn’t surprised to read at the back that Colin Stimpson has been an art director and production designer for Steven Spielberg and Walt Disney Feature Animation, because these paintings look like stills from an excellent animated feature film. He uses light to highlight the action. He has incredibly detailed three-dimensional-looking backgrounds. This would work well as a cartoon short.

But mostly, it’s just plain fun. The nice giant helps good-hearted Jack and his mother (and his ever-present dog) feed plain working folk. And everybody ends up happy. Did I mention the book is beautiful to look at? This book will leave you smiling.

candlewick.com

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/jack_and_the_baked_beanstalk.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 the 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 When Stravinsky Met Nijinsky, by Lauren Stringer

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

When Stravinsky Met Nijinsky

Two Artists, Their Ballet, and One Extraordinary Riot

by Lauren Stringer

Harcourt Children’s Books, 2013. 32 pages.
Starred Review

This picture book nonfiction book is extraordinary. It’s a picture book; the language is simple enough for young elementary school students to fully understand. The pictures exquisitely evoke the music and dance of the ballet The Rite of Spring.

I’ve seen a performance of The Rite of Spring years ago in Los Angeles, but I wasn’t prepared for how completely this book brought that performance — which I hadn’t thought about in years — to the forefront of my mind.

I hadn’t remembered that the first time the ballet was performed, it ignited a riot in Paris. That event is the climax of the book, but it gets there in such a delightful way.

First, the book talks about the music and dance that Stravinsky and Nijinsky created by themselves.

Then Stravinsky met Nijinsky
and his music began to change.

His piano pirouetted a puppet,
his tuba leaped a loping bear,
and his trumpet tah-tahed
a twirling ballerina.

And when Nijinsky met Stravinsky,
his dance began to change.

His torso trumpeted a melody,
his arms and legs sang from strings,
and his feet began
to pom-di-di-pom like timpani.

Stravinsky inspired Nijinsky.
Nijinsky inspired Stravinsky.

Together they decided to dream of something different and new.

The book goes on to talk about the creation of The Rite of Spring and the reactions of the musicians and dancers, and, eventually, the crowd in Paris.

I can’t stress enough how wonderful the illustrations are. They aren’t a literal, photographic description of the times. They use styles of the art of the times to symbolically represent what’s going on, while still showing concrete things like dancers in Paris. I love the faces of the people in the music hall and in the streets of Paris. Some are smiling beatifically. Others have their hands over their ears with their faces puckered in disgust.

I also love the picture of Stravinsky and Nijinsky in tuxedo with tails dancing together surrounded by a ring of music with costumed dancers and instruments and music with unusual time signatures. That goes to show I can’t describe it nearly as effectively as one glance at the picture will give you. Across the page, there’s an exuberantly dancing cat and dog.

This is a colorful and exuberant book that tells a good story about art and a true moment in history and the way two friends working together helped both attain greatness.

This review is posted today in honor of Nonfiction Monday, hosted today at Anastasia Suen’s Booktalking.

laurenstringer.com
hmhbooks.com

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Nonfiction/when_stravinsky_met_nijinsky.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 the 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.