The TTLG 2011 Picture Book Celebration: Book three hundred and eighteen

I know that some might accuse me of being biased here, but I really do think that mothers are not properly understood (or appreciated thank you very much). I assure you that I am not saying this as a mother, but as an observer. There are all these books out there about how to be a better parent, but there are none about how to be a child who understands how to care for a mother. Thankfully, Doreen Cronin has seen this deficiency, and she has done something about it. 

M.O.M (Mom Operating Manual)

Doreen Cronin

Illustrated by Laura Cornell

Picture Book

For ages 5 to 8

Simon and Schuster, 2011, 978-1-4169-6150-5

As everyone knows, mothers are “the most advanced human models on the planet.” However, their incredible ability to do so many things so well does not mean that they don’t need care. It is important that everyone should know what kind of “necessary maintenance and care” mothers need “for optimal performance.” This is a manual to teach you how to do this.

   The manual begins by giving readers an important “Historical Overview” of moms. We must not forget that moms have been around a very long time, and that they need to be treated with due respect. The text then goes on to explain that a well-maintained and well-rested mom is a very rare thing to see. Mostly moms show the signs of “ordinary wear and tear.” You must be vigilant and make sure that your mom’s condition does not deteriorate.

   Of course, it is easy to say this, but how is it to be done? Fear not, because this manual will explain what a mom needs for her daily care and maintenance. Sleep and proper nutrition are vital, as is regular exercise, and a source of fresh water. It is also recommended that all moms should have regular grooming sessions.

   Just in case you encounter a problem with your mom, there is a troubleshooting section in this manual that might be of use to you. Though moms are “the most adaptable human models on the planet,” they do occasionally malfunction, and it is important that you know what to do should this happen.

   This is one of those rare books that will resonate with parents (particularly mothers) as much as it will with children. It is laugh-out-loud funny, and the manual style presentation and language is priceless. Wonderful illustrations and tongue-in-cheek humor throughout the book make this a title that is truly memorable. 

The TTLG 2011 Picture Book Celebration: Book three hundred and seventeen

If you haven't had the privilege of having in a cat in your life, you have no idea how much mess and chaos a cat can create in a very short period of time. Cats get into places that seem safe, and before you know it a precious vase is smashed, a stack of books in tipped over, and a cake (inside a cabinet) has holes nibbled in it. 

Today's picture book is about a cat who gets into a house, goes exploring, and leaves a trail of destruction in his wake.

Cat jumped in!

Tess Weaver

Illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully

Picture Book

For ages 4 to 6

Clarion, 2007, 978-0-618-61488-2

   It is a warm summer day, and someone has left the kitchen window open. Cat jumps in through the window and begins to explore the kitchen. He walks across the rolled out pie dough and drinks some cream. Somewhere in that kitchen there is something fishy and Cat tries to find it. Finally, after much searching, he finds the source of the smell in the garbage can. Someone comes into the kitchen and she sees the mess. She sees Cat, who streaks out of the kitchen and hides in a closet.

   In the closet, Cat finds warm coats to rub himself against, and he plays with a scarf that has a tantalizing fringe. Then cat sees a hat on a shelf, and the feathers decorating the hat are just too hard to resist. Cat jumps up…and the shelf comes tumbling down with a loud cracking noise. The lady comes to see what is going o,n and she sees the cat. “Cat? Out!” she says.

   Young readers are sure to enjoy seeing how the cat in this story leaves a trail of chaos behind him. Everywhere he goes, his curiosity gets the better of him and he does something that he shouldn’t. With a text that is punctuated by shouts and sound words like “Woosh!” and “Thwump,” this is a picture book that children will enjoy. After all, children know all about getting into trouble…and getting out of it.

The TTLG 2011 Picture Book Celebration: Book three hundred and sixteen

Every so often, when I am driving around running errands, I see a dog trotting down the sidewalk, and it is looking thin, filthy, and desperate. Whenever I can, I will pick the dog up and take it to the animal shelter, hoping that it has simply lost its way and that its family will soon come to pick it up. All too often the dog goes unclaimed. For some reason, the dog's family does not care about it anymore.

In today's picture book you will meet a dog who is abandoned, but who never gives up trying to find a new home and a new person to love her.

Tupelo rides the rails

Melissa Sweet

Picture Book

For ages 5 to 7

Houghton Mifflin, 2008, 978-0-618-71714-9

   One day Tupelo’s owners drop her off on the side of the road and drive off. All Tupelo has is her toy, Mr. Bones, but she does not give up. “Everyone belongs somewhere” she resolutely says, and she goes off to find out where her place is.

   Tupelo finds lots of wonderful places, but none of them have room for “a scrappy dog.” Then her nose leads her to a place where a group of dogs, the BONEHEADS (the Benevolent Order of Nature’s Exalted Hounds Ernest and Doggedly Sublime) are gathering for a special ceremony. The dogs explain that they are going to make a wish on Sirius, the Dog Star, and in return they will bury a bone as an “offering.” The other dogs all offer up their wishes to Sirius, but Tupelo has no bone to bury, so she cannot make a wish. Not knowing what else to do, Tupelo decides to follow the pack.

   The dogs are fed by a hobo called Garbage Pail Tex, and then all of them, including Tupelo, get onto a train. When they get to Hoboken, Tex and his hobo pals set about finding homes for all the dogs. Many are just lost, and their owners are delighted to see them again. Others truly are homeless, but there are people who are happy to invite the dogs into their homes and lives.

   Eventually Tupelo is the only dog left, and no one seems to want her. She is all alone again without the BONEHEADS, and without Tex.

   In this delightful picture book, readers will meet a dog whose owners abandon her. They will also meet a charming pack of dogs and learn about several of the world’s most famous dog characters including the fictional Toto and the real life Balto. We can tell how Tupelo feels as she tries to find a home of her own, and we can appreciate the fact that Tupelo, like all dogs, needs someone to love and care for her.

   Throughout the book, the charming text is perfectly paired with Melissa Sweet’s unique multimedia illustrations.

   

Armistice Day/Remembrance Day/Veteran's Day - A day when we remember

When I was growing up, everyone would don a little felt poppy to wear on November 11th. We called this day Remembrance Day, though some people still called it Armistice Day. On this day in 1918, The Great War ended after four terrible years. A generation of young men was practically wiped out, and many of the survivors came home from the war horrible damaged in mind or body. 

In school we learned a poem that still brings me to tears every time I read it. 

In Flanders Fields

John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

      Between the crosses, row on row,

   That mark our place; and in the sky

   The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

   Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

         In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

   The torch; be yours to hold it high.

   If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

         In Flanders fields.

Here in the United States this day is called Veteran's Day, and it is a day when we honor all our soldiers who have served, and who have fallen. 

I have reviewed two books about Armistice Day/Remembrance Day/Veteran's Day that you might like to share with your child or children. There are also the titles in the World War I feature that will help children to understand what that conflict was about, and what it was like to live through it.

Poetry Friday - A review of Falling Down the Page

For me, lists are tools that save me from forgetting to do all the things that I have to do. Were it not for lists, my life would be in a perpetual state of chaos. It has never occurred to me that lists can actually be creative things, even beautiful ones; that lists can be turned into poems that are a joy to read. 

When you read today's poetry title, you will see for yourself that lists really can be turned into wonderful poems. I hope you enjoy the poems in this book as much as I did. 

Falling down the page: A book of list poems

Edited by Georgia Heard

Poetry

For ages 7 to 10

Roaring Brook Press, 2009, 978-1-59643-220-8

   For many of us, lists help us to keep our busy lives organized. Without a list we don’t remember what to buy at the grocery store, or who to invite to a party. Typically, lists are not creative things, but poets have been using the list format for a long time to explore their fondness for words in new ways. For this collection, some wonderful poets (including Jane Yolen and J. Patrick Lewis) have written thirty-two list poems that show to great effect “the wide variety of the list form.” The poems are presented in such as way that they give the reader a picture of the school year.

   This journey begins with Eileen Spinelli’s poem “Good-byes,” in which she says goodbye to all those wonderful summer vacation things that make summer special and memorable. With school starting soon, we have to say goodbye to “splashing waves,” “matinees,” and “swooping gulls.”

   Then there are all the things that are “On the menu for school today,” a list of school doings that will surely be familiar to many. Here are the planets that need to be labeled, the bells that need to be shaken, and seeds that need to be planted, and the words that need to be spelled.

   Later still we find a list of all the places where one can read a book, and what a list it is too! It may seem ridiculously long at first, but as you read, you come to appreciate that every single one of these places is a perfect book reading place.

   Don’t forget that school days would not be complete without a visit to the box where all the lost and found items are kept. Here you will find the things that someone somewhere “misses,” those little things that somehow get forgotten for a while. Here is the “poodle pin,” “a pair of gloves,” and even “One yellow boot.” Where is the other boot we wonder.

   This delightful collection of poems will forever change the readers’ opinion of lists. It is true that shopping lists are usually boring, but clearly poem lists are quite the opposite. Young (and not so young) readers might even inspired to try writing a list poem of their own. If they do, there is a good chance that they will be surprised by the journey that they take as they play with words, mixing them up, saying them out aloud, and trying them out for size.

The TTLG 2011 Picture Book Celebration: Book three hundred and fifteen

There are some picture books (and board books) that are perfectly suited for bedtime reading. Often the language is musical and comforting, and usually the artwork is full of images that warm the heart and calm the mind. Today's picture book is just such a title.

Good night world

Willa Perlman

Illustrated by Carolyn Fisher

Picture Book

For ages 3 to 6

Simon and Schuster, 2011, 978-1-4424-0197-6

   Night has fallen, and a little boy is going to bed. Holding his stuffed bunny, he sits on his bed, looks out of the window, and thinks about the fact that in other places it is morning, “but here it’s night.”

   Then the little boy starts to wish the world goodnight. He begins with the sun and the planets, including Earth, and then goes on to deserts that are “pink and blue.” He says goodnight to the mountains with their snow-capped peaks, and to the froth-tipped ocean waves.

   As he wishes a goodnight to one place after another, we are taken to all kinds of wonderful places. Among other things, we see a rainforest where a gibbon mother carries her baby on her back. We see a twisting road curling over a countryside, and a house with its yard and shed.

   With a musical rhyming text and remarkable multimedia illustrations, this book will remind children that they are part of a big and beautiful world that is full of people, animals, and extraordinary places. The cadence of the text is soothing, like a lullaby, which makes this a perfect last-thing-at-night book to read. Little children will enjoy looking for the little bird that is present in every single illustration. 

The TTLG 2011 Picture Book Celebration: Book three hundred and fourteen

For months my daughter has been pestering me to read today's book, and now that I have actually done so, I can see why she was so persistent. It is a the first title in a series of graphic novels, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact, I have had to restrain myself from picking up and reading the rest of the books in the series. 

The Elsewhere Chronicles – Book One: The Shadow Door

Nykko

Illustrated by Bannister and Jaffre

Translated by Carol KlioBurrell

Graphic novel

For ages 9 to 12

Lerner, 2009, 978-0-7613-3963-2

   Max, Noah, and Theo are sitting on the wall of cemetery watching as Old Man Gabe is finally laid to rest. Old Man Gabe was reclusive, and people in town were scared of him. So much so that there are only a few mourners present at his interment. One of them is a little girl called Rebecca. Bored by the proceedings, Rebecca comes up to the boys and strikes up a conversation, explaining that Old Man Gabe was actually her grandfather. Then she announces that she going to see her grandfather’s house, which, it is said, is haunted.  Since Rebecca is not from Perryville, the three boys offer to show her the way.

  From the moment that they arrive at the gate in front of the house, Theo is convinced that something about the place is “weird.” Though the inside of the house is rather spooky, the children don’t find anything of interest until they get to the library. There they hear a voice, and they see something that completely freaks them out, which is when they do the sensible thing and run like mad.

   The next day, Rebecca overhears one of her siblings talking to someone on the phone, saying that Grandpa Gabe’s house is going to be sold, with all its contents. She really wants to save a few of his books, perhaps the ones Grandpa Gabe wrote himself, so she persuades the boys to go back to the house with her. Exploring the library on her own, Rebecca finds a strange and very large projector. she turns it on…and she disappears.

   When the three boys try to find her, they discover that Old Man Gabe was a very strange man who had a lot of secrets, and when the projector is accidentally turned on again, they discover that it opens a doorway to a different world. Rebecca comes through the doorway back into the library, and she is about to tell them what happened to her,when she and Max are sucked back through the doorway, which then closes. Noah and Theo somehow have to find a way to reopen the door and rescue Max and Rebecca before it is too late.

   This is the first in what promises to be a thrilling graphic novel series. The story has  likeable characters, bizarre machines, and dangerous monsters, and readers will quickly get caught up by the exciting narrative. They will also be curious to find out more about strange Uncle Gabe and the machines that he built. 

The TTLG 2011 Picture Book Celebration: Book three hundred and thirteen

When I was a child, The Church Mouse by Graham Oakley was one of my favorite books. It originally came out in Britain in 1974, and I honestly cannot tell you how many times I read the book and looked at the detailed artwork. I was thrilled when I saw that this book is now available in the U.S, and I hope the other books about Arthur the mouse and his friend Sampson make it across "the pond" soon. 

The Church Mouse

Graham Oakley

Picture Book

For ages 5 to 8

Kane/Miller, 2010, 978-1-935279-69-3

   In a busy town, in the church, lives a mouse called Arthur. Arthur’s best friend is Sampson, a cat who has heard so many sermons about “the meek being blessed” and universal brotherhood, that he treats Arthur like a friend and not like a dinner on four legs.

   Though Arthur has a good life, he is a little lonely. Then one day he gets a brilliant idea, which the parson approves. Arthur goes into the town and he invites as many mice as he can find to come and live in the church. The parson will pay the mice in cheese, and in return they will do some odd jobs around the church. The town mice love this idea. What could be better than a life in a place where there are no mouse traps and no nasty cats or dogs or other dangers.

   The plan works very well for a while. The mice clean up the church, polish the brasses, arrange flowers, and other chores, and in return they are fed by the parson and have a life free of care.

   Then one Sunday Sampson falls asleep during the sermon, and when he wakes up he discovers that he is chasing mice all over the church, causing chaos. In his dreams Sampson dreamed that he was his former unreformed self, the self that chased mice instead of befriending them. The people in the congregation are furious, and they demand that the parson get rid of the mice or they will “never come back.” The parson has no choice but to ask the mice to leave.

   In this delightful picture book, readers will see how a friendship develops between two unlikely animals, and how that friendship is tested and saved. With wonderfully detailed illustrations and a text that is touched with humor in all the right places, Graham Oakley gives readers a tale that children and adults alike will enjoy sharing again and again.

   

The TTLG 2011 Picture Book Celebration: Book three hundred and twelve

When I was a child, I never really like the story of the three little pigs. Though other children seemed to find it captivating, I did not. I was very grateful therefore when I my daughter did not show any great interest in the story. I was spared having to read about the three little pigs and their misadventures over and over again. 

In the last few years I have encountered some very clever versions of the famous tale, versions that I actually enjoy because they are different. Today's picture book is just such a title. 

The Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot

Margaret McNamara

Illustrated by Mark Fearing

Picture Book

For ages 4 to 6

Random House, 2011, 978-0-375-86689-0

  Far away, on the planet Mercury, three little aliens live with their mother. One day Bork, Gork, and Nklxwcyz’s mother tells her three children that they need to “find a planet of your own,” and soon the three aliens are zooming off into space.

   Before they left home Bork, Gork, and Nklxwcyz’s mother cautioned them to “watch out for the Big Bad Robot” and to “Always stick together,” but when they get to Mars, Bork sees a space rover travelling across the surface of the planet and she decides to make it her home. She leaves her sibling and sets up house inside the rover.

   When Gork and Nklxwcyz get to Jupiter, Gork starts riding on a satellite that is circling the giant planet. Though Nklxwcyz warns his brother that living on “a ring that goes around in circles” is a bad idea, Gork pays no attention to him and he goes whizzing off astride the satellite.

   Sensible Nklxwcyz builds himself a solid house on distant Neptune, where he hopes he will be safe from the Big Bad Robot. He never imagines that in the not too distant future he is going to have to face his greatest enemy.

   In this delightful version of the story of the three little pigs, the author and illustrator take us on an exciting journey across our solar system with three amusing alien characters who learn, the hard way, that it is generally a good idea to do what your mother tells you.

The TTLG 2011 Picture Book Celebration: Book three hundred and eleven

Humans like to think that they and they alone corner the market when it comes to being able to form friendships and having the need for friends. I do not believe this is true at all. I have seen my dogs get upset when one of their number is missing, and one of my cats walking around the house crying and trying to find her friend - who is at the vet's office. Friendships develop between species too. Just look a the story about Owen and Mzee. Who would have thought that a baby hippo and an elderly giant Aldebaran tortoise could be friends, but they were.

Today's book is about a beast who finds that he is lonely and who tries to find other beasts to be his friends.

The Lonely Beast

Chris Judge

Picture Book

For ages 5 to 7

Andresen Press USA, 2011, 978-0-7613-8097-9

   There are Beasts all over the world, but since there is only one in every country, they don’t know each other. These gentle rare creatures love to tend their gardens, drink tea, read good books, walk in the snow, stand in the rain, bake cakes, and eat cakes. They live in remote places like high mountains and deep woods.

   There was one of these Beasts who one day realized that he was lonely and he decided “that he would go and find some other Beasts.” He travelled a long way and endured many hardships until he came to a city. There were no Beasts there, but there were a lot of people. At first, the people were frightened of the Beast, but soon they grew to like him, and he lived in the big city park.

   The Beast had plenty to do, and many human visitors, but he still felt lonely. He tried to contact other Beasts using the media, and soon everyone was talking about him. The problem was that none of the other Beasts were getting in touch.

   This wonderful picture book is charming and inspirational. Readers will be moved when they see what the Beast does to try to find other Beasts like himself. They will grow fond of the gentle creature who loves to read good books and eat cake, and they will find themselves hoping that this Beast gets his wish.