Picture Book Roundup - June 2015 edition

Enjoy a slide show version of this month's picture book roundup - a sampling of my new favorites!

 If the slide show doesn't work for you, I've listed the books below with links to my reviews on LibraryThing.

 

• Butterfly Park
• Pepper & Poe
• Bunny Roo, I Love You
• My Pen
• Baby Love

Butterfly Tree: a review

At least once in a lifetime, we should be totally awed by the natural world – not by its destructive power, which so many have seen this year in the form of floods, hurricanes and fires; but by its beauty.

For me, it was a frigid late autumn evening about eight years ago.  It was the time of the annual Leonid meteor showers, and excellent visibility was in the forecast.  Excellent yes, but also in the wee hours of the morning on a bitterly cold night.  My husband agreed to be the advance scout.  We would prepare everything in advance – thermoses of hot coffee and cocoa, blankets, sleeping bags, and warm outerwear.  My husband would head up to the beach at 2am.  If the meteor showers were visible, he would come back to wake the kids and me. 

He came back and hurried us all to the beach where we parked our pickup truck facing west and sat in the bed of the truck gazing eastward.  The meteor showers were not just visible.  They were spectacular!  At least one meteor every second – zooming across the sky, long tails following behind.  As earth hurtled through the meteor storm for hours, we sat transfixed – unable to keep our eyes from the sky.  It was raining stars, and it was unspeakably beautiful!  The cold and darkness added to the atmosphere of quiet awe. Only a few hardy souls and families willing to spend the night on a Northeastern beach in November shared it.  When the sun began to rise in the east, we turned and faced the darker, western horizon to get a last look at what we knew was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

This type of singular experience, this awesome display of nature’s beauty is the topic of Butterfly Tree by Sandra Markle and illustrated by Leslie Wu. (2011 Peachtree, Atlanta, GA)  In Butterfly Tree, Markle recreates, as she explains in the Author’s Note, the day she

happened to be on the beach when a migrating flock of monarchs crossed the lake and settled for the night.  Their arrival first seemed spooky – then magical.  Being surrounded by these golden-orange butterflies and seeing a tree totally covered with fluttering, shimmering monarchs was unforgettable.

Together, Markle and Wu perfectly capture that magical, dusky twilight on Lake Erie.  Wu’s dreamy pastel illustrations in brisk autumnal hues fill out the wide, double-spread pages.  The story is told through the voice of a young girl, heading home with her dog and her mother.  The text rests lightly on the page, arranged in verses that add depth and measure to the vibrant images,

An explosion
of golden orange bits
fills the sunlight
streaming between branches.

Wow! I exclaim.  They’re not leaves.
They’re butterflies.

Monarch butterflies, Mom says.

There must be hundreds – thousands.
The tree looks like it is in motion.
All the butterflies are slowing fanning their wings.

We are in an orange cloud.

Though it contains an "Author’s Note," "Traveling Monarchs," "Books," "Websites," and a migration map, this is not a nonfiction book; however, it deserves to be included in scientific discussion with children because it captures what so many books do not – the sense of wonder about the natural world, the sense of wonder that has driven man to push past the limits of our collective knowledge.

Highly recommended for grades K-2.

Read Sandra Markle's post on her book!

Today is the first time that I'm participating in STEM Friday.

  The roundup is at Chapter Book of the Day.  Stop by and check it out!

Picture Book Roundup - kid pleasers!

Cars, pirates and caterpillars - how can you miss?
 
Stein, Peter. 2011. Cars Galore. Ill. by Bob Staake. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

With Seussical rhymes,

Black car, green car,
nice car, mean car.
Near car, far car.
Whoa! Bizarre car!

Peter Stein writes about one of children’s favorite topics – cars. In rhyme reminiscent of The Foot Book (which, BTW, I think I might know by heart!) this should be a genuine crowd pleaser. Bob Staake’s digitally-created illustrations are all double-spreads. His often long-necked, pointy nosed, angular humans are humorously squeezed into improbable conveyances that travel along whimsical and scenic blacktop roads set against a backdrop of white space. Kids will love it.

Check out Bob Staake's occasional newsletter on The Sporadic Bob.

 

Wolfe, Myra. 2011. Charlotte Jane Battles Bedtime. Ill. by Maria Monescillo. New York: Harcourt.

"Charlotte Jane the Hearty came howling into the world with the sunrise” … "finer than a ship full of jewels,” and with “formidable oomph.”

Under the loving and watchful eyes of her pirate parents, young Charlotte is a daring little doubloon. At least she was, until she stays up all night and loses her oomph; and then, the search is on! With smart writing that offers more than just Pirate-talk, Wolfe spins a simple, humorous yarn. Monescillo’s digitally retouched and textured watercolor illustrations are crisp, colorful and modern.
 
Martin, Bill Jr. 2011. Ten Little Caterpillars. Ill. by Lois Ehlert. New York: Beach Lane.

Yes, you’ve probably got enough caterpillar to butterfly books (even Ehlert’s own books), but how can you resist the combination of Bill Martin Jr. and Lois Ehlert? A rhyming, counting, nature, butterfly book illustrated in Ehlert’s signature watercolor, cut-paper collage style. Martin avoids triteness by varying the rhyme pattern to offer a final poetic metamorphosis equal to the caterpillar’s natural one.

That's it for tonight.  Enjoy!

What's the Difference?

I'm glad that I chose to review a book about the natural world, because today's Nonfiction Monday is at SimplyScience Blog.

This is a title from last year, but it just arrived in my library's bag o' books.

Koontz, Robin. 2010. What's the Difference Between a Butterfly and a Moth? Ill. by Bandelin-Dacey. Minneapolis: Picture Window.

I like this book for two, no, make that three, main reasons:

• the minimal text makes it a book that you can slip in to a storytime session
• the illustrations strike a perfect balance between realism and art (anatomically correct with close-up insets, but artfully and attractively presented with soft edges and complimentary backgrounds)
• the book answers a question that interests kids

Opposing traits are presented on opposing pages,

Can you spot the difference between a butterfly and a moth by looking at the wings?  Many butterflies have wings that are covered with thousands of bright, colorful scales.  The colors help the insect blend in with its surroundings.  Spots on its wings can look like large eyes that scare away animals. 

Most moths have dull-colored scales that match their resting places.  Some moths look like wood or  a leaf.  This helps them blend into their surroundings.

Text box insets offer more technical information and terms,

Some animals and insects are camouflaged.  That means they are shaped or colored to match their surroundings.  Camouflage helps them hide from enemies.

What's the Difference between a Butterfly and a Moth? offers seven differences between the two insects.  A pictorial synopsis is included in the back matter, as well as Fun Facts,  Glossary, To Learn More, and Index.

I wanted to review What's the Difference Between an Alligator and Crocodile? (who doesn't want to know about 'gators and crocs?!)  but it was checked out.

A side note: I was curious about the named illustrator, "Bandelin-Dacey," so I checked it (him/her/them) out. After searching the website for MB Artists: Bandelin-Dacey Studios, I discovered that the artwork is a collaboration of Bob Dacey and Debra Bandelin.  I wonder how that works.  What can be the division of labor in a painting?  Something to ponder ...

See all of the titles in this series at Capstone's site.

Note: For those of you working with a hobbled version of Blogger (as I am!), you have my sympathy.

 It's been a very frustrating week!

Monarch and Milkweed

Frost, Helen. 2008. Monarch and Milkweed. Ill. by Leonid Gore. New York: Atheneum

Monarch and Milkweed chronicles the relationship between the migratory Monarch butterfly and the milkweed plant. Although it is a non-fiction book, it reads as smoothly as fiction, "Milkweed stretches taller. Two by two, its leaves spread wide, sheltering long-legged spiders, black and orange beetles. Monarch lights on Milkweed, drums her feet on Milkweed's flower, and tastes home." The prose is gentle and inviting - a perfect introduction to this commonplace, yet remarkably harmonious pair. An Author's Note offers more detailed information and websites to explore. The front and end pieces depict the north and south migratory patterns. A perfect book for teachers.