Picture Book of the Day: a new version of Lion and the Mouse

The Lion and the Mouse, by Jenny Broom and illustrated by Nahta Nój.  This bright, bold, and glorious book employs innovative paper craft to retell this Aesop fable about a mouse who repays a lion's kindness with a kindness of its own.  Cool die-cuts play with perspective as a mouse finds itself craving the berries right above a sleeping lion's head. The creeping mouse of course wakes the lion up but the beast responds with empathy instead of anger, but then laughs at the little critter when it says that someday it will help the lion.  After an effective die-cut involving hunters' footsteps, Nój leaves his most breathtaking flap for towards the end when we see the lion trapped in a net, with the mouse coming to his rescue.  Pair this charmer with Jerry Pinkney's lovely near-wordless Caldecott winner for maximum impact. 

Picture Book of the Day: I Got the Rhythm

I Got the Rhythm, written by Connie Schofield-Morrison, illustrated by Frank Morrison.  Frank Morrison's unique trademark illustrations, with his exuberant elongated figures, perfectly convey the infectious energy of Schofield-Morrison's vibrant prose.  While walking in the city with her mom, a young girl thinks of a rhythm in her mind ("think. think") and she soon hears the rhythm with her ears ("beat. beat") as a guy drums on some buckets on the sidewalk.  The joy of the music spreads through her body, and soon all the other kids join her in a triumphant dance.  Someone pushes the button on a boom box and soon everyone in sight claps, snaps, shakes, and stomps.  This glorious interactive book invites story hour participants to dance along and perhaps even form a parade!  I love the final image of the girl, seen from behind, in full dancing glory, with the words "Boom Box.  Beat Bop.  Kaboom.  Kaboom" accompanying her on the page.  A joyous rush of a book.

Gravity and Music Everywhere!

Gravity, written and illustrated by Jason Chin.  Yet another winner from the enormously talented Chin (Redwoods, Island).  Using easy to understand, pared down prose, this concise, striking exploration of how gravity works soars thanks to his innovative and meta approach.  The book Gravity falls from the sky (I'm talking the actual book Gravity by Jason Chin), startling a boy playing with outer space toys on a beach.  He then experiences a world without gravity as everything floats away.  But fear not:  gravity prevails and order is restored.  Repeat readings reveal how clever innovative this book truly is; readers will discover cool details in the art that they did not notice before.  Easy non-fiction at its very best.


Music Everywhere!, by Maya Ajmera, Elise Hofer Derstine, and Cynthia Pon. 
Packed with photographs from all over the world, this uplifting work (part of the Global Fund for Children Book series) shows children dancing, singing, clapping hands, stomping feet, and, most impressively, playing a wide variety of cool-looking instruments.  A little Scottish kid plays the bagpipes, while girls in China strum the yueqin, for example.  Captions accompany the vibrant, colorful photos showing wildly enthusiastic children.  From Malawi to the Cook Islands, from Belgium to Brazil, the book takes readers on a whirlwind, epic tour. 

 



Picture Book of the Day: Draw!

Draw!, illustrated by Raúl Colón.  This visually striking and playful wordless book begins with a boy sitting in his room, drawing a picture of himself walking, easel, pencils, and sketchbook in hand, across an African landscape.  He then befriends a realistically rendered elephant who befriends him, poses for him, and then serves as a guide through this wondrous natural world.  A lovely image shows the elephant appreciating the boy's impressive work, and then giving him a piggyback ride to meet and draw the other animals.  What I love about the book is the illustrator's charming use of perspective--we are looking over the boy's shoulder at his pencil drawings, and we can also enjoy the zebras catching the child's artistic eye.  Another spread shows the budding artist trying to capture the motion of running giraffes, and outrunning a charging rhino (so far my favorite cover image this year).  Another spread shows the boy far away sitting in a tree while we are up close to lions, or sitting on the elephant's back while drawing another creature.  The book ends with a charming coda: he hugs the elephant goodbye (such a moving image), and then we find out what the drawings are for on the final spread.  This highly personal work from Colón, who says in an afterword that he used to spend hours drawing in his room.  It's a great work from one of the best illustrators working today.

Picture Book of the Day: Froodle

 

Froodle, written and illustrated by Antoinette Portis.  Add to the list of great radicals in the children's picture book world a little bird who defies tradition and tedium by saying "Froodle Sproodle!" instead of the expected "Peep."  The more conservative-minded Crow expresses outrage at this change (one great spread shows the Crow putting the little bird in its place:  "Crow was not amused"--wow, that's an understatement).  But now that the little bird has caught the silly bug, there's no stopping it and soon scandalous statements as "Tiffle biffle" are emerging from its liberated beak.  And in Portis' absolutely wonderful tale, this feeling of giddy, goofy liberation spreads to the other birds who cannot help themselves--they must say things like "Oobly snoobly!"  Portis, who created the absolutely divine Princess Super Kitty, gives us another story that soars with child-like fun.  And her beautifully rendered comical illustrations are masterful.

3 Watery Wonders

Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas, written by Lynne Cox, illustrated by Brian Floca.  Based on a true story, this delightful tale of perseverance and a truly unique elephant seal shines thanks to Cox's succinct storytelling and Floca's charming illustrations.  In Christchurch, New Zealand, the rather adorable Elizabeth (named after Queen Elizabeth) defies the habits of her fellow elephant seals, who love to hang out in the ocean and on the rocky coasts, by living in the shallow Avon River that flows through the heart of the city.  She also likes to sunbathe...on the two-lane road, causing panic among some of the townsfolk who fear that she will cause an accident or get hurt.  Three times people take her by boat far far away, but guess who comes swimming back?  Cox reveals that a young boy (and his sister) told her this story while she visited New Zealand, and this child Michael, who loves spotting Elizabeth, in the story.  Floca, the recent Caldecott winner (for Locomotive), captures Elizabeth's fun-loving, feisty personality with finesse.

 

Swim, Duck, Swim!, written by Susan Lurie, photographs by Murray Head.   A thoroughly engaging story of a little duckling who does not want to swim.  Head's cute and sometimes hilarious eye-catching photographs fill the page as Lurie introduces the little quacker hanging out with Mama and Papa by a pond.  Some pictures capture the baby duck with its beak open so it looks like it's saying the lines from Lurie's first person narration, such as "I do not want to learn how to swim."   Another photograph shows the feathered little one hiding under one of its parents ("I curl up tight and hide").   This may sound cloying or saccharine, but it's all actually quite clever, and there's a real satisfaction watching the duckling finally jump in with a huge SPLASH!, joining its friends in some watery play.  The group I read it to absolutely loved this little gem.

 



Three Bears in a Boat, written and illustrated by David Soman.  "Their voyage was not without incident," deadpans the narrator of this exquisitely rendered adventure from the co-creator of Ladybug Girl.  Isn't that the truth?  After a trio of mischievous bears break their mother's prized blue seashell, the panic-stricken group takes to the seas to find a replacement.  Their quest becomes increasingly more eventful as the search for an island in the shape of a lumpy hat.  Soman's illustrations offer a wide variety of inventive perspectives, taking us above the sailboat and under the waves.  One stunning spread shows the boat receiving some assistance from a herd of whales.  The bears argue and point fingers and then a raging storm adds some peril.  It all ends happily but the final line is also refreshingly startling.

Two Delights

A Pet for Fly Guy, written and illustrated by Tedd Arnold.  Fly Guy and his human owner Buzz have enjoyed major success as an easy reader series for years now.  Now they make their Picture Book Debut (cue trumpets) and the results are hilarious.  We see the inseparable couple playfully head off to enjoy a picnic in the park.  And in the park they see a bunch of people with their pets.  And in Tedd Arnold's wacky world, these are not ordinary pets, but kids hanging out such creatures as an octopus or a porcupine.  Fly Guy realizes that he too would like to pet, so it's off to the pet store.  Which pet will Fly Guy choose?  The story reaches a delightfully odd conclusion that is truly inspired.  I read to this several groups and the kids loved it.  Pair it up with Arnold's No Jumping on the Bed! and Huggly Takes a Bath.

Number One Sam, written and illustrated by Greg Pizzoli.  The 2014 Geisel winner (The Watermelon Seed) is back with this charmer about a race car-loving dog (team him up with Hot Rod Hamster, written by Cynthia Lord and illustrated by Derek Anderson) who loves to win!  Sam experiences extreme existential angst when he--gasps!--loses a race.  He spirals into the doldrums.  What I love about this book is its twist towards the end, which I do not want to spoil.  Let's just say this is bibliotherapy at its best, that Sam learns a lesson about the importance of doing good deeds, that some things are more important than winning, in a clever, sweet, child-friendly manner.  Go Sam Go!!!