School Library Journal» Picture book

Pick of the Day: Love, Mouserella (CD)

SLJ — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 13:15:04 +0000

Love, Mouserella. By David Ezra Stein. cassette or CD. 30 min. Recorded Books. 2012. cassette: ISBN 978-1-4640-4034-1, CD: ISBN 978-1-4640-4033-7. $15.75; book, ISBN 978-0-3992-5410-9. $15.99.
PreS-Gr 1–Mouserella’s letter to her Grandmouse describes her days with the meandering topics of a child, occasionally concluding “and that’s all…but” as she continues with descriptions of her daily activities. Listeners learn about her pet caterpillar and the ladybug she has taught to fetch, a visit to the zoo with a scary cat, a blackout, and how to make shadow bunnies. They will want to scrutinize Mouserella’s drawings, pictures from her new camera, and illustrations of the events she describes as they follow along with the book. Author David Ezra Stein has also illustrated this terrific book (Penguin/Nancy Paulsen Books, 2011), creating illustrations with watercolors, stencils, and water-soluble crayons that perfectly reflect a young child’s artwork, down to the doodled end pages and ice-pop splotches. The conversational pace of the narration by Michele O. Medlin makes the hand-printed text with its multicolored and occasionally all capital lettering easy to follow. She skillfully captures a child’s intonation. Page-turn signals are optional. The limited vocabulary, engaging illustrations, and childish sensibilities allow this to work as an early reader. Paired with the book, it may also inspire children to write letters to family and friends.–Janet S. Thompson, Chicago Public Library, IL

Pick of the Day: This Is Not My Hat

SLJ — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 12:30:24 +0000

KLASSEN, Jon. This Is Not My Hat. illus. by author. 40p. Candlewick. Oct. 2012. RTE $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-5599-0.
PreS-Gr 1–With this new creation, Klassen repeats the theme from I Want My Hat Back (Candlewick, 2011), but with a twist. The narrator here is the thief–a small, self-confident fish who has pilfered a little blue bowler from a big sleeping fish. He wastes no time or words in confessing his crime as he swims across the page announcing, “This hat is not mine. I just stole it.” He continues his narrative with no regrets, but with a bit of rationalizing (“It was too small for him anyway.”) as he swims to his hiding place, unaware that the big fish is in quiet pursuit. Readers, of course, are in on this little secret. When the two disappear into a spread filled with seaweed, the narration goes silent, and youngsters can easily surmise what happens as the big fish reemerges with the tiny blue bowler atop his head. Simplicity is key in both text and illustrations. The black underwater provides the perfect background for the mostly gray-toned fish and seaweed while the monochromatic palette strips the artwork down to essential, yet exquisite design. Movement is indicated with a trail of small white bubbles. This not-to-be-missed title will delight children again and again.–Carolyn Janssen, Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County, Cincinnati, OH

Editor Patti Lee Gauch Talks About the State of the Picture Book

Mahnaz Dar — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 18:41:38 +0000

What’s the secret behind a successful picture book? Although the best ones are often informational, they’re also mischievous, subversive, and exhilarating, says Patti Lee Gauch, a former editorial director at Philomel Books who has edited three Caldecott-winning books.

Speaking at a September 15 New York Public Library Children’s Literary Salon session called, “Acts of Mischief,” Gauch described how books that introduce chaos into a controlled environment and that are characterized by fun and playfulness tend to resonate with young readers.

Gauch showed the audience a display of moments from classic and modern works, such as the overflowing pasta pot in Tomie dePaola’s Strega Nona (Prentice Hall, 1975), Pigeon’s explosive temper tantrum in Mo Willems’s Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus (Hyperion, 2003), and the dramatic, whirlwind of a catfight in Wanda Gág’s Millions of Cats (McCann & Geoghegan, 1928).

She also peppered her lecture with anecdotes about working with well-known picture book authors and illustrators, explaining, for example, the origins of Jane Yolen’s Caldecott-winning Owl Moon (Philomel, 1987). Gauch said that as a first-time editor, she knew few illustrators. So when she received Yolen’s manuscript about a father and daughter’s moonlit journey tracking an owl through the woods, Gauch sent it to a 19- year-old former student whose father, John Schoenherr, came across the book and decided to illustrate it.

Touching upon what she perceives to be an omission in the Caldecott criteria selection, Gauch says she believes a book’s art shouldn’t simply mirror the text but should also enhance the story. As an example, she cited the Caldecott winning book that she edited, So You Want to be President? (2000, Philomel), whose whimsical drawings echoed illustrator David Small’s past as a political cartoonist.

Gauch tackled picture book critics, in particular addressing a 2010 New York Times article, “Picture Books No Longer a Staple for Children” which claimed that picture books were no longer relevant, with many parents preferring their children to read advanced books at an earlier age. Gauch defended picture books as vital to children’s development, stating that they are a “child’s first introduction not only to art but to narrative form.”

Gauch also addressed digital picture books, acknowledging that electronic versions do have their place. Gauch, however, stressed that a physical book is in and of itself an art form, describing the amount of effort that goes into designing a book’s endpapers or binding and concluded that children should have access to both formats.

Pick of the Day: A Sick Day for Amos McGee (DVD)

SLJ — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 13:43:41 +0000

A Sick Day for Amos McGee. DVD. 9 min. Weston Woods. 2012. ISBN 978-0-545-44751-5. $59.95; CD, ISBN 978-0-545-44756-0: $12.95; CD with hardcover book, ISBN 978-0-545-44809-3: $29.95.
PreS-Gr 1–When Amos McGee wakes up feeling under the weather and stays home from work, his animal friends at the zoo board the bus to pay Amos a visit. They spend the day cheering Amos up by playing quiet games, caring for his every need, and reading him a bedtime story so he won’t be afraid of the dark. The final frame shows a pile of animals snuggled around Amos in an attitude of comfort and friendship. Erin Stead’s gentle pencil-and-woodblock illustrations in muted colors with spots of red match the tone of Philip Stead’s Caldecott-winning story (Roaring Brook, 2010) and depict the real comfort that friendship provides. David de Vries offers perfectly paced, quiet narration to fit the sweet nature of the tale. He provides a distinct voice for Amos as well as the bus driver (the two characters given solo lines in the story). Just enough movement is added to Stead’s illustrations to hold the attention of viewers. An excellent music score is provided by Ernest Troost. This enchanting production adds a whole new level of enjoyment to this winning picture book.–Deanna Romriell, Salt Lake City Public Library, UT

Pick of the Day: Island: A Story of the Galápagos

SLJ — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 13:48:20 +0000

CHIN, Jason. Island: A Story of the Galápagos. illus. by author. 40p. diags. maps. Roaring Brook/Neal Porter. Sept. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-59643-716-6. LC 2011033797.
Gr 3-6–Chin combines a bit of storytelling, factual explanations, and large and small paintings to chronicle the “birth” and ongoing development of islands in this far-off ocean cluster. A focus on the evolutionary rise and fall of the islands and skillful arrangement of an especially large number of images distinguish his presentation from the many books on the subject. Animals and plants simultaneously arrive and evolve in the changing terrain as a particular island rises from the ocean, develops over millions of years, and eventually sinks back into the water. The attractive interplay of full- and double-page paintings with pages checkered with numerous small views results in an absorbing, graphic presentation. Chin closes with three single-page essays. The first explains the 1835 visit of Charles Darwin to the Galápagos, which spurred his thinking and our later understanding about evolution. This is followed by explanations of how the movement of the Earth’s crust engenders the rise and fall of the islands and a look at the endemic species of this region and their varied development from island to island. There are no further sources on the Galápagos or on the animals of the region, but this fine introduction to them will surely stimulate readers’ interest.–Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston

Pick of the Day: My Hands Sing the Blues: Romare Bearden’s Childhood Journey (CD)

SLJ — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 13:29:43 +0000

My Hands Sing the Blues: Romare Bearden’s Childhood Journey. By Jeanne Walker Harvey. cassette or CD. 15 min. Recorded Books. 2012. cassette: ISBN 978-1-4640-0209-0, CD: ISBN 978-1-4640-0206-9. $15.75; hardcover book, ISBN 978-0-7614-5810-4: $17.99.
K-Gr 3–In a first-person narrative that incorporates some of artist Romare Bearden’s phrases and ideas, and using his famous painting “Watching the Good Trains Go By” as her inspiration, Jeanne Walker Harvey gives voice to the history and experiences that inspired his famous collages. Born in North Carolina, Bearden and his family moved to Harlem in 1914 to escape discriminatory Jim Crow Laws and attitudes. In his collages, which he called paintings and “visual jazz,” he analyzed the social and political issues of his time and also related his personal story as well as the daily life of African Americans in both the North and South. Kevin R. Free reads Harvey’s fictionalized account (Marshall Cavendish, 2011) of the artist’s life with a cadence that turns the rhyming lines into a blues song, its rhythm rising and falling and bouncing along, sometimes singing the train whistles and engines like a jazz tune. The audio version perfectly accompanies Elizabeth Zunon’s Bearden-like collage illustrations and text that changes size and color for emphasis. The author’s note, which details the life and describes the work of Bearden, is included, but source notes from the book are not. While this fictionalized biography provides an excellent introduction to the Great Migration North and the Harlem Renaissance, it is also a work of art in words and pictures.–MaryAnn Karre, Horace Mann and Thomas Jefferson Elementary Schools, Binghamton, NY

Pick of the Day: Lemonade in Winter: A Book About Two Kids Counting Money

SLJ — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 13:52:00 +0000

JENKINS, Emily. Lemonade in Winter: A Book About Two Kids Counting Money. illus. by G. Brian Karas. 40p. CIP. Random/Schwartz & Wade Bks. Sept. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-375-85883-3; PLB $18.99. ISBN 978-0-375-95883-0. LC 2010024135.
PreS-Gr 2–On a cold winter day as a mean wind blows and icicles hang from windowsills, Pauline and her younger brother, John-John, decide to have a lemonade stand. Gathering all their quarters (Pauline’s favorite coins), they buy their supplies and make lemonade, limeade, and lemon-limeade. On their mostly empty street with the snow falling, they attract a few customers–Harvey walking his three dogs, Mrs. Gordon and her twins, Heather and Aidan strolling arm in arm, and five manicurists in puffy coats. Despite their advertising, entertainment, decorations, and sales, the children make only four dollars, which is less than the cost of their supplies but enough for two Popsicles. Karas’s illustrations, rendered with brush and walnut ink in sepia tones, capture the half-light of an overcast winter day as the children, bundled in warm clothes, tend their stand and count their earnings. A last page, called “Pauline Explains Money to John-John,” shows both fronts and backs of different coins and explains their worth. This quirky tale is a boon for young entrepreneurs, who will enjoy looking at the humorous details in the pictures as much as working out the math after each sale. Abounding with teaching possibilities, it’s a solid selection for most libraries.–Mary Jean Smith, formerly at Southside Elementary School, Lebanon, TN

Pick of the Day: White Water (DVD)

SLJ — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 14:12:26 +0000

White Water. DVD. 9 min. with tchr’s. guide. Nutmeg Media. 2012. ISBN 1-933938-88-9. $49.95.
K-Gr 3–A young African American boy notices the inequities inherent in segregation in this story (Candlewick, 2012) by Michael S. Bandy and Eric Stein. He is especially struck by the drinking fountains—one for whites only, one for coloreds only. Tony Fragale gives voice to this first-person narrative as the boy becomes increasingly focused on what the “white water” must taste like. He finally devises a plan to find out, only to discover that both fountains are fed by the same pipe. This realization inspires him to follow his dreams and let no preconceived notions stand in his way. Shadra Strickland’s watercolor illustrations are scanned as the story, inspired by true events, is read. Occasional music and minor sound effects are added. This tale will provide insight for young viewers into daily life before the civil rights movement and a greater understanding of the necessity for change.–Teresa Bateman, Brigadoon Elementary, Federal Way, WA