Picture Book of the Day: The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend

The Adventures of Beekle:  The Unimaginary Friend, written and illustrated by Dan Santat.  This magical and highly imaginative charmer offers illustrations packed with lovely and humorous details that readers will enjoy exploring.  The story feels inspired by Miyazaki, yet it is its own unique self.  The tale begins with the little marshmallow-like (with legs and friendly waving hands) creature being born on the island where imaginary friends wait to be beamed up to the real world, paired with children.  But no kid dreams up this poor little guy.  Instead of giving up and waiting around, he takes matters into his own hands and travels "through unknown waters" to the real world, one that perplexes the critter.  Santat then gives us human society through the protagonist's eyes, and he gives us moments that are both sad and satirical.  Will Beekle ever find a child who will embrace him as an "imaginary friend"?   Santat has illustrated many fun books for children, but this might be his finest achievement yet as a picture book artist.  Funny, poignant, rich in detail, a real keeper.

3 Terrific New Picture Books: One Featuring an Old Friend

Dangerous!, written and illustrated by Tim Warnes.  There are many words to describe this vocabulary-building romp, a British import:  lively, funny, touching, suspenseful.  A word-loving mole enjoys creating labels and sticking them on everything he sees:  mushrooms, flint, ladybug, even poop!  (Kids go ewwww on the latter and then guffaw.)  One day he comes across a bizarre green object that has him churning out label after label:  lumpy, chunky, muddy, ribbed, peculiar, whopping, and many others.  Turns out to be a crocodile and this terrifies the mole.  Instead of snacking on our hero, the croc starts munching all the labels and this ticks off the mole, leading to a confrontation that results in a delightful, satisfying twist.  A charmer.

 One Busy Day, written by Lola M. Schaefer, illustrated by Jessica Meserve.  Packed with lovely illustrations, this ode to sibling drama is a delight from start to finish.  It's also a tribute to the imagination as Mia tries her best to engage her older brother Spencer who always claims to be to busy to play with her.  So she entertains herself by painting, dancing, and exploring.  The effective book design shows Mia engaging in an activity, and then revealing how she sees herself on the next page.  One page, for example, says "She danced" and we see Mia alone in her room posing in front of a mirror, and then with a flip of the page we read "like a twirly, whirly ballerina" and we see Mia in front of an adoring crowd in a fancy theatre.  She's truly a special character, and Spencer rediscovers this about his cute, multi-talented sister, becoming more and more curious in what she is doing.  This emerges as a moving story, an excellent match of text and art, sweet without being too cloying.

The Pigeon Needs a Bath!, written and illustrated by some guy named Mo Willems.  : )  This new addition to the Pigeon saga is quite simply the best Pigeon book since Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!.  I read to this to a class the other day and the kids would not stop laughing.  I had them yell "TAKE A BATH!!!" at the Pigeon and they more than willingly obliged.  After a romp in a mud puddle, pigeon has become so dirty it scares off the flies.  "Take a bath dude," one of them buzzes as it soars off the page.  Pigeon refuses to hop in that tub, goes through an amazingly complex routine of making the water too cold, too hot, too lukewarm, too hot, too deep, too shallow, too packed with bath toys, too not enough packed with bath toys, and so on.  Will this persnickety feathered creature learn to love baths?  The answer amuses.  Everything about this book delights, from the brown colored backgrounds to the interactive way the pigeon stands up to the readers ("maybe YOU need a bath!!!").  This will satisfy Pigeon's many fans. 

A Trio of Fun and Quirky New Picture Books

Baby's Got the Blues, written by Carol Diggory Shields, and illustrated by Lauren Tobia.  The witty Shields (The Bugliest Bug) and gifted Tobia (Anna Hibiscus series) team on this beautifully conceived tribute to old blues songs.  You might find yourself singing this book instead of reading it, it just begs to be performed like a classic Muddy Waters tune.  Tired of hearing that babies have it easy, a put-upon infant wants to set the record straight:  it's tough being a little one--with the soggy diapers and all.  For instance, the baby complains:  "I'd like to eat some pizza/Macaroni, or beef stew/But I haven't got a single tooth/So I can't even chew".  Tobia's fluid artwork shows our bald hero comically lamenting his position in life.  Very very funny.

Maple, written and illustrated by Lori Nichols.  A delightful and lovingly illustrated addition to both nature and new sibling collections.  A couple name their little girl Maple in honor of the tree planted in the yard.  The child loves playing in, around, and under her beloved tree.  Nichols' gorgeous illustrations are beautiful to behold, and her prose mixes in some funny lines with the sweetness.  Some drama enters the picture when Maple notices a little Willow sapling next to the tree, and a little bulge in her mommy's tummy.  What could this mean?  Everything turns out OK, leading to a truly cute ending.  A charmer from start to finish.

 

Sparky!, written by Jenny Offill, illustrated by Chris Appelhans.  An inventive and wonderfully deadpan twist on a "let's get a pet" book.  Offill tells the tale of a girl who wishes to have a pet, but her mother has a bunch of rules:  she can have any pet she wishes, "as long as it doesn't need to be walked or bathed or fed".  A trip to the library helps the resourceful heroine discover that a SLOTH would be the best pet for her.  And so begins this hilarious anti-adventure:  the girl gives the creature the unlikely name of Sparky and he responds by endlessly sleeping or just sitting there staring straight ahead while she tries to engage him of games of King of the Mountain and Hide-and-Seek.  Offill's clever story leads to a sweet ending of acceptance, and Appelhans' drawings pack in a lot of very funny details that will tickle young readers.

Top 20 Read-a-Loud Countdown: #1 and #2

At my job I enjoy reading to fairly large groups of preschoolers.  Over the next few weeks I will be counting down my top 20 favorite books to read out loud to young listeners!  I have left off books that are out of print (sorry Emma Dodd's great What Pet to Get? and Julia Jarman's wonderful Big Red Tub).  I will count them two at a time.   Here are choices for #1 and #2, please scroll down the rest of the blog to see the remaining top 20.  Criteria:  the books have to work well with large groups, and invite audience participation.

1.  Where the Wild Things Are, written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak.  This quite simply is my favorite all-time favorite picture book.  It's just beautifully illustrated--note the stunning layout when the forest grows around Max and his fantasy world starts taking over the page.  Kids in storytime love to roar their terrible roars and gnash their terrible teeth.  And ooh what a rumpus we have in the storytime program--stomping feet, howling, more roaring!  The story also has such a strong emotional resonance as Max realizes he needs to leave the land of the wild things (who will eat him up, they love him so!) and return home.  It goes without saying that the world is a better place because this book exists. 

2.  The Snowy Day, written and illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats.  Another timeless classic that beautifully captures and celebrates a child's-eye view of the world, a sense of wonder.  A mix of joy, sadness (those big kids won't play with Peter!), wonderment, and melancholy (that vivid dream in which all the beloved snow melts).   I love Keats' books about Peter (A Letter to Amy and Whistle for Willie are two other favorites), but there's something about this that makes it the one I love the most.  As Peter explores the winter wonderland outside, memories of my time in the snow come rushing back to me.  Snow angels, snowballs, making your footprints look really really cool as you walk, not wanting winter to end.  The dream sequence at the end is beautifully rendered, followed by a triumphant moment that makes young readers and listeners shout "hooray!" for the resourceful hero.

Top 20 Read-a-Loud Countdown: #3 and #4

3. Freight Train, written and illustrated by Donald Crews.  This 1979 Caldecott Honor winner invites movement and excitement.  It seems simple and yet it's a beautifully conceived masterpiece (dig how the colors blur as the train zooms) that serves as a cool introduction to colors.  There is no real story per se, just the thrill of seeing the many multicolored cars (blue gondola car, purple box car, and others) in motion...going by cities and crossing trestles.  As Crews reveals each car, I have the children repeat the colors back to me or I say "this is a gondola car?  what color is it?"  When the train starts moving, I have them say chugga chugga choo choo, bounce as they cross trestles, and whisper when they are moving in darkness.  One fun thing I improvised once was after the train disappears after the "going...going...gone" moment, I have the kids yell "come back freight train!!!" and I flip the book and show the cover, which has the Freight Train grooving in full glory, to the audience and have them chant "chugga chugga choo choo" one more time! 

4.  Kitten's First Full Moon, written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes.  In this 2005 Caldecott Medal winner, a little kitten has one forgettable nocturnal journey as she tries to catch the full moon, which she believes is a little bowl of milk in the sky, just waiting for her.  Henkes' gorgeous illustrations, in grays and whites, immediately win young listeners/readers over as they grow to care for this poor unlucky kitten who can never seem to get closer to the moon.  Kids love emulating the feline's movements--jumping off the porch, banging her ear, bumping her tale, running past the field, climbing a tree, leaping into a pond (where she thinks she sees another bowl of milk!!!).  In my storytimes, this book never fails to entertain and entrance the audience.  It all comes together in a warm, cuddly ending that also makes it one effective bedtime book.  Lucky Kitten!!!

Top 20 Read-a-Loud Countdown: #5 and #6

5.  Go Away Big Green Monster, written and illustrated by Ed Emberley.  This brilliantly conceived and designed showstopper has been on my storytime heavy rotation list for years.  It's often my grand finale, one that ends things on a high note.  I wrote about this on my blog before; I simply cannot stop singing its praises.  A slightly scary green monster comes together with each flip of the page.  Squiggly ears, scraggly purple hair, and a big green face.   But then Emberley has the kids chant in unison, "YOU DON'T SCARE ME" and together we tell each part of the face to go away.  And with a flip of the page, the scraggly purple hair is gone, and so is the long bluish-greenish nose and so on.  And in a final inspirational blast of kid empowerment, the kids tell the monster to "don't come back..."until I say so."  And this perfect final line invites shouts of "read it again" and re-reads.  It's simply storytime gold.

6.  An Eric Carle double feature:  Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, written by Bill Martin, Jr. and illustrated by Eric Carle; and The Very Hungry Caterpillar, written and illustrated by Eric Carle.  No preschool storytime list of course should be without a book illustrated by Eric Carle.  For this list, I want to make sure a LOT of authors and illustrators are represented so I was trying to limit each talent to one title.  However, with Carle this proved difficult.  These two perennial classics are both surefire winners, so why not include both?  Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? of course is a seemingly simple charmer in which readers ask an animal "what do you see?"  They see another animal looking "at me" and with a flip of the page we see the animal in question.  So a brown bear says a yellow duck is looking at it, and with a flip of page, we see this yellow dark, large on the page, against an uncluttered background.  And so it goes until we reach a great meta moment when the goldfish says "I see a teacher (or mother in some editions) looking at me".  This grown-up then says "I see beautiful children looking at me" and with a turn of the page, we have a bunch of kids looking back at the kids looking at the book.  In a moment that always gets a gasp of "wow", when the kids are asked "what do you see?" we get a final page with ALL of the animals and the teacher (mother).  The book is simply a marvel, one that encourages animal sounds.  I always have the kids count to 3 before I turn to page.  It's like one big game of peek-a-boo...but with blue horses and purple cats.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is also deservedly famous in the preschool world.  A little caterpillar pops out of an egg and starts searching for food.  And boy does he eat and eat and eat.  The story works on so many levels:  as a counting book, an introduction to foods and nutrition, and a look at how caterpillars become butterflies. The book has a nice sense of humor--what he eats on Saturday is absolutely hilarious (a pickle, a lollipop AND a slice of salami???  and a whole bunch of other things???).  Kids also love the ending when they see that the title character emerge as a brand new, beautiful butterfly!

Top 20 Read-a-Loud Countdown: #7 and #8

7.  Caps for Sale, written and illustrated by Esphyr Slobodkina.  This classic 1938 easy reader still enchants the little ones.  I frequently use the Big Book version, which can be cumbersome and yet makes a strong favorable impression, but there was a nice edition recently released (ISBN:  9780201091472) that is larger than the smallish original edition without being ginormous.  Anyway, this clever play on the whole "monkey see, monkey do" idea has a peddler in an uproar after he discovers a bunch of monkeys have stolen his merchandise (a bunch of caps) while he slept.  Kids love imitating the peddler as he shakes one finger and then both fists at the playful creatures who respond with "tsz, tsz, tsz".  The old-fashioned illustrations (the peddler looks like a distant cousin of Charles Chaplin's Little Tramp character) still delight.  And the whimsical nature of the tale prompts giggles.  It's simply timeless.

8.  My Friend Rabbit, written and illustrated by Eric Rohmann.  I fell in love with this book, winner of the 2003 Caldecott Medal, the very first moment I saw it.  I  wrote about it on this blog a while back.  Rohmann's charming woodcuts take readers/listeners on a nonsensical comical trip as a rabbit accidentally throws mouse's plane high up in a tree where they cannot retrieve it.  So the titular character comes up with a plan that involves making a tower of several animals (including a sleeping hippo!) in order to reach the lost airplane.  The expressions of the animal's faces are hilarious.  I notice something new each and every time I revisit this book.  And children love the absurdity of it all (the rabbit pulling in an elephant several times his size).  A clever, beautifully rendered treat.