Picture books

An Armadillo in New York by Julie Kraulis

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Tundra Books 

Summary: Arlo, an armadillo based in Brazil, knows that when he feels a twitch in his left claw, it’s time for him to start planning an adventure. His grandfather Augustin gave him a set of travel journals about all his favorite places, and the one about New York City guides Arlo on his journey. Making stops at the Brooklyn Bridge, Yankee Stadium, Central Park, and many other well-known landmarks in the Big Apple, Arlo marvels at all that he sees. He’s also puzzled by his grandfather’s many references to Lady Liberty. It isn’t until his last stop, a trip on the ferry to Liberty Island, that he finally figures out who Lady Liberty really is. Arlo looks forward to return visits to the Statue of Liberty and other places in New York City. The last page gives additional facts about the Statue of Liberty. 32 pages; grades K-3.

Pros: The beautiful, slightly dreamy illustrations and the adorable armadillo will make readers want to take a trip to NYC. This is a sequel to An Armadillo in Paris; we can hope that Arlo will be doing more traveling in the future.

Cons: The story line is pretty thin.

Whose Eye Am I? by Shelley Rotner

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Published by Holiday House

 

Summary: The eyes have it in this collection of animal photographs and facts about eyes and vision. Many pages feature a close-up of an eye with the caption “Who am I?” with the answer revealed on the following page. Animals are arranged by mammal, bird, reptile and amphibian, and insect. The last page explains how the human eye works, followed by a glossary and index.  32 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros: The beautiful photos and interesting facts make this an inviting book to browse. Readers will also enjoy the guessing game element.

Cons: I found the book a little disjointed; it took me about half the book to pick up on the arrangement by type of animal.

Otters Love to Play by Jonathan London, illustrated by Meilo So

~ Janet Dawson ~ 3 Comments

 Published by Candlewick 

Summary: Did you know otters often take over dens left behind by beavers, muskrats, or woodchucks? That’s the first of many facts you’ll learn in this information-packed book that follows a year in the life of an otter mother and her two offspring. As the babies grow, they learn the playful moves that characterize otters, moves that are useful for hunting and self-defense. By the end of the year, the babies have reached their full size, but continue to enjoy sliding and playing in the spring mud. Includes an index and a page of additional information about otters. 32 pages; grades K-3.

Pros: The text has both large and small fonts, so the book can be read as a quick read-aloud, or used for more in-depth research. The illustrations capture the happy, playful otter spirit.

Cons: How could I possibly say anything bad about otters?

Place Value by David A. Adler, illustrated by Edward Miller

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Published by Holiday House

Summary:  A group of cooking monkeys demonstrate how place value works.  Starting with the concept of using 26 letters to make up words, they show how ten digits make up numbers.  Just as rearranging letters gives words different meanings, so does moving around the digits in large numbers.  The concept of place value to show ones, tens, hundreds, and on up is introduced and reinforced with several examples.  A brief history of the Hindu-Arabic number system and its basis in the number ten is given.  There are also explanations of the comma in large numbers and the decimal point, with a brief explanation of numbers to the right of the decimal.  32 pages; grades K-4.

Pros:  A fun introduction to an important mathematical concept.  The illustrations add a light touch.

Cons:  The information about decimals may be a bit too much for kids just learning about place value.

On the Farm, At the Market by G. Brian Karas

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Published by Henry Holt and Company

Summary:  Where does all that yummy food at the farmers’ market come from?  This book goes behind the scenes to a farm, a dairy, and a mushroom grower to see what happens the night before market day.  Everyone is busy into the night, harvesting, cooking, and packing.  Early in the morning, the food is transported and unpacked, and then the fun begins.  Chef Amy from the Busy Bee Cafe makes her usual rounds, selecting fresh food for the evening’s special.  At the end of the day, all of the farmers and their helpers head over to the cafe to relax and enjoy the fruits (and veggies) of their labors.  40 pages; grades K-3.

Pros:  Kids who have never gone to a farmers’ market will want to check one out after reading this book; those who are regulars will want to thank the farmers for their hard work creating all that delicious food.

Cons:  The Amazing Cheese Dairy Farm seems to be flirting with some child labor law violations.

Spot, the Cat by Henry Cole

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Published by Simon and Schuster 

Can you spot the cat?

Summary:  Spot the Cat sees a bird through the open window.  The temptation is too great; he jumps out and is off, into the city.  His boy discovers he’s missing and makes flyers on his computer while Spot continues his adventures.  The boy goes out looking for him.  Connections are missed.  Finally, the boy gives up and comes home only to discover, to his delight, that Spot is at his window, home again.  32 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  The title of this wordless picture book has a double meaning.  Readers must spot Spot the cat on every page of detailed black and white illustrations.  There is often a spotted dog or some other decoy.  The pictures are beautifully drawn, and children will enjoy studying them.

Cons:  Be sure to allow plenty of time with this book.  I tried to rush it a little, and my heart would sink every time I turned a page and felt compelled to stop until I had spotted Spot.

Will’s Words: How William Shakespeare Changed the Way You Talk by Jane Sutcliffe, illustrated by John Shelley

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Published by Charlesbridge 

Summary: A letter from the author at the beginning of the book tells her dilemma: in trying to tell the story of William Shakespeare and the Globe Theater, she kept running into Will’s words. Shakespeare created and/or popularized so many words and phrases that it’s almost impossible to tell a story without using some of them. She then proceeds with her original task on the left-hand pages, bolding Will’s words. The right-hand pages explain the history of those words and where they appear in Shakespeare’s plays. A final author’s letter tells a bit more about William Shakespeare, mostly how little we know of him. A time line and bibliography are also included at the end. 40 pages; grades 3-6.

Pros: A nice introduction to Shakespeare’s plays and the Globe Theater, with the added element of looking at the impact these plays had on the English language. The illustrations do a wonderful job of conveying the enthusiastic audiences crowded into the theater and the exuberant actors preparing and performing the shows.

Cons: Although this book is targeted to an elementary audience, I couldn’t help feeling it would be more appreciate by older students studying Shakespeare’s works.

The Secret Subway by Shana Corey, illustrated by Red Nose Studio

~ Janet Dawson ~ 3 Comments

Published by Schwartz and Wade

Summary:  New York City in the 1860’s had a horrendous traffic problem.  Alfred Ely Beach thought he had a solution: build an underground tunnel and send a train through the tunnel to transport people in a way that would keep them off the street.  Unable to get approval for his project, he pretended he was constructing a pneumatic mail tube under the city.  In reality, he was creating a tunnel big enough for a train.  In just two months, he built the first subway, unveiling his invention to the public on February 26, 1870.  People loved his train at first, but eventually the novelty wore off, and it would be decades before the rest of New York City caught up with Beach and built the present-day subway.  40 pages; ages 4-9.

Pros:  The story is well-told, and will appeal to fans of trains and other inventions.  The real marvel of this book are the multimedia pictures which are a cross between Claymation and Hanna Barbera animation.  The illustrations will sell this book to many readers.

Cons:  I thought Beach had created the subway used in New York today, so it was a bit of an anticlimax to learn his invention never really took off.

 

Clean Sweep! Frank Zamboni’s Ice Machine by Monica Kulling, illustrated by Renne Benoit

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Published by Tundra Books

 

Summary:  Anyone who’s ever gone ice skating, or watched a sports event that took place on ice, has observed the giant Zamboni machine that drives around the rink and quickly resurfaces the ice.  But 70 years ago, there was no machine, and it took several men 90 minutes or more for that ice treatment.  And for Frank Zamboni, owner of the Iceland rink in California, that was too many man hours.  Fortunately, Frank was a tinkerer who knew a lot about machinery.  He had come up with an innovative way to design Iceland that resulted in smoother ice than other rinks.  Nine years passed, as Frank got busy raising a family and was shut down from working on his machine during World War II.  Many people said what he was trying to do was impossible, but he persevered.  In 1949, his machine took to the ice, and did in minutes what had previously taken over an hour.  Frank named his new machine after himself, which is good, because it’s so much fun to say “Zamboni”.  Today, Zamboni machines are on every continent…except the ice-covered continent of Antarctica.  32 pages; grades K-4.

Pros:  The story of an ordinary man who saw a problem, persevered, and succeeded in solving it.  This would be a great book to include in a unit on inventors and inventions.

Cons:  The poem at the beginning about ice skating is cute but seems sort of unnecessary.

Daniel Finds a Poem by Micha Archer

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Published by Nancy Paulsen Books 

Summary:  Daniel is an observant boy.  He knows all the rocks, trees, and animals in the park.  One day he sees a sign advertising “Poetry in the Park” for the following Sunday.  Unsure about what poetry is, Daniel starts to ask his animal friends.  The spider says poetry is when the morning dew glistens.  Squirrel’s answer is it’s when crispy leaves crunch.  Frog tells him poetry is a cool pool to dive into.  By the time Sunday arrives, Daniel has enough answers to be able to put them all together into one poem.  On the way home, he sees the sunset reflected in the pond, and knows he has the seed for a new poem.  32 pages; grades K-3.

Pros:  A simple and beautiful introduction to poetic language and the creation of poetry.  The colorful illustrations are pretty poetic themselves.

Cons:  The concept may be a bit abstract for the intended audience.