Picture Book Roundup - August 2016

I haven't done a picture book roundup in a while. Here are a few favorites that passed my desk in August.  They're presented in the Riffle slideshow below.

Note:
Some of my reviews would not fit in their entirety in the slideshow.  You can find the full reviews on my LibraryThing or Riffle accounts.

Stanley's Shapes and Stanley's Colors - a review

In 2015, I reviewed the new picture book, Stanley the Farmer by William Bee, declaring it (among other things) "a perfect choice for very young listeners."  So when I had an opportunity to review upcoming Peachtree Publishers titles, I was happy to take a look at Stanley's entries into the board book series.  I was not disappointed.


Stanley's Shapes by William Bee
Peachtree Publishers, 2016

William Bee's illustrations are crisp, bright and simple. In Shapes, he ensures that the featured shape on each double-spread page is easy for children to discern, outlined heavily in black.   There are 8 shapes in all, and each one is something that should be easily recognizable for a child.  A tent is a triangle, a window is a square, bike wheels are circles, a kite is a diamond, etc. Text is minimal for each shape,

Wheeeeeeee! Circles make the best wheels!

Preceding the simple, black text is a white outline of the featured shape.  The final spread is an illustration that contains all of the shapes,

What a lot of shapes! How many can you see?

Stanley's Shapes is exactly what a concept board book should be.


Stanley's Colors by William Bee
Peachtree Publishers, 2016

Like Stanley's Shapes, Stanley's Colors is a perfectly simple, child-sized, concept board book.  There are eight featured colors on double-spread pages.  The background is white, except for a colored banner on the bottom.  The colored banner contains the simple black text,

Choo Choo!  Here is Stanley driving his purple train.

and matches the color in the illustration.  Almost everything in the image is purple with the exception of Stanley, and a few small accents.  Black outlining ensures clarity.

If you're looking for a color concept book for very young kids, this is a great choice.


Look for these books in September, 2016.

A note on board books:
I don't usually review board books because I am often disappointed in them.  In my opinion, board books should be exactly like these books, however, in recent years, it seems as if too many of them are just retreads of popular picture books.  They're often too big, too text heavy, too complicated.  If you're shopping for board books for your collection, or your own child, keep it simple!


Note:
Review copies were provided by the publisher at my request.

Picture Book Roundup - kind, find, and confined

It's been a while since I've done a picture book roundup.  Here are three that struck my fancy:

Kind. This boy is the best!

Have you seen Elephant? 

Written and illustrated by David Barrow.
Gecko Press, 2016

A kind young boy plays hide-and-seek with his elephant friend and takes care to keep the game going, despite the fact that his friend is a very poor hider! Have you seen Elephant? is bright and cheerful and funny, and above all - kind. This is the first book I've seen from Gecko Press and the first by David Barrow. I love it!





Confined? Can the colortamer catch them all?

Swatch: The Girl Who Loved Color

Written and illustrated by Julia Denos
Balzer Bray, 2016

Bright, bold, and expressive, Swatch is a color tamer - trapping and using colors in the most fantastic of ways. A bold and fearless artist, no color had escaped her artistic eye ... no color but one,

"Morning came, and there it was, fast fading and fierce, the King of All Yellows, blooming in the sidewalk crack in spite of the shadows. Swatch was ready .... At last, Yellowest Yellow would be hers."

Or would it?

This is the first book that Julia Denos has written as well as illustrated. I would love this book even if my favorite color were not the hero of the story!


Find. Where is that cat?

Spot, the Cat 

Illustrated by Henry Cole
Little Simon, 2016

A beautifully detailed, wordless book - more than just a seek-and-find, it follows the path of an adventurous cat in the city and the boy who wants to find him. Join the young boy and search the city for Spot, the cat.

Picture Book Roundup - funnybone tickler edition

If you're a public librarian with a very popular summer reading club, you need patience and a happy disposition. Here are three funny new picture books that are guaranteed to put you in a good mood - unless you're a goat (more on that later).  I wish I'd had these books when I made 25 school visits this month!

• Barnett, Mac. 2013. Count the Monkeys. New York: Disney Hyperion. (Illustrations by Kevin Cornell)

These monkeys are so cute.  Who wouldn't want to count them?  But first, you'll have to find them!

It's fun. It's easy.  All you have to do is turn the page ... and Count the Monkeys.

YIKES!  1 King Cobra has scared off all the monkeys.  Turn the page very slowly, very carefully so he doesn't notice us.

... And so it goes. King Cobras, mongooses (or is it mongeese?), bee swarms, lumberjacks - everything but monkeys! You won't find them until the endpapers.  Kids will love not counting monkeys!  Fun, fun, fun.

• Daywalt, Drew. 2013. The Day the Crayons Quit. New York: Philomel. (Illustrations by Oliver Jeffers)

Duncan's crayons are not happy, and they've let him know it.  Each crayon has written him a letter - in crayon, of course - to complain about a problem.  Yellow and orange are fighting over which is the true color of the sun.  Poor blue is overworked,

I have really enjoyed all those oceans, lakes, rivers, raindrops, rain clouds and clear skies.  But the BAD NEWS is that I am so short and stubby, I can't even see over the railing in the CRAYON BOX anymore! I need a BREAK!

Your stubby friend, Blue Crayon

 Peach Crayon's problem is even worse - he's naked! But, no worries - Duncan has a colorful solution. Great concept and stellar illustrations.

See a great selection of artwork from The Day the Crayons Quit at Oliver Jeffers' site.

This is Drew Daywalt's first picture book.  Can you get any luckier than to have Oliver Jeffers illustrate your first picture book?

• Shea, Bob. 2013. Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great. New York: Disney Hyperion.

Goat had it pretty good until that show-off Unicorn moved in!  One time, Goat "made marshmallow squares that almost came out right."  And what did Unicorn do?  "He made it rain cupcakes!"

Look at me! I'm Unicorn!  I think I'm so-o-o cool!  blah, blah, blah, blah, blah ...

Poor goat. But don't feel too sorry for him - sometimes a goat can make the unlikeliest of friends!
Loaded with humor, attitude, and goofy fun.





Although I was feeling more funny than factual today, don't let that stop you from visiting the July 1, 2013,  Nonfiction Monday roundup at Ms. Yingling Reads. (Can it really be July already?)

Picture Book Roundup: Books about books edition

Emily Gravett and Suzy Lee - You can't go wrong with these two illustrators' books about books! Both are "novelty books." One features a "burned" hole in the back cover. (Is that the smell of dragon breath?). The other features books within books.

• Gravett, Emily. 2013. Again! New York: Simon and Schuster.

Cedric, a baby dragon, pesters his mother to read his favorite bedtime story again, and again, and again! Cedric's favorite book (about Cedric the Dragon) is included in the fun, and the words change every time his mother reads it.  When mom finally falls asleep, exhausted, baby dragon gets a little too hot-tempered!   Emily Gravett has a unique sense of humor. Expect funny with a surprise ending!

• Klausmeier, Jesse. 2013. Open this Little Book. San Francisco: Chronicle. (Illustrated by Suzy Lee)

Here's a book about a little red book about a little green book about a little orange book, well ... you get the idea. Kids will love this one!

July picture book roundup

Between BEA in May and ALA in June, I've been happily swamped in books!  I have so many to read over and review, but here a few quick reviews of titles that have found their way into my book bag.

Maloney, Peter and Felicia Zekauskas. 2011. One Foot Two Feet: An EXCEPTIONal Counting Book. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.

I've been carrying this one around for too long (as a matter of fact, I think it's overdue!). A many-faceted book, I like it more each time I read it. It's a counting book, it's a color book (brightly colored "frame" pages offer a sneak peak of each illustration), it's a hidden picture book (find the plane!), it's a vocabulary book (one is a foot, two are feet, one is a die, six are dice), it's simple enough for toddlers, yet sophisticated enough for preschoolers.  In short, a winner!

Littlefield, Bruce. 2011. The Bedtime Book for Dogs. New York: Grand Central.
(Advance Reader Copy from LibraryThing)

Come. Sit. Stay.  I want to tell you a story.  I think you'll like it.  It's about a treat.

 A cute concept, this truly is a book to read to your dog. Because the words are so simple, perhaps a struggling reader might enjoy reading it aloud.  Who can resist reading to a dog?  And yes, I read it to my dog.  She loved it!

Dewdney, Anna. 2011. Llama Llama Home with Mama. New York: Viking.

Anna Dewdney's rhymes are pitch-perfect, her illustrations are expressive and funny, and she's darned nice, too! (She signed my book at Book Expo America) A perfect book for a sick day. Everyone loves Llama Llama!

Klassen, Jon. 2011. I Want My Hat Back. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

Candlewick sure knows how to find 'em!  This is the first book that Jon Klassen has written and illustrated, and it's a winner.  Written in softly, color-coded  dialogue, Bear searches for his missing hat, stopping to ask the other denizens of the woods,

Have you seen my hat?
I saw a hat once.
It was blue and round.
My hat doesn't look like that.
Thank you anyway.

Have you seen my hat?
What is a hat?
Thank you anyway.

The surprise ending requires a sense of humor as a certain hat-filching rabbit may just end up slightly flattened. This book would make a perfect home-grown puppet show!  (Jon Klassen is another friendly author/illustrator who affably signed my book @ BEA- thanks!)


And yes, it's Nonfiction Monday, but unfortunately, I forgot to bring home a nonfiction book to review this weekend!  Please stop by anyway.  Today's Independence Day roundup is at Bookmuse.

May picture book roundup

I am in the midst of transferring from one branch to another, and I now have two desks overflowing with great new books!  Here are a few:

Gibbs, Edward. 2011. I Spy with my Little Eye. Somerville, MA: Templar. (Candlewick)

That big (almost 2.5"), yellow, circular eye on the cover is actually a hole - an oh, the things we can spy through that hole!  On a predominantly white spread with an eye on the left page and a circle of blue on the right, we read,

I spy with my little eye  ... something that is blue. "I am the biggest animal in the world."

Turn the page to find a richly colored blue whale, which due to some artfully placed curlicues, manages to appear realistic and at the same time, fanciful.

I'm a BLUE WHALE.

Each featured animal unfolds in the same manner.  The rear cover of the book features a hole for your own little eye to go spying! Colors, animals, guessing - this book has it all!
Edward Gibbs is listed as a "debut artist."  What a debut! This one's dynamite!

Tusa, Tricia. 2011. Follow Me. Boston: Harcourt.

From the book jacket, here is the description of the art,

The illustrations in this book were done using an etching process with monoprinted color.  The text type was set in Prin.  The display type was set in Rats and Carrotflower.

(Rats and Carrotflower? - love that one!)  What this means to me is a softly-colored book with fanciful drawings outlined in etched brown lines.  The color sometimes spills out of its intended (?) perimeter in much the same way that the young protagonist spills out of her swing and floats and flies through the breezes, "lost in small, green, happy music."  She invites the reader to follow her through all of nature's colors, "deep into brown, into the bright white of yellow, into orange that slips into red."   From the illustrator of In a Blue Room, another beautiful book!


Johnson, Lindsay Lee. 2011. Ten Moonstruck Piglets. Ill. by Carll Cneut. Boston: Clarion.

All in a scramble,
all ready to gambol,
ten moonstruck piglets
on a midnight ramble.

Through the mud wallow,
beyond the wide hollow,
leapfrogging piglets
in turns lead and follow.

It's all fun and games until the moon goes behind a cloud!  But not to worry - Mama's coming.  These sleepy-eyed, wrinkly little runts are irresistible!

Where Ten Little Piglets is filled with amusing detail, this next book features uncomplicated simplicity ... (but in both books, you can count on mom to the rescue!)