The Tea Party in the Woods
By Akiko Miyakoshi
Kids Can Press
$16.95
ISBN: 978-1771381079
Ages 3-6
There are picture books out there that feel like short films. Some of the time they’re adapted into them (as with The Snowman or The Lost Thing or Lost and Found) and sometimes they’re made in tandem (The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore). And some of the time you know, deep in your heart of hearts, that they will never see the silver screen. That they will remain perfect little evocative pieces that seep deep into the softer linings of a child’s brain, changing them, affecting them, and remaining there for decades in some form. The Tea Party in the Woods is like that. It looks on first glance like what one might characterize to be a “quiet” book. Upon further consideration, however, it is walking the tightrope between fear and comfort. We are in safe hands from the start to the finish but there’s no moment when you relax entirely. In this strangeness we find a magnificent book.
Having snowed all night, Kikko’s father takes off through the woods to shovel out the walk of her grandmother. When he forgets to bring along the pie Kikko’s mother baked for the occasion, Kikko takes off after him. She knows the way but when she spots him in the distance she smashes the pie in her excitement. Catching up, there’s something strange about her father. He enters a house she’s never seen before. Upon closer inspection, the man inside isn’t a man at all but a bear. A sweet lamb soon invites Kikko in, and there she meets a pack of wild animals, all polite as can be and interested in her. When she confesses to having destroyed her grandmother’s cake, they lend her slices of their own, and then march her on her way with full musical accompaniment.
Part of what I like so much about this book is that when a kid reads it they’re probably just taking it at face value. Girl goes into woods, hangs out with clothed furry denizens, and so on, and such. Adults, by contrast, are bringing to the book all sorts of literary, cinematic, and theatrical references of their own. A girl entering the woods with red on her head so as to reach her grandmother’s reeks of Little Red Riding Hood (and I can neither confirm nor deny the presence of a wolf at the tea party). The story of a girl wandering into the woods on her own and meeting the wild denizens who live there for a feast makes the book feel like a best case fairy encounter scenario. In this light the line, “You’re never alone in the woods”, so comforting here, takes on an entirely different feel. Some have mentioned comparisons to Alice in Wonderland as well, but the tone is entirely different. This is more akin to the meal with the badgers in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe than anything Lewis Carroll happened to cook up.
Yet it is the art that is, in many ways, the true allure. Kirkus compared the art to both minimalist Japanese prints as well as Dutch still life’s. Miyakoshi does indeed do marvelous things with light, but to my mind it’s the use of color that’s the most impressive. Red and yellow and the occasional hint of orange/peach appear at choice moments. Against a sea of black and white they draw your eye precisely to where it needs to go. That said, I felt it was Miyakoshi’s artistic choices that impressed me most. Nowhere is this more evident than when Kikko 
enters the party for the first time, every animal in the place staring at her. It’s a magnificent image. The best in the book by far. Somehow, Miyakoshi was able to draw this scene in such a way where the expressions on the animals’ faces are ambiguous. It isn’t just that they are animals. First and foremost, it seems clear that they are caught entirely unguarded in Kikko’s presence. The animals that had been playing music have stopped mid-note. And I, an adult, looked at this scene and (as I mentioned before) applied my own interpretation on how things could go. While it would be conceivable for Kikko to walk away from the party unscathed, in the hands of another writer she could easily have ended up the main course. That is probably why Miyakoshi follows up that two-page spread (which should have been wordless, but that’s neither here nor there) with an immediate scene of friendly, comforting words and images. The animals not only accept Kikko’s presence, they welcome her, are interested in her, and even help her when they discover her plight (smashing her grandmother’s pie). Adults everywhere who have found themselves unaccompanied (and even uninvited) at parties where they knew no one, and will recognize in this a clearly idyllic, unapologetically optimistic situation. In other words, perfect picture book fodder.
Translation is a delicate art. Done well, it creates some of our greatest children’s literature masterpieces. Done poorly and the book just melts away from the publishing world like mist, as if it was never there. Because I do not have a final copy of this book in hand, I don’t know if the translator for this book is ever named. Whoever they are, I think they knew precisely how to tackle it. Originally published in what I believe to be Japan, I marvel even now at how the story opens. The first line reads, “That morning, Kikko had awoken to a winter wonderland.” We are plunged into the story in such as way as to believe that we’ve been reading about Kikko for quite some time. It doesn’t say “One morning”, which is a distinction of vast importance. It says “That morning” and we are left to consider why that choice was made. What happened before “That morning” that led up to the events of this particular day? Whole short stories have been conjured from less. I love it.
If none of the reasons I’ve mentioned do it for you, consider this: On the front inside book flap of this book perches a squirrel in a bright red party dress in the crook of a tree. Tiny squirrel. Tiny red flowing gown. A detail you might easily miss the first ten times you read this book but it is there and just makes the book for me. Add in the tone, the light, the mood, and the writing itself and you have a book that will be remembered long after the name has faded from its readers’ minds. Something about this book will stick with your kids for all time. If you want something that feels classic and safely dangerous, Miyakoshi’s book is a rare piece of comfortable animal noir. No one is alone in the woods and after this book no one would want to be.
On shelves now.
Source: Galley sent from publisher for review.
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Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, Everyone!
Boy do I have the most magnificent book to share with you today! It's one of those books that makes you revel in how perfect it is when you get to the end and want to read it again right away in case you missed anything and then again just to enjoy how much fun it is :) I hope you all like it as much as I do!
Title: The Most Magnificent Thing
Written & Illustrated By: Ashley Spires
Kids Can Press, April 2014, Fiction
Suitable For Ages: 3-7
Themes/Topics: creativity, perseverance, perspective, emotion (frustration)
Opening: "
This is a regular girl and her best friend in the whole wide world. They do all kinds of things together. They race. They eat. They explore. They relax. She makes things. He unmakes things. One day, the girl has a wonderful idea. She is going to make the most MAGNIFICENT thing!"
Brief Synopsis: A little girl sets out to make the most MAGNIFICENT thing with the help of her best friend and assistant, her dog. Imagine their shock when the thing turns out
not to be magnificent! In fact, it's not even "
good. It isn't even kind-of-sort-of okay. It is all wrong." So she tosses it and starts again. But it's not easy to turn her vision into reality. Frustration leads to anger, and anger leads to defeat. Luckily, her assistant suggests a walk which brings calm and clarity and a new perspective... and a most magnificent thing :)Links To Resources: supply a variety of craft items and/or found objects and encourage kids to think up and create their own "magnificent things";
Goldie Blox Toys (which encourage girls to put down the dolls and pick up the tools and might give you some invention ideas)
Why I Like This Book: I love that this story addresses what may be the most common of all childhood emotions: frustration! The little girl has a great idea. She can imagine it perfectly. She knows exactly how it will look. But she has a hard time translating what she sees in her mind's eye to the physical reality of her most magnificent thing. Her escalation of emotion is real and believable (and kids will relate to it so well!) And the message that sometimes a little distance and a little time to calm down can help improve your perspective is a wonderful one. In the end, she makes something that is just perfect (but I won't tell you what it is :)) The art is cute and full of humor. The depiction of emotion is spot on. The story touches on imagination and creativity, making things from found objects, dealing with frustration and disappointment, keeping/finding your perspective, not giving up, the idea that it's okay to make mistakes, and the importance of having a good friend. All around, a book kids will enjoy and parents will be glad to read multiple times.
For the complete list of books with resources, please visit
Perfect Picture Books.
Now, before we all trot off so see what everyone else picked this week, I'd like to take a moment to announce the winner of last week's giveaway. Laura Sassi and her publisher, Zonderkidz, generously contributed a copy of GOODNIGHT, ARK and the lucky winner is . . .
Sandy Perlic!!!
Congratulations, Sandy! Please
email me so we can organize getting you your book! And thanks to everyone who shared their bedtime routines - we all had so much fun reading about them!
PPBF bloggers please be sure to leave your post-specific link in the list below so we can all come visit you! I can't wait to see what's on the list for today :)
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! :)
The Mermaid and the Shoe
By K.G. Campbell
Kids Can Press
$16.95
ISBN: 978-1554537716
Ages 3-7
On shelves now
Why are magical creatures so hard to write? I’m a children’s librarian. That means that a goodly portion of my day can consist of small starry-eyed children asking for an array of otherworldly cuties. “Do you have any unicorn books?” “Any fairies?” “Any mermaids?” Actually, more often than not it’s their parents asking and you can read between the lines when they request such books. What they’re really saying is, “Do you have any books about a fairy that isn’t going to make me want to tear out my eyebrows when I end up reading it for the 4,000th time?” Over the years I’ve collected the names of picture books that fulfill those needs. Like fairies? The Dollhouse Fairy by Jane Ray is for you. Unicorns? You can’t go wrong with Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great by Bob Shea. But mermaids . . . mermaids posed a problem. It isn’t that they don’t have books. They simply don’t have that many. For whatever reason, writers don’t like doing mermaid books. Easy to understand why. What is a mermaid known for aside from brushing their hair or luring young sailors to a watery grave? Add in the fact that most kids associate mermaids with a certain red-haired Disney vixen and you’ve got yourself a topic that’s avoided like the plague. It takes a bit of originality, spark, and verve to overcome these obstacles. Having read his picture book Lester’s Dreadful Sweaters I knew that K.G. Campbell was a bit of a witty wordsmith. What I didn’t know was that he was capable of creating wholly new storylines that are as satisfying to adult readers as they will be to children. You want a mermaid book? The Mermaid and the Shoe is officially my latest recommendation.
Mermaids are talented creatures. Just ask King Neptune. The merman has fifty (count ‘em) fifty daughters and every single one of them has a talent. Every single one . . . except perhaps Minnow. The youngest daughter, Minnow can’t garden or train fish or sing particularly well. Instead, she asks questions. Questions that nobody seems to know the answers to. One day, a strange red object falls from above. No one, not even Minnow’s stuck up sister Calypso, can say what it is or what it does. Inspired, Minnow goes up to the surface to discover its use. What she finds shocks her, but also gives her a true purpose. She’s not just the youngest daughter in her family any more. No, Minnow is an explorer through and through.
My three-year-old daughter has a laser-like ability to hone in on any new picture book that appears in my bag when I come home from work. I hadn’t necessarily meant to try out The Mermaid and the Shoe on her, but once she zeroed in on it there was no stopping her. At this point in time she doesn’t have much of a magical creature frame of reference so it was interesting trying to explain the rudimentary basics of your everyday merman or mermaid in the context of Campbell’s book. She had a bit of a hard time understanding why Minnow didn’t know what a shoe was. I explained that mermaids don’t have feet. “Why don’t they have feet?” Not much of an answer to be given to that one. Happily she enjoyed the book thoroughly, but with its emphasis on cruel older siblings and the importance of making your own path, this is going to be best enjoyed by a slightly older readership.
As I may have mentioned before, Disney ruined us for mermaids. There will therefore be kids who read this book and then complain that it’s not a cookie cutter Ariel mass media affair. Still, I like to think those kids will be few and far between. First off, the book does have some similarities to the Ariel storyline. King Neptune/Triton is still the buff and shirtless father of a bunch of mermaid sisters and he still has his customary crown, flowy white beard (beards just look so keen underwater, don’t you think?), and triton. The story focuses yet again on his youngest daughter who longs to know more about the world up above. She’s accompanied by an adorable underwater sea creature. But once you get past the peripheral similarities, Campbell strikes out into uncharted territory, so to speak.
With this book Campbell strikes a storytelling tone. It’s a bit more classic than that found in some other contemporary picture books, but it fits the subject and the art. When you read that Calypso called her little sister “useless” the text says, “for sisters can be mean that way.” There’s an art to the storytelling. I loved that Minnow considers the shoe important because “This thing . . . was made with care. It has a purpose, and I will discover it!” As for the plot itself, I’ve never seen a book do this particular storyline before. Maybe it’s because authors are afraid of incurring the litigious wrath of Disney, but shouldn’t more mermaids be curious about our world? The fact that they’d be horrified by our feet just makes complete and utter sense. If you didn’t know they weren’t hands then of course you’d consider them knobby, gnarled and smelly (though how they know about that last bit is up for contention). Campbell knows how to follow a plotline to its logical conclusion.
I also love the core message of the book. Minnow’s talent lies in not just her brain (which I would have settled for) but also in how she sets about getting answers to her questions. At the end of the tale her father proclaims that her talent is being an explorer but I’m not so sure. I think Minnow’s a reporter. She not only asks the right questions but she sets out to find answers, no matter where they lead her. Then she comes back and shares information with her fellow mermaids, reporting her findings and sticking to the facts. You could also call her a storyteller, but to my mind Minnow is out there chasing down leads, satisfying her own curiosity over and over again. You might even say she comes close to the scientific method (though she never sets up a hypothesis so that would be a bit of a stretch).
There’s been a lot of talk over the years as to whether or not the greatest picture books out there are always written and illustrated by the same person (just look at the most recent Caldecott winners if you doubt me). You could argue both ways, but there is little doubt in my mind that Campbell just happened to be the best possible artist for this book . . . which he also just happened to write. I hate the term “dreamlike” but doggone it, it’s sort of the best possible term for this title. Notice how beautifully Campbell frames his images. In some pages he will surround a round image like a window with aspects of the scene (seaweed, fronds, or in the case of the world above, wildflowers). Consider too his use of color. The single red shoe is the only object of that particular bright hue in the otherwise grey and gloomy underwater lands. The mermaids themselves are all white-haired, a fact that makes a lot of sense when you consider that sunlight never touches them. They’re like lovely little half-human cavefish. And then there’s the man’s scope. I was reminded of a similarly aquatic picture book, David Soman’s Three Bears in a Boat in terms of the use of impressive two-page spreads. There’s an image of Minnow confronting a whale that could well take your breath away if you let it. The man knows how to pull back sometimes and then go in for the close-up. I have heard some objections to the mermaids’ teeny tiny seashells that seemingly float over their nonexistent breasts. And true, you notice it for about half a second. Then you get into the book itself and all is well.
With its can do mermaid who seeks answers in spite of her age and size, its beautiful watercolor and pencil crayon imagery, and writing that makes the reader feel like they’re indulging in a contemporary classic, there is no question in my mind that The Mermaid and the Shoe is the best little mermaid related picture book of all time. Utterly charming and unique, I can only hope it inspires other artists and authors to attempt to write more quality works of picture book fiction about magical creatures for the kiddos. It’s not an easy task, but when it works boy HOWDY does it work! Beguiling and bewitching, there’s only one true word to describe this book. Beautiful.
On shelves now.
Source: Final copy sent from publisher for review.
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Videos: And here’s a lovely little book trailer to round us all out.
The Most Magnificent Thing
By Ashley Spires
Kids Can Press
$16.95
ISBN: 978-1-55453-704-4
Ages 3-7
On shelves now
I was at a conference of math enthusiasts the other day to discuss kids and the state of math related children’s books. Not my usual scene but I was open to it. Despite what some might fear, the day was thoroughly fascinating and the mathematicians in attendance made many fine and salient points that I had never thought to consider. At one point they took it upon themselves to correct some common math-related misunderstandings that have grown over the years. Most fascinating was the idea of trial and error. Kids today live in an era where it often feels to them that if they don’t get something right the first time then they should just give it up and try something else. It’s hard to make them understand that in a lot of professions, math amongst them, much of the job consists of making mistakes and tinkering for long periods of time before getting to the ultimate solution. It got me to thinking about how there really aren’t a lot of children’s books out there that tackle this subject. Or, for those few that do, tackle it well. The remarkable thing then about a book like The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires isn’t just the way in which she’s gone about discussing this issue, but also the fact that it works as brilliantly as it does. This is the anti-perfection picture book. The one that dares to suggest that maybe a little trial and error is necessary when trying to get something right.
A girl and her dog are best friends. They do everything together from exploring to racing to making things. So when the girl has an idea one day for “the most MAGNIFICENT thing” that they can make together, the dog has no objection. Plans are drawn up, supplies gathered, and the work begins. And everything seems to be fine until it becomes infinitely clear that the thing she has made? It’s all wrong! Not a problem. She tosses it and tries again. And again. And again. Soon frustration turns to anger and anger into a whopping great temper tantrum. Just when the girl is on the brink of giving up, her doggie partner in crime suggests a walk. And when they return they realize that even if they haven’t gotten everything right yet, the previous attempts did a right thing here or a right thing there. And when you put those parts together what you’ll have might not be exactly like it was up in your brain, but it’ll be a truly magnificent thing just the same.
I think perhaps the main reason we don’t see a lot of books about kids trying and failing is that this sort of plot doesn’t make for a natural picture book. I won’t point any fingers, but the usual plot about success follows this format: Hero tries. Hero fails. Hero tries. Hero fails. Hero tries. Hero succeeds. Now hero is an instant pro. You see the problem. I’ve seen this plotline used on everything from learning to ride a bike to playing an instrument. And what Spires has done here that’s so marvelous is show that there’s a value in failure. A value that won’t yield success unless you go over your notes, rethink what you’ve already thought, reexamine the problem, and try it from another angle. In this book the failure is continual and incredibly frustrating. The girl actually has quite a bit of chutzpah, since she completes at least eleven mistakes before finally hitting on a solution. Useful bits and pieces are culled, but it’s also worth noting that the inventions left behind, while they don’t do her much good, are claimed by other people with other ideas. It sort of reinforces the notion that even as you work towards your own goals, your process might be useful to other people, whether or not you recognize that fact at the time.
Spires doesn’t cheat either. Our unnamed heroine idea is actually clear cut about what she wants to make from the start. On the page where it reads, “One day, the girl has a wonderful idea. She is going to make the most MAGNIFICENT thing” you can see her on her scooter explaining her idea to her now thoroughly exhausted pup. It’s only on the last page that we learn that the thing in question was to be a pug-sized sidecar for the aforementioned scooter.
Now Ms. Spires is no newbie to the world of children’s literature. If you have not seen her Binky the Space Cat graphic novel series for kids, it is about time you hied thee hence and found those puppies. In them, you will discover that not only is she remarkably good at the subtle visual gag, but that her writing is just tiptop. Some of the choices she made for this book were fascinating to me. It’s written in the present tense. Neither the girl nor the dog has a name. At the same time it’s incredibly approachable. I love how Spires relates the girl’s travails. The final solution is also all the better because even with her success it’s not perfectly perfect. “It leans a little to the left, and it’s a bit heavier than expected. The color could use a bit of work, too. But it’s just what she wanted!” Perfection can be a terrible thing to strive for. Sometimes, just getting it right can be enough.
And yes, I have to mention it at some point: It’s about a scientifically minded girl character. Now you might feel like this ain’t no big a thing, but let me assure you that when I was wracking my brain to come up with readalikes for this title, I came up nearly empty. Picture books where girls are into nature science? Commonplace. But books where girls are into math or invention? Much more difficult. There are a couple exception to the rule (Violet the Pilot by Steve Breen, Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty, and Oh No! Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World by Mac Barnett come to mind) but by and large they are rare. Yet if this had been a book where the whole point was something along the lines of even-girls-can-love-science I would have loathed it. The joy of The Most Magnificent Thing is that the girl’s goal is the focus, not the girl herself. Her love of tinkering is just natural. A fact of life. As well it should be.
On the back bookflap for this book we are able to discover the following information about Ms. Spires: “Ashley has always loved to make things and she knows the it-turned-out-wrong frustration well! All of her books have at one point or another made her cry, scream and tear her hair out as she tried to get them JUST RIGHT.” I guess that children’s authors really are the finest authorities on trial and error. They know frustration. They know rejected drafts. They know how much work it takes to get a book just right. And when all the right elements come together at last? Then you get a book like The Most Magnificent Thing. I don’t know how long it took Ms. Spires to write and illustrate this. All I know is that it was worth it. In the end, it’s precisely the kind of book we need for kids these days. Perfection is a myth. Banged up, beat up, good enough can sometimes be the best possible solution to a problem. A lesson for the 21st century children everywhere.
On shelves now.
Source: Final copy sent from publisher for review.
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Misc: Just wanted to point out this little note on the publication page. It’s easy to miss but when discussing the art it reads, “The artwork in this book was rendered digitally with lots of practice, two hissy fits and one all out tantrum.” Cute.
Videos:
Here’s the official book trailer:
The Most Magnificent Thing Book Trailer from Kids Can Press on Vimeo.
And here we have the world’s most adorable author hacking her own book:
I've long admired Isabelle Arsenault as an illustrator, so the eye candy of the cover and word of mouth put this on my wish list to read. But the magic that happens between the art and words makes this a book to cherish, revisit, dissect, and just enjoy.
The book is loosely based on the life of Virginia Woolf. Each spread is a marvel. The story, about two sisters (one having a terribly moody and wolfish day) spoke to a very personal and fragile part of myself and my own relationship with my older sisters. It's a beautiful story for children, but particularly relevant for those with older siblings prone to depression or moodiness.
A Hen For Izzy Pippik. Aubrey Davis. Illustrated by Marie Lafrance. 2012. Kids Can Press. 32 pages.Shaina perched on the porch with her eyes shut and listened. Mama's sewing machine chattered in the kitchen. Baby Pinkus pounded a pot. Grandpa whistled an old-time tune. In the market across the road, a nanny goat bleated. A truck puttered past. A cuckoo cooed from Mr. Fine's clock shop. Shaina wished she could still dust for Mr. Fine. She wished she could help the other merchants, too. But people had little to spend these days. There were few shoppers in the market and fewer jobs to do. Times were tough. Can a chicken bring a whole town good luck? It can if it is Izzy Pippik's chicken. One day a crate falls from a truck, a hen is inside. Shaina, our heroine, knows the hen doesn't belong to her, it has an owner already. But she knows that she can take care of it for Izzy Pippik in the meantime. She knows that he will be back for it sooner or later. But taking care of a hen isn't that easy, not when the hen keeps having chicks, who keep having chicks, who keep having chicks. Because these chicks belong to a hen who belongs to someone else, all these new chicks belong to Izzy Pippik too. Soon it takes a whole town to "care" for the chicks/chickens. (Some people in town which Shaina was a little less bossy in insisting that these chickens are not to be eaten.) And soon this flock of chickens is gaining attention for the whole town, people are coming to look and see for themselves. Will Izzy Pippik ever come back to town?
I definitely liked this one!
Read A Hen for Izzy Pippik
- If you like folk tales
- If you like (quaint) small towns
- If you like a good lesson or two in your picture books
- If you like determined, responsible heroines
Good Night, Laila Tov. Lauren Snyder. Illustrated by Jui Ishida. 2012. Random House. 32 pages. The sun was up. The day was bright!It filled our room with yellow light.It woke us both, so right away...We grabbed our things, were on our way.Nature is celebrated in a family camping trip in Laurel Snyder's newest book, Good night, laila tov. (Laila tov means good night in Hebrew.) The first night of camping sees this family at the beach and loving it. Laurel Snyder's rhymes capture the enthusiasm of the trip so well:
The sand was hot. The waves were wide.
Tall grassed swayed. The salty air
Was soft and still and everywhere.
And the waves whispered...
Good night, laila tov...
The second night of camping sees the family setting up in a field (or meadow). Here readers see the family planting trees together. Again the love of nature is evident. We see a joyful family together living and loving nature, thankful for the beauty around them. The illustrations complement the text quite well, for they are beautiful.
Read Good Night, laila tov
- If you're looking for a book that celebrates the beauty of nature, of the natural world
- If you're looking for a camping book
- If you're looking for a family book
© 2012 Becky Laney of
Becky's Book Reviews
For nine year old Ellie, life has been anything but easy. Having lost her mother and endured a recent move with her Pa to a tiny, sand and grass covered island in the Atlantic, called Sable Island, she's both angry and unhappy. There's lots to see and explore in her new home, even new people to meet, like Sarah, but Ellie still struggles. It isn't until she stumbles upon one of the island horses, a stallion she names Orchid, that Ellie begins to experience the healing only a horse can bring to both the heart and spirit.
Click here to read more...
Like a lot of fictional orphans, Margaret has been passed from relative to relative, knowing that no one really wants her. Those that do let her stay with them for a time definitely don't want to hear her, so Margaret turns into a very quiet little girl. Her quiet ways allow for her to hear things that a lot of others miss, including moths inside of a tree. And those moths want to help Margaret rid her life of Miss Switch, the horrible director of the orphanage Margaret ends up living at.
If you're a fan of Lemony Snicket, I definitely would check out this quirky read! It's a fun read, with a likable, realistic main character. The cover needs some work (well, really just some COLOR), but the story was cute!
Margaret and the Moth Tree Brit Trogen and Kari Trogen176 pagesMiddle GradeKids Can Press9781554538232April 2012Review copy
By: Thao,
on 3/5/2012
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Binky goes to work every day. Very punctual, you can be find Binky curled up under the office desk sound a sleep by 9 am morning. He has great work ethic and puts in long hours when needed (Binky will remain sleeping until quitting time). He is a caring coworker; if he thinks you are [...]
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on 2/28/2012
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I grew up using chopsticks, so whenever I am asked to set the table at a friend’s house, there is a moment of panic and stark reminder of how different I am even though I have called Canada home since I was three. (By the way, setting the table in an Asian family is easy [...]
Dear Flyary is a new picture book by Dianne Young, illustrated by John Martz, coming out March 1st. Kids Can Press is the publisher. John Martz created a book trailer, and somehow captured the main conflict and the adorableness of the story in only 27 seconds. Way to go, Mr. Martz!
Click here for my recent interview with Dianne Young.
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on 2/20/2012
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Today we bring you another installment of Youth Media Movers and Shakers. We’ve culled through industry publications looking for the recent executive placements we think you should know about. If you have executive news that you want us to... Read the rest of this post
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Big City Otto: Elephants Never Forget
By Bill Slavin
With Esperança Melo
Kids Can Press
ISBN: 978-1-55453-476-0
Ages 8-11
On shelves now
Boy, The Man With the Yellow Hat just lost all credibility, didn’t he? Time was that Curious George snatcher could nab the jungle beast of his choice, slap his hands together, and call it a day. These days, though, readers don’t take too kindly to fellows who go about grabbing the next spare primate they set their sights on. Various children’s authors have dealt with him one way or another (Furious George Goes Bananas by Michael Rex comes most immediately to mind). Big City Otto takes the idea from an entirely different bent. What if George left a friend behind? And what if that friend was an elephant? The result is something along the lines of Babar by way of Mowgli setting off on a mission to rescue Curious George. With a parrot sidekick. Can’t believe I almost forgot the parrot sidekick.
Otto the elephant is depressed. No two ways about it. You’d be pretty depressed too, mind you, if your best buddy and practically step-brother, Georgie, was up and kidnapped by some crazed man with a wooden nose and a sack. After sighing and crying over his friend’s disappearance, Crackers the parrot convinces Otto participate in a kind of a crazy scheme. Clearly Georgie was kidnapped and taken to America so all they’ll have to do is go to the U.S., find him, and rescue him. Trouble is, it’s not that simple. There’s the getting there from Africa part (extra large cargo, anyone?), finding friendly folks who can help out, interviewing zoo animals, and more. But when Otto and Crackers fall in with a pack of crocodiles with ulterior motives, locating one little monkey is the least of their problems.
In his little bio attached to this book author/illustrator Bill Slavin says he is in “Millbrook, Ontario, surrounded by his well worn Asterix collection.” The Asterix influence is indeed felt in this work. Not so much the artistic style, mind you, but definitely the pace. Never lagging, always upbeat, “Otto” makes for a quick read. And really, it was the art that attracted me to this book in the first place. Slavin’s style manages to encompass all kinds of settings and characters with ease. It can’t be simple to try to replicate the big city’s feel. You’d end up drawing sheer amounts of people more than anything else. But Slavin paces himself, and the reader could be forgiven for concentrating primarily on Otto anyway. He’s a big lovable lummox. One that’s hard to look away from.
Of course the time period is a bit of a mystery. As I see it, there are two possible reasons why this book appears to be set in 1993. Reason #1: Slavin originally wrote the book in that year and saw little reason to update it to the current day. Reason #2: He just real
Binky Under Pressure. Ashley Spires. 2011. Kids Can. 64 pages.
This is the third graphic novel for young readers in the Binky series. And I did enjoy it. I'm not sure that I loved it as much as the first adventure--when Binky was such a surprise, such a delight. But I definitely am always excited to see a new Binky adventure. I love this cat, I do. I love seeing him "fight" aliens and "protect" his humans. I love seeing the world through his eyes. There's just something funny about reading something from a cat's perspective! (Maybe not every reader agrees.)
In this third adventure, Binky faces new dangers. There's a NEW CAT in his
house space station--a feline named Gracie. And her presence changes everything. She is eating HIS food, drinking HIS water, playing with his toys, getting his humans attention, etc. So he does what he can to discourage her, but it may not be easy to intimidate her, because she may just be a cat on a mission!
Is Gracie a friend or foe? Is she on his side ready to battle aliens and protect the space station? Or could she be an enemy robot controlled by the aliens?
I liked this one. It was funny and clever. The first adventure is
Binky the Space Cat. The second is
Binky to the Rescue.
© 2011 Becky Laney of
Young Readers
Reaching. Judy Ann Sadler. Illustrated by Susan Mitchell. 2011. Kids Can Press. 32 pages.
Mama is reachingLifts Baby up highShe swings him and sings himA sweet lullaby.
Daddy is reaching To kiss Baby's noseHe laughs and he ticklesPlump tummy and toes.
Sister is reachingWants in on the huddleMore kisses and tickles--A fun family cuddle.I love this one. I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it. Is it sweet? Yes. Is it precious? Yes. Is it too cute for its own good? I don't think so. I *know* everyone has their own cute-tolerance. And, for some, a sweet picture book can become sickeningly sweet. But for me, Reaching is JUST RIGHT.
Reaching is about a family welcoming a new baby--a new baby boy--into the family. EVERY member of the family is excited--thrilled--with his arrival. They just can't get enough of their dear, dear, sweet baby boy. But this isn't exactly a book about a 'newborn' baby. The baby is seen sitting and taking some small steps, etc. Instead it is a celebration of life, of love, of family.
I love the text. I love the rhyming. I know I can be a bit picky when it comes to rhymes. Something either works for me, or it doesn't. But in this case, I thought it was just about right, just about perfect.
And the illustrations. I am ABSOLUTELY loving the illustrations. I just LOVE them. They're super-sweet, super-cute. Just delightful!
Text: 4 out of 5
Illustrations: 5 out of 5
Total: 9 out of 10
© 2011 Becky Laney of
Young Readers
My Name is Elizabeth! Annika Dunklee. Illustrated by Matthew Forsythe. 2011. Kids Can Press. 24 pages.
My name is Elizabeth.I really like my name. I like that it's nine letters long.And I like all the neat things my mouth does when I say it.I also like that there is a queen named after me!But I don't like it when people call me names other than Elizabeth.Don't dare call this Elizabeth Betsy, Liz, Lizzy, Beth, or Eliza. She is ELIZABETH. Can this little girl convince the people in her life--her family, her friends, her classmates and teachers, her neighbors, to get her name right?!
I liked this one. I did. I thought it was cute and clever. I won't say that I loved it. But it was fun!
Text: 3 out of 5
Illustrations: 2 out of 5
Total: 5 out of 10
© 2011 Becky Laney of
Young Readers
The Busy Beaver. Nicholas Oldland. 2011. Kids Can Press. 32 pages.
There once was a beaver who was so busy that he didn't always think things through. This beaver's carelessness was becoming a problem. His dams leaked, and he always made a mess of the forest--he left trees half-chewed, and worse, he felled more than he needed. Perhaps worst of all, the beaver went about his work with so little thought that a tree landed right on top of a bear. And once he even chewed a moose's leg thinking it was a tree. The beaver was just that careless.Beaver is so busy being busy that he's become horribly careless. He's careless with his friends. He's careless with nature. But there is a price he has to pay for being so careless--he ends up in the hospital. Will his time mending teach him to slow down and do things right?
I did not really like this one. I didn't hate it. It just felt too like it was too much of a lesson.
Text: 2 out of 5
Illustrations: 3 out of 5
Total: 5 out of 10
© 2011 Becky Laney of
Young Readers
The Call of the Cowboy. David Bruins. Illustrated by Hilary Leung. 2011. Kids Can Press. 32 pages.
The cowboy was a good friend to the ninja and the bear. He was kind. He was caring. He was fun. He was funny. But sometimes he could cause a ruckus. One day his noisiness came between him and his friends...I definitely enjoyed the first two books in this series:
The Legend of Ninja Cowboy Bear and
The Way of the Ninja. So I was happy to see the release of a third book. All three books are about friendships: how to be a friend, how to keep a friend, etc.
Cowboy can be a fun friend, it's true. But sometimes he can be a little TOO LOUD. Sometimes he doesn't know how to be quiet, OR in other words, sometimes he doesn't know how to respect his friends wish for peace and quiet. Ninja, for example, wanted to read a book. But Cowboy--without exactly meaning to disturb the peace--was making it too hard for him to concentrate and appreciate the book. Bear, for example, wanted to take photographs of birds. But Cowboy didn't know that his noise would keep Bear from getting the photographs he wanted.
Will Cowboy learn his lesson? Can he come to like and appreciate silence?
I liked this one. Yes, it's all about a lesson or moral. But I like the three friends.
Text: 3 out of 5
Illustrations: 2 out of 5
Total: 5 out of 10
© 2011 Becky Laney of
Young Readers
Welcome to the World by Valerie Wyatt. Photographs by Lennette Newell. 2011. Kids Can Press. 24 pages.
Dear Baby,Welcome to the world and all its wonders. You will feel the sun on your skin and be warmed by it. You will see light chase darkness as clouds pass by. You will hear the wind in the trees and feel cool raindrops. You will see flowers in bloom and smell their sweet scent...If you love looking at lovely photographs of babies, then you may enjoy this little picture book. The photographs are lovely. I could look at photos of babies all day long. There's just something adorable and sweet and precious about it all. The text itself is a 'welcome' message of sorts, introducing babies (supposedly) to the world around them. There is a strong emphasis on nature.
This one is not a board book. It is a 'delicate' book in that its pages could be ripped by young hands. So your audience needs to be young enough so that they are not reaching and grabbing or chewing and sucking. OR old enough that they know how to treat books well--gently.
I don't think the text of this one is 'entertaining' enough for preschoolers to appreciate or enjoy.(Because the text isn't a story so much as it is a sentimental letter.) Though of course that depends on YOUR child. I think the text may appeal more to adults--because it means
something more to adults.
Text: 2 out of 5
Photographs: 4 out of 5
Total: 6 out of 10
© 2011 Becky Laney of
Young Readers
By:
Betsy Bird,
on 7/4/2011
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My Name Is Elizabeth
By Annika Dunklee
Illustrated by Matthew Forsythe
Kids Can Press
$14.95
ISBN: 978-1-55453-560-6
Ages 4-8
On shelves September 1, 2011
The human capacity to garble a first name, even a simple or common one, is without limit. I should know. My name is Elizabeth. My preferred nickname is “Betsy”, which is not intuitive. Generally speaking, one should never assume what another person’s nickname is. In my day I have shouldered countless calls of “Liz”, more than one “Betty”, and the occasional (and unforgivable) “Eliza”. Still, my heart goes out to kids with fresh and original names that get mangled in the garbled mouths of well-meaning adults. For them, the name “Elizabeth” may seem simple in comparison. Yet as My Name Is Elizabeth! makes clear from the get-go, there is no name so simple that someone can’t butcher it in some manner.
Elizabeth loves her name. Who wouldn’t? It has a lot of advantages, like length and how it sounds when you work the syllables out of your mouth. The downside? Everyone just gives you whatever nickname they think suits you. If it’s not Lizzy then it’s Beth. If it’s not Liz then it’s something “Not. Even. Close.” like Betsy. At last Elizabeth can take it no longer. To the general world she declares her full name (“Elizabeth Alfreda Roxanne Carmelita Bluebell Jones”) or Elizabeth if you like. Finally, everyone gets it right. Even her little brother (though she might bend the rules a bit for his attempted “Wizabef”).
One has to assume that any author with the first name “Annika” would know from whence she speaks with a book like this. Kids don’t have much to call their own when they’re young. Their clothes and toys are purchased by their parents and can be changed and taken away at any moment. Their names, however, are their own. Some of them realize early on that these names have power, and that they themselves have power over those names. They can insist that they be called one thing or another. They cannot make anyone actually obey these requests, but they can try, doggone it. A lot of kids fantasize about changing their names, but Elizabeth embraces her name. Her beef with nicknames wins you over because there is something inherently jarring about being given the wrong label. We are inclined to become our names, even when we don’t want to.
This story contains a tiny cry for independence by a character that is insistent without being bratty. In the end, Elizabeth proves to be a grand role model for those kids. She’s precocious without being insufferable (a rare trait in a picture book heroine). I like the lesson she teaches kids here too. It’s easy to let the world make assumptions about you and walk all over you. And it’s particularly hard to stand up to people when they are wrong but well meaning. You might be inclined to let their mistakes go and not raise a fuss, but when you claim your own name you claim how the world sees you. This book highlights a small battle that any kid can relate to.
The two-color picture book is not unheard of these days but it is less common that it was back in th
Small Saul. Ashley Spires. 2011. March 2011. Kids Can Press. 32 pages.
Small Saul loved the sea. He loved its vastness, its calmness, its blueness.Small Saul wants to be a pirate--a real pirate. But he's not only small--much, much smaller than your average pirate, he's also different, you might say special. Small Saul does not have the strengths generally associated with pirates. He has his own way of seeing the world, his own way of doing things. And the other pirates, well, they don't always understand Small Saul. In fact, most of the time, they don't understand him at all. Can Small Saul find his own place on the pirate ship? Can Small Saul's uniqueness be a blessing instead of a curse?
I liked this one. I didn't love it. Not like I loved Ashley Spires' Binky the Space Cat books. But it was fun; it was enjoyable.
© 2011 Becky Laney of
Young Readers
By:
Inderjit Deogun,
on 3/24/2011
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What am I reading now? The Danger Box by Blue Balliett
Non-fiction has a bad wrap. The genre has been categorized as, quite simply, boring, and rightly so. For years, the approach has left much to be desired. Alas, that has all changed.
The credit for this shift goes to a handful of innovative minds. A select few that dare to think outside the box and, by doing so, they have done what their predecessors didn’t. They made children’s non-fiction fun.
An ingenious formula that includes creativity and imagination has led throngs of young readers, and me, to their books. Of course, these innovators took advantage of colour and graphics, who wouldn’t. But, most importantly, they offer the reader the opportunity to participate. To be part of the learning process as a driver and not a passenger. That, my dear readers, deserves our recognition!
Don’t miss these exceptional titles:
How to Build Your Own Country by Valerie Wyatt | Kids Can Press
Learn to Speak Music by John Crossingham | Owlkids Books
Spilling Ink: A Young Writer’s Handbook by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter | Flash Point
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The Tea Party in the Woods
enters the party for the first time, every animal in the place staring at her. It’s a magnificent image. The best in the book by far. Somehow, Miyakoshi was able to draw this scene in such a way where the expressions on the animals’ faces are ambiguous. It isn’t just that they are animals. First and foremost, it seems clear that they are caught entirely unguarded in Kikko’s presence. The animals that had been playing music have stopped mid-note. And I, an adult, looked at this scene and (as I mentioned before) applied my own interpretation on how things could go. While it would be conceivable for Kikko to walk away from the party unscathed, in the hands of another writer she could easily have ended up the main course. That is probably why Miyakoshi follows up that two-page spread (which should have been wordless, but that’s neither here nor there) with an immediate scene of friendly, comforting words and images. The animals not only accept Kikko’s presence, they welcome her, are interested in her, and even help her when they discover her plight (smashing her grandmother’s pie). Adults everywhere who have found themselves unaccompanied (and even uninvited) at parties where they knew no one, and will recognize in this a clearly idyllic, unapologetically optimistic situation. In other words, perfect picture book fodder.
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Boy, Betsy. When you love a book it brings out the best in you. What a beautiful review of what is clearly a wonderful book.
A wonderful review Betsy. I must get my hands on a copy. Thank you !