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15,900 | 0 | Mitsumasa Anno was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal, the highest honor attainable in the field of children's book illustration, in 1984. He original art will be displayed at the gallery opening of The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Northhampton, MA.; Title: Anno's Journey | [
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15,901 | 2 | Eric Hill (www.funwithspot.com) left school when he was fifteen and took up cartooning while working as a messenger at an art studio. He created Where's Spot? as a bedtime story for his two-year-old son. It was published four years later, and the rest is history. Eric Hill passed away in July 2014.; Title: Puppy Love (Spot) | [
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15,902 | 1 | "A dinosaur mystery for sleuths and dino fans."Kirkus Reviews"Devlin is a smart, resourceful girl who is easy to root for...readers will blaze through the pages at lightning speed."BooklistLinda Fairstein worked in the district attorneys office in Manhattan for more than two decades. Her Alexandra Cooper novels are international bestsellers and have been translated into more than a dozen languages. She lives in Manhattan and on Marthas Vineyard. The Devlin Quick Mysteries are her first books for children.; Title: Digging For Trouble (Devlin Quick Mysteries, The) | [
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15,903 | 10 | Gr 36Readers meet 12-year-old Devlin Quick, girl detective and book lover, in this new series. Devlin's friend Liza thinks she has seen someone slice a page from a rare book in the New York Public Library. Unfortunately, this crime was committed with no grown-up witnesses present. Devlin, knowing that defacing a book is a horrible thing to do, wants to solve this mystery as soon as possible. She enlists the help of the police commissioner, her friends, and others in an effort to crack the case. Devlin is a clever character who is constantly coming up with creative methodologies to gather evidence and piece together information. An appreciation of reading is a reoccurring theme throughout; many classic works of literature are referenced and explored throughout the narrative. The friendly and loving relationship between Devlin and her mother is also developed. The New York City setting plays an interesting and crucial role in this mystery; famous landmarks are significant parts of the plot's progression. Historical and geographical facts are also often woven seamlessly into the character's adventures. Readers will be exposed to new vocabulary in an engaging and easy-to-comprehend manner. They'll also be introduced to a wide array of concepts and techniques often used in detective and forensic work. VERDICT A well-crafted and satisfying first volume in a new series. Ideal for bibliophiles and mystery fans alike.Deanna Smith, Mamaroneck Public Library, NY"This likable gumshoe follows the trail from the library lions on 42nd Street to Brooklyn Public Library's Central Building, and readers will be happy to go right along with her."Kirkus Reviews"A well-crafted and satisfying first volume in a new series. Ideal for bibliophiles and mystery fans alike."School Library Journal"The action-packed, first-person story is full of informational tidbits on beloved authors (Charles Dickens, Edgar Allan Poe, Mary Shelley, Jane Austen), cartographers, New York library history and much more. With a balanced mix of well-defined characters, engaging dialogue, cliffhanging chapters and unexpected scenes, this book is nothing less than one riveting read."BookPage; Title: Into the Lion's Den (Devlin Quick Mysteries, The) | [
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15,904 | 0 | Book by Watson, Clyde; Title: Catch Me Kiss Me | [
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15,905 | 11 | Thick clusters of vivid blue flowers, which resemble old-fashioned sunbonnets, cover the Texas hills in the springtime every year. These lovely wild flowers, known by the name of bluebonnet, are the state flower of Texas, This favorite legend based on Comanche Indian lore, tell the story of how the bluebonnet came to be.Tomie dePaola was born in Meriden, Connecticut, in 1934 to a family of Irish and Italian background. By the time he could hold a pencil, he knew what his life's work would be. His determination to create books for children led to a BFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, and an MFA from the California College of Arts & Crafts in Oakland, California.It drove him through the years of teaching, designing greeting cards and stage sets, and painting church murals until 1965, when he illustrated his first children's book, Sound, by Lisa Miller for Coward-McCann. Eventually, freed of other obligations, he plunged full time into both writing and illustrating children's books.He names Fra Angelico and Giotto, Georges Rouault, and Ben Shahn as major influences on his work, but he soon found his own unique style. His particular way with color, line, detail, and design have earned him many of the most prestigious awards in his field, among them a Caldecott Honor Award for Strega Nona, the Smithsonian Medal from the Smithsonian Institution, the Kerlan Award from the University of Minnesota for his "singular attainment in children's literature," the Catholic Library Association's Regina Medal for his "continued distinguished contribution," and the University of Southern Mississippi Medallion. He was also the 1990 United States nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for illustration.Tomie dePaola has published almost 200 children's books in fifteen different countries. He remains one of the most popular creators of books for children, receiving more than 100,000 fan letters each year.Tomie lives in an interesting house in New Hampshire with his four dogs. His studio is in a large renovated 200-year-old barn.- He has been published for over 30 years.- Over 5 million copies of his books have sold worldwide.- His books have been published in over 15 different countries.- He receives nearly 100,000 fan letters each year.Tomie dePaola has received virtually every significant recognition forhis books in the children's book world, including:- Caldecott Honor Award from American Library Association- Newbery Honor Award from American Library Association- Smithson Medal from Smithsonian Institution- USA nominee in illustration for Hans Christian Andersen Medal- Regina Medal from Catholic Library Associationcopyright 2000 by Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers. All rights reserved.; Title: The Legend of the Bluebonnet | [
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15,906 | 2 | Barbara Helen Berger lives on Bainbridge Island, Washington.; Title: Grandfather Twilight | [
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15,907 | 21 | Kindergarten-Grade 2 In these poems, readers will find children building castles, writing letters, playing mommy, taking imaginary horse and cart rides and singing lullabies to their dolls. Each cheerful, bouncy verse is accompanied by an elaborately framed reproduction of Nister ' s 19th - Century paintings depicting children of the Victorian era. Youngsters can double their visual pleasure by pulling a tab that changes the playtime activity scene. The small pictures' soft hues complement the poetry's dreamy tone, but the rhymes themselves may be too long and some subject matter too unclear for younger children. Because of its fragile pull-tab construction and its limited appeal, this one will be better for home purchase. Connie M. Hornyak, Lake County Public Library, Merrillville, Ind.Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Playtime Surprises | [
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15,908 | 12 | By reinventing the wheel, the author of Anno's Counting House, Anno's Mysterious Multiplying Jar and the recent Socrates and the Three Little Pigs brings to math an intuitive understanding of numbers, sequence and order, which he passes on to readers. He starts with the concept of comparison and difference: in a row of blue squares, a red circle sticks outit's different. He then introduces the idea of proximity: he shows a cat and a mouse, stuck together back to back; and that new things are created by combining two or more disparate objects (including ideas and language), as in putting wheels or handles on things. Then he discusses the meaning of ordered sequence, hierarchy and orientation as in a deck of cards. However, unlike Humpty Dumpty, what one takes apart can be put back together again. Anno emphasizes the importance of knowing one's place in the order of things by talking about the Cartesian coordinate system that locates and places things. Once again, Anno proves that thinking need not be abstract and dry, and math is more than mere measuring sticks. Ages 3-8. Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.K Up From extremely simple ``what is different?'' pictures, Anno quickly builds in complexity to tables, mapping, bar graphs, and visual presentations of proportions. It is not clear what the intended audience for this attractive book is. The bright, intriguing pictures and easy beginning will entice preschoolers, but even with an adult's help, few of them could make it all the way through this book. Most third graders could read the directions for themselves, but are likely to find some parts too easy, others too hard to tackle alone, and the ``Few Notes for Parents, Teachers, and Other Older Readers'' is disappointingly full of philosophy and chary of ``right'' answers. Perhaps teachers could best use Anno's Math Games to supplement math texts. The section on measuring and proportions is especially valuable. Unlike most math games and puzzles, these are not concerned with numbers at all. Instead of numbers, Anno uses pictures; instead of equations, he works toward an intuitive feeling for what sort of answers are required. Margaret Chatham, formerly at Smithtown Lib . , N.Y.Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Anno's Math Games | [
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15,909 | 0 | Wolf loves to eat almost more than anything else in the world. No sooner does he finish a meal, he's planning his next. He searches all day for a chicken for his stew. When he finally spies one, he hesitates and hatches a plan to fatten the bird, which will mean more stew. So he marshalls his considerable culinary skill and secretly delivers a succession of treats to the chicken's house: 100 scrumptious pancakes, doughnuts and pound cake. With each delivery he says: "Eat well, my pretty chicken. . . . Get nice and fat for my stew!" But a shock is in store for the wolf, and his next meal isn't quite what he'd planned. Sprightly watercolors illustrate this imaginative tale by a newcomer. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreSchool-Grade 2 Resisting the immediate gratification of chicken stew, an insatiable wolf decides instead to fatten up his prey, leaving on her doorstep 100 ``scrumptious'' delicacies for each of three nights. On returning to claim his fat hen, he finds that her 100 chicks have shared the treats, and are now enamored of ``Uncle Wolf.'' Children will enjoy both the wolf's scheming and his comeuppance, as well as the story's repetitive form. The wolf's speech is problematic, though, as it switches from correct and somewhat formal usage (``Ah, she is just perfect for my stew'') to a sort of dialect (``Aw, shucks. . .I'll bake the little critters a hundred scrumptious cookies!''). Kasza's illustrations far surpass the story. Deft watercolors on wide open white pages, they convey the scheming wolf and the unflappable hen in a way that the text does not. The Wolf's Chicken Stew just needs a little more meat. David Gale, ``School Library Journal''Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Wolf's Chicken Stew | [
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15,910 | 0 | Eric Carle and Tomie dePaola: Author One-on-One Eric Carle is the creator, author, and illustrator of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and many other childrens books. Tomie dePaola is the author and illustrator of Strega Nona: Her Story and countless other books. They recently had a conversation about their careers as picture book authors. Tomie dePaola: When I was only four years old, I announced to my family in particular and to the world in general that I was going to become an artist, and write stories and draw pictures for books. I never swayed from that early declaration. Ive always been curious to know, what inspired you to become a creator and illustrator of picture books? Eric Carle: My career began as a graphic designer and for a number of years I worked as an art director for an advertising agency in New York. In the mid 1960's Bill Martin, Jr. saw an ad of a red lobster that I had designed and asked me to illustrate his Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Well, I was set on fire! I was so inspired by this book, and the opportunity to illustrate it changed my life. After that, I started to create my own books, both words and pictures, and really it was then that I had found my true course in life. Now, I have a question for you, Tomie. How would you describe your artistic style, and has it changed over time? Tomie dePaola: My illustration style is heavily influenced by folk art--strong simple shapes, bold lines, color, color, color and a deceptive simplicity. My style began to develop early in art school, and through the years, it hasnt changed very much, but it has refined itself. How would you describe yours? Eric Carle: My aim with my work is to simplify and refine, be logical and harmonious. I like to use simple shapes, bright colors and a lot of white space. I write for the child inside of me. That is always where I begin. Tomie dePaola: I do, as well. The only audience I keep in mind is that four-year-old in me. People sometimes ask me what advice I would give to young artists. I always think of the wonderful advice I received from my twin cousins when they were in art school in the late '30s. They told me, Practice, practice, practice and dont copy. Eric Carle: I often tell people about the four magic letters: DO IT. I want to be encouraging but I can only offer the example of my own experience, which is just one approach. There are many wonderful artists to learn about, which is important. But you must use your own imagination. You have to just do it. Tomie dePaola: How do you feel knowing that a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar is sold every 30 seconds, somewhere in the world? Eric Carle: It is hard for me, maybe for others too, to grasp this concept. But I am truly honored that my story is enjoyed by so many and that it is now being shared by a generation of parents who grew up with my book. How about your Strega Nona. She is one of your most popular characters. Can you share how she came to be? Tomie dePaola: In the 70s when I was teaching at a college, we were required to attend faculty meetings. I always sat in the back with a yellow legal pad. Everyone thought I was taking notes. At one meeting a doodle appeared of a little lady with a big nose and a big chin. I named her Strega Nona, and the rest is history. Speaking of history, how will you be celebrating the third annual Very Hungry Caterpillar Day this year? Eric Carle: On The Very Hungry Caterpillar Day, March 20th, I will probably be at home with my wife, Bobbie (I am a bit of a hermit, actually). But I will be saying a little toast to the caterpillar for whom I have a special place in my heart. And speaking of holidays, isnt your favorite holiday Christmas. Do you have a special Christmas memory? Tomie dePaola: Christmas is my favorite holiday. My favorite Christmas was the one when I received tons and tons of art supplies: everything from an easel to paints, pads and pads of paper, and how to draw books. Tomie dePaola was born in Meriden, Connecticut, in 1934 to a family of Irish and Italian background. By the time he could hold a pencil, he knew what his life's work would be. His determination to create books for children led to a BFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, and an MFA from the California College of Arts & Crafts in Oakland, California.It drove him through the years of teaching, designing greeting cards and stage sets, and painting church murals until 1965, when he illustrated his first children's book, Sound, by Lisa Miller for Coward-McCann. Eventually, freed of other obligations, he plunged full time into both writing and illustrating children's books.He names Fra Angelico and Giotto, Georges Rouault, and Ben Shahn as major influences on his work, but he soon found his own unique style. His particular way with color, line, detail, and design have earned him many of the most prestigious awards in his field, among them a Caldecott Honor Award for Strega Nona, the Smithsonian Medal from the Smithsonian Institution, the Kerlan Award from the University of Minnesota for his "singular attainment in children's literature," the Catholic Library Association's Regina Medal for his "continued distinguished contribution," and the University of Southern Mississippi Medallion. He was also the 1990 United States nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for illustration.Tomie dePaola has published almost 200 children's books in fifteen different countries. He remains one of the most popular creators of books for children, receiving more than 100,000 fan letters each year.Tomie lives in an interesting house in New Hampshire with his four dogs. His studio is in a large renovated 200-year-old barn.- He has been published for over 30 years.- Over 5 million copies of his books have sold worldwide.- His books have been published in over 15 different countries.- He receives nearly 100,000 fan letters each year.Tomie dePaola has received virtually every significant recognition forhis books in the children's book world, including:- Caldecott Honor Award from American Library Association- Newbery Honor Award from American Library Association- Smithson Medal from Smithsonian Institution- USA nominee in illustration for Hans Christian Andersen Medal- Regina Medal from Catholic Library Associationcopyright © 2000 by Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers. All rights reserved.; Title: Tomie dePaola's Mother Goose | [
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15,911 | 2 | As in her earlier Grandfather Twilight, Berger has created a picture book dreamscape, full of radiant colors and intriguing possibilities. Alone with her doll in a playhouse, the young narrator receives an unusual visitor who comes calling "in a carriage bright as the sun." The visitor's consort is a lemon-yellow lion who dines on blueberries and cream as the two girls play dolls and paint a rainbow. At day's end, the visitor departs into a glowing sunset, promising to return. Berger's skillful blending of the metaphysical and a child's inner life make this an inspired work of art. Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 3 While the action can be described in only one sentence (a friend visits a little girl for an afternoon of tea, playing dolls, and painting rainbows), many lines are needed to convey the activity in these boldly-colored illustrations. The warm glow of the yellows of a carriage made from a rose, the lion pulling it, and a dress made from yellow roses achieves luminescence on paper, heightened by the intense greens, reds, and blues of the countryside and playhouse. The yellow changes to rich gold as the sun sets. The variation in picture size, from small close-ups of the dolls to elongated spreads, adds flow to the day's happening and lends a cinematic quality. The combination of vibrant colors, strong composition, and margin motif together frame a sensation, like a daydream visualized. That the friend may be imagined only adds to the book's appeal. As with Berger's previous books, Grandfather Twilight (1984) and Donkey's Dream (1985, both Philomel) , this picture book provides a vivid showcase for a simple story. Julie Cummins, Monroe County Library System, Rochester, N.Y.Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: When the Sun Rose | [
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15,912 | 0 | Will is trying to fish, but his younger sister Mabel keeps scaring away the fish with her noisy questions, like, "What makes it rain?" and, "Where does the wind come from?" Out from the bushes comes Lillian Two Blossom, an old Indian woman who offers to take them for a boat ride to find the answers. Off they go, with Will rowing, until the boat is lifted out of the water and into the heavens, where Lillian is transformed into a young version of herself. She points out the caribou that carries the sun across the sky from east to west, the wolves whose howls make the voice of the wind and the fish whose thrashing in the heavens make the rain. Based in part on an incident in Polacco's family history, this lovely mix of myth and realism gives a lazy summer day a shot of fantasy. The pages are awash in colorful, vibrant images; this encounter with Lillian is well worth repeat readings. Ages 4-7. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreSchool-Grade 2-- A quiet fishing trip turns into an adventure for William and Mabel when Lillian Two Blossom, "an old Indian lady who lived in the woods," suggests that the siblings row her out to the center of Kalaska Pond. Before they realize what is happening, the boat lifts up out of the water, and Lillian, suddenly young again, is guiding them through the heavens, answering questions that Mabel had idly posed earlier about the rain, the winds, the sun, the moon, and the night. Bright paintings surrounded with white space depict a quiet day in the country, with blue lake, green fields, and children dressed in the straw hats, suspenders, and pinafore of an earlier time. Once the boat takes off for the sky, the paintings begin to fill the pages completely, showing how a school of bright fish brings the rain, scampering raccoons bring the night, and the polar bear spirit carries the moon across the heavens. Then the boat ride is over, and Lillian and the children return to the pond. Nothing is changed, and yet everything feels different. Polacco uses line, color, and space as in her earlier picture books. The story has the folkloric feeling of Rechenka's Eggs (Philomel, 1988) in an American Indian setting, although there is no documentation of authenticity of the legends used given in the book (nor in the Standard Dictionary of Folklore). Even as fiction modeled on folklore, the brief story has a magical feeling, with a sudden surprise that will capture listeners, and pictures large and colorful enough to share with a group. --Susan L. Rogers, Chestnut Hill Academy, Pa.Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Boat Ride with Lillian Two Blossom | [
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15,913 | 13 | Kindergarten-Grade 3-- Tanya, a vivacious preschooler, is bitten by the ballet bug before she is old enough to take lessons. She helps her big sister, Elise, practice and hangs around to watch Elise's class go through their jetes and plies . Best of all, Tanya likes to create her own dances either alone or in a pas de deux with her teddy (a ballerina bear, naturally). She does a Swan Lake which is beyond Petipa's dreams. "You have two dancers in your family," her grandmother tells her mother after a family recital. Her mother does not forget, and sees to it that Tanya starts ballet class as soon as she is old enough. This is a charming family story, showing strong and loving relationships all around. Tanya is an engaging little heroine who does not let her size undermine her determination to have her heart's desire. Ichikawa's illustrations are especially attractive, leaning heavily on muted colors with splashes of black, red, and brown. All this is placed in a pleasing format, creating a ballet story with wide appeal. --Kay McPherson, Central Atlanta-Fulton Public LibraryCopyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Dance, Tanya | [
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15,914 | 5 | PreSchool-Grade 4 Like a good winter coat in a large family, this anthology can be passed along to many children. The smallest can listen to ``The Three Bears,'' the middle-sized ones will enjoy ``The Owl and the Pussycat,'' and the older ones will puzzle out ``Rumpelstiltskin.'' Jacobs, Andersen, and Grimm account for most of the selections, and there are a few poems, too. The only off note is Longfellow's ``The Children's Hour,'' which is so much more sentimental than the other selections. Fans of Rojankovsky's Tall Book of Nursery Tales (Harper, 1944) and of Anne Rockwell's The Three Bears and Fifteen Other Stories (Crowell, 1975) are sure to love this one. DePaola's droll, witty, and very funny illustrations capture the essence of each story from a child's point of view. It's unlikely that any adult will get away with reading just one of these selections for a bedtime story. The cover and title page show a child reading aloud to an attentive audience and are an immediate reminder that this book is for sharing. The beautiful layout of these pages, in which the print and pictures are perfectly at ease with one another, invites confident new readers as well as adults for reading aloud. A fine companion volume to Tomie dePaola's Mother Goose (Putnam, 1985) .Anna Biagioni Hart, Sherwood Regional Library, Alexandria, Va.Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Tomie dePaola's Favorite Nursery Tales | [
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15,915 | 1 | Among the greatest charms of children is their ability to view a simple activity as a magical adventure. Such as a walk in the woods late at night. Jane Yolen captures this wonderment in a book whose charm rises from its simplicity. "It was late one winter night, long past my bedtime, when Pa and I went owling." The two walked through the woods with nothing but hope and each other in a journey that will fascinate many a child. John Schoenherr's illustrations help bring richness to the countryside adventure. The book won the 1988 Caldecott Medal.A girl and her father go owling on a moonlit winter night near the farm where they live. Bundled tight in wool clothes, they trudge through snow "whiter than the milk in a cereal bowl"; here and there, hidden in ink-blue shadows, a fox, raccoon, fieldmouse and deer watch them pass. An air of expectancy builds as Pa imitates the Great Horned Owl's call once without answer, then again. From out of the darkness "an echo/ came threading its way/ through the trees." Schoenherr's watercolor washes depict a New England few readers see: the bold stare of a nocturnal owl, a bird's-eye view of a farmhouse. In harmony with the art, the melodious text brings to life an unusual countryside adventure. Ages 2-6. Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Owl Moon | [
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15,916 | 6 | Hissey's textured illustrations, so lifelike that they resemble hand-tinted photographs, are as remarkable here as in her Old Bear. All the toy characters are back, helping Little Bear locate lost trousers, which everyone has used differently: Camel as hump-warmers, Rabbit as a holey ski hat, Dog as a two-bone bone-holder, among others. Little Bear despairs but finds that his trousers are now Bramwell Brown's icing baghe's frosting a cake. The cake is dubbedrather arbitrarily, it seemsTrousers Day Cake, and Little Bear is soothed. That forgiveably weak ending is offset by the snug household scenes the friends inhabit; the rooms aren't scaled down, so there's a perfectly delightful depiction of Rabbit skiing down a slick bannister on tongue depressors. From the nubby terry-cloth towel to the pearl stitches of a knit hat and shiny chrome faucets, Hissey's world makes readers believe that Old Bear could be just around the next corner. Ages 3-7. Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreSchool-Grade 1 One morning, Little Bear wakes to find his trousers missing, so he goes from one stuffed-animal friend to another in search of them. Each time, he's one step behind, finding that his clothing has been used and passed along: Sailor tried them as sails for his boat, Rabbit as a hat, with plenty of room for his ears, etc. Finally, Little Bear re trieves his trousers from Bramwell Brown, who has converted them to a double-barreled icing bag to decorate the cake he's baked. All share the cake in celebration of the trousers' return. This is a playful extension of the imaginative game of taking an object and finding various uncustomary uses. It's an idea that works better visually than it does in words, and the pictures here stand out in their near photo-realism and their dimen sionality. Those are real toys on the page, fiber by fiber, but at the same time, they look quite reasonably capable of moving and talking. It's just the visual represen tation of the life that small children can breathe into their toys, and the close-up perspective adds to the sense of realism. The illustrations are the strength of the book; the text repeats information found in them, belaboring the point, and it has its precious moments. It's fun to look at, especially with those pleasantly vibrant colors. Karen Litton, Confederation Centre Public Library, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, CanadaCopyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Little Bear's Trousers | [
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15,917 | 2 | An old woman named Babushka always wins first prize in the Easter festival for her exquisitely painted Ukrainian eggs. When she finds a wounded goose outside her house, Babushka takes her in, cares for her until she is strong again, and names her Rechenka. The goose lays an egg each morning for the old woman, but as she begins to heal, she flies around, knocking over Babushka's jars of colored paints and breaking all her Easter eggs. Babushka is miserable, until Rechenka miraculously lays brilliantly colored eggs; the old woman wins first prize once more. Polacco's story is truly rewarding; Babushka's gift for coloring eggs comes across in a splendid array of folkloric patterns, minute detail and batik-like paintings. Babushka is given credit, but the artistry is Polacco's. Intricate designs and opulent colors shade every page, right down to the onion-shaped domes and peasants' festival garments. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreSchool-Grade 3 Babushka, a kindly, stout old woman, lives in a little house in the country near pre-revolutionary Moscow. She is renowned for the gorgeous Easter eggs that she paints so painstakingly during the long, cold winters and brings to the Easter festival in Moscow. As she is feeding hungry caribou one day, she rescues a wounded goose, names her Rechenka, and tenderly nurses her back to health. While exploring the cottage, Rechenka accidentally smashes Babushka's eggs and subsequently lays 12 beautifully decorated new ones to replace them. While Babushka is in Moscow winning a prize, the goose flies away, but she leaves one last egg in her basket. From it a gosling hatches that becomes Babushka's companion. The writing has a slightly mannered, fairy tale quality. It reads aloud well and is filled with love for the natural and sweetly supernatural miracles which take place. Vivid, extremely decorative paintings enhance and amplify the text. The intricate, colorful patterns of the Ukrainian-style Easter eggs are echoed in areas such as dresses, snowflakes, rugs, and city spires, giving joyous and vigorous life to the illustrations. As a contrast, the faces of Babushka and her friends are done in realistic, gently-caricatured black and white. Patricia Pearl, First Presbyterian School, Martinsville, Va.Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Rechenka's Eggs | [
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15,918 | 0 | Gr 25As Winnie-the-Pooh turns 90 years old, four respected children's authors have imagined entertaining new adventures for the iconic bear and his friends. Echoing the voice of A.A. Milne and illustrated in the style of E.H. Shepard, this new volume invites readers to "join Winnie-the-Pooh for a year of adventures in the Hundred Acre Wood." In autumn, Pooh and Piglet fear a "mithickle" dragon is about to invade the forest. The chronicle continues into winter, when a shy and proper penguin who needs "Bringing Out of Himself" visits. In spring, Eeyore worries that "Another Donkey" has come to steal his thistles. Finally, Pooh and Piglet go in search of "the Sauce" of the river that runs through the Wood in summer. With the assistance of Christopher Robin and his animal friends, Pooh optimistically stumps through the forest seeking a solution to each tale's dilemma. The changing seasons are captured in idyllic, sunlit illustrations sprinkled throughout the text. Beginning with the eye-catching endpapers, Burgess deftly portrays life in the Hundred Acre Wood and the friendship enjoyed by Pooh, Piglet, and all the other familiar characters. The evocative visuals perfectly complement the gentle and amusing narrative. In an engaging afterword, Bright, Sibley, Willis, Saunders, and Burgess reflect on their childhood memories of the "Bear of Little Brain." VERDICT Replete with Pooh's wise insights about the simple things in life, this collection will delight a new generation of readers.Linda L. Walkins, Saint Joseph Preparatory High School, BostonJeanne Willis is one of Great Britain's most prolific and well regarded children's authors. She is the author of Paddington: The Junior Novel (2014).Kate Saunders won Britain's prestigous Costa Children's Book Award for Five Children on the Western Front (2014), a contribution to the classic fantasy series that E. Nesbit inaugurated in 1902 with Five Children and It.Brian Sibley has written and edited many books, including The Pooh Sketchbook and The Pooh Book of Quotations and The Lord of the Rings: Official Movie Guide.Paul Bright is the author a number of picture books.; Title: The Best Bear in All the World (Winnie-the-Pooh) | [
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15,919 | 1 | Text: Spanish (translation) Original Language: English; Title: Spot Va a la Granja | [
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15,920 | 5 | Born and raised in New York City, Jane Yolen now lives in Hatfield, Massachusetts. She attended Smith College and received her master's degree in education from the University of Massachusetts. The distinguished author of more than 170 books, Jane Yolen is a person of many talents. When she is not writing, Yolen composes songs, is a professional storyteller on the stage, and is the busy wife of a university professor, the mother of three grown children, and a grandmother.Active in several organizations, Yolen has been on the Board of Directors of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, was president of the Science Fiction Writers of America from 1986 to 1988, is on the editorial board of several magazines, and was a founding member of the Western New England Storytellers Guild, the Western Massachusetts Illustrators Guild, and the Bay State Writers Guild. For twenty years, she ran a monthly writer's workshop for new children's book authors. In 1980, when Yolen was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law degree by Our Lady of the Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts, the citation recognized that "throughout her writing career she has remained true to her primary source of inspiration--folk culture." Folklore is the "perfect second skin," writes Yolen. "From under its hide, we can see all the shimmering, shadowy uncertainties of the world." Folklore, she believes, is the universal human language, a language that children instinctively feel in their hearts.All of Yolen's stories and poems are somehow rooted in her sense of family and self. The Emperor and the Kite, which was a Caldecott Honor Book in 1983 for its intricate papercut illustrations by Ed Young, was based on Yolen's relationship with her late father, who was an international kite-flying champion. Owl Moon, winner of the 1988 Caldecott Medal for John Schoenherr's exquisite watercolors, was inspired by her husband's interest in birding.Yolen's graceful rhythms and outrageous rhymes have been gathered in numerous collections. She has earned many awards over the years: the Regina Medal, the Kerlan Award, the World Fantasy Award, the Society of Children's Book Writers Award, the Mythopoetic Society's Aslan Award, the Christopher Medal, the Boy's Club Jr. Book Award, the Garden State Children's Book Award, the Daedalus Award, a number of Parents' Choice Magazine Awards, and many more. Her books and stories have been translated into Japanese, French, Spanish, Chinese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Afrikaans, !Xhosa, Portuguese, and Braille.With a versatility that has led her to be called "America's Hans Christian Andersen," Yolen, the child of two writers, is a gifted and natural storyteller. Perhaps the best explanation for her outstanding accomplishments comes from Jane Yolen herself: "I don't care whether the story is real or fantastical. I tell the story that needs to be told."copyright 2000 by Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers. All rights reserved.; Title: The Emperor and the Kite | [
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15,921 | 0 | PreSchool-K Hissey's artistic talent is worthy of a more substantial story. Utterly adorable and realistic stuffed animals are scruffy and frayed in the superb full-color drawings that flesh-out this slim tale of toys with lives of their own. Bramwell Brown suddenly remembers one day that his good friend Old Bear had been packed off to the attic ``a very long time ago.'' (Why he so suddenly remembered the missing friend remains a mystery.) So Rabbit, Little Bear, and Duck decide to rescue the old fellow. First it's a wobbly tower of blocks, then they climb on each other's shoulders, bounce on the bed, climb a potted plant, and, finally, fly a small wooden airplane up to the trap door in the ceiling. The antics are slightly humorous and the failures perfectly understandable, but the story is slight. Share The Velveteen Rabbit for nursery friendships or the ``Paddington'' series for more believable (and funnier) fantasy. Virginia Opocensky, Lincoln City Libraries, Neb.Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Old Bear | [
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15,922 | 16 | In the latest Spot book, the famous brown-and-yellow puppy and his friends help young readers learn over 500 words and identify objects. Some of the words, such as "tree," "bird" and "flower," will be familiar, but others, such as "horseshoe," "horizon" and "recorder," won't be as well-known. Instead of a single story line, the book has double-spread pages that present a unified themebreakfast-time, helping on the farm, music class, working in the yard. This format allows Spot, Tom, Helen and Steve to be in many different settings and situations. The uncluttered illustrations and large, readable text will provide many hours of pleasure and learning. A niceand differentaddition to the Spot books. Ages 2-6. Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreS Hill uses a large format to illustrate and identify everyday objects. Each two-page spread shows indoor and outdoor scenes, such as a farm, a bedroom, a beach, or a birthday party. Every object in the picture is clearly drawn and labelled. Clean lines, bold color, and lots of white space, in Hill's typical style, keep the pages from appearing cluttered. The familiar Spot, along with other animal friends, is a part of each scene. Two or three sentences per page describe the activities taking place. This is a simpler version of the Scarry word books (Random) and is sure to be as popular. An attractive book to share with younger preschoolers, while older children will enjoy browsing by themselves. Nancy Kewish, Cuyahoga County Public Library, ClevelandCopyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Spot's Big Book of Words | [
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15,923 | 0 | This sentimental, neo-Victorian rendering of the Lord's Prayer does an injustice to the psalm it illustrates. Angelic 19th century children scamper through most of the volume, observing with reverence God's luminous creations. Then the phrase "Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven" is illustrated by a picture of three wistful tykes placing flowers on their mother's grave. Similarly, the phrase "But deliver us from evil" is accompanied by a terrifying scene of a post-apocalyptic landscape, glowing red while a lone child cowers in the foreground. Parents who want to strike some old-fashioned fear of damnation into their children will be well-served by this book; other familiesreligious or notshould steer clear. All ages. Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Give Us This Day | [
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15,924 | 0 | No better combination of artist and poet can celebrate nature more aptly than Emily Dickinson and Tasha Tudor. Ackerman has selected 23 of Dickinson's works from the almost 2,000 that have been published in order to share Dickinson's love of nature with today's children. However, 14 of these poems are excerpts. A note explains that this was done "particularly with children in mind," but her reasoning is unclear. If her concern is children's inability to understand the entire poem, it seems more unlikely that they will understand the incomplete thoughts caused by the omissions. The book is divided by seasons; within these sections, the poems celebrate different moments of the day. Each poem, whether segment or entire poem, appears on one page, opposite one of Tudor's impressionistic paintings set in an oval that captures the spirit of the poem but does not overwhelm it. I'm Nobody! Who Are You? Poems of Emily Dickinson for Children (Stemmer House, 1978) is a collection in which the artwork dominates and at times overwhelms the poetry. Ackerman's collection is very clear in its focus on the cycle of nature and the day within it. A Letter to the World (Macmillan, 1968; o.p.), compiled by Rumer Godden, is a straightforward collection of 44 of Dickinson's poems on a wide range of subjects; it lacks the special feeling that has been created by bringing Dickinson and Tudor together in Ackerman's book. Had each of these poems appeared in its entirety, the celebration would not only have been unique but also complete. --Jane Marino, White Plains Public Library, NYCopyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: A Brighter Garden | [
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15,925 | 2 | A girl who is afraid to go to sleep asks for the familiar story of Charlotte, her handmade stuffed elephant. It is the mother's own story, and though it is late, she tells it to her daughter. When she was five, her grandmother made her an elephant out of sewing box scraps and she named it Charlotte, "the prettiest name in the world." There is some confusion about the generations--sometimes it's unclear just which grandmother is which--but Galbraith has written a gently reassuring story about the love that spans generations and is handed down with toys. It is also a tale of a girl getting older and outgrowing the need for a stuffed playmate and protector, but who nonetheless is saving it for her own child. Cooper's ( Grandpa's Face ) somber-toned illustrations envelop the reader in their warmth as they capture the mood of summer nights and cozy bedrooms. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 2-- A warm, family-history story, temperamentally akin to Ehrlich's Zeek Silver Moon (Dial, 1972) or Jarrell's exquisite The Knee-Baby (Farrar, 1973). Laura, still awake in bed, asks her mother to tell her again the story of Charlotte, the stuffed elephant who links Mama's childhood with her own. Mama complies with pleasure, reliving her early life with Charlotte and her quiet joy in passing on a gift of love to her daughter. Laura knows just how the story goes, and prompts her mother with the telling, from Charlotte's first arrival as a birthday gift, through Mama's nighttime rescue of her lost elephant, to Laura's own welcome arrival and Charlotte's new place in her life. The story's simple declarations and sure details draw readers into an authentic shared familiarity. Cooper's pictures are endearing, filling the pages with photographlike re-creations of Mama's past and of the story's present. The twilight colors, rendered with high graininess, perfectly suit the moods of bedtime and of reminiscence. The conversations and the time shifts, while smoothly integrated, make this most comfortable for one-on-one sharing, but with the right reader, it would work well for story times, too. --Karen Litton, London Public Libraries, Ontario, CanadaCopyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Laura Charlotte | [
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15,926 | 0 | In this engaging poetry collection, popular children's book illustrator Tomie dePaola succeeds again in creating cheerful, rib-tickling animal characters, from the renegade reptile in Eve Merriam's "Alligator in the Escalator" to the cavorting cats in T. S. Eliot's "The Song of the Jellicles." This thoughtful selection of 86 poems--in a spacious, oversized format-- includes well-known works from William Blake, Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes, and Frederico Garcia Lorca, with a sprinkling of haiku for good measure. Many youngsters are drawn to the simplicity of dePaola's art, which includes pictures of children of all races at home and at play. A great beginning poetry book. (Ages 4 to 8)Like Tomie dePaola's Mother Goose , this most recent addition to the dePaola anthologies is thoughtfully compiled and organized. The opening poem, "There is no frigate like a book" by Emily Dickinson, prepares the way for the entries that follow, which take readers from the beginning of the day to the end, and all around the world. The first poems are morning poems such as "The Way to Start a Day" by Byrd Baylor and "Time to Rise" by Robert Louis Stevenson; these are followed by more general poems such as "Bananas and Cream" by David McCord and "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes; at the end of the volume are evening or ending poems, which include "Cat in Moonlight" by Douglas Gibson, "Autumn Leaves" by Aileen Fisher and "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost. While dePaola's characteristic illustrations are beautifully executed, this collection lacks the luminescent quality so pervasive in both his earlier Favorite Nursery Tales and Christmas Carols . The theme of a day's passing doesn't prove, at least in this book, to be as compelling a basis on which to build a collection of poems. All ages. Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Tomie dePaola's Book of Poems | [
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15,927 | 14 | In the tradition of his The Legend of the Bluebonnet and The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush, dePaola offers another gracious retelling of a timeless folktale. His skillfully pared-down narrative and paintings that glow with strong colors present the story of a well-intentioned Mexican child, Lucida. Distressed because she has no other gift to offer Baby Jesus, she carries into the church an armful of weeds, each of which suddenly becomes "tipped with a flaming red star"-marking the miraculous blooming of the first poinsettias. Released simultaneously in English-and Spanish-language editions. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 5-9. In this legend from Mexico, a little girl, Lucinda, is proud to help her mother weave a new blanket for the Baby Jesus to be used in a Christmas procession. But when Lucinda's mother takes ill, Lucinda tangles the yarn and is unable to complete the blanket. Feeling she has ruined Christmas, Lucinda is reluctant to go to the procession until a mysterious old woman appears from the shadows and tells Lucinda, "Any gift is beautiful because it is given. Whatever you give, the Baby Jesus will love because it comes from you." Nervously, Lucinda grabs an armful of weeds, which she brings into the church. As she prays, the weeds open into dazzling red flowers that decorate the altar. The story has a simple dignity, but it is the artwork that takes center stage here. The spreads, which feature everyday occurrences (set in a generic era), are magnificently staged and colored and culminate in the last spread--Lucinda praying at a crche, with a profusion of poinsettias decorating the pages. An author's note gives the origin of the story as well as facts about the poinsettia plant and its Christmas connections. Ilene Cooper; Title: The Legend of the Poinsettia (Mexican Folktale) | [
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15,928 | 2 | He has received virtually every major award in the television industry for work in his field, and dozens of others from special-interest groups.Fred Rogers lives in Pennsylvania.; Title: Going to the Dentist (Mr. Rogers) | [
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15,929 | 0 | In this 128-page anthology of 37 Bible stories and prayers, dePaola wisely works from the New International Version, the contemporary translation of the Bible, to make these tales accessible to young readers. Jonah in the whale, Noah and his animal pairs headed for the ark, Moses with the burning bush: all are presented in an appealing style, with well-integrated details that enrich the telling. Those who already love dePaola and his trademark characters will be predisposed to appreciate this comprehensive collection. All ages. Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.K Up-- A collection of 17 stories from the Old Testament, 15 from the New Testament, and 4 psalms. The text is from the New International Version, which is currently among the best-selling editions of the Bible and is written in clear, straightforward language. dePaola uses the text as written with some abridgement to make the stories an appropriate length. Done in his typical style, the illustrations feature stylized people and objects. His children are as winsome looking as ever, but the adults convey sincerity and trust through both facial expressions and body positions. He also makes good use of architectural and decorative detail. There are several illustrations for each story, many of which are full page, and most make dramatic use of color. The large format enhances the impact of the pictures. Like Mother Goose and fairy-tale collections, editions of Bible stories by respected illustrators abound, but this edition should find a place on most shelves as an excellent choice for family or group use as well as for independent reading. --Jane Gardner Connor, formerly at South Carolina State Library, ColumbiaCopyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Tomie dePaola's Book of Bible Stories | [
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15,930 | 13 | Eric Carle's distinctive art holds a place of honor in the world of children's books. (He is the creator of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and the illustrator of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?.) In this thoughtfully selected collection of poems about animals, you'll meet creatures of every sort, from an ant to a yak. You'll find selections from many cultures, penned by celebrated poets such as Lewis Carroll, Ogden Nash, Rudyard Kipling, Emily Dickinson, and Jack Prelutsky. Animals, Animals is best suited for older preschoolers and children in the early elementary grades, but the beautiful illustrations will please children of any age, including babies. The oversized format lends itself well to Eric Carle's bright collages--the animals, birds, and insects seem ready to jump or fly right off the pages. (Ages 1 to 8)Exuberantly illustrated by Carle ( The Very Hungry Caterpillar ), this collection of animal poems contains many pleasant surprises. Benjamin Franklin observes, "What is a butterfly? At best / He's but a caterpillar dressed," and Clarence Day reports, "The ant is knowing and wise; but / he doesn't know enough to take a vacation." "A discovery!" announces Yaku in a haiku. "On my frog's smooth green belly /there sits no button." Meanwhile, Carle's brilliant patchwork of mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds, fish and insects parades up and down tree trunks, alongside cityscapes and--most memorably--is enfolded in the billowing currents of oceans. Seeing and evoking all with a childlike, primitive verve, the illustrator depicts his menagerie at full tilt, with sensuous succulence. All ages. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Eric Carle's Animals, Animals | [
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15,931 | 13 | This is a charming exercise in autobiography (one of several) by the great author-illustrator Tomie dePaola. "Tommy" is consumed with a passion for drawing. Although encouraged by his family, who treat his pictures with respect and decorate their houses and workplaces with them, he encounters misunderstanding and frustration at school. Finally, an art teacher gives him a chance to do his own thing. The Art Lesson is filled with many full-page illustrations in dePaola's inimitably warm, soothing style. It's also packed with the right lessons on individuality and perseverance, especially for children who are already showing a single-minded interest or special talents that put them ahead of their peers. (Ages 4 to 8) --Richard FarrA boy named Tommy loves to draw with his Binney & Smith Crayola crayons, and these pictures hang on his side of the room, in his mother's kitchen, at the barber shop where his father works, in the store of his Irish grandparents and in the home of his Italian grandmother Nana. Tommy? Nana? This work of picture-book fiction is really a gem of an autobiography, and readers familiar with dePaola's work will find wonderful, well-placed clues to his lifetime of artistry among these pages. Tommy starts school, and can't wait for the day when the art teacher comes. But there are a couple of hitches: the paints at school are cracked and powdery (and blow "right off the paper"), and the art teacher only lets the children have one piece of paper, on which to "copy" her drawings. Tommy, who has been told by his aunts (twins, who are artists) that real artists never copy, has a crisis. But his teachers (including Tommy's regular classroom teacher) show themselves to be far more understanding than readers could have predicted, and all ends well. Inventive and revealing, dePaola provides a lyrical blend of text and art. This is an inspired and childlike offering, perhaps one of dePaola's best. Ages 5-8. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Art Lesson | [
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15,932 | 0 | Grade 2-5 An informative, interesting, and immensely readable account of the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Aimed at the same audience as Fritz' well-known series on Revolutionary heroes (Coward), this is every bit as good as those acclaimed titles, although younger children might need to have some terms clarified. Neatly woven into the discussion of what the framers were doing and how they did it are some wonderfully gossippy tidbits that are sure to catch young readers' imagination and make it all come alive for them. The text of the Constitution is included, as well as several pages of notes that expand upon some of the points that the main text touches upon. DePaola's choice of what to illustrate is excellent, as he has selected situations that have great child appeal. His illustrations, many of which are in color, add a further touch of good humor to the proceedings, particularly the sourpuss expressions on some of the founding fathers. This is superior to Marilyn Prolman's Story of the Constitution (Childrens, 1969), which is for the same age group. It is similar in style to Henry Steele Commager's The Great Constitution (Bobbs-Merrill, 1961), which is for an older audience. Fritz' ability to simplify without condescending makes this an excellent choice for introducing young readers to the complexities of the constitution. Elaine Fort Weischedel, Turner Free Lib . , Randolph, Mass.Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Shh! We're Writing the Constitution | [
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15,933 | 2 | An abridgement of the novel Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes combined with images from a film adaptation of the work yields a complex and somewhat abstract picture book. Using a sampling of the illustrations he created for the movie version, Young ( Seven Blind Mice ) subtly accentuates the poignancy of the story without rendering it sentimental. His ethereal pastels (reminiscent of his art in The Red Thread ) seem to convey the mood, rather than the actual activity, of the text. Sweeping panoramas alternate with wispy image fragments against ample white space: a face half-concealed, a shadow darting past. Coerr's condensed text succeeds in retaining the simple lyricism of the original, allowing the leukemia-stricken Sadako to emerge as a quietly courageous girl. Given the necessary length of the text, the mature subject matter and the sophisticated artwork, this book may find its most welcoming audience among older readers, especially those who enjoyed its original version as a novel. Ages 5-9. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 2-6-This is the same story as the author's Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes (Putnam, 1977), told through an entirely new text. In this abbreviated version, the beautiful, limpid prose and crisp dialogue further telescope Sadako's fight with leukemia, "the atom-bomb disease," adding greater impact to her death. What was an epilogue in the novel is here an integral, if anticlimactic, part of the text due to the exceptional flow of the illustrations. Young's pastels vividly capture all the moods of the narrative, place, and characters. The use of light, most obvious as Sadako lays dying, is particularly noteworthy, as is the crane motif as a recurring symbol of hope. A masterful collaboration that will attract many new friends for Sadako.John Philbrook, San Francisco Public LibraryCopyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Sadako | [
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15,934 | 0 | "On the whole," Theodore Roosevelt once wrote, "I have continued all my life to have a better time year after year." Roosevelt lived his life like the hero of a classic children's tale: he was a small, ailing boy who overcame his physical problems--seemingly by sheer enthusiasm and will power--to achieve a career filled with adventure, fun and success. As usual, Fritz ( The Double Life of Pocahontas ; Shh! We're Writing the Constitution ) makes the most of her material, as she presents an irresistible portrait of a unique, larger-than-life American. Roosevelt comes alive through such telling details as the clothes he wore (ever the dandy, he strutted through his stint as New York City's Police Commissioner in pink shirts and "a black silk cummerbund with tassels reaching to his knees"), the lively games he played with his children and homely observations: "Teddy couldn't get along without a rocking chair. Even when he sat down to rest, he liked to feel that at least his chair was on the go." Fritz also chronicles T.R.'s political career and his impact on the nation through his work in conservation, legislation and tax reforms. This thoroughly entertaining biography can be summed up in one word: Bully! Ages 10-14. Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.Concluding her first chapter with the death of Roosevelt's father while Roosevelt was still at Harvard, Fritz includes a telling quote (``I felt stunned...he was everything to me''), then telegraphs her theme in her uniquely lucid, succinct style: ``In his distress, Teddy may have felt that...his boyhood was gone. If so, he would have been wrong. [He] would always be a boy. And...his father would always be looking over his shoulder.'' With judicious balance, Fritz surveys the salient facts-- Roosevelt's political rise, his groundbreaking work as reformer and environmentalist, his sturdy militarism-- illuminating them with revealing incidents especially interesting to young readers, from his early interest in natural history (at seven, he was diligently recording animals' measurements; he learned taxidermy just a few years later) to his indulgence toward his children's White House escapades. Each entrancing detail contributes to the larger picture of Roosevelt: active, imaginative, indefatigable, a man who left law school when he found that law ``had less to do with justice than he thought it should'' and diverted himself from grief with hard work. This colorful, idiosyncratic President, long a biographers' favorite, has never been portrayed with more beguiling wit, precision, and honesty. An excellent book, one of Fritz's best. Notes; bibliography; index. (Illustrations not seen.) (Biography. 10+) -- Copyright 1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.; Title: Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt! | [
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15,935 | 2 | PreSchool-K --Fans of Kasza's previous picture books will welcome this latest effort. Cheerful, energetic illustrations decorate the simple but charming taleof a youngster's search for a loving parent. A chubby-faced yellow bird with blue-striped feet, Choco believes that physical similarity is a prerequisite for family relationships. He asks a series of animals who bear even the slightest resemblance to him if they might be his mother, but all turn him away. Discouraged by their rejection, Choco is pleasantly surprised when Mrs. Bear takes an interest in him, plays with and cuddles him, and ultimately offers him a home. The presence of other ``adoptees'' is made obvious as a young alligator, hippopotamus, and pig welcome Choco into his new family. The endearing watercolor paintings are bold and bright enough to appeal to the very youngest listeners, and there is a wealth of character and personality evident in the animals' expressions. These pictures, along with the minimal, repetitive text, make this an excellent choice for storytime use. The emphasis on caring and sharing despite superficial differences will surely find a wide audience. A multicultural message may also be read into this satisfying story with appealing illustrations and a very happy ending. --Lisa Dennis, The Carnegie Library of PittsburghCopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.The talented creator of The Wolf's Chicken Stew (1987 ALA Notable) provides a warmhearted contemporary surprise ending for the time-honored formula of a little creature searching the animal kingdom for its appropriate mother. Choco, a small yellow bird with a big blue bill, tries a giraffe (she has no wings, she says), a penguin (no ``big round cheeks''), and a walrus, but no one seems to look just like him. Comfortable Mrs. Bear is wiser: ``If you had a mommy, what would she do?'' And since she's quite able to hold him and kiss him, regardless of appearances, he's soon the new member of her happy family--joining the little pig, hippo, and alligator already in her affectionate brood. The timely point is hardly subtle, but it's made with notable good humor, especially in Kasza's marvelous animal caricatures of comically human states of mind. Just right for the preschool group or beginning reader. (Picture book. 3-7) -- Copyright 1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.; Title: A Mother for Choco | [
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15,936 | 14 | " 'Who is coming to our house?' 'Someone, someone,' says Mouse." In trusting anticipation, the animals ready the stable, cleaning, sweeping, stacking hay, and lining a crib. The visitors are, of course, Mary and Joseph, as weand the animalslearn in the book's closing pages. Simple, cleanly rhyming verses give the text a pleasing cadence, while Wolff's accomplished block prints convey the gentle friendliness and generosity of the occasion. A quiet, understated rendering of the Nativity, this well-crafted picture book resonates with genuine warmth and spirit. Ages 3-6. Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreSchool-Grade 1 A beautiful book with an insubstantial text. In a simple story told in rhyme, stable animals ask ``Who is coming to our house?'' `` `Someone, someone,' says Mouse.'' With anticipation, each animal helps to prepare ``their house'' for the unnamed guests. By nightfall, the stable is readied and the animals welcome Mary and Joseph. A double-page illustration shows the animals gazing upon the baby Jesus cradled in his Mother's arms. Wolff uses the same linoleum block and wash technique so effective in A Year of Birds (Dodd, 1984) and A Year of Beasts (Dutton, 1986). As in the earlier titles, the unusual perspectives and figures breaking through the black-lined boundaries add to the visual drama. Here, rich earth tones give a sense of the natural humility and love of the stable birth. Preschoolers and some toddlers will easily recognize most of the animals portrayed, but unless children already know the Christmas story they won't appreciate the importance of the human visitors, since Mary and Joseph are identified only by name. This may not be an obvious first choice as a holiday book or an animal identification book, but it is worth consideration for either shelf. Heide Piehler, Shorewood Public Library, Wis.Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Who is Coming to Our House? | [
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15,937 | 2 | Verse (often verging on doggerel) conveys this forced narrative about a boy who asks members of his family, "What did you do on the day Grandad died?" Mama, for example, responds, "I looked in the mirror, and then, son, I lied. / I said to myself that my daddy's not dead. / But the mirror looked back at me, shaking its head." Meanwhile, the boy's grandmother remembers "your grandaddy Billy" as a young sailor, an uncle recalls a strong father, a great-aunt a baby brother. When the boy's father turns the question on the boy himself, the boy's anger at the loss emerges: "So you were mad," says the father; "I should have been sad," his son responds. The resonance of, for example, When I Die, Will I Get Better? is absent here, with almost saccharine formulas in the place of emotional truths. The elegiac tone lightens a bit in Mathis's full-color spreads, which show a memory in the making. These are interspersed with the family-album pen-and-ink repros on sad tan pages. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 3-A story of a young boy who is grieving for his recently deceased grandfather. "'Grandma, what did you do on the day Grandad died?'/'I sat on my porch rocker, child, and I cried./I looked at the ocean all covered with foam/and thought of my handsome young sailor gone home.'" And so continues the dialogue between Jon and various members of his family-his uncle, his mom, his great aunt, and others, as they express their sadness and love for Grandad in short, eloquent phrases. Finally, Jon's father asks him to express his own feelings, and the boy admits that the way he felt was neither "nice" nor "good"-he felt "mad." His dad helps him come to terms with his anger and to realize that grief encompasses many emotions and takes time to resolve itself. Mathis uses black-and-white drawings on tan paper to illustrate Jon's conversations with his family and snapshots of Grandad Bill. Double-page, full-color, pastel illustrations represent each person's memories of the past. Facial expressions are specific and suggestive of portrait studies. The rhyming text flows smoothly; however, if children are reading the book on their own, they may have trouble distinguishing who is speaking-Jon's words are in roman type, while the others' are in italics. Despite this drawback, the book could be effectively used to lead into a discussion of death.Alexandra Marris, Rochester Public Library, NYCopyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Grandad Bill's Song | [
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15,938 | 20 | two hardcovers in slipcase; Title: The Tasha Tudor Mini Gift Set: The Lord Is My Shepherd, Give Us This Day | [
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15,939 | 0 | Fritz ( Shh! We're Writing the Constitution! ) here presents a brisk, highly accessible biography of James Madison. Sickly as a child, Madison was a short, frail man with a wispy, small voice. His successes in incorporating personal freedoms into a reasonably strong centralized government and his enormous appetite for work earned him the sobriquet "great." Madison's shyness and difficulty with public speaking were drawbacks during the politician's early days in Virginia government--as was the enmity of a powerful Patrick Henry--but behind-the-scenes speaking effectiveness and voluminous, well-reasoned writings more than compensated. In her characteristic way of bringing history to life, Fritz writes in a highly engaging, entertaining manner, providing vivid descriptions of Madison's close friendship with Thomas Jefferson; his long and apparently happy marriage to Dolly; the infighting during the creation of the Constitution; the patience with which our fourth president dealt with an unreasonable England, leading to the war of 1812--and that war's defeats and victories. Ages 10-up. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Great Little Madison | [
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15,940 | 0 | Sexual equality comes to fairy tales in this jaunty, contemporary version of the put-upon sibling. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Prince cinders (sandcastle) | [
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15,941 | 1 | "When the Elephant walks . . . he scares the Bear," begins this whimsical chain-reaction story. Bear, who is interrupted as he tries to raid a beehive for honey, runs away from the Elephant. Bear then scares the Crocodile, who is relaxing and reading a newspaper. The Crocodile dives into the water and swims for his life. In turn he frightens the Wild Hog who, with goggles on his head and a tube around his middle, is poised to take a dip. And so on, until a frightened mouse scurries into . . . guess who? The elephant, of course, trembling in terror. Kasza ( The Wolf's Chicken Stew and The Pigs' Picnic ) fills her pictures with amusing details that children will appreciate along with the simple story. Especially entertaining are the expressions on the animals' faces. Ages 3-6. Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreSchool-Grade 1--When the Elephant Walks, he frightens the Bear who in turn scares the next animal; from Crocodile to Wild Hog to Mrs. Raccoon, the panic spreads until it returns to Elephant who is, of course, scared of little Mouse. Although adults will easily predict the outcome, young children will giggle at the absurdity of the conclusion of this humorous story. It is a testament to the artist's expressive watercolors that so fulfilling a tale--complete with a subtle lesson (even the mighty among us are afraid of something)--can be told in so few words. Kasza's restraint in the amount of detail included in the pictures is admirable; large amounts of white space draw attention to and frame each animal's fearful yet silly face. Not an original concept, but nevertheless sure to be a popular choice for preschoolers and beginning readers. --Ellen Fader, Westport Pub . Lib . , CTCopyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: When the Elephant Walks | [
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15,942 | 11 | In this companion to The Legend of the Bluebonnet, Little Gopher is smaller than the rest of the children in his tribe and can't keep up with those who ride, run, wrestle or shoot with bows and arrows. But, he has a talent of his ownhe is an artist. When he grows older, a Dream-Vision comes to him: a young Indian maiden and her grandfather tell him that he will paint pictures of the great warriors with colors as pure as the evening sky. Little Gopher's paintings never satisfy him because the colors are dull and dark, but he keeps trying. In the night, a voice tells him how to find paint-filled brushes; Little Gopher locates them, and they become brilliantly colored flowers known as Indian Paintbrush. This tale is related with deceptive simplicity by dePaola; he enhances the plainness of the story with his primitive illustrations, and, like Little Gopher, he finds inspiration in the colors of the sunset. Ages 2-7. Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.Little Gopher follows his destiny, as revealed in a Dream-Vision, of becoming an artist for his people and eventually is able to bring the colors of the sunset down to earth.; Title: The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush | [
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15,943 | 7 | In Gwinna, Berger (Grandfather Twilight; The Donkey's Dream; When the Sun Rose) has written and illustrated a magnificent fairy tale of wonder, beauty and power. Gwinna, an en chanted child with wings growing from her back, is given as a fosterling to a childless human couple by the Mother of the Owls. As Gwinna grows, her foster parents try to hide her wings, then refuse to honor their promise to return her, but the Mother of the Owl's magic is too strong for them and Gwinna is summoned to her true home. There she learns to fly and sets off on a mystical quest across the sea to an ice-capped mountain, where she fulfills a lifelong dream by carving herself a harp and learning to play it. No brief recap of Gwinna's plot can do justice to all its subtleties or to its profound imagery. Berger tells her long tale in simple, direct prose that illuminates its allegorical aspects with impressive clarity while keeping the action and adventure flowing smooth ly. This accomplishment is especially remarkable as Gwinna is Berger's lon gest text by far; in her earlier, shorter work, she has relied on her shimmer ing acrylic paintings to create the ethereal mood that is her trademark. Happily, Berger has not stinted on the pictures here either. Gwinna is graced with 18 full-page paintings, one two- page painting and many smaller in sets and decorations that capture the action's high points. In the realm of children's fantasies, Gwinna com pares with George MacDonald's The Princess and the Goblin and C. S. Lew is's Chronicles of Narnia. With the publication of this story, Berger takes her place with the best talents in the field, past and present. Ages 6-up. Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 5-7-- In this original folktale, a woman longing for a baby accepts help from the Mother of the Owls, then fails to keep her promise to give up the child. The debt is collected, and the little girl, true to her origins, has grown wings. As she learns to use them, Gwinna is attracted by a song coming from a magical mountain, and sets off to learn its mysteries. The familiar folkloric influences of Rumpelstiltskin, Sleeping Beauty , and other tales of quests, talking beasts, magical metamorphoses, and the use of traditional symbols are woven into Berger's story, together with an overlay of more contemporary ideals. The portrayal of the Mother of the Owls as a stern, but ultimately good figure is an interesting switch from the wicked fairies who usually make such bargains, and Gwinna's perseverance on her quest with the help not of a handsome prince but of a grandfatherly griffin are refreshing variations on ancient themes. The text at its best is poetic, even lyrical, but it lacks the spare language of the old stories. The first half of the story reads well, but once Gwinna sets off on her quest, the dialogue in particular shows a tendency to gush. However, the illustrations show no such imbalances. They range from small decorations to a lovely double-page spread, enriched with luminous color and movement that flows generously beyond the celtic margins. A book for libraries in which the demand for fantasy is insatiable. --Barbara Hutcheson, Greater Victoria Public Library, B.C., CanadaCopyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Gwinna | [
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15,944 | 2 | The newest gem from Polacco's treasure chest of family stories extolls the virtues of reading--and of taking a study break. Young Mary Ellen would rather be "outdoors running and playing" than indoors with a book. Sympathetic to her feelings, her grandfather suggests that they find a bee tree. The Michigan woods literally buzz with activity as Mary Ellen and Grampa chase a pollen-laden bee to its far-off hive, picking up curious neighbors and passers-by along the way. Before long the original pair becomes a "thundering stampede of goats, buggies, people and bikes" in search of honey. Polacco's rollicking text provides a bubbly, adventurous tone for her cumulative romp. Boisterous color brings to life the characters' old-fashioned garb and the unspoiled lushness of the rural 19th-century setting. Fine pencil detail highlights stray pieces of hair blown back by the breeze, and the joy and determination on the faces of the honey hunters. Like Mary Ellen, readers will emerge refreshed from this respite, ready to seek out new adventures. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreSchool-Grade 2-- Polacco has created another charming picture book featuring a child learning from a grandparent in an idyllic pastoral setting. Mary Ellen complains that she is tired of reading. Her grandfather replies that ". . . this is just the right time to find a bee tree!" They chase bees through the Michigan countryside, are soon joined, a la "The Gingerbread Man," by a number of bystanders, and are finally led to the hive. At the end of the story, Grampa drops a bit of honey on a book's cover and tells Mary Ellen to compare its sweetness to that which is found inside: "Just like we ran after the bees to find their tree, so you must also chase these things adventure, knowledge, and wisdom through the pages of a book!" While the message may not be as emotionally resonant as the themes found in Thunder Cake (Philomel, 1990) or Babushka's Doll (S. & S., 1990), both the writing and artwork are fresh and inviting. There is a marvelous specificity to the names and places found within the story, and the pacing is appropriately reckless. The double-page spreads are done in Polacco's distinctive multimedium style and are beautifully composed. Her use of white space sets off the clear yet unusual colors. Well worth pursuing. --Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, ILCopyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Bee Tree | [
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15,945 | 15 | Every young child should be introduced to this story, as great a classic as its predecessor, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. This colorful picture book describes a spider's day. Blown onto a farmyard fence, she starts to spin a web. The other animals ask if she wants to play, but in every case "the spider didn't answer. She was very busy spinning her web." But the best thing by far is Carle's familiar, yet breathtaking skill as an illustrator.Eric Carle is acclaimed and beloved as the creator of brilliantly illustrated and innovatively designed picture books for very young children. His best-known work, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, has eaten its way into the hearts of literally millions of children all over the world and has been translated into more than 25 languages and sold over twelve million copies. Since the Caterpillar was published in 1969, Eric Carle has illustrated more than sixty books, many best sellers, most of which he also wrote.Born in Syracuse, New York, in 1929, Eric Carle moved with his parents to Germany when he was six years old; he was educated there, and graduated from the prestigious art school, the Akademie der bildenden Kunste, in Stuttgart. But his dream was always to return to America, the land of his happiest childhood memories. So, in 1952, with a fine portfolio in hand and forty dollars in his pocket, he arrived in New York. Soon he found a job as a graphic designer in the promotion department of The New York Times. Later, he was the art director of an advertising agency for many years.One day, respected educator and author, Bill Martin Jr, called to ask Carle to illustrate a story he had written. Martin's eye had been caught by a striking picture of a red lobster that Carle had created for an advertisement. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? was the result of their collaboration. It is still a favorite with children everywhere. This was the beginning of Eric Carle's true career. Soon Carle was writing his own stories, too. His first wholly original book was 1,2,3 to the Zoo, followed soon afterward by the celebrated classic, The Very Hungry Caterpillar.Eric Carle's art is distinctive and instantly recognizable. His art work is created in collage technique, using hand-painted papers, which he cuts and layers to form bright and cheerful images. Many of his books have an added dimension - die-cut pages, twinkling lights as in The Very Lonely Firefly, even the lifelike sound of a cricket's song as in The Very Quiet Cricket - giving them a playful quality: a toy that can be read, a book that can be touched. Children also enjoy working in collage and many send him pictures they have made themselves, inspired by his illustrations. He receives hundreds of letters each week from his young admirers. The secret of Eric Carle's books' appeal lies in his intuitive understanding of and respect for children, who sense in him instinctively someone who shares their most cherished thoughts and emotions.The themes of his stories are usually drawn from his extensive knowledge and love of nature - an interest shared by most small children. Besides being beautiful and entertaining, his books always offer the child the opportunity to learn something about the world around them. It is his concern for children, for their feelings and their inquisitiveness, for their creativity and their intellectual growth that, in addition to his beautiful artwork, makes the reading of his books such a stimulating and lasting experience.Carle says: "With many of my books I attempt to bridge the gap between the home and school. To me home represents, or should represent; warmth, security, toys, holding hands, being held. School is a strange and new place for a child. Will it be a happy place? There are new people, a teacher, classmates - will they be friendly? I believe the passage from home to school is the second biggest trauma of childhood; the first is, of course, being born. Indeed, in both cases we leave a place of warmth and protection for one that is unknown. The unknown often brings fear with it. In my books I try to counteract this fear, to replace it with a positive message. I believe that children are naturally creative and eager to learn. I want to show them that learning is really both fascinating and fun."copyright 2000 by Penguin Group (USA) Books for Young Readers. All rights reserved.; Title: The Very Busy Spider -Miniature version book. | [
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15,946 | 13 | When Uncle Satie, a debonair cat-about-town, comes to visit his niece and nephew, he regales the youngsters with tales of his escapades in Gay Paree. Satie ran with quite a crowd, it seems--numbering among his friends and acquaintances Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas and a host of others. (A key on the back flap identifies, rather coyly, the array of dazzling guests pictured at one of Stein's salons--Zelda F., Josephine B., James J., Isadora D. and Ernest H. Children will certainly not know--and may not care about--their famous surnames.) When a fight erupts over whether Pablo or Henri (Picasso and Matisse) is the greater artist, Satie is chosen to referee. The story, with its gentle message of individual merit and the folly of trying to judge apples against oranges, has a certain charm. The subtle shadings of dePaola's illustrations, too, are executed with considerable elan. Most of the references to the '20s and '30s notables, however, as well as the visual puns (Satie as Picasso's Blue Nude ), are aimed at a more sophisticated audience, and may go over the heads of puzzled readers. Ages 5-9. Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 2-- Uncle Satie, a traveling cat, and his companion, Ffortusque Ffollet, Esq., arrive from Paris for a visit with a niece and nephew, Rosalie and Conrad. They tell of a recent incident in which their artist friend Pablo (Picasso) is nearly upstaged at a Sunday evening gathering at Gertrude's (Stein) well-known Salon. When Henri (Matisse) insists on showing his paintings as well, the artists gathered there are raucously divided until Gertrude announces a contest with Mr. Satie as the judge. He finds it impossible to declare one style of painting superior to another and pronounces both artists winners. Although the art in dePaola's flat, bold style and deep colors is dramatic, the story is pretentious. Famous personalities of Paris in the 1920s are unlikely to engage the interest of young children, and the tongue-in-cheek humor is sophisticated and adult. Older children, however, may find the story intriguing if it is introduced by their art teachers. --Sally R. Dow, Ossining Public Library, NYCopyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Bonjour, Mr. Satie | [
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15,947 | 2 | Patrick Edward's mother is a monster--literally. An impish-faced woman experiencing a decidedly bad hair day and needing a manicure, "Monster Mama" lives in a cave behind the family house. In addition to her roaring and spell-casting skills, this unique parent bakes cookies, drives Patrick Edward to school in bad weather and nurses him with "the sweetest touch in the world" when he is feeling poorly. But when three bullies ruffle Patrick Edward's feathers with a crack about Mama, the boy gets his chance to prove he's his mother's son--roar and all. Rosenberg creates a light mood with her matter-of-fact description of strange circumstances. Any thrill here is derived from curiosity rather than gruesomeness, and youngsters will find comfort in the oddly tender mother-child relationship that permeates the story. Gammell's trademark electric palette and airy, spattered paint technique make for illustrations that crackle with childlike energy. Except for a couple of portraits, many of the scenes are abstract, with some indiscernible shapes and obscured faces. The effect, however, is not distracting, and gives the text a sense of universality. Ages 4-up. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 2-- "Patrick Edward was a wonderful boy, but his mother was a monster. She lived in a big cave at the back of the house." She may be a monster, yet she has a sweet touch where her son is concerned. She teaches him lots of things and is always there when he needs her most. The nicely paced text maintains the balance between the offbeat and the commonplace. Despite the book's brevity, the characters of both Patrick Edward, a self-sufficient, fearless little boy, and his mother, who is shy and retiring except when roused by necessity, emerge clearly. Gammell's cheery palette and loose, fluid watercolors succeed admirably in creating an atmosphere of mystery and charm. Figures emerge out of multilayer swirls of color, sometimes defined, sometimes just impressionistic, yet recognizable, shapes. Mama is shape-shifting monstrous, but the bright shades of green, yellow, blue, and purple, and the generally benign expressions, make her interesting rather than threatening. The story has humor, suspense, and just a hint of magic to beguile readers. It also has universal appeal as it portrays a warm, supportive relationship between a son and his unique, yet loving, mother. --Karen James, Louisville Free Public Library, KYCopyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Monster Mama | [
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15,948 | 1 | "What did you do today, Will?" ask a literal-minded mother and father. Their son replies, "I rode my mammoth." Chronicling most of this boy's fantastic voyage in very few words and superb watercolors, Martin ( Foolish Rabbit's Big Mistake ) and Gammell ( Song and Dance Man ) evoke a prehistoric landscape vast in scope and ticklishly humorous in details: the long red tongue of a woolly rhino licks her offspring's bristly forehead; two mammoths play tug-of-war with an infant of their species; cave-dwelling humans build snow mammoths instead of snow men. But it is Will's mount that is most lovingly characterized: tough but tender-hearted, this nameless creature plods impassively through snowy vistas to pluck a flower for his rider. His goofy face, with sunken blue eyes and great, unfurling tusks, is sweet yet sad, a radiant invention in a small epic of the imagination. Working on a scale less domestic and with a palette less pastel than previously, Gammell equals or outdoes his fine earlier achievements. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreSchool-Grade 2-- Will loves mammoths--huge, hairy, woolly mammoths. His parents explain that there are no mammoths left in the world, but Will knows better. Off he goes into an iridescent, snowbound world of his own creation, where he quickly finds all manner of woolly prehistoric beasts. The story is rich in imagination although sparing in words. Martin's text, hand-lettered and colored, is a straightforward frame for the real adventure revealed in Gammell's pictures. There is a feeling of joy and anticipation as Will's original snow-covered boulder bursts into one lone mammoth, only to be joined immediately by a whole herd of the wise-eyed creatures. In the course of the day, Will and his mammoth herd rout a pack of dangerous saber-toothed tigers, sing with the wolves, and meet a fur-clad cave family. The adventure is complete when they unexpectedly discover flowers blooming in the snow. A call home for supper returns Will to the everyday world, where he goes to bed with a promise of "I'll see you tomorrow." The illustrations are Gammell at his best. His scratchy, expressive line is full of energy, giving life and movement to the figures, while a sort of "spattered" overlay effectively creates the swirling snow. Rainbow hues reflect from the ice and snow onto brown shaggy fur and mammoth tusks. The color accents both figures and landscape, giving a feeling of solidity and eliminating any hint of monotony in the brown-furred creatures or snowy vistas. Gammell's prehistoric world is, in fact, unexpectedly colorful, and the contrast between the vibrant color and the white snow is extremely pleasing to the eye. A marvelous imaginary journey that will strike a responsive chord in young and old alike. --Linda Boyles, Alachua County Library District, Gainesville, FLCopyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Will's Mammoth | [
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15,949 | 2 | In this touching picture book, a girl discovers a new capacity for friendship when she spends some time with a neighbor boy who has Down's Syndrome. Christy's mother has told her to "be good to Eddie Lee," because he is "lonesome" and "different." Christy, however, would rather go wading with her friend JimBud than be pestered by Eddie Lee. But when Eddie Lee, uninvited, follows the two kids, Christy reluctantly includes her neighbor and is pleasantly surprised at how the afternoon turns out. Fleming's story accurately captures the attitudes and behavior children often adopt when it comes to tolerating peers who are different. Her characters ring true without being stereotypes and her message about acceptance and friendship is poignant, not heavy-handed. Shimmering with summer sunlight, Cooper's oil washes depict a lush and pastoral setting. Sensitive portraits of all three children provide a depth of emotion that supplements the spare, perceptive text. Eddie Lee's facial features clearly identify his mental and physical challenges, but his portrayal remains positive, realistic and non-threatening. This successful collaboration is a rarity for its potential to entertain, educate and encourage deeper consideration for others. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 2-On the first day of summer vacation, Christy follows her friend JimBud to a nearby pond, looking for something to do. When Eddie Lee, a child with Down's syndrome, follows them, Christy tells him to stay home, and JimBud tries to chase him away. Only when Eddie Lee leads the girl to a hidden place to show her frog eggs and water lillies does she fully grasp that everyone is special and has unique, individual gifts. Cooper's attractive, full-page borderless scenes of the rural South- waist-high, straw-colored weeds; a clear, rippling stone-bottomed brook; hazy green woods and water-are painted in oil wash, but have the smudgy appearance of oil pastel. Clearly the focus of the illustrations is the insightfully realistic portraits of Eddie Lee, and it is Cooper's artful accompaniment to the text that truly brings out the author's positive message. Berniece Rabe's Where's Chimpy? (Albert Whitman, 1988) is aimed at three to five-year-olds, as is Cairo Jasmine's Our Brother Has Down's Syndrome (Annick, 1985). Be Good to Eddie Lee is welcome for slightly older children, but mostly for the realism it exudes rather than the somewhat contrived story.Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OHCopyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Be Good to Eddie Lee | [
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15,950 | 0 | Grade 1-4-Boulton has successfully adapted this picture book from her longer work, Opal (Tioga, 1984). Opal Whitely, born around 1900, was orphaned and brought up by foster parents in Oregon. These selections from the diary she kept "in her fifth and sixth year" bring to life an extraordinary child and evoke images of a frontier life style that will fascinate young readers. It is astonishing that this child, facing the hardships of living with a cruel and demanding stepfamily, as well as the trauma of moving to 19 different lumber camps during her girlhood, could find the time and courage to record her thoughts, feelings, and impressions in such a lyrical style. Her optimism, sense of humor, and heartfelt love and respect for living things shine through her spare prose and sometimes awkward phrasing. Cooney's muted watercolors expand the imagery created by the simple text, realistically portraying living conditions and conveying the majestic beauty of the Northwest. Readers will respond positively to this glimpse of history and will share Opal's sense of wonder and gratitude for things that are often taken for granted. Not simply an adaptation of an unusual diary, this book is a tribute to the resiliency of the human spirit.Martha Rosen, Edgewood School, Scarsdale, NYCopyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 6-9. The inner life of children, long ignored in accounts of pioneer history, is here given an unforgettable voice. Opal was five years old when her parents died, and she went to live with a foster family in a lumber camp in Oregon at the turn of the century. She was just learning to print, and she wrote about her life on scraps of paper, in her own solemn idiom, words of simple intensity. An afterword explains that the poetry in this picture book has been selected from Opal's childhood diary, which was published when she grew up. Opal calls her foster mother "the mama" ("The mama where I live says I am a nuisance . . . the mama likes to have her house nice and clean"). Cooney's clear, beautifully detailed watercolor paintings show the sturdy, solitary child, who imagines her own secret, mischievous world even while she's up to her elbows scrubbing laundry. Whenever she can, Opal escapes into the woods, and she finds her home there. She makes up names for her special companions: for example, her pet mouse is Felix Mendelssohn and her sheltering tree is Michael Raphael. When Michael Raphael is cut down, Opal's lament is a poem of tearing grief ("There was a queer feel in my throat / and I couldn't stand up"); and Cooney's double-page-spread painting shows the rich woodland, the crouching child, and the huge quivering tree crashed to earth. The story ends with Opal once again having to move and leave behind what she loves. Older readers might go on from this diary to read more about Opal and children like her. Hazel Rochman; Title: Only Opal | [
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15,951 | 13 | During his youth, this gifted authorartist explains in his newest book's afterword, his German grandmother would often draw him a star while chanting a nonsense rhyme. Taking that symbol as his foundation, Carle here creates a world pulsating with life and color-a world that bursts forth from a good star sketched by a young artist. This kaleidoseopic pentagram requests a sun from the artist's pen; the sun asks for a tree, and so on until a man and woman are living happily among Carle's characteristic collages-flora and fauna of all shapes, sizes and vivid hues. Meanwhile the artist, now a bearded old man, continues to draw and create. This unusual, practically plotless work seems to embody a personal scenario close to the artist's heart. His unadorned language, pulsing with a hypnotic rhythm, adroitly complements the familiar naive artwork. Though some may be disturbed by similarities between Carle's evolving world and the biblical creation story (the unclothed male and female figures, for example), this tale of imagination and creativity pays homage to the artist within all of us-and may well fire youngsters' imaginations. Ages 4-up. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 4-- A young boy is told (readers are not sure by whom) to ``Draw me a star.'' The star then requests that the boy draw it a sun; the sun asks for a ``lovely tree,'' and throughout his life the boy/man/artist continues to create images that fill the world with beauty. The moon bids the now-elderly artist to draw another star, and as the story ends, the artist travels ``across the night sky'' hand-in-hand with the star. This book will appeal to readers of all ages; its stunning illustrations, spare text, and simple story line make it a good choice for story hour; but older children will also find it uplifting and meaningful. Especially pleasing is a diagram within the story, accompanied by rhyming instructions on how to draw a star: ``Down/ over/ left/ and right/ draw/ a star/ oh so/ bright.'' An inspired book in every sense of the word.- Eve Larkin, Middleton Public Library , WICopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Draw Me a Star | [
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15,952 | 2 | From the creator of The Wolf's Chicken Stew comes the story of Mr. Pig, who decides in a bold move to ask Miss Pig out for a picnic. On his way to the picnic, he meets a fox and tells him about the date; the fox, sensing Mr. Pig ' s insecurity, offers his lovely tail to further impress Miss Pig. Mr. Pig gratefully accepts. Further along the way the pig meets a lion and a zebra and acquires a mane and stripes to go with his handsome tail. His efforts to impress are spurned by a frightened Mis Pig, who squeals " . . . If you don't go away, I'll call Mr. Pig. He will take care of you." Mr. Pig wisely runs and transforms himself back to his sweet pink self and the charming pair go hoof in hoof into the afternoon. Kasza's gentle tale imparts the message to be true to oneself in a delightful and unobtrusive way. Mr. and Miss Pig are rendered in softly luminous watercolors and have an expressive, saucy charm. Ages 3-6. Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreSchool-Grade 1 Children will love the perky porcine star of this cheery tale. As Mr. Pig ponders which of several bow ties to wear, he is plainly concerned about asking Miss Pig to go on a picnic with him. However, friends whom he meets along the way rearrange his plans. Mr. Fox insists on lending his tail to create a foxy look. Lion contributes his beautiful hair, and Zebra her stripes. Full of borrowed confidence, Mr. Pig knocks on Miss Pig's door. She squeals in alarm at the monster before her and threatens to call her friend Mr. Pig. Without a word, our hero rushes off to return his finery, then hurries back to Miss Pig's house where he is welcomed with open arms. Charming watercolors expand the story, adding absurdity as each animal offers a prized possession. Funniest of all is Mr. Pig racing across the horizon, with mane and tail streaming out and the stripe coming loose on his arm, hurrying back to return his friends' belongings. Uncluttered paintings are minimal in detail, while realistically portraying the animals. Each cast of an eye or angle of a foot adds a whimsical touch. What a delightful way to say, ``You're OK just the way you are.'' Virginia Opocensky, formerly at Lincoln City Libraries, Neb.Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Pigs' Picnic | [
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15,953 | 1 | Three little girls spare no mercy to Lon Po Po, the granny wolf, in this version of Little Red Riding Hood where they tempt her up a tree and over a limb, to her death. The girls' frightened eyes are juxtaposed against Lon Po Po's menacing squint and whirling blue costume in one of the books numerous three-picture sequences, which resemble the decorative panels of Chinese tradition. Through mixing abstract and realistic images with complex use of color and shadow, artist and translator Young has transformed a simple fairy tail into a remarkable work of art and earned the 1990 Caldecott Medal in doing so.This version of the Red Riding Hood story from Young ( The Emperor and the Kite ; Cats Are Cats ; Yeh-Shen ) features three daughters left at home when their mother goes to visit their grandmother. Lon Po Po, the Granny Wolf, pretends to be the girls' grandmother, until clever Shang, the eldest daughter, suspects the greedy wolf's real identity. Tempting him with ginkgo nuts, the girls pull him in a basket to the top of the tree in which they are hiding, then let go of the rope--killing him. One of Young's most arresting illustrations accompanies his dedication: "To all the wolves of the world for lending their good name as a tangible symbol for our darkness." Like ancient Oriental paintings, the illustrations are frequently grouped in panels. When the girls meet the wolf, e.g., the left panel focuses on their wary faces peering out from the darkness, the middle enlarges the evil wolf's eye and teeth, and the third is a vivid swirl of the blue clothes in which the wolf is disguised. The juxtaposition of abstract and realistic representations, the complicated play of color and shadow, and the depth of the artist's vision all help transform this simple fairy tale into an extraordinary and powerful book. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China | [
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15,954 | 5 | Misty, jewel-like illustrations evoke the mythic past in this Chinese Cinderella story. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Yeh Shen | [
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15,955 | 5 | How did panettone , the rich Italian Christmas bread, get its name? With tongue firmly in cheek, dePaola provides this confection as a reply. Chubby Serafina, the baker Antonio's daughter, spends her days eating candy and weeping by the window. For although her father adores her and gives her the best of everything, Tony is convinced there is no man worthy of her. Then Angelo, a wealthy nobleman, falls in love with Serafina and enlists the help of three meddlesome "aunties" to win her father's approval. In return for Serafina's hand in marriage, Angelo sets Tony up in his own bakery in Milano, where he becomes wonderfully rich and famous from sales of an unusually shaped bread: pan di Tonio , or panettone . The tale is a typically charming dePaolian effort, and the illustrations abound with his trademark coziness. Another nice touch: like Tony's currant-filled buns, the story is sprinkled with Italian words and phrases, translations of which are cleverly woven into the text. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Tony's Bread | [
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15,956 | 2 | This old-fashioned dog story by the author of Karen and With Love from Karen exhibits the pathos of Lassie's adventures without the sentimentality. Sure to tug at animal-lovers' hearts, the tale concerns the tenderly burgeoning friendship of its only characters: a burly Newfoundland dog that emerges from the sea--it was a puzzle whence he had come--and a skinny, dirty, white kitten. Wary of each other at first, the two reconnoiter in a frisky game of wag, advance, pounce, retreat, then proceed to more loving, trusting recreation. The seasons pass; Newf rescues his feline pal from the sea, from a snowdrift, and the friends are happy in their no longer deserted cottage. In clear, active prose, Killilea unfolds her tale so directly that its emotional content may catch readers unaware. In Schoenherr's children's book debut, the artist provides bold, graphic images. These oversize illustrations, in earthy, textured colors, fill up space with a Georgia O'Keeffe-like spareness. A touching tale with a subtle message about interdependence, perfect for reading aloud. All ages. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 2-- Killilea's admiration for Newfoundlands clearly shines through in this story based on a legend from the Gaspe Peninsula. It's a winning tale, despite the fact that the writing occasionally slips into sentimentality and mild anthropomorphism. A large black dog is carried by the waves up onto the shore; there is no clue as to where he comes from. In a deserted cottage he finds a frail, white kitten that he befriends and subsequently rescues from harm on several occasions. The two hunt for food and survive the harsh climate . Schoenherr's distinguished illustrations effectively portray the majesty of this isolated landscape. Heavily textured oil paintings utilize bold perspectives to create drama, while maritime shades of gray-blues and greens capture the sea and sky wilderness. The haunting illustrations, as well as the fact that no humans enter into the picture, add to the mysterious mood and the book's intrigue. --Alexandra Marris, Rochester Public Library, NYCopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Newf | [
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15,957 | 0 | PreSchool-- Although this familiar poem from the late 1800s may read nicely when in a collection, as a picture book the breadth of the story is limited. Plus, because of the way the text is divided among the pages, it takes several readings to catch the rhythm of the rhyme. The setting is a toy shop in which the two newcomers are placed side by side on a table. Street's bright, cheerful illustrations move between close-ups and broader perspectives that revolve around the shop as the action progresses. As the fight heats up, readers see the other antique toys reacting and becoming more animated. The story is narrated by a stuffed bear who stays on the outside of the picture frame. In the last illustration, he becomes one of the toys, sitting on the mantel by the Chinese plate and the old Dutch clock. As a first picture book, Street's outcome is admirable. One can only hope that her next effort will have a meatier text. --Martha Topol, Interlochen Public Library, MICopyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat | [] | Test |
15,958 | 0 | A donkey wakes from a dream of unusual burdens to find that he has carried Mary to the stable where Jesus was born. PW praised the "glorious, reverent" paintings, "in which colors intensify the impact of visions and reality." Ages 4-8. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Donkey's Dream | [
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15,959 | 21 | This blithesome tale of canine ingenuity offers midwinter warmth to those who begin thinking of island getaways even before the first snowflakes fall. While blizzard-like conditions prevail, scruffy mutt Moe and his springer spaniel pal Arlene work in the Frozen Cow Ice Cream Company's nippy climes. Given a week's vacation, they ponder an escape to Tahiti but can't afford plane fares; Arlene resigns herself to frostbite but Moe gets a better idea. With deck chairs, a wading pool, a few pineapples and some paint, he transforms his home into a beach where palm trees flourish and no one gets sunburned. In a debonair departure from her weightier, generally biographical topics, Stanley ( Shaka: King of the Zulus ; Bard of Avon ) keeps tongue firmly in cheek with her low-key, deceptively matter-of-fact prose. Primavera's ( Ralph's Frozen Tale ) evocative illustrations are a veritable picture-book weather barometer--her contrasts of December's gloomy grays with Moe's festive oranges, yellows and sea greens, convincingly suggest chilliness and summer sunshine. Anthropomorphic Moe rapidly adjusts from disgruntled working class hound to laid-back and friendly beachcomber. Although dumping sand on the living room floor may be a bit extreme, this happy-go-lucky narrative suggests that life can indeed be a beach. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Moe the Dog/Tropical | [
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15,960 | 2 | Maria is feeling so grown-up, wearing her mother's apron and helping to knead the masa for the Christmas corn tamales. Her mother even let Maria wear some perfume and lipstick for the big family celebration that evening. When her mother takes off her diamond ring so it won't become coated with the messy masa, Maria decides that life would be perfect if she could wear the ring, too. Trouble begins when she sneakily slips the sparkly ring on her thumb and resumes her kneading. Uh oh. It is not until later that night, after all the tamales have been cooked and after all her cousins and relatives have arrived, that Maria suddenly realizes what must have happened to the precious ring. Ed Martinez's warm oil paintings celebrate the riches of South American Christmas colors--adobe reds, dusty gold, lacey whites, and rain-forest greens. Martinez also has a gift for capturing children's animated expressions, especially when Maria begs her cousins to help her find the missing ring by secretly eating the enormous stack of steaming tamales! Gary Soto's delightful Christmas-spirit closure will relieve young readers who empathize with the negligent Maria. Grown-ups, too, will appreciate this playful reminder about the virtues of forgiveness and family togetherness. (Ages 4 and older) --Gail HudsonSnow is falling, preparations for a family feast are underway and the air is thick with excitement. Maria is making tamales, kneading the masa and feeling grown-up. All she wants is a chance to wear her mother's diamond ring, which sparkles temptingly on the kitchen counter. When her mother steps away, Maria seizes her opportunity and dons the ring, then carries on with her work. Only later, when the tamales are cooled and a circle of cousins gathered, does Maria remember the diamond. She and the cousins search every tamale--with their teeth. Of course the ring turns out to be safely on Mom's finger. Soto, noted for such fiction as Baseball in April , confers some pleasing touches--a tear on Maria's finger resembles a diamond; he allows the celebrants a Hispanic identity without making it the main focus of the text--but overall the plot is too sentimental (and owes a major debt to an I Love Lucy episode). Martinez's sensuous oil paintings in deep earth tones conjure up a sense of family unity and the warmth of holidays. The children's expressions are deftly rendered--especially when they are faced with a second batch of tamales. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Too Many Tamales | [
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15,961 | 14 | PreSchool-- Easter delights--egg-dyeing and hunting, blooming potted bulbs, new clothes, the Bunny, and goody-filled baskets--as well as a centerfold of newborn animals and newly hatched birds--are winningly depicted in flat perspectives and a warm palette. A cheery farm family of young parents and four children celebrates the holiday in this board book, useful for identification of secular Easter symbols. It's better illustrated than similar fare, and doesn't attempt any theogical explanations. --Patricia Pearl, formerly at First Presbyterian School, Martinsville, VACopyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: My First Easter | [
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15,962 | 2 | "My mother and Bootsie Barker's mother are best friends," begins the diminutive narrator of this uproariously illustrated story. Bootsie stops short of actually biting, but she bares her teeth in a gleeful lethal grin as the daily mom-and-daughter visit begins. Wearing her broad-brimmed black hat and wickedly pointy hot-pink boots, Bootsie ignores all injunctions to "play nicely, girls!" She pretends to be a hungry dinosaur, tears up her timid host's book about turtles and knocks over an aquarium housing Charlene the salamander. Alas, the girls' parents are blind to Bootsie's malevolence and plan an overnight stay; the narrator, certain that she and Charlene will be "rushed to the hospital with dinosaur bites," confides her fears to her mother, whose calm response plants the germ of an idea. The next day the beleaguered heroine thinks fast and gives Bootsie a witty comeuppance. Bottner ( Let Me Tell You Everything ) smoothly adopts the understandably anxious child's point of view, while Rathmann ( Ruby the Copycat ) contributes formidable, hyper-bright watercolors that echo the story's nightmarish but hilarious exaggeration. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 3-- As in Bottner's Mean Maxine (Pantheon, 1980; o.p.) and Zoo Song (Scholastic, 1989), the theme of this book is about finding ways for very different people to resolve conflicts without bloodshed. A mismatched duo, Bootsie and the narrator are thrown together because of their mothers' friendship. Underneath Bootsie's bouncy blond hair, frilly dress, and ribboned straw hat lies the heart of a tyrant. The moment adults clear the room, the sweet smile turns into a sneer and the real child emerges. She becomes a vicious dinosaur intent on devouring her playmate. The narrator's mother gives neither comfort nor protection, so the little girl decides to beat the bully at her own game--with humorous, successful results. The story may be somewhat slight, but it will certainly be appreciated by all children forced to deal with Jekyll-and-Hyde playmates. The colorful cartoon and wash drawings, filled with amusing detail, perfectly express the terroristic tactics and the narrator's frustration. When Bootsie is on a rampage, even the stuffed animals cover their eyes. A book that treats a common and often troubling situation with an entertaining but effective touch. --Heide Piehler, Shorewood Public Library, WICopyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Bootsie Barker Bites | [
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15,963 | 11 | To many Native Americans, the 13 cycles of the moon represent the changing seasons and the passage of time. Each moon has its own special name that, while varying among the tribal nations, is consistent with the legend that the 13 scales on Old Turtle's back hold the key to these moons. The authors present 13 poems that take readers through the year, from the "Moon of Popping Trees"--when the "cottonwoods crack with frost"--to the "Big Moon" of the Abenakis. The book's effective design consists of verses in vertical columns at the left of each spread, with the remainder occupied by Locker's ( Family Farm ; Catskill Eagle ) typically lush artwork. His oil paintings are eye-catching in their depth of color reflecting dramatic seasonal changes. Trees, skies and woodland creatures are rendered in vivid hues that combine to produce an enthralling vision. This unusual and intelligent book is an exemplary introduction to Native American culture with its emphasis on the importance of nature. All ages. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 4-- The book opens with an Abenaki storyteller explaining to his grandson that just as there are always 13 scales on ``Old Turtle's back,'' there are 13 moons in a year, each of which has a name and a story. The poetic tales and corresponding paintings that follow represent myths or legends of different Native American tribes. Although the language of these poems is not particularly memorable or childlike, it does evoke images and passes on some of the traditions of the native people and their closeness to the natural world. The cadence is that of an adult explaining things to a child. Both text and illustrations have a distancing effect on readers. Locker's large, dark paintings stand parallel to or in tandem with the poems but are not integral to them. They create a mood and capture portions of the text, encouraging viewers to look ``at'' rather than ``into'' these images. There is a sense of vastness in these paintings, and sometimes a harshness, but little of the lushness or the warmth of the land. Although the cover illustration of the turtle is inviting and the large format attractive, these are poems that will probably not entice most youngsters on their own. They can be appreciated, however, when presented by an adult and will be a welcome addition to units on Native American cultures. --Kay E. Vandergrift, School of Communication, Information and Library Studies, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJCopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back | [
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15,964 | 0 | With over thirty four million books in print, Jan Brett is one of the nation's foremost author illustrators of children's books. Jan lives in a seacoast town in Massachusetts, close to where she grew up. During the summer her family moves to a home in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts.As a child, Jan Brett decided to be an illustrator and spent many hours reading and drawing. She says, "I remember the special quiet of rainy days when I felt that I could enter the pages of my beautiful picture books. Now I try to recreate that feeling of believing that the imaginary place I'm drawing really exists. The detail in my work helps to convince me, and I hope others as well, that such places might be real."As a student at the Boston Museum School, she spent hours in the Museum of Fine Arts. "It was overwhelming to see the room-size landscapes and towering stone sculptures, and then moments later to refocus on delicately embroidered kimonos and ancient porcelain," she says. "I'm delighted and surprised when fragments of these beautiful images come back to me in my painting."Travel is also a constant inspiration. Together with her husband, Joe Hearne, who is a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Jan visits many different countries where she researches the architecture and costumes that appear in her work. "From cave paintings to Norwegian sleighs, to Japanese gardens, I study the traditions of the many countries I visit and use them as a starting point for my children's books."; Title: The Twelve Days of Christmas | [
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15,965 | 1 | Children find the story of Goldilocks delightful for so many reasons. There's a trespassing little girl, for starters, who barges into the bears' house uninvited and not only snoops around, but eats the bears' food! The suspense of wondering whether she'll get caught only adds to the thrill of the trespassing itself, and the repeated lines about the three bears with their three distinct voices, bowls, chairs, and beds further endear this tale to the preschool set. In Jan Brett's Goldilocks, the bears and the slightly audacious flaxen-haired heroine all sport traditional (Black Forest?) costumes with detailed embroidery, and the wooden furniture is carved with bears, birds, and flowers. (Intricate borders--carved wooden panels in this book--are Jan Brett's special signature.) Brett is the illustrator of many well-known folk tales, fairy tales, and poems, such as The Mitten and Edward Lear's The Owl and the Pussycat. Of her exquisite interpretation of this beloved story, Booklist writes, "This is perfection." (Ages 3 to 6)With over thirty four million books in print, Jan Brett is one of the nation's foremost author illustrators of children's books. Jan lives in a seacoast town in Massachusetts, close to where she grew up. During the summer her family moves to a home in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts.As a child, Jan Brett decided to be an illustrator and spent many hours reading and drawing. She says, "I remember the special quiet of rainy days when I felt that I could enter the pages of my beautiful picture books. Now I try to recreate that feeling of believing that the imaginary place I'm drawing really exists. The detail in my work helps to convince me, and I hope others as well, that such places might be real."As a student at the Boston Museum School, she spent hours in the Museum of Fine Arts. "It was overwhelming to see the room-size landscapes and towering stone sculptures, and then moments later to refocus on delicately embroidered kimonos and ancient porcelain," she says. "I'm delighted and surprised when fragments of these beautiful images come back to me in my painting."Travel is also a constant inspiration. Together with her husband, Joe Hearne, who is a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Jan visits many different countries where she researches the architecture and costumes that appear in her work. "From cave paintings to Norwegian sleighs, to Japanese gardens, I study the traditions of the many countries I visit and use them as a starting point for my children's books."; Title: Goldilocks and the Three Bears | [
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15,966 | 0 | PreSchool-Grade 1-- A crew of kids and animals, dressed in appealing combinations of comfortable odds and ends of clothing, responds to suggestions from Cauley's verse. They wiggle, purr, fly, tickle, somersault, kiss, and spin against the white background of double-page spreads. In a style much like Bruce Degen's, Cauley offers an ethnic mix of children tingling with energy and fun. Their unique motions and interactions imply plenty about the joy of movement and the value of individual interpretation. The jubilant mood of the characters' body language is reinforced by their facial expressions and captured in their eyes. The colors of the artist's mixed media (colored pencils, pastels, paints) are fresh and appealing. But what happens when this same blast of happy energy occurs and reoccurs in the same format page after page? A form of monotony--and, unfortunately, the verse's steady beat only reinforces it. Instead of staying caught up in the book's greater momentum, readers will start searching for details (How is this picture different from the last one?). It's too bad that this format isn't worthy of Cauley's vision; a book of hers that works 100% could be a whopper. In the meantime, let's applaud Clap Your Hands.-Liza Bliss, formerly at Leominster Public Library, MACopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.An extended play-rhyme that invites readers or listeners to clap, jump, spin, wriggle, pat, rub, and stretch in a variety of ways. Cauley's humans and clothed animals cavort happily across the pages; the layout is spacious and the action easy to follow, with each character bursting with childlike energy. Taken cover to cover, this is something of a workout (less limber programmers take heed!); but, fortunately, it lends itself to excerpting and rearrangement. Infectiously joyful. (Picture book. 6 down) -- Copyright 1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.; Title: Clap Your Hands | [
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15,967 | 2 | Polacco--in the role of young narrator--introduces another cast of characters from her fondly remembered childhood. Brothers Stewart and Winston often invite the girl to join them and their Gramma Eula Mae--whose choir singing is "like slow thunder and sweet rain"--at the Baptist church and to come for Miss Eula's bountiful chicken dinner. When the children hear Miss Eula longing for the fancy Easter bonnet in Mr. Kodinsky's hat shop, they plot to raise the money to buy it for her. Sharing her own family tradition, the narrator teaches the boys how to decorate Russian "pysanky" eggs, that both turn a profit and touch the heart of the crotchety immigrant hatmaker. Without being heavy-handed, Polacco's text conveys a tremendous pride of heritage as it brims with rich images from her characters' African American and Russian Jewish cultures. Her vibrant pencil-and-wash illustrations glow--actual family photographs have been worked into several spreads. Other telling details--Russian icons, flowing choir robes, Mr. Kodinsky's concentration camp tattoo--further embellish this moving story--a tribute to the strength of all family bonds. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 1-3-- Despite the differences in religion, sex, and race, Winston and Stewart Washington are young Patricia's best friends, and she considers their grandmother, Miss Eula, a surrogate since her own ``babushka'' died. On Sundays, she often attends Baptist services with her friends, and Miss Eula fixes a sumptuous fried chicken dinner with all the trimmings, after stopping to admire the hats in Mr. Kodinski's shop. The youngsters hope to buy her one, but when they approach the merchant looking for work, he mistakenly accuses them of pelting his shop with eggs. To prove their innocence, the children hand-dye eggs in the folk-art style that Patricia's grandmother had taught her and present them to the milliner. Moved by the rememberance of his homeland, the Russian Jewish emigre encourages the children to sell the ``Pysanky'' eggs in his shop and rewards their industry with a gift of the hat, which Miss Eula proudly wears on Easter Sunday. Polacco's tale resonates with the veracity of a personal recollection and is replete with vivid visual and visceral images. Her unique illustrative style smoothly blends detailed line drawing, impressionistic painting, primitive felt-marker coloring, and collage work with actual photographs, resulting in a feast for the eyes as filling as Miss Eula's Chicken Sunday spreads. The palette is equally varied, while the application of color is judiciously relieved by sporadic pencil sketches. An authentic tale of childhood friendship. --Dorothy Houlihan, formerly at White Plains Pub . Lib . , NYCopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Chicken Sunday | [
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15,968 | 13 | Mirette and the "Great Bellini" traverse the Paris skyline on high wire in the climactic scene of this picture book about conquering fear. The two meet at Mirette's mother's boarding house, where Bellini is staying with a troupe of traveling performers. Mirette persuades Bellini to teach her his art, and soon enough the two are performing above the rooftops of Paris. While Mirette gets to step outside her daily routine of peeling potatoes and scrubbing floors, Bellini manages to reaffirm his mastery. The story affords a spunky, down-to-earth role model for readers who like to dream big dreams. It also offers rich, scenic portraits of 19th century Paris. The book won the 1993 Caldecott Medal.In this picture book set in 19th-century Paris, a child helps a daredevil who has lost his edge to regain his confidence. Many traveling performers stay at Madame Gateaux's boarding house, but Mme.'s daughter Mirette is particularly taken with one guest--the quiet gentleman who can walk along the clothesline without falling off. Mirette implores the boarder to teach her his craft, not knowing that her instructor is the "Great Bellini" of high wire fame. After much practice the girl joins Bellini on the wire as he conquers his fear and demonstrates to all of Paris that he is still the best. McCully's story has an exciting premise and starting point, but unfortunately ends up as a missed opportunity. Bellini's anxiety may be a bit sophisticated for the intended audience and, surprisingly, the scenes featuring Mirette and Bellini on the high wire lack drama and intensity. McCully's rich palette and skillful renderings of shadow and light sources make this an inviting postcard from the Old World. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Mirette on the High Wire | [
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15,969 | 14 | "Teeka was excited. And a little afraid. This year Santa had asked her to get the reindeer ready to fly on Christmas Eve." Teeka, an Arctic girl who lives "in the shadow of Santa's Winterfarm," knows it will be a struggle to round up the reindeer who'd roamed wild on the tundra since last Christmas. Reindeer training is not easy for the hard-working young girl: "Teeka looked at the tangled reindeer, once so bold and free, and began to cry. 'It's my fault,' she said. 'I've spent all my time yelling at you, instead of helping. I'm sorry.' And one by one she gave each reindeer a hug." On December 24, Teeka--who's finally learned how to be a gentle, effective trainer--brings her antlered team to meet Santa and all the elves who have loaded the sleigh. Teeka is asleep on the last page of the book, as Santa and his well-trained reindeer--Bramble, Heather, Windswept, Lichen, Snowball, Crag, Twilight, and Tundra--fly past her window for a night of magical surprises. (Ages 3 to 8)Little Teeka's attempts to train Santa's reindeer for their Christmas ride meet with disaster until she realizes that she needs to work with the animals in a new way. "Tomorrow," she says, "no yelling, no screaming, and no bossing, I promise," and with her patient teaching, on Christmas Eve the "wild reindeer rise up together and carry the sleigh off into the night." Brett's characteristic, richly detailed borders depict the activity at Santa's workshop as each day brings Teeka closer to Christmas. As with The Mitten , Brett makes use of Ukranian motifs--colorful embroidered costumes, festive garlands, carvings and cunning toys decorate every page. The reindeer themselves--sporting names like Lichen, Tundra and Bramble--provide most of the comic action in this sweet Christmas fantasy that shows Brett at her best. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Wild Christmas Reindeer | [
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15,970 | 18 | Even the awkward style here (a choppy, breathless tone is exacerbated by the relentless use of fragments and single- sentence paragraphs) conveys the excitement of Lindbergh's historic flight at the age of 25, but Wimmer's double-spread paintings steal the show: from the first glimpse of the aircraft through an arch formed by the pilot's determined-looking legs, they capture the feel of the cabin, the beauty of sea and sky, the drama of the nighttime arrival--all in impressionistic paintings peopled with realistic portraits, most notably of the weary hero appealingly sprawled in sleep on the last page. A book that brings new life to one of the stories of the century. (Nonfiction/Picture book. 4-11) -- Copyright 1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.; Title: Flight | [
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15,971 | 3 | A group of children stuck in the drabbest of villages share a secret: when their friend Appelemando dreams, they can actually see brightly colored, amazing objects float out of the top of his head. Soon they discover that the images stick to anything moist, and disaster strikes one rainy day when--in a place that frowns on nonconformity--the boy's kaleidoscopic dreams "hold fast to the walls and storefronts of the town." To escape the villagers' ire Appelemando and his friends run off into the woods and are lost, but in the end, his dreams save the day. The book's message is somewhat similar to that of Leo Lionni's Frederick --the valuable role of dreamers--but Polacco's ( Thunder Cake ; Rechenka's Eggs ) prose lacks Lionni's subtlety ("Never again would they question the importance of dreams"). As an artist, however, she's as on target as always. The contrast between the dingy village and villagers, rendered in subdued tones of gray, brown and black, and the vivid hues of Appelemando's phantasms makes for an arresting visual juxtaposition and provides Polacco's fertile imagination with plenty of room. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreSchool-Grade 3 --Polacco's story shares some elements of both folktale and allegory. Appelemando lives in a very drab, uninteresting village. For him, dreaming is a way of life. Whenever the boy dreams, his four friends can actually see them. They drift up from the top of his head in paintbox colors and, at one point, literally change their somber world--Appelemando's dreams stick to the wet walls of the village like decals. The warm relationship among the children is delightful--they recognize their need for his dreams as much as his need to have them. The dour villagers, however, see things differently--until the day his vivid imaginings alert them to their lost children. As a result they no longer question the importance of the imagination. The style of these pencil and watercolor drawings is exuberant and full of vitality. The text of the story nests cozily in each drawing so that words and pictures have an unusual unity. With its perfect melding of art and narration, it's a dream come true. --Anna Biagioni Hart, Martha Washington Library, Alexandria, VACopyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Appelemando's Dreams | [
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15,972 | 7 | Swift's classic novel provides excellent fodder for this intelligent picture book, rendered as Gulliver's account of his time in Lilliput. Without sacrificing Swift's leonine wit, Beneduce minimizes the political themes, presenting the work as a satisfyingly fanciful adventure story. Spirin's lustrous, painterly art has a wonderful air of antiquity, a slight formality which gives the travelogue a feeling of authenticity. With his extraordinary attention to detail, each spread yields a wealth of interesting minutiae. Beautifully designed pages underline a nautical theme, as the text is placed on halyards while knots and anchors decorate borders. Warm sepia tones are often highlighted with unexpected bright spots--emerald greens and rich reds--analogous to the sparks of humor injected into the scientifically precise text. A well-realized production, this book is sophisticated, accessible and fun. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 3-4-Swift's satire has elements that have always appealed to children-high adventure, detailed fantasy, and scatological humor. The challenge in adapting an edition is to somehow keep the author's cynical, political voice and not reduce the story to a series of merry sea adventures. The best of the 17 versions now in print, James Riordan's Gulliver's Travels (Oxford University Pr., 1992) does exactly that. In contrast, Beneduce's book, however lushly illustrated, retains too little of the original to offer readers an adequate introduction. She omits Gulliver's shame at his body excretions, which Riordan includes; more importantly, she omits plot details that are basic to explaining the story's events. For example, readers are told that Lilliput is about to be invaded by Blefescu, but they are not told why. The serious dispute of the big and little enders is not mentioned. Beneduce has made an attempt to maintain the book's original tone, but has edited out its heart. In contrast to the spare text, Spirin's illustrations are a beautiful celebration of Lilliput. His fantastic paintings seem drawn from 17th century court life-the clothing, buildings, and ships have a dreamlike quality as well as a sense of historic accuracy. But the illustrations are not enough to salvage a text that is a bare-bones travelogue, not an early introduction to a rich novel. Kathleen Whalin, Belfast Public Library, MECopyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Gulliver's Adventures in Lilliput | [
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15,973 | 13 | Who can resist a peek at young artists in training? Isadora gifts her heroine, Lily, with a quintessential combination of dreams and determination, then allows us to sit in on the ballet class that Lili attends four times a week. Lili and fellow students model their dance wardrobes, demonstrate their exercises and steps, and imagine themselves dancing celebrated roles in a number of ballets. Each new element, be it a practice tutu, one of the five basic positions or a movement like a passe en pointe, receives its own illustration and is captioned in unornamented cursive script. Budding balletomanes will especially enjoy the detailed discussion of the ever-wondrous pointe shoe; another welcome section focuses on a class just for boys. Two depictions of full-scale ballet productions expand to fill entire spreads with dramatic color; as if to distinguish theatrical illusion from the arduous work behind the scenes, the rest of the book is rendered in pale washes. A former dancer whose daughter is enrolled at New York City's prestigious School of the American Ballet, Isadora presents ballet with familiarity and respect--she romanticizes neither the suffering nor the glory, and emphasizes only Lily's dedication. Brava! Ages 4-8. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.With a minimal explanatory text, a realistic depiction of a serious young ballet student and her class. Beginning with an appealing take of Lili dancing at home with her cat and a glamorous glimpse of a ballet in progress in an ornate theater, Isadora details the clothes used for class, warm-up exercises, the five positions, and several of the classic steps, including some high leaps taught in the boys' class. Meanwhile, Lili, an aspiring ballerina, dances the flower fairy in a school performance and looks forward to learning roles like Petroushka and Giselle. Isadora, who's danced professionally, deftly sketches the young dancers in delicate pencil lines and splashes of watercolor, giving them ample space to move across the white pages and nicely capturing their poise and grace. There's little mention here of discipline or hard work; still, an attractive and informative first look. (Picture book. 4-9) -- Copyright 1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.; Title: Lili at Ballet | [
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15,974 | 2 | In Thunder Cake , a grandmother helps her granddaughter overcome her fear of thunder by baking a special cake while a storm threatens. Although the book's concept is good, it does not fulfill its promise. The story is poorly paced: the storm approaches rapidly, but does not break for several pages as Polacco crams in details, including a lengthy pause while the cake bakes. The illustrations are less than appealing: both characters' faces are chalky white, draining them of life. Many of the barnyard animals are drawn out of proportion--Grandmother is almost the same size as a cow she milks, geese are as tall as people. Considering how many children are afraid of thunder, it is a shame Thunder Cake is not a stronger effort. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.K-Gr 3-Grandma provides a creative solution to young Patricia's fear of thunderstorms: Thunder cake! Together they search for the ingredients and then concoct a special confection as the lightning crashes and the thunder rumbles. Illustrations echoing Polacco's Russian heritage add vitality and warmth to the tale. The included recipe contains an unusual ingredient. Audio version available from Spoken Arts.(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.; Title: Thunder Cake | [
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15,975 | 14 | PreSchool-- In just six double-page spreads and fewer than ten sentences, dePaola tries to capture some of the historical significance and manifestations of the holiday and to relate them to contemporary celebrations. Pilgrims are depicted on the first spread (dressed in a variety of pastel tones?), but there is no attempt to define who they are, where they came from, or why they are grateful to be in "their new home." de Paola states, "Their friends came with food for the feast," but there's no indication that they joined in. The book then jumps to the ways in which a modern family prepares for and enjoys the annual feast--with lots of company and food aplenty. Only total strangers to children's books will fail to recognize the author's familiar illustrative style executed here in watercolor and colored pencil. A harmless, but lackluster holiday offering that should set preschoolers well on the road to asking questions--just don't expect to find any answers here.- Luann Toth, School Library JournalCopyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: My First Thanksgiving | [
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15,976 | 6 | "It started that summer two years ago, the one that steamed into Oakland like a thief in the night"?Polacco's (Pink and Say; Tikvah Means Hope, see p. 133) use of language is characteristically fluid, and her emotion-suffused illustrations are equally compelling. But her "modern myth" is problematic: the conflict is modern and realistic while the resolution is mythic and supernatural, and the effect is jarring. The story unfolds in a park where a homeless boy, Fondo, befriends a blind goose, two homeless adults and the park keeper, Stephanie Michele. Their relationships deepen, and Fondo shares with them his belief that "we all could fly once.... We just forgot how. If we'd think hard enough, we'd remember." Near the end of the story, when social workers come for Fondo, he flies away, led by the blind goose. "I know this is a true story because, you see, I know Stephanie Michele," the narrator says as the text concludes, compounding the uneasiness in Polacco's mix of gritty problems and miraculous solutions. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 2-4-Polacco introduces an unusual cast of characters in this modern myth. Stephanie Michele works in the park caring for the wildlife, and, unofficially, for the homeless folks who live there. A boy, Fondo, shows up one day and seems to belong. Stephanie and Fondo share a sensitivity to nature that others can't comprehend or appreciate. Then, they learn that the people at the settlement house where Fondo lives plan to send him away because he is a special-needs case. He runs away and accepts an invitation by the geese to fly away with them. The park "family" vow to keep his disappearance a secret, but readers are let in on this "true story" because Polacco knows Stephanie Michele personally. This picture book that points up the need for acceptance of all sorts of people is filled with graceful language and deftly rendered multimedia artwork done in predominantly earth tones. The artist places her subjects center stage on the white pages and does an expert job of capturing their poses and expressions with an economy of line and touches of color. This title is similar to Polacco's Boat Ride with Lillian Two Blossom (Philomel, 1988; o.p.) in the suspension of reality, yet her writing always seems somehow, magically, to make anything possible.Sharon R. Pearce, San Antonio Public Library, TXCopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: I Can Hear the Sun | [
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15,977 | 5 | Former ballerina Isadora (Swan Lake; Lili at Ballet) brings her dance training to bear on this distinctive version of the classic Russian folktale; here, the Balanchine/Stravinsky ballet is the chief source of inspiration. Fantastical watercolors in midnight-hued purples, blues and greens spiked with red and gold conjure up dramatic, unusually dynamic scenes. Pictured as dancers, Prince Ivan, a band of beautiful princesses, a sorcerer with his hideous demon apprentices and, of course, the dazzling Firebird-"half woman, half bird, with feathers bright as flames"-pose, frolic, leap and soar across the pages. Unabashedly romantic, Isadora's stately book is a treat for balletomanes and the uninitiated alike. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 1-4-This fine picture book was inspired by the Balanchine version of the Stravinsky ballet. Therefore, it may be used as an easy retelling of the Russian folktale and as an introduction for ballet fans. The text is clear and simple but strongly evokes the magical atmosphere of The Firebird. The illustrations are outstanding-strongly romantic, impressionistic paintings that are alive with movement, drama, and the bold use of color. A splendid addition.Kay McPherson, Central Atlanta-Fulton Public Library, GACopyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Firebird | [
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15,978 | 8 | Gallagher's (Moonhorse) eerily stylized paintings lend a haunting resonance to this moralistic tale of a hardened man who learns to open his heart. When the curmudgeonly Giant denies the local children access to his expansive garden, a great chill descends on them all. Winter lingers and spring refuses to scale the garden walls. But the children find a way into the beloved spot and the trees, grateful for the company and attention, begin to bloom. Seeing such beauty, the Giant is transformed and befriends his young neighbors, allowing them free rein. Not long afterward, a special boy appears to escort the old man to Paradise. Wilde's lessons are easily deciphered, though children may be confused by the overt religious imagery at tale's end. The towering but somehow gentlemanly Giant on the book's black-bordered jacket cuts an intriguing and imposing swath. Meanwhile, Gallagher's gallivanting and ghostly-white Snow, Frost and North Wind characters and her warm and golden images of happy children and gorgeous blossoms create plenty of drama. All ages. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 6-8. The familiar Wilde tale is well served by Gallagher's illustrations, in which the clothing and the faces of the children who come into the blooming garden are in strong contrast to the costumes and figures of the people who rule the wintry landscape after the selfish giant has exiled the children. The giant's size is also well handled: it's clear that every adult looks like a giant to a child. The story's ending, which implies that the child has returned to take the giant to Paradise, should be noted as a departure from what some readers expect in the giant genre. Mary Harris Veeder; Title: The Selfish Giant | [
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15,979 | 1 | Kindergarten-Grade 2-Old Peter is the cemetery keeper in an isolated Irish seaside village. He works hard, "'to no one's delight,'" and lives a solitary life in a small stone cottage. A stray dog comes down from the hills, and although the man gives it a few scraps of food, he makes it clear that the animal must leave. A nasty summer storm makes him realize that he and the dog are much alike-both in need of companionship and caring. His desperate search for the stray ends in genuine joy, and the final page shows them cuddled together in front of the fire. The oil illustrations give the engaging story line dramatic realism. Blake captures the pastoral landscape, the expressiveness of the man and dog, and the furor of the storm. A simply written book with understated power and depth of emotion that will leave readers with a warm, lasting impression.Mary Lou Budd, Milford South Elementary School, OHCopyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 5-8. Lush oil paintings depicting the Irish countryside highlight this story of a stray dog and the crusty old man who learns to love him. The dog appears out of nowhere, making overtures of friendship, but Peter wants nothing to do with the mutt. More than once he shoos him away, but the animal always returns--to warm Peter's feet, share a bite of food, or keep him company--and the two develop an unspoken alliance. When the dog disappears during a particularly intense rainstorm, Peter sets out to search for his missing friend, finally locating him in an abandoned cellar. Blake relates the tale entirely through Peter's monologue, using a lilting Irish dialect. Text and illustration intertwine to tell a complete story: Peter's words reveal his gruff exterior while the expressive paintings betray his true, soft heart. Some children may need assistance to understand the dialect, but once they understand it, they will enjoy this tale of friendship and old age. Kay Weisman; Title: Dog | [
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15,980 | 2 | A somewhat headstrong artist in search of "just the right scene" leads off the adventure in this slight picture book. Accompanied by his son--who has his own plans for exploring the woods--Dad brings paints, easel and a big canvas while the boy carries a net, jar and some shortbread. Dad's temper grows short as his ideal location keeps eluding him, so when the boy falls into a stream, he is sure he will be in trouble. But a good splash in the water cools everyone down and saves the afternoon. Blake's matter-of-fact text, narrated by the son, moves along briskly. Although most children will warm to the father-son excursion, some readers may be troubled by Dad's gruff, impatient manner. Nature enthusiasts will appreciate Blake's ( Riptide ; Finding Foxes ) expansive watercolors--occasionally calling to mind the work of Ted Rand--that depict a quiet wooded world of interspersed sun and shade, where deer dart among the trees and rushing water provides the only sound. Ages 4-up. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 2-- Vibrant watercolors and lively text reveal the warm relationship between a boy and his artist-father. Together the pair search the woods for ``the perfect spot'' for the father to paint and the son to catch insects and frogs. The impressionistic illustrations depict the natural beauty of the forest and streams. The brief text is carefully placed on double-page spreads to achieve a unity with the accompanying pictures. A wordless spread captures the special magic of a shared moment of silence as father and son watch a herd of deer stop and drink from the stream. In addition to revealing the wonders of the natural world, this book would also be useful for units about artists and their work. --Barbara B. Murphy, Shaler Area School District Libraries, PittsburghCopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Perfect Spot | [
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15,981 | 5 | DePaola ( Strega Nona ) retells--but does not illustrate--a legend about the origin of the jewel-patterned Persian rug. King Balash's brilliant giant diamond is stolen by a stranger who accidentally drops it onto a rocky plain, where the jewel shatters into thousands of glittering fragments. When apprentice carpet-weaver Payem leads the ruler to the "carpet" formed by the dazzling fragments, the overwhelmed king refuses to leave the beautiful sight behind. To lure their leader back to his palace, Payem and his fellow apprentices weave a silk carpet as brilliantly colored as the one made of diamond. A parable of the healing powers of art, this foray into the rich culture of the Middle East is ably recounted. Ewart's illustrations, with their unremarkable compositions and stiff, look-alike figures, are less pleasing. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 1-2-Although he does not cite a specific source, dePaola presents a picture-book version of a Persian legend. The story follows typical folkloric patterns as it tells of a wise and kindly king whose problems are solved by a poor but resourceful boy. In this case, King Balash's troubles stem from the theft of a large diamond that used to fill his palace with light. Payam, an apprentice weaver, finds the shards that remain where the thief dropped the gem. He persuades the king to rule for one year and a day while he, his fellow apprentices, and the master work together to create a magnificent carpet that will once again bring light and color to his home. The task, of course, is accomplished, and a happy ending is assured. Ewart's glowing illustrations in deep jewel tones are well suited to the text and capture something of the exotic flavor of ancient Persia's craftsmanship. An attractive collaboration that deserves a place in many libraries.Lisa Dennis, The Carnegie Library of PittsburghCopyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Legend of the Persian Carpet | [
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15,982 | 11 | The folklore of Mexico inspires this impressive collaboration by the talented creators of The Badger and the Magic Fan and Pages of Music . After clever Rabbit sneaks into a field one evening and feasts on the biggest chiles, the farmer sets up a beeswax "farmer" to trap the thief. When this imposter refuses to talk the next night, Rabbit (not so cleverly) punches it repeatedly, until his paws and feet are stuck in the wax. Thrilled with his catch, the real farmer throws the rabbit in a sack and plans to cook him. But the wily lapin convinces Coyote to take his place: "This man wants me to marry his daughter . . . but I'm too young. Why don't you take my place?" It is the first of many ruses the gullible Coyote falls for--with uproarious results--throughout the tale, which ultimately explains why coyotes howl at the moon. Spanish expressions worked into the pictures are translated in a glossary. A good part of the humor of this pungent Zapotec legend is delivered through dePaola's droll folk art, resplendent with the bronzed and dazzling hues of the Southwest. Both the palette and the patterns used here represent a departure for the artist, who outdoes himself in this fetching book. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 4-An engaging retelling of an Oaxacan trickster/pourquoi tale that combines story elements from Brer Rabbit, the legend of Coyote swallowing the moon, and the rabbit in the moon. Rabbit's tricks escalate to a final comical episode in which he scampers up to the moon, hides the ladder, and leaves Coyote howling in frustration below. Creating a distinctly Mexican look, the book features bordered folk-art paintings positioned on a variety of vibrantly hued pages. dePaola uses colors freely, along with primitive design elements that include snippets of hand-lettered Spanish dialogue. (Readers who can't decipher their meaning can check the end of the story for translations and pronunciations). A picture-book folktale that is at once familiar and funny, yet different and distinctive.Lee Bock, Brown County Public Libraries, Green Bay, WICopyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Tale of Rabbit and Coyote | [
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15,983 | 2 | The newest addition to this prolific author's library of autobiographical picture books celebrates his childhood relationship with his grandfather--"We're named after each other, Tommy. That's why I want you to call me Tom instead of Grandpa." Together they read the Sunday comics, share stories, or tend to the butcher section of Tom's store. While the actual story line is minimal--Tommy gets in trouble for scaring classmates with a chicken-foot prank Tom taught him--the fans who cherish these reminiscences (adults as well as children) will welcome this skillful evocation of an all-important intergenerational bond. Touches of old-world humor and wisdom add sparkle to the tale, in which dePaola's idiosyncratic, apple-cheeked characters are rendered in bright, sunny colors. The sepia-toned portraits, simulating pictures from a scrapbook, that adorn the jacket and title page enhance the book's nostalgic tone. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 2-- As he did in Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs (Puffin, 1978) and The Art Lesson (Putnam, 1989), de Paola has used his own childhood memories to create a slice-of-family-life picture book. The simple, plain text tells of the close relationship between Tommy and his namesake grandfather, Tom. They read the comics together, act out poems and make up stories, and, in the final vignette, play practical jokes with discarded chicken parts (Tom is a butcher, by trade). The pictures are in the artist's familiar style, but they have more personality than some of his recent books in which the figures seem merely decorative. Tom and Tommy seem to be truly interacting rather than just posing in the same frame. There is a lively yet homey look to the characters and their surroundings. Although this book does not have the depth of feeling found in some of the author's previous titles, readers are given a fond glimpse of a grandfather who is a bit of a character and who, most importantly, loves his grandson. --Karen James, Louisville Free Public Library, KYCopyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Tom | [
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15,984 | 11 | PreSchool-Grade 1. Rabbits on the range doesn't mean what's for dinner. These furry critters are cowboys who "Start at sunup/Work all day/Roping cows/Tossing hay." Loomis continues their adventures with whooping and hollering in easy, metered, a-b-c-b rhyme-scheme quatrains. The bunnies go the cowboy way all day, and then when evening comes, they kiss their Mamas and say good night. This is a rollicking addition to the genre of bedtime reading for the very young, surely destined to become a favorite. Eitan's gouache illustrations are painted on plywood slats often resembling fence pickets. The wood grain clearly shows through, adding texture and interest to the areas where paint is either laid on thick or thinly brushed. This novelty can also be extended into art classrooms as a model, thus stretching the age group that will enjoy this book.?Ruth Semrau, formerly at Lovejoy School, Allen, TXCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 4^-7. Cowboy picture books are usually too long for story hours and too difficult for beginning readers, but this book is appropriate for either group. The use of short rhyming verse creates a nice flow without being cloying. The text matches illustrations that are extremely appropriate: rabbits performing cowboy functions are painted on pieces of wood that are reminiscent of fence posts. This media creates a flat, though engaging, rustic look. There is little depth to the paintings, but several panels (e.g., the bunnies at the swimming hole) pull the reader in using a combination of intense color and bare wood, and the technique nicely captures movement and shadows as the busy bunnies' day goes by. Elizabeth Drennan; Title: Cowboy Bunnies | [
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15,985 | 16 | PreS?dePaola's familiar, charming illustrations of chubby, round-faced children carry this book, which teaches an appreciation for the natural world. The text is the epitomy of simplicity. Each page proclaims affection for some element of nature?"I love you, flower," "I love you, stars," etc.?ending with "And you love me." The bright artwork populated by multiethnic youngsters conveys the environmental message.?Emily Kutler, Summit Free Public Library, NJCopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.Tomie dePaola was born in Meriden, Connecticut, in 1934 to a family of Irish and Italian background. By the time he could hold a pencil, he knew what his life's work would be. His determination to create books for children led to a BFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, and an MFA from the California College of Arts & Crafts in Oakland, California.It drove him through the years of teaching, designing greeting cards and stage sets, and painting church murals until 1965, when he illustrated his first children's book, Sound, by Lisa Miller for Coward-McCann. Eventually, freed of other obligations, he plunged full time into both writing and illustrating children's books.He names Fra Angelico and Giotto, Georges Rouault, and Ben Shahn as major influences on his work, but he soon found his own unique style. His particular way with color, line, detail, and design have earned him many of the most prestigious awards in his field, among them a Caldecott Honor Award for Strega Nona, the Smithsonian Medal from the Smithsonian Institution, the Kerlan Award from the University of Minnesota for his "singular attainment in children's literature," the Catholic Library Association's Regina Medal for his "continued distinguished contribution," and the University of Southern Mississippi Medallion. He was also the 1990 United States nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for illustration.Tomie dePaola has published almost 200 children's books in fifteen different countries. He remains one of the most popular creators of books for children, receiving more than 100,000 fan letters each year.Tomie lives in an interesting house in New Hampshire with his four dogs. His studio is in a large renovated 200-year-old barn.- He has been published for over 30 years.- Over 5 million copies of his books have sold worldwide.- His books have been published in over 15 different countries.- He receives nearly 100,000 fan letters each year.Tomie dePaola has received virtually every significant recognition forhis books in the children's book world, including:- Caldecott Honor Award from American Library Association- Newbery Honor Award from American Library Association- Smithson Medal from Smithsonian Institution- USA nominee in illustration for Hans Christian Andersen Medal- Regina Medal from Catholic Library Associationcopyright 2000 by Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers. All rights reserved.; Title: I Love You, Sun, I Love You, Moon | [
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15,986 | 7 | A Scandinavian girl must use her wits to outsmart a bunch of pesky trolls in Brett's latest picture book. When Tre,va and her dog Tuffi are set upon by these nasty creatures with dognapping on their minds, the girl dissuades the little folk by offering them other belongings in Tuffi's stead. And, ingenious child that she is, Treva retrieves her goods and also saves her pet before adventure's end. Brett's matter-offact text contains many traditional folktale elements: Treva's quick thinking overcomes obstacles, and she is rewarded for her good intentions and cunning. Readers will need to suspend disbelief just a bit, as Brett never places her heroine in any real dangereven though at one point she is nearly disrobed on a mountaintop. And Tuffi, a stalwart looking husky, makes no attempt to bark, growl or escape his captors. Brett's sumptuous paintings are typically replete with detail of landscape and costume, this time vividly capturing Scandinavian mountains and villages. Intricate page borders feature folk art needlework on top and scenes of the simultaneous action in the trolls' underground den on the bottom. A wintry winner with a sunny glow. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreSchool-Grade 3-- Treva's trouble begins when she and her dog, Tuffi, go up Mount Baldy. She meets five white-haired trolls, all intent on taking Tuffi; they want a dog and have filled their underground burrow with the things such a pet would need. Quick-thinking Treva, using tactics worthy of Br'er Rabbit, convinces the trolls that her mittens, hat, sweater, etc., are much more important to her than a dog, but wins all her belongings back before she and Tuffi escape down the mountain. Obviously influenced by Scandinavian folklore, the story is appealing. With the fine details that have become her trademark, Brett tells two stories at the same time: the child's encounters with the trolls appear on the top three-fourths of each spread, and a cross-section of their abode occupies the bottom. A humorous subplot involves a curious hedgehog. Set against a wintery, snow-capped background, the saturated colors seem to jump off the page. As always, Brett does a remarkably realistic job of depicting clothing and the natural landscape. Less successful, however, are her renderings of Treva and Tuffi, who have a slightly frozen quality. But the trolls are a personable bunch and readers may hate to see them disappear at the end. Overall, a visually attractive and accessible book that's ideal for individual use, but also fun to share aloud. --Denise Anton Wright, Illinois State Univ . , NormalCopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Trouble with Trolls | [
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15,987 | 1 | Officer Buckle is a roly-poly bloke, dedicated to teaching schoolchildren important safety tips, such as never put anything in your ear and never stand on a swivel chair. The problem is, Officer Buckle's school assemblies are dull, dull, dull, and the children of Napville just sleep, sleep, sleep. That is, until Gloria the police dog is invited along! Stealthily pantomiming each safety tip behind Officer Buckle's back, Gloria wins the children's hearts. Meanwhile Officer Buckle assumes the cheers and laughter are all for him. As the master comedian Jerry Lewis once explained, every slapstick artist needs a straight man! Children will be highly entertained by the laugh-out-loud, adorable illustrations in this 1996 Caldecott Medal winner, while learning the value of teamwork and a pawful of nifty safety tips. (Ages 4 to 8) --Gail HudsonRathmann (Good Night, Gorilla) brings a lighter-than-air comic touch to this outstanding, solid-as-a-brick picture book. Officer Buckle, a mustachioed policeman who wears a crossed-out-banana-peel patch on his sleeve, has a passion for teaching students about safety, but his audiences tend to doze off during his lectures. They awaken, however, when police dog Gloria joins Buckle onstage. As Buckle speaks, Gloria-behind Buckle's back-mimes each safety lesson (e.g., leaping sky-high for "Never leave a thumbtack where you might sit on it!" and making her fur stand on end to illustrate "Do not go swimming during electrical storms!"). School safety increases tenfold and Buckle and Gloria find themselves in great demand. But when he finally learns of his sidekick's secret sideshow, Buckle's feelings are terribly hurt. Rathmann's high-voltage cartoons, outlined in black ink for punchy contrast, capture her characters' every feeling, from Gloria's hammy glee and Buckle's surprised satisfaction to Gloria's shame at having tricked her partner. In a sound and sensitive conclusion, Gloria's disastrous attempt to go solo inspires Buckle's "best safety tip yet": "Always stick with your buddy!" As a bonus, equally sage sayings decorate the volume's endpapers. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Officer Buckle & Gloria (CALDECOTT MEDAL BOOK) | [
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15,988 | 2 | Kindergarten-Grade 3-"After school, when I want to be at softball practice, I have to sit down at the piano instead." The fact that the narrator's music teacher is grouchy and critical doesn't help, and his mother won't let him quit his lessons. What helps is Nana Hannah next door: her tango lessons, her twisted ankle, and, most importantly, her relaxed, no-pressure attitude. By the end of the story, the boy has blossomed naturally into a player-of both baseball and piano-and actually enjoys both. While not universally as appealing as Bottner's Bootsie Barker Bites (Putnam, 1992, which was helped by Peggy Rathmann's superlative artwork), this fresh story is nicely told and delivers its message without a lot of preaching. Bluthenthal has a light comic touch, a controlled graceful line, and a clear eye for color. Her nana looks like a cross between Olive Oyl and a Hilary Knight character. While the look of this book is a little young for kids old enough to have a problem like this, it is nevertheless an amusing take on a fairly common predicament.Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, ILCopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 4^-8. When baseball is a boy's greatest passion, having to take piano lessons is about as appealing as tango dancing. The one person who understands how the little boy feels is his grandmother Hannah, who loves to dance the tango and expresses joy in whatever she does. She tells him, "You'll be great at whatever you do. Like I am. You should see me dance." When she twists her ankle and needs cheering up, the boy moves in for a week. He teaches her how to catch a fly ball; she plays the piano, which inspires the boy to learn a song and discover that maybe there is more to life than baseball. The book's colorful illustrations are subtly crafted, simple but expressive. On a deeper level, the delightful text suggests that children--boys, especially--need their artistic sides affirmed. A fine book for lap sharing. Shelley Townsend-Hudson; Title: Nana Hannah's Piano | [
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15,989 | 0 | Grade 3-6-Yolen takes readers through the traditional Jewish calendar year beginning with Rosh Hashanah and ending with the weekly celebration of the Sabbath. The history and most important aspects of the observances are accompanied by evocative poems, traditional songs and stories, and a playlet for Purim. The illustrations and decorations are richly done in warm, lush colors that add to the general festivity. Malka Drucker's Family Treasury of Jewish Holidays (Little, 1994) is more complete, including "new" holidays, such as Yom Hashoah, which commemorates the Holocaust, as well as crafts and recipes. However, the general attractiveness and warmth of Yolen's book, the original poetry, and the clear explanations of the holidays commend it for any collection.Amy Kellman, The Carnegie Library of PittsburghCopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.Gr. 4^-6, younger for reading aloud. August's illustrations catch you first: their stark black outlines, inky details, and old-world charm immediately draw the eye. The text is a fine match for them, nicely written, with a bit of speculation here and there or a funny anecdote or telling quote. Beginning with Rosh Hashanah, Yolen outlines the history and practice of the eight most celebrated holidays on the Jewish calendar, then gives readers a taste of the literature. She includes original as well as traditional selections carefully keyed to the celebration--folk tales, poems, plays, and songs, with music scored for guitar and piano. The combination makes her book wonderful for introducing the Jewish holidays to a student group (though source notes are sketchy) and excellent for family sharing. Stephanie Zvirin; Title: Milk and Honey: A Year of Jewish Holidays | [
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15,990 | 18 | Noted biographer and historian Fritz ( Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt ) offers a wickedly funny look at 10 explorers who, between 1421 and 1522, ventured into what contemporaneous mapmakers called the Unknown. While presenting the salient facts, Fritz approaches them with playful irreverence; accordingly, the frequently traveled material can seem refreshingly new. Discussing Amerigo Vespucci, she writes, "Some give him credit for recognizing a continent when he saw one. Others call him an out-and-out faker." This tone proves especially effective when Fritz addresses such problematic issues as the treatment of native people and the often accidental nature of many of the discoveries. Reflecting the humor of Fritz's text, Venti's lighthearted black-and-white drawings use subtle strokes, as in a picture of Balboa, heavily in debt, stowed away on a ship and peering out from the barrel he'd hidden inside. Readable, attractive maps begin each chapter, providing useful visual references for each voyager's route. Ages 7-11. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 4-7-A look at "the first great wave of European exploration" (1421-1522) through brief portraits of various participants. Fritz does many things well here. She writes with ease and humor, including details that add color and humanity to historical figures, and skillfully incorporates research into her narrative. She presents the heroic aspects of the voyages, as well as evidence of the arrogance, cruelty, and greed many of these men displayed. Despite all the good attributes, the book suffers because of the complexity of the subject matter. By including so many different individuals, the issue becomes complicated; after a while, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese names start to run together. Some of the men's lifetimes and discoveries overlap, which makes it even more difficult to sort out who did what... and when. The illustrations are beautiful, entertaining, Renaissance-inspired pencil drawings. They include many amusing touches, such as the island of Porto Santo being overtaken by rabbits, but because they are in black and white and almost too finely drawn, they do not have a great deal of child appeal. A map at the beginning of each chapter shows the explorer's route. An outline of the continents appears on the end papers, but there aren't enough world maps throughout the book to enable readers to get a more complete picture of how the "discovered" countries fit into the world as a whole. The text is not straightforward enough for reports, but interested readers may enjoy perusing these tales of adventure and scientific discovery.Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VACopyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Around the World in a Hundred Years | [
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15,991 | 2 | "I'm lonely," Little Beaver cries, "I need a friend." When a voice answers from across the pond, "I'm lonely. I need a friend," Little Beaver sets off to find this kindred spirit. Along the way, he's joined by a duck, an otter and a turtle, who each claim, "I do need a friend, but it wasn't me who was crying." At the end of their journey the creatures meet a wise old beaver, who explains the mystery voice to them: "No matter where you are, the Echo is always across the pond from you. . . . When you are sad, the Echo is sad. When you are happy, the Echo is happy too." Little Beaver calls out in glee over his newfound friends, and his joy echoes across the water. This sweet, gentle tale is beautifully complemented by Fox-Davies's softly glowing landscapes and winsome furry characters--reminiscent of Garth Williams's. Little Beaver and the Echo is perfect for little ones at quiet-time or bedtime. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreSchool-Grade 1-- A cumulative, didactic tale. Hearing his own cry, "I need a friend," called back from across the pond, Little Beaver sets out to find the creature who shares his problem. As he journeys to find out who was crying, he is joined by an otter, a duck, and a turtle, all of whom also want companionship. Ultimately, they meet a wise old beaver who explains about Echo, and they make Echo sound happy when they discover that they are friends. Little Beaver is a fat, furry little fellow who is apparently intended to look natural, although he has the demeanor of a greeting card creature. This anthropomorphic approach is neither realistic nor convincing in presenting a human dilemma enacted by animals. The lovely soft watercolor scenes bespeak the British artist's experience as a natural-history illustrator. The issue concerning Echo is somewhat confusing, however, and the flat, precious conclusion about friendship is clearly stated but predictable. --Margaret Bush, Simmons College, BostonCopyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Little Beaver and the Echo | [
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15,992 | 16 | In a stunning celebration of color Caldecott medalist Young ( Lon Po Po ) offers a vibrant variation on the fable of the blind men trying to identify an elephant. Seven differently-hued blind mice approach the "strange Something" in their midst on successive days and report their findings to the group. A large black square provides the background for each painting, a dramatic contrast to the brilliant images "felt" by the sightless rodents. Young's textured, cut-paper illustrations allow readers to visualize just how a floppy ear might be mistaken for a fan ("I felt it move!"); the elephant's curving trunk springs to life as both a jewel-green snake and a glowing yellow spear. The spare text permits greater exploration and enjoyment of the artwork--it may be difficult to read the story straight through without stopping to compare the various images. The "Mouse Moral" that concludes the tale--"Knowing in part may make a fine tale, but wisdom comes from seeing the whole"--may seem superfluous to those who prefer the imaginative "vision" of the mice. Ages 4-up. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 3-- A real winner, on many levels. The first impression is visual delight. Brilliant colors and varied textures of paper collage are placed in striking contrast against velvety black pages. Bold white lettering imposed on the dark background tells of seven blind mice, seen in seven bright colors. Over the course of a week each investigates, in turn, the strange ``Something'' it encounters. To one it is a pillar, to another a snake, to another a cliff. Finally, on the seventh day, the white mouse, running across the thing and remembering what the others found, concludes that it is an elephant. The tale ends with the moral that wisdom comes from seeing ``the whole.'' Adapting the old fable of the blind men and the elephant by weaving in the days of the week, the mice, and the beautiful shapes of the things they see, Young gives children a clever story, wise words, and a truly exciting visual experience.- Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJCopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Seven Blind Mice (Caldecott Honor Book) | [
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15,993 | 2 | Gr. 1-3. The first day of second grade brings wonderful surprises for Herbie. First, when his big sister sees him eating ice cream for breakfast, she doesn't snitch. Second, he makes a new friend on the way to school. And finally, his new teacher isn't the expected Mrs. Schnellenberger, but Mr. S. ("Hold the burger"), who has a sense of humor. Kline doesn't provide totally smooth sailing for Herbie, but minor annoyances fade in importance thanks to a classroom atmosphere that is both buoyant and supportive. Widely spaced lines of large type and plenty of appealing line drawings give the pages an inviting look. Readers venturing into chapter books will also enjoy Herbie's previous home-and-school-centered adventures. Carolyn PhelanCopyright American Library Association. All rights reservedSuzy Kline, the author of nineteen previous Horrible Harry books and four books about Song Lee, lives in Willington Connecticut with her husband, Rufus. Suzy and Rufus have been married for thirty-eight years. They met in the state where they both grew up: California. Suzy grew up in Berkeley and Rufus in Sacramento. Suzy graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in European history. She met Rufus at the Davis campus while attending that campus for a year. They got married and lived in different places, including Canada, before settling into Connecticut, the state they now call home.Suzy taught in 5th and 6th grades at Shannon Elementary School in Richmond, California for 3 years, and 2nd and 3rd grades at Southwest Elementary School in Torrington, Connecticut for 24 years before retiring this past June. She now enjoys writing full-time and visiting schools and libraries. The couple share their home with two cats, Teeter and Hoag. They have two daughters, Jennifer and Emily, and four grandchildren: Jake, Kenna, Gabby and Saylor. A fifth grandchild is due in September, 2006. Suzy's mother just turned 96. She dedicated her most recent book, Horrible Harry Takes the Cake to her.Suzy and Rufus enjoy attending UConn football and basketball games, and Suzy uses the UConn library as a reference for her writing facts.; Title: Herbie Jones Sails into Second Grade | [
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15,994 | 11 | A native of the Appalachians, Houston (The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree) obviously writes from the heart. Though injured while trying to prove to his exacting father that he is a "man," Littlejim practices reciting Bible verses for the school competition; if he wins, he will be able to take part in the Christmas celebration at the church, which his father otherwise refuses to let the family attend. The boy manages to win the contest, purchase the doll that his younger sister longs for, and soften his father's stony demeanor in this unabashedly sentimental-but affecting-tale. Hazy, sepia-toned illustrations contribute to the story's nostalgic aura. Ages 6-10. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.Gr. 2-4. Houston continues the story of Littlejim (1990), about a boy in Appalachia around 1917 who longs for recognition from his macho father. Littlejim wants to go to the church Christmas tree celebration, but his father says there's no time for funning and frolicking; there's a war on, and there's work to be done. The boy dreams of proving himself a man, and he saves the dimes he earns so that he can buy a set of tools and help his father. Then, in time-honored fashion, Littlejim uses the hard-earned money to buy a doll as a Christmas gift for his little sister. When he is called on to help his father cut down logs in the icy woods, Littlejim can't keep up the pace and injures his hands. The story comes close to sentimentality, especially when Bigjim reluctantly attends the Christmas party and embraces his son with gruff tenderness. But the period details create a realistic setting without overwhelming the story, and Allen's soft, pastel-like illustrations in sepia shades capture the winter mountains and the people who live there. Children will feel for Littlejim as he longs for love from a distant parent. Hazel Rochman; Title: Littlejim's Gift: An Appalachian Christmas Story | [
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15,995 | 11 | Grade 1-6?A companion to Bruchac's Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back (Philomel, 1992). In that title, a grandfather shared the moon's legends with his grandson. In this book, a grandmother relates the legend of Sky Bear to her granddaughter. Sky Bear (also known as the Big Dipper) circles the Earth each night, and these 12 poems tell of what she sees and hears. Each one is from a different tribe: Mohawk, Anishinabe, Pima, Missisquoi, Winnebago, Cochiti Pueblo, Lenape, Chumash, Inuit, Lakota, Navajo, and Pawnee. Bruchac has once again compiled a thoughtful collection that eloquently bears out the theme of unity among all creatures. The selections display a wide range of emotions. Some are pensive meditations; others resound with hopeful energy. "Mouse's Bragging Song," a whimsical delight, is the arrogant boast of a little creature who thinks he alone can touch the sky. Locker's luminous oil paintings add detail and depth. They glow with brilliant sky colors: sunset reds, twilight purples. The Earth Under Sky Bear's Feet lives up to the high standards of Bruchac's earlier works, and is a worthy addition.?Marilyn Taniguchi, Santa Monica Public Library, CACopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.Gr. 3^-5, younger for reading aloud. To quiet her granddaughter's fear of the approaching darkness, Grandmother shares what Sky Bear (also known as the Big Dipper) sees and hears through the night. This companion volume to Bruchac's Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back: A Native American Year of Moons (1992) presents 12 nature stories, each from a different North American Indian tribe, about summer fireflies, blooming cacti, the northern lights, and an old wolf's predawn song. Locker's richly colored paintings capture the mood of each story, from the midnight sun of the Inuit to the seven stars sparkling against a blue-black sky. Similar in format to the earlier book, this offers easily accessible folklore that will appeal to young listeners and readers. Source notes appended. Karen Hutt; Title: The Earth under Sky Bear's Feet | [
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15,996 | 2 | In this Algonquin Indian version of the Cinderella story, two domineering sisters set out to marry the "rich, powerful, and supposedly handsome" Invisible Being, first having to prove that they can see him. They cannot, but their mistreated younger sister the Rough-Face Girl--so called because the sparks from the fire have scarred her skin--can, for she sees his "sweet yet awesome face" all around her. He then appears to her, reveals her true hidden beauty and marries her. Shannon ( How Many Spots Does a Leopard Have? ) paints powerful, stylized figures and stirring landscapes, heightening their impact with varied use of mist, shadows and darkness. His meticulous research is evident in intricate details of native dress and lodging. In places, though, he struggles with the paradox of illustrating the invisible--an eagle, tree, cloud and rainbow form the face of the Invisible Being in one disappointingly banal image. For the most part, however, the drama of these haunting illustrations--and of Martin's ( Foolish Rabbit's Big Mistake ) respectful retelling--produce an affecting work. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 3 Up-- Simply, in the words of an oral storyteller, Martin retells an Algonquin folktale. The youngest of three sisters is forced by the other two to sit by the fire and feed the flames, which results in the burning and scarring of her hair and skin. Desirous of marriage to an Invisible Being who lives in a huge wigwam across the village, these cruel siblings must prove to his sister that they have seen him, but they fail. The Rough-Face Girl, however, sees the Invisible Being everywhere and can answer his sister's questions correctly. Comparable in presentation to Caroline Cunningham's ``The Little Scarred One'' from The Talking Stone (Knopf, 1939; o.p.; reprinted in Castles and Dragons , Crowell, 1958; o.p.), but different in detail, this is a splendid read-aloud. It is the only single illustrated version available. Shannon's finely crafted full- and double-page acrylic paintings in the rich hues of the earth embody the full flavor of the story. His stunning cover portrait shows at one glance both the girl's beauty and her frightful scars. Another in the recent succession of Cinderella stories, The Rough-Face Girl begs for comparison with Princess Furball (Greenwillow, 1989), Tattercoats (Putnam, 1989), Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters (Lothrop, 1987), Moss Gown (Clarion, 1987), etc., and will provide both entertainment and a cultural lesson.- Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OHCopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Rough-Face Girl | [
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15,997 | 0 | Moe the dog gave his friend Arlene a faux beach in Stanley and Primavera's infectiously upbeat Moe the Dog in Tropical Paradise; now it's Arlene's turn to surprise Moe. This time, the shaggy brown protagonist invents a slogan for the ice-cream company where he and Arlene work ("Golly wow! Try Frozen Cow! It's the cat's meow!")?and snags a big promotion. Success quickly spoils him?he's so busy hyping product and strutting in his money-green suit that he doesn't have time to meet Arlene at the Happy-All Chinese restaurant; the message on Moe's answering machine, which announces, "If you're calling to request an interview, press 'two' now," emphasizes the distance between him and his best pal. So, with a series of fortune-cookie messages, the lonely Arlene leads Moe on a treasure hunt to the Happy-All, where he discovers that money is no substitute for friendship. The familiar moral receives a winning treatment in Stanley's skilled hands, and, perhaps best of all, Primavera's offbeat illustrations?spiked with punchy yellows, fuchsias, greens and oranges?capture the singular personalities of zealous Moe and shy Arlene. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 5?Moe and Arlene, two canine friends, work at the Frozen Cow ice-cream factory. They hate their jobs, since Frozen Cow is the worst ice cream ever made, but at least they get to work together. At the end of the week, they share simple pleasures, eating at Mr. Chang's Happy-All Chinese restaurant, going to the movies, and watching the night sky from a park bench. When Moe wins a Frozen Cow slogan contest and is appointed vice president in charge of advertising, things change. He no longer has time to spend with his pal. Despite his new jet-setting lifestyle, he is lonely?until Arlene, who has left the factory to become the fortune-cookie baker at Happy-All, takes the initiative to re-establish their friendship. While there may be a moral here for baby-boomers on the fast track, Stanley wisely sticks to simply telling the story, using the same clear, unembellished prose that is so successful in her nonfiction titles. It is left to the cartoon-style illustrations to add the extra edge of humor. The surreal colors and thickly painted backgrounds give an offbeat, yet sophisticated quality to the scenes. On one level, this is a story about the importance of friendship; it could also be a useful discussion-starter for exploring ideas about values.?Karen James, Louisville Free Public Library, KYCopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Woe Is Moe | [
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15,998 | 2 | Gifted at breathing life into a remote past, Caldecott Medalist McCully (Mirette on the High Wire) once again reaches into the grab bag of history-and unabashedly embroidered legend-emerging with this swashbuckling tale of Grania O'Malley, Ireland's famed lady pirate. Her larger-than-life career is chronicled here from birth in 1530 (her mother reputedly noted that the babe had "the light of the sea in her eyes") and early days sailing and marauding with her father, through marriage and childbirth (on the high seas of course), building and losing an empire (half a dozen castles), imprisonment and, finally, meeting her worthy contemporary, Elizabeth I of England, to whom she pleaded her case and won her bold gamble to return to the high seas. McCully writes with great flair, and her sweeping watercolors capitalize on the historical drama. Whether depicting the misty Irish seas or an exciting shipboard melee, her artwork bestows on Grania's life the big-screen effect it deserves. What a woman, what a tale. Hollywood, are you listening? Ages 4-8. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 2-5?This story of Irish swashbuckler Grania O'Malley is culled from both legend and history (an author's note provides clarification). McCully introduces a 16th-century heroine who will intrigue youngsters and who will offer educators an alternative to what is traditionally presented as a male "occupation." Grania's unique mixture of brains and brawn was revealed at an early age through her fluent Latin, her ability to outdance and outgamble any of the sailors, and through a courageous act that saved her father's life. Nothing deterred her. A day after her son was born at sea, Grania "exchanged the babe for a blunderbuss...and burst onto the deck" in the midst of a Turkish raid. At the pinnacle of her success, the fearless marauder met her match in an English governor, hired to subdue the Irish. The climax poses the pirate queen in a face-off with Queen Elizabeth I. Windswept hair, leaping figures, blurred outlines, and a liberal use of white highlights pack the paintings with motion and energy that propel the adventures. It is interesting to note that the title appears in the same year as Jane Yolen's The Ballad of the Pirate Queens (Harcourt, 1995). While the two books differ in specific subject, in literary form, and in artistic style, they certainly invite comparison and pairing. Brave students and teachers will want to read both.?Wendy Lukehart, Dauphin County Library, Harrisburg, PACopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Pirate Queen | [
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15,999 | 15 | In an opening Hudson River Valley scene of trees, mountains, water and mist, the reader is told "to climb a waterfall, go to the foot of the mountains." From there, an unnamed, barefoot child called "you" hikes up the course of a stream, through a trout pool and on up the canyon: "Turn over the rocks. If you are lucky you'll find a two-lined salamander." No salamander is visible, however; the creatures mentioned in the concise, detailed text often do not appear in the illustrations, dreamily beautiful landscapes viewed with awe from a distance. The use of the second person distances the reader still further. At the conclusion, for example, George (who collaborated with Locker on The First Thanksgiving) asserts that "the waterfall is now part of you." It's probably not a part of the reader, though, because Locker's sweeping oil paintings do not allow for the types of encounters with specific wood and stream creatures which fuel George's story. An unfortunate mismatch. Ages 4-up. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 2?Written as a series of brief instructions on how to find and climb to the top of a waterfall, this illustrated nature walk seems to have a twofold purpose. First, it makes a natural phenomenon accessible to readers with little or no opportunity to explore the countryside. Also, it sets forth the idea that if one observes nature closely, its wonders become part of the observer's experiences that can be recalled at will (perhaps a new concept for many youngsters). Locker's lush, double-page oil landscapes show a barefoot girl following the water's path through canyon and forest and up ledges to the top of the falls. The book's major shortcoming is that many of the plants and animals mentioned in the text (water thrush and otter; starflower; two-lined salamander; "...water pennies that flatten themselves against the rocks to withstand the current"; "...caddis fly youngsters that hang with threads they spin to the rocks") are not shown. Perhaps George's title will inspire children to search the library's natural-science section to get a look at them.?Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OHCopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: To Climb a Waterfall | [
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