Picture Book Roundup - new or coming soon!

This edition of the Picture Book Roundup features "jampires" (!), two Stanleys (one dog, one hamster), and a new Kadir Nelson book for which I can't find enough superlatives.  Enjoy!

If you can't see the slideshow, I've included my reviews below.

 

• Nelson, Kadir. 2015. If You Plant a Seed. New York: Harper Collins.

If You Plant a Seed is a brilliantly written and exquisitely illustrated book about kindness. Sparse but meaningful text, combined with joyfully detailed illustrations of plants, birds, and animals. I love it!

• MacIntyre, Sarah and David O'Connell. 2015. Jampires. New York: David Fickling (Scholastic)

Who could be sucking all the jamminess out of the doughnuts?  Jampires!  Will Sam find jam?  Will the Jampires find their nest?  If you like funny, this is the best!

• Bee, William. 2015. Stanley the Farmer. New York: Peachtree.

Stanley is a hardworking hamster. Illustrations and text  are bright and simple, making Stanley a perfect choice for very young listeners. Along the lines of Maisy, but with a crisper, cleaner interface.  Nice size, sturdy construction.

• Agee, Jon. 2015. It's Only Stanley. New York: Dial.

The Wimbledons can't sleep.  What IS all that noise?  It's only Stanley, the dog.  He's howling at the moon, fixing the oil tank, making catfish stew, ...?  Hey, something's fishy here! Classic Jon Agee - droll humor at its best.


Review copies of Jampires, Stanley the Farmer, and It's Only Stanley were provided by the publisher.

Picture Book Roundup - Silly, dreamy, fun, well-done!

Silly, dreamy, fun, well-done  - these are my favorites today!

• Silly

Harrington, Tim. 2013. This Little Piggy. New York: Harper Collins.

Funny and silly, this is the story of what those other five little piggies are doing - forget about going to market or eating roast beef; these little piggies are painting, selling hot dogs, dancing and flying planes!

Browse inside This Little Piggy.

Click to hear the author's musical rendition of 
This Little Piggy.  You can download it, too!

• Dreamy

Giovanna Zoboli. 2013. I Wish I Had .... Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.  (Ill. by Simona Mulazzani)

A simple wish list  - one wish on each beautifully illustrated, double-spread page of this over-sized book.  Inspired by the animal kingdom, each wish is for an animal's ability,

I wish I had the quick heart of a mouse as it makes its escape ...

... and the wings of a wild goose on the day it takes flight. 

Perhaps it rhymes in its original Italian version.  No matter - it's still poetic and beautiful.

The link to a preview of I Wish I Had ... may be accessed here.

• Fun

Gibbs, Edward. I Spy on the Farm. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

I loved I Spy With My Little Eye when it was published in 2011, and I love Edward Gibbs' I Spy on the Farm as well.  Perfect for participatory sharing, kids will squeal out the answers as they look through the die-cut holes and hear the clues,

I spy with my little eye ...

 something pink that begins with a P.

Oink, oink!

Colors, letters, farm animal sounds - I Spy on the Farm has it all!

I Spy on the Farm preview here.

• Well-done

Falwell, Cathryn. 2013. Rainbow Stew. New York: Lee and Low.

Whimper, sigh, cloudy, sky,
Is it too wet to play?
We don't want to stay inside
because of rain today.

Grandpa smiles and says to us,
"I know what we can do.
Let's go and find some colors
for my famous Rainbow Stew!" 

Filled with love and frolicking fun, Rainbow Stew is a tasty delight! (Be sure to try the recipe)

Rainbow Stew preview here.
Rainbow Stew activities here!


If you're looking for the usual nonfiction post this morning, check out Sally's Bookshelf for today's Nonfiction Monday roundup.  Next week, Nonfiction Monday will be right here at Shelf-employed.  

Picture Book Roundup - Catch up edition

I am quite far behind in reading, reviewing, and blogging.  Here are a few new picture books that I feel deserve a mention:

• Marino, Gianna. 2012. Too Tall Houses. New York: Viking (Penguin).

A talented artist and writer, Marino's newest is a fable chronicling what happens when neighborhood one-upmanship threatens the friendship between Rabbit and Owl. Marino's beautiful paintings are expertly colored in a palette of nature's finest hues. The expressive faces of the erstwhile friends add much to this brief tale presented in an appropriately tall book.

• Marsalis, Wynton. 2012. Squeak, Rumble, Whomp! Whomp! Whomp! Somerville, MA: Candlewick.  Ill. by Paul Rogers.

Despite my relative lack of musical talent and rhythm (though I can read music and play a few instruments poorly), I am a great fan of music and music education for kids. One day I will write a post about the jazz story time, which I feature each year in April, sharing jazz-themed books and music for preschoolers.  In 2013, my job of choosing books will become much easier thanks to Wynton Marsalis and Paul Rogers' new book, Squeak, Rumble, Whomp! Whomp! Whomp! Some musically-themed books are difficult to read aloud, and I'm thankful when a CD is included (Jazz on a Saturday Night and The Jazz Fly come to mind), but this catchy, rhyming book may be easily read - even by those with a limited ability to speak jazz - for jazz may be found in the most common of places,

Big trucks on the highway RRRRRUMBLE!
Hunger makes my tummy GRrruMBle.
The big bass drum goes Bum! Brrrum! BRRRUMBLE!!!!

Another musically-themed book:

• Isadora, Rachel. 2012. There Was a Tree. New York: Nancy Paulsen (Penguin).

A favorite childhood song (a.k.a. "The Green Grass Grew All Around"), accompanied by Rachel Isadora's luscious Africa-inspired illustrations with rebuses to aid kids in singing along.  What more can one ask for?

• Sif, Birgitta. 2012. Oliver. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

In a style that is reminiscent to me of Oliver Jeffers' work, Birgitta Sif writes and illustrates this short and quirky tale of an introspective, thoughtful boy who finally finds a kindred soul. 

• Stevens, Janet and Susan Stevens Crummel. 2012. Find a Cow NOW! New York: Holiday House.

The Stevens sisters (The Little Red Pen, Harcourt) team up again for another delightfully silly story following the antics of the hyperactive herding dog, Dog, as he takes the advice of Bird and travels to the countryside to find a cow. In Are You My Mother? style, he queries the various creatures he encounters.  By the time he actually finds a cow, he's too tired to even ask.  Cute.

November is Picture Book Month!

Check out these great "shelf-talkers" from the folks at Picture Book Month.  

Lots of additional resources available at Picture Book Month.

April picture book roundup

It's been a while since I've done a picture book roundup and they've been piling up on my desk.  Here are a few new favorites:

Mayer, Mercer. 2011. Octopus Soup. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish.


Wordless and wonderful!  Find out how Octopus escapes the chef's pot! Too funny!
(Look inside)


Yaccarino, Dan. 2011. All the Way to America: the Story of a Big Italian Family and a Little Shovel. New York: Knopf.

When Dan grew up, he married Helen.  These are my grandparents.  Together Dan and Helen opened a market.  They sold all sorts of wonderful Italian food.  Now the little shovel belonged to Dan, and he used it to measure out beans, macaroni, and olives.

Dan Yaccarino's personal tale of immigration and tradition.  A perfect introduction to genealogy, and a great choice for this summer's reading theme of One World, Many Stories.

Watt, Melanie. 2011. You're Finally Here! New York: Hyperion.
This hilarious book has been waiting for you, and it's about time you showed up!

Pfister, Marcus. 2011. Questions, Questions. New York: NorthSouth.

Simple, thoughtful and artistic.  Guaranteed to elicit questions.

How do birds learn how to sing? What brings summer after spring? What turns leaves from green to brown and sends them floating gently down?

Beaumont, Karen. 2011. No Sleep for the Sheep! Ill. by Jackie Urbanovic. New York: Harcourt.

Get ready for a long night -

In the big red barn on the farm, on the farm, in the big red barn on the farm... A sheep fell asleep in the big red barn, in the big red barn on the farm. Then there came a loud QUACK at the door, at the door, and the sheep couldn't sleep any more.

 Rhyming and repetitive, this one is sure-fire fun!

Hartt-Sussman, Heather. 2011. Noni Says No. Ill. by Genevieve Cote. Plattsburgh, NY: Tundra.

For every child who has ever agreed to do something, go somewhere, share something, or play with someone, when she really wanted to say no.  An empowering book for the kind and gentle child who always says yes.
(My daughter was this child.  I sympathize.)

Evolution and the Pelican

I have delayed posting reviews of Katherine Paterson's, The Day of the Pelican, and Jacqueline Kelly's, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, because I have mixed feelings about them both. I think they are well-written, thought-provoking books; however, I do question their "suggested reader" age ranges and their general appeal to children.

Paterson, Katherine. 2009. The Day of the Pelican. New York: Houghton Mifflin.

The Day of the Pelican (so named for an incident involving a drawing of a pelican that occurred on the day that Meli's life took a turn for the worse) is a historical fiction account of the flight of 11-year old Meli Lleshi's Kosovar Albanian family from the Serbian ethnic cleansing campaign of terror.  Meli comes from a large, tight-knit extended family, however the focus of the book is primarily on Meli, her older brother Mehmet, and her parents.  After Mehmet is arrested, jailed, beaten and left for dead by the local police force, the Lleshis are forced to admit and react to the fact that they are no longer welcomed in their homeland.

This book is suggested by the publisher for grades 5-9.  I disagree.  The underlying reason for the Lleshi family's flight is the ethnic cleansing of Albanian Kosovars.  Additionally, there is veiled reference (explained more fully in the author's notes following the story) to war crimes against women - both very heavy topics for 10-year old readers. Additionally, Meli's brother, Mehmet, who becomes, understandably, radicalized by his treatment at the hand of the Serbs, is a difficult character for young readers to embrace.  It is easy to dislike Mehmet for his headstrong and moody demeanor; and it will take an older, more experienced reader to comprehend the reality that makes Mehmet's character not only believable, but sadly commonplace.

Congratulations to Katherine Paterson on her appointment as the new National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. She follows in the esteemed footsteps of the first National Ambassador, Jon Scieszka.  "Read for Your Life" is the theme for Ms. Paterson's platform. She has her own website and a fan page on FB.

Kelly, Jacqueline. 2009. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. New York: MacMillan.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate takes place in rural Texas at the turn of the 20th century.  Eleven-year-old, Calpurnia is the only daughter in a family consisting of six brothers, Calpurnia, her parents, and Granddaddy.  The Tate's successful farm was established by Granddaddy, but he has since retired after serving in the Civil War, and has turned his attention to scientific endeavors - not the least of which is an attempt to create liquor from distilled pecans.  Calpurnia and Granddaddy develop a very close relationship based on Calpurnia's interest in the new and controversial book, On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin. Each chapter begins with a passage from Darwin's book. The "evolution" in Kelly's novel refers not only to the evolutionary adaptations of Texas' native plants and insects, but also to Calpurnia herself, who evolves into a budding feminist, ready to challenge the societal expectations for women at the dawn of a new century.

Kelly's story is a mix of science, Darwinian Theory, family life, and a large helping of humor.  There is no crisis in the story, no action-packed turning point - just a warm, familial march to an unknown future.  Calpurnia is a delightfully funny and intelligent protagonist.

MacMillan's discussion guide for The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate offers discussion questions and a list of words that may send young readers (hopefully) scurrying for a dictionary (ignominy, dragooned, desiccated, to name a few).  These words, however, weren't the ones that sent me to my online nook dictionary. I had to hunt up several archaic words, most of which did not appear in the nook dictionary. (Note to Barnes and Noble: Merriam-Webster would be nice.) This book's suggested age range is grades 4-7.  Although I am a proponent of challenging vocabulary for children, I think that the level of vocabulary difficulty combined with the scientific premise of the book may be off-putting for young readers.

Bottom line - recommend these books to thoughtful, older readers who enjoy history, science, and/or world cultures.  Readers who stick with these two titles will end up enlightened.

Tillie Lays an Egg

Golson, Terry Blonder. 2009. Tillie lays an egg. New York: Scholastic.

Of course, I live in NJ, so take this with a grain of salt, but my eldest daughter related something to me the other day - Her language arts teacher mentioned that, in one of her classes, not one student knew the sound that a donkey makes. How sad that we've become so far removed from the farms and country that feed us. (Doesn't anyone sing "Old MacDonald" anymore?)

Tillie Lays an Egg may be just the book to inspire a preschooler's interest in farm life.

The stunning photography combined with the fun of look-and-find,

"Where has Tillie laid her egg?"

and the attendant humor (Tillie lays her eggs on the kitchen table and the ironing board, among other unlikely places!)

make this book a winner!! Hee Haw!