Tuesday Storytime: Going to School

Because it isn't QUITE October, and I don't want to waste any of my lovely Halloween/Monster/Spooky/Creepy books yet.

Ninja Boy Goes to School
N. D. Wilson, illustrated by J. J. Harrison
ISBN: 9780375865848
Pop-art with a dual-story: artwork explains the reality, while the text gives the viewpoint of our ninja.

This one's cute, but a little on the advanced side for my group, especially with all the older ones gone off to real school now.  Still, the parents enjoy being in on the joke, even if the babies don't quite follow, and the younger toddlers, know something's up, even if they can't quite figure it out yet.  The text is short and clear, describing character traits of a ninja, and challenges in a ninja's life.  The illustrations on the other hand show a very different interpretation of the events as they unfold, and make for some fun beats and contrasts.  The art is vivid and blocky, and our little ninja kid is cute.

The Bus For Us
Suzanne Bloom
ISBN: 1563979322
This very repetitive book rises above its format due to the artistic choices and diverse cast.

Short and sweet.  Gus and Tess are waiting for their bus to take them to school, along with an ever-growing line of extremely diverse children, as well as other drivers and pedestrians.  Each spread is prefaced by a question: "Is this the bus for us, Gus?" and a hint of the upcoming vehicle.  Inevitably, the vehicle is NOT a bus: it's anything from an ice-cream truck to a fire engine to a backhoe (why is a backhoe on the road in the first place?).  The bus does come at the end, for a full line of waiting school children.  I also like the totally unscripted side-drama involving a menagerie of pets and strays.

Minerva Louise at School
Janet Morgan Stoeke
ISBN: 0525454942
Minerva Louise is a curious chicken, and in this installment, she's visiting the neighboring school.

This chicken may get things wrong, but she's no dumb chick.  She's visiting the neighboring school for the first time, and really admires the things that this "big new barn" has on show.  While she doesn't see any animals (the kids are just now getting off the bus in the morning) she does see the farmer hanging out the laundry (a teacher or principal is lofting the flag) and she's gotten lots of inspiration from this great place.  It's cute and silly, and lets even the younger toddlers be "superior" to this silly chicken, without ever being meanspirited.  The series overall is a less tongue-twisty and much younger-skewed Amelia Bedelia, with blocky colorful deceptively simplistic artwork.