I WILL CHOMP YOU!

by Jory John, illustrated by Bob Shea. Penguin BYR, 2015. Recommended for ages 3-7. 

If you stepped inside my library during a recent reading of this book, you would have heard a ferocious sounding monster (a.k.a the librarian) roaring out:

“I WILL CHOMP YOU, BUSTER!”

Then you would have heard my kindergartners scream back:

“I WILL CHOMP YOU!”

Squealing in delight and quivering with anticipation, my kinders beg me to turn the page.

“You’ve been officially WARNED!” hollers the monster. Then he lunges out and …

“CHOMP!”

and misses. Then he warns us:

“You do NOT want to turn another page, buster.”

… as the story continues, we quickly learn that this monster has something to hide and will use everything at his disposal, including bribery and deceit, to prevent us from finding what’s inside the book ...

This deceptively simple and wonderfully interactive story had my students laughing, shouting, and jumping up in excitement. The oversize words encouraged students to read aloud and interact with the story. Soon they realize that under no circumstances can this monster be trusted – he’ll do anything, even risk a stomach ache, to prevent us from discovering his secret.

Read the full review at Good Reads with Ronna. Thanks to Ronna Mandel for letting me review the book and keep it for my students.

The Queen's Hat. Written and illustrated by Steve Antony. Scholastic, 2015.

“ … Swish!! As the Queen sets off from Buckingham Palace (to visit a “very special” person), a gusty wind whisks the Queen’s favorite hat off her head. Followed by her beloved corgi (dressed in an argyle vest), her guard, and her tea-tray-bearing butler, the queen pursues her hat from one iconic London spot to another: Trafalgar Square, London Zoo, the London Eye, and more.

Author and illustrator Steve Antony uses the format of the picture book to great effect, creating eye popping and hilarious illustrations: the Queen’s Men squashed in like sardines on the Underground, stampeding through London Zoo accompanied by its inhabitants, and dangling from the London Eye. 

The spectacular two-page spread (to be held vertically) of everyone climbing to the top of Big Ben, as a precariously perched Queen stretches out for her hat, is guaranteed to elicit gasps and laughs from readers.Finally, everyone floats down, Mary Poppins-style, umbrellas in hand, and lands at Kensington Palace. The hat gently plops down on a baby in a pram. Now can you guess who this baby might be? The Queen finishes her whirlwind outing by taking this very special baby for a sedate stroll, followed by her dog, and the butler, still trying to serve tea.

Where’s Waldo and I Spy fans will enjoy the challenge of spotting the Queen and her companions amongst the “Men,” not all of whom are so uniform: sharp-eyed children will notice subtle and humorous differences.

Antony, who has been nominated for several awards, including the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal, effectively limits his palette of colors, making the handsome reds, blacks, and blues, stand out vividly against the white space of the pages …”

As always, a big shout out to Ronna Mandel at Good Reads with Ronna for letting me review the book, keep it for my library, and repost the review on my blog.

Now we know our ABCs ...

R is for Rocket; an ABC Book written and illustrated by Tad Hills.  Schwartz & Wade Books, 2015. Recommended for ages 3-7.

A is for apple ...

Alphabet books are so important in fostering early literacy in children by teaching children to recognize letter shapes and sounds, often in very creative ways. In addition, alphabet books, like R is for Rocket, also help children build vocabulary recognition. We could have children chant  “B is for boy,” but I bet they’d enjoy this more:

Bella balances on a ball while

a big blue butterfly watches.

The repetition of a single letter also creates a mood and a rhythmic effect, and, in longer sentences,  encourages children to use words to expand beyond “C is for cat” and create sentences that contain multiple alliterative words. These in turn could be used to describe an activity or event:

Owl offers a cookie and a crayon to crow.

“Now will you stop cawing?” she asks.

What might children’s responses be if asked why was the crow cawing? How did this story begin or end? Can they think of other hard “C” words that could be used to tell their story? A great precursor to creative storytelling/writing.

Tad Hills, the author and illustrator of numerous books, including the Duck and Goose books, depicts his well-known Rocket characters “ ...having fun while learning the alphabet.” Unlike basic alphabet books,  Hill’s popular Rocket characters are engaged in activities beginning with that letter, and accompanied by  a short, alliterative sentence or two:

Rocket paints a picture of a peacock. Owl prefers her pumpkin.

Read the full review at Goodreads with Ronna. Thanks to Ronna Mandel for letting me review the book and keep the review copy for my library. On November 10, we look forward to a visit from Tad!

Introducing Olinguito ... a new mammal species

Olinguito Speaks Up/Olinguito alzo la voz written by Cecilia Velástegui and illustrated by Jade Fang.

Libros Publishing, 2013. $19.99. Recommended for ages 4-8.                      

Shy Olinguito helps forgetful Tómas, an ancient Galapagos tortoise,  recall how he ended far from his native island and in Ecuador cloud forest. Due to Tómas’ memory loss and confusion, the other animals think his stories are “tall tales” and tease him. Olinguito finds the other animals treatment of Tómas disrespectful and sets out to help Tómas prove the truthfulness of his stories. With Olinguito’s support, Tómas reveals the twists and turns that  took him from his island home to the cloud forest.  

Read my complete review at Good Reads with Ronna and thanks to Ronna Mandel for donating a copy of this book to the library.

A Quiet and Soothing Tale for the Holidaze

Kuma-Kuma Chan written and illustrated by Kazue Takahashi.  Museyon Press, 2014. $12.99.  Recommended for ages 2-5.

"I sometimes wonder what Kuma- Kuma Chan does during the day?

Japanese author and illustrator Kazue Takahashi poses a seemingly simple question in this  2001 Japanese book, newly translated into English. However, the deceptively simple answers and accompanying illustrations reveal an important, almost Zen-like quality that should resonate with all of us.

 Kuma Kuma Chan ("cute little bear") lives alone in the mountains, in a place difficult for visitors to reach. So how does he spend his day? Well, after waking up, he fixes himself a big salad with lettuce and tomatoes from his own garden. As he pours milk in his coffee, he draws small pictures.  He carefully sweeps the  house and does some shopping.  Then a nap is in order. Later, he gazes at the clouds and listens to the falling rain. In the spring,  he pulls weeds, and in the summer he needs to cut his fur to stay cool.  Fall is good for love songs and winter would is perfect for reading and following a patch of sunlight around the room.

Alone, but not lonely, Kuma-Kuma lives an unhurried, simple but purposeful life, free from all the clutter and distractions of our modern world. He enjoys his solitude and finds joy in his routines, taking time to live in the moment, and observe what's going on around him.

Visit Good Reads with Ronna to see my full review. Thanks to Ronna Mandel for allowing me to review this book and keep it for my library. 

Give Thanks for Illustrators

What a treat our K-3 students had last week! Keika Yamaguchi, illlustrator of Puddle Pug and Sick of Being Sick, talked to our four K-3 classes (nearly 100 students) about her work as an illustrator. She also read the book Puddle Pug, and left each class with some original artwork.

During her presentation, Keika displayed some of her childhood drawings and told the students that as a child she didn't think she was a good artist- so her parents did drawing assignments for her. When she received so many compliments on "her" artwork, she became concerned that someone would discover her secret. So she practiced and grew better. She led the students in a discussion about what they found difficult (one boy said learning how to play baseball) and let them know that practice would help them improve. When Keika was five, she and her family moved from Japan to the United States. While learning English, she used her art to make friends

Using slides and original art work, students were able to follow Keika's illustrative process for Puddle Pug from early sketches to revisions to final product. Students were delighted to find out that Keika actually played with mud, splattering it on paper to see what it ooked like so she could paint it more realistically in her illustrations.  

Students had time to ask questions and found out that Keika is working on two picture books due out next year. She showed the students a few illustrations from each book. 

Lastly, based on students suggestions, Keika created a poster sized Percy for each class, adapting each one to students' responses to her questions.

Keika's informative and kid-friendly visit was engaging, well paced, and enjoyed by all. In addition to learning more about the illustrator's role in a book, students also learned a few valuable life skills: something difficult can be perfected with practice and there's a process involved to many projects that requires creative exploration and revision before completion.

For days after the visit, parents told me how much their children loved the visit. Our annual book fair coincided with her visit and her books sold like hotcakes!

We look forward to a future visit from our new friend, Keika

Visit Keika's website to learn more about her work.

A new series for young independent readers ... from the team that brought you Rapunzel and Calamity Jack.

Princess in Black by Shannon Hale & Dean Hale and illustrated by LeUyen Pham. Candelwick, 2014. Reviewed by parent and library volunteer, Jasmine George.

The Princess in Black is a charming read that turns the typical princess tale on it's head.  The book tells the story of Princess Magnolia, who at first glance seems to be your run of the mill, frilly dress-wearing, sparkly tiara-sporting princess.  She is at her castle enjoying scones and hot chocolate with the very traditional and very nosy Duchess Wingtower, when her monster alarm rings.  After awkwardly excusing herself, she sheds her frilly pink dress and becomes the Princess in Black; a wall-scaling, horse-riding, monster-wrestling heroine.  As the Princess in Black, she must contend not only with protecting the kingdom from the monsters who occasionally venture out from beneath the ground in search of goats to eat, she must also work to hide her secret identity from the prying eyes of Duchess Wingtower.  The Duchess believes everyone has something to hide, and is determined to prove that Princess Magnolia is not as proper and perfect as she seems.  This book is less about challenging gender roles and more about challenging expectations in general.  Best suited for children ages 4 to 8 years, The Princess in Black is sure to delight as it invites readers to explore their own self-identity and explore the ways in which they do or do not fit the perceptions that others (parents, teachers, etc.) may have of them.  

Thanks to Candlewick Press for the giveaway copy and to Jasmine George for reading and reviewing it. Please visit their  Princess in Black website. for more information about this book including "Seven Things You Didn't Know About the Princess in Black." Also Visit Shannon Hale's Official Website to learn more about the author and her books.

"... a gem waiting to be discovered ..."

Make Way for Dyamonde Daniel by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2009, $10.99. Highly recommended for ages 7-10.

“Dyamonde Daniel was a gem waiting to be discovered … so what if she had wild-crazy hair and was skinnier than half a toothpick (p. 1)?"

Dyamonde Daniel’s boundless spirit cannot be quelched despite some recent setbacks. Her parents’ have divorce, she and her mother have moved to a an unfamiliar neighborhood. Their new apartment only has one bedroom, so Dyamonde sleeps on the couch. She misses her best friend and still feels like an outsider at her new school. How come she doesn't have a new best friend?

So Dyamonde is sympathetic to new student Reed “Free” Freeman when he enters her 3rd grade class after the start of school.  However, despite her friendly overtures, he’s grumpy and rude. Finally, taking her teacher’s advice, she decides to ask him why he’s so mad. Turns out that, like her, he’s got some pretty big family problems to deal with. Dyamonde can certainly understand, and, supported by her positive attitude, Free opens up to a friendship which brings comfort to both.

Smart, spunky, and determined, Dyamonde possesses an awareness and confidence that most children her age (and even some adults) don't have. Her willingness to confront problems creatively and not bow to peer pressure make her a wonderful role model for young students dealing with interpersonal relationships.

This is the first in a series by the talented and prolific Nikki Grimes. The author has written a highly readable and satisfying story that feels realistic, but not gritty and sends an upbeat message without being too preachy or too "heavy."  R. Gregory Christie’s cubist-like illustrations, sprinkled throughout the 80 page book, lend themselves well to the urban New York setting, but this is a story that is easily relatable to all young readers. Other titles in the series include Rich, which looks at issues surrounding poverty and wealth when Dyamonde and Free find out that a classmate lives in a homeless shelter. In Halfway to Perfect Dyamonde helps a friend address body image when other classmates make fun of her weight.

A warm and humorous book for beginning readers

Annie and Simon: the sneeze and other stories by Catharine O’Neill. Candlewick Press, 2013. $15.99. Highly recommended for ages 3-7.

Cheerful and talkative Annie, and her big brother Simon are back for another adventure. Each of the four short stories in this second volume focuses on the two very different, yet loving, siblings, delivering gentle messages about relationships, perspective, caring, and sharing.

“Living Things” is a perfect introduction to both characters. The wise-beyond-his years Simon uses his binoculars to observe nature at the lake, while Annie draws what she sees-or thinks she sees. Her scribbly drawings are not always accurate and what she believes she knows isn’t necessarily true. An exchange about frogs is humorous and telling:

“Knees? Frogs with knees? Oh, Simon. Tee-hee.  Tee-hee.  Tee-hee.”

“Good grief,” said Simon (p. 5).

Under Simon’s patient tutelage, Annie begins to understand more of the world around her than just what she sees or thinks she knows ...

See my full review at Good Reads With Ronna.