Picture Book Monday - A review of One Cool Friend

Children like to think that they are the only people who can have secrets that are fun and interesting. They never imagine that their grownups might have "cool" secrets of their own, because grownups and the word "cool" simply do not go together. This picture book shows to great effect that there are times when grownups can be pretty interesting people, and it is not wise to underestimate them. Oh, and you will also get to meet a rather clever penguin in this story, which I am sure will delight readers who have a soft spot for penguins.

One Cool Friend

Toni Buzzeo

Illustrated by David Small

Picture Book

For ages 6 to 8

Penguin, 2012, 978-0-8037-3413-5

   Elliot is a not your average kind of boy. He wears a neat suit black suit, a white shirt, and a black bow tie. He does not enjoy the usual pursuits popular with children, so when he father suggest going to the Family Fun Day at the aquarium, Elliott agrees to go more out of politeness than anything else.

   At the aquarium, Elliot eschews the exhibits that attract all the other children, and instead he wonders off on his own. Which is when he finds the penguins. He loves the way the Magellan penguins look with their “tidy black feather tuxedos” and their “proper posture,” so he goes to where his father is sitting and asks if he can have a penguin. His father gives Elliott a twenty-dollar bill, and then Elliot goes to the penguin enclosure and picks out the smallest penguin. Eliott’s father thinks that his son is going to buy a toy penguin in the gift shop, and it never occurs to him that Elliott has a real penguin in his backpack when they leave the aquarium.

   Taking care of an animal that is used to cold temperatures, ice, and lots of water is not an easy thing to do when you live in a house. Especially when you are not too keen to let your father know that there is a penguin in residence. Elliott and his penguin, Magellan, manage very well for a while, and then the unthinkable happens.

   Children will laugh out loud when they see how Elliott acquires his unusual pet, and when they then see what he does to take care of it. They will love the extremely surprising ending, and will enjoy going back through the book to find the clues that suggest that Elliott’s father might have a secret of his own.

   With a beautifully written and minimal text, and David Small’s wonderfully expressive illustrations, this is a picture book that readers of all ages will enjoy reading. Anyone who has a fondness for penguins must add this title to their penguin book library.

Poetry Friday - A review of Mixed Beasts

Can you imagine what an animal would look like if it had the body of a bumblebee, and the head, paws, and tail of a beaver? No, neither could I until I read today's poetry title. Perhaps imagining such a thing does not interest you. Why would anyone want to waste their time imagining such an animal? Well, I can tell you from personal experience that seeing what a Bumblebeaver looks like is not a waste of time at all. Don't believe me? Then look through this book and you will see for yourself. On its pages you will meet some very strange looking creatures, and you will read some wonderful poems that will make you smile, or maybe even laugh.

Mixed Beasts, Or a Miscellany of Rare and Fantastic Creatures

Kenyon Cox
Illustrated by Wallace Edwards
Poetry Picture Book
For ages 7 to 10
Kids Can Press, 2005, 978-1553377962
Professor Julius Duckworth O'Hare (Esquire) is a zoologist who likes to travel around the world to study rare and peculiar creatures the like of which most of us have never heard of. We are very lucky because Kenyon Cox and Wallace Edwards have combined their considerable talents to introduce us just some of the bizarre animals that the Professor saw on his travels. Be advised that some of these creatures are rather startling to look at, but I am sure that you will be intrigued by them.

   Perhaps the most interesting of the animals in this book is the octopussycat. Though it is not cuddly, it is certainly fascinating because each its eight arms can work independently. The Bumblebeaver is another curious creature. It is able to make "mud-houses with his tail / Or gather honey with his nose." If you think that that is peculiar, then you should see a Creampuffin. This animal is half bird, and half dessert, and can in fact can be eaten in its 'raw' form.

   This picture book of delightfully ridiculous verse introduces readers to thirteen highly unlikely looking animals, each one of which is shown in a very unusual setting. The verse is lively and rhyming, reminiscent of some of the verse found in the Alice in Wonderland books. When readers investigate the illustrations closely they will find that other peculiar creatures inhabit the artwork. These animals are shown in an illustrated listing in the back of the book. Readers will also discover one last surprise on the very last page of the book, one which will go a long way to explain who (and what) Professor Julius Duckworth O'Hare is.

Fiction Wednesday - A review of Beezus and Ramona

I know that countless American children have grown up listening to, and then reading, the Ramona books. Unfortunately, I was not able to have this experience. For some reason the books in this superlative series never crossed the Atlantic. I cannot imagine why they were not available in Europe when I was growing up, but they weren't. I moved to the U.S. in 1991, and soon after I met Ramona for the first time. Despite my adult status, I love the Ramona stories, and I know I would have loved then when I was a child too. Just in case there are some of you who have somehow missed reading about Ramona and her family, here is a review of the first title in the collection.

Beezusand Ramona

Beverly Cleary
Illustrated by Tracy Dockray
Fiction
For ages 8 to 10
HarperCollins, 1990, 038070918X

Beezus Quimby has a problem - her four-year-old sister. Ramona is the kind of child who does exactly what she wants and heaven help anyone who tries to change her mind. For example, at the moment, Ramona is fixated on one book, “The Littlest Steam Shovel.” Everyone in the family, with the exception of Ramona of course, is sick of the book. Desperate for some respite from Scoopy the steam shovel, Beezus takes Ramona to the library. Surely Ramona will pick a new kind of book, a book that everyone will like? Alas for Beezus and her parents, for Ramona decides to borrow “Big Steve the Steam Shovel.”

   As her little sister finds endless ways to make her life miserable, Beezus finds herself getting angry again and again. Even worse, she discovers that there are moments when she really does not like her little sister at all. There are times when she wishes she could have a break from Ramona. Does this mean that she is a bad person and a bad sister?

   Any child who has been around an annoying younger brother, sister, cousin, or friend will appreciate the six stories in this book. The problems that Beezus and Ramona have to deal with are of the everyday variety; they are the kind of problems that children can relate to. At the same time they are also funny and highly entertaining.

   This is the first title in a series of books about Ramona Quimby.

 

IBBY Announces the Winners of the 2012 Hans Christian Andersen Award

The Hans Christian Andersen Award Jury of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) announces that María Teresa Andruetto from Argentina is the winner of the 2012 Hans Christian Andersen Author Award and Peter Sís from the Czech Republic is the winner of the 2012 Hans Christian Andersen Illustrator Award.

The Andersen medals and diplomas will be presented to the winners at the international IBBY congress in London, United Kingdom on Saturday, 25 August 2012. 

The Hans Christian Andersen Award, considered the most prestigious in international children’s literature, is given biennially by the International Board on Books for Young People to a living author and illustrator whose complete works are judged to have made lasting contributions to children's literature.

In awarding the 2012 Hans Christian Andersen Medal for writing to María Teresa Andruetto the Jury recognises her mastery in writing important and original works that are strongly focussed on aesthetics.  She creates sensitive books, which are deep and poetic with a clear literary base.  Her books relate to a great variety of topics, such as migration, inner worlds, injustice, love, poverty, violence or political affairs.

Andruetto was selected from 27 authors nominated for the Award. The four finalists are Paul Fleischman (USA), Bart Moeyaert (Belgium), Jean-Claude Mourlevat (France) and Bianca Pitzorno (Italy).

In awarding the 2012 Hans Christian Andersen Medal for illustration to Peter Sís the Jury recognizes his extraordinary originality and deep creative power to relate highly complex stories that can be interpreted on many different levels.  The jury particularly appreciates his use of different design and artistic techniques, as well as his innovative approach using a subtle balance to depict well-documented and historical events and fantastic elements.

Sís was selected from 30 illustrators nominated for the Award. The four finalists are Mohammad Ali Baniasadi(Iran), John Burningham (UK), Roger Mello (Brazil) and Javier Zabala (Spain)

The other author candidates were Christobel Mattingley (Australia), Monika Pelz (Austria), Bartolomeu Campos de Queirós (Brazil), Tim Wynne-Jones (Canada), Elli Peonidou (Cyprus), Lene Kaaberbøl (Denmark), Sinikka Nopola/Tiina Nopola (Finland), Paul Maar (Germany), Christos Boulotis (Greece), Eoin Colfer (Ireland), Masamoto Nasu (Japan), Hwang Sun-mi (Republic of Korea), Tonke Dragt (Netherlands), Bjørn Sortland (Norway), Silvia Kerim (Romania), Ljubivoje Ršumovic (Serbia), Tone Pavcek (Slovenia), Agustín Fernández Paz (Spain), Lennart Hellsing (Sweden), Franz Hohler (Switzerland), Sevim Ak (Turkey), and Philip Pullman (UK).

The other illustrator candidates were Pablo Bernasconi (Argentina), Bob Graham (Australia), Renate Habinger (Austria), Louis Joos (Belgium), Stéphane Jorisch (Canada), Charlotte Pardi (Denmark), Virpi Talvitie (Finland), Henri Galeron (France), Rotraut Susanne Berner (Germany), Efie Lada (Greece), Francesco Tullio-Altan (Italy), Satoshi Kako (Japan), Hong Seong-Chan (Republic of Korea), Anita Paegle (Latvia), Annemarie van Haeringen (Netherlands), Øyvind Torseter (Norway), Valeria Moldovan (Romania), Gennadij Spirin (Russia), Dobrosav Živkovic (Serbia), Alenka Sottler (Slovenia), Anna-Clara Tidholm (Sweden), Kathrin Schärer (Switzerland), Feridun Oral (Turkey), Chris Raschka (USA) and Arnal Ballester (Venezuela).

The ten members of the 2012 Jury, led by Jury President María Jesús Gil from Spain, met in Basel, Switzerland on 10 and 11 March 2012.  The Jury of children's literature experts comprised Anastasia Arkhipova (Russia), Françoise Ballenger (France), Ernest Bond (USA), Sabine Fuchs (Austria), Ayfer Gürdal Ünal (Turkey), Jan Hansson (Sweden), Eva Kaliskami (Greece), Nora Lía Sormani (Argentina), Sahar Tarhandeh (Iran) and Regina Zilberman (Brazil). Elda Nogueira from Brazil representing IBBY and Liz Page as Jury Secretary attended the meeting ex officio.

Happy Spring!

 Happy Spring!

 

You can find many titles about spring on the TTLG spring books page

Picture Book Monday - A review of Yoko Learns to Read

Some time ago, I started working as a learning-to-read volunteer. I find this work to be incredibly rewarding, and I have met some wonderful children. When they make a breakthrough, or figure out how to sound out a difficult word, their pride in their accomplishment is a priceless gift.

Today's picture book is about a little girl cat called Yoko who is learning how to read. The book is one in a  series of picture books about Yoko written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells. Rosemary is a fantastic writer who has given us Max and Ruby, Timothy, McDuff, and many other wonderful book characters.

Yoko learns to read

Rosemary Wells

Picture Book

For ages 5 to 7

Hyperion, 2012, 978-142313823-5

   Every evening, Yoko and her mother read one of the three Japanese children’s books that they own, and now Yoko knows the stories in the books by heart. As a reward for knowing the stories, Yoko’s teacher, Mrs. Jenkins, lets Yoko put three leaves on the class book tree. Yoko cannot help noticing that Valerie has four leaves on the tree, and Angelo has six leaves. Yoko wants to be able to put more leaves on the tree because she does not want to be “left behind.” The problem is that Yoko only has the three Japanese books at home, and she needs to read new books if she wants to get more leaves.

   Yoko and her Mama decide to go the library so that they can borrow books for Yoko. When they get home, they are able to figure out the story in the book by looking at the pictures, but they still cannot read the words. Yoko is still learning how, and Yoko’s mama only knows how to read Japanese words. Somehow, Yoko needs to learn how to read the words in her library books so that she can earn more leaves.

   When you are young, learning how to read can be challenging, especially if your parents don’t know how to read, or if they only know how to read words that are written in a foreign language. In this charming picture book, Rosemary wells brings back Yoko, her little Japanese kitten character, to show children that anyone can learn how to read if they have a little help.

Poetry Friday - A Review of Ivy in Bloom: The Poetry of Spring

In just a few days, spring will officially have arrived. Of course, you may still be experiencing cold weather on the day, but at least you can start thinking about spring, and anticipating the warmer weather, the opening flowers, and the little leaves budding out on the trees.

Today's poetry book uses a very unique format to describe the experiences of one little girl who very much wants spring to arrive.

Ivy in Bloom: The Poetry of Spring

Vanita Oelschlager

Illustrated by Kristin Blackwood

Poetry Picture Book

For ages 7 to 10

Vanita Books, 2009, 978-0-9800162-7-7

It is a cold day in March, and Ivy Van Allsberg is wishing that spring would make an appearance. She is tired of “piercing” winter winds, “heavy and gray” clouds, and frost covered fountains. In vain she looks here and there for signs of spring.

   Then, at last, spring begins to send up shoots that are green and full of life. April brings showers and snowmelt, and flowers are encouraged to bloom. Little birds sing, Ivy’s heart “dances” like golden yellow daffodils, and “all’s right with the world!”

   In this unique picture book, Vanita Oelschlager combines her own poetry with sections of poetry written by Longfellow, Charles Dickens, e.e. cummings, Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, and others. The resulting poetical picture is as fresh and exciting as spring itself.

   In the back of the book, the text is presented in full, showing readers how the opening section, written by Vanita, shifts into the section of the narrative that uses words written by “Great Poets and Writers of the Past.” Here readers can see excerpts of the poems that Vanita used.

2012 Children's Choice Book Awards - VOTE!

 

It is time to vote for the Children's Choice Book Awards! You can do this online on the Children's Book Week Voting Page. There are six categories: Kindergarten to Second Grade Book of the Year; Third to Fourth Grade Book of the Year; Fifth to Sixth Grade Book of the Year; Teen Book of the Year; Author of the Year; Illustrator of the Year. You can find out more about the finalists here.

"The Children's Choice Book Awards is the only national book awards program where the winning titles are selected by children and teens of all ages.

Launched in 2008 by the Children's Book Council and Every Child A Reader (The CBC Foundation), The Children’s Choice Book Awards program was created to provide young readers with an opportunity to voice their opinions about the books being written for them and to help develop a reading list that will motivate children to read more and cultivate a love of reading.

Voting will open March 14, 2012. The winners will be announced live at the Children's Choice Book Awards gala in New York City.

Finalist Selection ProcessThe finalists for Book of the Year in the Kindergarten to Second Grade, Third Grade to Fourth Grade, and Fifth Grade to Sixth Grade categories are the books that received the highest number of votes in the IRA-CBC Children's Choices program.

Children's Choices, a joint project of the International Reading Association (IRA) and the CBC, began in 1974. Teams of IRA-affiliated educators in five geographic regions receive copies of each submitted title to provide to students to read and rate in classrooms across their region. The votes from the five regions (from approximately 12,500 children) are compiled and the five titles with the highest number of votes in each category (K-2, 3-4, 5-6) become the finalists for the Children's Choice Book Awards.

The Teen Choice Book Award was added in 2009. The Teen Choice finalists are determined with the help ofTeenreads.com (part of The Book Report Network). The website compiles a list of all the books they have reviewed over the year and encourages readers to write in their own picks if they aren't listed. Teens vote for their favorite book and the top five vote-getters become the finalists for the Teen Choice Book of the Year. This year, over 4,000 teens determined the finalists.

The Author and Illustrator of the Year finalists are selected by the CBC from a review of bestseller lists with an emphasis on Bookscan. Only authors and illustrators associated with books published in the previous calendar year are considered. "

Fiction Wednesday - The Case of the Deadly Desperados

I will be honest with you. I really don't care for Westerns. Not in story form, and not in film form. For this reason, I was reluctant to review today's fiction title. Then I read the blurb on the back of the book, and I was intrigued. I am so glad that I was open-minded enough to start reading the book, because once I had started, I could not put it down.

The Case of the Deadly Desperados

Caroline Lawrence

Fiction

For ages 8 to 11

Penguin, 2012, 978-0-399-25633-2

It is September 26, 1862, and P.K. Pinkerton comes home to find out that his foster father is dead, and his foster mother is dying. Lying on the floor and knowing that she will soon be in heaven, Ma Evangeline tells P.K. that the three men who attacked then are looking for the little medicine bag that P.K’s Indian mother gave him. P.K. manages to retrieve the bag and hide himself before the three killers return, and he hears them talking about him.

   While he waits for the stagecoach to arrive, (P.K. knows that he needs to get far away as soon as possible) he reads a piece of paper that he finds in his medicine bag. Though he is not sure what it is exactly, he does appreciate that the paper is very valuable, and that anyone who owns it will be very rich indeed.

   Some hours later P.K arrives in Virginia City. One of the bigger mining towns in Nevada Territory, Virginia City is a hotbed of vice. Here there are opium dens, houses of ill repute, and saloons. There are gamblers, “Soiled Doves,” criminals, and men who think nothing of shooting first and asking questions later.

   P.K. isn’t in Virginia City long before he is robbed by a “Soiled Dove” of everything valuable that he owns (including the piece of paper.) He soon comes to understand that in Virginia City the rule is everyone for himself (or herself.) He cannot trust anyone to look out for his interests.

  A newspaperman called Sam Clements who has recently arrived in the area takes pity on P.K. Sam does his best to help the boy, but the three desperados who are seeking him out are never far behind, and P.K. begins to despair that he will ever be able to escape their clutches.

   In this very unusual and highly entertaining western, Caroline Lawrence combines fact and fiction to give readers a singular story and a colorful picture of what it was like to be in a mining town in the late 1800’s. Readers will soon get caught up in P.K’s extraordinary tale, and they will appreciate the strategies he adopts to survive, some of which are very odd indeed. 

Picture Book Monday - A review of Dog loves Drawing

Every so often I encounter a book that I think has something to say to anyone (of any age) who reads it. Today's title is just such a book. It delighted and inspired me, and I plan on always keeping it on hand for those days when I need to be reminded that there is nothing wrong with being a novice artist, a novice violinist, or a novice anything else. It is better to be a novice than to never begin at all. 

Dog loves Drawing

Louise Yates

Picture Book

For ages 5 and up

Random House UK, 2012, 978-0-224-08371-3

   Not long ago, Dog, who loves books, opened up a bookshop. He has a happy life sharing books with others and reading books by himself. Then one day he gets a parcel, and inside the parcel Dog finds a book that is completely blank. What on earth is one supposed to do with a book that has no words or pictures in it?

   Then Dog reads a note that his Aunt Dora wrote on the inside cover of the book. In the note she says that she hopes that “the line you draw” will “open a door to some wonderful adventures.” Now some of us would find this note confusing, but Dog understands what Aunt Dora means. The book is for drawing in!

   Dog quickly sets about getting pens, brushes, pencils, and the other things he is going to need. Then he draws a door…and walks through it and onto the blank page in his sketch book.

   The first thing Dog does is to draw a stickman to be his friend, and together Dog and the stickman doodle away until the page is filled up. They turn the page, and decide to draw some more companions, and soon a duck, owl, and a crab are on the page as well, happily paintings and doodling with Dog’s art supplies.

   One the next page, the friends decide that it is time for them to “go on an outing.” Luckyily for them, they can draw anything they need so that they can go on an adventure.

   For some lucky people, drawing comes as naturally as walking or eating. The rest of us have to explore a little before we feel comfortable with a pencil or paintbrush in our hands. This splendid book will show anyone who is unsure about how to start drawing that the only thing to do is to start drawing and to see where it takes you. Dog’s easy confidence, even though he is not an artist, is infectious, and readers are likely to find, when they have finished the story, that they too would like to have an adventure on a blank page.

   Though this book is about Dog’s drawing adventure, the message in the tale could apply to any of the many adventures that people embark on in life. None of us really know how to do things at first. We all have to explore and practice before we properly know what we are doing.

   Readers who enjoyed this book will want to read the first Dog book, Dog Loves Books.