Poetry Friday - A review of City I love by Lee Bennett Hopkins

If you love cities to live in or to visit, then I have the perfect book for you. In this very special collection of poems, Lee Bennett Hopkins explores several cities around the world using a variety of poetry forms to do so.
City I love

Lee Bennett Hopkins

Illustrated by Marcellus Hall

Poetry

For ages 4 to 8

Abrams, 2009, 978-0-8109-8327-4

   Some of us like the quiet of country life, with expanses of green trees and grass, and meadows full of flowers. We like to hear the sound of bird song, and the smell the fresh air.

   Then there are those people who thrive in a big city where the “subway roars and rumbles,” and where “A hydrant is my swimming pool.” They love to be in a place where tall skyscrapers are built by workers who “balance on beams / dangle on derricks.” Here the sounds of sirens, horns, and traffic fill the air. Here too you can travel on a subway that is full of people who come in every possible color, age, shape, and size. People are “always on the go.”

   For this unique picture book, Lee Bennett Hopkins has created eighteen poems about cities that take the reader around the world, beginning in New York and then going on to Paris, Moscow, Cairo, Rio, Delhi, and many other cities. In each city, a little dog wearing a backpack accompanies us, sharing in the joys (and sometimes the woes) of city life. With many different poetry forms, the author paints a picture of cities that throb with life, that excite, and that delight the eye.

   Marcellus Hall’s wonderful illustrations perfectly compliment the poems, capturing the energy of the cities that are described in the poems.

The TTLG 2011 Picture Book Celebration - Book Twenty-One

Every Friday, I got to my daughter's school and I read books to some children who need a little help with their reading. Just before Christmas, my two little girls chose exactly the same book to read. Both of them shrieked with laughter as I read to them, and then both of them wanted to take the book home with them. This is the book that was so popular on that reading day.

The Hiccupotamus

Aaron Zenz

Picture Book

Ages 4 to 7

Marshall Cavendish, 2005, 978-0-7614-5622-3

   When you get the hiccups, you are often inclined to laugh at them. At first. Then they become rather annoying, and you do everything you can to get rid of them. Imagine what it would be like if you were a hippo who had the hiccups. In this story, you will meet one who is not only prone to hiccups, but his hiccups are also very violent. Every time this poor hippopotamus gets the hiccups, he ends up falling “upon his bottomus.”

   Unfortunately, his hiccups are not only a trial for him, but they are also a real nuisance for all the other animals. When he tries to say hello to the yellow elephant, the hippo’s hiccup startles her so much that she drops the cakes she is holding. Needless to say, she gets very angry, and she starts to chase the hippo.

   With the elephant in hot pursuit, the hippo comes across a centipede “pouring new cementipede.” One hic “by accidentipede,” and the elephant and the centipede end up face first in the cement.

   With its hilarious illustrations and its deliciously ridiculous rhyming text, this picture book will have young readers in floods of giggles. Be warned, this book is addictive and it may become necessary to hide it for a while. 

Listening Library Launches a Judy Blume Contest

Tell us your most memorable Judy Blume moment and you could win an iPod Touch and a personal message from Judy herself!

Can you remember the day you finished Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret and felt like finally this was a book about girls just like you?  Or reading Superfudge and identifying a little too easily with the plight of having an annoying little brother like Fudge?

Judy Blume’s books have touched generations of kids and teens as they’ve grown up to share these stories with their own children, and now Listening Library is asking parents and kids alike to share their favorite Judy Blume memories in the Judy Blume Journal! 

To celebrate the release of five Blume classic audiobooks (Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, Freckle Juice & The One in the Middle Is the Green Kangaroo, Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself, Deenie and Iggie’s House) for the first time on CD, we’re giving away a grand prize of an 8GB iPod Touch, a $200 audiobook collection and a personal message from Judy Blume to the writer of the best journal entry, as selected by Judy herself.

Visit www.judyblumecontest.com to submit your entry, read others’ memories and vote on your favorites for a chance to win.  The five finalists will be selected based on the number of votes for their entries, so share with friends and encourage them to vote for your journal entry!  

Contest is open to all legal residents of U.S. and Canada (excluding Québec) who are age 13 years or older as of January 3, 2011.  All entries must be received by 11:59 EST on February 18, 2011, and must be be in the entrants' own, original words. No quoting of other material is allowed unless attributed. In the final round, Judy Blume will select the three Finalists, a Runner-Up, and Grand Prize Winner from among the five finalists based on the entries’ creativity, originality, emotional appeal, and poignancy.

  

About Listening Library

After publishing its first audiobook in 1955, Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days, Listening Library grew into one of the biggest names in the youth audio industry, releasing over 100 titles a year.  Listening Library titles have earned more than 200 ALSC and YALSA Audiobook Awards, 55 Audie® Awards and two Grammy® Awards with bestselling series like J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter, Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga, Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle. Our backlist also includes dozens of Newbery and Printz award-winning authors whose titles we are proud to publish on audio.

The TTLG 2011 Picture Book Celebration - Book Twenty

When I was a child I always wanted a pet of my own. We had family pets, whom I loved, but they were not mine. I so much wanted a cat or a dog of my very own, a pet that would sleep in my room and that would be my special friend. Today's picture book is about a little girl who wants a pet so much that she ends up creating pets out of very ordinary everyday objects.

The best Pet Ever

Victoria Roberts

Illustrated by Deborah Allwright

Picture Book

Ages 4 to 6

Tiger Tales, 2010, 1-58925-089-3

   One day a little girl and her mother are walking past a pet shop and the little girl asks her mother, “Mom can I have a pet? Please?” The little girl’s mother gives an answer that is not very satisfactory. Everyone knows that “We’ll see,” basically means NO.

   The little girl takes her mother’s words literally, and she looks around and sees. She sees a nice smooth rock, which she picks up. Then the little girl ties a string around the rock, and she names it Fluffy. For a few days, Fluffy is a good pet, until his string breaks and he rolls down a hill.

   Next, the little girl decides to make a “soft, woolly glove” her pet. She calls her pet Nibbles, and she tends to her with loving care. For a day or two, Nibbles is a perfect pet, but after a time the glove is so stuffed with ‘food’ that the little girl is once again asking her mother if she can “have a pet? Please?”

   One would be hard pressed to find a child who has not badgered a parent or caregiver for a pet. This charming picture book shows readers how one little girl solves her pet-less problem for a while. She uses her imagination so that a rock, a glove, a candy wrapper, and a balloon serve as great pets for a time. What a delightful tribute to the power of the imagination this book is, and what a great reward the little girl gets for her perseverance. 

The TTLG 2011 Picture Book Celebration - Book Nineteen

Many years ago, when my husband and I lived on a farm in Virginia, we got a pot-bellied piglet. Gracie was an incredibly sweet little animal. She was very affectionate, funny, and intelligent. She was also incredibly stubborn. If Gracie did not want to do something, there was very little that you could do to force her to do so. She would scream - which was deafening - and she would kick her little hooves. Having had this first-hand pig experience, I was eager to read the book I have reviewed today, and I am so glad that I did. 

A Pig Parade is a terrible idea

Michael Ian Black

Illustrated by Kevin Hawkes

Picture Book

Ages 5 to 9

Simon and Schuster, 2010, 978-1-4169-7922-7

   Most of us love parades. We love the music, the floats, the bands, and the giant balloons that float above the street. What’s not to love? Now, imagine a different sort of parade, imagine what it might be like to attend a parade whose participants are all pigs. Can you see those porcine wonders marching down the street tootling their horns and oompa pa-ing their sousaphones? Can you see them in their red and white majorette uniforms with bright brass buttons on their coats and white plumes on their hats?

   Perhaps you can imagine all these wonders, but let me tell you that a pig parade “is a terrible idea.” Pigs hate to march, being partial to snuffling instead. They walk around with their noses to the ground looking for tidbits to eat. This might be a fine thing to do in a farmyard, but “snuffling is simply an inappropriate way to conduct yourself along a parade route.”

   If you think pigs will fancy those majorette uniforms you had better think again. Pigs hate uniforms, and trying to get them to wear them will be neigh on impossible, and this is just the beginning; there is a veritable litany of reasons why a pig parade is a terrible idea.

   Readers will be hard pressed not to laugh out loud when they read this book and look at the artwork. Michael Ian Black’s deliciously funny words are perfectly paired with Kevin Hawkes’ illustrations to give readers a picture book experience that is truly one of a kind. 

The TTLG 2011 Picture Book Celebration - Book Eighteen

I consider myself very lucky because I live in a place where we have four seasons. My family and I are able to enjoy the snow in the winter, lovely flower-filled springs, hot and sunny summers, and beautiful red, yellow, and gold falls. For today's picture book I have a seek-and-find title that explores the joys that every month brings.

Skip through the seasons

Stella Blackstone

Illustrated by Maria Carluccio

Picture Book

Ages 3 to 6

Barefoot Books, 2007, 1-905236-71-9

   Let as take a tour of the year, looking at one scene for every month. We will see what people do during that month, and will discover what the world looks like at that time. We will go from the white landscapes of January and February, to a freshly green - and wet - one in April. There are picnics in June, a fair in July, the beginning of school in September, and blowing leaves in November. In a whirl of color and action, the year unfolds before our eyes.

   Collage illustrations that combine paper art and paintings give this picture book a unique look. A simple rhyming text is enhanced by the question "what can you see?" Found on every double page spread, this seek-and-find feature gives the book another dimension. Words at the bottom of the pages can be used to find items in the illustrations, and they will give beginner readers something to challenge and entertain them.

The TTLG 2011 Picture Book Celebration - Book Seventeen

I have never been camping in a place where there were bears, though my husband and his sister have. They have described how they had to hang their food in a tree to discourage bear visits, though they did not tell me what they would have done to scare off a bear if one had come sniffing around. Just in case you ever need to scare a bear, here is a book that might help.

Scare a Bear

Kathy-jo Wargin

Illustrated by John Bendall-Brunello

Picture Book

Ages 4 to 6

Sleeping Bear Press, 2010,

   Staying in little cabins in the woods during the summer vacation is something many children enjoy doing. There are so many activities to try, and adventures to have. There is one problem though. What should one do if a bear comes into camp? How do you scare a bear?

   Will the bear go away if you bang pots and pans, if you yell, or if you ring a “loud bell?” What if a bear isn’t easy to scare? What if loud noises and “big scary” poses have no effect on the bear at all. What if the bear decides to stay in the camp to swim, to fish, to have dinner, to sit by the campfire, and even – what a thought – to spend the night!

   This delightful picture book with its rhyming text and its amusing illustrations, will charm young readers who have an active imagination and who enjoy a good laugh.

The TTLG 2011 Picture Book Celebration - Book Sixteen

Children often have a very hard time staying in bed - or at least staying quiet - when they are sick. When they read today's picture book, children will see how one sick rabbit child finds a way to make staying in bed interesting. 

Stay in bed, Davy

Brigitte Weninger

Illustrated by Eve Tharlet

Translated by Marianne Martens

Picture Book

Ages 6 to 9

North-South books, 2006, 978-0-7358-2048-7

   One day Davy comes up to his mother and he is in tears. He feels horribly sick, and there is nothing for it but for him to go to bed. Davy’s illness has come at a very bad time, because the Rabbit family were planning on going to visit Grandma. Worse still, she is making her “famous” blackberry pies, which are truly delicious.

   Thankfully, Davy’s friend Eddie and his cousin Kiki arrive. Eddie and Kiki offer to stay with Davy so that the rest of the Rabbit family can go to grandma’s house. If Davy has any problems, Eddie can “run home to get his mother.” Mr. and Mrs. Rabbit agree to the plan, though Mrs. Rabbit makes Davy promise that he will “stay in bed.”

   Soon after the family leaves, Davy comes up with an idea. Though his mother said that he had to stay in bed, she did not say “where the bed had to stay.” Without further ado, Kiki and Eddie drag Davy’s bed outside. Davy feels so much better in the fresh air and he begins to wish that they could play down by the stream. Then again, perhaps he can play by the steam after all.

   Sick children stuck in bed will surely enjoy reading about Davy’s bed-bound adventures. They will laugh when they see how Davy keeps his word to his mother and has fun at the same time.

   Eve Tharlet’s delightful illustrations perfectly capture Davy’s sun filled world.

The TTLG 2011 Picture Book Celebration - Book Fifteen

Many years ago, we lived next to a family who had a large Rottweiler. Henry was on of the sweetest, gentlest and silliest dogs I have ever met. The dog in today's picture book is a lot like Henry. He is a great with children, and he and his little girl share a special bond

Follow Carl

Alexandra Day

Wordless Picture Book

Ages 4 to 7

Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998, 0-7374-3480-2

   Carl and his little girl have just woken up from a nap. There is a group of children outside their window, and they want Carl and his little girl to play Follow the Leader with them. They even offer Carl the job of being the leader. In a jiffy, Carl and his little girl are outside, and the game begins with a big stretch, which is what Carl likes to do after a nap.

   Next Carl hops onto a wall and he walks along it, with his little girl on his back and five small children following in his wake. This is then followed by a squirrel chase and then, in town, Carl and the children sit outside the local bakery and beg for a treat, which they get!

   In this wonderful picture book, Alexandra Day tells a charming story using only pictures (except for the two sentences that appear on the first page). She captures Carl’s patience, his good humor, and his love of life. This is a warming picture book that non-readers and readers alike will enjoy exploring.                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Poetry Friday - A review of Holiday Stew

For today's Poetry Friday title, I have a collection of poems that is quite unique. In fact, I dipped into the book over a period of several days. It is the kind of book one can enjoy all year round.

Holiday Stew: A kid’s portion of holiday and seasonal poems

Jenny Whitehead

Poetry

For ages 6 to 9

Henry Holt, 2007, 0-8050-7715-4

   The year is full of memorable moments and great holidays. There is the day when the first flower blooms in the garden in spring, the day when the family goes to the beach in the summer, the day when Halloween pumpkins are carved, and the day when it is so cold outside that summer “Seems far away.”

   This book of poetry takes young readers through a full year of seasonal and holiday poems. The author begins by looking at spring, and she opens the season with a short and humorous poem about a child who is sneezing. He wonders if he has the flu or some kind of “Spring fever.” Then, it occurs to him that what ails him is very simple, he has allergies! Later in the spring section, there is a poem about St. Patrick’s Day where we are encouraged to dress in green, to bake soda bread, and to share an Irish toast when we raise our glasses of green milk.

   In the summer section there are poems about baseball games, sleepovers with friends, and there are five poetical coupons for Dad (for father’s day), one of which is for a “musical tribute for you.” There is a poem about camping, and one about fishing, and there is a poem about a flower party that has the names of eighteen flowers hidden in the text.

   For fall, the author looks at the last leaf to fall off the tree, what it is like to go on a hayride, and she gives her readers some ideas for what they should do with their leftover Halloween candy. There is even a poetic Thanksgiving Day Quiz to try.

   For the last season of the year, we begin by looking at winter in Australia (upside down) and what winter in the south would be like from the point of view of a child who is from the north. Don’t forget the five letters to Santa, once of which asks Santa to give the writer a lift in his sleigh.

   Throughout this book, wonderful rhymes that come in many forms are paired with delightful illustrations to give children a wonderful poetry experience. This celebration of seasonal doings and holidays is the kind of book you can dip into throughout the year.