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Next to You: A Book of Adorableness
By Lori Haskins Houran
Illustrated by Sydney Hanson
Albert Whitman & Co.
$16.99
ISBN: 9780807556009
Ages 4-7
On shelves now

Years ago I saw a very interesting sketch produced during the early years of Disney animated filmmaking. The drawing was an explanation to animators on the precise proportions it takes to make a drawn character “cute”. The size of the eyes, the proportions between a large head and small hands, the slant of the gaze, all this contributes to the final cute form. At its worst, the word “cute” conjures up creations like those Precious Moments figurines and their insipid equals. At its best, it touches on our maternal and paternal instincts, even if we’re the kinds of folks who prefer furry animals to actual human babies. If you are a children’s librarian working with picture books, you get a nice and steady influx of cute into your location. Some of it is good, but most of it is fairly intolerable. An Anne Geddes / Nancy Tillman-like excess. I can be forgiven then for putting aside Next to You: A Book of Adorableness when first it came to my desk. I read every picture book I’m sent, but some I read a little faster than others, and this didn’t strike me as something to rush over and devour. It took a fellow co-worker to break the news to me that author Lori Haskins Houran’s title has a very sharp tongue lodged firmly in its cheek. With a canniness uncommon in cutesy picture book fair, Next to You manages to reach a dual readership: People who will take it seriously and people who will get the joke. Sweet.

A narrator addressing a child sets the tone at the start. That tiny border collie puppy with the bow around its next and a little lamb toy (nice touch)? It’s only “kind of cute”. The yawning tiger cub or round-tailed bunny? “Whatever”. Honestly, the person being addressed wipes the floor with the competition. Those animals used to be really cute. “Until you came along. Now? Sorta so-so”. The narrator’s casual attitude is swiftly called into question, however, when they see a newborn giraffe for the first time. Seeing the giraffe chasing a butterfly, they’re almost persuaded that the giraffe is cuter but, “No! NO WAY! They are NOT as adorable as you. Not NEARLY.” Whew! A final shot of some of the animals in a cuddly pile ends with the narrator saying that none of them are as cute as you, “And you know what? I’m happy to be . . . next to you.” Aw.

Okay. So let’s talk audience here. When a picture book is talking about how cute someone is, that’s usually a tip-off that kids aren’t actually the focus. Instead, this is probably a book written with the hopes of becoming a baby shower staple. Picture books for expectant mothers are big business (how else to explain the inexplicable yet continual sales of Love You Forever?) so each season we see a couple titles make a play for the hearts and minds of incipient parents everywhere. Few succeed in the long run. What distinguishes Next to You from the pack is that it manages to not merely be a new baby book. Houran has somehow or other managed to write something that has appeal to a certain brand of snarky new parent (a common animal too often ignored by the picture book market) AND to actual children as well. This book is self-aware. A saving grace.

The text gets you pretty much from the first sentence onward. “Next to you, the softest puppy in the world is only kind of cute.” As a librarian I was intrigued but I wasn’t sold. Not until we got to the squirrel. That was the moment when I felt like Houran was making a distinct comment about those of us that waste countless hours watching cute animal videos on YouTube. “A squirrel eating a doughnut with his tiny hands? Adorable, sure. But next to you? Meh. Just OK.” The mix of “tiny hands” and “meh” is noteworthy. I know this sounds a little odd, but that two-page spread is the first true indication that you’re dealing with a picture book is a slick sense of humor. After all, that opening line might just be a fluke. But there is no denying how funny squirrels with itty-bitty widdle hands are, particularly when combined with the all-encompassing and supremely uninterested, “meh”. When the book stops for a moment to goggle at the shockingly cute giraffe, that pause is fascinating. I mean, how do you get a plot out of a book where all the narrator is saying is how cute various animals are? Houran must have also had a blast trying to conjure up all the different forms of cuteness out there? At the same time, take some care to notice that these animals are never in compromising positions. A pig may occasionally wear a sweater but nothing here is considered cute because it’s having its dignity taken away.

It’s a lucky editor that gets a manuscript like this one. Imagine knowing that the artist you acquired would have to excel in the art of “cute”. This editor undoubtedly had to consider a wide swath of artists adept at big eyes and tiny bodies. In the end, the selection fell to first time picture book illustrator Sydney Hanson. Trained in animation and character design, Hanson’s Tumblr page is awash in a sea of sweetness. More details and intricate than the characters found in this book, Hanson is adept at not simply rendering cute the horrible (the big-eyed tarantula is my favorite) but making it clear that these characters have personalities too. The book doesn’t give away Hanson’s medium, so this might all be done on a computer for all I know. That said, it looks like colored pencils. For the art to be effective there has to be a certain level of fuzziness to it. Colored pencils provide that virtual fuzz. My two-year-old son has taken to hugging cute characters in books when he sees them. Next to You, thanks to Hanson’s techniques, is now infinitely huggable.

I never thought I’d say this, but I think this book would actually make a good readaloud to a large group. It would take some practice. You’d really have to get your cadences down. But with the right inflection this could actually work for a bunch of kids. It might even work particularly well for those of the jaded variety. The same kinds of kids that get hornswaggled by Guess Again! by Mac Barnett and Adam Rex would find themselves flummoxed by this book. Few can turn pages without thinking, “Where is this going?” An oddity of a book, but a good one to know about. Don’t let the big blue kitten eyes on the cover fool you. There’s a lot to love between these pages. It’s a book that upsets expectations for adults but still manages to be fun for kids. And if you happen to want to give it to a new parent, I’m not gonna stop you. Not one little bit.

On shelves now.

Like This? Then Try:

• Cute and Cuter by Michael Townsend
• Guess Again! by Mac Barnett, ill. Adam Rex
• The Princess in Black and the Hungry Bunny Hoard by Shannon and Dean Hale, ill. LeUyen Pham

Well, I missed her birthday, but it's wonderful to see Helen Keller's Best Friend Belle included with these other fantastic books about Helen's life over at  The Horn Book!

 

What Do You See?
By Martine Perrin
Albert Whitman & Co.
$8.99
ISBN: 978-0-8075-6712-8
Ages 0-4
On shelves now.

*Offspring Approved*

I have always acknowledged the danger of having a child of my own. You see, as a children’s librarian I deal with parents that truly believe that if their kid does or does not like a book, that is the final word on the matter. So if I try to suggest a book the child did not like they will curl their lips in severe distaste or, worse, try to have it removed from my collection. Likewise if I eschew a book the offspring adored they will assure me that it’s the best in my children’s room. Parents have a kind of selective tunnel vision with their heirs, which is understandable up to a point. And for eight years I’ve been a childless librarian with only my experience to call upon when reviewing books. Now the tables have turned. I find myself with a small human in my home and I become desperate to amuse her. Board books, once appreciated only in a vague theoretical way, are now for me mysterious godsends with secrets waiting to be uncovered. The danger I alluded to is that I will become one of those very parents I dislike, saying to the world that simply because my progeny likes a book, therefore all progeny everywhere will follow suit. This is not the case. With that in mind, just consider this a review that was once tested on a child of two months and held their interest. For what it’s worth.

Right from the cover onward this book works hard to suck in infant interest. Turn the cover and the wavy pattern on the boat becomes an ocean scene with a red fish cresting the waves. After that the book begins in earnest. “Rolling yarn, in a little house . . /” turn the page and, “Look! Here comes Kitty, ready to play! Meow, meow!” A checked pattern of red and white square that had previously been the makeup of the house now become a floor with a silhouette of a black cat in the upper right hand corner. Meanwhile the page you’ve just turned reveals that the house is now red and white too. This sets up the rest of the book. Patterns will appear within objects, and when you turn the page the colors of the objects will change and the patterns become something else. From black stripes to orange polka dots to green zigzags, Perrin creates patterns that seem to move when the eye takes them in. At the end of the book older children can identify the objects, colors, and animals that were spotted throughout.

Board books, those sturdy denizens of the nursery library, have never been more popular. At some point publishers realized that if they simply took already existing picture books and turned them into board book versions they could potentially double their sales. Some of these work. Many do not. Books that have always been board books from conception onward fare better with small fry, but they still n

Prior to my babyfied state I met with two publishers who gave me the rundown on their upcoming seasons.  Not knowing when I’d get to their previews I had the vague hope that I’d be able to do so before their books came out (Fall 2011).  Fortunately, sometimes life works out just the way you’d hoped it would.  So here now, fresh off the presses, comes the fascinating Fall 2011 season Albert Whitman & Co. have whipped up for us here.

First off, until now Whitman has not typically done a lot in the area of young adult literature.  But as other smaller publishers have made in-roads into courting the YA market (Chronicle, for example, comes to mind) so too has this company.  In this particular case, Whitman has committed to two YA novels for the fall season, both published overseas originally.  The Poisoned House by Michael Ford is the first of these.  Now I took one look at this cover and thought to myself, “A kid would grab that instantly if they saw it.”  So I decided to try a little experiment.  For the final children’s bookgroup meeting of the year, prior to my maternity leave, I pulled out a cart of galleys and new books.  The kids were allowed to take one book each, and we determined their order by pulling their names out of a hat.  As I had suspected, the very first book to go was The Poisoned House.  The kid didn’t even have to look twice.  All she saw was (A) an awesome cover and (B) a description of a story that involved Victorian ghosts, scullery maids, and madness.  I didn’t even have to describe to her the fact that in this story handprints start appearing on windows where handprints cannot go.

A very different title is the other YA novel Guantanamo Boy by Anna Perera.  Here, I think Whitman got a little too subtle with the cover.  This, for example, was the British cover:

And here the American:

I know which of the two I’d find more appealing.  That said, this book (shortlisted for the Costa Children’s Book Award in the UK) tells the story of a kid who spends two years in Guantanamo.  Sound unlikely?  Fact of the matter is that 12-year-olds have been held in that particular detention center.  So in a sense, the book is examining why good people do bad things (like build places like Guantanamo Bay).  In September its author will be coming to the U.S. which is awfully good timing.  Also well timed: The timeline in the back of the book will include Bin Laden’s death.

Best Byline: “Innocent until proven guilty?  Not here you’re not.”

I’ve always had a healthy appreciation for picture books that know how to use plasticine.  They’re rare, though.