Here are a few descriptions of some of the picture books I've read this semester in my children's literature class. For anyone who is looking for a new picture book to pick up for a special little one in your life.
1. Meng,
Cece. I Will Not Read This Book.
Clarion Books, 2011. Illustrated by Joy Ang. (32 pages)
This book is about a boy who will do anything to avoid
reading, from menial tasks to hanging upside-down from his toe as dangerous
things surround him. This book was a page turner and beautifully illustrated, I
liked how the illustrator used different points of view (such as looking up at
the boy from underwater through a swarm of circling sharks).
2. Cannon,
Janell Verdi. Harcourt Brace &
Co., 1997. (56 pages)
This book is about a young python named Verdi who
tries his best not to grow up. When he is injured and has to slow down for a
time, he ends up as an adult but discovers that he can be an adult who is still
fun. I think this book is gorgeous: one of the prettiest picture books I’ve
seen. The story is wonderful, there is an information section at the back about
snakes, and the paintings which are featured on the cover and pages are
stunning.
3. Long,
Ethan. Chamelia. Little, Brown, and
Co., 2011. (40 pages)
Chameleons are known for blending in, but the hero
in this book likes to stand out. In the end she learns how to work well with a
group while retaining her unique personality and style. This is a great book to
read with a creative, unconventional, stylish little girl. The illustrations
are bright and colorful, patterned after Alexander Henry fabrics.
4. Brown,
Margaret Wise. The Sleepy Book.
Western Publishing Co., Inc., 1948. Illustrated by Garth Williams. (48 pages)
All the different animals need their sleep in this
book, whether it’s a rabbit that has swallowed a bumblebee, a hibernating bear,
or a child tucked into bed listening to this book. Margaret Wise Brown uses
story, poem, song, and a chant to lull the reader to sleep in this vintage
book. A great variety of literary styles and classic illustrations make this
book a nostalgic favorite.
5. Joyce,
William. The Fantastic Flying Books of
Mr. Morris Lessmore. Simon & Schuster Children’s Books, 2012. (56
pages)
Books are alive in this story about a man who
struggles to write a book until he goes to live with some books for a period of
years. I think children would really like this book because they tend to ascribe
feelings and thoughts to inanimate objects, and the personification of the
books would be really fun for them. It’s a book that communicates a love of
reading.
6. Scarry,
Richard. Richard Scarry’s Busiest Fire
Fighters Ever! Western Publishing Co., Inc., 1993. (23 pages)
The firefighters do a lot of things to help the
people of the town; but they make a few funny mistakes. However, in the end
they cook a barbeque for everyone and show the difference between safe and
unsafe fires. This book is a lot of fun – I think especially young boys would
be attracted to all of the pictures of vehicles. It also is a nice teaching
tool for talking about what firefighters do and fire safety.
7. Rosenthal,
Eileen. I Must Have Bobo! Atheneum
Books for Young Readers, 2011. Illustrated by Marc Rosenthal. (34 pages)
A young boy loves his sock monkey, Bobo, but his cat
Earl keeps stealing it! In the end all three lie down together for a nap. This
book uses a really minimalist aesthetic; the pages are all cream-colored with
only a small simple drawing on most pages. I found that to be really memorable,
it sort of made me think of Winnie-the-Pooh. Also, the font is in all-caps
which I like.
8. Harper,
Charlie. ABCs. Ammo Books, LLC, 2008.
(20 pages)
This book is a simple ABC board book with gorgeous
animal illustrations for each letter of the alphabet by the iconic Charlie
Harper. I used to have his Big Golden
Book of Biology when I was a girl, but now it’s impossible to get unless
you want to spend hundreds of dollars for a collector’s edition (How I wish I
could read that book again for this assignment!). However, small children’s
books like this one allow a new generation to see his beautiful geometric
nature paintings.
9. Berenstain,
Stan & Jan. The Berenstain Bears’
Nature Guide. Random House, 1975. (64 pages)
The Bear family goes on a long nature walk and they
learn facts about animals, plants, and the earth itself. This book is humorous
and informative. The illustrations are very memorable; this was a favorite of
mine as a child and even after decades I could remember the cave illustration
and some of the other pages. It’s an interesting mix of fiction and
non-fiction.
10. Sendak,
Maurice. Where the Wild Things Are.
Harper Collins Publishers, 1963. (40 pages)
A wild boy in a wolf suit is sent to bed without
supper when surprisingly his room transforms into a forest and a sea and an
island full of monstrous “wild things”. Luckily, when he returns he finds that
his supper is waiting for him and it’s still hot. This book has several pages
together with illustration only and no words, what a great time for a child to
imagine the story or even speak aloud what he or she thinks is happening.
11. Mendoza,
George. Need a House? Call Ms. Mouse!
Grosset & Dunlap, 1981. Illustrated by Doris Susan Smith. (34 pages)
Henrietta Mouse is a home designer with unconventional
ideas about how to make the perfect house for her forest animal friends. This
book invites children to imagine what a perfect home is and think about the
needs of others creatively. We learned in class that hope and imagination are
important aspects of children’s literature, and this book helps to open the
mind.
12. Yolen,
Jane. Owl Moon. Scholastic, Inc.,
1987. Illustrated by John Schoenherr. (30 pages)
A father and daughter go for a late night winter
walk through the quiet woods searching for an owl. This story is told in
first-person from the perspective of the daughter who is never named. It is a
very introspective and quiet sort of story, which ends in the almost frozen
silent joy when you find what you’re looking for. It’s a simple but pretty
universal emotion when you know that you’ve made a memory, and I think children
can really sense that feeling of “special”.
13. Minarik,
Else Holmelund. Little Bear. Harper
& Row, Publishers, 1957. Illustrated by Maurice Sendak. (63 pages)
Little Bear has adventures with his animal friends
and his Mother Bear is always around to help him with food, warm clothes, and
bedtime stories. This book is so heartwarming; it seems to me to be a true
celebration of what we appreciate in mothers. And also what mothers appreciate
about their little bears.
14. McCloskey,
Robert. Make Way for Ducklings.
Viking Press, 1941. (76 pages)
A family of mallards walks through the streets of
Boston to make it back to the park pond where they want to live. Policemen and
pedestrians are helpful to the mother duck and her ducklings. I liked this book
because it was a wholesome story about people appreciating and protecting
nature. The drawings were very biologically accurate and realistic, albeit
simple and colorless.
15. Freeman,
Don. Corduroy. Viking Press, 1968.
(30 pages)
Corduroy is a toy bear in a department store with a
lost button, but a girl falls in love with him anyway. She buys him and gives him
a home, friendship, and a mending. The bright red cover of this book is very
attractive and memorable. I think anyone would empathize with the characters in
this story, as we all long for companionship in spite of our imperfections and
we all give companionship to others who are imperfect as well.
16. Evans,
Shane W. Underground: Finding the Light
to Freedom. Roaring Brook, 2011. (32 pages)
A group of runaway slaves make it through a dark and
scary journey to find a new a bright life. The most striking thing about this
book is how picture value was used, most of the book being drawn in deep dark
blue shadow with the ending showing yellow light. The pictures and even the
picture value really helped to tell the story and symbolize what this journey
must have meant to the participants.
17. Cronin,
Doreen. Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type.
Illustrated by Betsy Lewin. Atheneum, 2000. (32 pages)
The cows have a typewriter and are leaving typed
demands to a very frustrated farmer. In the end, the supposed neutral message-man,
the duck, steals the typewriter and the fun starts all over again as the ducks
begin typing. This book was light-hearted and funny – I loved the page in which
the duck was carrying the terms of truce. The repeated refrain, “Click, clack,
moo” would make this very fun for a toddler who would enjoy speaking a repeated
refrain along with the reader.
18. Graham,
Bob. Let’s Get a Pup! Said Kate.
Candlewick, 2003. (32 pages)
A modern family decides to adopt a puppy from the
pound, but an older dog makes an impression on them and they all agree to go
adopt the older dog as well. The characters in this book seem very likable and
spontaneous (not to mention compassionate to the older dog). I did not really
care for this style of illustration – the lines and shapes seem a bit sloppy
and round which for me makes everything run together (no sharp contrast, maybe)
– but I did like the closing picture which was all blue except for the
highlighted bed with Kate and both dogs.
19. Slobodkina,
Esphyr. Caps for Sale: A Tale of a
Peddler, Some Monkeys and Their Monkey Business. HarperCollins, 1940. (40
pages)
A cap peddler naps under a tree only to wake and
find that all of his caps have been stolen by monkeys! This book is so fun to
read to little ones; the colors are bright, the illustrations are very crisp
with clean contrast, the lines of text repeat in patterns, and there are simple
concepts in the text where the reader can help to teach the young listener
about counting and colors in an entertaining way. My favorite part is producing
the sound that the monkeys make (“Tsz! Tsz! Tsz!”) and yelling, “You monkeys,
you!” (I still yell this at my old kids when they are being naughty – haha.)
20. Bunting,
Eve. Smoky Night. Illustrated by
David Diaz. Sandpiper, 1999. (36 pages)
A family survives a night of rioting and fire, as
they simultaneously grow to appreciate neighbors in their community they may
have misjudged beforehand. This book tackles some themes which are fairly deep:
racial tension, riots, and life-threatening fires. It is done in such a way
that is sensitive to the young audience of readers, while maintaining realism.
I like the use of the cats as symbols for the racial tension and reconciliation
the characters go through.
21. Eastman, P.D. Are you my Mother? Beginner Books: A Division of Random House Inc.,
1960. (63 pages)
A bird hatches while his mother is away and sets out
on an adventure to find her, asking many creatures and objects the question:
Are you my mother? There is great humor in this as the little bird falls out of
the nest and makes so many mistakes. It’s heartwarming too when the reader sees
him reunited with his mother in the end having discovered what a mother is
after seeing so many things that a mother is not.
22. Hyman,
Trina Schart. Little Red Riding Hood.
Holiday House, 1983. (26 pages)
Little Red Riding Hood ignores her mother’s advice
and ends up with a dangerous friend in the woods on the way to her
grandmother’s house. In this traditional folktale, we learn how it can be to “drift
off the path”. Whenever I hear this story, I always think of this poem I have
memorized (but I don’t know the author of it! Or where/when I read it!) which
states the moral of the story as:
“Now, little girls this seems to say; watch your
friends along the way,
Never trust a stranger friend; you do not know how
it may end,
Keep in mind this simple truth: sweetest tongue
hides sharpest tooth.”
23. Young,
Ed. Lon Po Po: A Red Riding Hood Story
from China. Paperstar, 1989. (32 pages)
Three sisters must match wits with a crafty wolf (disguised
as their grandmother) after they let it into their house. This variant of
Little Red Riding Hood featured scary and dark images of the wolf inside the
house, and dreamier non-crisp lines of the wolf below the tree. My favorite thing
of all, though, was the wise and self-effacing dedication in the beginning of
the book to wolves for lending their good names as tangible symbols for our own
darkness.
24. Aardema,
Verna. Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s
Ears. Illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. Dial, 1975. (32 pages)
An African porquoi folktale, this book gives a funny
explanation for why mosquitoes buzz close to people’s ears. This book is
cumulative and builds up to an entertaining conclusion as many animals make
mistakes along the way like a cascade of dominoes. My favorite illustration was
the lizard with sticks in his ears because his grumpy face was so expressive
and the sticks were such a comical concept.
25. Waber,
Bernard. A Firefly Named Torchy.
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1970. (39 pages)
Torchy is a firefly with a light that is too bright
for the forest. His fellow fireflies discourage him from using his light and
he’s upset until he goes to the city and learns that there are many types of
light in the world. Waber uses a lot of abstract color block on black
background – the color block style makes me think of Eric Carle.
26. Gonzalez,
Maya Christina. My Colors, My World, Mis
Colores, Mi Mundo. Children’s Book Press, 2007. (24 pages)
A little girl starts this bilingual book by
describing how the desert makes everything the same color, but then as she
begins to look for beauty she finds beautiful desert colors in things like
sunsets, flowers, and more. The plot structure and characterization are pretty simple,
but the colors and language are very rhythmic for reading to a young one.
27. Say,
Allen. Grandfather’s Journey.
Houghton Mifflin, 1993. (32 pages)
The illustrations in this story were some of the
most attractive I’ve seen all semester and it has some universal themes which
speak to what home means to people who have travelled. The thing I remember
most from the reading, aside from the drawings, is the statement that whenever
we are in one place we are homesick for the other. Also there was something about
how being a parent makes you crave old things, I really resonated with that
idea.
28. Stevenson,
Robert Louis. My Shadow. Adapted and
illustrated by Monique Felix. Creative Editions, 2002. (32 pages)
A mouse observes and plays with its shadow, it
notices that shadows don’t grow and move in the same way mice do. There was a
beautiful page of yellow buttercups and no words. The poem was something a
child would enjoy; it is relatable and made more fun with the fresh
illustrations Felix adds.
29. Dr.
Seuss. Hop on Pop. TM & co, 1963.
(64 pages)
This book does not follow a story line per se, but
each page or two has rhyming fun for kids who are beginning to read simple
words on their own. It’s really fun to see the silly things that the characters
do like sitting on a cactus, chasing a bear out of a tent, and of course
hopping on their pop. This book seems almost more like poetry than a story with
all the rhyming and word play, Dr. Seuss just has a very unique style.
30. Wolkstein,
Diane. Little Mouse’s Painting.
Illustrated by Maryjane Begin. Morrow Junior Books, 1992. (26 pages)
Mouse paints a landscape, but her three friends all
think that the painting is of them. Mouse explains that she knows it’s just a
landscape since she’s the one who painted it – but that night she begins to see
her friends in the painting after all. The theme of this book is one of
interpreting works of creativity, and even though that may be an abstract
concept I think that children are really into doing this. They are better at
interpretation than some adults give them credit for.
31. Wadsworth,
Olive A. Over in the Meadow.
Illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats. Scholastic, 1971. (20 pages)
This classic counting rhyme was originally written
by Wadsworth, but a number of illustrators have brought the rhyme to life with
differing styles of picturebook art. I love Ezra Jack Keats’ version, which I
remember from my own childhood, she uses bold collage artwork in a way which
makes every animal type look unique and appealing. Out of curiosity, I looked
on Amazon to see the other variations of this rhyme by other illustrators and I
have to say that Keats’ version and the version illustrated by Feodor
Rojankovsky are the most charming to me.
32. Klassen,
Jon. This is Not My Hat. Candlewick,
2012. (40 pages)
A small fish steals a hat from a much larger fish,
but as he swims away he convinces himself that it will be just fine. This caper
is pure naughty fun, as the onlooker can see that the small fish is in deeper
trouble than he realizes. I can imagine kids reading this and getting really
excitable as they yell out warnings to the small fish or laugh as they delight
in knowing that the statements small fish makes are not true.
33. Wilkin,
Eloise. Prayers for Children. Golden
Inspirational, Little Gldn Tre Edition, 1999. (24 pages)
Eloise Wilkin illustrates the pages where she has
quoted simple rhyming prayers which children can repeat. The illustrations are
old-fashioned, sweet, and detail-oriented. I think a spiritual family would
really enjoy reading these poetic prayers with their children, but it would
likely be frowned upon for school reading because of its theistic content.
However, I have to say I really enjoyed reading it.
