Picture Book Monday - A review of No Two Alike

Many of us find it all too easy to rush though our days without taking a moment to notice the beauty of nature. Even in a city there are pockets of nature that can be enjoyed if you just take the time to do so. In today's picture book we accompany two little birds as they explore their environment. The birds figure out that every plant and animal is unique, just as they are. Every plant and animal is a gift that we can enjoy looking at and watching.

No two alike

Keith Baker

Picture Book

For ages 4 to 6

Simon and Schuster, 2011, 978-1-4424-1742-7

It is a beautiful snowy day and two little red birds are flying around the woods. They notice that no two snowflakes are alike. Some almost seem to be the same, “but not quite.” As they explore their world they discover that snowflakes are not the only things that are not alike.

   When they look at nests they discover that though two nests are both soft and round, they are still different. Tracks in the snow are also similar but different. As they sit and hang from a branch they find that no two branches are alike, and every leaf is unique. As they make snowballs and use a stick to brush snow off a fence, the little birds find more things that are similar and yet not the same.

   With a delightful lyrical rhyming text and gorgeous illustrations showing snowy scenes, this book, with its charming little bird characters, is a joy to read. Children will enjoy seeing what the two little birds get up to, and they will see that we are all different. Celebrating our differences is one of the wonderful things to do in life. 

Poetry Friday - A review of A foot in the mouth

My father loved to read out loud, and he was very good at it too. Thanks to him, I learned how to read Shakespeare, and I also learned that there is something special about sharing a story or a piece of poetry with someone else. For today's poetry title Paul B. Janeczko chose poems that are perfect for reading out loud. Many of them are also easy to memorize. Not long ago I found myself reciting one of the poems in this book, The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear. I learned the poem when I was eight years old, and it have been with me ever since. 

A foot in the mouth: Poems to speak, sing, and shout

Selected by Paul B. Janeczko

Illustrated by Chris Raschka

Poetry Picture Book

For ages 7 to 10

Candlewick Press, 2009, 978-0-7636-6083-3

The amazing thing about the written word is that it can be enjoyed in so many ways. We can read a book to ourselves, enjoying the language and the story in solitude, or we can share what we are reading with others. Reading out loud used to be something that many people did. As a family sat around a fire or on a porch, one of their number would read out loud while the others knitted, sewed, whittled wood, or simply sat and listened. Reading to oneself is a wonderful way to spend some time, but reading to others is special because you get to hear the beauty of the language and you get to share it. There are some pieces of writing that come to life when someone lets the words be heard aloud.

   Many pieces of poetry are like this. It is almost as if they were meant to be read out loud. For this book Paul B. Janeczko has selected thirty-six poems that are perfect for reading out loud. There are short ones, like Gigl, which is only six words long, and then there are others that are longer and more complicated. Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll, for example, is full of words that most of us have never even heard before. What on earth is a “borogove” or a Tumtum tree?” The great thing about this poem is that is does not matter if we don’t know what all the words mean. They sound delicious.

   Some of the poems have an almost musical feel to them. Certainly Us Two by A.A. Milne is just such a poem. The bouncing rhythm and rhyming elements make this poem perfect for reading out loud.   

   Paul Janeczko has even chosen some poems that two or more readers can read together. Fishes: Poem for Two Voices by Georgia Heard is perfect for a two people to share, and an excerpt from Macbeth has three parts. Good Hot Dogs by Sandra Cisneros comes in two flavors, English and Spanish. What a wonderful way for two people to share the same poem!

   Many of the poems have one more thing to offer. They are perfect for memorizing. Sometimes the story in the poem is so catchy that one cannot help learning the poem quickly. Edward Lear’s The Owl and the Pussycat is a good example of this. Then there are the ones that are funny. Short and quirky limericks fit the bill for people who like to smile and laugh. Other poems have such wonderful language that we welcome the opportunity to take those words and tuck them into our memories so that we can pull them out whenever we want. Walt Whitman’s I Hear America Singing is the kind of poem that you want to keep in your head. It will always be there, so you can take it out at will, dust it off, and stay it loud.

   This is a splendid collection of poems that readers of all ages will enjoy exploring.

Peace by Wendy Anderson Halperin. A book for everyone

Yesterday was not a good day for me. I was struggling with fears, worries, and frustrations, and I was therefore feeling pretty miffed with the world in general. Then I settled down to read and review Peace by Wendy Anderson Halperin. For as long as I have been reading her books, I have loved the way Wendy pairs her illustrations with text that has substance. She makes her readers think about and consider what she is saying. Peace certainly did this for me. She reminded me that being angry with my lot in life serves no purpose. Instead I need to think things through quietly and refrain from sending my annoyed feelings out into the world. I need to set aside the small stuff and do my part to create peace.

Peace

Wendy Anderson Halperin

Picture Book

For ages 5 and up

Simon and Schuster, 2013, 978-0-689-82552-1

Sometimes, when we read or watch the news, we feel overwhelmed by the suffering that we see people experiencing all over the world. There is so much violence, and it exists on so many levels. People are robbed and hurt in their homes, and people die by the hundreds or thousands in wars and other conflicts. How can one person do anything about this terrible situation? How can a child promote peace when confronted by so much anger?

   In this beautiful and powerful book Wendy Anderson Halperin explores the idea that every one of us can do things to make our world more peaceful. In the beginning of the book she tells us how we can use our five senses so that we can become better peace makers. For example, we can use our sense of touch to “help, to plant, to comfort, to reach out, and to create peace.” With our ears we can be good listeners, and with our words we can “heal, not hurt.”

   She then goes on to show us using artwork, her words, and quotations, how peace can only come to our world if nations chose the path of peace. In turn nations can only embrace peace if cities are peaceful. Cities cannot be peaceful if neighborhoods are full of anger and violence, and if schools and homes are torn apart by cruel words and actions. Homes cannot find peace if there is no peace in our hearts.

   Packed with words of wisdom from Desmond Tutu, Gandhi, Plato, Mark Twain and others, this is a book that will empower and uplift readers. It is a book to read and savor, and it is a book that will help readers to get through the hard times. Grownups reading this book to their children will realize that the book is for them as well. It serves as a valuable reminder that peacemaking begins with the individual. 

Picture Book Monday - A review of Utterly Otterly Night

There is something about snow that makes many of us become downright goofy when we go outside to play in it. We cannot resist falling into the white stuff, throwing it at each other, sliding on it, and building things with it. In today's book you are going to meet a young otter who has a fantastic time playing in the snow on a moonlit night. We met this particular youngster in his first book, Utterly Otterly Day, and he is still full of fun and mischief.

Utterly Otterly Night

Mary Casanova

Illustrated by Ard Hoyt

Picture Book

For ages 5 to 7

Simon and Schuster, 2011, 978-1-4169-7562-5

It is wintertime and snow is drifting down out of the night sky. In a cozy holt under the riverbank four otters are fast asleep. No, it would appear that only three of the otters are fast asleep. Little Otter is wide awake and he is eager to play, “in an utterly otterly way.”

  Little Otter wakes up his sister and parents and then they all go outside. Mama reminds everyone that at “the first hint of danger – we all head in.” Little Otter is not worried about danger. After all, he is a “big otter now,” and can take care of himself. Little Otter climbs a hill and then goes sliding down on his belly. He encounters Rabbit, and he hides in the snow when Owl flies over. When the big bird flies off, Little Otter gets back to the business of playing and sliding.

   Then, when Little Otter gets to the top of a high hill, he smells something on the air. He smells danger and he raises the alarm, but his family members are too far away to hear his call.

   Packed with wonderful words like “whooshily,” and “friskily,” this delightful picture book brings back the main character that we met in Utter Otterly Day. Once again Little Otter faces dangers, and once again the author and illustrator beautifully convey how delightfully ebullient and fun-loving Little Otter is.

Poetry Friday - A review of An Egret's Day

Jane Yolen has put together several poetry collections that focus on birds, including Birds of a Feather. In these collections, she looks at several bird species. In today's book she focuses on one species, the egret, and uses her poems to show us how special and beautiful these birds are.

An Egret’s Day

Jane Yolen

Photographs by Jason Stemple

Poetry Picture Book

For ages 8 and up

Boyds Mills Press, 2010, 978-1-59078-650-5

Egrets, also called Great White Herons, are exceptionally beautiful and elegant birds, and many people, including poet Jane Yolen and photographer Jason Stemple, are big fans of the large birds. Egrets are found in many parts of the world ,and are wading birds that favor shallow lakes, rice paddies, mudflats, tidal estuaries, and other wet areas. With a beak that is “as sharp and fine / as a fisherman’s gutting knife,” egrets skewer the fish, frogs, crustaceans, and insects that they like to eat. They stand motionless, waiting and watching, and when they see a movement they stab their prey, “Almost every strike a winner.”

   Egrets have beautiful large wings that they care for assiduously, preening each feather carefully to remove any dirt. The feathers are so beautiful that for many years they were highly prized by clothes and hat designers. Thankfully, many people, including the author of these poems, think that egret feathers belong “Upon the shoulders of the egret.”

   In this splendid title fourteen poems are paired with photographs and sections of text to give readers an interesting picture of what egrets are like. Jane Yolen uses several very different poetry forms in her poems and readers will enjoy seeing how she crafts, among other things, a haiku and a limerick.

Happy New Year!

Picture Book Monday - A review of Brontorina

All too often people are told by others that they cannot do something because they are not suited to doing that thing. We are told "you are too small," or "you are too old," or "you are too young," or "you are too large," or "you are too small," and so on. It is very tiresome to be told these things, and often one is better off if one ignores such negative thinking. In today's picture book you will meet a dinosaur who wants to be a dancer, and who is told that she is just too large. 

James Howe

Illustrated by Randy Cecil

Picture Book

For ages 5 to 7

Candlewick, 2010, 978-0-7636-4437-6

Brontorina the dinosaur has a dream; she wants to be a dancer. So, she goes to Madame Lucille’s Dance Academy for Girls and Boys and she tells Madame that she “wants to dance.” Madame Lucille has never had a dinosaur for a student before and she is concerned because Brontorina is very large and she does not have the right shoes for dancing. Luckily for Brontorina, Clara and Jack believe that Brontorina should be allowed to join the academy and they ask Madame Lucille to let the dinosaur join their classes.

   Madame Lucille soon sees that Brontorina is a very graceful dancer with a natural ability for dance. Unfortunately, it soon becomes apparent that Brontorina is just too big for the school. When she does her releves and jetes the poor dinosaur’s head goes through the roof. Madame Lucille reluctantly has to tell the dinosaur that she cannot accommodate a student who is so large.

   In this splendid story readers will meet a character who is incredibly sweet and loveable, even though she is two stories tall. Children will see how problems can be solved, even enormous ones, if you are willing to make changes, and if you think about the problem in a different way. The story wraps up with an ending that is perfect and funny. 

Poetry Friday - A review of Got Geography

When I was a kid I loved geography. It was one of my favorite subjects in school, and whenever my father's copy of National Geographic arrived in the mail, I eagerly tore off the mailing wrapper to find out what new adventure I was going to take to distant places on its pages. My father had a large, rather battered, copy of the Times World Atlas, and he and I would spend hours looking at the maps. Dad would tell me about the countries we were seeing, and we would get out volumes of our encyclopedia to find out more about Mongolia, Chad, Tasmania, and other countries.

Today's poetry title explores geography through poems, and readers will be enjoy seeing their world through the eyes of some of America's most beloved poets.

Got Geography!

Selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Illustrated by Philip Stanton

Poetry

For ages 7 to 10

HarperCollins, 2006, 978-0-06-055601-3

These days, thanks to the internet, email, text messaging, telephones, cars, fast ships, airplanes and other technology, the world seems to be smaller than it was, say, in Magellan’s time. We often forget to think about the fact that the geography of our planet is such that places on opposite sides of the Earth vary greatly and often have little in common, and that great forces beneath the Earth’s crust, powers we cannot control, shape the surface of our planet. We forget that the forces that build mountains and move continents are more powerful than all the technology that we have created. Our geographical location is something that affects our lives every day, and the study of geography is not only important, but it is also fascinating.

   In this splendid selection of poems, poets J. Patrick Lewis, Marilyn Singer, Jane Yolen and others take us to far off places and into the minds of those who created maps and explored foreign lands. The collection begins with a poem about “Mapping the World.” As an artist creates a map of the world, he almost feels as if he is journeying to the lands he is laying out on his canvas. For example, as Africa’s outline takes shape he thinks about the fact that it is the place where the River Nile flows “past ancient folk.” It is where the Serengeti lies and where people can see Victoria Falls. For the artist, “Geography is like our own / Room with a view we can’t forget.”

   In another poem Kathryn Madeline Allen imagines what she would do if she were the equator. One thing she is sure of, and that is that she “would have an attitude,” and why not? After all, the equator is the only line that runs from east to west for nearly 25,000 miles. It is the line that “splits the globe in half” and it is the “only one” to do so.

   Marilyn Singer tells us about explorers that we often forget to think about. In Antarctica, “where whole mountains are hidden / under ice” humans were not the first ones to arrive in that freezing place. Long before explorers set foot there, penguins “laid shambling tracks” in the snow. Similarly, hot and steamy jungles were explored by creatures with wings or feet long before humans got there.

   In this splendid collection, the poems chosen truly capture how intriguing and fascinating geography is.

Fiction Wednesday - A review of Ruby Redfort: Look into my eyes

These days, when I want to relax and give my brain a break, I read a mystery novel. I have always loved mysteries and read (and reread) all the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books when I was young. There were also the Famous Five and Secret Seven series, books that were published in England. I remember feeling rather disappointed that there weren't more mystery titles being published for young readers.

Today, young readers have a much bigger selection of mystery novels to read. In several of them the main character becomes a secret agent of some kind. Today's title is just such a book. In it a tween girl, Ruby Redfort, is asked to help a secret agency to solve a problem. The writing is clever, often humorous, and it is full of thrilling moments and interesting situations.

Ruby Redfort: Look into my eyes

Lauren Child

Fiction

For ages 10 to 13

Candlewick Press, 2011, 978-0-7636-5120-6

Ruby Redfort looks like a rather ordinary tween girl, but she is not in the slightest bit ordinary. She is extremely intelligent, can learn new things very quickly, and she has superlative observation skills and problem-solving skills. Ruby loves mystery and crime stories, movies, and television shows. She also loves to figure out puzzles, ciphers, and codes.

   Until now, other than winning a Code-Cracking Championship and creating a code that took Harvard scholars two weeks to break, Ruby has had a quiet life. She lives with her rather uninteresting parents, spends time with her friend Clancy, and goes to school. Then, one day, she comes home from school to find out that someone has stolen everything in her house. Everything is gone including Mrs. Digby the housekeeper. On that day Hitch, a household manager (butler), arrives to work at the Redfort home, and Ruby is immediately suspicious. Something about Hitch is off, but Ruby cannot figure out what.

   Then Ruby gets a very odd phone call. An unknown person tells Ruby that he or she has heard that Ruby is good at noticing things and that she is also a good code cracker. The person talks some more and Ruby agrees that she “can crack a code.” After saying “Good,” the person hangs up. Ruby is very puzzled by the call. If the person on the phone wants her to crack a code why didn’t the person give her a code to crack?

   Some time later Ruby figures things out. The code was in the conversation itself. She analyses what the person said and soon she is following clues, each clue leading her to another one. The final clue leads her to a manhole cover. She opens it and reluctantly goes down the drain and into a tunnel, which then opens into a very large room. It is in this room that Ruby meets a woman called LB who just happens to belong to the voice on the telephone.

   LB explains that she works for a secret agency called Spectrum, and she invites Ruby the join the agency to help them deal with one problem and one problem only. If she is willing to take on the challenge, Ruby will first have to pass a test and get cleared by security. If she gets through these, she will be told about the problem, which she will hopefully be able to solve. After the task is complete, Ruby will go back to being an ordinary schoolgirl and her association with Spectrum will be over.

   Not surprisingly, Ruby agrees to the terms. She passes the test and security check without any trouble, and then she finds out that she has been recruited to break a code. Someone is apparently planning to steal an enormous amount of gold from a local bank. A former Spectrum code breaker figured out something important about the plan, but she died before she could tell LB about what she had found. LB wants Ruby to go through the deceased code breaker’s papers to figure out what it was she was going to reveal.

   Lauren Child has delighted countless children by creating Charlie and Lola and Clarice Bean, wonderful characters who appear in picture books, novels, and in television programs. Now she gives us Ruby Redfort, and readers will have a splendid time sharing Ruby’s adventures and trying to figure out the codes and puzzles Ruby encounters. Who can resist a story that is packed with colorful characters, unsolved mysteries, cool gadgets, and challenging puzzles.

Picture Book Monday - A review of The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

Happy Christmas Eve folks! I hope you are having a splendid day surrounded by friends and family members. For today's picture book I have chosen a title that would make a wonderful gift - just in case you need a last minute idea. Or, should you get a gift certificate or a gift of money tomorrow, you can buy this book for yourself.

This is the kind of book that children and adults alike will enjoy. It's message is universal in nature, and every reading makes one think about stories, books, and what they mean to us. The story in the book won an Academy Award for best animated short film in 2012.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

William Joyce

Illustrated by William Joyce and Joe Bluhm

Picture Book

For ages 7 and up

Simon and Schuster, 2012, 978-1-4424-5702-7

Morris Lessmore loves words, stories, and books. He loves to write about his “joys and sorrows” in a book every day. Unfortunately, just like most stories, Morris Lessmore’s story has an “upset.” A terrible storm blows Morris Lessmore and everything around him through the air, and when Morris finally comes to earth, he has no idea where he is. Even worse, the storm has clean blown the words off the pages of his book.

   Feeling quite lost and not knowing what to do, Morris begins to wander. Then Morris sees a pretty lady drifting by. She is being carried across the sky by “a festive squadron of flying books.” Morris wishes his own book would fly, but it refuses to do so. The pretty lady knows that Morris needs a flying book of his own so she gives him one of hers.

   The flying book leads Mr. Morris to a building that is full of flying books, and he decides to stay there. Mr. Morris is delighted with his new home, and he spends time repairing the books that are damaged. He also reads the stories in the books, gives the books to people who need them, and he once again writes his own story. Little does he know that one day his story will play an important role in the life of another book lover.

   William Joyce started writing this story many years ago. It began as a tribute to a book lover, and then evolved over time to become an award winning animated short film, a fabulous story app, and now this book.

   The story of Morris Lessmore takes readers on an extraordinary journey, one that they will never forget. It will remind readers that books are treasures to be loved and treasured. How grim and lonely our lives would be without them.