These were chosen by my coworker this week.
Douglas, You Need Glasses!
Ged Adamson
ISBN: 9780553522433
I always enjoy a funny book about kid-centric fears or challenges, and discovering that you need glasses is a pretty big challenge for a lot of kids. I somehow made it til my driving test before discovering that I was pretty nearly legally blind (that was a fun eye-sight test), whereas a less-blissfully-ignorant friend of mine was leaving her glasses behind at sleepovers, and "accidentally" dropping them behind car tires or into gopher holes at age 5. So there's going to be a lot of interest and sympathy here for poor Douglas, who gets into awful scrapes because he can't see, and then realizes that the world is a lot more fun with glasses. The translation of an eye chart into dog-friendly images is an especially fun sequence.
I Don't Want a Cool Cat!
Emma Dodd
ISBN: 9780316036740
A girl goes down the list of types of cats that she definitely does not want, until she reaches the end to state that really all she wants is just a cat - any cat - of her own. Sweet and cute (there's a dog version also).
Wolf's Coming!
Joe Kulka
ISBN: 9781575059303
Forest animals start giving warnings to each other and sneaking through the woods and into corners and hidey-places in houses as the Wolf starts to approach, but it's all in good fun at the end, as the animals are there for an entirely different type of surprise. I still think my favorite part of this book is the Wolf's dapper business suit with the giant '80s-style power shoulders. My second favorite is the scared look on his face as he peers into his strangely-dark house (our first real clue that something's up). Very suspenseful, and the tension might get to some younger kids - the colors are saturated and dark towards the reveal of the surprise.
Tuesday, April 24, 2018
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Tuesday Storytime: Cardboard Boxes
I did a "box" storytime (cough) years ago, and I had the WORST time finding good picture books for the topic, which I thought was so weird - cardboard boxes are totally a THING with kids, right? Now I'm happy to say that there are quite a few good "box books" out there to choose from, and I've got three really nice ones.
Big Friends
Linda Sarah, illustrated by Benji Davies
ISBN: 9781627793308
Birt and Etho are Big Friends, and they love taking their giant cardboard boxes up to the top of the nearby hill and playing fantastic games with them. Until Shu, a younger boy, gets up the nerve to ask to play also, and suddenly being a trio is just too much for Birt. He bails and sulks and avoids the other two boys until they come by his house with an amazing cardboard construction to share - maybe a trio isn't so bad after all?
Not a Box
Antoinette Portis
ISBN: 9780061123221
This is like the platonic ideal of a box book. A cute little black outlined bunny and box appear on each spread, with a question about what the bunny is doing with/at/in that box? Answers are on the next spread, as the phrase "not a box" is repeated (with just enough variation and emphasis) alongside the same illustration of the bunny and box repeated, but with added red outlines of the imaginary item that the box is representing. Very very good interactive and fun super short book. Remember to use a good robot voice for one of the "this is not a box" repeats.
What to do With a Box
Jane Yolen, illustrated by Chris Sheban
ISBN: 9781568462899
This is like a more dreamlike and artistic version of Not a Box. Yolen's slant rhymes and strange cadences work more often than not, but can be a bit tongue-trippy at times. The artwork is fake collage done with watercolors and colored pencils and inks, very well done, but perhaps a litttle overproduced? Just the tiniest bit? The kids seem to be siblings, but that's not made hugely clear, and they aren't diverse or minority, which is a shame, because the "story" doesn't require a static cast of characters to present the concept. I would have liked to see more and varied faces and bodies enjoying the boxes, rather than the same duo of "samey" white kids we always see. Very pretty, and artistically quite clever, but I sort of prefer the directness of Not a Box, or the more depthful friendship message in Big Friends.
Big Friends
Linda Sarah, illustrated by Benji Davies
ISBN: 9781627793308
Birt and Etho are Big Friends, and they love taking their giant cardboard boxes up to the top of the nearby hill and playing fantastic games with them. Until Shu, a younger boy, gets up the nerve to ask to play also, and suddenly being a trio is just too much for Birt. He bails and sulks and avoids the other two boys until they come by his house with an amazing cardboard construction to share - maybe a trio isn't so bad after all?
Not a Box
Antoinette Portis
ISBN: 9780061123221
This is like the platonic ideal of a box book. A cute little black outlined bunny and box appear on each spread, with a question about what the bunny is doing with/at/in that box? Answers are on the next spread, as the phrase "not a box" is repeated (with just enough variation and emphasis) alongside the same illustration of the bunny and box repeated, but with added red outlines of the imaginary item that the box is representing. Very very good interactive and fun super short book. Remember to use a good robot voice for one of the "this is not a box" repeats.
What to do With a Box
Jane Yolen, illustrated by Chris Sheban
ISBN: 9781568462899
This is like a more dreamlike and artistic version of Not a Box. Yolen's slant rhymes and strange cadences work more often than not, but can be a bit tongue-trippy at times. The artwork is fake collage done with watercolors and colored pencils and inks, very well done, but perhaps a litttle overproduced? Just the tiniest bit? The kids seem to be siblings, but that's not made hugely clear, and they aren't diverse or minority, which is a shame, because the "story" doesn't require a static cast of characters to present the concept. I would have liked to see more and varied faces and bodies enjoying the boxes, rather than the same duo of "samey" white kids we always see. Very pretty, and artistically quite clever, but I sort of prefer the directness of Not a Box, or the more depthful friendship message in Big Friends.
Thursday, April 12, 2018
Tuesday Storytime: Puppies!
Some really cute books picked out by my coworker this week!
Puppy, Puppy, Puppy
Julie Sternberg, illustrated by Fred Koehler
ISBN: 9781629794662
Adorable bi-racial infant (and exhausted parents) trail around after a rambunctious puppy that beautifully shows the potentials of a strong bond between kids and pets.
Spot Goes to the Park (lift the flap)
Eric Hill
ISBN: 0399218335
Spot is a perennial favorite, especially so because the stories are so short and simplistic. We always have a lot of babies and very young or new toddlers, and a short interactive story like this sets them up for success.
Mister Bud Wears the Cone
Carter Goodrich
ISBN: 9781442480889
Bud and Zorro are pets together, and when Bud licks a hot spot, he has to wear the dreaded cone all day while the people are away. Zorro is a horrid tease about it, and the cone is awkward and clumsy, and by the end of the day poor Bud thinks he is a very bad dog indeed. The ending is upbeat and sweet, and Zorro gets his in the endpages.
Puppy, Puppy, Puppy
Julie Sternberg, illustrated by Fred Koehler
ISBN: 9781629794662
Adorable bi-racial infant (and exhausted parents) trail around after a rambunctious puppy that beautifully shows the potentials of a strong bond between kids and pets.
Spot Goes to the Park (lift the flap)
Eric Hill
ISBN: 0399218335
Spot is a perennial favorite, especially so because the stories are so short and simplistic. We always have a lot of babies and very young or new toddlers, and a short interactive story like this sets them up for success.
Mister Bud Wears the Cone
Carter Goodrich
ISBN: 9781442480889
Bud and Zorro are pets together, and when Bud licks a hot spot, he has to wear the dreaded cone all day while the people are away. Zorro is a horrid tease about it, and the cone is awkward and clumsy, and by the end of the day poor Bud thinks he is a very bad dog indeed. The ending is upbeat and sweet, and Zorro gets his in the endpages.
Wednesday, April 4, 2018
Tuesday Storytime: Spring Flowers
This week's program was selected by my coworker.
Flower Garden
Eve Bunting, illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt
ISBN: 0152287760
An adorable black girl works with her father to create a miniature garden in a flowerbox in their city brownstone apartment, as a birthday present for her mother.
Planting a Rainbow
Lois Ehlert
ISBN: 0152626093
A long-time classic. Ehlert's cut-out collages are bright and vibrant, and generally short and sweet. About halfway through the book, there is a section of gradated-width pages that feature different colored bands to show progressively more flowers of that color. Really well designed.
The Flower's Busy Day (Bamboo and Friends)
Felicia Law, illustrated by Nicola Evans
ISBN: 1404812814
Bamboo the panda and his diverse animal friends investigate the day cycle of a flower in this nonfiction-adjacent conceptual picture book. Lots of information packed into a pretty tight narrative. They are cleverly done, but the illustrations aren't quite my style: a little too loose and bright and overproduced. Vibrant and fun and true.
Flower Garden
Eve Bunting, illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt
ISBN: 0152287760
An adorable black girl works with her father to create a miniature garden in a flowerbox in their city brownstone apartment, as a birthday present for her mother.
Planting a Rainbow
Lois Ehlert
ISBN: 0152626093
A long-time classic. Ehlert's cut-out collages are bright and vibrant, and generally short and sweet. About halfway through the book, there is a section of gradated-width pages that feature different colored bands to show progressively more flowers of that color. Really well designed.
The Flower's Busy Day (Bamboo and Friends)
Felicia Law, illustrated by Nicola Evans
ISBN: 1404812814
Bamboo the panda and his diverse animal friends investigate the day cycle of a flower in this nonfiction-adjacent conceptual picture book. Lots of information packed into a pretty tight narrative. They are cleverly done, but the illustrations aren't quite my style: a little too loose and bright and overproduced. Vibrant and fun and true.
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