Category Archives: Picture Books

Review: Chloe and the Lion

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Chloe and the Lion CoverChloe and the Lion

Written by: Mac Barnett

Illustrated By: Adam Rex

Disney-Hyperion, 2012, Hardcover

Target Audience: Ages 3-8

Genre: Fiction

Theme: Creativity, Friendship

How We Discovered This Book: Aidan chose this book from our new book bin at the library. The cover peaked his interest, since the author and illustrator appear on it in claymation form. He wondered, “what would be in this book?”

Summary:

The author and illustrator attempt to tell a story about Chloe and how she meets a lion, but they have a falling out. The author fires the illustrator, and tries to replace him with others, but no one knows how to draw the lion (or save the story) quite like the illustrator. Chloe herself has to intervene to get the pair back together.

What I Liked:

This is a unique book that really smashes the fourth wall. The author and illustrator talk directly to the reader from the beginning and throughout. The main character has to get involved to drive the story to its conclusion. Interestingly, the main “story” within the story is somewhat incidental.

What Did My Kids Think?

Aidan liked how the author kept doing things that just made the situation worse. Not only were the author’s actions funny, but the dialogue was sharp and witty at a child’s level. The illustrations change along with the action, which just adds to the humor. Elizabeth thought it was funniest when the author tried to illustrate the book himself, and failed miserably.

Resources:

Check out the book trailer on YouTube – it gives you a flavor of the dynamics between the author and illustrator.

Now make your own book trailer: Take a favorite book, write down what you like most about it and a short summary, and get to filming! Use of humor, props, or reenactments get you extra bonus points.

Get out some clay or play dough and make soft versions of yourself – or even better, versions of your friends and family!

Review: Rosie Revere, Engineer

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Rosie Revere Engineer CoverRosie Revere, Engineer

Written by: Andrea Beaty

Illustrated By: David Roberts

Harry N. Abrams, 2013, Hardcover

Target Audience: Ages 3-8

Genre: Fiction

Theme: Creativity, Persistence, STEM

How We Discovered This Book: This book was in the new books bin at our library, and it caught my eye.

Summary:

Rosie loves to create and invent things. She takes what other people would discard (broken toys, gears, etc.) and makes things. She tries to create solutions for people she knows, but it does not go well. Then her Aunt Rose stops by to give the right kind of encouragement just when Rosie is ready to give up.

What I Liked:

Both of my children are very mechanically-oriented, and they are fascinated with how things work. As I consider their education, I seek opportunities for them to expand their talents through science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs and activities. I also believe that girls need just as many opportunities to succeed in these fields as boys. This book showcases a girl who uses her creativity (and her apparent obsession with cheese) to make the world a better place with a few stumbles along the way. Additionally, there is an inference that Aunt Rose was a Rosie the Riveter-type trailblazer during WWII. The author includes a note at the end about this time in history.

What Did My Kids Think?

My kids liked Rosie’s persistence – she kept trying difference things until she figured out what worked. Elizabeth especially liked the silly parts – like when she made helium-inflated pants.

Resources:

Abrams Books has two whole pages of great activities related to this book. Check them out!

Book Recommendations: Our Favorite Picture Books

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A few months ago, we shared our favorite books for children 1 year and under. Next, we are sharing our favorite picture books. It is a good mix of recently published and rediscovered classics. To choose our list, we considered several criteria. First, did we enjoy reading it as adults (quality of craft and/or a multilayered story)? Did our children ask to read it repeatedly? Did we feel compelled to buy it and add it to our permanent home library? Can we anticipate saving the book for future generations?

As before, each of our personal lists brought back many memories. We will have to read some of these again soon!

Here are our favorite picture books for children, in alphabetical order by author:

An Egg Is Quiet, Dianna Ashton

The Mine-o-saur, Sudiptha Bardhan-Quallen

The Curious Garden, Peter Brown

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, Peter Brown

One Cool Friend, Toni Buzzeo

If You Find A Rock, Peggy Christian

That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown, Cressida Cowell

Llama Llama Red Pajama, Anna Dewdney

Moonshot, Brian Floca

Whoever You Are, Mem Fox

Ox-cart Man, Donald Hall

Bread and Jam For Frances, Russell Hoban

The Horse in Harry’s Room, Syd Hoff

The Story of Ferdinand, Munro Leaf

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Bill Martin, Jr.

Me…Jane, Patrick McDonnell

Race You to Bed, Bob Shea

Born Yesterday: The Diary of a Young Journalist, James Solheim

The Stinky Cheeseman and other Fairly Stupid Tales, Jon Scieszka

Grandpa Green, Lane Smith

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Mo Willems

Owl Moon, Jane Yolen

You are a Lion, Taeeun Yoo

Do have other favorites not on this list? Please share!

Review: Papa’s Mechanical Fish

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Papa's Mechanical Fish coverPapa’s Mechanical Fish

Written by: Candice Fleming

Illustrated By: Boris Kulikov

Farrar, Straus, Giroux Books for Young Readers, 2013, Hardcover

Target Audience: Ages 3-8

Genre: Fiction

Theme: Creativity, Persistence

How We Discovered This Book: This is another fiction book based on a real person’s story. You can read my previous review for a book of the same type, called Building Our House.

Summary:

Papa loves to invent things and solve problems, so one day when his daughter asks, “What would it be like to be a fish?” he goes into his work shop and doesn’t come out until he has a prototype. He tests idea after idea, until finally one works.

What I Liked:

I liked that Papa has not invented anything that works, but he still sticks with it. The story is told in a rhythm similar to a song- there is plot, and then a “refrain.” In the refrain, each family member comments on the events. The manner in which each person talks tells us so much about each character. In most cases, it is the only way we find out what the characters are like.

What Did My Kids Think?

They liked Papa’s creativity, and that his family was so willing to support him even when his solutions seemed silly. Similarly to Building Our House, there is a page in the back that describes the real man that inspired the story- my kids love this kind of real life reference. An inventor named Lodner Phillips created his own submarine in 1951, which made significant improvements on existing submarine designs including steering, an air purifying system, and a boiler than generated steam underwater to run the engine. His family actually went out into Lake Michigan with him in his invention.

Resources:

As suggested on Celeste Reads, you could have children brainstorm their interests, talents, passions, or hobbies in a journal. They can then set a realistic goal (with help), set a timeline, and when the time has passed you can have a presentation day to see what they did and what they learned.

Sit down with some art supplies and paper, and brainstorm some things you’d like to see be invented. And then draw as many as you can!

Review: Building Our House

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Building Our House Cover PageBuilding Our House

Written and Illustrated by: Jonathan Bean

Farrar Straus Giroux Books, 2013, Hardcover Edition

Target Audience: Ages 3-8

Genre: Fiction

Theme: Creativity/Family

How We Discovered This Book: This book was in the new books bin at our library, and it looked like good choice for my kids who are very much interested in how things are made.

Summary:

A girl and her family pack up their belongings and move from town out into an empty field. They live in a trailer for 1-1/2 years as they build their own home from scratch. Every member of the family has a part to play in the hard work and love it takes to build a home.

What I Liked:

Given the increased focus on non-fiction books in our schools, I’m very interested in books that take a non-fiction topic and put a twist on it. This is a fiction book, but is factually based on real events and a real building process. Rather than make it a dry book about construction, the author intertwines the family story with all of the work they did to build their own home. Kids will learn, without really being aware they are learning.

What Did My Kids Think?

Both of my kids enjoyed this book, and I think they now have a slightly better appreciation for what it has taken for us to renovate our own house. They had lots of questions that extended the discussion into other books and videos. The whimsical illustrations pair nicely with the story. The author includes some of his parents’  photographs from their house building at the end, which is an extra treat.

Resources:

PBS has a fun activity where kids can measure and build a house for some of their favorite storybook characters.

Scholastic has an activity focused on the business process from plans to completion.

Improvise, and see what other kinds of houses you can build: birdhouses, gingerbread houses, or even a house for your guinea pig.

Review: The Pirate’s Parrot

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The Pirate’s Parrot

Written by: Lyn Rossiter McFarland

Illustrated By: Jim McFarland

Tricycle Press, 2000, Hardcover

Target Audience: Ages 3-8

Genre: Fiction

Theme: Bravery, Strength

How We Discovered This Book: This book has been on my “To Read” list for a while. I believe Joanna recommended it to me. We borrowed it from our library.

Summary:

Captain Cur’s parrot dies, and his monocle is stepped on. How can he be a proper pirate captain without them? His crew finds him a replacement parrot, who is really a stuffed girl teddy bear. The crew teaches her to be a proper pirate, who bites, spits, swashbuckles,  and perches on the captain’s shoulder. But she proves she’s really a proper pirate when they encounter another pirate ship and she saves the day.

What I Liked:

This book is funny, and is immensely fun to read aloud. My kids thought my teddy bear and pirate voices were hilarious. Who doesn’t love to do a good pirate voice?

What Did My Kids Think?

Both of my kids enjoyed the story. My son liked that it was different from other pirate stories. He thought the funniest parts were when the bear talked and tried to be a pirate. In simplest terms, TEDDY BEAR + PIRATES + HUMOR = GOOD STORY in our house.

Resources:

In searching for resources related to this book, I discovered that the mascot for the Pittsburgh Pirates major league baseball team is called the Pirate Parrot. Go figure.

Pirate Crafts, Coloring, and Printables

Declare it Pirate Day in your house: Dress up like pirates (a scarf, a striped shirt, a belt, and a quick paper eye patch will do), talk like pirates, and use your imagination to turn your couch into a pirate ship set for plunder.

Whether it’s Talk Like a Pirate Day (September 19th) or not, you can always integrate pirate-based lessons into your classroom.

Book Recommendations for Children 1 Year Old and Under

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One of our critique group members recently became a grandma, so we were discussing our favorite books for very young children. Each of our personal lists brought back many memories, and we ended up with a solid list of quality books. So we thought we’d share them with you!

Here are our favorite books for children 1 year old and younger, in alphabetical order by author:

Hug, Jez Alborough

Sandra Boynton Books– including Pajama Time; Blue Hat, Green Hat; Moo, Baa, La la la!; Barnyard Dance!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type, Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin

Are You My Mother? P.D. Eastman

Time For Bed, Mem Fox

Orange Pear Apple Bear, Emily Gravett

Cowboy Small, Lois Lenski

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?/ Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? Bill Martin and Eric Carle

Guess How Much I Love You, Sam McBratney

Blueberries for Sal, Robert McCloskey

Good Night Gorilla, Penny Rathmann

Richard Scarry’s Best Word Book Ever, Richard Scarry

I Am A Bunny, Richard Scarry

Sheep in a Jeep, Nancy Shaw and Margot Apple

I Love You Through and Through, Bernadette Rossetti Shustak

Hop on Pop, Dr. Seuss

Owl Babies, Martin Waddell

That’s Not My Puppy/ That’s Not My Car/ That’s Not My Dinosaur, Fiona Watt and Rachel Wells

Knufflebunny, Mo Willems

Goodnight Moon, Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd

Runaway Bunny, Margaret Wise Brown

Do have other favorites not on this list? Please share!

Review- Born Yesterday: The Diary of a Young Journalist

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imageBorn Yesterday: The Diary of a Young Journalist

Written by: James Solheim

Illustrated By: Simon James

Philomel Books, 2010, Imagination Library Edition

Target Audience: Ages 3-8

Genre: Fiction

Theme: Growing up, Siblings

How We Discovered This Book: My son received this as his monthly Imagination Library book a few years ago. It is a favorite in our house, and is on frequent rotation. For more information on the Imagination Library, you can read my previous post.

Summary: A baby shares his very funny and astute observations of the world.

What I Liked: The voice in this book is very strong, and hilarious. Right on the first page, the baby talks about being born and says,”If I’d known I was going to be born in public, I’d at least have put on a tank top.” You might think that nothing really happens in a baby’s life, but this story manages to have a main arc and sub plots while still remaining simple. This author has chosen his words immensely well.

What Did My Kids Think? This books cracks us up every time. My son thinks the baby’s observations and the book’s illustrations are so funny. And who wouldn’t laugh at a dog named Foofy?

Resources:

Journaling: Children of all ages can be encouraged to journal. Both of my children have journals, which we take with us on all of our adventures. My daughter just scribbles at her age, but I like the idea that Aidan is modeling how to put thoughts and ideas on paper.

Writing activities: Scholastic has some good suggestions for using this and other diary books to inspire children to write.

Journalism: Talk about what a journalist is, and what they do. Help the child brainstorm about what they would report on if they were a journalist. Have them pick a topic, research it, and then write the story. This can also be a springboard to a multimedia project where they can be a TV journalist, planning and filming their report.

Review: Archie

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Archie CoverArchie

Written and Illustrated by: Domenica More Gordon

Bloomsbury Books for Young Readers, 2012, Hardcover Edition

Target Audience: Ages 3-8

Genre: Fiction

Themes: Trying something new, following your dreams, self-confidence

How We Discovered This Book: My son chose this book during media class, and brought it home from the school library.

Summary:

Archie decides to make his dog some new clothes. Soon, they are the talk of the neighborhood and everyone wants cute clothes for their dogs too.

What I Liked:

This book is wordless, which is not usually the type of picture book I gravitate towards. However, the story flows along nicely without the words, and my kids could follow along without any explaining from me. The illustrations are charming and minimal.

What Did My Kids Think?

My kids are very interested in animals right now, so a book full of dogs is very appealing. They find it funny that dogs would have dogs as pets. My astute son even noticed that all of the dogs in the story have the same type of dog as they are (a boxer has a boxer as a pet, for example), except Archie. He appears to be a lab type dog, while his pet is a terrier. Curious…

Resources:

There are no existing resources for this book, so I’ll get a little creative this time.

The author is an artist known for her miniature felt dogs. Check out a story here about her dogs and the inspiration for the story.

There is another Archie book, Archie’s Vacation, which we have not yet read.

If you have dogs in your life, maybe you think they need some cuter clothes themselves? There are plenty of instructions on pet clothing and other related projects.

Maybe you really like the illustrations, and would like to try your hand at drawing a dog.

Review: Emily Brown and the Thing

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ImageEmily Brown and the Thing

Written by: Cressida Cowell

Illustrated By: Neal Layton

Orchard Books, 2007, Paperback Edition

Target Audience: Ages 3-8

Genre: Fiction

Theme: Bedtime

How We Discovered This Book: My kids and I absolutely loved That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown, another book by Cressida Cowell. You can check out my previous review. I had heard there were other Emily Brown books, so at Christmas time I went searching for them. I discovered 3 more! In addition to Emily Brown and the Thing, there is Cheer Up Your Teddy Bear, Emily Brown, and Emily Brown and the Elephant Emergency.

Summary:

Emily Brown and her trusty stuffed rabbit Stanley are trying to sleep. But the Thing has other plans. He makes all kinds of noises, and the only way to get him to be quiet is to help him. He needs his cuddly, his bedtime milk, his medicine… will he ever go to sleep?

What I Liked:

This resonated on a variety of levels, for both me and my kids. Emily is not scared of the Thing. She is brave and in charge (as always), taking on each challenge with a smile. In the end, she even tucked him into bed (under her bed, no less). The whole story reminded me of my children, and the “needs” they come up with to stall going to bed.

What Did My Kids Think?

They thought the book was funny and creative. They love Emily’s imagination- she didn’t just find his medicine, she put on her special glasses, climbed through the Witches’ Cavern, and told the witches stories in exchange for the medicine. And her answer to the Thing when he says his leg itches is just priceless (and familiar?)

Resources:

Hatchette Children’s Books has free activity downloads for Emily Brown, including a door hanger and idea prompts.