Reading Roundup: 2013 plus New Year's Resolution

By the Numbers
Picture Books: 143
Early Readers: 3

Sources
Library: all

Standouts
Writing (selected in August) Carnivores by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Dan Santat
"Ahahahaha! Those poor carnivores; what are they to do? They like eating meat. Unfortunately, the meat has a distinct aversion to being eaten, and they're shunned. How can they change their ways? I love how this ends."
Illustration (selected in July) Let the Whole Earth Sing Praise by Tomie dePaola
"While it's not for everyone in its unabashed religiosity, the art in this one is top-notch. Flowers, animals, and people in the signature dePaola style (additionally influenced by native Mexican art) spill over the pages in washes of color."
Overall: (selected in April) The Dark by Lemony Snicket, illustrated by Jon Klassen
"A beautiful story about a universal childhood fear. This was absolutely amazing."

Since I did it for the bigger kids, I'm going to make a New Year's resolution over here. I want to read more early readers. Three? The whole year?! That just ain't right.

Reading Roundup: December 2013

By the Numbers
Picture Books: 14
Early Readers

Sources
Library: all

Standouts
Writing: Neville by Norton Juster, illustrated by G. Brian Karas
It's tough being the new kid in town. Convinced that he'll never find any friends, this little boy discovers them in an unexpected way. It made me smile, and I think you could have an argument over whether his unorthodox method was on purpose or a random accident.
Illustration: My First Day by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
It's a neat premise to begin with--what do animals do on their first day of life?--and Jenkins' detailed and beautiful cut-paper illustrations bring this book richly to life.
Overall: Moonday by Adam Rex
When the moon lands in a family's backyard, the whole world is thrown into confusion. Nobody can quite wake up. This is a dreamy, magical book that swims around in your head. And the endpapers look like my desert hometown. They do, they do!

Because I Want To Awards
Yay for Jeff Mack and Different Intonations: Ah Ha! by Jeff Mack
With only two letters (A and H), this book follows a wily frog in and out of trouble, with the attendent exclamations of dismay, triumph, and discovery. Can't wait to read it aloud.
Probably Already Being Used in English Classes Across the Land: Little Red Writing by Joan Holub, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
This is quite a fun examination of the multi-level mechanics of creative writing. Everything from grammar to plot to run-on sentences is encountered by a little writing implement.

Book Review: Oliver and His Alligator by Paul Schmid

Book: Oliver and His Alligator
Author: Paul Schmid
Illustrator: Paul Schmid
Published: 2013
Source: Local Library

Oliver is a little worried about his first day of school. So he brings along an alligator. As you do. Handily, the alligator eats everyone who scares Oliver (including the lady who asks his name and the overly friendly classmate). Unfortunately, with all the scary people eaten, Oliver finds himself quite alone and not a little bored. What’s a boy with an alligator to do now?

This hits two of my favorite picture-book themes: shy or introverted children and people getting eaten. (WHAT. I never said I was normal.) Oliver’s worries are immediately recognizable. New people! New surroundings! Being asked to make conversation with strangers! For the kid on the quiet side, it’s a nightmare, to which an alligator to make you feel brave is a reasonable solution. You can read the alligator as entirely imaginary (his outline is in a pale green, in contrast to everyone else’s black outline) with Oliver really just hiding from the other kids. But I prefer to read it literally, because it makes me giggle.

Reading Roundup: November 2013

By the Numbers
Picture Books: 12
Early Readers: 1

Sources
Library: 13

Standouts
Writing: A Dog is a Dog by Stephen Shaskan
Picture books, breaking little brains since 1899. (Date possibly incorrect.) This one follows a dog that's actually a cat that's actually . . . well, I won't spoil the surreal delight.
Illustration: Cheese Belongs to You! illustrated by Viviane Schwarz, written by Alexis Deacon
This almost won for Overall, because the story is just as fun as the pictures. But I wanted to recognize the pencil-and-digital-media art that went into making all these fighting rats, because they're funny and individual and delightful.
Overall: Bone Dog by Eric Rohmann
One scary Halloween, a little boy's dead dog comes to his rescue. It's a rare skillmaster who can make something creepy, sad, and sweet all in 32 short pages, but Eric Rohmann is that man.

Because I Want To Awards
Don't Overthink It, Folks: Dinosaur Christmas by Jerry Pallotta, illustrated by Howard McWilliam
Santa remembers a time before he had reindeer, when dinosaurs pulled his sleigh. Sly and funny and, yeah, don't examine the premise too closely.
Violently Adorable: Dinosaur Kisses by David Ezra Stein
How does a baby dinosaur figure out kisses? With much destruction, apparently. I'm saving this for Valentine's Day.

Reading Roundup: October 2013

By the Numbers
Picture Books: 14
Early Readers: 1

Sources
Library: all

Standouts
Writing: When Lions Roar by Robie Harris, illustrated by Chris Raschka
All about fear and courage and being able to live through them.
Illustration: A Butterfly is Patient, illustrated by Sylvia Long, written by Diana Hutts Aston
Ooo. I just wanted to pore over the color-soaked illustrations of many different kinds of butterflies and their environment. Science!
Overall: Dot by Patricia Intriago
With one basic shape, this book explores all sorts of concepts and opposites. Like Press Here, this book takes a simple concept and just has lots of fun.

Because I Want To Awards
One More For the Books Where Characters Get Eaten List: Beware the Frog by William Bee
Just like it says. A lot of picture books lean toward the sweet, so I have a deep affection for books like this, with their sideways smirks to the reader and the flash of teeth.
Yay! Mayhem!: Musk Ox Counts by Erin Cabatingen, illustrated by Matthew Myers
A sequel to the last adventure, where Musk Ox made a hash of the alphabet, this one has poor beleaguered Zebra just trying to count up to ten. Of course, he doesn't succeed.

Book Review: I See Kitty by Yasmine Surovec

Book: I See Kitty
Author: Yasmine Surovec
Illustrator: Yasmine Surovec
Published: 2013

When little Chloe gets her first glimpse of a cat, she’s in love. Fluffy bellies, pink paws, soft fur, she wants it all. And while her mom won’t let her adopt a real one, she sees kitties everywhere. Will she ever get a kitty of her very own?

If you’ve ever known a toddler obsessed with something (trains, cats, horses, particle physics), you know that it dominates their world. This book brings that truth to life. Chloe sees cats everywhere, from the clouds to the shrubbery. (Personally, I can’t wait for a cat storytime where I can ask kids to find the kitty hiding somewhere in the picture.) There’s one rather trippy spread of Chloe’s dreams, where she rides on cats floating down a river of milk, with mushroom-cats growing along the banks. And when she wakes up? Well, awwww is the only way to describe it.

Reading Roundup: September 2013

By the Numbers
Picture Books: 10

Sources
Library: all

Standouts
Writing: Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake by Michael Kaplan, illustrated by Stéphane Jorisch
I agree with this bunny's emotions regarding that particular dessert, but the real treat here is Betty's delightful kid-logic and the realistic portrayal of the absolute lack of patience in waiting for a treat.
Illustration: I See Kitty! by Yasmine Surovec
A feline-obssessed little girl sees kitties everywhere she goes, in the clouds and in the shrubberies. This one was fun for how sometimes it took you a moment to see the kitty, but once you did it was oh so obvious.
Overall: My Blue is Happy by Jessica Young, illustrated by Catia Chien
I got this one right before a feelings storytime and immediately snatched it up. From the young green of a sprouting garden to the old, old green of a forest, this takes our notions of colors and turns them upside down.

Because I Want To Awards
A Quiet Book: Clancy and Millie and the Very Fine House by Libby Gleeson, illustrated by Freya Blackwood
Most picture books pop and fizz and glitter with energy. This one takes a quieter approach to a child's acclimation to a scary new place. Read it while snuggled up together.
Aw, That Poor Cat!: Bobo the Sailor Man! by Eileen Rosenthal, illustrated by Marc Rosenthal
This third entry in the Bobo series sees the cat rescuing Bobo from certain doom, but getting none of the credit. Awwww.