Month: February 2017

A Perfect View (Cici: A Fairy’s Tale) by Cori Doerrfeld and Tyler Page

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Published by Graphic Universe

Summary:  When Cici turned 10, she found out from her abuela that she is really a fairy, just like her grandmother.  Cici has recently weathered her parents’ divorce, enjoyed finding a new best friend (Kendra), and is in the process of learning how to use her magic powers.  She, Kendra, and her little sister Sophie go on a camping trip with Cici’s dad, and, right from the start, everything goes wrong–there’s no record of their reservation, the marshmallows are missing, and the first day is rainy.  Cici keeps seeing a little creature in the woods who tries to befriend her.  She rejects his offers of friendship, focusing instead on all that is going wrong, until she has a meltdown.  Her friend and family help her to see all the good things that have happened on the trip, and she finally makes friends with the creature.  When she returns, her abuela tells her it was a wood sprite, and that she is a very lucky fairy to have seen one.  48 pages; grades 1-3.

Pros:  A fun graphic novel for the younger set, with a nice blend of realism and fantasy, and featuring a Latina protagonist.

Cons:  The $20+ price tag certainly gives me pause about purchasing this series for my library.

A Greyhound, A Groundhog by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Chris Appelhans

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Schwartz and Wade

Image result for groundhog greyhound goodreads

Summary:  A greyhound and groundhog chase each other and play, with the text mirroring the increasingly frantic pace of the illustrations.  It starts with “A hound. A round hound.  A greyhound.”, then moves on to “A hog. A round hog.  A groundhog.”  The two start chasing each other, and pretty soon, there are six sets of action pictures on a two-page spread with the words twisting around the illustrations, “A round hound, a grey dog, a round little hound dog.  A greyhog, a ground dog, a hog little hound dog.”  The two chase butterflies through a bog and a hollow log before finally collapsing together on the ground.  32 pages; ages 3-7.

Pros:  A playful book that would be loads of fun to read out loud.

Cons:  The plot is pretty thin.

Agnes and Clarabelle Celebrate! By Adele Griffin and Courtney Sheinmel, illustrated by Sara Palacios

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Published by Bloomsbury

Summary: Agnes Pig and Clarabelle Chicken are best friends who help each other celebrate holidays.  When Clarabelle struggles with the Maypole dance, Agnes makes her feel better.  When Agnes gets stage fright at the Fourth of July parade, Clarabelle helps her out.  They also enjoy Halloween trick-or-treating and trying to stay up on New Year’s Eve together.  Each of the four chapters highlights their holiday adventures.  80 pages; grades 1-3.

Pros:  A perfect first chapter book, full of cheerful illustrations.  Part of Bloomsbury’s new Read and Bloom series for newly independent readers.

Cons:  I somehow got the second book in the series instead of the first one.  Fortunately,  I was able to pick up the storyline pretty quickly.  In the interest of full disclosure, the pages shown above are from the first book.

Egg by Kevin Henkes

~ Janet Dawson ~ 3 Comments

Published by Greenwillow Books

Summary:  The first four pages have four panels showing eggs in yellow, pink, blue, and green.  Yellow, pink, and blue birds hatch out of their eggs and fly away, but the green egg remains an egg.  After a wait, the three birds return, listening to the egg, then pecking to try to release the animal within.  Finally, a baby crocodile emerges.  Frightened, the birds fly away, leaving a sad, lonely crocodile behind.  They slowly return to his back, and the four become friends, enjoying a variety of adventures.  The setting sun morphs into a pink egg, with the words “The End”, then on the final page, “maybe”, as a pink bird flies off.  40 pages; ages 3-7.

Pros:  A simple gem, with many of the pages containing 4 (or occasionally, 16) panels, like a graphic novel.  The pastel color palette is perfect for the story, and the entire tale is told with pictures and just 15 words.  The three animals befriending a newly-hatched crocodile reminded me of Leo Lionni’s The Extraordinary Egg.

Cons:  What’s really up with that pink egg?