Three really lovely dancing books today.
Flora and the Flamingo
Molly Idle
ISBN: 9781452110066
Wordless lift-the-flap book with a double-page unfolding spread. Beautiful illustrations.
This one really had to have been amazing to make it past the usual storytime hurdles. It's a wordless picture book, AND it has lift-the-flaps on quite a few of the pages (AND a big double-spread fold-out section at the end) so you know it has to be really cute or really amazing to get past all that. And it is! Both. Cute. And amazing. Flora is a dancer, and as far as I can tell, she's at the zoo. Maybe she's dreaming, or she has a pet flamingo, because there's really nothing in the way of backgrounds to let us know one way or the other, and I find that it doesn't really matter. Either way, Flora is a dancer, and she's wearing black swim flippers (to look like the flamingo's feet? Because she likes wearing swim flippers? Again, not important.) and a swimming cap, and she and the flamingo are DANCING. TOGETHER. It's beautiful, and the proportions are delightful and the matching movements with the very different bodies are just so sweet and the little bits of story that unfold through mirrored movements and poses and facial expressions are just delightful. It really is just lovely. I love Molly Idle's books so much.
Wiggle
Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Scott Menchin
ISBN: 1599610930
American-cartoon style dog leads an interactive-inviting story through a day of wiggles.
"Do you wiggle out of bed? If you wiggle with your breakfast, it might wind up on your head." These are the important questions in life, and ones that invite the audience to wiggle right along with the irrepressible dog star in this book. There's not much substance, and it's awfully quick, but for a short middle book and short toddler attention-spans? The wiggly content and the fast pace make it perfect. This one also got the rare award of actual toddler laughter. Adults tend to chuckle quite a lot in my storytimes, but I don't often feature stories that hit the little ones' funny bones. This one was a rare exception, and it was a smash hit. Prepare to follow this with a song or an activity that lets those wiggles free!
How Do You Wokka-Wokka?
Elizabeth Bluemle, illustrated by Randy Cecil
ISBN: 9780763632281
A diverse inner-city sidewalk is home to a variety of dance styles told with wokka rhymes.
Wokka-wokka is how the first kid dances, and they go along the sidewalk and ask a lot of others how they dance too - and the answers are as varied as the kids encountered. We get flamingo dances (how appropriate!) and mariachi dances, and breakdancing (dancing like a clock), and the worm (fish-flop dancing), and by the end of the book, the whole neighborhood is dancing all together in their different ways, all having a great time with the repeated rhyme chorus.
Showing posts with label Flora and the Flamingo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Flora and the Flamingo. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Monday, February 3, 2014
Picture Book Bonanza 2/3: Molly Idle's Flora and the Flamingo, David Wiesner's Mr. Wuffles!
Flora and the Flamingo
Molly Idle
ISBN: 9781452110066
Read February 3, 2014
Wordless Picture Book, Lift-the-Flap Picture Book
This was a cute story, but I think that the combination of wordless AND lift-the-flap pushed it a little too far into 'trying too hard' territory for me. Also, the book is pretty much entirely pink (with a flamingo, I can't rightly blame it for that, but I also hold that I'm more critical of it because it's pink). Flora is a pear-shaped person in a swimming cap, suit, and swim-fins on her feet, and the flamingo is - well - a flamingo. Flora is also attempting to copycat said flamingo, who isn't entirely happy about her attempts. Things get a little rocky when the flamingo performs a maneuver that ends Flora up in the drink, but amends are made, leaving girl and bird to dance and splash together in harmony. Not entirely to my taste, but I especially liked the cherry-blossom borders on the pages, the amount of character representation possible with a pair of black swim fins, and Flora's expressive eyebrows.
Mr. Wuffles!
David Wiesner
ISBN: 9780618756612
Read February 3, 2014
Wordless Picture Book
Have to say from the start that this is NOT my favorite of Wiesner's works (that one for me goes to Flotsam for general amazingness, or to Hurricane for personal impact) but that said, this one is a cute romp. Mr. Wuffles is a grumpy black cat who, like all cats, prefers toys that aren't toys. Unfortunately for some very seasoned travelers, they are the newest "toy." After Mr. Wuffles damages their spaceship, they must join forces with the denizens behind the cupboards, learning each others' languages (actual languages, which can be actually learned by the reader - this part made me think of Weslandia and Dinotopia) and developing blended technologies to help with the rescue/escape/taunt the cat mission. I love the bugs - they're very William Joyce's Leaf Men in shape and plot function, but more expressive. The aliens are adorable, and I love their determination and fright when faced with Mr Wuffles in all his enormity. Technically, this isn't a wordless picture book, as the aliens and bugs do speak, but I'm willing to give it some wiggle room for a nifty idea and a lovely presentation. The last panel, with the additions to the bugs' wall of history, was killer.
Molly Idle
ISBN: 9781452110066
Read February 3, 2014
Wordless Picture Book, Lift-the-Flap Picture Book
This was a cute story, but I think that the combination of wordless AND lift-the-flap pushed it a little too far into 'trying too hard' territory for me. Also, the book is pretty much entirely pink (with a flamingo, I can't rightly blame it for that, but I also hold that I'm more critical of it because it's pink). Flora is a pear-shaped person in a swimming cap, suit, and swim-fins on her feet, and the flamingo is - well - a flamingo. Flora is also attempting to copycat said flamingo, who isn't entirely happy about her attempts. Things get a little rocky when the flamingo performs a maneuver that ends Flora up in the drink, but amends are made, leaving girl and bird to dance and splash together in harmony. Not entirely to my taste, but I especially liked the cherry-blossom borders on the pages, the amount of character representation possible with a pair of black swim fins, and Flora's expressive eyebrows.
Mr. Wuffles!
David Wiesner
ISBN: 9780618756612
Read February 3, 2014
Wordless Picture Book
Have to say from the start that this is NOT my favorite of Wiesner's works (that one for me goes to Flotsam for general amazingness, or to Hurricane for personal impact) but that said, this one is a cute romp. Mr. Wuffles is a grumpy black cat who, like all cats, prefers toys that aren't toys. Unfortunately for some very seasoned travelers, they are the newest "toy." After Mr. Wuffles damages their spaceship, they must join forces with the denizens behind the cupboards, learning each others' languages (actual languages, which can be actually learned by the reader - this part made me think of Weslandia and Dinotopia) and developing blended technologies to help with the rescue/escape/taunt the cat mission. I love the bugs - they're very William Joyce's Leaf Men in shape and plot function, but more expressive. The aliens are adorable, and I love their determination and fright when faced with Mr Wuffles in all his enormity. Technically, this isn't a wordless picture book, as the aliens and bugs do speak, but I'm willing to give it some wiggle room for a nifty idea and a lovely presentation. The last panel, with the additions to the bugs' wall of history, was killer.
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