Reading Roundup September 2011

Late again . . . sorry, guys.

By the Numbers
Picture Books: 28
Early Readers: 4

Sources
Library: All

Standouts
Writing: Once Upon a Twice by Denise Doyen, illustrated by Barry Moser
A simple-enough cautionary tale of a daring mouse who barely escapes with his little mousy life, but lives tothe tell the chilling tale to other daring mice. It's the tongue-twistery rhyming text that made this a favorite for me.
Illustration: Tell Me a Dragon by Jackie Morris
All sorts of dragons, and all sorts of kids to go along with them. While the text makes no mention of different parts of the world, kids and dragons are very clearly from different countries and ethnicities. Bravo. These delicate illustrations swirl and flow, drawing the eye toward rich and exotic details.
Overall: Squish Rabbit by Katherine Battersby
A very, very small rabbit is annoyed because he's too small to do much of anything. Then he discovers that the answer to his loneliness might be in acquiring a friend just as small as he is. The simple illustrations pair with the straightforward storytelling to create a book without an overabundance of cutesy details. Just right.

Because I Want To Awards
Three-Hanky Alert: The Day Tiger Rose Said Goodbye by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Jim LaMarche
On the last day of a cat's life, she moves around her beautiful little world saying goodbye. Probably best used as a read-together, especially when a child is mourning the passing of a pet or grandparent with a long and full life.
For Your Creative Types: Polka Dot Penguin Pottery by Lenore Look, illlustrated by Yumi Heo
The small writer-protagonist of this longer picture book is suffering from writer's block, and when she goes to a pottery painting studio, discovers art-block as well. How can she tap into her creativity again? I read this book and immediately handed it over to a friend who runs an art-and-writing program for early elementary kids.
Hey, Neat!: Dear Primo: a Letter to My Cousin by Duncan Tonatiuh
Two different cousins, one in a US city and one in the Mexican countryside, share their lives with each other via letter. Besides the clear message of similarities even in different surroundings, I really enjoyed the Aztec-influenced art. This one is going on display in my library, where many kids have cousins in other countries.

Reading Roundup August 2011

By the Numbers
Picture Books: 24
Early Readers: 3

Sources
Library: all

Standouts
Writing: Detective Blue by Steve Metzger, illustrated by Tedd Arnold
A tapestry of different nursery rhymes serves as the backdrop to the burning question that Detective (once Little Boy) Blue must solve: where is Miss Muffet? This tongue-in-cheek piece of fun will entertain older kids playing hunt-the-reference in the illustrations as well as the text.
Illustration: Ladder to the Moon by Maya Soetoro-Ng, illustrated by Yuyi Morales
Pretty much any month in which I read a book illustrated by Yuyi Morales, it's gonna win my Illustration award. I love her curving, swirling style. That being said, this book is something special for all the little details packed in there.
Overall: TIE
Rooster/Gallo by Jorge Lujan, illustrated by Manuel Monroy
A rooster turns the night into day, and then back into night again in this lyrical, dreamy book. You guys, I'm in love. Extra points for being fully bilingual, yet simple enough for someone with my Sesame-Street command of Spanish to read aloud.
A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka
Without words, Raschka tells a story of loss, grief, and returning joy through the framework of a dog and a ball. Pretty slick.

Because I Want To Awards
Most Harrowing: Underground by Shane Evans
Definitely a picture book for parents and older children to read and talk about together.
Where Else Could a Twenty-Foot Two-Year-Old Get Lost?: The Wicked Big Toddlah Goes to New York by Kevin Henkes
Just Plain Fun: Where's Walrus? by Stephen Savage

Tune in Tomorrow

. . . because at the moment, I'm barely capable of producing a coherent sentence, much less my August Reading Roundup post. They're surprisingly thought-intensive.

Why Junior Needs to Be Scared

A Tweet from Jen Robinson pointed me at this lovely article from the Boston Globe, titled When We Shield Our Kids from Scary Stories, Who Are We Really Trying to Protect? It looks at parents who gloss over scary parts like the death of Babar's mother, and experts who discuss why it's important to allow kids exposure to scary things at a young age.

Fave quote, about why kids aren't so disturbed by the loss of fictional mothers as the mothers are:

the very fear that they’re dealing with is something that they just keep re-experiencing, and then they metabolize it and are then able to manage those feelings.

Yes. YES. This is the same reason that I maintain Go Away Big Green Monster is one of the finest picture books of all time, because it doesn't ignore the monster. It confronts, acknowledges, and overcomes, and isn't that what we want our kids to be able to do with the horrors of the world?

Reading Roundup: July 2011

By the Numbers
Picture Books: 38

Sources
Library: all

Standouts
Writing: The Queen of France by Tim Wadham, illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton
A testament to a little girl's imagination (she wakes up feeling royal) and her parents' indulgent playing-along. The sequences between Rose and the Queen of France "just missing each other" as the girl changes from one persona to another especially made me smile.
Illustration: Hopper and Wilson by Maria van Lieshout
Oh, those soft watercolors! With the big, big sea and the little boat and the splotch of red that is the balloon which turns out to be the elephant's saving grace. It's just a pretty, pretty book.
Overall: Little White Rabbit by Kevin Henkes
Another one about imagination. A baby rabbit wonders how it would feel to be a butterfly, a rock, or any number of other things as he hops around in his springtime world. The ending is a little sweet for me, but overall I loved this book, and its signature illustration style.

Because I Want To Awards
Where Have You Been Every Time I Had to Do a Fourth of July Storytime?: America, My Land, Your Land, Our Land by W. Nikola-Lisa, illustrated by various artists
That Must Have Been One Well-Built Boat: Jonathan and the Big Blue Boat by Philip C. Stead (If you recognize the author's name, it's because he was also behind the perfectly lovely Caldecott winner A Sick Day for Amos McGee.)
Tongue-Twister of a Readaloud: Scapegoat by Dean Hale, illustrated by Michael H. Slack

Reading Roundup, June 2011

By the Numbers
Picture Books: 57
Early Readers: 2

Sources
Library: all

Standouts
Writing: What are You Doing? by Elisa Amado and Manuel Monroy
This caught my eye because it's about all the different roles that reading plays. Then I realized that there were several men reading. Then I realized that it was set in Guatemala, in a probably-not-very-rich village that still values the written word.
Illustration: The Adventures of Marco and Polo by Dieter Weismuller
From the frozen Arctic to the lush jungles, Weismuller's illustrations make you want to dive in.
Overall: The Longest Night by Marion Dane Bauer
I want to write something very knowledgeable about this, but I can't. All I can say is, chills. Chills.

Because I Want To Awards
Well, That was Different: Tyrannoclaus by Janet Lawler, illustrated by John Shroades
Yep, I'm a Bad Person. I LOVED This: The Taking Tree: A Selfish Parody by Shrill Travesty
Will Provoke Giggles from All Ages: Earth to Clunk by Pam Smallcomb, illustrated by Joe Berger
Cutest. Pirate. EVER.: Small Saul by Ashley Spires

Reading Roundup: May 2011

By the Numbers
Picture Books: 12 (yeah, it was a pretty skimpy month.)

Sources
Review Copies: 1
Library: 11

Standouts
Writing: Just Because by Rebecca Elliot
A boy and his sister, who has a disability, do everything together. She may not be able to get out of her wheelchair, but she's always ready to join in her brother's imagination in her own special way.
Illustration: Building on Nature: The Life of Antoni Gaudi by Rachel Victoria Rodriguez, illustrated by Julie Paschkis
Just the book for your budding architect. Paschkis takes the lines and shapes that influenced Gaudi's most famous buildings and works them into her illustrations. The minute I closed the book, I had to hit the Internet see if Gaudi's work really was that wild . . . and what do you know, it was! (Side note: Okay, I've totally decided I have an illustrator-crush on Julie Paschkis. I loooooove her work.)
Overall: I Know the River Loves Me/Yo Se Que El Rio Me Ama by Maya Christina Gonzalez
Side-by-side English and Spanish versions of the same poem sing the praises of a river that a little girl loves, and the swirling, flowing illustrations bring both river and girl to life.

Because I Want To Awards
Concepts You Don't Often See in Picture Books: Small, Medium, Large by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Tomasz Bogacki (out in August)