Author: themermaidtale25535931

Wordless picture book Sea of Dreams by Dennis Nolan is a beautiful work of art that draws you in from its cover with a boat on the crest of a wave and doesn’t let you go until the last page’s sandcastle.  Published in 2011 by Roaring Brook Press, this book is aimed at children ages 4-7, but anyone interested in art and its capacity to tell stories will delight in its pages.  The pictures tell the story of a young girl who builds a sandcastle on the beach and the tiny family who must vacate that sandcastle at night when the tide comes in. The seagull present throughout the story, the return of the little girl to build a taller sandcastle, the light on again at the end of the story…all of these elements leave the reader wondering what happens to the little family, and the lack of text enables the reader to come up with her own interpretation.  Both the story’s realistic and imaginative elements, such as mermaids riding seahorses, are rendered in vibrant, richly saturated hues capable of drawing a reader of any age into this imaginative look at what happens after you head home from a day at the beach, the sandcastle that you built still standing.

Picture book A is for Abigail: An Almanac of Amazing American Women, written by Lynne Cheney and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser, is an alphabet book presenting noteworthy American women to readers ages 6-12.  Published in 2003 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, the book’s rich details will draw readers in, as there is so much in both the text and illustrations to explore.  The colors and beautiful designs of the pages are enticing, especially the gatefold for the letter P: a curtain stage that reveals a bevy of American female performers. There is so much information packed onto each page that it is a bit visually overwhelming at times, particularly the B page for “Elizabeth Blackwell and others who wanted to heal” as you have to read around triangular pictures to learn about each woman featured.  That fact aside, this text contains a wealth of knowledge that would make a wonderful support for an elementary or middle school history class. Through this text, children will be introduced in an exciting way to many American women whose lives ought to be remembered and modeled.

Picture book Z is for Moose, written by Kelly Bingham and illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky, is a zany story of an impatient moose and his friend zebra, who is organizing an ABC presentation.  Published by Greenwillow Books in 2012, this book is one that is aimed at children ages 4-6, but children of all ages (including those just young at heart) will delight in this silly story, maybe even learning some letters of the alphabet along the way.  The book’s delightfully funny illustrations begin on the endpapers, where we see a moose holding up a curtain, standing in a line of animals before a zebra with a clipboard saying, “Okay, everyone. Let’s get ready.” We continue to be ushered into this world through the acknowledgement and title pages until we see an apple climbing a set of stairs to be the first feature in zebra’s alphabet show.  A, B, C…the book is moving along as expected until “D is for Moose,” a page on which a duck is falling off the back of the stage and zebra is scolding moose for being on the wrong page. The hijinks continue from there until zebra finds a way to work his friend into an unexpected place. While this is not necessarily an alphabet book for caretakers hoping for a clear illustration of each letter and a corresponding word with which to teach their children (the spread for O, P, and Q is trampled upon by a frustrated moose), the humor and unexpected nature of the story make it a fun read for storytime as children squeal with delight, “D is not for Moose!!”

Print picture book Leave Me Alone!, written and illustrated by Vera Brosgol, is a humorous look at balancing one’s love for family with a need for peace and quiet.  Told over 18 spreads and 48 pages, this 2017 Caldecott Honor book is written for preschool-2nd graders, but I’m certain that adults will get as much, if not more, enjoyment out of the text as the children to whom they are reading.

At the beginning of this story, we’re introduced to an old woman who lives in a little house with a big family.  Winter is coming, so she’s trying to get her knitting done, but she can’t find the time or space to do it.  So, she leaves her house to find some peace and quiet.  Her epic journey to be left alone to finish her knitting ensues, ultimately leading her into a wormhole in space.  At the end of the story, she returns home to her family with her 30 knitted sweaters.

I appreciate this book’s use of negative space and the placement of text in relation to the pictures.  I love the spread with the grandchildren curious about her knitting.  The illustrations of the children unraveling balls of yarn are wrapped around the text of the children’s questions about the yarn.  The next spread has a single sentence, “The old woman was at the end of her rope.” with a picture of the old woman staring a single red line on the ground.

Brosgol uses patterned language, repetition, and predictability to tell her story.  For instance, the old woman’s actions to get ready to go on her journey to be alone are the same actions she takes as she prepares to leave the wormhole and head back to her family.  Also, each time the old woman finds a new place to knit, the text tells us where she walked to, what she did before sitting down to knit, what interrupts her, and her response of “Leave me alone!”  This increases the humor of the text, as her many attempts to find solitude are foiled and she must go to ridiculous lengths to find it.

This book would make a fun storytime read, but I wonder if it appeals more to adults reading this text to children than to the children themselves. Kids may find it humorous seeing how far the grandmother goes to be alone, but they may also identify with the children who have been left alone and be concerned. Adults, however, will find this story all too relatable. What caretaker hasn’t needed a moment of peace and quiet?

Print picture book One Cool Friend, written by Toni Buzzeo and illustrated by David Small, is a humorous story of the mischievous antics of Elliot, a young boy who befriends and brings home a penguin.  Over 14 spreads and 40 pages, this 2013 Caldecott Honor book is aimed at children in kindergarten-3rd grade, but adults will be equally, if not more so, amused by Elliot and his penguin friend.

At the beginning of the story, we are introduced to Elliot, a formal young man whose father has just invited him to go the aquarium, where he puts a penguin in his backpack to bring home.  Elliot takes care of the penguin at home, escaping the notice of his father, who is too distracted by reading to notice what his son is doing. At the end of the story, Elliot’s father discovers the penguin his son has brought home, and the reader is surprised to learn something about Elliot’s father.

What I love about this book is the way that the illustrations reveal things to the reader that the text alone does not. For instance, when Elliot asks his father for a penguin at the aquarium, his father hands him a $20 bill.  The text just reads Elliot asking for a penguin.  The illustrations show Elliot’s father, who’s been reading an issue of National Geographic, handing Elliot the money as he’s looking at a nearby sign advertising today’s special on plush penguins for $19.95.  I like how the illustrations reveal the irony of the misunderstanding in this moment that is central to the book’s plot.

The real genius of this story is the way that it builds to the surprise ending. Upon reading it a second time, you discover all the clues that the illustrations give you as to how the story will end. Turtles abound in the illustrations, right down to the box of candy turtles next to Elliot’s father in his study, and the ending makes all of these clues click.

This story is clever. A lot of thought clearly went into the interplay between art and text, with one informing the other to form a witty tale of childhood antics.  Pure fun, a delightful storytime tale of mischief, this book appeals to both children and adults.  Elliot’s sly actions and his distracted father will have both children and their parents chuckling.  Also, who hasn’t wanted to take a penguin home from the aquarium?

Print picture book Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear, written by Lindsay Mattick and illustrated by Sophie Blackall, is the true story of the bear behind A. A. Milne’s beloved Winnie the Pooh series.  Over 26 spreads and 56 pages, a story unfolds about family, friendship, and the indelible effect of kindness.  This 2016 Caldecott Medal book is aimed at children in kindergarten-3rd grade, but it is certainly a story that will enchant their nostalgic parents as well.

The story is bookended by a first-person narrator, the author, telling her son a bedtime story about a bear.  She shares the tale of Captain Harry Colebourn, a Canadian veterinarian who buys a bear cub from a trapper at a train stop on his way to his new post at a hospital for horses during WWI.  He names her Winnipeg, or Winnie, for short.  Then comes Winnie’s journey with Harry and his unit across the Atlantic Ocean to England, where she becomes the mascot of the Second Canadian Infantry Brigade.  When the order comes to go to battle, however, at the climax of the book, Harry makes the decision to take Winnie to the London Zoo, her new home.  The end of the book picks up a different story: the story of a boy and his father who go to see Winnie at the London Zoo.  The boy is Christopher Robin Milne and his father is Alan Alexander Milne, the author who wrote stories all about his son’s friendship with this beloved bear.  The end of the book also tells us what happened to Harry and reveals that the narrator telling this story to her son Cole at night is the great-great granddaughter of Captain Harry Colebourn.  The last several pages of the book and its endpapers are a family album of pictures, diary entries, and Winnie’s Animal Record Card for the London Zoo.

What really catches the eye about the artwork in this text is the decision to include a family album so that the reader can see the photos and journals that the mother is showing to her son at the end of the story.  I love getting to see the real people behind the story.  Other than this instance, though, as charming as I find the artwork in this book to be, I don’t find that it adds anything to the text; it merely illustrates it.  It does so beautifully, but I wish the illustrations gave you even more details about the story than the text does.

The dominant storytelling technique is that of varying the perspective, alternating between a conversation between the narrator, a mother telling a bedtime story, and her son and the third-person narration of the story of Harry and his bear. I find this to be engaging, as it allows you to discover over the course of the story that the mother telling the story is related to Harry Colebourn, and that the mother is the author of the book.  It allows you to hear what the child thinks about the tale, echoing what a child reading the book may be thinking.  The illustrations are lovely, and the story is an enchanting one.  The thing that really strikes me as brilliant about this text, though, is the author’s use of narrative perspective, how she weaves first-person interjections of the narrator and her son’s exchange over the story at bedtime with the story of Harry and his bear.

This book would make a wonderful storytime read as well as a useful classroom tool for teaching point of view, history, and nonfiction elements.  I think this book appeals to children and adults alike.  The story’s illustrations and endearing tale of a bear whose name so many recognize makes the text reminiscent of a childhood favorite for some and an introduction to a new friend for others.