Poetry Friday - A review of If not for the cat

I live a life that is packed with words. When I am not reading a book, I am reviewing one or evaluating one or editing one. Sometimes I feel as if I have word overload! For this reason, I found today's poetry book very refreshing and calming. The poems are short, and they perfectly describe one special moment and one point of view. Each one is a gem to be savored. 

If not for the cat

Jack Prelutsky

Illustrated by Ted Rand

Poetry Picture Book

For ages 5 to 8

HarperCollins, 2004, 978-0060596774

   Most of us, if we are asked to describe an animal, a hummingbird perhaps, will talk at length about what the animal looks like and how it behaves. We will talk about how tiny the bird is, how fast it moves, and how colorful it is. In this collection, poet Jack Prelutsky tells us about seventeen animals using a very minimalist poetry form, the haiku. In just three short lines he captures the essence of his subjects. The poems are written from the point of view of each animal, which gives readers a very different perspective.

   The mouse does not tell us about its bright eyes and whiffly little nose. Instead, it tells us that it “could be content” if there was not a “scarcity of cheese,” and if there wasn’t a cat around. Ted Rand’s beautiful painting shows us the mouse sitting by its hole, and we can see that the cat is on the other side of the hole, waiting.

   Further on we meet a sea otter. It is lying on its back holding a red sea urchin in its front paws. This delectable treat will be cracked open by the otter and it will “snack on my back.”

   The poet moves from animals that are commonplace, like a moth and some ants, to those that are more exotic, like an elephant and a sloth. Children who have a fondness for animals will enjoy trying to remember or guess what the animals are called, and they will surely be captivated by Ted Rand’s illustrations, which are gorgeously rendered to look like Japanese paintings. 

Fiction Wednesday: A review of Andy Shane and the Barn Sale Mystery

A few years ago I read and reviewed a book about a little boy called Andy Shane, and ever since I have made a point of looking for other titles about Andy. The titles in this series are perfect for young readers who are ready for chapter books, and they are funny, charming, and a delight to read. 

Andy Shane and the barn sale mystery

Jennifer Richard Jacobson

Illustrated by Abby Carter

Fiction

For ages 5 to 7

Candlewick, 2009, 978-0-7636-3599-2

   Andy Shane and Granny Webb always celebrate their unbirthdays in the fall. After all the fall chores are complete, and when they can finally relax a little, they decide that it is “the perfect time for a party.”

   This year Andy wants to get his granny the “best present ever,” and since she uses her binoculars all the time to watch living things, Andy decides that what she needs is a case for her binoculars. The problem is, as Dolores Starbuckle points out, Andy has no money. Somehow, Andy needs to raise some money, but how?

   Later that day Andy and Dolores see an old chair sitting by the side of the road. If they clean it up they could sell the chair. Andy is inspired. He can hold a barn sale to make some money.

   Soon Andy and Dolores are going around the neighborhood collecting all kinds of things that the neighbors have no use for. It isn’t long before Granny’s barn is full of pots and pans, boxes of books, and lots of other useful things. Andy never imagines that his grand idea is going to lead to a big problem.

   In this amusing Andy Shane title, Jennifer Richard Jacobson tells a story that young readers are sure to enjoy. They will worry that Andy will not be able to get out of his predicament, and they will also hope that he will be able to give Granny the perfect gift for her unbirthday.

   This is a perfect series for young readers who just beginning to read books with short chapters. 

Picture Book Monday - A review of Fish on a walk

Some children love to tell stories. They spend long periods of time entertaining their friends with tales about adventures, magic, and villains. Often their tales are inspired by stories that they have heard, or by movies or television programs.

For today's picture book I have a title that will charm young (and not so young) storytellers. Looking through the book is rather like seeing scenes from movies that have been frozen. There is no sound and no movement, and you have to figure out what is going on. You are the one who gets to make up the story that fits the images on the pages. 

Fish on a Walk

Eva Muggenthaler

Picture Book

For ages 5 to 9

Enchanted Lion Books, 2011, 978-1-59270-116-2

In almost all picture books, the story is told by the author and illustrator. We know what is happening because we are told and shown what is happening. Imagine what it would be like to be given a picture that suggests all kinds of stories. Imagine what fun it would be to tell those stories ones self.

   Well, in this book this is just what you can do. On every double page spread there is a picture, and below this there are two words that are opposites. For example on the first spread, there are the words “scared” and “brave.” In the picture above, we see a little bunny standing on a stage hiding behind a huge double bass. We can tell that he is scared. Sitting on the base there is a tiny little frog who is bravely playing his guitar and singing, much to the enjoyment of the audience. Why did the frog start performing? Why is there a little insect behind the curtain drinking a hot cup of coffee? What is going to happen next?

   These are questions you can address as you make up your own story for this picture. When you are ready for something new, just turn the page and start telling the story that goes with the next spread.

   Here we are looking at a scene in a park. The two words for this spread are “alone” and “together.” We see that a pile of animals are sitting on one end of a teeter totter (see-saw) so that a young elephant can sit on the other end. What is going on here?

   This book is going to delight and intrigue children who love to tell their own stories. They don’t need to be able to read well to be able to enjoy the book, and every time they look through the book they can make up new stories to go with the twelve double spread illustrations. 

A letter from Amy Nathan author of Round and Round Together.

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and in honor of that great man, I have asked Amy Nathan, the author of Round and Round Together to tell me about her book and how it came to be written.

First here is a brief description of the book and its author:

On August 28, 1963—the day of Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech—segregation ended at Gwynn Oak amusement park in Maryland when eleven-month old Sharon Langley, her dad beside her, became the first black child to ride the park's famous merry-go-round. As Amy Nathan tells the story of how individuals in Baltimore integrated one amusement park in their town, she also gives an overview of the history of segregation and the civil rights movement. Round and Round Together creates a new civil rights symbol—the Gwynn Oak carousel is now the Smithsonian Carousel which thousands of kids enjoy each year.

Round and Round Together is illustrated with archival photos from newspapers and other sources, as well as personal photos from family albums of individuals interviewed for the book and a timeline of major civil rights events.

Amy Nathan is an award-winning author of several books for young people including The Young Musician's Survival Guide, Count on Us: American Women in the Military, Yankee Doodle Gals: Women Pilots of World War II, Meet the Musicians, and Surviving Homework.

Now, I will share Amy's letter with you. 

Dear TTLG:

I grew up in Baltimore, not far from the amusement park in Round and Round Together.
I never knew of its link to the 1963 March on Washington until four years ago when
my brother recommended Here Lies Jim Crow, C. Fraser Smith’s book on Maryland Civil
Rights. It mentions briefly that segregation ended  at that amusement park on
August 28, 1963, the day of the March on Washington. The first African American
child to go on a ride there that day, eleven-month-old Sharon Langley, rode the
merry-go-round,sitting between two white youngsters. What a great story for kids,
I thought: black and white kids circling round and round having fun together at
a formerly segregated park on the same day that Martin Luther King, Jr., was
speaking of his dream that one day black and white kids would treat each other
as brothers and sisters.
I started researching and discovered something the Smith book hadn’t mentioned.
That merry-go-round was now on the National Mall in Washington, D.C, sitting
in front of the Smithsonian, not far from where Dr. King delivered his famous
speech. I contacted the Smithsonian press office. They knew their carousel had
been at that Baltimore park but didn’t know of its connection to Civil Rights and
August 28, 1963.
   I had stumbled on a new symbol of the Civil Rights movement, one most people
didn’t seem to know about, one that kids could relate to—and have fun on. It’s
a symbol that can give a feel for what the Jim Crow era was like, the pervasive
unfairness of a system that even kept little kids from riding a merry-go-round
just because of the color of their skin. Climbing onboard for a ride today
offers a “you are there," letting riders imagine what it was like for Sharon
Langley’s family on August 28, 1963, visiting a previously whites-only
amusement park, not really knowing what kind of reception they would receive.
   Originally I planned to write a short picture book but soon realized this story
offered a way to give an overview of the Civil Rights movement as a whole. The
Baltimoreans who kept trying different tactics over the years in order to find
a nonviolent way to end Jim Crow at that park were typical of Civil Rights
volunteers in other cities, all learning along the way how to organize effective
protests. So I geared the book toward an older YA audience, putting off writing
that picture book until later (one is in the works now). My goal was to write a
YA book that would help readers understand the Civil Rights movement better.
Little did I realize it could also give insight into current events. As I was
finishing the book,nonviolent protests were making headlines once again with
the Arab Spring and the Occupy movement.I hope Round and Round Together’s story
of the evolving nature of 1950’s and 60s demonstrations can offer some perspective
into the varied and often changing strategies being tried out by today’s
protestors.

                                     Thanks for your interest in how this book came to be!

                                    Amy Nathan

                                    www.AmyNathanBooks.com

Poetry Friday - A review of Snow, Snow: Winter poems for children

One of the things that I look forward to in winter is snow. I love watching snow drift down, I like playing in the snow, and I enjoy sledding, snowshoeing and skiing. Usually by January the mountains around my town have enough snow on them that we can go skiing, but so far this winter it has been very dry and too warm. People of all ages are grumbling about our snow-less state.

Thankfully people like Jane Yolen know just how to take her readers into another world, which in today's poetry book is a snowy one. I might not be able to go skiing or sledding, but thanks to this book I can imagine that I am looking at a beautiful snow-dusted landscape.

Snow, Snow: Winter poems for children

Jane Yolen

Photographs by Jason Stemple

Poetry Picture Book

For ages 7 to 10

Boyds Mills Press, 1998, 1-59078-346-8

   For many people snow is a “cold and wet and sometimes inconvenient” problem to deal with during the months of winter. For others, snow is something that turns the outdoors into a magical playground. It is something that transforms the landscape into a beautiful glittery world that is full of promise.

   For this special collection of poems, Jane Yolen has created thirteen poems that are perfectly paired with Jason Stemple’s gorgeous photographs to give readers, young and old, a picture (in words and images) of snowy woods, skiers going down a mountainside, a snowmobile flying through the air, and more.

   We find out “what is cold and plump / And billows,” and we see how snowy trees look as if someone has painted them in the night so that they are now “As white as wool” wearing “A diamond crown.”

   With language rich with beautiful imagery, and with touches with humor here and there, this collection is just the thing to share with someone on a chilly winter day. 

Books for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

On Monday January 16th, people all over America will be
remembering the life and achievements of Martin Luther King Jr. I did not learn learn much about this extraordinary man until I moved to the U.S when I was in my early twenties. Then I started working in a school, and my students began telling me about the civil rights leader who kept on fighting for the cause, even when his life was threatened. I was drawn to his story, and when I began reviewing children's books, I made a point of looking for titles that were about Martin Luther King's work. You can take a look at these titles on the TTLG Martin Luther King Jr feature page. Each title in this collection offers readers something special, and any one of them would be an excellent title to share with a children or children on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Fiction Wednesday: A review of Down Girl and Sit: Smarter than squirrels

I have a dog who is keenly anti-squirrel. He hates squirrels of all kinds, and lives for the day when he will finally catch one. I am sure that if he could read, he would love today's book because it is about a pair of dogs who are convinced that they have the upper paw when it comes to squirrels. Though I admire them for their confidence in themselves, I can't help thinking that perhaps these two dogs aren't as squirrel savvy as they think they are.

Down Girl and Sit: Smarter than squirrels

Lucy Nolan

Illustrated by Mike Reed

Fiction

For ages 6 to 8

Marshall Cavendish, 2004, 978-0-7614-5184-6

Down Girl and Sit are a pair of dogs who are best friends and next door neighbors. Together, in their respective yards, they work hard to “keep the world safe.” After all, there are all kinds of things out there that are dangerous, things like birds and squirrels. Luckily, Down Girl and Sit know how to deal with such dangers. They have figured out that the best thing to go to save the world from thieving and munching birds and squirrels is to chase them up trees. See how clever they are?

   The other thing they know is that one should never ever go near the back fence because something very dangerous lives over there. In fact, it is something that is “too horrible to talk about.”

   Once day Down Girl and Sit find out that something truly terrible has moved into the neighborhood. It is big and ugly and it is called Here Kitty Kitty. Just like those dreadful birds and squirrels, Here Kitty Kitty is bad news. When they see Here Kitty Kitty sneaking around, Down Girl and Sit do what they always do, they chase the interloper into a tree. This is very satisfying of course, but then Here Kitty Kitty walks along the back fence, and he finds out why Down Girl and Sit refuse to go anywhere near that part of their yards.

    Told from Down Girl’s point of view, this wonderfully funny chapter book will give readers a very singular picture of what it might be like to be a dog. Children will laugh out loud when they find out that Down Girl sincerely thinks that she understands her person, and that she is the one who is in control of the situation.

   With four stories to enjoy and a wonderful main character, this is a perfect book for young readers who are eager to read books with real chapters in them. This is the first book in what promises to be much-loved new series.  

The Octonauts are now on the TV in the USA

During my 365 days of Picture books celebration in 2011 I reviewed two titles about the Octonauts that were written and illustrated by Meomi. I love the artwork in these books, and I was delighted to hear that children can now enjoy Octonaut stories on the Disney Junior channel. Here is a preview of this show:



You can find videos and other materials related to his show on the Octonauts website. 

Picture Book Monday - A review of Thing-Thing

I have always liked books that are about stuffed animals. Pooh Bear, Dougal, Polar, Bumbletum, and Willow are just a few of the wonderful stuffed animals that you can get to know in books. In today's picture book you will meet a stuffed animal that is a little different, and who has a big adventure on the very day that it leaves the toy shop. 

Thing-Thing

Cary Fagan

Illustrated by Nicolas Debon

Picture Book

For ages 5 to 7

Tundra, 2008, 978-0-88776-839-2

   It is Archibald Crimp’s birthday, and as a special treat, his parents have taken him to the city. Though his hotel room is full of wonderful gifts, Archibald is a not a happy boy. Instead, he is upset because his gifts are not unique enough, and he refuses to get out of bed until his parents give him “something I like.”

   Poor Archibald’s father goes to the toy store near the hotel and after much searching, he finds a very strange looking stuffed animal. It is not a cat, or a dog, or a bunny, or a bear. According to the tag, it is a Thing-Thing. Not knowing what else to do, Archibald’s father buys the Thing-Thing and he takes it back to the hotel.

   I am sorry to say that Archibald does not appreciate the gift he is given at all. In fact, he behaves very badly, throwing Thing-Thing out of the hotel window. Poor Thing-Thing has always hoped that it would be given to a child who would love it, who would play with and snuggle it. Instead, it gets thrown out of window; a sixth floor window.

   As it falls down, down, and down, Thing-Thing is seen by the people on the fifth, fourth, third, and second floors. In turn, Thing-Thing catches glimpses of the people on those floors, and for a tiny moment it is a part of their lives.

   In this unique and memorable picture book, we meet a stuffed animal that ends up, in a very short period of time, touching the lives of several people. Readers will be able to enjoy following Thing-Things progress, and they will rejoice when they see how the stuffed animal’s story ends. How gratifying it is to have this kind of warm happy ending in a world that often is grim and sad.

   

Poetry Friday - A review of the Mice of Nibbling Village

In the new issue of TTLG, the special feature is a collection of books that are about mice and rats. It therefore seems very appropriate that my first poetry book of the month is one in which all the main characters are mice. Enjoy!

The Mice of Nibbling Village

Margaret Greaves

Illustrated by Jane Pinkney

Poetry Picture Book

For ages 6 to 8

National Trust Books, 2011, 9781843651895

   There are some people who think that mice are all alike, that they have similar needs, desires, and temperaments. They clearly have not spent any time with the mice who live in and around Mouse Nibbling Village. The mice who live here are busy creatures, each one of which has his or her own particular gifts and interests.

   For example, young Morrikin has a passion for devices that have gears and screws, and one day he decides to take apart a clock so that he can see where “the tick might be.” Unfortunately, the clock never recovers from this experience, and now Morrikin is trying to build a clock of his own. One suspects that his time keeping device will never work like the one that he chose to take apart.

   Mandy Snippet is a very different sort of mouse because she knows what she is doing. Mandy Snippet is a baker of great skill, and when she makes a loaf of bread “Never a crumb of it goes to waste.”

   Just like in any village, Mouse Nibbling has its characters. There is Aunt Taffy who is so nervous that she “double-locks” the doors in her house, and Mattie is convinced that there is something spooky living in Twitchett Lane. Miss Poppitt tells everyone that she has a “hole inside,” which is how she explains away her habit of eating meals and snacks almost all day long. Could it be that this so-called hole is bigger than Miss Poppit?

   In this delightful mouse-centric collection of poems, young readers will meet a wide variety of mouse characters. Some are admirable, others are funny, while still others have amusing adventures. With lovely illustrations throughout, this is a collection that will have readers wishing that they could pay a visit to Mouse Nibbling themselves. Perhaps they could have tea with Mrs. Trillaby Lee, or see Miss Dimity Moppet dancing at the ball wearing her new muslin dress.