Picture Book of the Day: The Long, Long Line

Picture Book of the Day:  The Long, Long Line, by Tomoko Ohmura

This joyous book sparks curiosity right from the start.  We see 50 animals waiting in line...for what?  What's the surprise?  Ohmura treats us to a reverse counting book, we countdown from 50 to 1.  As a little bird flies overhead, the animals engage in word games and exchanges to keep themselves occupied.  Ohmura keeps throwing in twists to the action:  a traffic jam is caused by a sheep afraid of an animal we cannot see.  When we flip the page, we see a wolf turned back, licking its licks.  A hyena with googly eyes plays peek-a-boo to charm a crying kangaroo joey.  And pensive creatures take part in a goofy Word Chain game to pass the time.  The animals' expressions are comical and delightful.  And what's great is the book has a wonderful payoff:  the animals wait in line...for something extremely cool.  This exhilarating charmer will invite repeat visits.
 

Some Great Picture Books of 2013 (so far)

Some Great Picture Books of 2013 (so far)

 2013 so far has been a great year for picture books.  In earlier posts I sung the praises of the hilarious Count the Monkeys (written by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Kevin Cornell), the divine Flora and the Flamingo (written and illustrated by Molly Idle), and the cozy nighttime romp  Steam Train, Dream Train (written by Sherri Rinker, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld).  And we still have more excellent books from Peter Brown (Mr. Tiger Goes Wild), David Wiesner (will Mr. Wuffles earn him yet another Caldecott Award?), among others, on the way. 

 

It's time to catch our breath and look at a mere sampling of the fun books that came out in the first 7 months of 2013.   First off, Lizi Boyd's exquisite Inside, Outside is a striking wordless innovative achievement that follows a child through the seasons.  Thanks to clever design and die cuts, we see inside when we're outside the house, and vice versa.  The book is a gentle delight.  I wouldn't be surprised if Boyd receives some year-end Caldecott love for this charming, intricate book. 

For pure hilarity, nothing beats the great David Ezra Stein's Ol' Mama Squirrel in which a mother squirrel tells anyone--no matter how big and small--in no uncertain terms if you come near her kids you're in trouble, buddy.  Stein's hilarious artwork (he's a master of comic timing) is also impressive in its detail--readers love watching the mother squirrel in action, chattering and chirping in a menacing manner.  This joins Interrupting Chicken as one of his very best books.

 

Another fun and inventive book is Mordicai Gerstein's How to Bicycle to the Moon to Plant Sunflowers.  A child decides he will perform the titular task and hilarity ensues.  What's amazing about the book is how suspenseful it is.  Even when the events become, uh, outlandish to say the least, readers will be hooked:  will he be able to do it?  Watching the plan come together delights.

 

A joyful addition to the bedtime shelf is Marcellus Hall's delightful Everyone Sleeps in which a bubble-eyed little pooch cannot fall asleep.  The poor canine creature frets, hearing its family's zzzzzzs, worried that sleep will never come.  The dog starts thinking about a wide variety of animals dozing and snoozing, and a lesson follows about how various species sleep.  Hall's lulling rhymes perfectly complement his amusing illustrations of horses who sleep standing up, and snoring snakes who sleep lying down.  The dog's looks of surprise amuse.  A surprise ending reveals that the dog isn't alone in its nocturnal quest for rest. 

 

One of the most exciting books of the year is Eva Moore's Lucky Ducklings, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter.  This tale, based on actual events, pays homage to  Make Way for Ducklings, following the journey of a mother duckwith five ducklings in tow.  After the quacking quintet fall through a storm drain though, it takes a bunch of humans to help her (much to her chagrin).  Watching the community come together to save these feathered creatures is delightful.  And listeners love the fact that the mother, not understanding that people are helping her, quacks up a storm, threatening them like a certain mama squirrel we just discussed. 

Classic Picture Book of the Day: My Friend Rabbit

Classic Picture Book of the Day:  My Friend Rabbit, written and illustrated by Eric Rohmann

I recently had the pleasure of taking part in the ALSC member profile for the ALSC blog.  One of the questions asked was "What is your favorite Caldecott book?"  I have so many favorites (Where the Wild Things Are, The Snowy Day, Kitten's First Full Moon, others), but I have a personal connection to Rohmann's wondrous, slapstick-packed tale of a well-meaning rabbit who always causes problems for his mouse friend.  When I first saw this book I predicted it would win the Caldecott.  And at a library-related reception, months before the award was announced, I made my prediction to Mr. Rohmann himself (whom I had just met).  He was completely surprised by my prediction.  After the Caldecott winner was announced that morning, we spoke and I laughed and said "told you so."  It was very cool.  Personal anecdote aside, this book simply rocks--not only as a one-on-one book, but also incredibly well as a storytime favorite.  Yes, it seems simple at first glance but those woodcuts, upon further inspection, are actually quite intricate.  Every time I go through the book it feels like an advenutre--the plane goes into the tree, mouse cries, rabbit helps by dragging an assortment of animals much larger than him to make a tower.  After the tower of animals tumbles, it looks pretty grim for rabbit but mouse comes to save the day.  What's great about the book, other than its effortless artistic quality, is it has a great sense of humor.  Note that the hippo sleeps through the entire escapade for example. 

    

Picture Book of the Day: Steam Train, Dream Train

Picture Book of the Day:  Steam Train, Dream Train, by Sherri Duskey Rinker and Tom Lichtenheld

Tom Lichtenheld simply is one of the best illustrators working today.  Everything from his glorious "you can do it" tale Cloudette to his rollicking collaboration with Chris Barton, the hilarious  Shark Vs. Train, delights.  Throw in his books with Amy Krouse Rosenthal (including the mind-teasing Duck! Rabbit!) for more fun.  Steam Train, Dream Train works wonders as a bedtime story and a celebration of trains.  This cozy, atmospheric story serves as a worthy follow-up to the very successful Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site, also by Lichtenheld and Sherri Duskey Rinker.  In Steam, a dedicated animal crew works on the night shift on the railroad.  A nice, bumpy, bouncy rhyming text mimics the sound of a moving train.  Lichtenheld's illustrations capture the antics of hard-working monkeys, dinosaurs, elephants, and others who engage in tasks that appeal to young readers (the hopper car is being loaded with basketballs, the reefer car with ice cream!!!).  Of course the animals become very very sleepy after such a hard night's work and they all start drifting off to dreamland.  Perfect for train storytimes, animal storytimes, and pajama time storytimes.

 

   



Storytime Classic: Go Away, Big Green Monster!

Storytime Classic:  Go Away, Big Green Monster!, written and illustrated by Ed Emberley

Every once in a while I will profile a book that is a surefire winner for me in storytime.  And Emberley's great, interactive, colorful book deserves to kick this series off.  This is one of those classics that has children yelling "Again! Again!" when you finish.  I have read this book a kazillion times (yes, a kazillion times) to a kazillion different groups and it has never failed to impress me with its ability to win over a crowd.  The children tremble with excitement as the monster becomes assembled--each page turn introduces a new part of the monster's face (big red mouth, scraggly purple hair, and not to mention that long bluish-greenish nose).  I have the kids count the sharp white teeth!  Then with joy they yell "Go Away!" to each dastardly facial feature.  Thanks to the book's brilliant design, a flip of the page makes that facial feature magically disappear.  When the monster goes away, the kids shout "AND DON'T COME BACK!" followed by the ultimate kid power moment, "Until I say so."  This book rocks.

Picture Book of the Day: Little Mouse

Little Mouse, written and illustrated by Alison Murray

As they quietly cuddle and read a book together, a mom calls her daughter "her little mouse."  But oh this girl is much more than that and this imaginative, interactive gem proves it!  Encouraging young listeners to roar, howl, and stomp, the narrator shows how she is anything but a little mouse:  she can make herself tall as a giraffe, trumpet like an elephant, scare off a lion, and chomp like a hungry horse.  Murray's nifty, crystal clear drawings capture this pint-sized dynamo in her full glory.  And if you look closely you will see a mice imagery on every spread.  Lo and behold, the book sneakily becomes a bedtime story, with the girl enjoying a bath, slipping on her pjs, and then happily cuddling up with mom like a little mouse as she falls cozily to sleep.

Picture Book of the Day: Monsters Love Colors

Monsters Love Colors, written and illustrated by Mike Austin

This vibrant introduction to mixing primary colors to make other supercool colors stars a bunch of crayon-wielding monsters who love to mix, mash, squish, and squash.  They also like to wiggle and dance, too.  The red, yellow, and blue monsters roar and growl, and perhaps even eat a crayon or two.  But most of all they love to join forces and turn their petite grayish monster pals into brand new colors.  Austin's joyful scribbles fill the page as new colorful monsters--green!  orange! purple!--emerge from the captivating chaos.  Young readers pick up right away that the littlest monster is getting a bum deal, being ignored by its peers.  However, a nice surprise ending finds that monster getting the mega color treatment it deserves!  Pair this up with Alan Baker's great White Rabbit's Color Book and Ashley Wolff's lovely Baby Bear Sees Blue for a colorful storytime.