Reading Roundup: December 2011

By the Numbers
Picture Books: 14

Sources
Library: all

I read so few picture books this month that I'm only going to pick one standout and one award.

Standouts
Overall: I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
Oh, yes. It's true. This quirky tale of a bear with a missing hat is that purely delightful. I read it, giggled helplessly, and then went running around making everybody at work read it, just to see their expression when they read the page where the bear realizes where his hat is, and then what he does about it.

Because I Want To Awards
Sort of a Tangential Holiday Book: The Third Gift by Linda Sue Park
This book about the harvest of frankincense is clearly a Christmas tie-in (three guesses as to where his first successful harvest goes) but to my mind it's really about a father passing on the art of his life to his son. While it's not laid out explicitly in the text, the close and loving relationship between boy and man is clear to see in the illustrations. You can tie that into Christmas however you wish.

Reading Roundup: November 2011

By the Numbers
Picture Books: 21
Early Readers: 1

Sources
Library: all

Standouts
Writing: 11 Experiments That Failed by Jenny Offill, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter
The resourceful heroine of 17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore is back with several theories to test out, including whether a kid can live on snow and ketchup all winter. (Conclusion: Yes, but she'll wish she hadn't.) The research-note structure ups the hilarity.
Illustration: Blue Chicken by Deborah Freedman
An illustrated chicken gets into some of the paint that made her and creates a big, big mess. Can she fix it before the whole picture is ruined? Ooo. The spare prose was fun, but I loved the illustrations in this, which expand on the text and make your brain twist ever so slightly.
Overall: The Sniffles for Bear by Bonny Becker, illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton
Oh, dear. Bear is sick, and will not be cheered up even by his stalwart friend Mouse. He is not long for this world, after all! Except that a friend might be the best medicine after all . . . Besides the always-entertaining contrast between dramatic Bear and sensible Mouse, several of the spreads in this book made me cackle and snag co-workers to share the glee. My particular favorite was the one of Bear dragging himself up the staircase, unsure if he's going to live to reach the top. Just right for cold and flu season.

Because I Want To Awards
Another Fine Entry in the Series: Should I Share My Ice Cream? by Mo Willems
Gerald acquires ice cream, and takes so long to decide whether he should share it with Piggie that the inevitable happens. Who can save the day? Piggie, of course. Like you had to ask.

Reading Roundup, October 2011

By the Numbers
Picture Books: 41

Sources
Library: all

Standouts
Writing: It's a Little Book by Lane Smith
If you remember, the original It's a Book mocked technology and drew fire over its last ba-dum-chssshh line. I didn't have any personal objection to it, but what I loved about It's a Little Book is that it mostly skips the techno-talk and explores all the ways babies really do play with books. Do you chew it? Do you wear it? Do you throw it? Of course, the final page explains, "You read it. It's a book, silly."
Illustration: Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me by Eric Carle
Ahhh. What a lovely, dreamy, classic piece of Eric Carle art this is. Do I really have to explain the appeal? Dudes, it's Eric Carle.
Overall: Naamah and the Ark at Night by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, illustrated by Holly Meade
Who is it that got an entire ark full of animals to lie down and go to sleep for 40 nights of rain? Well, it sure wasn't Noah. This lyrical story with its lush, glowing illustrations will soothe just about any savage beast you care to name.

Because I Want To Awards
Tailor-Made for Little Fingers: Along a Long Road by Frank Viva
Somewhere in the book, it mentions that the art for this book was created in one loooooooong Adobe Photoshop file and then broken into pieces to fit 32 pages. Use your finger to trace the ribbon of shiny road as it wends its way through said 32 pages.
A Truly Familiar Story: Charlotte Jane Battles Bedtime by Myra Wolfe, illustrated by Maria Manescillo
A little pirate with oomph to spare battles bedtime every night. One night, she wins, but unfortunately finds that the price is her oomph. How will she ever get it back again? Even if you don't have a peg-leg, you'll be able to predict the end.

Book Review: Floating on Mama's Song by Laura Lacamara, illustrated by Yuyi Morales

Book: Floating on Mama’s Song 
Author: Laura Lacamara
Illustrator: Yuyi Morales
Published: 2010
Source: Local Library

On her seventh birthday, Anita discovers that her mother has a new and amazing gift: when she sings, she and everyone around her can float up in the air! Anita floats happily on her mother’s song until Abuelita brings them back to earth with a stern reprimand. Mama promises never to sing again, but it makes her sadder and sadder. Finally, Anita discovers a family secret that could free their song again.

Underneath the lyrical and fanciful story, there’s a very real theme about women who force themselves and their daughters into a particular mold. “What will the neighbors think?” Abuelita asks, bringing her daughter and granddaughter down to earth (literally). But she’s not really the villain, she’s merely applying her own bad experience with the family gift.

I make no secret of my devotion to Yuyi Morales. I am a Morales fangirl and it’s gotten so I can spot her artwork across the library. With rich colors, swirling lines, and sweet details (my favorite are the animal-shaped clouds in the spread where Anita visits the healer), there’s really nobody else who could have illustrated this story.

This bilingual story is pretty long to use in storytimes, but it would work for a classroom readaloud or reading together with a child, especially since you get the chance to discuss the emotions and motivations of the adult characters.

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.