It’s a good discussion starter book around numbers and observation. A concept book about counting, it doesn’t come right out and tell the reader what is to be counted. Photos of familiar objects are presented, each of which offer several compositional elements that could be counted, leaving it up to the observer to share what they see. Sets of pictures with similar components open up discussion for the concepts of same v. different and change as well.

Well, I’m only familiar with three of the twenty-six artists discussed in this book, and I guess the main problem is that I still don’t feel very familiar with the other twenty-three. For each artists, a brief paragraph (three or four sentences) tells a bit about their preferred medium and/or themes, but the art in the book is dominated by the artistic style of the illustrator, rather than highlighting the actual art of the artists being discussed.

I want to like it more than I do. The illustrations are cute. It tells the story of a snail who’s convinced by his friend that it’s time to start looking for a new home, and expand his world beyond the bucket of strawberries where he’s been spending all his time. As they head out on their search, Snail spots the apple orchard right away, and is drawn to the bright red fruit, but Ladybug warns him about the danger of the chicken coop that lies between. While Ladybug is intent on wanting to show him a whole list of places, Snail continues to be drawn by the apple orchard, and sets off on his own, nearly falling into the clutches of the chicken. It’s fine. It just didn’t have anything about it that really grabbed me.

To be honest, it’s not my favorite of the Jack books. When I heard the author speak about the Jack books, he shared that it’s a very deliberate choice to avoid having his books fit the moralistic tale model that so many children’s books follow, and I appreciate that Jack is in general a bit of a trickster character who is less that perfect. That’s what makes him likable. But in this one he catches the bank robber in the act, and then turns around and steals one of the bags of loot himself. I thought that went a little too far.

It’s a beginning reader, with controlled and repetitive text, intended for beginning readers. The sentences are intentionally short, with a simple structure, and the danger in these type of books is trying to not let things get too stilted. Often authors will use rhythm or rhyme to avoid this. Instead, these books depend on the combination of illustrations with the text to give them humor and personality that lend voice to the short sentences.

This is a very real and relatable story. Set in New York City, it tells what it’s like when a beloved dog gets spooked and runs off, and the worry and efforts its family goes through in hope of bringing it home. Besides describing the family’s work to make and post fliers and conduct searches, it shows how the whole neighborhood community came together to help. Spoiler alert: after being missing for two nights and three days, there is indeed a happy ending, and a celebration including all those who cared. I particularly like the people in these illustrations: though drawn with a somewhat cartoonish style, they each include details that give them personality, making them seem very real and believable.

It’s a compilation of short stories, all with the same main characters. Each story focuses on introducing some “big word,” giving it context, along with a little side note actually defining it. The final story is one that incorporates all five of the words introduced in the previous stories. I wouldn’t say the stories show extreme literary merit, but they do the job they are setting out to do: introducing new vocabulary words within a context that goes beyond a plain definition.

I’m generally a fan of Kathleen Krull’s work anyway, and this one didn’t disappoint. She has a way of writing biographies in a very approachable manner, including lots of information while really just telling a story. I think this book is very timely these days, too, as it shares the story of someone on the forefront of the movement to empower women, and it also brings out the themes of righting the wrongs we see in our society. My whole life I’ve heard of the New Deal in conjunction with FDR, but this book showed me it wasn’t all his idea; he just agreed to back the ideas of Frances Perkins.

It’s a beautifully illustrated poem celebrating the seasons through color. Beginning with Spring, it proceeds through the seasons, focusing on a specific color attached to each season, partnered with the consistency of green throughout the year (yellow on green for spring, blue on green for summer, brown on green for autumn and white on green for winter). Between each season the text pauses for a two-page wordless spread with clues to what season comes next, offering readers an opportunity to make predictions. The illustrations are gorgeous!

I’m not saying it’s super strong on plot. It basically tells of a small group of kids who decide to fix up a derelict clock tower. But the language is fun, full of sound effects and rhyme and rhythm. And the illustrations are beautiful, showing the transformation through a lot of different perspectives. And I like that it instills in kids that notion of putting for the effort to fix problems in our community by pitching in with others. It kind of implies that three kids finished the whole job in one day by 5 o’clock quitting time, which could never really happen, but oh well. I liked it.