Tag Archives: picture book

The Bear Must Go on

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Bear and his friends (Squirrel, Other Squirrel and Rabbit) work together to prepare a really big show for their forest friends. This includes a sparkly curtain, tiny hats for birds and shiny tickets. Bear keeps meticulous notes as the self-appointed “note taker”, because he does not want to perform (he’s nervous). Frenzied preparations ensue and bear takes lots of notes. The big night arrives and all the forest creatures are waiting in the audience. There’s one problem, though. They forgot to write a show! Oh, no!!!

Luckily, Bear comes through and mentions that he has a song that he created. They beg him to perform and he finally agrees. The forest creatures love it! The show is a success! Thanks goodness for Bear.

The story moves along at a quick pace, helped along by the illustrations, some in comic panel-like sequences. Colors are bright and energetic and Bear’s notes are front and center a few times, which help with the busyness of the story. Bear’s nervousness is acknowledged and his bravery in going up to the stage to sing is noted. Maybe, this story will encourage some human friends to work together and put on a show! Recommended.

The Piano Recital

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Momo is nervously awaiting her turn on stage at her first piano recital. As she repeats to herself “I’ll be ok”, she looks down and sees a small mouse saying the same words. The mouse tells Momo that she has a recital as well and invites her new friend to come watch. Momo follows the mouse to a wonderful concert hall filled with an audience of attentive mice and an incredible array of performers. There are mouse magicians, dancers, singers and an orchestra. They fill the concert hall with color and excitement. Finally, it is the mouse’s turn to perform and Momo offers to accompany her on the piano. They finish the piece and as Momo stands to take a bow, she looks out and realizes that she has just performed at her own recital!

What a beautiful book that is filled with imagination! Momo expresses the nervousness that many children feel at some point in their lives and that nervousness is alleviated in a sweet, magical way. Charcoal and pencil illustrations with a hint of color in the right places are a beautiful accompaniment to a sweet story. Recommended.

Good Guys, Bad Guys

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A pair of siblings that seem so different start their day – one grouchy and messy, the other happy and squeaky clean. They play with their respective groups, the “good guys’ and “bad guys”, throughout a day filled with imagination and fun. Near the end of the day, their paths converge and they retreat to their respective homes, tired and happy. The siblings wave goodbye to their friends and head to bed, agreeing to switch places tomorrow for a new day of fun and imagination.

This book is brimming with joy and play as a wonderful mixture of kids use their imagination to make the day so fun. Characters are diverse and the play is full of action and dramatic play. Colors are vivid and there is movement in the illustrations that enhances the short, rhyming text. Young readers will see themselves in the story. Or, at the very least, glean some awesome ideas for their own playtime! Recommended.

A Stopwatch from Grampa

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This is a sweet, heartfelt story about a child, who feels very deeply the loss of his grandfather. They were buddies and a stopwatch that he is holding (his grandfather’s) is a symbol of their shared memories. The child is honest, though and says, “I don’t want his stopwatch. I want him.” He tosses the item into a drawer and time seems to drag on, dark and lonely. Seasons pass and he finds his grandpa’s watch again. Now, it brings him happy memories, about which he can begin to smile. He starts to use it again and includes his younger sibling in timing some of the same things he did with grandpa.

The story is lovely and a realistic portrayal of the grief that a child feels about the passing of a loved one. Soft, gentle illustrations add to the melancholic tone of the words, with just the right amount of color. The child’s face is expressive and matches the feelings that he expresses. Highly recommended. This will lead to very meaningful discussions when needed.

The Perfectly Perfect Wish

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The girl finds a golden coin, with the words NO WISHING FOR MORE WISHES engraved on it. She spends the day at school dreaming about the one wish she has. Asking friends what they would wish for makes her realize that she already has everything she really wants and the extras can be earned through hard work or time. She then makes a truly wonderful wish – a wish that everyone else’s wish would come true. And, in the end, we see that everyone she asks receives their special wishes. Her teacher get the house she wishes for, her wheelchair bound friend gets a dog and her friend, Mark, has his military dad come home.

This warm, sweet story is a testament to generosity and empathy and will make kids really think hard about what their wishes might be. Soft grey colors with vivid shots of color at the right moments in the story move it along and give importance to important parts of the story.

Characters are diverse and the illustrations work into the story beautifully. This is definitely a book to purchase!

Castle of Books

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Castle of Books explores all the answers to the question “Why do we need books?”. Spare text and flowing, colorful illustrations give reasons from the realistic “to observe” to the more esoteric “to grow” and “to lose ourselves”. Everything about this book encourages the reader to think to himself “Why do I need books?” and proceed to the many answers he will have!

You Loves Ewe!

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Dim-witted Donkey has so much difficulty with homonyms! And, there are plenty in this book, which is a follow-up to I Yam a Donkey! by Cece Bell.

Donkey comes up to two characters and greets them as fellow donkeys. Yam corrects him and introduces new friend, Ewe, to Donkey, who replies “That is ME? I yam so cute and fluffy!” And, the comical repartee ensues. Yam tries to be helpful. But, he tends to make things more difficult by showing Donkey signs and examples of Doe/Dough, Moose/Mousse and Hare/Hair. The story ends with Ewe professing her love for Ram over Yam (“Eye Dew”) and a tearful Yam being consoled by his buddy, Donkey. Oh, My!

Bright illustrations organized in blocky comic book style accompany text in word bubbles. Young readers may not understand all the comical missteps on their own. But, this is a great introduction to homonyms and can be useful as a teaching tool as well.

The Three Billy Goats Buenos

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This is a sweet, fresh, bilingual version of the classic Three Billy Goats Gruff. In this story, three brother goats put their heads together to come up with a plan to get past the grumpy troll, where just over the bridge is the most delicious grass. One by one, they pass by the troll, extolling the superior flavor of the next goat in line. The last goat, though, wonders why the troll is so grumpy. That is when he notices the troll’s sore toe with a thorn in it. He mobilizes his brother goats and he pulls out the thorn while they prepare a poultice of herbs to soothe the offending toe. The troll is so happy that she allows them free access the the bridge and declares them all amigos.

Susan Middleton Elya (author) and Miguel Ordonez (illustrator) have taken the story to new heights with a mix of Spanish and English and a dose of cuteness in the three billy goats, with their big eyes and adorable horns. The troll is a big, blue and cartoon-like. So, she’s not really scary, even though she wants to eat the goats. The colors are bright and the story flows rather lyrically.

This is a good read-aloud, with the Spanish words in a glossary in the front, containing pronunciation and meaning. The value of teamwork, empathy and friendship will be a great discussion point with the book. Highly recommended.

Letter Town

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Letter B is a bus driver that takes us on a ride through Letter Town, where two page spreads are dedicated to all things related to a particular letter of the alphabet. The letters themselves are actively engaged – one G is golfing while another is grocery shopping. The illustrations are bright, lively and full of activity. The bus meanders through town, picking up and dropping off letters as it goes. The story ends with Letter B putting the bus away at the end of a long day. And, Deputy D is helping Robber R return all the items he stole.

The end papers are filled with the letters’ words that the reader must find for each one. Young students will enjoy reading and seeking in this wonderfully colorful Letter Town.

My Tiny Pet

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When a young girl’s parents decide to simplify and downsize from their “ginormous” house with its (very) many pets, she worries that her pet-owning days are over. She learns about some wonderful new “pets” in her science class, organisms such as nematodes, paramecia and, her favorite, tardigrade (water bear). She makes a case for this new pet and her parents agree. The little girl is thrilled, because she can take her new pet anywhere – even to a new, smaller home!

This book introduces many discussion-worthy ideas that can lead in many different directions – research, narrative writing, art and science, to name a few. What does pet ownership entail? How many pets are too many? What are the many microscopic organisms around us? Can we collect and observe some of those organisms?

Text is spare and the illustrations are lively and colorful. The final page has a photo of the tardigrade and an author’s note with more information. Wow! This book is a great addition to your collection, simply due to its versatility and usefulness as a teaching tool. Plus, the kids will love the little critters inside. Highly recommended.