New Arrivals: Picture Book: A Leaf Can Be... by Laura Purdie Salas & Violeta Dabija

A Leaf Can Be... ("sequel" to the beautiful A Rock Can Be... reviewed earlier in the year)
Laura Purdie Salas, illustrated by Violeta Dabija
ISBN: 9780761362036
Soft-edged watercolors with bright splashes of natural colors, and lots and lots of green.

I have to admit up front that I didn't like this one as much as I loved A Rock Can Be, but it's still a really lovely book.  I wish it had shown up a week earlier, as I would have used it in my most recent storytime.

Like the previous installment, we're looking at quirky (and rhyming!) uses of leaves, benefits of leaves, characteristics of leaves, and even emotional resonances of leaves.  It's quite lovely, and reminded me strongly of the simple feel of A Tree is Nice.

Tuesday Storytime: Growing Green

A fun trio of books today - all about green growing things.

Weeds Find a Way
Cindy Jenson-Elliott, illustrated by Carolyn Fisher
ISBN: 9781442412606
Mixed-media digital collage, very busy, very organic.  Lilting poetic wording.

This is a lovely poem to weeds; how their seeds and roots and flowers are tenacious and enduring and persistent and deep-rooted, and also beautiful and practical and natural and free.  This is another serendipitous delivery-discovery, and I'm glad to add it to my repertoire.  It will probably come up in garden or green-thumb storytimes with On Meadowview Street or The Curious Garden or Sarah Stewart's The Gardener.

Green
Laura Vaccaro Seeger
ISBN: 9781596433977
Beautiful messy splotchy painterly spread-page scenes with cute little cut-outs revealing snatches of upcoming and previous pages.

This is a lovely book.  It technically only very loosely fits the theme, but most of the scenes are natural ones, and several others are of fruits or vegetables, so it totally fits.  Very little wording, but the word "green" is on every page, surrounded by all the different shades of greens that can be found.  Lovely concept book, and very beautifully done.

A Tree is Nice
Janice May Udry, illustrated by Marc Simont
ISBN: 0060261560
Early propaganda, illustrated in classic "Dick and Jane" style, half b&w and half in color.  Caldecott.

Trees are nice, and this sweet simple Arbor-day-ish book illustrates a variety of reasons in sweet and simple language, and in ways that appeal to kids.  Trees are nice because of leaves rustling in the wind, and shade that the baby sleeps under, and tall trunks and limbs to play pirate ship on, and apples to eat and shelter for the house.  All of this and more, in simple persuasive speech, surrounded by simple, old-fashioned, nostalgic illustrations.  A solid read, and a bit longer in the telling than I expected, but still well within the age-range for me.  I think this might be the first time I've actually used it in storytime, and I'm glad I took the chance.

New Arrivals: Juvenile Readers: Viole Mackerel #5 & #6, Anna Branford & Elanna Allen

More of the absolutely lovely Violet Mackerel series has come in, and both of these are delightful.


Violet Mackerel's Possible Friend
Anna Branford, illustrated by Elanna Allen
ISBN: 9781442494558
Read February 15, 2015


Violet Mackerel's Pocket Protest
Anna Branford, illustrated by Elanna Allen
ISBN: 9781442494589
Read February 15, 2015


Possible Friend: Fresh off of a wedding and a move to a new house (the previous books, reviewed here) Violet is a little concerned about her neighbors - they have a very nice and very neat house and yard, and a little girl just her age that MIGHT become a friend, if things work out well.  The anticipation and nerves of making a new friend, and of worrying about whether your family and your home measures up, the one scene where the two mothers take it in turn to be stressed and nonplussed about their respective daughters' raptures over how the other family/home/mother is so amazing, everything is just pitch perfect!  And by the end of it, Violet has a new friend, aptly named Rose.

Pocket Protest: Rose and Violet enjoy a park at the end of their street, and especially an old oak tree that is just perfect for sitting under and sharing time and secrets.  They are horrified when a notice is put up, indicating the tree is getting cut down for a parking lot.  A micro-protest is underway, with help from parents and elder siblings, and the tree is saved, and a small sweet mystery is solved along with it.  Admittedly a bit sugar-coated and streamlined, but a very excellent introduction into social activism in a way smaller kids will appreciate and want to emulate.  Bonus points for gratuitously adorable usage of acorn caps.

Storytime Potential: Maple, by Lori Nichols

This book came in through delivery, and the cover was so cute, I just had to flip through it.  I'm glad I did, because it's very cute naturey, seasonal, big-sistery book that is sweet and short and perfect to slot into a lot of different themed storytimes.

Maple
Lori Nichols
ISBN: 9780399160851
An almost Precious Moments art-style with calm colors and minimalist backgrounds.

Maple is a sweet girl, and fairly happy with life, and especially happy with her tree - the Maple that was planted when she was born.  It's her partner, her friend.  She lends it her coat in winter, and plays in the shade in summer.  She does wish she had a more active friend, and maple (the tree) does seem a bit lonely out there in the yard by herself.  So Maple is surprised and delighted when a new tree starts sprouting next to maple, and Maple's mom gets pregnant, then delivers a baby sister!  Maple and her new sister now both like to rest in maple's shade, waiting for W/willow to grow up enough to play.

Adorable, sweet, no conflict.  Can't wait to use it.   Would work well with On Meadowview Street, or with Kevin Henke's Chrysanthemum.