Poetry Friday with a review of When I am not Myself

When I was little, I played countless games with my friend Raf where we pretended that we were animals. We both loved animals and read a great deal about them, so we tried to make our pretend animal selves as true to life as possible. We also argued about the animal facts that we knew, and often turned to the school library encyclopedia to settle these arguments.

As they read today's poetry title children will get the chance to image what it would be like to be an animal. Would they still have some of the same feelings and thoughts, or would they be quite different?

When I am not myself

Kathy DeZarn Beynette

Poetry Picture Book

For ages 5 to 7

Pomegranate Kids, 2014, 978-0-7649-6673-6

What would it be like if you were not you, and if you were an alligator instead? Or a rabbit?  Or a giraffe? Your world would certainly be different, but you might feel or think many of the things that you feel and think in your life now.

    If you were a zebra you might like your stripes but wish that you could try “checks for a day.” If you were a bear you might “patiently wait / For the day my brother / Will go hibernate.” If you were a kitten you might find yourself sitting in a row and waiting for “someone to love / For someplace to go.”

   In this charming collection of poems the author lets us step inside the bodies of a variety of animals and helps us to see the world through their eyes for a moment or two. Sometimes the thoughts we have as animals are not that different from the ones we have as humans, and sometimes the thoughts are familiar and yet comically or cleverly different because of the nature of the animal in question.

Picture Book Monday with a review of Henny

Children are not always very accepting when one of their classmates or schoolmates is different. When Henny the chick comes into the world she is missing something very important. Henny has no wings. At all. Instead, she has arms and hands, which makes her rather unique.

Henny

Elizabeth Rose Stanton

Picture Book

For ages 5 to 7

Simon and Schuster, 2014, 978-1-4424-8436-8

In almost every respect, Henny is a “typical chicken” She has a comb on her head, toes with claws, a feather covered body, and a beak. There is one thing though that Henny does not have. Henny has no wings. Instead, she has arms. With hands and fingers.

   Sometimes Henny likes her arms because they allow her to do things that the other chicks cannot do, like climb trees. At other times she does not like the fact that she is different because the other farm animals laugh at her rather strange appearance.

   Being different is hard enough when you are a chick, but when you become a grown up chicken, life becomes even more complicated. Henny’s arms cause her to have a lot of things to worry about. Is she right or left handed? Should she wear gloves or mittens? What kinds of clothes should she wear? 

   While all these worries are rattling around inside her head, Henny does her best to behave like a chicken so that she will fit in. She tries to hide her arms, pecking the ground with her beak instead of using her hands to collect her food. Then something happens and Henny makes a startling discovery.

   Being different from everyone else can make one’s life different and present challenges that sometimes seem insurmountable. Often one is trying so hard to fit in that one does not even consider that being different might actually be a good thing. In this delightfully sweet, gently funny, and powerful picture book, we might a character that we quickly grow fond of. Henny is easy to identify with, and her story, which is accompanied by expressive minimal illustrations, is timeless and meaningful.  

Poetry Friday with a review of Goodnight Songs

When my daughter was little I used to sing her a lullaby at bedtime. She got so used to hearing the song that she refused to go to sleep if someone did not sing it for her. Even her father, who does not like to sing at all, had to give in and sing the song when he put her to bed.

Today's poetry title is full of poems that can be spoken or sung to comfort children who is about to go to sleep.

Goodnight Songs

Margaret Wise Brown

Illustrated by twelve Award-Winning Picture Book Artists

Poetry Picture Book with Audio CD

For ages 4 to 6

Sterling Children’s books, 2014, 978-1-4549-0446-5

Many years ago author Margaret Wise Brown noticed that many children hum or sing little songs as they go about their day. She decided to write the words of songs that she hoped would “capture the spirit of a children’s world,” and collaborated with famous musicians of the time to create songs that would best compliment her words. Unfortunately, Margaret’s songs were not published in her lifetime and for many years they lay forgotten in a trunk full of Margaret’s writings. Thankfully, her songs were discovered by an editor and now, many years after they were written, they are presented to the world in this beautiful picture book.

   The poems chosen for this collection are all perfect for bedtime. We read about a little goat on a hill who “drank his supper and drank his fill” before going to sleep. We visit a little wooden town at night when there is “no one around.” The streets in this town “ran up” and “ran down” and everywhere “there wasn’t a sound.” We find out what someone sees “When I close my eyes at night.” The person sees “Blue clouds in a big white sky,” and a place where “bright green birds go flying by.”

   Packed with soothing images, gently rhythmic phrases, and verse that calms and quietens the heart and mind, this book would make a wonderful gift for families with a young child. The accompanying artwork is beautifully rendered to compliment Margaret Wise Brown’s words, and to bring the poems to life so that young children have something special to look at as they explore the book.

   When they are sung the poems in this book serve as lullabies that offer children a soothing close to their day, and the accompanying CD features recordings of these lullabies, giving young children and their grownups a special way to enjoy Margaret Wise Brown’s lovely words.

Picture Book Monday with a review of At the same moment around the world

I was seven years old when I took my first really long trip in a plane. We flew from Cyprus to India, and when we arrived in Delhi it was early morning. My body felt as if it was the middle of the night, and yet the sun was coming up, turning the sky a golden red color. It seemed so strange that my friends in Cyprus were in their beds fast asleep, while the people around me were drinking their morning tea and thinking about the day ahead

In today's picture book readers will get the opportunity to travel around the world to see what a colorful collection of people in different countries are doing at exactly the same moment in time. The book is fascinating to read and the illustrations are a joy to explore.

At the same moment around the world

Clotilde Perrin

Picture Book

For ages 5 to 7

Chronicle Books, 2014, 978-1-4521-2208-3

It is six o’clock in the morning in Dakar, in the country of Senegal, and the sun is just starting to rise in the east. As the yacht All Around the World steams along the coastline, Keita and his father are on the beach, counting the fish that were caught in the nets that night.  

   At the same time, in Paris many thousands of miles away, it is seven o’clock and people are starting to move around the streets. In an apartment, Benedict is drinking hot chocolate before he heads to school.

   Far to the west in Hanoi, at the same time that Benedict is drinking his hot chocolate, it is one o’clock in the afternoon. The streets are full of people riding bikes and scooters and celebrating the Lunar New Year. A dragon kite flaps in the sky, and a dragon puppet leaps above the road carried by joyful children. Though so much is going on and it is noisy, Khanh happily naps in his hammock.

   Even further west, and across the Pacific Ocean, it is one o’clock in the morning in Lima, Peru. Rain is falling and stormy clouds scud across the sky. In one household nobody cares about the weather or the time because baby Diego has come into the world.

   In this remarkable book we journey around the world, seeing what is happening in the lives of people living is many countries at the same moment in time. The author completes our journey around the globe by bringing us back to where we started.

   At the back of the book the author provides readers with additional information about time zones, and there is also a map to look at that shows readers where the twenty-four countries mentioned in the book are located.

Poetry Friday with a review of America at War

America, the nation, rose out of the ashes of a conflict when the American colonists rose up against their English ruler and demanded independence. Since that time young American men and women have gone off to war several times, and each conflict had a profound affect on the nation as a whole.

In today's poetry title we explore America's war experiences through poetry. We see the many faces of war through the eyes of those who experienced it on the battlefield and those who watched it from afar.

America at War

Poems Selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Illustrated by Stephen Alcorn

Poetry

For ages 8 and up

Simon and Schuster, 2008, 978-1-4169-1832-5

Over the centuries men and women from all walks of life have written poetry about war. Sometimes the poems were written in support of a war, and sometimes they were written to warn people about the horrors of war. Often the poems described what it was like to experience war, either as a civilian or as a combatant.

   For this remarkable collection Lee Bennett Hopkins brings together poems written in the past, and poems especially written for this collection, so that we can explore “America at War.” The poems are divided into eight sections, each one of which focuses on one conflict that America was involved in. These conflicts are the American Revolution, the Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War, and the Iraq War. For each section Lee Bennett Hopkins begins by providing a brief description of the conflict, just to give the reader a little background and context.

   The short introductions are followed by a selection of poems, which vary greatly in form, voice, and subject matter. For example in the Vietnam War section we begin with a poem that was written by John Kent, who was a marine. He describes how he sees a boy who is missing an arm and who has “a lifetime of hate” in his eyes after just “eight short years.”

   In her poem Charms, Georgia describes how soldiers in Vietnam carry good luck charms with them everywhere in the hope that the charms will protect them. Sometimes too the charms help to remind the soldier that somewhere, far away, he has a home of his own. These charms take many forms, from “locks of hair” and Saint Christopher medals, to photos of “wives, kids, dogs.” Often the soldiers fall asleep with their photos “clutched tightly in their fists.”

   In Whispers to the Wall Rebecca Kai Dotlitch takes us to the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C, which is a long black stone wall covered with the engraved names of the fallen and missing. She reminds us that the names belong to people who “shrimped on boats, / flew planes, / studied, wrote, / collected, / kissed.” They were people just like you and me, and they are missed.

   Readers can dip into this book at will, exploring the poems and the beautiful paintings that grace its pages. Wherever they begin, and wherever they end up, readers will be rewarded with beautiful word images that are powerful and memorable.

Picture Book Monday with a review of Big Bear Hug

One of the things I like about living on the west coast is that most of the people around here are very huggy. When my mother visited for the first time, my new friends hugged her as if they knew her well. She wasn't quite sure what to do. Why were all these strangers hugging her? I explained the people around her are friendly.

In today's picture book you will a sweet, lovable bear who is VERY huggy and who truly understands how to show others that he likes them.

Big Bear Hug
Nicholas Oldland
Picture Book
For ages 5 and up
Kids Can Press, 2009, 978-1-55453-464-7
In a forest there is a bear who is “so filled with love and happiness” that he hugs every living thing he encounters. The bear even hugs animals that bears normally eat, and no animal is too big or too small for the bear’s loving embrace. He even hugs smelly skunks and “scary” snakes.
   Though the bear loves to hug other animals, he loves to hug trees even more. He hugs trees of all kinds and he loves them dearly. One day he sees a man chopping down a tree and the poor bear is appalled. He is horrified. He even starts to get angry, and he thinks that perhaps he should bite the man. After all, the man is harming one of the bear’s beloved trees.
   In this simple yet incredibly powerful book we meet a bear who is goodness personified. Children will immediately fall in love with the big bear who is willing to hug a skunk, and who wraps himself around the trunk of a tree with so much obvious devotion. Most of all, readers will be delighted to see how the bear responds when something negative enters his world. Surely this bear has something to teach us all about how to deal with the negatives things that we encounter in life.

Poetry Friday with a review of Outside the box: A book of poems

I didn't use to consider myself to be an outside the box kind of person. Actually, I thought I was a little boring. Then, recently I started trying new things, like learning to play the ukulele, things that other people thought were "out there" and "cool." Then I began to think about the work that I have created for myself I came to appreciate that I have always been an outside the box person. I just didn't know it.

Recently I came across a book that was written by a favorite author of mine, Karma Wilson. Karma is definitely an outside the box kind of person, and in today's poetry title you will encounter some of her interesting and quirky poems.

Outside the box: A book of poems

Karma Wilson

Illustrated by Diane Goode

Poetry

For ages 7 to 10

Simon and Schuster, 2014, 978-1-4169-8005-6

From the outside, a big box can look quite appealing. One might think that the dark, cozy interior would serve as a splendid “thinking spot.” It is only when one is inside the box that one realizes that the inside of a box - where one does not experience sounds, sights, light, colors, and the beauty of the outdoors - does not provide an environment that encourages thoughts or creativity. It is only when we are outside the box that thoughts, ideas, images, and stories start to flow.

   In this collection of poems author and poet Karma Wilson lets her imagination roam where it will. She truly thinks outside the box, and as a result we are gifted with a colorful, delightful, often funny, and always interesting collection of poems.

   Soon after we begin our journey through the book we meet a child who has been told to write a poem about a tragedy. Not being able to come up “a single line or verse” the child decides to write a tragic poem about how the child “couldn’t write a poem / about a tragedy.”

   Later on in the book we meet the “Boogie Man.” Now everyone knows that the boogie man is a terrifying and dangerous creature or apparition. He is someone who should be avoided at all costs. Or maybe not. He might terrify you and make you dive under the covers, but the little girl in this poem is friends with the boogie man, and they “boogie every night.”

   Then there is the story of the moose that got on a bus, which not surprisingly caused “quite a fuss.” When the animal boarded the bus, the passengers “screamed for police,” but the police were not around. What surprises the narrator of this story is that the moose, who came to sit next to her (or him) was “kind” and made for “polite company.” So all in all the moose was pleasant to be with, except that he was a bit too tall and his antlers were “rather too wide” for an average bus.

   Readers who like poetry are going to love exploring this book. The poems come all shapes and sizes, and one never quite knows what one is going to find on the next page. The poems are paired with Diane Goode’s expressive pen and ink drawings, and together they give readers a memorable book experience.

Happy May Day!

Happy May Day!

Picture Book Monday with a review of Sparky!

Many children dream of having a pet of their own, and often their parents (who know who is going to end up taking care of said pet) are not in favor of the idea. In today's picture book, readers will meet a little girl who manages to find a pet that her mother will accept, but she soon finds out that the pet does not quite meet her expectations.


Sparky!
Jenny Offill
Illustrated by Chris Appelhans
Picture Book
For ages 5 to 7
Random House, 2014, 978-0-375-87023-1
A girl wants a pet but her mother does not want a bird, or a bunny or a seal in the house. In fact the only kind of pet she will let her daughter have is one that “doesn’t need to be walked or bathed or fed.” Now, most people would give up on the idea of getting a pet after hearing this, but the girl doesn’t. She goes to see the librarian, “who knows everything in the world,” and the librarian gives her a book to look at. In the book the girl finds out about sloths, animals which barely move, eat leaves, and drink dew.
   The girl orders a sloth and though her mother is not happy when the animal arrives in the mail, there is nothing she can do because the sloth meets all her requirements; it  does not need to be walked, bathed or fed. What the girl soon realizes is that the sleepy, slow moving animal does not do much of anything. Sparky does not play games and when his owner tries to teach him tricks…well…things don’t quite work out as planned.
   Many of us are told, as children, that we can’t force a person to change so that they become what we want them to become. We have to accept them as they are. Many of us don’t listen to this advice. In this story the girl really wants a cute, playful, trainable pet, and what she gets is a sloth called Sparky. Her journey with her new friend does not turn out as expected, but she gets something priceless all the same.
   With its wonderful characters and deliciously expressive illustrations, this book will charm readers of all ages, many of whom will become firm sloth fans.

Poetry Friday with a review of Poetry for Young People: Maya Angelou

I grew up in the Middle East and Europe, and the work of many of America's wonderful authors and poets was not part of my life until I moved to the States. Maya Angelou's poetry was one of the things that I discovered as an adult, and I have had a wonderful time getting to know her writing.

Poetry for Young People: Maya Angelou 
Edited by Edwin Graves Wilson
Illustrated by Jerome Lagarrigue
Poetry Picture Book
For ages 9 and up
Sterling, 2013, 978-1-4549-0329-1
When Marguerite Johnson was three years old her parents divorced and she and her brother went to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. The year was 1931 and segregation was “harsh and unyielding.” It was so absolute that little Marguerite, who came to called Maya, did not know what white people really looked like  and she thought that they “were like ghosts,” insubstantial and frightening.
   Maya’s grandmother raised  Maya and her brother with love, and a firm hand. There were rules that had to be followed and the children were expected to respect their elders and their faith. At the same time Maya was encouraged to explore her love of the written word and she read widely. She absorbed “the words, the sounds, the emotions” that she read, and soon she wanted to write her own material. Maya was only eight when she started writing her own poems, and when she was fourteen, living in California, she began to write songs as well. Maya studied drama and dance, and when she grew up she became a singer and dancer. She became involved in the American Civil Rights cause and then in 1970 she had her first book published.  She went on to write other books, and she also wrote many poems, some of which appear on the pages of this book.
   Some of the poems seem to be telling us about Maya’s own story, while others capture moments in the lives of African American men, women and children whom she might have she encountered in her life. We read about a shoeshine boy who creates a phrase, “pow pow,” which reflects the sound his brushes make as he cleans a client’s shoes.  The sound of those brushes punctuates the boy’s words as he reassures the person he is speaking to that he is “the best,” inviting a potential client to “Come and put me to the test.”
   Then there is a woman who has a long list of things that she must do. She has to take care of the children, clean, shop, cook, weed the garden, and pick the cotton. On and on her list goes. Even though she has so much on her mind, she can still enjoy the beauty of nature and she considers what nature gives her is “all that I can call my own.”
   Maya Angelou also uses her poetry to honor people and remind us of their courage and their sacrifice. In Song for the Old Ones she offers the older generation of African Americans a tribute. On their “pleated faces” she sees “the auction block / the chains and slavery’s coffles / the whip and lash and stock.” Using their “cunning,” their “wits and wiles” they survived and they “kept my race alive.”
   Throughout this book the poems are paired with beautiful paintings which perfectly compliment Maya Angelou’s marvelous words.

Picture Book Monday with a review of Hermelin the detective mouse

I love detective stories and began reading Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers novels are an early age. It is therefore not surprising that I was thrilled when today's picture book arrived in the mail. The cover alone got me hooked because there was a picture of a typewriter on it (love these machines), a mouse (love mouse-centric stories) and the mouse is a detective. What could be better!

Hermelin the detective mouse

Mini Grey

Picture Book

For ages 5 to 7

Random House UK, 2014, 987-0-857-55023-1

Hermelin is a mouse who can read, and he lives in the attic of a house on Offley Street. Like many attics, this attic is full of stuff that people don’t want any more. There are stacks of boxes and books, and there is also a typewriter, which Hermelin has learned how to use.

   One morning Hermelin walks past the Offley Street notice board and he sees that is covered with notices. Seven of the eight notices were written by people who have lost something. Imogen Splotts has lost her tedd bear, Captain Potts has lost his cat, and Emily, who lives in Hermelin’s house at No.33, has lost her notebook. Other residents have lost a bag, reading glasses, a goldfish, and a diamond bracelet.

   Hermelin, who is a compassionate mouse, feels sorry for all these people who have lost something that is dear to them. They need help and he decides that he is the perfect person for the job.

   Hermelin begins by looking for Mrs. Mattison’s lost handbag. Being a mouse who is very observant and who remembers what he sees, he soon finds the handbag in her fridge behind the lettuce. He then finds Dr. Parker’s glasses. Hermelin saw Dr. Parker wearing those same glasses just that morning and at the time she was reading a book, Medical Monthly. It turns out that the glasses are inside the book.

   Every time he finds one of the missing objects Hermelin leaves the owner of the missing object a type-written note telling him or her where it is. Soon, Hermelin is a neighborhood hero and the people he has helped invite him to a party. They never imagine that their secretive little helper is a rodent.

   After spending just a few seconds with Hermelin, readers will find that they have developed a sudden fondness for typing mice. He is such a funny, intelligent fellow that one cannot help oneself. His story is engrossing and beautifully illustrated, and readers will be delighted when they see how Hermelin gets a wonderful surprise.

Easter Wishes!

Happy Easter!

Poetry Friday with a review of Count me a Rhyme: Animal Poems by the numbers

Jane Yolen, who is a master author and poet, finds wonderful ways to teach young children about their world. For example she uses young dinosaur characters to explore how to have good manners and how to interact with others in a kind and compassionate way. In today's poetry book she uses verse, photos, and prose to look at numbers in an interesting and engaging way.

Count me a Rhyme: Animal Poems by the numbers
Jane Yolen
Photographs by Jason Stemple
Poetry Picture Book
For ages 8 and up
Boyds Mills Press, 2006, 978-1590783450
We often see numbers in nature without realizing that we are doing so. In this book we will count from one to ten – and beyond a little – in the animal world, and we will learn a little about the animals we see as well. From “One Lone Elk” to “Five Geese, Five” we get to explore beautiful natural environments through photographs and poetry. The author has also chosen to add words and symbols on every page which children might find interesting. For example on the page for the number eight we see eight bighorn sheep going up a hill and we read a poem about them climbing “in a long long line." We also encounter the number eight, the words “octave,” “eighth,” and “octagon,” and we can look at the roman numerals “VIII.”
   Each poem is unique and the author cleverly ties her words to the photograph in the background and to the characteristics of the animal in question. Children will discover that poetry can come in all shapes and sizes and that there are many ways in which words can be used to have special effects. Who would have thought that the shape of a poem on the page can tell a story, and yet in this book readers will discover that this is indeed what can be done and to great effect as well.

Picture Book Monday with a review of Here Comes the Easter Cat

I love picture books that feature strong, sassy, and determined characters. Cat, who appears in today's picture book, is just such a character. He knows what he wants, and he sets out to get it, in his own funny and distinctive way.

Here comes the Easter Cat

Deborah Underwood

Illustrated by Claudia Rueda

Picture Book

For ages 5 to 7

Penguin, 2014, 978-0-8037-3939-0

Cat is in a bad mood. When he has asked why, he holds up a sign and on it there is a picture of the Easter Bunny. Cat is not pleased at all that everyone loves the Easter Bunny and does not understand why a rabbit is so beloved. Cat is told that the Easter Bunny is “nice” and he “delivers chocolate eggs to millions of kids.”

   Unfortunately, Cat starts to feel jealous. It is suggested that he should set aside his negative feelings. Instead, he should become the Easter Cat. Why not? A cat can be nice to children too, surely.

   Cat suggests bringing children hairballs, but that idea is shot down pretty swiftly. Cat then has to consider how he is going to get around. He cannot hop like the Easter Bunny. Being a hip feline, Cat decides that he will ride a motorcycle. He also chooses a rather snazzy outfit to wear. Then Cat learns something that horrifies him. The Easter Bunny doesn’t get to have naps! How can anyone survive if they don’t have several naps every day? Perhaps Cat isn’t cut out to be the Easter Cat after all.

   With wonderfully expressive artwork and amusing interactions between Cat and an unseen person who is talking to Cat, this picture book gives readers a book experience that will make them laugh and that will also charm them with its understated sweetness.

Poetry Friday with a review of Blackbeard: The Pirate King

I went through a period when I was pirate mad. I read dozens of books about pirates and their doings, and would have loved to look through the book reviewed below. Blackbeard is probably the most famous pirate of them all, and in this book poetry and prose is paired with artwork to give readers a wonderful picture of Blackbeard's life.

Blackbeard: The Pirate King
J. Patrick Lewis
Illustrated by Michael Ed. Lewis
Poetry
For ages 7 to 10
National Geographic, 2006, 978-0792255857
Blackbeard was a man whostruck terror into the hearts of those who encountered him. Though we cannot be sure what his real name was, and though there are few descriptions of him, there can be no doubt that he was one of the most feared pirates of all time, and his adventures have been the subject of tales and stories for hundreds of years.
   In this wonderfully written collection of poems, J. Patrick Lewis tells a series of  "yarns detailing the legends, myths, and real-life adventures of history's most notorious seaman." Among other things, we hear about why Teach - one of the names that Blackbeard was given - may have become a pirate, and how he captured a French ship and made it his own. Accompanying the poems is collection of illustrations which portray Blackbeard and which were created by such people as N.C. Wyeth and Howard Pyle. In addition to the poems, the author has written notes to annotate the artwork and to provide background information on Blackbeard and piracy in the 1700's. At the back of the book there is an author's note which includes a map showing the areas where Blackbeard sailed his ships. There is also an excellent "Blackbeard's Time Line," which will give the reader a real sense of what the man's life was like.

Picture Book Monday with a review of If I were a book

I love books (obviously), so I was thrilled when today's picture book arrived in the mail. It is a book everyone should read. It will confirm what book lovers already know, and it might encourage people who don't care for books to reconsider their opinion.

If I were a book

Jose Jorge Letria

Illustrated by Andre Letria

Picture Book

For ages 5 and up

Chronicle Books, 2014, 978-1-4521-2144-4

A lot of people like to imagine what it would be like to be someone or something else. What would it be like to be a much loved pet cat who gets to sleep all day long? What would it be like to be a celebrity who has thousands of fans? Imagine now what it might be like to a book, a book that has been left on a park bench all alone. Perhaps you would “ask someone in the street to take me home,” and then you would be that person’s best friend.

   What would you were like if were a book? You could be “full of useful knowledge,” or capture your reader’s attention with your “captivating tales.” You would not want to know how your story ends and not be in a hurry to get to those very final of words: “The End.” You could “help someone soar” or “sweep away ignorance.” There would be so much you could do if you were a book, and so many wonderful things you could share with your readers.

   This powerfully simple picture book will help readers to see that books are so much more than paper pages and a cover. They are tools for learning, they make our world bigger, and they offer us hours of entertainment with grand adventures, poetry, and more.

Poetry Friday with a review of Song of the Water Boatman and other Poems

Watching the changes that take place in an pond ecosystem during a year can be fascinating. Plants leaf and bloom at different times, birds build their nests and have chicks, and migratory birds come to visit during the winter months. Muskrats dig their burrows, tadpoles appear and change into frogs or toads, and when it gets colder, turtles find a place where they can nap in piece.

In today's picture book you can experience these seasonal events through a series of poems.

Song of the Water Boatman and Other Poems
Joyce Sidman
Illustrated by Beckie Prange
Poetry Picture Book
For ages 5 to 8
Houghton Mifflin, 2005, 978-0618135479
We are going to visit a pond, to spend time with the creatures that live there, and to see this very special place in the spring, summer, fall and winter. In the spring the song of the peeper frogs is an indication that spring is finally here and you can listen in the night as the little frogs "sing you to sleep." This is also the time of year when the mother wood duck takes her little ducklings for their first swim after hatching.
   In the summer little creatures fill the pond swimming to and fro, eating and being eaten. This food chain begins with the algae "green and small" and ends with the heron "queen of the pond." This is also the time of year when the caddis fly larvae build themselves a portable camouflaged home, each one of which is unique and carefully decorated.
   In the fall. the painted turtle digs itself a burrow into the mud, and in a snug little cave it goes to sleep, slowing down "to its winter rhythm."
   Exquisitely illustrated, this picture book beautifully captures the rhythms of pond life. Each of the eleven poems in the book is accompanied by a hand-colored woodblock print and an interesting section of text which further explores the themes of the poem. The poems take many forms, each one giving readers a colorful and lively picture of life in a pond.

Picture Book Monday with a review of Busy Bunny Days

I love picture book that have pages full of  detail-rich scenes. Richard Scarry's books, which I looked at over and over again when I was little, are like this. Now many other illustrators are creating wonderful books full of artwork that readers can explore. What is wonderful about these books is that one does not need to be able to read to see and follow the stories in the artwork. Today's picture book is a wonderful example of just such a book.

Busy Bunny Days: In the town, On the Farm and At the Port

Britta Teckentrup

Picture Book

For ages 4 to 7

Chronicle Books, 2014, 978-1-4521-1700-3

The Bunny family members have busy lives and we are going to spend a little time with them, getting to know them and getting to know their world. We are going to begin by visiting them in their hometown.

   Here we are and it is six o’clock in the morning. The day is just beginning, and yet there are a few folks out and about. One gentleman is walking his dog and we see that the garbage collectors are hard at work. Unfortunately, they have dropped a banana peel and someone has stepped on it and slipped. In their house the Bunny family members are beginning their day. Bethany Bunny is eating her breakfast and Baxter Bunny is just getting out of bed. Dr. Bunny is shaving in the bathroom.

   By nine o’clock the streets are full and busy. An ambulance is picking up the animal who slipped on that pesky banana peel, and the children from the neighborhood are walking to school or getting on the school bus.

   At midday rain starts to fall on the town. Dr. Bunny is busy taking care of his patients and Bethany and her kindergarten classmates are getting ready to go for a walk. Grandma Bunny has done some shopping and she is on her way to the Bunny home. She will be there to give Bethany her snack when the little girl gets home from kindergarten.

   Later on in the afternoon there is a little drama when a small fire breaks out in the attic apartment in the Bunny’s building. Benny Badger gets up to his old tricks when everyone is distracted by the fire.

   After visiting the Bunny’s hometown we go to a farm with them and then we visit a port. In each case we share a whole day in their company, seeing the little events that make daily life interesting. We also get to watch the little adventures that the characters in the book have.

   Children are going to love exploring the artwork in this wonderful picture book. They will see days unfold before their eyes, and watch as the small joys and woes of everyday life are played out on the pages. They will have fun looking for Benny Badger, who is always getting into trouble, and will enjoy answering the questions that appear on every spread.

Poetry Friday with a review of Poem Runs: Baseball poems and paintings.

The grass is green and mowed, the sky is blue, there is a softness in the air, and it is time to play ball. Well, perhaps not for me, but on March 30th the American baseball season begins and many people will be pitching balls, swinging bats, running, sliding, and catching. I did not grow up watching or playing baseball, but have grown fond of the game since I moved to the United States. Today's poetry book perfectly captures the joys of the game and the excitement that players experience on that first game of the season.

Poem Runs: Baseball poems and paintings

Douglas Florian

Poetry Picture Book

For ages 6 to 8

Harcourt, 2012, 978-0-547-68838-1

Winter is finally over and spring has arrived bringing with it the beginning of baseball season. It is time to celebrate the joys of baseball, and thanks to Douglas Florian we are able to do this vicariously through his poems.

   Our baseball experience begins with some exercises. The eager team members get out on the field and they start warming up. First they “Bend to the right,” and then they stretch out their muscles that are “too tense and too tight.” 

   When the players are all loose and warmed up, the pitcher goes out on the mound. He tells us that he is the “great devastator” who creates curve balls, fastballs, sinkers, risers, and slumps. He is the “strikeout collector” and we better “Beware! Beware!”

   Next we meet the catcher who, like the pitcher, tells us about his skills. He too is full of confidence that he will be able to meet any challenge that he is presented with. No matter what kind of ball comes his way, he will be able to “catch ‘em.”

   We go on to meet other players and the umpire, and since it plays such an important role, we also get to share a moment with a baseball. This ball goes through so much that it ends up splitting. Though this is a little sad, there is a feeling of satisfaction in the poem because the ball has “Been there” and it “Did it.”

   Anyone who has a fondness for baseball is going to enjoy this collection of poetry. Douglas Florian manages to capture the essence of the game, infusing the pages with the joy that baseball brings to those who play it. 

Picture Book Monday with a review of Lost for Words

I have a full life, which means that don't always have much free time and my hobbies are neglected. One my favorite things to do is to paint, but I don't get to do it very often. Just the other day I did manage to squirrel away a little time to spend with my paints. I have everything laid out and ready to go and then I realized that I had no idea what I wanted to paint. The blank paper stayed blank for a long time before I finally decided what I wanted to do.

In today's picture book you will meet a character who has a similar problem. He loves to write, he has a book to write in, and yet he has no idea what he wants to write about.

Lost for words

Natalie Russell

Picture Book

For ages 5 to 7

Peachtree Publishers, 2014, 978-1-56145-739-7

Tapir has a brand new notebook and some colored pencils and he wants to write something, but he has no idea what to write. For some reason his head is empty of ideas and inspiration, and what makes his situation more frustrating is that his friends’ heads are full of writing ideas.

   Giraffe has no problem writing down a poem about a tree, and hippo easily crafts a story as he lies in his muddy pool. Flamingo uses her skill with words to compose a song, a song that is “so perfect it brought a tear to Tapir’s eye.”

   Tapir tries humming like flamingo, wallowing like hippo, and munching leaves like giraffe but no words come to him and he gets very grumpy. Surely there must be something he can write about?

   All too often, when we are determined to create something, our creativity abandons us and we are left staring at a blank piece of paper. This is what happens to poor Tapir, who wants so badly to write something in his notebook. What he does not realize is that he is full of creativity, it just isn’t in a form that he is expecting.

   This charming picture book explores the idea that creativity will not be forced and sometimes the creative process can be full of surprises.

Poetry Friday with a review of Ode to Childhood

When one is a child the years that precede teenagedom seem to last forever. Then, quite suddenly, childhood is over and a new kind of life begins, one filled with new responsibilities, choices that need to be made, and so much more. It is not unusual for a teenager of thirteen or fourteen to look back on childhood with regret. If only it had lasted a little longer.

Today's poetry title explores the joys and woes of the childhood years. Teenagers and adults alike will greatly enjoy taking a little trip into the past as they read the poems.

Ode to Childhood: Poetry to Celebrate the child

Edited by Lucy Gray

Poetry Book

For ages 12 and up

Anova Books, 2014, 978-1-84994-133-4

Childhood lasts such a short time and all too often we forget to enjoy the precious years when a child’s imagination is at its strongest, and when life is so full of adventures. In this anthology of poetry, children of all ages are celebrated. The journey begins with poems about babies and wraps up with poems that look at the lives of young people who are about to leave their childhood behind.

   One of the first poems in the book describes a mother’s struggles as she carries her baby “here and there,” and talks “nonsense endlessly” in a fruitless attempt to try to sooth her crying child. She does her best to “gauge what each cry says” and sometimes she succeeds. At other times “All falls flat” when she guesses wrong and does not provide what the child wants.

   Later on we encounter a four-year-old called John who is forever getting into things that he shouldn’t. He spends his time “poking at the roses” or climbing on the furniture. Thankfully, John also likes to play, doing things that are mostly acceptable, such as rolling on the grass, bowling, and losing balls “o’er fences” that the narrator has to replace.

   Then there are the special trips that lodge in the memory, trips to the sea-side when a child digs holes in the sand using a wooden spade. Robert Louis Stevenson tells us about how the holes, which “were empty like a cup,” get filled in with seawater as the tide rises. Or perhaps it is a trip to the zoo where the child sees a wide variety of animals including the monkeys “mercy, how unpleasantly they smelt!”  

   There are also those once frustrating everyday moments that are precious when the child is no longer small. For example there is the child who asks “What is the grass?” How is the adult supposed to answer when he or she doesn’t know “what it is any more than he.”

   As one turns the pages of this book, special moments in the lives of children and their grownups unfold. They wrap up us in beautiful images and memories that seem to leap off the pages. Readers will find poems by William Blake, Walt Whitman, W. H. Auden and others in this collection, and they will savor their words over and over again.

Picture Book Monday with a review of The Tweedles Go Electric

It must have been exciting to live in Europe and North America in the early 1900's. So many things were happening and so much was changing. Electric lights, automobiles, and other inventions were changing the lives of millions of people. In today's picture book you will meet a family whose memebers decide to get their first car, and who end up having an unexpected adventure because of that car.

The Tweedles Go Electric
Monica Kulling
Illustrated by Marie Lafrance
Picture Book
For ages 5 to 7
Groundwood, 2014, 978-1-55498-167-0
It is 1903 and cars, which are powered by steam or gas, are all the rage. The Tweedles don’t care that cars are the in thing. They are content to get around on their cycles or by using their horse and cart.
   Then one day Papa announces that they are going to get a car. Mama is thrilled, as is car-crazy Frankie. Bookish Franny is not particularly excited about having a car. After all, cars at this time are noisy, smelly, and dangerous. Then Papa tells his wife and children that they are not going to have a car powered by steam or gas. They are going to have an electric car.
   Mama is rather concerned that the car might not be safe. After all, electricity is such a new thing and people don’t really understand how it works. In fact, they find it “more frightening than a basket of boas.”
   In spite of this fear, the Tweedles go to the car dealership and they buy a bright green electric car. Papa drives their new purchase home, which is when he discovers that driving requires that one has a fair bit of nerve. There are so many things that one has to watch out for, and when one is zooming along at ten miles an hour, one has to have lightning fast reflexes. He and his family members never imagine that their new purchase is going to lead to an adventure, new friends, and new prospects.
   These days cars are considered a necessity by most people and it is hard to imagine what life would be like if we did not have our cars. It is therefore very interesting to see what it was like to live in America when cars were still a relatively new innovation. It is also amusing to see how the Tweedles cope with their new acquisition.

Poetry Friday with a review of Hi, Koo! A Year of Seasons

Noticing the beauty in simple things and in everyday moments is something that many of  us forget to do. We are too busy doing things and rushing from place to place. Sometimes we need to be reminded that it is important to stop so that we can look at, listen to, and appreciate the world around us. In today's poetry book the author beautifully captures special moments, season by season, combining lovely art with gem-like haiku poems. The book shows us that the little things can make our lives richer and happier. If we remember to look for them.

Hi, Koo! A Year of Seasons

Jon J. Muth

Poetry Picture Book

For ages 5 to 7

Scholastic, 2014, 978-0-545-16668-3

In the past haiku was a form of poetry that was only used by Japanese poets, but it now used to write poems in many languages. Though the original form often has to be modified a little to allow for linguistic differences, the essence of haiku is always the same. The form captures “a moment of emotion that reminds us that our own human nature is not separate from nature.” In just three short lines the poet freezes a moment in time and allows us to savor it. Often the poem explores an aspect of nature or it refers to some element in nature.

   In his poems in this book Jon J. Muth takes us through the year, and our guide is a small panda bear called Koo. Koo has a natural curiosity about the world around him and he appreciates the small pleasures in life. In fall he savors a dance in the cold rain, which is followed by a bowl of hot soup at home. This is also a time of year when “Eating warm cookies / on a cold day / is easy.”

   As far as Koo is concerned, winter is for playing outdoors with his friends. Koo does a “powdery stomp” in the snow, and he wonders if the icicles hanging from the eves “will touch the ground.” He watches as the cat “vanishes / Just ears…and twitching tail” when she goes out into the snow.

   Then, when “winter is old now / and closes her doors,” spring arrives with crocuses and “New leaves / new grass new sky.” After too many days spent watching the television Koo and his two friends go out to explore the awakening world.

   This is a book that children and adults alike will enjoy. The artwork is simple yet beautifully expressive, and the haiku perfectly captures those moments during a year that are precious gifts.

Picture Book Monday with a review of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

I don't know why, but for some reason I did not encounter this classic book when I was a child, and it has taken me a ridiculously long time to get around to reviewing it. I am delighted that did, because reading about poor Alexander's dreadful day makes even the worst of my days seem positively fabulous. This book also happens to be wonderfully funny, which is a huge added bonus.


Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Judith Viorst

Illustrated by Ray Cruz

Picture Book

For ages 4 to 7

Simon and Schuster, 1987, 978-0689711732

One morning Alexander wakes up and it isn’t long before he realizes that this day is going to be a “terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.” The night before he went to sleep with gum in his mouth and now he has gum in his hair. When he gets out of bed Alexander trips over his skateboard, and then he accidentally drops his sweater in the sink when the water is running.

   At breakfast his brothers find surprises in their cereal boxes, and all Alexander finds is cereal. On the way to school Alexander is “scrunched” and “smushed” in the car and no one seems to care.

   All of this is bad enough, but for poor Alexander the terrible, horrible, and very bad things keep happening and there doesn’t seem to be anything he can do about it. Except to perhaps move to Australia, which he thinks might be the solution to his problems.

This wonderful book has been delighting and amusing children and their families since it first came out in 1972, and it still has universal appeal. Everyone has days when everything seems to go wrong and therefore everyone will be able to relate to Alexander. Readers will find themselves both commiserating with Alexander, and laughing at the situations he gets himself into. Sometimes, when life gives you bad days, all you can do is to laugh at them.