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.

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.