What do Gandolf, Hercules and Polyanna have in common? Find out when Nicole Basbanes Claire reviews 4 awesome new books for YA and young readers!
Three Books on Popular Characters and a Real-Life Picture Book! 4-27-2015 (1).m4v
Nicole Claire reviews 2 chapter books and 2 picture books for your reading pleasure:
DEAD TO ME by Mary McCoy (Hyperion, $17.99);
MY LIFE IN DIORAMAS, by Tara Altabrando, illus. by T.L. Bonadido (Running Press Kids, $14.95);
MR. HAPPY AND MISSS GRIMM by Antonie Schneider and Susanne Strasser (Holiday House, $16.95);
WONTON AND CHOPSTICK: A TALE TOLD IN HAIKU, by Lee Wardlaw, illus. by Eugene Yelchin (Henry Holt & Co. $17.99)
Welcome to the Neighborwood, by Shawn Sheehy; Candlewick Press, $29.99, 18 pages, all ages.
Spring is in full bloom, so why not celebrate it with this wonderful ode to the outdoors. Shawn Sheehy, (A Pop-Up Field Guide to North American Wildflowers; Counting on the Marsh: A Nighttime Book of Numbers) paper engineer and avowed naturalist, explores seven woodland creatures such as snails, beavers and spiders, and explains how these animals are uniquely adapted to survive in their environment and among each other. Precision and attention to detail puts Sheehy on par with Robert Sabuda, and here deftly crafts a magical world out of handmade papers. The accompanying text is informative and to the point, perfectly suited to young readers. If this book doesn’t encourage children to get outside and start exploring, I’m not sure what will.
The Grasshopper and the Ants, by Jerry Pinkney; Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $18.00, 40 pages, ages 2-6.
Aesop’s fable The Grasshopper and the Ants receives the Pinkney treatment in this gorgeous version of the tale. A plucky grasshopper merrily sings his way through the warm months, while industrious ants toil in preparation for lean times ahead. Here, the artist masterfully employs his usual arsenal of pencil, watercolors and ink to wondrous effect. A double-page spread in the middle of the book actually opens to a triad, where the grasshopper sits in the snow above ground while the ants below are warm and toasty. Unlike some versions of the fable, the grasshopper isn’t left to freeze, but is invited to share his gift of song with the ants, subtly suggesting that everyone has a talent and can be helpful.
Simple, lyrical rhymes bounce along the pages, and serve as a vehicle to invite young readers to explore every nook and cranny in this richly imagined world of tiny creatures. Informative notes detail how nature has always informed the artist’s work and the joy he derives in illustrating the world outside his window. That enthusiasm is readily apparent in every book Pinkey creates, and that spirit reaches out from the pages, beckoning young readers to share in the pleasures of nature by reading beautiful books.
What else is there to say about Jerry Pinkney and his work that hasn’t already been said? He enjoys the distinction among his peers as being the recipient of five Caldecott Honors as well as the winner of the Caldecott Medal in 2010 for the second fable in his Aesop trilogy, The Lion and The Mouse. (I would argue that The Grasshopper and The Ants is a contender for the award in 2015.) In addition, the artist is a five-time recipient of the Coretta Scott King Award and has been nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Award.
As the moral of this fable implores, don’t put off tomorrow what you can do today – share this book with little readers now.
Seeing Spots – Thursday quickpicks
We found three picture books full of circles, spots and dots that will have readers seeing stars!
Spectacular Spots, by Susan Stockdale; Peachtree Publishers, $15.95, 32 pages, ages 1-5.
Gliding snails, snakes and slugs all have spots, and in this charming follow-up to Susan Stockdale’s Stripes of All Types readers also learn the purpose of these shapes. Large and cheerful paintings of all sorts of animals are accompanied by short easy-to-follow rhymes. A cute matching game rounds out this sweet introduction to spotted creatures.
Spots in A Box, by Helen Ward; Templar Books, $16.99, 40 pages, ages 2-5.
British National Art Library Award winner Helen Ward’s longstanding love of illustrating charming critters (Town Mouse and Country Mouse; Varmints) continues in this story about a spotless guinea fowl. Feeling left out, the plucky bird sends away for spots of his own, and what arrives aren’t exactly what he had anticipated. Spots in A Box is a sensory feast – Ward’s tight prose and trademark watercolors are as meticulous as ever, accompanied by paper cutouts and spots that feel like pressed sequins. A tour de force.
Information Graphics: Space, by Simon Rogers, illustrated by Jennifer Daniel; Big Picture Press, $17.99, 80 pages, ages 8-12.
The latest addition to the neon-hued fact-filled Information Graphics series deals with the universe. Seven tabbed sections cover everything from explaining the solar system to how humans explore space. Dynamic duo Simon Rogers (author of the Guardian’s Datablog) and New York Times designer Jennifer Daniel have made studying the heavens an enlightening endeavor filled with fun.
Such a Little Mouse, by Alice Schertle, illustrated by Stephanie Yue; Orchard Books, $16.99, 32 pages, ages 3-5.
A little gray field mouse with soft pink ears lives in the middle of a meadow, and though a cursory glance upon the landscape may reveal little, closer inspection highlights the industrious creature making the most out of each season. Every morning brings new adventures to take, woodland creatures to visit, and chores to complete, especially in the months leading up to winter. Veteran author Alice Shertle (Little Blue Truck; All You Need for a Snowman) writes poetry for the youngest readers in such a way that her work is always a pleasure to read aloud, while Stephanie Yue’s illustrations, done in graphite with digital colors, are welcoming and bright, no matter which season she’s rendering.
Stone Angel, by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Katie May Green; Philomel, $16.99, 40 pages, ages 5-8.
On April 16 the world paused to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day, called Yom HaShoah in Hebrew. Many children’s books aim to guide parents in explaining a horrific moment in global history, (A bibliography of such books, compiled by the United States Holocaust Museum, can be found here) and Caldecott Honor and Jewish Book Council award winner Jane Yolen adds another story to that list in her recently published Stone Angel.
Here, Yolen returns to the topic she covered in The Devil’s Arithemetic (1988), where a Polish family is sent to Auschwitz. In Stone Angel, we meet a young French girl whose family flees into the woods rather than be sent to concentration camps by the Nazis. They live in caves, forage for berries and onions, and cross mountains to eventually escape the Continent on a rickety boat bound for England. Despite great suffering, the girl feels protected by angels and often imagines being protected by the stone angel carved into the side of her family’s Parisian apartment building. After the war, the family returns home, where they are greeted by that colossal 30 foot stone structure. (There is indeed an angel at 57 Rue de Turbigo, the setting for Yolen’s story; it was built by architect Eugene Demangeat in 1860 and can still be visited today.) The appropriately dark and haunting illustrations by Katie May Green convey both menace and glimmers of hope – out of the dark and gloom, the young girl’s face is always illuminated, suggesting that this family will overcome their struggles. Stone Angel is a tale of survival, and while it doesn’t delve deep into the well-documented horrors of the Holocaust, it offers adults a graceful way to introduce young readers to a difficult subject.
Go Shapes, GO! by Denise Fleming; Beach Lane Books, $17.99, 32 pages, ages 2-6.
Caldecott Honor medalist Denise Fleming (underGROUND) brings shapes to center stage in this sweet picture book for young readers. Circles, rectangles, ovals and arcs bounce from one page to the next alongside a speedy murine sidekick. Together, these arcs and ovals come together to create a friendly monkey – a feat that will likely inspire little readers to fashion their own animal creation out of cut paper shapes. Fleming’s bright and bold creations are all made with handmade paper, and the backgrounds were poured by the author herself. The result is a whimsical book full of surprising textures that play with color, light and lines. Children just learning the names of shapes will find this book a delight, and emerging readers can pick out the words for the shapes on each page written in all capital letters.
In, by Nikki McClure; Abrams Appleseed, $16.95, 32 pages, ages 2-6.
Master cut-paper artist Nikki McClure (May the Stars Drip Down; How to Be a Cat) has crafted another stunning story full of bold images that demonstrate the deft skill of a professional at her best. Here readers meet a young boy who decides that today is just too cold and wet to venture outdoors, but perfect to explore the simple pleasures of playing make-believe. McClure’s books are generally done in black and white with one major pop of color – here it’s yellow, highlighting a toy giraffe, a yellow flag, and even a jar of marmalade. Keep an eye open for owls – McClure filled In with 35 different kinds of the bird of prey. Then check the last page to see if you found them all.
This joyous celebration of downtime will speak to overscheduled youngsters (and their parents), reminding us that unsupervised moments are blissful manna for the soul.
Rodeo Red, by Maripat Perkins, illustrated by Molly Idle; Peachtree Publishers, $16.95, 32 pages, ages 4-8.
If you use Google’s search engine, you probably noticed the nifty animated Doodle celebrating the 155th anniversary of the Pony Express. In honor of those brave Western riders, today we’re looking at a cheeky children’s book with some cowboy flair. Debut children’s book author Maripat Perkins introduces us to Red, a fiery little cowgirl who keeps order in her neck of the woods with the help of her trusty hound dog Rusty. One day, the Sheriff brings home a tiny deputy whom Red nicknames Sideswiping Slim, and eventually, the little whippersnapper starts to mosey into her territory. Red deals with Slim the best way she knows how – but the Sheriff doesn’t approve. How will these two ever get along? Perkins’ examination of dealing with family newcomers is playful and full of cowboy lingo sure to delight rambunctious rugrats. Adorable and inviting pencil drawings, courtesy of Caldecott medal-winning illustrator Molly Idle (Flora and the Flamingo; Camp Rex), are full of warmth and whimsy – a perfect accompaniment for this ruckus-raising hootenanny.
Literary Features Syndicate 