Lucy, by Randy Cecil; Candlewick Press, $19.99, 144 pages, ages 4-8. Lucy is a homeless dog living on the streets of Bloomville, and every morning she trots to an apartment building where she waits…
Source: Lucy, by Randy Cecil
Lucy, by Randy Cecil
Lucy, by Randy Cecil; Candlewick Press, $19.99, 144 pages, ages 4-8.
Lucy is a homeless dog living on the streets of Bloomville, and every morning she trots to an apartment building where she waits on the stoop for little Eleanor to drop a piece of string from her window to play with the pup. Meanwhile, Eleanor’s father, a juggler, heads off to work, where he never makes it to the end of a show without a hook prematurely pulling him under the curtains. And so the stage is set for this charming tale in four acts that chronicles how the lives of these three characters intersect. Each “act” reveals slight derivations in the narrative’s internal repetition, encouraging readers to be diligent about noticing details. Randy Cecil’s round black and while oil illustrations give the impression of watching an old-time film through a lens. Weighing in at a surprising 144 pages, this picture book targets five to eight year olds; a group often recently weaned from big-format children’s picture books and anxious to move into short chapter books and graphic novels–in short, a demographic that doesn’t want baby books but still enjoys full-page illustration.
Cecil’s smart, sensitively crafted picture book hits all the right marks.
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.
Bird and Diz, by Gary Golio, illustrated by Ed Young; Candlewick Press; $19.99, 26 pages, ages 4-8.
Saxophonist Charlie “Bird” Parker and trumpet-player John “Dizzy” Gillespie were great friends whose style of music revolutionized jazz., and Bird and Diz is a stunning tribute to their achievements. Award-winning author and New York Times bestseller Gary Golio’s flowing, rhythmic text explains how Bird and Diz crafted bebop through fast-playing and complicated rhythms. Golio uses the 1945 recording “Salt Peanuts” as his point of reference, describing the crashing of cymbals and thumping of bass notes mixing with the wailing of Gillespie’s now iconic trumpet playing and Parker’s squealing saxophone. The author’s free-verse mimics the improvisational nature of the music, and manages to explain music that is so difficult to put into words. Like jazz, this book’s physical layout isn’t standard either – it opens accordion-style, with the front explaining Bird and Diz’s friendship, “who play together just like kids” tossing notes back and forth, like a baseball. The backside riffs on how this surprising music is made. Caldecott-medal winner Ed Young captures jazz’s elements of fluidity and abstraction with illustrations composed of pastel, gouache and sumi-ink. The art is, by turns, explosive and fluid, appearing completely spontaneous yet bears the mark of a master at work, much like the book’s subjects. Children will run to their art sets after reading the final lines “Get out your crayons and draw!” A tour de force that will enthrall jazz lovers and no doubt encourage a youngsters to feel the beat.
Glamourpuss; Pirate, Viking, Scientist; A Dozen Cousins; Henry Finds His Word
Growing up Pedro, by Matt Tavares; Candlewick Press, $16.99, 40 pages, ages 8-12.
Veteran baseball writer Matt Tavares (There Goes Ted Williams; Becoming Babe Ruth; Henry Aaron’s Dream) explores the improbable rise of pitching legend Pedro Martinez. Tavarez tracks the three-time Cy Young Award winner from very begining, living in the small village of Manoguaybo in the Dominican Republic, when Pedro’s older brother Ramon was the best pitcher around. Soon enough, the brothers make their way to the Major Leagues, and Tavarez illustrates the innate talent, dedication and powerful brotherly bond that helped make this baseball dream a reality. (Don’t worry baseball-fan parents; Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt is publishing Pedro’s own memoir, due out in May.)
Literary Features Syndicate 