Shocked and amazed that there were still Mothers' Day books to choose from on the shelves, so I took it as a mandate to actually correspond with a day of celebration for once.
Bedtime for Mommy
Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated by LeUyen Pham
ISBN: 9781599903415
Vibrant expressive watercolor-and-sketch faces and postures.
I can't believe I haven't done this book for storytime for so long. I discovered it when it came out, fell in love, and bought it for myself immediately (that happens with me and picture books sometimes). I've used it for storytimes before, but it must have been a while back. It's short, adorable, nearly wordless, and made of little vignettes. Roles are reversed for a whole night while the young girl puts Mommy to bed - with the whole process chronicled, from the inevitable "5 more minutes" to the selecting and reading of the bedtime story (Anna Karenina) to the precise adjustment of the width of the door opening. And of course the coda is that now it's time for the same process with Daddy. Just simply adorable.
Bee Frog
Martin Waddell, illustrated by Barbara Firth
ISBN: 9780763633103
Cute perky watercolor frogs in a cute and very short story.
If it weren't for the illustrations, I don't think I'd bother with this slight tale of a baby frog who pretends she's a dragon, gets ignored by her family when she tries to play pretend with them (they're working or reading or sleeping) so she runs away to play by herself, gets bored, and her family comes looking for her. But, the illustrations are so adorable, the story gets away with being a little twee. Besides, it's a nice very young-focused entry on the "nobody loves me, everybody hates me, guess I'll go eat worms" impulse that young ones get when they're feeling unjustly treated by the universe at large.
My Monster Mama Loves Me So
Laura Leuk, illustrated by Mark Buehner
ISBN: 9780688168667
Bright dayglow highlight colors and rich saturated dark pages. Very "Monsters, INC."
A cute little green monster narrates what his Mama does for him, from baking cookies with bugs in, to taking him to the swamp to swim, to teaching him to brush his fangs, all of which shows how she loves him. Very cute introduction to "scary" monster tropes like bats and spiders and dark nights, all talked about as comforting or lovable.
Showing posts with label Martin Waddell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Martin Waddell. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Tuesday Storytime: Owlets
Not just owls, my friends, but Baby Owls!
The Littlest Owl
Caroline Pitcher, illustrated by Tina Macnaughton
ISBN: 9781561486144
Fluffy oversized dry-brush watercolor? and colored pencils. Adorable and fuzzy.
"It's so fluffy I'm gonna DIE!" So the story isn't the most amazing thing, but you guys - these little owl babies are so fluffy and fuzzy and downy and adorable with their teeny little beaks and quizzical expressions.
Ahem. The story is straightforward; a quartet of owl babies are born, but the smallest is always too tiny. Still, it's determined (no genders here) and by the end of the story perseverance and hard work pays off and it finally manages to fly.
Little Owl's Night
Divya Srinivasan
ISBN: 9780670012954
Stylized oval owl-baby with enormous green eyes spends a happy evening exploring the night woods.
This was on the list today mainly for the artwork, because I like to have as many different styles and presentations of art as I can. These are graphic and streamlined and very dark, but still perky and upbeat. It's an impressive feat. Again, the story itself takes a back-seat to the art. Little Owl is going through his regular night, visiting friends and seeing the sights, until dawn approaches and Mama tells the bedtime story of "how night ends." I do love that possibly-spooky animals like bats and foxes are dealt with as friends and as normal, soothing parts of the night.
Owl Babies
Martin Waddell, illustrated by Patrick Benson
ISBN: 1564021017
A classic, with a trio of frightened-looking fluff-balls prominent on each spread.
Owl Mother is GONE, and Sarah, Percy, and Bill are not happy about this. They venture outside to look for her, but stay miserably perched on a branch together, imagining terrible things that might have happened (while baby Bill simply moans "I want my mommy" over and over again) until the magic strikes and in a glorious spread, Owl Mama flies in, wings in full spread. It's a beautiful and dramatic solution to the baby owl's worries, and after a quick reassurance, the story ends with them all safe in their nest again. Lovely finish. This is another brilliant example of how dark pages don't have to be slow or dreary - the texture work is simply stunning, and the intricate backgrounds and surfaces are a delightful contrast to our other two stories today.
The Littlest Owl
Caroline Pitcher, illustrated by Tina Macnaughton
ISBN: 9781561486144
Fluffy oversized dry-brush watercolor? and colored pencils. Adorable and fuzzy.
"It's so fluffy I'm gonna DIE!" So the story isn't the most amazing thing, but you guys - these little owl babies are so fluffy and fuzzy and downy and adorable with their teeny little beaks and quizzical expressions.
Ahem. The story is straightforward; a quartet of owl babies are born, but the smallest is always too tiny. Still, it's determined (no genders here) and by the end of the story perseverance and hard work pays off and it finally manages to fly.
Little Owl's Night
Divya Srinivasan
ISBN: 9780670012954
Stylized oval owl-baby with enormous green eyes spends a happy evening exploring the night woods.
This was on the list today mainly for the artwork, because I like to have as many different styles and presentations of art as I can. These are graphic and streamlined and very dark, but still perky and upbeat. It's an impressive feat. Again, the story itself takes a back-seat to the art. Little Owl is going through his regular night, visiting friends and seeing the sights, until dawn approaches and Mama tells the bedtime story of "how night ends." I do love that possibly-spooky animals like bats and foxes are dealt with as friends and as normal, soothing parts of the night.
Owl Babies
Martin Waddell, illustrated by Patrick Benson
ISBN: 1564021017
A classic, with a trio of frightened-looking fluff-balls prominent on each spread.
Owl Mother is GONE, and Sarah, Percy, and Bill are not happy about this. They venture outside to look for her, but stay miserably perched on a branch together, imagining terrible things that might have happened (while baby Bill simply moans "I want my mommy" over and over again) until the magic strikes and in a glorious spread, Owl Mama flies in, wings in full spread. It's a beautiful and dramatic solution to the baby owl's worries, and after a quick reassurance, the story ends with them all safe in their nest again. Lovely finish. This is another brilliant example of how dark pages don't have to be slow or dreary - the texture work is simply stunning, and the intricate backgrounds and surfaces are a delightful contrast to our other two stories today.
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