Express Yourself: A Trio Celebrating Milestones

How to Read a Story, written by Kate Messner, illustrated by Mark Siegel.   This upbeat, creative, and absolutely wonderful book promotes a cozy love for reading that is positively contagious. Messner offers a child-friendly step-by-step process of finding a great book to read and then engaging with the text.  Step 1 for example tells the reader to "Find a Story, " Step 2 "Find a Reading Buddy," Step 3 "Find a Cozy Reading Spot" and so on.  Siegel's packs his witty, rather adorable illustrations with many playful details, many involving a book about a princess, a dragon...and a robot.  Messner makes suggestions about having fun giving characters different voices, holding the book so your reading buddy can enjoy it as well, and sounding out words you don't know.  One great page suggests that you should talk to your reading buddy and predict what will happen next, giving plenty of examples of the kinds of questions you can ask.  This is an interactive winner.

Little Red Henry, written by Linda Urban, illustrated by Madeline Valentine.  Sometimes a family can love you too much...when you're the baby in the family.  That's the angsty situation of poor Henry, whose parents and older brother and sister do everything for him:   pick out his clothes, feed him, and ferry him everywhere in his little red wagon.  Urban does a fantastic job getting into Henry's head as the not-little-anymore tyke rebels by showing that he can do things himself.  Valentine has fun showing the family's concerned faces as the suddenly independent Henry keeps reaching milestone after milestone after milestone (one hilarious page shows him trying on a variety of clothes before finding the right one to fit his mood).  In a fantastic twist, the family members, first saddened by Henry not needing them anymore, suddenly explode with newly found artistic ambition:  writing, dancing, playing music instruments.  But in a sweet ending, we find out that sometimes Henry does need a good cuddle and reassurance every once in a while.  Something the loving family provides at the end of this wonderful treat of a tale.

Tommy Can't Stop, written by Tim Federle, illustrated by Mark Fearing.  Dancing across the CIP and title pages is Tommy...a kid leaping, bounding, exploding with captivating (if maddening) energy.  Mark Fearing captures this indefatigable lad's personality right from the very first jump.  Federle, basing this story on his rambunctious younger self, gives us a nice, bouncy rhythm and extremely funny situations.  "Tommy's gotta bop.  (He can't keep still.)"  We see overturned furniture, books knocked onto the floor, cushions and curtains going kerplunk as Tommy looks at the reader with a funny "what?  who me?" expression.  His poor family tries to keep up with the rollicking kid who does such wild things as pretending to be a bulldozer while kicking a soccer ball at his exhausted dad in the kitchen.  His family tries to tame him but they cannot.  In a twist that lifts the whole book to another level, Tommy discovers an outlet for all his energy:  tap dancing!  Suddenly the book becomes a tribute to the joys of artistic expression, telling guys it's cool to dance!  Tommy looks like he's in heaven as he hops, brushes, and stamps.  A must for action-packed story times.

Picture Book of the Day: Bulldozer's Big Day

Bulldozer's Big Day, written by Candace Fleming, illustrated by Eric Rohmann.  Young construction vehicle enthusiasts will love this charmer about a bulldozer excited about his big day!  Blade held high, he zooms off to this buddies to revel in the excitement.  However, when he finds such friends as Digger Truck, they seem to have forgotten the significance of this day.  When Bulldozer whoops "Guess what today is!", Digger replies, "I don't need to guess, kid.  Today is a scooping day.  Scooping...scooping...scooping."  Fleming packs the story with action words that encourage movement as Bulldozer goes from pal to pal, all of them oblivious to significance of our hero's big day.  His blade sinks lower and lower with sadness.  Rohmann's illustrations, using relief (block) prints and plates, are a joy to behold.  His expressive vehicles have big eyes, and he excels at perspective, framing the wheeled characters in each spread in a very effective manner.  Of course the story ends happily, but still when the Giant Birthday Cake is revealed, it is truly majestic.  So majestic, it can barely fit on the page.  A fantastic collaboration from the creators of Oh, No! that will invites audience participation and ends on a deliriously happy note.

Picture Book of the Day: Trombone Shorty

Trombone Shorty, written by Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, illustrated by Bryan Collier.  WHERE Y' AT? my friends.  Collier's vibrant illustrations, done with pen and ink, watercolor, and collage, add zest to Andrews' autobiographical story about how he became the musician he is today, and how he received his nickname "Trombone Shorty."  Andrews writes a kid-friendly manner that will captivates, telling how he grew up in Tremé, the historic New Orleans neighborhood, where music surrounds you everywhere.  He grew up in a musical family, and fell in love with the brass bands.  I love how Andrews describes the excitement of the music, and adds humorous lines like "the tuba...rested over the musician's head like an elephant's trunk!"  Longing to have an instrument all his own, his life changes when he finds a trashed broken down trombone.  Collier gives us wonderful illustration after illustration as the boy feels confident to join in a parade, impressing people so much they start lovingly calling him Trombone Shorty.  Throw in a supercool incident with Bo Diddley and you have a picture book autobiography older elementary students and middle school students will love.  Exploding with energy and joy, this is a keeper, an inspiring look at a contemporary musician.

Picture Book of the Day: Yard Sale

Yard Sale, written by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Lauren Castillo.  A sense of heartbreak (and then hope) hangs over this heartfelt, sensitive look at a family having to sell off some belongings before moving from their house to a small apartment.  The great and prolific Bunting tells the story from the first person perspective of a young girl, filled with confusion and sadness about the upcoming move.  When we first see her, she is helping her father attach balloons to the Yard Sale sign.  The title page follows, and in a haunting touch, we see that one of the balloons has become detached, floating through the air.  The tremendously gifted Castillo, working with ink and watercolors, then gives a full-page, cinematic spread of the girl sitting alone on her porch, looking at her family's belongings spread out over the yard.  Bunting and Castillo don't sugarcoat things and give us a rosy "this is fun" uplifting view of this sale.  The family members look very sad, resigned as they haggle with business-like customers over objects that mean something to them.  More emotional, and quietly devastating moments follow.  In Bunting's and Castillo's more than able hands, the family's love for each other shines through, leading to an ending that is hopeful without seeming maudlin.  This really creates a mood, making you experience what this girl and her family experience.