Valentines books are so much fun. I got a late start on them and so I went with several tried-and-true classics, but there are some other good ones on hold that should filter in soon, and I will review them when I get a chance to see them. Always good to have ideas and books for next time around!
The Day It Rained Hearts
Felicia Bond
ISBN: 0066238765
Scribbly backgrounds and stylized simple outline cartoon characters still manage to carry sentiment and interest in this short story of personalized and thoughtful valentines. I also like our double-barreled named heroine: Cornelia Augusta. She plucks the falling "rain" hearts, and uses them carefully to make valentines for her friends, all of them carefully individualized. Short and sweet.
A Short History of Valentine's Day
Sally Lee & Gail Saunders-Smith
ISBN:9781491460986
Lots of historical photographs liven up a VERY short and preschool-aimed history of the concepts and impetus behind the current holiday. Like some of the others in this series, the end is a bit abrupt.
Just Because You're Mine
Sally Lloyd-Jones, illustrated by Frank Endersby
ISBN: 9780062014764
Daddy red squirrel and his baby squirrel are out and about for the day, with baby squirrel demonstrating all the amazing squirrely things he can do, and wondering if those things are why his Daddy loves him. The answer of course doesn't come til the end, repeating the title. Really adorable sweet art, like Sam McBratney, Ivan Bates, or Anita Jeram. Sweet without being maudlin.
Showing posts with label Sally Lloyd-Jones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sally Lloyd-Jones. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
Monday, January 23, 2017
Tuesday Storytime: Bedtime Stories
There comes a time in all novice storytellers' development when they realize that the established routines of bedtime can be gleefully pilfered for storytime themes, and thus we have our trainee's first Bedtime Storytime theme. :)
Time to Say Goodnight
Sally Lloyd-Jones, illustrated by Jane Chapman
ISBN: 9780060543303
Forest animals in Chapman's sweet style all share bedtime rituals with their young ones.
Lovely sweet book, good length, lots of lovely animals (including some nighttime animals having a "breakfast" storytime) are all out in natural habitats, but at the end there's a bit of a twist, as the animals all turn to ask a question of the audience/reader, revealing a child in bed surrounded by stuffed forest animals, from the classic floppy bunny and stuffed bear to a mascot-looking cardinal and a beanie-baby-style deer. Rhyming quatrains on each spread make for a sweet lilting cadence, but some of the meter is a bit forced, and there are word-choices that caused some stumbles, despite preparations. Personally, I think I would have switched the places of this one and Close Your Eyes and had this one to close up with, but that's more individual taste than anything else.
Sweet Dreams, Maisy
Lucy Cousins
ISBN: 0763628743
Another in the everlasting Maisy series, this one tackles bedtime by verbalizing sweet general rituals.
Very short, and very Maisy, with colorblocked sections and wide shaky cartoon borders around everything. Maisy and Panda are getting ready for bed, and go through a quick run-down narrating the various comforting steps to sleep, from admiring the sunset and the rising moon, to bedtime stories and songs, to bedtime benedictions (from moon and stars, rather than any religious affiliation).
Close Your Eyes
Kate Banks, illustrated by Georg Hallensleben
ISBN: 9780374313821
A cute little sloppy-painted tiger cub tries in vain to avoid bedtime by listing all the things he'll miss, but his clever mother reminds him all those things will be in his dreams.
Sweet but a leeeeetle bit on the long side. I think I would have done this one first, and let Chapman's sweet gentle art usher us out. Regardless, this one is sweet, and I love how the clever mom turns all of the reasons why the little tiger can't close his eyes back onto him. It does get a little repetitive, but the spreads are colorful and full of dreamlike imagery, which helps. It really doesn't SEEM that long on the face of it, but because there's no real narrative drive, and because it's so dreamlike and gentle, it takes longer to get through it, or it FEELS longer because it is so lilting and gentle.
Time to Say Goodnight
Sally Lloyd-Jones, illustrated by Jane Chapman
ISBN: 9780060543303
Forest animals in Chapman's sweet style all share bedtime rituals with their young ones.
Lovely sweet book, good length, lots of lovely animals (including some nighttime animals having a "breakfast" storytime) are all out in natural habitats, but at the end there's a bit of a twist, as the animals all turn to ask a question of the audience/reader, revealing a child in bed surrounded by stuffed forest animals, from the classic floppy bunny and stuffed bear to a mascot-looking cardinal and a beanie-baby-style deer. Rhyming quatrains on each spread make for a sweet lilting cadence, but some of the meter is a bit forced, and there are word-choices that caused some stumbles, despite preparations. Personally, I think I would have switched the places of this one and Close Your Eyes and had this one to close up with, but that's more individual taste than anything else.
Sweet Dreams, Maisy
Lucy Cousins
ISBN: 0763628743
Another in the everlasting Maisy series, this one tackles bedtime by verbalizing sweet general rituals.
Very short, and very Maisy, with colorblocked sections and wide shaky cartoon borders around everything. Maisy and Panda are getting ready for bed, and go through a quick run-down narrating the various comforting steps to sleep, from admiring the sunset and the rising moon, to bedtime stories and songs, to bedtime benedictions (from moon and stars, rather than any religious affiliation).
Close Your Eyes
Kate Banks, illustrated by Georg Hallensleben
ISBN: 9780374313821
A cute little sloppy-painted tiger cub tries in vain to avoid bedtime by listing all the things he'll miss, but his clever mother reminds him all those things will be in his dreams.
Sweet but a leeeeetle bit on the long side. I think I would have done this one first, and let Chapman's sweet gentle art usher us out. Regardless, this one is sweet, and I love how the clever mom turns all of the reasons why the little tiger can't close his eyes back onto him. It does get a little repetitive, but the spreads are colorful and full of dreamlike imagery, which helps. It really doesn't SEEM that long on the face of it, but because there's no real narrative drive, and because it's so dreamlike and gentle, it takes longer to get through it, or it FEELS longer because it is so lilting and gentle.
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