Picture Book of the Day: Grandma in Blue with Red Hat

Grandma in Blue with Red Hat, words by Scott Menchin, pictures by Harry Bliss.  Can a book be absolutely hilarious and tremendously lump-in-your throat moving at the same time?  This terrific tribute to artistic pursuits and paying homage to a loved one sure is.  The first person narrator, a pensive boy, says farewell to his Grandma as he heads into a giant museum for Saturday art class. Menchin deftly gets into the sometimes goofy head of this lovable lad as instructor Ms. Montebello recites exciting facts about the creative process.  When she says that anything can be in an art exhibition, the kid imagines two hipster types admiring a toilet sculpture.  The great Harry Bliss does a fantastic job conveying the humor of his reveries.  There's a most impressive sequence where the boy's classmates, dubbed "Little Picassos" by their teacher, explain why a wide variety of art works (expertly rendered by Bliss) are in the museum.  The boy realizes that all of their answers ("because it's different," "because it's beautiful,", "because it tells a story") all describe his Grandma. And suddenly the book takes on a poignant turn:  our hero wants Grandma to be in the museum!  But how?  It all leads to a triumphant ending that will inspire readers to pick up their paint brushes and create art about the ones they love.  

Five New Story Time Delights

The Bus Is for Us!, written by Michael Rosen, and illustrated by Gillian Tyler.  Perfect for story times, this delightful tribute to various modes to transportation offers large vibrant illustrations, bouncy rhymes, and a catchy refrain ("But the best is the bus.  The bus is for us.") that will encourage kids to chant along.  We see three children each enjoying a different kind of transport:  a boy riding a bike, a girl going "far in our car," and another child on a train to get out of the rain.  When we hit the "bus is for us" refrain, we see the three child hopping on a bus with a cool license plate that reads "Bus4Us."  As the book continues, more children enter the picture, and their ways of getting around become more dreamy--riding on the back of a fish or "for a dare, a ride on a bear" or flying to the moon in a hot-air balloon (love the surprised moon!).  When we see ALL the kids together on the final bus spread, the celebratory mood is contagious.  This will surely become a story time fave.

My Bike, written and illustrated by Byron Barton.  Another fun salute to the joys of traveling, Barton's charmer seems simple, but actually has a surprise ending that encourages the person reading the story to children to ask questions that build some cool suspense.  Where is the boy Tom going?  He says he's going to work, what kind of job does he have?  After Barton introduces Tom, as well as the parts of the bicycle, we see him riding diligently in the Bike Lane, passing trucks and buses and lots of cars.  The crystal clear font changes colors from page to page, and Barton's child-like illustrations (done in Adobe Photoshop) convey a real sense of progress and motion.  Where is Tom heading?  I won't spoil the surprise, but details in the background provide clues.  When you know the ending, a re-visit has you saying "Of course."  But the lad's profession still surprises me every time I get to the end.  A charmer.

Sniff!  Sniff!, written and illustrated by Ryan Sias.  Using very few words but plenty of visual cues and gags, this hilarious romp shows a boy dealing with a wildly energetic and messy dog.  Sias emphasizes and exaggerates the pooch's large nose as the pet sniffs something it considers delicious or fun.  Readers know that the kid will be in one for bumpy day before the story even begins.  Although the boy lovingly hugs his dog on the title page, and then we see the lad reading to his loving companion on the next, the dedication page shows the dog tearing apart said book!  Yikes!  In a great touch, whenever the dog sniffs, sniffs, smelling something tasty, we see thought bubbles above its head (bacon, pancakes, an orange).  A flip of the page shows the dog destroying the breakfast with a chomp, chomp.  The dog sniff, sniffs again (and I love how big the words Sniff! Sniff! are on the page) and we see thought bubbles above the dog's head (flowers, a shovel, a tomato)--uh-oh, you can ask children what do you think the dog will wreck next.   Can this out of control dog ever be tamed?  It all leads to a sweet conclusion that encourages lots of doggy hugs.

Stick and Stone, written by Beth Ferry, and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld.  Ferry's clever friendship tale introduces a lonely stick and an equally lonely stone.  Thanks to Lichtenheld's ever-fantastic illustrations (done in pencil, watercolor, and colored pencil), these two characters emerge as a fully expressive and captivating creations; you feel every moment of their emotional journey.  For example, I love the expressions he gives Stone when it tries to get on a swing (its tongue sticking out with determination, and then its wide-eyed terror as it falls to the ground).  When a Pinecone bullies Stone, Stick stands up to the brute, and a friendship is born.  The book then shows the wonderful things the titular characters do together (wandering, exploring a cave, lazing by the shore).  Ferry's concise text makes this perfect for story times, and Lichtenheld fills each illustration with touches both comical and endearing.  A moment of peril comes along that helps Stone return the favor to Stick and become a hero, all leading to a final visual touch that makes the book, well, a perfect 10.

Sweep Up the Sun, by Helen Frost and Rick Lieder.  Extremely beautiful bird photographs and a lovely inspirational poem work together to create a beautifully designed and emotionally satisfying book.  Right from the very first photo of two baby birds in a nest, kids will be captivated.  The various bird species (identified in the excellent back matter) illustrate lines from Frost's poem.  A blue jay caught in mid-air, looking quite triumphant, accompanies the line "Rise into the air/on the strength of your wings" for example.  The words are very child-friendly, direct and fun, but filled with bird imagery.  The poem encourages to go out to play in the sky, take off in a new direction--swoop and soar, and so on.  It can easily be paired with books like Oh, the Places You'll Go!  even warning readers that yes, there will be bumpy moments in life, but things will work out and you will still soar.  Very very striking.

Story Time Success Story: So Cozy

So Cozy, written and illustrated by Lerryn Korda.  Korda's charming gouache illustrations turn this cumulative tale of a bunch of animals thwarting a dog's desire to nap into something extremely fun for young story time crowds.  In the tradition of stories like The Mitten or One Dog Canoe, things go awry when too many creatures want to take part (and it's often the littlest of those creatures you have to watch out for).  A sleepy pooch heads to his warm, comfy bed (I love how we see his paw prints inside the front cover).  However, just as he's about ready to nod off, a goose waddles in and, struck by how cozy the dog looks, asks if she can join him (the animals' expressions delight).  She doesn't even really wait for an answer before she starts nuzzling the dog.  In strolls a cat who longs to be cozy, too, and thus the drama begins:  more and more animals arrive, begging to hop into bed, and soon the exasperated dog finds himself increasingly uncomfortable as the pile grows.  The littlest of critters causes the largest snoozer to sneeze, leading to a rather explosive climax (kids love yelling AAAAACHOOOO!!!).  It all leads to a sweet, cozy ending, and a fantastic image on the final spread of ALL the animals' tracks.  A sweet but rambunctious addition to pajama story times.

Picture Book of the Day: Bird & Diz

Bird & Diz, written by Gary Golio, art by Ed Young.  This inventive tribute to jazz greats Charlie "Bird" Parker and Dizzy Gillespie and the 1945 bebop song "Salt Peanuts" folds out accordion-style when celebrating the exuberant spirit and captivating energy of bebop.  Golio's prose cuts right to the heart of the collaborative action:  "Bird and Diz are friends/who play together like kids."  When the two musicians turn and face each other, they don't have to say much, and then the notes soar and their instruments start interacting with another.  Golio's words snap and crackle, brilliantly conveying the sounds of the music and the joy of a pair of giants trying to playfully top each other .  Looking very much like a modern art creation, Young's experimental art provides bursts of unusual colors as the images swirl and explode across the pages.  As the music speeds up frantically with Bird's flying fingers across the bass ("is that smoke coming out of his horn?") telling Dizzy "top that," the dynamic images spell out the word "bebop" and the reader's heart soars.  You fold the book all the way out, reach the end of one side, and then flip the book over to read the rest--clearing a table or room on the floor to see the entire book in its full glory adds to the fun.  It all leads to a joyous embrace between the two musicians and a nice celebratory "Be-bop-a-skoodley;/Doo-wa!"  Accompanied by a cool photo of the two guys, an excellent afterword talks about bebop and tells young readers how they can listen to and watch Bird and Diz play "Salt Peanuts."  Really cool!

Story Time Success Story: You Can Do It, Bert!

You Can Do It, Bert!, written and illustrated by Ole Konnecke.  Originally published in Germany...in 2007, this sweet, minimalist charmer finally has its first US edition...in 2015.  It was worth the wait!  As I have mentioned on this blog several times, I absolutely love twist endings in funny books and this title has a great one (and I wouldn't dream of spoiling it for you).  Konnecke introduces us to Bert, an adorable, blobby little red bird with an expressive orange beak who faces a very big day.  Walking on a branch, flapping his wing, Bert looks determined, ready to soar.  Its amazing how much emotion is in the rather spare illustrations, with their white backgrounds.  As Bert peeks down at the ground, we can feel his trepidation, perhaps a stirring lack of confidence, contradicting the words appearing in bold font on the opposing page:  "Bert is well prepared, mentally and physically."  The suspense builds--will Bert finish the task at hand?  When I read this to a preschool group, I had them yell "You can do it, Bert" and the children loved encouraging our feathered hero.  The book gives us a hero who starts draaaaaaging out the big moment to the point where the kids start almost exploding with impatience.  Bert procrastinates all right, but it's the way he procrastinates that is unexpected and funny.  It all leads to a surprise ending that is a pure delight.  Wonderful.

Picture Book of the Day: Sidewalk Flowers

Sidewalk Flowers, by Jon Arno Lawson, illustrated by Sydney Smith.  This extremely moving wordless wonder packs an emotional wallop.  A little girl walks through an urban landscape with her father and finds beauty in the sidewalk cracks.  As he chats on his phone, she collects flowers.  Using pen & ink and graphic novel style panels, inventive illustrator Smith strikingly begins their trek in black & white, with only the girl's red coat (done in watercolor) the only color.  As the child discovers the sidewalk flowers, more varied colors enter the frames, but in a stylized touch, Smith picks and chooses what will be in color and what will remain in black & white.  For example, one spread shows a bunch of passengers waiting for a bus and only a woman's flower-covered dress, the sidewalk flowers, the girl's aforementioned hoodie, and the side of the bus have splashes of color.  Lawson's story takes a poignant turn when we see the girl start leaving some of her newly found flowers on a dead bird, a man sleeping on a park bench, with a friendly pooch.  The child's sense of empathy and giving fills the page, and the reader's heart, leading a beautiful ending where the girl shares her gift of flowers with loved ones.  A gorgeous, beautifully designed masterpiece. 

Story Time Success Story: Hooray for Hoppy!

Hooray for Hoppy!, written and illustrated by Tim Hopgood.  Spring has finally sprung and this enthusiastic story perfectly captures the excitement of the season while, ta da, also serving as an effective concept book about the five senses.  The fun, colorful illustrations introduce Hoppy, a grey rabbit with a heart-shaped nose who eagerly hops outside to see if winter has ended.  The first two treks out of his hole have him running right back to bed because it's still too cold and too icy.  However, on the third attempt, Hoppy deliriously discovers a warm yellow sun and fresh air making his nose twitch with happiness.  Could it be?  Could it be that Spring has finally arrived?  The rabbit runs down the hill and then uses his five senses to determine that yes! yes!  it certainly has!  Each one of the spreads demonstrating the five senses comes with a "Hooray" that the children in story time love shouting along with Hoppy.  "Hooray! said Hoppy, as he heard the birds singing."  Hopgood brings it all to a beautiful close with the bunny suddenly feeling lonely because none of his rabbit friends are around--nothing a loud stomping rabbit foot on the ground can't fix!  The end matter does an excellent job going over what we all have learned about the five senses.  Educational cuteness at its best and most satisfying.