Hondo and Fabian

Hondo and Fabian written and illustrated by Peter McCarty
2003 Caldecott Honor

Well, I have to admit, I was kind of disappointed in this one. It's a simple story about a dog (Hondo) and a cat (Fabian) and their day. The illustrations are soft colored pencil drawings, and they are pleasing, but not earth shatteringly wonderful or anything. I did appreciate the gentle humor in both the text and the illustrations; both my daughter and I liked the page with the cat having fun unrolling the toilet paper. Maybe if I had a younger person to read this to, it would have gotten better reviews. My youngest is 7 and she didn't object to the story, but didn't love it either. I think a pre-schooler might like it better, especially a pre-schooler with a dog and a cat in the house!

All The World

All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon, illustrations by Marla Frazee
2010 Caldecott Honor

note: Marla Frazee is the author and illustrator of 2009 Caldecott Honor book: A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever

All the World is a book in verse with large two-page-spread paintings to illustrate a families day at the shore. So, it's a day of digging in the sand, picking ripe tomatoes, climbing trees, warming up beside a fire, making music with the extended family, and feeling the stillness at the end of the day.

Here are a couple of samples:

"Body, shoulder, arm, hand.
A moat to dig, a shell to keep.
All the World is wide and deep."

or "Nanas, papas, cousins, kin.
Piano, harp and violin.
Babies passed from neck to knee.
All the world is you and me."

I like this book! It's got a nice way of taking the little and making it big.

Zen Shorts; Zen Ties

tZen Shorts  by Jon J Muth
2006 Caldecott Honor Book

Zen Ties by Jon J Muth
copyright 2008, no awards that I know about (but why not?)

I love these books! Making Zen philosophy accessible to young children is a mission worth having and to do this successfully is a sweet accomplishment. Plus, the illustrations are wonderful ink paintings and watercolor paintings. I love these books. My children love these books.

Zen Shorts introduces Stillwater. A giant panda bear that arrives in the yard of three children, Addy, Michale, and Karl,  and befriends them. Each child goes to Stillwater and receives a story. The frame story is illustrated in watercolors. The traditional Zen stories are illustrated in black ink drawings.

In the authors note at the end he writes:
"When you look into a pool of water, if the water is still, you can see the moon reflected. If the water is agitated, the moon is fragmented and scattered. It is harder to see the true moon. Our minds are like that. When our minds are agitated, we cannot see the true world."

He has the most excellent way of explaining complicated ideas with simple clarity.

The stories have an easy pace and you just feel good reading them!

In Zen Ties Stillwater is back, and so is his nephew, Koo, who has come for a visit. Stillwater picks him up at the train station. Koo says
 "Uncle Stillwater!
summer! I have arrived!
seeing you brings smiles."

 "Hi, Koo!" And delivers a gift of balloons. The nephew responds:
"An uplifting gift!
could you carry my case,
generous uncle?"

The newphew speaks in Haiku! ("Hi, Koo!") tee hee!

Addy, Michael and Karl are back for this story, and Michael when Stillwater learns that Michael is anxious about an upcoming spelling bee, he invites them to come along to visit an old woman in the   neighborhood named Miss Whitaker. The children know her as a cranky old lady. . . "That Miss Whitaker?" asked Karl. "She hates us! She's really old and she spits when she talks! Every time we walk past her house, she shouts at us. She scares me."

Stillwater says "She isn't feeling well and we must bring her something to eat.

So, they do. And in fact Miss Whitakers isn't feeling that well and IS a little cranky.

But more visits follow and it turns out that Miss Whitaker used to be an English teacher, she coaches Michael for the spelling bee, and everyone becomes friends. Michael wins the spelling bee "The judges were nothing compared to Miss Whitaker!"

"Yeah," said Karl. "Just this morning she was shouting at us again."
"Then why are you smiling?" asked Stillwater.
"She was telling us to get out of the street and play in her yard."

Have I mentioned I LOVE these books!? To have so many layers of values I care about presented to my children (and me!) in such an appealing gentle way is SUCH a gift!

Hot Air The (mostly) true story of the first hot-air balloon ride

Hot Air, The (mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride  by Majorie Priceman
2006 Caldecott Honor

This story begins in France in 1783 at the sight of the first ever Hot Air Balloon launching! It details much about the city and spectators in the first few pages and then introduces us to the "first brave passengers" . . . A duck, a sheep, and a rooster.

After that the ride is all in pictures and from the point of view of these three animals. Which is fitting because the author heard the story "from a duck, who heard it from a sheep, who heard it from a rooster a long, long time ago."

It's a fun ride! And based (loosely) on a true historic event.

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems
2004 Caldecott  Honor

Also:
Don't let the Pigeon Stay Up Late
The Pigeon Wants a Puppy


I have to admit, I think Mo Willems is brilliant. He has a way of getting in the brains of young people like few others. My daughter age 7 LOVES his books, particularly the Knuffle Bunny series and the Pigeon series, both of which seem to be based on his "hands on" experiences with his own daughter.

He has a couple of websites worth checking out. He has one: Mo Willems
and the Pigeon (and other characters) have their own! : Pigeon Presents! Starring Mo Willems' Pigeon!

Anyhow, back to the book report. The pigeon books are funny. Based on a one sided conversation full of all the things kids say. "Hey, can I drive the bus?" "Please?" "I'll be careful."

In a cartoony style with "talk bubbles".

At my house our favorite hands down, is Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late.  I have read that one to my 7 year old daughter at least once or twice a day since it arrived from the library. And I'm afraid there are reasons she finds it funny (but I won't go into the bedtime issues at our house at this time!)

I've just about memorized it, in fact if I'm not getting these quotes exactly right it's because the book is downstairs beside the bed, and I"m quoting from memory, but I think you'll get the idea!

 "But I'm not tired! In fact, I'm in the mood for a hot dog party! What do you say? . . . NO?! . . . humpf."

"How about five more minutes? . . . What's FIVE MINUTES IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS?"

"YAWN . . . That was NOT a yawn! I was stretching!"

"It's the middle of the day in China!"

etc.

Hilarious. I recommend Mo Willems in general and Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late in particular!

The Treasure

The Treasure by Uri Shulevitz
1980 Caldecott Honor

This is a retelling of a folktale that involves a dream coming to a man telling him where treasure lies. A long journey is made to the place of the treasure. And in the end we discover where treasure really lies. "Sometimes one must travel far to discover what is near."

Uri Shulevitz has won Caldecott Honor's more than once (Snow; The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship; How I Learned Geography)

The story is told very simply and I personally find the retelling of the story a bit spare.
The Treasure is illustrated with luminous little watercolor paintings and,  for me,  these are what carry the book.

Interrupting Chicken

Interupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein
2011 Caldecott Honor

This is definitely a book on the light side. In fact it's silly! It was bedtime for the little red chicken. Her Papa says "And of course you are not going to interrupt the story tonight are you?"
"Oh no, Papa. I'll be good."

But, you guessed it. . . she interrupts every story!

This book will be best appreciated by people who are familiar with the traditional stories that are interrupted!
Hansel and Gretel . . . "out jumped a little red checkin, and she said 'DON'T GO IN! SHE'S A WITCH!' So Hansel and Gretel didn't. THE END!"
 Little Red Riding Hood . . . "Out jumped a little red checkin, and she said 'DON'T TALK TO STRANGERS!' So the Littel Red Riding Hood didn't. THE END!"
etc.

This type of story honestly isn't my cup of tea, but I did appreciate the ending. . . Papa falls asleep before the little red chicken. Something I can certainly relate to!

Rosa

Rosa by Nikki Giovanni, illustrated by Bryan Collier
2006 Caldecott Honor Book
2006 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award

More poets should write history for children. This is a splendid and powerful book. And beautifully written. I suspect that Nikki Giovanni was able to talk with Rosa and others in the story personally. The text is full of intimate details about what people were thinking and doing through out first days of the historic events of the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama.

 "Jo Ann Robinson was at the PIggly Wiggly when she learned of the arrest. She had stopped in to purchase a box of macaroni and cheese. She always served macaroni and cheese when she baked red snapper for dinner. A sister member of the Women's Political council approached her just as she reached the check out lane.
 'Not Mrs. Parks!' Mrs Robinson exclaimed. She then looked furtively around. 'Pass the word that everybody should meet me at my office at ten o'clock tonight," she said."

I love the person of Rosa Parks. Her long life lived with dignity and strength.

Pete Seeger tells a story about being at a training for civil rights activists at the Highlander Folk School in Tennessee. On the last day, they went around the circle and everyone said what they were going to do when they got home. Several "movers and shakers" were there, and each person spoke about their plans. But one woman, when it was her turn, said she just didn't know what she would do. That, was Rosa Parks.

She wasn't just a worn out seamstress. She was an activist making a choice. A spontaneous choice! But one very much in keeping with her participation in the movement.

Here is a link to her website: Rosa Louise Parks Biography

The illustrations strong and luminous, by Bryan Collier, someone who has won a bunch of awards before and since. I like his work and his choices about what he illustrates, often powerful stories from African American History. Here is a link to Bryan Collier's website. I enjoyed learning about him, especially his dedication to community service and empowerment of young people. Bryan Collier | Bio

I personally liked this book a bit better than the 2006 Medal winner! And would definitely recommend it!

Ella Sarah Gets Dressed

Ella Sarah Gets Dressed by Margaret Chodos-Irvine
2004 Caldecott Honor

My daughter loves to dress up and I enjoyed sharing this book with her. It's a story about a little girl who gets up and says "I want to wear my pink polka-dot pants, my dress with orange-and-green flowers, my purple-and-blue striped socks, my yellow shoes, and my red hat."

Mom, Dad, and big sister all try and talk her out of it, but it turns out to be the perfect outfit!

The pictures are prints (looks like silk screens to me, but the book says "a variety of printmaking techniques." And are bold and colorful.

I can't rave about this book, it's not that exciting for me, but it's a sweet read.

What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? and more by Steve Jenkins

What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
2004 Caldecott Honor

Big and Little by Steve Jenkins

What Do You Do When Someone Wants to Eat You?  by Steve Jenkins

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this author illustrator. Since I also have environmental education in my bag of tricks, I have a particular appreciation for these books that convey fascinating information about animals together with beautiful paper cut collages made from hand painted water colored paper. Luscious combination!

The illustrations remind me a little of Eric Carle, these are also paper cut collages, but the papers used for the collages are more delicate--- water colored and hand made paper, and the results are a little more refined. (Make no mistake I love Eric Carle!)

What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? talks about unusual animal body parts. Noses of platypuses, elephants, star nosed moles, hyenas, and alligators. Ears, tails, eyes, feet, mouths of an array of other animals. The format gives close ups of the featured body parts first, and then you turn the page to learn more. That way you can guess at what's going on before turning the page. I like a book that is interactive that way. At the end of the book there is more information about each animal. I love it when facts are so amazing they read like poetry. . . . "The platypus closes it's eyes under water and uses its sensitive bill to detect the faint electric pulses emitted by its prey." Or "The entire human body has more than 600 muscles, but there are as many as 100,000 muscles in an elephant's trunk."

What Do You Do When Someone Wants to Eat You?   Introduces us to 14 animals peculiar defense mechanisms. "The blue-tongued skink startles attackers. . . by sticking out it's large, bright blue tonuge and wiggling it from side to side." Or, "The basilisk lizard is known in South America as the Jesus Christ lizard. It can escape it's enemies. . .  by running across the surface of ponds and streams, using its large feet and great speed to keep it from sinking into the water."

Again the wonderful paper cut illustration and "wow" inspiring fascinating facts!

Big and Little is about animals that are related to one another but very different in size. The animals are illustrated to scale for comparison (one inch equals 8 inches). "The capybara, the world's largest rodent, weighs as much as one thousand deer mice." OK, I'm totally a sucker for this kind of thing. I love it.

He also has a page of silouettes that are at the scale of one inch equals two and a half feet. With a human being included to compare all the animals at once. And there is a couple of pages of additional information about each animal. I always find this "additional information" to be really interesting, but also hard to get through for some reason and I wonder how many young readers actually get to read it. My kids never have the patience for that kind of thing!

Anyhow, I can totally recommend this author illustrator and look forward to seeking out more of his books! Plus I'll be sharing these with my outdoor explorer campers tomorrow!

Henry's Freedom Box; A True Story from the Underground Railroad

Henry's Freedom Box; A True Story from the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
2008 Caldecott Honor Book

This is a powerful book worth reading and sharing. It's not a happy book and deals with gritty real life issues. Henry is a slave that successfully puts himself in a box and mails himself to freedom. But the "success" of that plan is against the backdrop of his dispair after his wife and children have been sold, never to be seen again.

The illustrations by Kadir Nelson are beautiful and convey the emotions of the story well. The text is also excellent. There is depth and sensitivity in how she shares the story. She doesn't overplay any of the painful elements, she tells it like it is, but in a steady poets voice, without punishing us with the facts.

"His friend James came into the factory. He whispered to Henry, "Your wife and children were just sold at the slave market." 


"No!" cried Henry. Henry couldn't move. He couldn't think. He couldn't work. 
"Twist that tobacco!" The boss poked Henry. 


Henry twisted tobacco leaves. His heart twisted in his chest. 


The pictures and stories together also convey well the closeness in the bonds between mother and child, husband and wife. I also appreciate the white people in the story who don't believe in slavery and assist in the plan, especially the character of Dr. Smith, who helped Henry mail himself to Philadelphia.

Slavery is something I have discussed with my children starting in pre-school. I think it's a necessary discussion and I appreciate this and other picture books for giving us the jumping off places and the context and details for those conversations. My son LOVED learning about history from a young age and developed a keen sense of justice from reading this kind of book, and we read a lot of books about African American history. My daughter is more inclined towards fantasy than non-fiction, so we haven't done as MUCH of this kind of reading, but I intentionally include this kind of book in the mix.

I recommend this book.

Knuffle Bunny

Knuffle Bunny; A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems

2005 Caldecott Honor Book

Knuffle Bunny Too; a Case of Mistaken Identity  by Mo Willems
2008 Caldecott Honor Book


Knuffle Bunny Free; An Unexpected Diversion by Mo Willems

I love the Knuffle Bunny books and so does everyone in my family. They are worth reading again and again. They are hilarious and deal with the stuff real kids care about!

The series begins with Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale where in our hero Trixie is a pre-verbal toddler and on a trip to the laundry mat with her dad, her beloved Knuffle Bunny gets thrown in with the wash. After a frantic race through the neighborhood back to the laundry mat, the bunny is recovered.

The pictures in these books are extra cool. They have black and white PHOTOS of real places with cartoon characters "playing" in these photographed "sets." So, there is, for example a photo of a city block with cartoon people walking down the real sidewalk and Trixie's mom standing on the front steps waving. There is something really fun about this juxtaposition of real and imaginary. I love the luscious art work of many other picture books. These illustrations are not that. They are silly. Profoundly, wonderfully, silly.

I viewed an interview with Mo Willems on you tube and he said that he purposely tried to draw his main characters so SIMPLY that a small child could make a reasonably good drawing of Knuffle Bunny or Trixie themselves, and thus extend their adventures into their own imaginative play.

In Knuffle Bunny Too Trixie is a little older and she and Dad are walking throught the neighborhood on the way to Pre-K at the local school. Trixie is excited to be taking her one-of-a-kind Knuffle Bunny to meet all her friends at school.  When she gets there another girl Sonja has Knuffle Bunny too! "Suddenly, Trixie's one-of-a-kind Knuffle Bunny wasn't so one-of-a-kind anymore."

So many conflicts arise that the teacher takes the bunnies! And returns them at the end of the day. In the middle of the night Trixie realizes "That is not my bunny!" at which point Trixies daddy tried to exaplain what "2:30 a.m." means. Another race through the neighborhood in the middle of the night returns the bunnies to their rightful owners.  And a new friendship is forged!

Knuffle Bunny Free concludes the saga. When Knuffle Bunny is left in an airplane after an international flight. And then miraculously FOUND on the way home. And then even more amazingly, then given to a small baby who was crying on the plane.

The books acknowledgements refer to "The real Trixie and her mommy" and I very much WANT these to be true stories. I searched for the answer to my question (Did this really happen? Is Trixie your little girl? Are YOU the Dad?) In his FAQ someone asks "Are the Knuffle Bunny stories true?" and he replies "They are completely true, except for the parts I make up."

A River of Words

A River of Words; The Story of William Carlos Willams by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
2009 Caldecott Honor Book

Ever since my son Jabu, now 10 years old, was little (like 3 or 4) he has loved picture book biographies. And I have loved them right along with him. Our children are adopted and African American (I am Japanese American-Russian American mixed, and my husband is European American). I used my sons interest in biographies to share lots of African American history with him. I don't know if there were as many great picture book biographies when I was little, but I sure didn't discover them if there were! I can honestly RAVE about many of them that I have read. It's just a part of the library worth spending time in!

OK, now to the book at hand! This is a picture book biography of the poet Willam Carlos Williams. I can DISTINCTLY remember being introduced to his poetry in a high school English class and loving it immediately. I can remember especially the poem:

The Red Wheelbarrow

so much depend
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed  with rain
water

beside the white
chickens

******
I loved this poem! So I was excited to learn more about this poets life! He was a doctor. And a Dad. He wrote his poetry, several volumes of it, on top of all those other responsibilities, until the end of his life when he'd had some health difficulties that allowed him to curtail his medical career but still allowed him to write.

The illustrations in this book are a combination of drawings, paintings and collage. Many of the illustrations have his poetry embedded in them, either hand lettered or typewritten on an old fashioned typewriter. All in all a pleasing combination!

There is also a cool time line in the back of the book that has three columns, one for events of his life, one for the poems he published, and one for world events. It's amazing to think about the years his life spanned, from 1883 to 1963, going all the way from the first car to space capsules orbiting the earth .

I think older children (8 and up?) would be most likely to enjoy this book. I wouldn't hesitate to share it with my 10 year old.

First The Egg

First The Egg by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
2008 Caldecott Honor Book

This book will appeal to the very youngest reader, but is definitely not lost on me! The very simple text and pictures are elegant, as well as simple. And although it has that little kid appeal, there is no "talking down" which I appreciate. It also has a playful "a book can be a toy" aspect. . . each page has a cut out and the pages lead to one another in a way that invites participation and predicting what comes next.

For example,  the first pages read "First the EGG" and there is a cut out shape of a white egg. You turn the page and read "then the CHICKEN". The cut out egg shape now flips over and becomes the yellow body of the chick that just hatched out of the egg. The white of the egg on the previous page was the white mama chicken you see on this page.

So, when you get to the next page and it says "First the tadpole" small children want to guess "then the FROG!" Plus it's fun and intriguing to see how the same cut out shape becomes different things as the page turns. And the last line. . . "First the CHICKEN" (turn the page) "then the EGG!"

The Red Book; The Museum Trip; The Secret Box

The Red Book by Barbara Lehman
2005 Caldecott Honor Book

Also by the same author---
The Museum Trip
The Secret Box


I am pretty excited to be introduced to this author who I was previously unfamiliar with. I looked up The Red Book because it was a Caldecott Honor book, and when I saw it was a wordless picture book, I got everything on the shelf that she had written! My kids like wordless picture books. Jabu (age 10) likes graphic novels and comic books and these are akin to that somehow. And Makayla  (age 6) is just learning to read, so to be able to "read" a book entirely on her own is satisfying to her.

Some wordless picture books are designed with pre-readers, that is VERY YOUNG children in mind. But this author/illustrator is more in the ilk of David  Weisner (Flostsom, and Tuesday, among others). She creates, through pictures alone, COMPLEX, intriguing story lines that are engaging for all ages, including adults!

Her illustration style is very different from David Weisner. His pictures are very fine and detailed. Her pictures are warm and simple. But The Red Book really does remind me of Flotsom.

All three of these books I read this evening by Barbara Lehman involve the characters entering into pictures or pages and thus entering other worlds. So, there is a surreal, fantastical element.

In The Red Book a girl finds a book and sees a boy finding a book and looking at HER in the book, while she looks at HIM in her book. It's all a little twisted and hard to wrap your mind around ---- in a good way!

The Musuem Trip shows a boy getting lost on an art museum field trip, entering a little door to a small room where there are pictures of mazes in a glass case. He runs onto the paper, and works the mazes,  running each one's route successfully, into the center and out again.

In The Secret Box three children find a small collection of treasures left by a child long ago. They travel into the world of the clues left in the box. . . some ticket stubs, a postcard, etc.

All very cool stuff. Much cooler than I'm able to describe here. I like this author A LOT. And am so very happy to have discovered her as a result of this project!

The Wall; Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain

The Wall; Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Peter Sis
2008 Caldecott Honor Book

I found this book fascinating. It is a first person narrative about growing up in Czechoslovakia and spans from the late 1940's through the 70's, and references the wall coming down in 1989. I love learning about history through a personal lens, and this book definitely provides that. I found the journal entries especially powerful.

I read it aloud to Jabu,  my 10 year old, and he both didn't much like it and had no patience at all for the journal entries (my favorite part).  I don't know if I just caught him at the wrong time,  or what,  Jabu usually really likes biographies and books based on history.

Looking at it again today, I think the problem might have been that the layout/format of this book doesn't lend itself to reading ALOUD. The story doesn't run in a straight line. And this is actually part of what makes it an interesting book. There are definitions in small print running along the edges of some pages (Cold War, Communism, Iron Curtain). The introduction gives a great overview of the historic context of the book, but for a read aloud listener is not story-like at all. There is a thread of text  about the authors own life "As long as he could remember, he had loved to draw."that is "interrupted" by captions giving historic details beside the frames of cartoon like pictures "1948. The Soviets take control of Czechoslovakia and close the borders."  And all of this is "interrupted" or (in my opinion supported) by pages of journal entries that are interspersed occasionally.

Here are a few examples from the journal entries:

"April 1956 My father's cousin Lamin is in prison as an enemy of the state. My grandmother talks to my parents about it in German so my sister and I won't understand. But we understand some of it. He was on a national volleyball team that was going to a tournament in the West, and the players were all planning to stay there. The secret police found out. Lamin is twenty years old and will be in prison for the rest of this life."

 "1961 We watch an American movie called On the Bowery at school. It shows poor people sleeping in the street. We're told this is how people in a capitalist country live."

"May 19665 Allen Ginsberg, the American beat poet, comes to Prague. Students make him our Kral Majales (King of May). Then the secret police accuse him of subversion and deport him."

The picture Peter Sims paints of life behind the Iron Curtain is not pretty. It sounds pretty scary and oppressive. I'm have my concerns about capitalism as well, but what he grew up with would not be an attractive alternative!

Anyhow, a very interesting read. Possibly a better book for ADULTS than children. But, in the Afterward I learned that the book was written in an attempt to explain his childhood to his own children.  "Now when my American family goes to visit my Czech family in the colorful city of Prague, it is hard to convince them it was ever a dark place full of fear, suspicion, and lies. I find it difficult to explain my childhood; it's hard to put it into words, and since I have always drawn everything, I have tried to draw my life---before America--- for them."

Gone Wild an Endanged Animal Alphabet

Gone Wild An Endangered Animal Alphabet by Dave McLimans
2007 Caldecott Honor Book

I often wish books would give more information about the art work. The bold graphic illustrations in this book look like papercuts to me, but I am not entirely sure how they are made.

There is an introduction, explaining a little about endangered species and the different classifications of this (Critically Endangered, Endangered, and Vulnerable)

Then there is an alphabet. Each LETTER is made into a picture of an endangered animal. M is for Prairie Sphinx Moth and the middle of the letter M is made of the wings and body of the moth. L is for Snow Leopard and the letter L is spotted like a leopard and has a claw on the "foot" of the L.   It's a little hard to describe! On each page there is also a box with a smaller picture of the endangered animal and some basic information: Class, Habitat, Range, Threats, Status.

Then, at the very back of the book there are 5 pages with additional REALLY INTERESTING information about each animal (one short completely fascinating paragraph per animal) and some resources listing further reading and organizations that help endangered animals. This is where you learn stuff like: "The boa is a mighty hunter and has heat sensitive pits around its mouth enabling it to hunt for warm-blooded prey in complete darkness." or  "Thanks to its large webbed feet, the blue duck can move easily through swift rapids and climb over large boulders."

My 6 year old didn't like this book. She thought the ABC animals "weren't really pictures."

I also wasn't quite satisfied with it. I especially didn't like the choice of the more interesting info about the animals being pulled out and listed separately. I can see why, for purely graphic reasons, it's nice to have the bold black ABC animals floating on an uncluttered white page. But I doubt many people get to reading the dense text at the back of the book. I found the information absolutely amazing, and still had trouble sticking with it for 5 pages. I would have preferred to have the text about the animals included the first time around.

How I Learned Geography

How I Learned Geography by Uri Shulevitz
2009 Caldecott Honor Book

This story is based on the author/illustrators memories of being a boy during World War II. They had to flee Poland empty handed. As refugees in a strange place, they were often hungry.

One day the boys father going to market to get bread and coming home instead with a map of the world. "I had enough money to buy only a tiny piece of bread, and we would still be hungry" he explained apologetically. Both Mother and Boy were bitterly angry.

But the next day, the Father hangs up the map. It is bright and colorful and takes up a whole wall. The boy spends many hours gazing at the map, making magical incantations out of the names of the cities and countries, and traveling to all the parts of the world in his mind.

There is also an authors note with a photo of the author at this age and a picture he drew at age 10 of Africa. I read it to both of my children (ages 6 and 10) and they both enjoyed it. I like a book that makes kids think and inspires conversations about big topics. I like a book that combines fancy with substance. This book definitely succeeds; recommended!

A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever

A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever by Marl Frazee
2009 Caldecott Honor Book

I love this book! It's a picture book with a cartooney feel. It's not in traditional comic book frames, but there are "talk bubbles" in the pictures. And it is funny.

It tells the story of a boy named James and a boy named Eamon who go to spend a week with Pam and Bill, who are Eamon's grandparents in order to spend a week at Nature Camp. It's based on real people and real events and is dedicated to Bill, Pam, James and Eamon.

What this book does delightfully and well is juxtapose the "what's expected" of these boys with their honest reality. There are lots of pages where the grown up world and the boys world are shown in their amuzing discordant harmony.  Mari Frazee, both author and illustrator, often does this by having the words and the pictures doing two completely different things . . . a couple of examples:
James arrived "with just a couple of his belongings" reads the text. The accompanying picture shows a pile of stuff about three times higher than the boy!
The text reads "They decided to stay home and enjoy Bill and Pam's company." the illustration shows the boys running of the side of the page, leaving Bill and Pam in a cloud of dust!

The heart of the story though, is "as the nature camp week went by, James and Eamon practically became one person. They did everything together in exactly the same way. To save time, Bill began calling them Jamon.

The thing I love about this story is how clearly it shows up  adult interest in organized activities for children.  .  ."On the way back that afternoon, James and Eamon described their first nature camp day to Bill.
James: I thought you are supposed to walk on a hike.
Eamon: Yeah, not stand and look at some flower for an hour."

. . . . In favor of just messing around with your friends!

Pam and Bill tolerate it all with warmth and hugs and stacks of pancakes, and are about as lovable as "Jamon"

Really sweet book. I think 5 and up would enjoy it. Adults and older kids will get more of the jokes.

The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales

The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales

by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Lane Smith

1993 Caldecott Honor Book

I read this one out loud to Jabu (age 10) at bedtime last night. It is a book of spoofs on traditional fairy tales with titles like: The Princess and the Bowling Ball; Little Red Running Shorts, and The Boy Who Cried "Cow Patty". It was a good match for his mood, which was a GOOFY sugar induced state of wackiness. Much giggling. It is a very silly book.

Our favorite was The Boy Who Cried "Cow Patty" which we almost didn't find, because it was on the INSIDE of the book jacket, which was taped securely onto the book library style! In fact the entire layout and design of the book is whacky from start to finish. Things are upside down, out of order, and in strange places, with funny fonts.

The illustrations by Lane Smith are hilarious. AND, for this book it is absolutely necessary to remember that the Caldecott Medal and Honor books go to the ILLUSTRATOR. Randolph J. Caldecott, who the award is named after, was a ninteenth century English ILLUSTRATOR.

I found the "fairly stupid tales" to be, in fact, fairly stupid, and could not recommend the book based on depth of meaning or great literature! I found the stories to be disappointing. They made you laugh, but also left me feeling a little empty. It's a cheap brand of humor! This very brand of humor however, is pretty appealing to a 10 year old boy in a goofy mood, so, for the right occasion it's not a bad choice! But I wouldn't make anyone read it!

Love, Louise