Picture books

Thunder Boy Jr. by Sherman Alexie, illustrated by Yuyi Morales

~ Janet Dawson ~ 2 Comments

Published by Little, Brown, and Co. 

Thunder Boy Jr. (Bccb Blue Ribbon Picture Book Awards (Awards)): Alexie, Sherman, Morales, Yuyi: 9780316013727: Amazon.com: Books

Summary:   Thunder Boy, Jr. has a secret.  He hates his name.  He’s named after his father, and he wants his own name, preferably one that celebrates something cool he’s done like Touch the Clouds for the time he climbed a mountain or Gravity’s Best Friend for his bike-riding skills.  While he’s trying to figure out how to tell his father that he wants a new name, Dad comes along and suggests that from now on he be called Lightning.  Delighted, Lightning goes off with Thunder Boy, Senior to light up the sky.  40 pages; ages 3-7.

Pros:  Plenty of humor and Yuyi Morales’ lively illustrations recount a problem other kids may relate to, not liking your name.  The names and the illustrations suggest a Native American family, a welcome addition to the multicultural bookshelf..

Cons:  The ending was a bit of an anticlimax.  Also, be aware the story contains the f-word.  (Fart, that is.)

The Airport Book by Lisa Brown

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Roaring Brook Press 

Summary:  A boy describes each step involved in taking a trip on an airplane.  He starts at home with packing, using the second person voice (“You drive on the highway to where the ground is really flat.”), then moves on to the different steps of checking in and boarding.  The trip is briefly described, followed by what happens once the plane lands.  Woven through the story is a subplot about the boy’s younger sister’s missing stuffed monkey.  The busy illustrations show different people making their own trips, complete with cartoon-bubble dialogue.  The final page shows the happy family driving with Grandma and Grandpa past palm tree-lined beaches under a hot sun.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  A fun book for the first-time flyer to learn what to expect, as well as for the seasoned traveler to recognize different parts of the airport and plane.  The illustrations and monkey story add plenty of humor.

Cons:  Take-off and landing which, in my opinion, are the most disconcerting part of air travel, are not described at all.

This Is My Dollhouse by Giselle Potter

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Schwartz and Wade 

Summary:  The narrator starts out by taking the reader on a tour of her handmade dollhouse.  Formerly a cardboard box, the house now is furnished with homemade furniture, rugs, and wallpaper.  The family that lives there is composed of human dolls, except for Dad, who is a bear, and Grandma, a mouse.  On the other hand, her friend Sophie has a “real” dollhouse, which arrived already furnished and inhabited by a slightly more conventional family.  The only problem is, the girls are bored playing with it. When they go to the narrator’s house, she’s a little nervous about showing Sophie her homemade dollhouse, but Sophie quickly enters into the spirit of imagination, and their play date flies by in no time.  The last pages finds Sophie making plans for a return visit, and the narrator gazing proudly at her dollhouse.  40 pages; grades K-3.

Pros:  A wonderful celebration of imaginary play and the joys of creating it yourself.

Cons:  Kids, don’t be discouraged if your dollhouse and furniture don’t turn out quite as perfectly as the one pictured here.

Diana’s White House Garden by Elisa Carbone, illustrated by Jen Hill

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Published by Viking 

Summary:  World War II is raging, and Diana Hopkins, the 10-year-old daughter of Presidential advisor Harry Hopkins wants to do her part.  Spying and trying to scare off enemies by sticking pins in the couch don’t work out too well, but she’s delighted when she overhears her father and Franklin Roosevelt talking about a new plan to encourage Americans to grow victory gardens.  The first demonstration garden is to be planted right on the White House lawn.  Diana teams up with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to create it.  Before long, Diana is outside watering and weeding almost every day, and even gets her picture in the paper, standing in front of her thriving Victory Garden.  On the last page, the Hopkinses and the Roosevelts sit down to a feast that includes beans, carrots, lettuce, and tomatoes from the new garden.  Notes from both the author and illustrator give a bit more information about Diana Hopkins and Victory Gardens, and the research that went into the creation of the book.  44 pages; grades K-4.

Pros:  A nice bit of World War II historical fiction.  Diana is a likeable character, with both a mischievous side and an admirable desire to contribute to the war effort.  My mother, just a bit younger than Diana in 1940, would love this book.

Cons:  Diana’s life looks like it was a lot sadder than portrayed in this book…her mother died before this story takes place and her father, just a few years after.

 

Are We There Yet? By Dan Santat

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Published by Little Brown Books for Young Readers

Summary:  A boy’s trip to Grandma’s in the back seat of his parents’ car turns into an adventure in time travel.  The long trip gets boring, and time slows down so much that he finds himself moving back in time…to frontier days, pirate times, ancient Egypt, and finally, to prehistoric times.  When he decides to enjoy the present, time suddenly speeds up, and he’s afraid he’s missed the party.  But finally, the trip ends, and he’s back in the present again.  The last page has him unhappy once more as older relatives prove less than enthralling company.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  Caldecott medalist Dan Santat takes readers on a whirlwind trip through time, even turning the book upside down for a section in the middle of the story.  Kids will want to spend extra time absorbing all that is going on in each two-page spread.

Cons:  The illustrations are more creative than the story.

More-igami by Dori Kleber, illustrated by G. Brian Karas

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Published by Candlewick Press 

Summary:  Joey loves things that fold—tacos, road maps, his foldaway bed—so when Sarah Takimoto’s mother comes to his school one day to demonstrate origami, Joey is captivated.  He asks Mrs. Takimoto to teach him, to which she wisely replies, “I can show you the folds.  But if you want to be an origami master, you’ll need practice and patience.”  So Joey goes home and folds everything in sight.  After going through his homework, his sister’s sheet music, Aunt Vivian’s recipe, and the $38 in his mother’s purse, his family has had enough.  Discouraged, Joey wanders into the neighboring Mexican restaurant, where the sympathetic owner gives him a job folding napkins.  He starts simply, but doesn’t give up, and after months of practice, he is finally able to create a masterpiece. Includes instructions for an origami ladybug.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  A charming story about the importance of persistence when learning a new skill.  Joey, who appears to be African-American, is taught by a Japanese American woman and helped by his Mexican American neighbor in a multicultural friendly community.

Cons:  Apparently I lack the “grit” necessary to master origami, because even the ladybug looks a bit challenging to me.

Good Night Owl by Greg Pizzoli

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Disney Hyperion 

Summary:  Owl is trying to go to sleep, but every time he lies down, he hears a squeak.  Could it be coming from the cupboard?  He empties out every shelf, but finds nothing.  Is it in the floor? Removing all the floorboards doesn’t help.  The roof? The walls?  Before long, Owl is lying in his bed under the stars.  That’s when he finally sees the mouse whose squeaking has been keeping him awake.  With the mystery solved, both animals are able to happily fall asleep.  40 pages; ages 3-7.

Pros:  A simple and funny bedtime story, with large, child-like illustrations.

Cons:  Why is Owl sleeping at night?

Crossing Niagara: The Death-Defying Tightrope Adventures of the Great Blondin by Matt Tavares

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Published by Candlewick Press

Crossing Niagara: The Death-Defying Tightrope Adventures of the Great Blondin: Tavares, Matt, Tavares, Matt: 9780763668235: Amazon.com: Books

Summary:  Jean Francois Gravelet, a.k.a. The Great Blondin was just five years old when he first performed on the tightrope.  Although he loved his circus career, he longed to do something even more daring.  When he first laid eyes on Niagara Falls, he knew what he wanted to do.  He set up a rope, contacted the newspapers, and on June 30, 1859, he made his first successful crossing, stopping along the way to perform a few tricks, including retrieving a bottle from the Maid of the Mist below and toasting the crowd.  He promised to return on July 4, and this time, he crossed the falls blindfolded.  Over the next two summers, he made many crossings, trying all kinds of stunts.  His ultimate challenge was carrying his manager across on his back (a trick his manager wasn’t terribly enthusiastic about).  When the crowds began to thin, The Great Blondin moved on, but he was forever remembered for his Niagara Falls crossings.  End matter includes a brief author’s note and a bibliography.  36 pages; grades 1-5.

Pros:  The storytelling and large, detailed illustrations combine to make a pulse-pounding tale of daring.

Cons:  I could have enjoyed a little more biographical detail about The Great Blondin.

There Is a Tribe of Kids by Lane Smith

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 Published by Roaring Brook Press 

Summary:  A boy travels through the world alone.  He starts off with a tribe of kids—goats—then has fun with a colony of penguins and a pod of whales. He climbs on a formation of rocks, then falls down into a pile of rubble. He hangs out with an army of caterpillars, then marvels at a flight of butterflies.  Finally, he finds the tribe of kids…his tribe, and he is no longer alone.  40 pages; grades K-4.

Pros:  There is more than meets the eye to this simple but gorgeously illustrated book by Caldecott honoree Lane Smith.  It’s not a story so much as a meditation on adventure, coming home, and finding where you belong.  And the collective nouns are always fun, as well.

Cons:  Kids may not appreciate this if they hurry through it.  It’s a book that requires a slow, careful look…maybe more than one.

Olinguito, de la A a la Z! by Lulu Delacre

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Published by Lee and Low Books 

Summary: Never heard of the olinguito? Don’t worry, scientists have only known about it since 2006. Lulu Delacre has created an alphabet book with text in both Spanish and English that follows zoologist Dr. Kristofer Helgen through the cloud forest of Ecuador as he looks for and finally finds this little animal. The olinguito doesn’t make an appearance until “W”, though, so the reader gets introduced to many other flora and fauna of the rainforest. Extensive back matter includes information about the discovery of the olinguito, the cloud forest, the illustrations, plus a lengthy glossary…all in both English and Spanish. 40 pages; grades K-4.

Pros: The illustrations are as lush and colorful as the cloud forest. The text could be used as a simple alphabet book or as a resource for research, depending on which parts are used.

Cons: The English is sometimes not as alliterative as the Spanish in the alphabet portion of the book.