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First Book’s book experts picked their favorite spooky stories that will frighten and delight young readers. Don’t be afraid to pick up any of our recommended titles!

Pre-K –K (Ages 3-6):

Ghosts in the House! written and illustrated by Kazuno Kohara
At the edge of town lives a clever girl with a spooky problem: Her house is haunted! Luckily, she happens to be a witch and knows a little something about taking care of ghosts.

For 1^st and 2^nd Grade (Ages 6-8):

Los Gatos Black on Halloween written by Marisa Montes and illustrated by Yuyi Morales
Follow los monstruos and los esqueletos to a Halloween party in a fun and frightful bilingual poem. Accompanied by illustrations that are as gorgeous as they are creepy, this is a great Halloween-themed read-aloud book that kids will want to read and re-read all year long.

We love this book because: this book introduces young readers to a spooky array of Spanish words that will open their ojos to the chilling delights of the season.

For 3^rd & 4^th grade (Ages 8-10):

Attack of the Shark-Headed Zombie by Bill Doyle
After Keats and Henry lose their bikes, they need money – fast. So the help-wanted ad at the supermarket seems ideal for them. All they have to do is weed Hallway House’s garden, find some light bulbs in the attic, sweep the garage…and battle a shark-headed zombie.

We love this book because: With an imaginative youngster as its main character, this book weaves the tale of an exciting and fun adventure that will keep kids turning pages and entertain even reluctant readers.

For 5^th & 6^th grade (Ages 10-12):

Ghost Fever / Mal de fantasma (Bilingual, English/Spanish) by Joe Hayes
Elena Padilla’s father didn’t believe in ghosts, and that’s a shame, because his disbelief ends up making Elena a very sick girl. The story starts in an old rundown house in a dusty little town in Arizona. Nobody will rent that house because … well, a ghost haunts it. The landlord can’t even rent it out for free! That is, not until foolish old Frank Padilla comes along thinking he can save some money.

Lucky for Elena that her grandmother knows all about the mysterious ways of ghosts. With her grandmother’s help and advice, Elena solves the mystery of the ghost girl, recuperates from her ghost fever and, in the process, learns a valuable lesson about life.

We love this book because: It’s really scary! The incredible details of this story – with English and Spanish on opposite pages – will stay with readers after the story ends. Children who enjoy a good fright will really love this book.

Grades 7 & up (Ages 13+):

Lockwood & Co. #1: The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud
A sinister Problem has occurred in London: all nature of ghosts, haunts, spirits, and specters are appearing throughout the city, and they aren’t exactly friendly. Only young people have the psychic abilities required to see—and eradicate—these supernatural foes.

We love this book because: Complex and endearing characters navigate an alternate reality wherein the dead don’t die – what’s not to love? The book’s fantastic world is sure to hook readers – even we can’t wait to pick up the next title in the series!

The post Monthly Book List: Our Five Favorites for October appeared first on First Book Blog.

Our favorite books this August are sure to capture imaginations with beautiful illustrations, unconventional characters, and fascinating true stories. Read on to see the titles that hooked our book experts this month!

For Pre-K –K (Ages 3-6):

Who’s That?: Arctic Animals (Board Book) by Tad Carpenter

We love all the vibrant and entertaining titles in the Who’s That? board book series – this one especially. Kids will love opening the sturdy flaps to meet creatures like a walrus and a polar bear. A cool read for a hot day!

For 1st and 2nd Grade (Ages 6-8):

School’s First Day of School by Adam Rex

It’s the first day of school at Frederick Douglass Elementary and everyone’s just a little bit nervous, especially the school! What will the children do once they come? Will they like the school? Will they be nice to him? Find out what happens to the school on its first day! With charming illustrations, this delightful read-aloud picture book will have young readers reaching for it every day of the year!

For 3rd & 4th grade (Ages 8-10):

Tiny Stitches: The Life of Medical Pioneer Vivien Thomas by Gwendolyn Hooks

During the mid-twentieth century, Vivien Thomas overcame racism from his colleagues and developed a procedure that was used for the first successful open-heart surgery on a child. This is a fascinating biography of how one innovative doctor ushered in a new era of medicine.

For 5th & 6th grade (Ages 10-12):

Raymie Nightengale by Kate DiCamillo

Raymie Clarke is convinced that winning the 1975 Little Miss Central Florida Tire contest would inspire her father to come home. To win, not only does Raymie have to do good deeds and learn how to twirl a baton; she also has to contend with the wispy, frequently fainting Louisiana Elefante, who has a show-business background, and the fiery, stubborn Beverly Tapinski, who’s determined to sabotage the contest. We couldn’t put down this coming-of-age novel as it beautifully explored the subjects of loneliness, loss, and friendship.

Grades 7 & up (Ages 13+):

Two Girls Staring at the Ceiling by Lucy Frank

This novel-in-verse follows the unfolding friendship between two very different teenage girls who share a hospital room and an illness.

Chess, the narrator, is sick, but with what exactly, she isn’t sure. And to make matters worse, she must share a hospital room with Shannon, her polar opposite. How these teenagers become friends, helping each other come to terms with their illness, makes for a dramatic and deeply moving read.

The post Monthly Book List: Our Five Favorite Books for August appeared first on First Book Blog.

Our favorite books this month celebrate the differences that make us great, inspire us to believe and dream, reinforce the power of friendship (real or imaginary!), and take us on an epic journey with two supervillains.

Which of our five favorites will you read this month?

For Pre-K – K (ages 3-6)

Happy in Our Skin  By: Fran Manushkin

For families of all stripes comes a sweet celebration of what makes us unique—and what holds us together. Fran Manushkin’s rollicking text and Lauren Tobia’s delicious illustrations paint a breezy and irresistible picture of the human family—and how wonderful it is to be just who you are.

For Grades 1-2 (ages 6-8)

Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl’s Courage Changed Music  By: Margarita Engle

Girls cannot be drummers.

Long ago on an island filled with music, no one questioned that rule—until the drum dream girl. Inspired by the childhood of Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, a Chinese-African-Cuban girl who broke Cuba’s traditional taboo against female drummers, Drum Dream Girl tells an inspiring true story for dreamers everywhere.

For Grades 3-4 (ages 8-10)

Crenshaw By: Katherine Applegate

Jackson and his family have fallen on hard times.

Crenshaw is a cat. He’s large, he’s outspoken, and he’s imaginary. He has come back into Jackson’s life to help him. But is an imaginary friend enough to save this family from losing everything?

For Grades 5-6 (ages 10-12)

Bayou Magic By: Jewell Parker Rhodes

A magical coming-of-age story from Coretta Scott King honor author Jewell Parker Rhodes, rich with Southern folklore, friendship, family, fireflies and mermaids, plus an environmental twist.

For 7^th Grade & up (Ages 13+):

Nimona By: Noelle Stevenson

Nemeses! Dragons! Science! Symbolism! All these and more await in this brilliantly subversive, sharply irreverent epic. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren’t the heroes everyone thinks they are.

The post Monthly Book List: Our Five Favorite Books for January appeared first on First Book Blog.

Our May book list includes fun, magical books featuring adventures with an adorable elephant, funny stories about sisters for young readers, the story of strong man Charles Atlas, a laugh-out-loud tale about pranksters and one of the best teen romances ever written.

Pre-K – K (Ages 3-6):

Little Elliot, Big City By: Mike Curato

Elliot loves the adventure of living in the city but his size often gets in his way. Readers’ hearts will melt when Elliot meets an unlikely friend at just the right moment and the two take on the town together. A sweet, beautifully illustrated book!

The post Monthly Book List: Our Five Favorite Books for May appeared first on First Book Blog.

What do you think of when you hear Manga? I think of fun, comics, and large-eyed, cute characters. The Ultimate Book of Trace-and-Draw Manga by Christopher Hart has all of that. The book is an instruction book for kids on how to draw Manga, with step-by-step instructions. The book offers a lot of fun, even while teaching–encouraging imagination, creativity, fine motor coordination, and developing self-confidence. I think it will especially appeal to any creative types; to anyone who enjoys cartoons, manga, or drawing; and to parents who want their children to use their minds while having fun, not just placidly sitting in front of a TV or playing video games.

Xtreme Art: Ultimate Book of Trace-and-Draw Manga

written and illustrated by Christopher Hart
Watson-Guptill/Random House (June 2009), ISBN-13: 978-0823098064
Ages: 9-12 and up

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

For eager dive-in readers, Ultimate Book of Trace-and-Draw Manga provides almost instant gratification, with each character drawing divided up into 4 step-by-step drawings on the left hand page, and the final drawing on the right hand page. For readers who want to hone their drawing skills and understanding of drawing a magna form, there are detailed written instructions teaching each part of the process–how to draw a face in different directions, how to draw hands, eyes, hair, and more.

The book text is encouraging and easy to follow, reminding readers that they don’t have to get it perfect on the first try, and that they can start out with light lines (including guidelines), and then erase the lines they don’t need at the end, going over others to make them darker. These are important techniques for any budding artist to learn.

The step-by-step drawings make it particularly easy to learn to draw a character–the reader can either trace or draw step one, and each new step is shown in orange lines in the following three steps. The book starts with characters that are easier to draw, and gradually gets a little more complicated.

The book is broken up into three major sections–drawing people commonly found in manga (including those with superpowers); drawing chibi-style characters (short, round, like younger children), and drawing manga monsters. It’s like getting three manga-drawing technique books in one.

The book doesn’t “just” teach a reader how to draw manga; it will also teach a young artist that the placement of eyes, nose, and mouth on a face changes according to how the head is situated (looking up, down, sideways, straight on); some awareness of anatomy; etc. This book should involve a young reader for hours; it looks like a LOT of fun. Recommended!

The Bears We Know


by Brenda Silsbe, illustrated by Vlasta van Kampen
Annick Press
(February 2009)
ISBN-10: 1554511666; ISBN-13: 978-1554511662
Ages: 4-8 (and up)

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Silliness and imaginative play are an important part of being a child–perhaps of being human. It’s important to have fun. The Bears We Know is a great way to add some silly playfulness to your day. An unseen narrater talks about the bears they’ve never seen who live in a house at the end of the street, and all the things the bears do all day. How do they know what the bears are up to? They just KNOW.

Silsbe’s text is funny and playful. The story is like an analogy of people who assume something about others when they don’t actually know anything about them (such as kids and a spooky house at the end of the street).

Silsbe’s playful, over-the-top imaginings of what the bears could be up to are fun, while at the same time they poke gentle fun at people who make assumptions. The things the bears do (according to the unseen narrater) are the kinds of things that kids and adults might love to do while playing hooky, such as sleep in late, jump on couches, eat lots of junk food, watch cartoons and tv shows, etc. The story also encourages childrens’ natural curiosity and imagination, while showing that gossip and speculation is easy to spread.

I love the playful, funny things the unseen narrater imagines the bears are up to–such as bringing home couches from the dump to jump on until the springs are gone. Some of the things the narrater imagines the bears are up to are very silly, like the bears wearing tight bathing suits in the sauna and singing, while others feel more like what a kid or adult might really want to do. Others feel like an attempt to get into the character of what a bear might do (such as dumping sawdust on the floor, or napping before the fire)–those ones didn’t work as well for me.

Silsbe uses specific details, such as making hot buttered toast and hot chocolate, which help bring the reader more into the story. The book isn’t so much a story as an episodic, connected list of things that could happen. The ending has a great punch line that works–the narrater says that people ask them how they know so much about the bears when they’ve never seen them–and the narrater replies: “Well…some thing you just KNOW.” Very funny!

van Kampen’s watercolor illustrations are playful, happy, and gentle, with soft colors and soft, rounded edges. The illustrations really add to the fun of the book, bringing the text alive. (There was a previous version of this book with older illustrations–and these illustrations are far more fun and powerful.) The bears look very happy, fluffy and comfortably plump, and most objects also look comfortably plump. van Kampen makes great use of fun details that show the messiness of the bears in most illustrations, such as open chip bags with spilled chips, take-out containers and pop cans on the floors. These details are combined with many warming details, such as a patchwork quilt, flowered pillows, a wooden bed, a red wagon–all of which work to reassure and comfort the reader, and bring a sense of happiness.

A lot of white space helps give the illustrations a light feeling, and adds to the sense of happiness. Great fun foreground details, along with a lack of background detail and clutter also add to this sense of lightness. The illustrations also move through emotion, from happiness to brief sadness to back to being happy again, finding happiness through singing, making buttered toast, and having a good time together.

The reader never sees the narrater–only the bears and what the bears are supposedly doing. The bears are humanized to some degree in funny, cute ways, with each bear wearing one or more items of clothing (such as one wearing yellow boots, one wearing a red vest, one wearing a green winter hat and a polka dotted purple tie), and by their behavior, such as eating chips, sitting or jumping on couches, and sleeping in bed.

The illustrations add to the playfulness and the story, showing things the text doesn’t, such as the bears catching the toast that pops up by using a net.

This is a fun, silly, playful book. Recommended!

I love books that make me feel good while entertaining me–and this book does that and more.

Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley

by Aaron Blabey

Front Street/Boyds Mills Press (September 2008)

ISBN-13: 978-1-59078-596-6
Ages: 4-8 (and up)

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

–Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley by Aaron Blabey, p. 3-7.

Can two people be friends if they’re very different? Pearl and Charlie can, and they show you how in this sweet, heartwarming book about appreciating differences and friendship. Pearl and Charlie are very different, and people wonder why they’re friends. Their differences make them seem like opposites–yet those opposites complement each other, and allow them to be there for each other. Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley tells readers, in a subtle way, that it’s okay to be yourself, however you are–and that it’s okay for others to be different from you.

Blabey’s text is well written, moving immediately into a “problem” that will interest the reader and make them turn the page–why are Pearl and Charlie friends when they’re so different? Blabey then illustrates those differences in fun ways before coming to a warming resolution. The sentences vary in length, which helps with the story flow, and the examples are specific and interesting.

Blabey shows the great differences in the personalities of the two friends, with many qualities that readers will likely identify with, whether they are outgoing or more introverted. Blabey has an opposites thing going in the text, comparing and contrasting the qualities of the two characters, which is fun to read, and the qualities fit each character. Even the sentence lengths seem to fit the characters, with boisterous Pearl’s sentences often being longer, and shy Charlie’s shorter. Specific details help the story become stronger and more palatable, such as Charlie bringing Pearl a mug of warm milk, and Pearl forgetting her mittens on cold winter days.

I love how both the shy, introverted character (Charlie) and the loud, outgoing character (Pearl) are heroes or get chances to help each other, in a way that fits their personalities (Charlie tucks Pearl into bed when she’s tired herself out with her antics, and Pearl helps Charlie feel brave when he’s feeling scared). This is a nice balance, showing that both kinds of people can be heroes in their own way–and that each type of personality is perfect for coming to the rescue in certain situations. It’s also nice that the girl isn’t necessarily the shy, timid one.

Blabey’s acrylic-and-mixed-media illustrations are cheerful and cartoon-like, and have the feeling of a young child drawing them (yet in a more sophisticated way), with a single line for a smile or mouth, and an almost doll-like appearance to the characters.

The characters really stand out in Blabey’s illustrations, and are meant to; the characters are drawn on a color-tinged grey backgrounds, so they pop to the forefront, with no distracting background. The colored backgrounds alternate on many pages. Some setting details are brought into individual illustrations to illustrate the story. In some books, this might feel empty, but it works extraordinarily well here, underscoring the importance of the characters and their personalities. I love, too, how the illustrations again go against stereotypes, with Charlie knitting while Pearl rides a motorcycle over a cliff while balancing tea cups and a fish bowl, and Pearl being the pirate while Charlie rides on her back. This reversal of the usual roles seen in society is shown in the story in fun ways, and is a great way to subtly let readers know that girls can be brave and adverturous, and boys can be creative and homey.

Blabey’s illustrations show and build on the characters’ personalities beautifully; Pearl, who is loud, boisterous, and talkative, wears bright clothes, has bright red hair, large eyes, and a wide, often open mouth, while Charlie, who is quiet, shy, and more reserved, wears drab grey or dull colors, has dark hair, small eyes, and a smaller smile. Every illustration shows their character, and is creatively depicted; when Charlie is shy, he’s shown only with his head and shoulders on the page, as if he’s walking off the page.

I also love the humor in the illustrations, such as when Charlie Parsley is shown as being quiet, we see him reading a book titled “The Benefits of Wearing Felt.” That humor tickled me just the right way.

Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley is a warming, uplifting book about friendship, and the fact that it’s okay–even good–to be different, to be yourself–and to value differences in everyone. It’s also a fantastic book for showing that girls can be strong and brave, and for reversing gender stereotypes. This has quickly become one of my new favorite picture books. Highly recommended!

The Child Cruncher

by Mathilde Stein, illustrated by Mies van Hout

Lemniscaat/Boyds Mills Press (August 2008)
ISBN-13: 978-1590786352
Ages: 2-6 and up.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

It was summertime. My friends were all on vacation, my dad was stuck in his study, the dog just wanted to sleep, and I . . . I was sooooo bored!
Then one evening, a big, hairy hand lifted me off the ground. I was thrilled! At last, someone to play with!
“Got you!” growled a harsh voice. “You’re coming with me!”
But I said, “One moment, please. I have to ask my dad first. …Dad! I’m being kidnapped by a big, ugly villain. Is that all right?”
“Oh, that’s fine,” Dad replied. “Just remember to brush your teeth. Have fun.”

I love books about strong girls. I think it’s so important to have strong and positive reflections for girls to grow up on, especially when there’s so much sexism in the media. So whenever I find a book with a strong girl, I’m excited. The Child Cruncherhas a strong girl hero as its protagonist, and since it’s a picture book, it’s a perfect introduction for young girls and boys to learn that girls can be just as strong and as brave as boys.

The Child Cruncher is a rollicking tale that draws deeply on a child’s imagination and strong sense of self. A girl is bored during summer vacation; all her friends are away. So she’s delighted when a giant comes to take her away. She tells her father she’s being kidnapped (and he gives his permission), then she travels with the giant to his home, where she accidentally trips him over the ravine. She saves him, but he’s grumpy, so to make up for it she decorates his place while he sleeps. She does various other things that infuriates the giant (but she thinks he’s just playing), until finally he says he wants to crunch her. She refuses, and goes home, to get tucked into bed.

There is humor throughout The Child Cruncher, and that humor is almost immediately visible. On only the third page of text, the girl stops the giant from kidnapping her while she goes in to tell her dad that she’s being kidnapped by a villain, and her dad blithely agrees, telling her only to brush her teeth and to have fun. This may reassure readers that the tale is taking place in the girl’s imagination, or that she is safe. It’s also funny that the girl sees the villain as a playmate, and is not frightened of him at all. I think young readers will really enjoy Stein’s sense of humor, and especially enjoy seeing the girl do nice things for the giant that infuriate him, without her realizing that he’s angry. The reader will enjoy understanding something that the girl doesn’t get, and this adds another layer to the story.

Stein increases the humor and the reader’s enjoyment of the dual storylines (what the girl thinks is happening, and what the reader sees is happening) through showing the reader the giant’s reactions, rather than telling the reader what the giant is feeling, such as the giant’s mouth falling open, jumping up and down and roaring words, and getting red in the face. This works very well, allowing the reader to feel smart while wanting to warn the character about what is happening.

The girl is fiesty, confident, and cheerful, seeing only the good side of the giant until she’s forced not to, and this makes her a strong, fun character to believe in, while bringing humor. That a girl can face off with a giant and emerge unscathed is a wonderful thing for readers, letting them know that they–and girls–can face potentially frightening events and not only survive, but come out of it a hero. I love the girl’s courage and fiestiness. The girl in the story is unnamed, which may help readers identify with her more, as will the story text being written in first person.

When the girl decides to leave, a police officer suddenly appears to apprehend the giant. This felt too coincidental and unbelievable to me, especially because there was no mention of a police officer before that; it made it seem like the officer appeared out of thin air. For me, that interrupted my belief in the story. Still, the mention was brief, and then I was back with the girl, galloping home on a horse.

There is a suggestion of danger in the book for readers who pick up on what is actually happening, not what the girl thinks is happening. But there are also many things to reassure the reader; the girl herself is never scared and never sees herself in danger, and she easily leaves once she realizes the giant wants to harm her. Still, the hints of violence may be frightening for some readers, such as the suggestion that the giant is kidnapping the girl; the giant’s anger; the giant wanting to have her for breakfast; and the giant saying outright that he wants to crunch (eat) her. Some sensitive or easily frightened readers may have trouble with the book for those reasons, though the girl herself is unfazed and simply leaves when she realizes what he wants. When I first read the story, i was put off by the giant’s wanting to eat the girl, but after a second and third read, I found myself enjoying the humor, the girl’s pluckiness, and her escape. I would give the book to more secure readers, or have a discussion with the child after reading the book with them.

Stein mixes imagination and fantasy into the story, leaving it up to the reader to decide whether it’s taking place only in the girl’s imagination, or whether it’s actually happening. This is increased by the girl’s dad being so cavalier about her going off with the giant, and by the girl’s vivid description of the events. I like that Stein leaves it up to the reader.

van Hout’s illustrations pick up on the text, bringing a kind of fantasy feel. There’s a lovely beauty to the illustrations, with a lot of yellow-green grass and foliage dotted with flowers bringing a sense of outdoor life and freshness. From the shape of the buildings and the setting (grassy hilltops, mountains), there’s the feeling of being in another country, which makes sense since The Child Cruncher was originally published in the Netherlands.

The illustrations are an interesting mix of grey or darker colors with the giant’s cave home, and the light feeling that the green plant growth, flowers, and the girl’s decorations bring. The girl and the giant, especially, stand out through their black outlines, since the objects and backgrounds mostly have no black outlines and are softer,almost blurred. This works well.

van Hout adds some touches to the giant that help him seem less scary, such as the stuffed bunny that he hugs in bed, the heart tattoo on his arm, and the way he crosses his arms and turns his back to the girl when he’s upset with her, making him look like a giant toddler at times. The giant’s cave is dark and dreary, so it’s especially funny when the girl decorates his cave with beauty and cheerfulness, such as huge yellow hearts on the walls, purple smiley faces on the bed posts, green foliage and flowers in the doorway and tied to the bed, and bright-checked drapes.

van Hout creates a wonderful feathery texture created through brush strokes, especially through the grass found in so many of the illustrations, where strands of grass poke up all over the place and are visible. The feathery texture is also found in some of the night skies, and in the shadows of the mountains. There’s a lovely sense of fantasy, as well, with the girl bringing the horse into her home and bedroom and her father not saying anything, and her interaction with the giant himself.

This is a book that will remind readers that girls can be strong, plucky, and brave, without preaching to readers. It’s a fun, imaginative story with a great heroine. Recommended!

Looking for some good books for children for summer? Or some books that have summertime in them? Librarian Mom suggests 10 children’s books that take place in the summer. They’re worth checking out.

Monkey Business

by Wallace Edwards

Kids Can Press (July 2008) (paperback edition)

ISBN-10: 1554532280, ISBN-13: 978-1554532285

Ages 4-8 (and up)

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

–Monkey Businessby Wallace Edwards, p. 1-3.

Gorgeous art and a playfulness with idioms (expressions whose meaning can’t be understood from the individual words) make this a fun, playful book.

In Monkey Business, popular expressions are literally translated in the illustrations, depicting them the way a young child or someone new to the English language might understand the expressions, making this a silly, fun book with great appeal to people who love words.

Children (and adults) will chuckle at the silliness of the characters and the literal translations of the expressions, as they see Phil the dog playing a violin with his ears (”he l earned to play by ear”) and Quentin the penguin, flying up off a teeter totter to serve glasses of wine to two giraffes getting married (he rose to the occasion). Each expression is made more interesting by having an animal character named and taking part in the expression. The animal characters are humanized through acting or dressing like humans.

Edwards (Alphabeasts, The Extinct Files: My Science Project)clearly had fun with the characters’ names, tying many of them in to the type of animal they are (Professor Apeson, who’s an ape; King Pigglebottom, who’s a pig; Camellia, who’s a chameleon). I would have preferred one character throughout all the text and illustrations–a main character–to bring greater continuity. Still, multiple animals bring visual diversity, and the linking material is the idiom.

There’s an added bonus for curious readers (or for parents wanting their child to learn something)–all the idioms used in the book are listed at the back with explanations as to what they really mean.

Edwards’s watercolor, colored pencil, and gouche illustrations really make this book work; they are beautifully rendered, creative interpretations of the expressions. Some of my favorites are the crocodile eating her words by pulling books off the shelf into her open mouth, and the lucky duck who actually ducks to miss a flying ice cream cone. Edwards’s illustrations are realistic and intricate, bursting with details to pore over. Some illustrations almost feel cluttered with detail. Elaborate settings place each character in a particular environment.

Observant readers will have great fun finding the monkey hidden in each illustration, as well as some of the other “hidden” images, such as the sheep clouds and sheep patches that appear in the wolf in sheep’s clothing illustration, and the fish hidden in the greenery in the fish out of water illustration. The hidden images add to the amusement level of the book.

Edwards’s illustrations have a slightly old-fashioned feel, increased by the muted palette, the old-fashioned toys that appear in various guises in many illustrations (on wallpaper, on the moose’s head) and the ornate furniture and setting details. The illustrations may feel slightly creepy to some readers.

Edwards pays an incredible attention to detail, showing even the texture of the skin of an animal, design elements within furniture, and much more. Great use of pattern and shadow enrich the illustrations. Varied colors are used, with a lot of recurring yellows, browns, and greys, bringing a slightly muted feeling. Each illustration fills most of one page, contained within a bordered rectangle, the text typed below.

The illustrations and text are dependent on each other; neither would be so funny if they stood on their own. Together, they are the perfect match.

Monkey Business is a book that both children and adults will enjoy. It will especially appeal to people who love words and language, to budding (or established) writers, and to intelligent, inquisitive readers.

Recommended!

Sometimes a book stands out from the rest. This book does, through the incredible illustrations and the well-written text, and, perhaps, through the loneliness that bleeds through the pages.

The Girl in the Castle Inside the Museum

by Kate Bernheimer, illustrated by Nicoletta Ceccoli

Schwartz & Wade/Random House (February 2008)

ISBN-10: 0375836063, ISBN-13: 978-0375836060

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

There’s a tiny girl who lives inside a toy castle inside a museum. She’s only visible if the children looking in are quiet and look hard enough. The girl is often lonely, and when the children leave, she dreams of them visiting her–until she brings the reader into the story. The Girl in the Castle Inside the Museum is beautiful, sad, and slightly creepy; I found myself both pulled in and loving it, and pushed away, slightly repelled–but loving it won out overall.

Bernheimer (Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Women Writers Explore Their Favorite Fairy Tales) starts the story like a fairy tale, with the familiar “Once upon a time,” which places the reader immediately in fantasy mode, ready to hear a story. It’s the perfect start for this fairy tale of a story of a castle, a lonely girl, and someone to save her (the reader). Bernheimer further increases the magical feeling of the story by telling us that if the children looked hard enough, they’d see the girl inside–as if they believe fervently enough, and use their imaginations, magic can happen, a tiny girl inside a toy castle will come alive.

We start out viewing the girl from a distance, in the castle, then learning that it’s in the museum, and then as if we are one of the characters, peering in through the window to see the girl. We hear her dreams, her ache of wanting a friend, and then we are asked to be that friend, to put a photo of ourselves in the girl’s castle so we keep her company. and then we’re told that she sees us. Bernheimer has created a story with true reader interaction, by having the child place a photo of themselves on the last page, and the story building up to the child becoming a part of the lonely girl’s world. This also draws out reader compassion, since the child in the story is lonely, and by the reader’s act of putting their photo in the story, the girl in the story won’t be so lonely any more.

The girl in the castle is never named, and this feels deliberate. It may give some readers a greater chance of identifying with the character if they get to name her in their own minds. The girl not being given a name also reinforces her loneliness, and her lack of true interaction or conversation with the other characters (who are also not named). There’s a sadness and aloneness to this, which at times feels almost oppressive. This is alleviated some by the ending–but there is still a sadness to the book.

After we learn that the girl in the castle is lonely, we then hear how the girl appreciates the beauty of her castle, that it is full of music and grace, and then that she dreams of the children visiting her. This helps alleviate the lonely quality a little, though it has a bittersweet, still lonely feeling about it.

Bernheimer’s text flows like a well-crafted fairy tale. Words feel carefully chosen to create the feeling of a myth or magical tale–such as “It’s been said she’s lived there forever,” not “she’s lived there forever.” Bernheimer also asks the reader questions, here and there, which encourage the child to use their imagination and fully enter the story. At times the questions felt like a slightly different voice, and threw me, but I think they will grab young children’s interest and get them to respond. Some readers may find aspects of the book creepy, such as that the girl has lived in the castle forever, that she dreams of the reader, and that she can see the reader.

The book may especially appeal to children who’ve felt lonely or isolated, although the book may be too painful for some of the children because the loneliness is so poignant. Still, the girl in the castle shows the reader a few coping strategies for feeling lonely and isolated–to see the beauty around you, to day dream of better things, and to have a photo or picture of a loved one where you can look at it.

Berheimer creates a surreal, fun, possibly creepy idea when she suggests that the girl is truly alive in the castle, inside the museum, in the book that you hold in your hands. I love that touch–bringing the reader even more fully into the story through that mention, and then through telling the reader that we keep the girl company. That helps bring a small uplift to the story. The story ends with the narrator telling the reader “Do you see her? She sees you,” which may be affirming for some children, and slightly creepy for others. The story would have had a more uplifting, hopeful feeling to me if it had ended where we’re told that we keep her company in a magical world. Still, the ending suggests that the reader has found a new friend in the girl, and the girl in the reader, which is a lovely idea, and will please many readers.

Ceccoli’s (Oscar and the Mooncats, An Island In The Sun, Firefighters in the Dark) illustrations are stunning, and visually make the book stand out, just as they did with Oscar and the Mooncats, though some readers might find the illustrations a bit unsettling. Ceccoli strongly picked up and built on the emotion in the text; her illustrations are beautiful, magical, and haunting–perfect for a fantasy with a slight twinge of creepiness. The characters don’t look happy in most of the illustrations; instead, they look wistful, sad, even lonely. THis feeling is accentuated by the pale, wan, almost doll-like faces of the characters, with large, widely spaced eyes and small mouths. They look dramatic and slightly sad, yet the girls looking in also look entranced and hopeful.

Ceccoli makes great use of texture–showing graininess in the castle, and texture that looks like brush strokes in the sky. The castle looks almost like it’s made of clay or plastercine, and has a strong three-dimensionality to it, with great, differing perspectives, often as if we are looking down at a doll house, or in through a window, like the girl characters are. This feeling is enhanced by all the illustrations bleeding right to the edges of the pages, the rooms having no borders.

Ceccoli’s artwork has a surreal feel to it, and seems at times to draw inspiration from Escher, with black-and-white checker floors that turn in to stairs or boxes as they move across the page, from surrealists, with symbolic objects placed around the illustrations and little staircases suddenly protruding from walls, and from magic realism, with the wafting star dust or cloud trails leading to the girl in the castle, and hair that is almost always blowing backwards as if from an invisible breeze.

The walls and sky start off fittingly grey, as the girl is looked at from a distance. As the girl thinks about the beauty of where she lives, the colors grow slightly warmer, to a yellow-green grey, and as she dreams, there are greater stretches of browns and yellows.

There is so much to look at in the illustrations–strange, odd-looking, fun-to-pore-over toys, such as an orange-and-blue striped fish on wheels, a wind-up bird in a cage, and several strange-looking wind-up rabbits. Many readers will enjoy observing all the small, neat details Ceccoli’s included, such as a button perched on top of a castle tower, and what looks like red swirl candies on other towers. From the illustrations, it looks as though the castle resides in a toy museum, though the text doesn’t specify what kind of museum.

The Girl in the Castle Inside the Museum is a visual treat to feast your eyes on. The book will enthrall readers. It may not be the book for everyone–what book is?–but those that enjoy it will enjoy it immensely, from the well-crafted story to the beautiful, surreal illustrations. The book seems best suited for older or more mature children. Highly recommended.

Not So Tall for Six

by Dianna Hutts Aston, illustrated by Frank W. Dormer

Charlesbridge (February 2008)

ISBN-10: 1570917051, ISBN-13: 978-1570917059

My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

At times like this a sneaky thought tip-tippity-two-steps across Kylie Bell’s brain. She is so tall, the ground rumbles like a mighty oil gusher when she runs. She is so tee-totally-tall, big kids can play hopscotch in her shadow.

She is so positively giraffelike, she gets a permanent crick in her neck from looking down at teh tops of her friends’ heads.

Six-year-old Kylie Bell is the not-so-tallest in her first grade class. Sometimes it gets her down when she can’t see past people’s heads or reach the fountain–but she never lets it get her down for long. Instead, she pulls up tidbits of wisdom from her family, who are all not-so-tall like her, and reminds herself that, like her family (and their motto0, she is brave, smart, and big of heart. When a bully starts taunting her about her size, Kylie draws on those qualities to stop the bully, and make friends with him. Not So Tall for Six is a book with heart. It shows that height doesn’t matter, and that acts of kindness can sometimes reach a bully, and make a bully into a friend.

Aston (Mama’s Wild Child/Papa’s Wild Child; An Egg Is Quiet) opens the book with great humor, in the way that Kylie describes herself–the not-so-tallest one in first grade. This creative way of describing being short is used throughout the book, which should help kids who are less than average height with their self image, and give them a way to reframe it. Aston vividly captures the feeling of being short, through the things that upset Kylie (not being able to see past people’s heads, not being able to reach the fountain when others can), and through her intense daydreaming and desire to be taller than anyone, in fantasy levels, after she’s teased for being short. Not So Tall for Six shows that kids can be teased and put down for their height, or lack of height, just like any difference, and may provide validation for some readers, and increased sensitivity for others.

Kylie is a strong girl character; she stands up to the bully, draws on her inner resources to act with integrity, and knows her own strengths. She’s also likable, kind-hearted, and an easy-to-relate-to character, since most people have wanted to fit in and be accepted (or not made fun of) at one point or another. Because the reader cares, it’s uplifting when Kylie triumphs in the end–most especially that she stops the bully behavior, but also that she feels tall for a while.

Kylie mentions family members throughout the book, drawing on positive actions or wisdom remembered, bringing a sense of family. This also helps to give the feeling that Kylie exists off the page as well as on. Aston gets us inside Kylie’s thoughts, emotions, and observations beautifully; I was so there when Kylie dreamed she was bigger than others, and when she saw the bully’s shame and knew she had to be a good person.

Aston strings together words in playful and fresh ways, such as that a thought “tip-tippity-two-steps across Kylie’s brain.” Children should have fun with the language. Bits of humor pop up throughout the book, such as when Kylie looks straight up the bully’s nostrils, or when she breathes two “ladylike, rhino-sized breaths.” That humor helps keep the book from being too heavy. Yet there is also depth, emotion, and awareness of what it feels like to be bullied and to be afraid. And when Aston writes that Rusty, the bully, taunts her in his singin’-meanie voice, the reader knows exactly what she means.

Aston uses vivid, creative descriptions and analogies, such as the bully being a “half-starved rattlesnake”. Most analagies work, though some don’t work as well. Some of the analogies are continued and built on throughout the book, such as the bully being snake-like, which brings continuity. However, others are very different and all jumbled together, making far too many analogies in a sort space of text–such as Kylie being like a spooked horse, an oil gusher, a giraffe all in the span of four pages. This may cause some confusion for young readers. Many of the analogies work when they are Kylie’s own observations, but when she brings them into her dialogue as if they are fact, without any other linkage, and the characters just understand, it may also cause confusion for the reader.

At times the text seems to jump abruptly from scene to scene, and to include too much backstory. When backstory is inserted to tell us where Kylie gets her bravery from–she takes after her great-uncle Fergus–the insertion makes a disconnect between the bully blocking her sky, and Kylie’s reaction. I also didn’t feel strongly placed in the setting or storyline through the text, especially in the beginning; I was surprised when we found ourselves at the playground. Though the first grade is mentioned on the first page, a lot of backstory came afterward–another instance where, for me, it interfered with the story flow. I would have preferred a lot less backstory. Still, that didn’t stop me from rooting for Kylie, or being delighted when she triumphed in the end.

Dormer’s (Aggie and Ben) pen, ink, and watercolor illustrations are freely drawn with great expression, and have a childlike quality that brings a playful and light feeling. Dormer also creates a distinct setting for the book–he makes a desert setting, with sand, cactuses, and snakes which are incorporated throughout the illustrations, even using cactus-like quills around a green striped doorway; the bully having a rattlesnake tail instead of feet; and a palette that brings the feeling of the desert through browns, yellows, oranges, and khaki greens. Cacti are also reflected in the title text on the front cover.

Dormer emphasizes Klyie’s smallness through oversized furniture and people, especially the bully who, at times, looms like a giant. This follows the emotion in the text, and how one’s own size or that of another can seem to change with intense emotion. Setting details also work with the emotion; buildings jump into the air when Kylie does. Only the barest of setting details are used to place the characters in their environment, and this brings a lightness to the pages, as does Dormer’s use of white space on some of the illustrations.

Kylie stands out in most illustrations, with her bright orange hair and yellow dress, though there are a few illustrations where she’s not the focus. Kylie’s hair is also the same shade as the bully’s hat, which is an interesting visual way of showing us that they are connected. Dormer also makes use of multiple patterns in most illustrations, bringing visual interest.

Though at times it feels there are unnecessary details, Not So Tall for Six is an uplifting, enjoyable story, full of hope, an understanding of what it feels like to be bullied, and a strong girl character who faces bullying and stops it. At times the writing is quite beautiful. Recommended.

The Mole Sisters and the Moonlit Night

by Roslyn Schwartz

Annick Press (September 2001)

ISBN-10: 1550377027, ISBN-13: 978-1550377026

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The world is a beautiful place

and anything can happen

on a beautiful moonlit night.

“La bella luna,” sang the mole sisters in Italian,

and gazed up at the night sky.

–The Mole Sisters and the Moonlit Night , by Roslyn Schwartz, p. 1-5.

If you’ve never picked up a Mole Sisters book before, you’re missing out on a treat. Soft pastel-like illustrations combined with a playful wisdom are the hallmarks of the Mole Sisters books by Roslyn Schwartz. The Mole Sisters and the Moonlit Night is no exception.

The two mole sisters stand staring up at the moonlit sky, remarking that the world is a beautiful place, and anything can happen on a moonlit night. They sing together, glimpse a shooting star and make a wish, take a trip to the moon, and then come back to earth, glad again that the world is such a beautiful place.

Schwartz’s text is simple and concise, leaving the illustrations to fill in the blanks and tell the rest of the story. This encourages the reader to engage in the story, and understand just what the mole sisters are feeling and why. Short or partial sentences containing an idea, scene, or sound appear on each page, moving the story forward quickly, though readers will want to slow down the turning of pages to pore over the beautiful illustrations. At times the text relies a little too heavily on the illustrations to tell the story, leaving the feeling of a slight gap, but the story works.

Schwartz’s text contains a nice mixture of simple story that young children can follow, tidbits for adults (such as them singing “La bella luna”–the beautiful moon–on a moonlit night), and bits of wisdom as they take in the natural world around them and see that the world is beautiful and safe. The story also encourages imagination and play, as the sisters ride in a leaf boat, and imagine that they travel to the moon and back.

The Mole Sisters and the Moonlit Night is full of hope, imagination, and the suggestion that the world really is beautiful. The book is a soothing story, good for bedtime, calming down a child, or any time.

Schwartz’s colored-pencil illustrations are soft and rich, the texture showing through in a pleasing way. The illustrations build on the text and show so much of the story that the text does not–the way the mole float down a pond in a leaf, press each others’ snouts to make a wish, and walk back home, the full moon in their view. The illustrations make good use of light and shadow, and of perspective.

Schwartz layers and blends colors, providing a richness and depth to the illustrations. The illustrations feel light and happy, with a lot of white space around each illustration, and bright, light colors in most, such as their light green leaf boat, lit up and lightened by the yellow light of the moon, and pinks, purples, and blues blending into the darker colors of the night sky, with stars popping through the darkest areas. Colors are often echoed in the illustrations, providing visual unity–the greens and yellows of the leaf boat is echoed in the pole and water, and in the reeds about them, and blues are found in the sky, water, and some parts of the leaf boat.

The mole sisters walk upright, like humans do, making it easy to identify with them, and their facial expressions show emotion well. I love the illustrations in The Mole Sisters and the Moonlit Night–I just wish they were a little larger, and took up more space on the page. It would be lovely to sometimes have full-bleed illustrations.

The Mole Sisters books are small books, easy to carry around in a pack or purse for a quick read, and fun to hold. The Mole Sisters and the Moonlit Night is a book that affirms that the world is a good, safe place. It’s an uplifting, affirming for readers of all ages. Recommended!

The End of the Beginning: Being the Adventures of a Small Snail (and an Even Smaller Ant)
by Avi, illustrated by Tricia Tusa

Harcourt (April 2008) (paperback edition)

ISBN-10: 0152055320, ISBN-13: 9780152055325

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

“I’ve been living here,” said the ant, “for a whole year, and you have never once said hello.”

“I am sorry,” replied Avon. “But there was never anyone around to introduce us.”

“I kept telling myself you were just being polite,” said the ant. “And I’m glad to learn I was right. Still, if you have ever noticed, while it’s awkward to say hello without introductions, one can always say good-bye.”-

-The End of the Beginning by Avi, p. 18.

I love humor when it tickles my funny bone. The End of the Beginning really appealed to me, and I think it will appeal both to young children for the incredible silliness and young child’s sense of humor, as well as to adults for the bits of deep wisdom and truisms that are woven throughout the story.

Avon, a snail who loves to read, gets really sad because he’s never had an adventure like all the characters he’s read about in books. So he decides to find himself an adventure, and he, along with Edward, an ant who’s lived in his house for a year but who he’s never spoken to, set out to find adventures, traveling slowly at Avon’s snail pace. They come to the end of a branch, meet up with a mouse they decide is a dragon in disguise, teach a cricket to sing a different song, and race another snail. They return home (which they think is an enchanted castle) happy, and each a friend richer.

I love the way the story opens, with Avon the snail reading books and enjoying them; this is a validation of readers and book lovers. From there, Avi moves us into tongue-in-cheek humor and playful silliness with sense turned on its head, and, woven throughout it all, bits of wisdom and truth. There are truths that children will easily pick up on, and truths and humor that will resonate more with older readers and adults. The silliness is innocent, young, and appears on most pages, making the book light and easy to read.

Some of the silliness stems from advice that starts out making sense and then gets convoluted but still feels like it almost makes sense: “If it’s going to be tomorrow, it might as well be today. And if it is today, it could have been yesterday. And if it was yesterday, then you’re over and done with it…” Other silliness comes from turning sense upside down and inside out: “‘Well,’ said the ant, ‘if i don’t have a right answer, at least I’ll have a wrong one.’ ‘As long as it’s an answer,’ said Avon, ‘I can use it….’

The bits of wisdom feel profound, and are all the more powerful because of their simplicity–you can see something from a different perspective than others, but you may still be singing the same song, thus can still relate; if you run about crazily trying to get something done, it will probably take you as long as it would if you do something steadily and slowly; you can change the way a place feels or looks by the way you look at it, seeing the world with your heart, not your eyes.

Avi keeps up the humor and tone throughout the entire book, sometimes more successfully than others. Fittingly, there are references to ends and beginnings sprinkled throughout the story. The chapters feel almost self contained; I think they would work well being read aloud each night. At times there were chapters that didn’t move the story forward, and that seemed to have no purpose; I found those chapters almost irritating. They also seemed to lack the bits of wisdom that were sprinkled throughout the rest of the chapters. Though the humor was delicious, at times it became wearing, especially when it felt like there was no point to the chapter; it gave that chapter an empty feeling, but those chapters were the minority. Most of the humor feels fresh and alive, but I found myself disappointed when they Avon and Edward arrive home and don’t recognize their own home, but assume it’s an enchanted home, since I’ve seen a very similar vein in a few children’s books (the titles are alluding me right now). Still, overall, the book was a delight to read. Sweet, funny line drawings accompany the text, punctuating important scenes and making the characters come more alive.

This is a light, funny story with great truths. The paperback edition is a nice pocket-sized book, easy to hold. The double-spaced lines make it easy and quick to read. The End of the Beginning is a good-hearted book. Recommended.

The end of the beginning comes out in paperback in April 2008, and the sequel, A Beginning, a Muddle, and an End: The Right Way to Write Writing also comes out in April in hardcover.

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I love picture books that inspire me, that bring a sense of beauty and hope, that encourage the reader to dream, to draw on creativity. The Boy From the Sun does all that. It is a real feel-good, magical book.

The Boy from the Sun

by Duncan Weller

Simply Read Books (January 2007)

ISBN-10: 1894965337, ISBN-13: 978-1894965330

My rating: 5 out of 5

On a cold grey

nothing sort of day

halfway

between home and school

sat three sad children.

They said nothing,

and could only stare.
Out of the sky

came a little body…
…with a big yellow shining head.

–The Boy From the Sun by Duncan Weller, p. 1-2.
Imagination can take us into wonderful places, and bring greater beauty and happiness to even painful situations. In The Boy from the Sun, three children sit, lonely and sad in a cold city, until a boy with a sun for a head comes down from the sky and shows them delights–a beautiful bird, flying children, whole cities of people and animals within trees, and lush greenry. As they follow the sun-boy along the sidewalk, the sidewalk begins to curve and change, and then disappears altogether. The sun boy tell the children that they can use their minds and creativity to change their lives, find new paths to take. And the children do. The Boy from the Sun suggests that we can all open our minds to creativity and inner imaginings to discover more choices and bring ourselves greater happiness. This is an inspiring, feel-good book, on many levels.

Weller’s text is, for the most part, sparse, without unnecessary detail, and thus moves quickly. Some pages have no text at all, and rely on the illustrations to carry the story forward, which they successfully do. Weller immediately engages reader empathy and identification by telling us that the children are sad, and that the day is a cold grey one, as well as by showing us the sad, lonely children in the illustration, each looking away from the others, together yet isolated and still. The children are never named, which I like; it leaves more room open for the reader to identify with them (and also leaves their gender up to the reader).

At times the text feels a little too simple; I would have liked a bit more lyrical word choices–but it works. A rather long poem near the end of the book stopped me; it didn’t fit the flow of the rest of the book, which had little to no text on the pages. The placement of the poem felt slightly forced. Yet I found the poem beautiful, and it spoke to me; I just wish it was a stanza shorter.

The poem suggests that using your mind and creativity, you can open up the world for yourself, find new paths to travel, and that by filling your inner world, you’ll find a greater place in the outer world. It directly tells the reader that ‘you are worth celebrating,” which is a wonderful message. These are all such important things to hear–I just wish it was sprinkled more throughout the book, instead of given all at once. There’s also a slight feeling of telling that puts me off, but there was only one phrase that felt a bit preachy to me: “You are worth elevating.” I could have done without that.

Weller creates an almost perfect partnership between the text and the illustrations, with each adding meaning to the other. The opening text, with the children sad on “a cold grey nothing sort of day” works beautifully with the black-and-white simple line drawings, heavy dark lines outlining the children, lots of white space that seems cold, especially with the cement sidewalk the children sit on, and the heavy blackness of the factories and smoke in the background. And the illustrations bring a great magic to the book.

Weller’s drawings are evocative and beautiful. There’s something about the simple black-and-white drawings, like a child’s drawings, that show the sadness and creativity so well, and that make the movement into color and dreams all the more powerful.

Weller moves the reader from a sad, cold, empty city landscape, into a small splash of color with the first bird, then a bit more color with green grass on either side of the sidewalk, and bits of blue into the sky, into a full riot of color and life and beauty in a breathtaking landscape–multicolored trees, animals, people from various cultures, all together into one magical land. There is so much to feast the eyes on, so many wonderful details to pore over. The colorful, detailed illustrations make the once-empty world seem full of vibrancy, life, and hope, showing what a little imagination can do.

The movement from bleakness to beauty and happiness is like a nourishing meal for the soul. I could spend a long time just looking at the beautiful colors in the tree trunks–purples, pinks, blues, greens, and oranges–never mind everything there is to look at, from monarch butterflies to a turtle to a lion to people from many different cultures, and great trees and sky.

I love how the children, the sidewalk, and the sun-boy remain black-and-white line drawings throughout the book, even amidst the other, more sophisticated color illustrations. As Weller moves the reader into more and more color and beauty, the sidewalk also changes shape, from a straight sidewalk into one that curves and ripples, then moves to connect tree-worlds, and finally breaks apart in the grass.

There is a lot in this book to set the imagination astir, starting with the boy from the sun, whose yellow shining head looks like a small sun, and then moving into the beauty and wonders that the sun-boy brings into the bleakness of the city. The book is a metaphor for imagination–it doesn’t matter where you are, or how bleak your surroundings are, you can make them better if you open your imagination and bring beauty to you. This is a wonderful unspoken message in the book. There is also a strong metaphor about the environment, that there is more freedom and happiness and room to play where the land is natural.

The closing illustration is beautiful, with the three children each now having glowing yellow faces like the sun, dancing through the grass with autumn trees swirling leaves around them. The factory is visible in the distance, which suggests that this time, it is the children who brought beauty to their own world, the city world, through their imaginations and hearts. This perfectly sums up the book, and leaves the reader with a sense of satisfaction and good feeling; there is such positive change here, fantasy made reality. I love it.

Though there are a few small things that didn’t work for me, most of the book is incredibly beautiful and imaginative; to me it is a masterpiece. If you haven’t seen this book yet, I suggest you get your hands on a copy. Highly recommended.
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It’s spring time and April is also “National Garden Month.” Finding poetry for children on the topic of gardens is one way to celebrate the outdoors and help kids re-connect with the earth, plants, and growing things. Here are a handful of poetry books on the topic.


*Alarcon, Francisco X. 1997. Laughing Tomatoes and Other Spring Poems/Jitomates Risuenos y Otros Poemas de Primavera. San Francisco, CA: Children’s Book Press.
*Bruchac, Joseph. 1995. The Earth Under Sky Bear's Feet: Native American Poems of the Land. New York: Philomel Books.
*Brenner, Barbara. 1994. The Earth is Painted Green: A Garden of Poems about Our Planet. New York: Scholastic.
*Florian, Douglas. 2006. Handsprings. New York: Greenwillow.
*Havill, Juanita. 2006. I Heard It from Alice Zucchini: Poems About the Garden. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.
*Nicholls, Judith. 2003. The Sun in Me: Poems About the Planet. Barefoot Books.
*Shannon, George. 2006. Busy in the Garden. New York: Greenwillow.
*Wong, Janet. 2000. Night Garden: Poems from the World of Dreams. New York: Margaret K. McElderry (for a fun twist!).
*Yolen, Jane. 2000. Color Me a Rhyme: Nature Poems for Young People. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.

And of course sharing garden poetry provides an invitation to children to DO some planting. As a classroom teacher, I found that planting seeds and seedlings and taking care of them was so rewarding for children. They enjoyed the physicality, as well as the responsibility, of the experience. Some schools even have garden plots for children to tend (and beautify the campus). Invite children to try out their green thumbs. Here’s a poem that does just that. Children can echo the lines or chant along.

Dig In
by George Shannon

Dig a little.
Dig a lot.
Dig a brand-new garden spot.

Plat a little.
Plant a lot.
Plant the seeds and bulbs you bought.

Wait a little.
Wait a lot.
Wait much longer than you thought.

Pick a little.
Pick a lot.
Share the best bouquet you’ve got!

From: Shannon, George. 2006. Busy in the Garden. New York: Greenwillow, p. 10

Match up garden poetry with many of Lois Ehlert’s wonderful graphic and rhyming picture books, including Growing Vegetable Soup (Harcourt Brace, 1987) and Planting a Rainbow (Harcourt Brace, 1988).

Picture credit: www.victoriana.ws