Reading Roundup: 2012

By the Numbers
Picture Books: 213
Early Readers: 11

Sources
Review Copies: 2
Library: 222

Standouts
Writing: Selected in August: Z is for Moose by Kelly Bingham, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky "Moose isn't patient enough to wait for his turn in the alphabet show, and horns into earlier letters. Kids will love impetuous Moose, and also pointing out that "I" doesn't have anything to do with the word Moose."
Illustration: Selected in June: The Tree House by Marije Tolman and Ronald Tolman
"This wordless picture book follows a couple of bears who discover a tree house and are joined by friends. Read it through a few times. Linger for awhile. You'll find yourself wanting a treehouse of your own."
Overall: Selected in March: And Then It's Spring by Julie Fogliano, illustrated by Erin E. Stead
"You know that early-spring feeling? When it feels like you'll never see anything but mud again? That brown, brown, brown, wait-what's-that feeling? The pairing of Fogliano and Stead capture it beautifully."

This was a bitter battle, as always. The Overall Standout, in particular, almost ended up a four-way tie. I finally went with the Fogliano/Stead pairing because the others (Press Here, I Want My Hat Back, and Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs) have already gotten so much love out there that I wanted to spread it around some.

All the 2012 roundups

Reading Roundup: December 2012

By the Numbers
Picture Books: 15

Sources
Library: all

Standouts
Writing: Lester's Dreadful Sweaters by K.G. Campbell
Anybody who's ever had a terrible-gift-giving relative will recognize Lester's angst. But Lester himself is a quirky treat, a control-freak of a kid who keeps lists of things to be afraid of and yet ultimately finds his own unique way to solve the Cousin Clara problem.
Illustration: Hippopposites by Janik Coat
Super-simple drawings of a hippo illustrate the concepts on the page to pull this boardbook together. Everyone I've showed it to has said, "Hey, this is great!"
Overall: Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems
Ahahahaha! Not just another repackaging of the classic story, this plays with narrative and reader's expectations for a fun and witty ride. And plus, dinosaurs! (Bonus: watch out for the wall art. It will crack you up.)

Because I Want To Awards
Made Me Want to Crank Up My iPod: Skit-Scat Raggedy Cat: Ella Fitzgerald by Roxane Orgill, illustrated by Sean Qualls
This picture-book biography of one of the greats of vocal jazz made me want to bring up everything she ever recorded and play it as I read.

Book: Chalk by Bill Thomson

Book: Chalk
Author: Bill Thomson
Illustrator: Bill Thomson
Published: 2010
Source: Local Library

Three kids find a bag of sidewalk chalk in the playground one rainy day. To their astonishment, whatever they draw comes to life. A scrawled sun banishes the rain. Scribbled butterflies flutter up out of the pavement. And when one mayhem-prone kid sketches a dinosaur? Uhoh.

Wordless books are always fun to read in storytime, because they give you even more of a chance than usual to start a discussion about what’s going on in the pages. This one led to lit-up faces in my storytime group, as they delighted in the fulfillment of a common fantasy, and the kids’ quick thinking that got them out of a dangerous situation.

Book Review: Up Above and Down Below by Paloma Valdivia

Book: Up Above and Down Below
Author: Paloma Valdivia
Illustrator: Paloma Valdivia
Translator: Susan Ouriou
Published: 2012
Source: Local Library

In this trippy little book, there are two kinds of people: those who live up above and those who live down below. The ones down below look very much like the ones up above, except for being upside down. There are differences: when spring comes up above, it’s fall down below, for example. But people everywhere are just about the same.

I call this trippy because the art is downright surreal. You can get a taste of it up there. But of course, behind the surrealism there’s a very simple point about tolerance and universalism. And kids will have a great deal of fun twirling the book around and studying “up above and down below” in different ways.

Reading Roundup: November 2012

By the Numbers
Picture Books: 18
Early Readers: 1

Sources
Library: all

Standouts
Writing: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce, illustrated by Joe Bluehm
Yeah, it's kind of an obvious pick for a librarian, but what the heck. I'll be obvious today. A young man acquires a job caring for books, and shares his love of words with as many people as possible.
Illustration: The Book With a Hole by Herve Tullet
I admit it; I was hoping for another storytime hit. This ain't it, but I'd give this imaginative and imagination-prompting book to every kid with plenty of time on his hands.
Overall: A Pig Parade is a Terrible Idea by Michael Ian Black, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes
It's an absolutely awful idea, and here's why, in exhaustive and drily hilarious detail. Review soon.

Because I Want To Awards
Perfect Thanksgiving Book!: The Thankful Book by Todd Parr
What are you thankful for? Todd Parr offers suggestions, in his inimitable way. Review soon.
Unexpected Storytime Success: Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin, illustrated by Daniel Salimieri
When I first picked this up, I thought it was pretty keen, but a little long for my purposes. Then I tried it on a group, and they adored it.
Darkest: Bear Despair by Gaëtan Dorémus
This wordless story of a bear who eats all the animals who keep him from his beloved teddy bear will cause some kids to squirm and whimper, and some to lap it up.
D'Awww: A Home for Bird by Philip C Stead
A toad is determined to return his new friend Bird home, even though Bird can't seem to tell him where that is. Who's going to tell him that Bird is a wooden toy? Not me, that's for sure. And, this being a Stead book, the toad succeeds in the end.

Reading Roundup: October 2012

By the Numbers
Picture Books: 19


Sources
Library: all

Standouts
Writing: Goldilocks and Just One Bear by Leigh Hodgkinson
Any long-time reader of this blog knows that I love a retold fairy tale, and this is one of my favorite kinds--the kind that speculates what happened after. A bear lost in a city finds himself in an apartment, and the owner (when she finally comes home), is awfully familiar . . .
Illustration: Flora's Very Windy Day, illustrated by Matt Phelan, written by Jeanne Birdsall
The soft, swirling, curling shapes and lines of Phelan's distinctive style are just right for this tale of two siblings carried off by the wind. Just lovely.
Overall: This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen
Really, can there be two opinions on this subject? With the same dark-edged storyline and the amazing-in-their-simplicity illustrations that set I Want My Hat Back out from the crowd, this book is going in my storytime collection forever.

Because I Want To Awards
The Book That Inspired a Surrealism Storytime: I'm Bored by Michael Ian Black, illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi
Um, yeah. We haven't done it yet, but a surrealism-themed storytime is just the place for this story of a bored kid and a bored-er potato. Yes. You read that correctly.
You Will Never Look at a Salad the the Same Way Again: Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds
This story of a carrot-lovin' bunny (is there any other kind?) who suddenly starts seeing creepy carrots everywhere will just flat crack you up.
Butt Humor FTW: Hippospotamus by Jeanne Willis, illustrated by Tony Ross
Second-graders won't be able to get enough of this book about a hippo that finds a mysterious spot on her rear and the various animals that attempt to cure it. The reveal of the spot's true origin will bring down the house. Promise.

Roundup Delayed

I'm going to have to postpone the reading roundup until tomorrow. Almost too tired to operate.