Current & previous staff reviews (by year):
2008 Picture Books
Hen Hears Gossip (HarperCollins, April 2008 )
Hen loves gossip! When she overhears Cow whisper to Pig, she runs to tell Duck. Duck tells Goose who tells Turkey who runs to tell Hen that she is lazy, fat, and ate all the corn! This humorous book, reminiscent of the game "Telephone", traces the gossip to its incorrect conclusion and then back to its source–Cow's newborn calf.
The Apple Pip Princess (Candlewick, March 2008)
This is a beautifully written original fairytale.
Elephant & Piggie Books (Hyperion)
I Will Surprise My Friend (June 2008), I Love My New Toy (June 2008), Are You Ready to Play Outside? (October 2008)
These beginning reader books are great fun both as read-alouds and as beginning to read books. Full of Mo Willems' quirky humor and his simple but expressive artwork.
Bats at the Library (Houghton Mifflin, September 2008)
The bats flit into the darkened library through a window left ajar and after a little bit of rowdiness, they settle down to storytime. Lies pays homage to a number of great children's books and children's book illustrators in his bat versions of many recognizable images, including those of McClosky, N.C. Wyeth, and Clement Hurd.
Goodnight Goon: A Petrifying Parody (Penguin Putnam, August 2008)
Michael Rex has created a perfectly matched and monster-filled parody of the classic bedtime story by Margaret Wise Brown. Watch for Runaway Mummy due out this summer.
Grace for President (Hyperion, February 2008)
We saw a lot of books about elections and the presidency this past year, but Grace stands out from the rest. Grace decides she will be the United States' first female president and begins her political career in her own school's election. Clever illustrations translate the many tasks of the president to the lives of kids- one example being the president's duty to attend state funerals which shows Grace attending the funeral of a pet turtle. In addition, this book has a great explanation of the electoral college.
Grasshopper's Song: An Aesop's Fable Revisited (Candlewick, May 2008)
We all know the Aesop's fable about the grasshopper wasting his time singing while the ants do the hard work of preparing for winter. Now Grasshopper is suing for his share of the yield. This cleverly imagined court trial in defense of art and music presents both a thought-provoking defense of art as well as a great civics lesson about the procedure of a jury trial.
Bear Feels Scared (Simon & Schuster, August 2008)
This book is a great addition to the series of books that includes Bear Snores On, Bear Stays Up For Christmas, and Bear Wants More. The well-paced rhyming narrative combines with charming illustrations to create a book excellent for helping young children cope with their fears.
A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever (Harcourt Children's Books, March 2008)
James and Eamon are spending the week with James' grandparents Bill and Pam in this humorous and irreverent look at the pasttimes of friendship and family relationships. The official narration of the story is often in contrast to the clever illustrations and the boys' conversations- much like the text and illustration of Detective LaRue by Mark Teague.
The Hinky Pink: An Old Tale (Simon & Schuster, September 2008)
In this retelling of an old favorite, Anabel is a seamstress whose dream is to sew a dress for the princess. When her chance finally comes, she is tormented by an unhappy pinching hinky-pink. If she can't make the hinky-pink happy and get some sleep- she'll never achieve her dream.
I'm the Best Artist in the Ocean (Dial Books, June 2008)
Some of you may know Kevin Sherry and Jean-Baptiste Regnard's graphics company Squidfire with its shop in Hampden or you might remember Kevin's first book I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean. Either way, I'm the Best Artist in the Ocean is a fun tribute to art.
John Patrick Norman McHennessy: The Boy Who Was Always Late (Random House, originally published in 1987, reprinted July 2008)
John Patrick Norman McHennessy always set off in time to learn, unfortunately something unusual always happened to him on the way- crocodiles, lions, and tidal waves, but his professor never believed him and punished him for telling lies. This fun story is an excellent example of the subversive in children's picture books.
Ladybug Girl (Dial Books, March 2008)
Lulu's older brother might think she's too little to play with him, but he doesn't realize that Lulu is in fact Ladybug Girl brave adventurer and savior of ants.
The Little Yellow Leaf (HarperCollins, August 2008)
This beautifully illustrated book is a story about facing the unknown and the friends who help us take the leap.
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes (Harcourt, October 2008)
Mem Fox's pleasing poem and Helen Oxenbury's charming illustrations of babies celebrates babies all around the world. A wonderful gift for the expectant mother or older sibling.
Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears (Simon & Schuster, September 2008)
Little mouse is afraid of a lot of things: spiders (arachnophobia), shadows (sciaphobia), and loud noises (ligyrophobia) among many others. In addition to being quirky and humorous, the illustrations in this book are a masterpiece of creative graphic design.
Louise, The Adventures of a Chicken (HarperCollins, September 2008)
This book is the story of Louise, an adventurous not-so-chicken chicken and her travels in the wide world where she encounters marauding pirates, ferocious lions and mysterious strangers.
My Chincoteague Pony (Hyperion, June 2008)
This story of a girl's dream and hard work to buy a Chincoteague Pony, the townspeople's generosity when her funds prove not enough, and her determination to work just as hard the next year to help some other girl buy a pony of her own is inspiring and beautifully illustrated. (And it has local interest.)
Oops! (Simon & Schuster, March 2008)
Alan Katz is well-known for his child-friendly song parodies and has been a yearly guest on The Children's Bookstore Stage at the Baltimore Book Festival for the past few years. He's now put his hand to writing poetry for kids- this collection of poems is wonderfully funny, non-cynical yet non-sappy, and a great introduction to the joys of poetry for younger children (ages 5-8). The poems are accompanied by Edward Koren's well-known cartoon illustrations.
The Pencil (Candlewick, August 2008)
Pencil draws a smiling boy and names him Banjo, at the boy's request he draws and names an entire world as well as a paintbrush to color it in. When some of the drawings begin to complain about their details, pencil draws an eraser which proceeds to try and rub out everything. At the last minute, pencil draws a second eraser and the two rub each other out, then pencil redraws the world rubbed out by eraser.
The Retired Kid (Hyperion, June 2008)
Being a kid is hard work and after eight years Brian decides he needs a break and announces his retirement. He flies to Florida and joins the Happy Sunset Retirement Community. But Brian soon realizes retirement has its challenges, and he begins to remember some of the better parts of his old life. At last he realizes the job of being a kid wasn't so bad after all and he returns to work.
United Tweets of America: 50 State Birds Their Stories, Their Glories (Penguin Putnam, May 2008)
Each page of this book is a miniature masterpiece of beautiful artwork, humor, and information about states and about birds. Each bird has its own distinct personality true to its natural behavior and the birds often interact with each other across and through pages.
Traction Man Meets TurboDog (Knopf Books for Young Readers, September 2008)
After Traction Man's adventure in a knitted green onesie, he became a favorite superhero. In this new adventure Traction Man's brave pet and sidekick Scrubbing Brush is tossed in the trash as unhygienic and replaced with a rather stupid battery-operated TurboDog. But Traction Man isn't afraid of germs or danger and he dives into the trashcan to rescue Scrubbing Brush from the Evil Bin Things.
Wonderbear (Dial Books, September 2008)
Tao Nyeu has created a wondrous wordless adventure that two children have when Wonderbear climbs out of the bloom of a magical plant. Tao Nyeu's illustration have a magical unrealism that is charming and fresh.
Sandy's Circus A Story About Alexander Calder (Viking Juvenile, September 2008)
This is the story of Alexander Calder's circus, the original of which is on permanent display at the Whitney Museum in New York City.
Story Blanket (Peachtree, September 2008)
This is a beautifully illustrated book about storytelling, charity, sharing, and knitting.
That Book Woman (Simon & Schuster, October 2008)
This book is a tribute to a special part of American History- the Pack Horse Librarians who were the first bookmobiles, riding books up into the Appalachian Mountains in any kind of weather.
Too Many Toys (Scholastic, October 2008)
Most of us can recognize this problem. Spencer has too many toys, dad trips on them, mom falls over them, the house is full of junk and it's time to give some of those toys away- but it's so hard to decided which ones to part with. Ultimately Spencer finds the one toy he can't part with is the box where he is putting the giveaways. Another tribute to the everlasting toy of the imagination: the cardboard box.
Turtle's Penguin Day (Knopf Books for Young Readers, August 2008)
After Turtle's dad reads him a book about penguins, turtle decides he wants to be a penguin- when he tells his classmates about penguins they want to be penguins too and they all spend their day behaving like penguins. Turtle thinks he'd like being a penguin every day, but that night his dad has a new book to read. . . all about monkeys.
Woolbur (HarperCollins, January 2008)
Woolbur's parents are worried- Woolbur just isn't like the other sheep in his flock. Grandpa tells them not to worry but they can't help themselves and they keep encouraging Woolbur to follow the flock. But Woolbur has his own ideas and soon the flock is following Woolbur. This book is a tribute to individuality.
Violet the Pilot (Dial Books, March 2008)
Violet is a whiz at fixing things and by the age of eight she is building flying machines. She hopes to earn the respect of her classmates by winning the blue ribbon at the upcoming Air Show, but her bestever invention might turn out much more useful.