Tag Archives: picture book

A Sweet New Year for Ren

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written by Michelle Sterling; illustrated by Dung Ho

Ren jumps out of bed, ready for a busy day in preparation for Lunar New Year. She wonders if she is old enough this year to help her family make the special foods or decorations for the festivities. She asks to join family members in their tasks – Baba with decorations, Mama and Uncle Jian with the dumplings and Auntie Weili with the noodles. It’s not going to happen this year, because she’s too small. But, things change when her brother, Charlie, enters the home. He patiently shows her how to make the traditional pineapple cakes, rolling, patting baking and sometimes, cleaning up a little mess. The cakes turn out beautifully and are part of a wonderful family Lunar New Year celebration. At the end, there is a recipe for those special pineapple cakes. Yum!

Bright cartoon-like illustrations accompany simple text in this wonderful book about an event that is culturally significant to many people around the world. An author’s note discusses the holiday and her connection to it, while the recipe at the end of the book is an invitation to join the festivities. Highly recommended for those libraries looking to increase their diverse literature selection.

All by Himself?

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written by Elana K. Arnold and illustrated by Giselle Potter

A child builds a masterpiece with some beautiful colored painted blocks and he does it all by himself. Or does he? This cumulative tale tells the story of the this boy’s masterpiece starting with the tree farmer, who plants a seedling many years before. An arborist cares for it and a woodcutter falls the mature tree. A woodworker carves blocks which are then painted by an artist. This artist packs them up and a driver delivers them to a toy store. The shopkeeper displays the blocks and they are purchased by a grandma, who brings them home to the child and he builds a masterpiece! Then it goes back to the beginning.

This story builds upon itself and is accompanied by watercolor and ink illustrations. Text is simple and repetitive. Students will jump in and “read along” as the story unfolds. While the story is cumulative, it also circles back to the beginning, which will be fun for the reader to follow.

Captain Cat Goes to Mars

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by Emma J. Virjan

Captain Cat and his friend, Pilot Matt, fly their spaceship to Mars. They meet some friendly aliens there and explore the surface of the planet. A storm comes up and they wait it out with their new friends and some yummy snacks. Unfortunately, the storm tips over their spaceship, which cracks it. Their alien friends save the day with some glue and tools. The intrepid astronauts take off and their new friends follow behind.

This book, part of the Ready to Read series, is a very accessible story, with simple text that rhymes that are not overwhelming for the beginning reader. Engaging illustrations make it even more fun. Add this to your collection for those newly minted readers in your school.

The New Rooster

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by Rilla Alexander

Rooster has just arrived in his new home to start his new job – waking the guests of the ZZZ Hotel. He awakens and gives his signature  “OCKCAY AWAY OODLEDAY OODAY.” No one wakes up! He tries using a megaphone and just gets protests in a variety of languages before the other animals go back to sleep. Deciding he isn’t cut for this job, he prepares to leave. He doesn’t want to travel on an empty stomach, so he cooks breakfast. The smell of the wonderful food rouses the sleepy animals, who rush share this delicious fare and thank Rooster. He doesn’t understand their languages, but he has discovered a way to connect – by sharing! The story ends with an illustration containing Rooster’s new business,  “OCKCAY AWAY OODLEDAY OODAY DINER”.

This boldly illustrated book is a fine addition to any library, telling a story of a newcomer who finds his passion in his new home and discovers a way to connect to others. A sweet, fun immigration story that students will enjoy. They might even want to try Rooster’s language – pig Latin!

Another Squiggly Story by Andrew Larson

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A young student has a problem. His teacher, Mr. Lopez, assigns the task of writing an autobiography. First of all, what is that? His classmates get right to work. His best friend, Marcus, loves hats and Alia wants to write about vampires, because she thinks about them all the time.

He is stuck! But, his sister comes to the rescue, telling him about her autobiography and reassuring him when he makes mistakes (it’s ok, you can edit). In class, the writing continues, with brainstorming , lists and first proofs. The boy continues his writing journey with a title, cover and more editing. The story ends with an addition to his list of “Things I Want to Be” – an author.

This is a fantastic book for kickstarting the writing process for young students. Appropriate vocabulary and simple illustrations make it a quick read and great discussion starter. I appreciate that the young boy works through his frustration and learns as he goes along. We have all been in that same place in our own writing journey. His friend, Marcus, adapts his autobiography into a comic style piece, noting that “drawing is easier than writing for me”. What a great representation of the reality of writing for so many kids. And, we can infer that the teacher is accepting of this change, since Marcus proudly shows his work-in-progress to the young writer. Use this book to introduce some of the elements of the writing process as well as the concept of autobiographies. Highly Recommended

Pugs Cause Traffic Jams by Jennifer McGrath

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Kirby, the pug, is missing! As his owner searches the town for her errant puppy, the reader sees Kirby causing all kinds of problems in the streets. Each page is full of color and life and different breeds of dogs. Kirby’s owner notes each breed’s characteristic. For example, “Huskies are singers”. And, “Samoyeds just smile and smile”. Finally, we find Kirby at the end, somehow turning all these traffic jams into a street party, complete with red carpet and cake.

This is a fun romp of a story with lots of dogs. Pugs are the current stars of many popular picture books and this one will be equally popular with younger readers. Busy illustrations are engaging and fun. And, the author is pretty spot on with the breeds’ personalities. Recommended.

I Will! by Juana Medina

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This is a book of fourteen affirmations for young students. Each double page spread has hand-lettered words on one side and an accompanying illustration on the other. Characters are diverse in ethnicity and ability and the illustrations are digitally rendered in bright colors, which is very engaging for the target audience.

Affirmations are split between those that help others and those that are more self reflective. Examples include “I will help those in need and ask for help when I need it”. This book will be very useful for discussion with young children about being the best they can be to themselves and others. And, as the story says “I will join with you to make this a better world for everyone”. Recommended

Waiting for Mama by Gianna Marino

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This is a story about the life of an emperor penguin chick, mostly told from inside the egg. The chick and father await mama’s return from feeding with the egg mostly tucked under the father’s belly on his feet. The chick describes what he hears and feels from inside the egg until near the end of the story when he “CRACK” comes out of his shell to greet his father and returning mother.

This simple story with its warmly colored illustrations gives some great details about the emperor penguin interwoven with the flow of the story. Young students will be learning without even realizing it. An author’s note expands on the information given in the story, which will certainly lead to further research for many interested young penguin enthusiasts. Recommended

The Rainbow Hunters by Andrea Farotto

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Bill is on a rainbow hunt and as he begins his adventure, he is joined by three friends. Each adds something – butterfly net, candy and so forth. They travel in every direction yet don’t find the end of the rainbow or treasure. They do find something even better – a wonderful day with friends full of adventure (and a bonus white dog that they name Cheesecake, or is it Coconut?). The story ends with Bill setting out on another hunt, this time for Bigfoot and the story continues…

This wonderful story is all about the fun of being with friends and having an adventure outside. The goal, like the gold at the end of the rainbow, might not be achieved. But, it is the journey and its excitement that is the the memorable byproduct. Young readers will identify with the four friends as they turn here and there during their quest. And, they will certainly agree that the most fun part is is the hunt itself.

Text is appropriate for young readers and illustrations are simple and bright. Characters are diverse. Recommended.

Princess Unlimited by Jacob Sager Weinstein

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In a major swerve away from your typical “princess” stories, Princess Susan is the heroine of the day. This young princess has very caring parents, who spend all the royal gold on sparkles and frilly dresses for her. Unfortunately, that means that their knights are woefully unprepared to fight the dragon that comes to town and destroys everything. All they have are hedgehogs, mops and other inadequate armaments. Princess Susan takes on a job as a scullery maid in the castle to earn gold for swords and stuff. But, there’s no gold to pay her, just lemons. So, she and her new friend, Eleanor (a real scullery maid), start a lemonade business. They get lots of gold, only to have the king and queen buy MORE frilly dresses and sparkles. Ever the problem-solver, Princess Susan takes Eleanor to take on the dragon themselves with some sparkles and a contract. All ends well, with the dragon joining their new business, providing dragon breath heat to a few thousand customers. Her parents are so thrilled that they get her some business cards.

Princess Susan is a spunky, bright royal, who doesn’t have a problem rolling up her frilly sleeves and getting to work. Her sidekicks, Eleanor and Max (her faithful pup) do a great job of keeping up with her and end up with their own business cards (so does the dragon). It’s nice to see a princess story where the princess saves the day. And, it’s even nicer to see her parents encourage her ingenuity and business acumen.

The story flows nicely and the accompanying illustrations are vibrant and move the story along. This book is a wonderful addition to school libraries, where young readers clamor for the newest “princess” books. It might just make them think outside the box just like Princess Susan did!