Reviews by AnneWithAnE

AnneWithAnE says "As neurotic, egomaniacal a cat as you'll ever find. " about Chester

AnneWithAnE — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 19:13:17 GMT

Chester
by Melanie Watt

Kids Can Press

Last year's Cybils winner's out to prove she has her finger firmly on the elevated pulse of neurotic children everywhere. She mines deep into their psyches for a rich vein of dysfunctions -- and it's all pure gold.

This time out, the four-legged stand-in for us wacky humans is named Chester, a portly calico (though somebody please tell her that all calicos are female) with no self-esteem issues whatsoever. His narcissism is of rock-star proportions, and he can't bear the idea of a book being written about some nameless mouse. He X-es out any mention of that other animal and inserts himself into the text and art with a red marker. He even rewrites the book's dedication -- to himself.

We get to meet Watt, who breaks the fourth wall as she vainly tries to keep the cat at bay, but she never gets past "Once upon a time ..." Her black type and his red scribbles battle it out as Chester edits the book to his liking and wreaks havoc with the narrative.

Like Watt,...

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AnneWithAnE says "Doesn't live up to expectations and isn't really about Mary. " about Mary and the Mouse, the Mouse and Mary

AnneWithAnE — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 19:10:15 GMT

Mary and the Mouse, the Mouse and Mary
by Beverly Donofrio; illustrated by Barbara McClintock

Schwartz & Wade Books

I adore McClintock's signature vintage style. She captures period details without cluttering her compositions; she maintains an almost Renaissance-like sense of perspective and her watercolor palette is softly understated, her brushstrokes nearly invisible.

Any book with McClintock as its illustrator announces itself as a Big Deal; clearly the publisher means it as a stand-out. And this is before I read the press release about Donofrio, a bestselling author who's turning her hand to kiddie lit.

Is Donofrio up to the task of writing a kids' book? Is she worthy of McClintock? Or is this just another ploy by a blockbuster-obsessed publisher?

The story starts innocuously enough. Mouse lives in Mary's house leading parallel lives; a fact they discover one day by accident. They arrange for more "accidents" to wave hello, but never actually meet. When Mary grows up and gets a house of...

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AnneWithAnE says "A guided tour of Dreamland. " about Where the Giant Sleeps

AnneWithAnE — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 19:04:44 GMT

Where the Giant Sleeps
by Mem Fox; illustrated by Vladimir Radunsky
Harcourt, Inc.

Has anyone ever done the definitive, scholarly study on why Russian illustrators kick butt? Seriously. There's tons of them around, dribbling paint across many of my favorite picture books.

In this one, a sleeping child's imagination takes over, and fairies, witches and other magical beings slumber throughout a dream landscape that takes the shape of a dozing giant. The trees are his hair, for example, and a tilled field forms striped trousers.

That's it, really, plus some simple, rhythmic text that also rhymes, to set a quiet tone for bedtime.

But the real star here is Radunsky, who blends a surreal touch to the rounded figures and coarse brushstrokes on handmade paper for a blurry, otherwordly feel that's slightly out of focus, as if the boy's sleeping brain was just flitting through it. The illustrations are laid out as if on a map to reinforce the dreamscape idea.

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AnneWithAnE says "This recipe for a sunnier day can't go wrong. " about Mrs. Biddlebox: Her Bad Day ... And What She Did About It!

AnneWithAnE — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 18:59:32 GMT

Mrs. Biddlebox: Her Bad Day ... And What She Did About It!
By Linda Smith; illustrated by Marla Frazee

Harcourt, Inc.

At last, a book with step-by-step instructions for doing away with bad days. I've had more than my fair share lately, so I empathize:

On a grubby little hill,
in a dreary little funk,
Mrs. Biddlebox rolled over
on the wrong side of her bunk.

The morning gets appreciably more depressing, which Frazee serves up with minute, horizontal strokes of black grease pencil over muted beiges and gray-greens for a sense of bottomless gloom. Mrs. B. decides to rid herself of all that bad humor by cooking the whole day into a pie.

Some witchcraft's in order in verses Smith keeps tight and tidy, with no misplaced meter and a smooth rhyme scheme that tickles the ear. I warmed to the idea of an unrepentant witch who wants things to go her way for a change.

But wow, does that pie do the trick and Mrs. B. goes to bed under a cloudless, star-studded sky.

I want the recipe.

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AnneWithAnE says "A sweet honey of a book about a beloved bear. " about Baby Bear's Big Dreams

AnneWithAnE — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 18:55:01 GMT

Baby Bear's Big Dreams
by Jane Yolen; illustrated by Melissa Sweet

This Baby Bear is well worth the cover price for rhymes that gleefully glide past and a fanciful premise. Okay, the idea of a little kid dreaming of what he'll get to do as a big kid has been done to death, but Yolen has a way of making it worth one more try:

When I grow up
in a year or four,
I'll get a tent
and go explore.
I'll wear brown boots
and a feathered hat,
and bring along
a sleeping mat.

See? What'd I tell ya. Nice stuff. And you even get some counting in there, as she goes from one year to five, with Baby Bear still needing a good-night tuck even when he's all grown up. It's written from inside a kid's head, with all the contradictions and exaggerations playfully glossed over with a big smooch.

Sweet's watercolors are, well, sweet, and get the job done without too much fuss.

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AnneWithAnE says "What a bunch of animals! I'm a groupie for this barnyard band. " about Punk Farm on Tour

AnneWithAnE — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 18:52:09 GMT

Punk Farm on Tour
by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Alfred A. Knopf

This is one of those sequels to a book I never read, but is worth getting even if you're a Punk Farm virgin like me. My son's already a fan, though struggling to keep loose galleys together is a pain. I'm ordering the bound version for sanity's sake.

In the first Punk Farm, a Wisconsin barnyard rocks it out while Farmer Joe sleeps (you can download their version of "Old MacDonald" at their site, punkfarm.com). In this one, he's off to a tractor convention in Reno, so the gang -- Goat, Cow, Pig and the aforementioned Sheep and Chicken -- is taking their show cross-country.

But, hey, can they think up a cool new song? Will inspiration or their wretched van give out first?

Oooh ... suspense. I love it. And a twist on a song my kids actually know.

But you're missing half the book if you don't check out what other animals turn up where. My favorite: the flamingo groupie. You can actually learn something about the local fauna in far-flung corners...

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AnneWithAnE says "A poem about war that's almost as jarring as the real thing. " about Why War is Never a Good Idea

AnneWithAnE — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 18:33:37 GMT

Why War is Never a Good Idea
by Alice Walker

HarperCollins

This poem about war drops like jagged pieces of glass into your conscience, intensely sharp but, in the right light, shining and beautiful.

Set aside the word "never" in the title. You could make a good case for many wars in history, but we're not concerned with polemics here. Walker makes a character out of War; watchful and insidious, unconcerned and toxic:

Though War is Old
It has not
Become wise
It will not hesitate
To destroy
Things that
Do not
Belong to it
Things very
Much older
Than itself.

Walker, author of The Color Purple, obviously doesn't shy away from a controversy, but don't expect subtlety. The extended metaphor has no place to hide in her spare prose, though it builds its own momentum as idyllic images of families and landscapes sink beneath violence and gore.

Vitale's art drives the point home, literally. Turn the page on a lovely Asian panorama and the paper becomes wrapped around a filthy...

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AnneWithAnE says "Sadly, not a good sequel to 'Not a Box.'" about Not a Stick

AnneWithAnE — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 18:28:10 GMT

Not a Stick
by Antoinette Portis

HarperCollins

Oh dear. Sometimes sequels just don't work at all.

Portis gave us the delightful Not a Box last year, and it dazzled for seemingly being the perfect picture book. The premise was both surprising and obvious, as if it had been laying there waiting for someone to think of it, and all the rest of us were left slapping our heads.

And it captured a child's imagination like none other, with a simple box becoming an extraordinary plaything.

In this one, we get a stick instead of a box, a piglet instead of a bunny, but there's still the offstage adult chiding about not playing the thing. "It's not a stick" says the piglet, as it becomes a lance or fishing pole.

There's still the minimalist black lines on white paper. Red squiggles have been changed to blue to denote what the character's imagining. The cover has a wood grain instead of being box-like. And on and on.

I so loved the last book. If I hadn't read Not a Box, I might've liked Not a Stick just fine....

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AnneWithAnE says "Gets you bumping to baby's beat" about Jazz Baby

AnneWithAnE — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 18:23:51 GMT

Jazz Baby
by Lisa Wheeler; illustrated by R. Gregory Christie

"Brother's hands tap. Sister's hands snap ..." and before you know it, the whole family's got rhythm -- and rhyme -- as the impromptu music grows and proves infectious. Even the doe-eyed, grinning baby joins in with a loud "Go, man, go!" as everyone takes turns bopping and hip-hopping with him.

Wheeler's onomatopoeia (when words simulate sounds) careens along to a syncopated beat like electrons bouncing around an atom smasher; highly charged and fast, fast, fast. Sure, you can buy heavy parenting tomes written by Ph.Ds. on the beneficial effects of music on early childhood development, or you can just watch Jazz Baby in action.

And like all teeny-weeny boppers, he reaches the end of the day and his limits, just in time for his parents to slow the tempo down and switch to some blues-y lullabies.

Christie's gouache paintings are the perfect dance partner to Wheeler's punchy verses with elongated figures who seem to sway with the beat....

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AnneWithAnE says "Good for basic info on rocks, but the story is lacking. " about Julie the Rockhound

AnneWithAnE — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 18:19:43 GMT

Julie the Rockhound
by Gail Langer Karwosky; illustrated by Lisa Downey

How do you make rocks as interesting as, say, fuzzy bunnies or roaring dinosaurs? They don't do much, just lie around and wait for you to dig them up.

When Julie stumbles on a quartz crystal, she doesn't know what to make of it. Her Dad supplies all the answers as she asks and asks about where they come from, confusing "quartz" with "quarts" and a vein of rocks for the ones in her arm, etc.

Julie's merely a vehicle for learning information, and the plot plods wearily from fact to fact. It's a shame, because I know a few real rockhounds. My mother had a crystal she used for healing, and my mother-in-law goes to rock shows in Arizona.

Rockhounds are a quirky, self-effacing group -- often outdoorsy or New Age-y, and cheerfully aware that the rest of the world thinks entire boulders are banging around between their ears. More could've been done with either Julie's or her father's personalities to match the audacious and memorable...

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AnneWithAnE says "Definitely won't cure your arachnophobia" about Spiders

AnneWithAnE — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 17:30:50 GMT

Spiders
Seymour Simon

Smithsonian/HarperCollins

"You may be surprised to learn just how fascinating [spiders] are."

Hey, Seymour, I'll take your word for it, okay? I mean, I've lived 44 years on this planet -- quite happily too -- without knowing a spider's body parts or that it's related to ticks, mites and scorpions. It's not like I go through my day thinking, "Wow, I wonder what it's like to have poison sacs on either side of my jaw!"

Okay, sometimes I do think that, but mostly in traffic.

This being strictly a science book, and from the Smithsonian at that, there's some uncomfortably close-up photos of our arachnid friends as they go about their bug-eating, web-weaving day. Some are pretty. Most would be much prettier if they masticated with their mouths closed.

Simon has a whole series of these nature books out, and they're staples of the young and science-report afflicted. They're the printed equivalent of broccoli, really.

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AnneWithAnE says "A charming trip with a talkative tot." about What Happens on Wednesdays

AnneWithAnE — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 16:05:37 GMT

What Happens on Wednesdays
by Emily Jenkins; illustrated by Lauren Castillo

Farrar, Strauss & Giroux

What happens when a kid is asked to describe her favorite day of the week?

If it's my kid, he clams up and smiles shyly. He might eek out a sentence or two about going to school or to the beach at recess. Maybe, just maybe, if they're serving mac-n-cheese for lunch, he'll mention that too.

Then he's done. Time for Legos or Hot Wheels and loud engine noises.

I've often joked about the little chatterboxes who'd narrate their whole day if you let them, and Jenkins has given us just such a girl. She repeats herself, forgets what comes next, gets ahead, focuses on details relevant only to her, provides endless lists and generally charms the pants off a grown-up reader.

It helps that the nameless narrator lives in a vibrant urban neighborhood, where everything's in walking distance and nobody has to drive anywhere. There's plenty to describe for this family of early risers where Mom works from home and...

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AnneWithAnE says "An amusing tale of a lost tail. " about Little Skink's Tail

AnneWithAnE — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 16:02:05 GMT

Little Skink's Tail
by Janet Halfmann; illustrated by Laurie Allen Klein

Sylvan Dell Publishing

A skink's a type of lizard with a dazzling cobalt tail, which the poor critter loses in a fight with a crow. While this saves her life, it leaves her unadorned. While she's waiting for it to grow back, she imagines herself with tails from other forest animals.

A squirrel's tail is too bushy, nor does a porcupine's please. And feathers? Still no.

Halfmann really runs with this idea, keeping the storyline simple but upping the ante as Skink considers the different appendages. Even kids unfamiliar with most of these animals will get the humor in Skink's good-natured tail shopping.

Klein's watercolors are lifelike, the better to educate, and exercises in the back enhance our foray into Skink's forest. Like If a Dolphin Were a Fish, (also by this illustrator) it's a fanciful way of teaching what an animal is by demonstrating what it isn't -- which uses fairy-tale transformation to impart factual information....

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AnneWithAnE says "A small book on a smelly subject. " about Poop

AnneWithAnE — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 15:59:32 GMT

Poop: A History of the Unmentionable
by Nicola Davies; illustrated by Neal Layton

Candlewick Press

Oh yeah, a POOP book. Kids won't like that, will they? I mean, it's only a wee-sized book about POOP, not anything designed to appeal to kids, whom we all know prefer to read about nice, clean subjects, like manners and respecting grown-ups and how not to insist in a whiny voice that you must read them a book about POOP right now, pleeeeez.

Ach. I'm disowning both of them.

Did you know that poop gets its nauseating hue from all the colors of our food blending in our intestines? See? An art lesson. And blue whales have pink poop. You can tell all about animals from their poop. F'rinstance, cute bunny wabbits EAT THEIR OWN POOP. Right out of their butts.

Oh yeah, kids will just hate this. And those scribbly, colorful drawings just like a kid would make? They'll hate that too.

In fact, between this and the parasite book, I predict Davies and Layton will have no sales whatsoever and be forced to take...

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AnneWithAnE says "Bestselling author lends her gifts to helping sea turtles. " about Turtle Summer: A Journal for my Daughter

AnneWithAnE — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 21:54:42 GMT

Turtle Summer: A Journal for my Daughter
by Mary Alice Munroe; photographs and illustrations by Barbara J. Bergwerf

Once upon a Florida summer, I got to see a sea turtle nest as the last little hatchlings were scurrying toward the water. My midnight stroll on a beach got me there just in time to see the last straggler hit the surf and vanish into the black waters. I spent the rest of the weekend exploring the shoreline, noting the nests cordoned off by wildlife officials, who posted signs with the dates and species and the usual warnings.

Reading bestselling novelist Monroe's personal account of her "turtle summer" in South Carolina with her school-age daughter brought back the wonder and giddiness I felt even as an adult. She gives us one nest's chronology, laid out to resemble a scrapbook, but with Monroe's descriptive prose and tender touch.

Bergwerf is no stranger to loggerhead turtles, the featured species, but her photography is better showcased here, with sharp close-ups of all...

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AnneWithAnE says "Boobs! Nipples! Animal nudity! An udderly fascinating book. " about Mama's Milk

AnneWithAnE — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 21:51:59 GMT

Mama's Milk
by Michael Elsohn Ross; illustrated by Ashley Wolff

Us gals put the Ma'am in mammals, and this book revels in the milk of human kindness--and all the other milks too. From kittens to whales and even armadillos, mamas work miracles with our mammaries.

In simple couplets, Ross walks us through many types of mammal mamas as they do what comes naturally, interspersed with glimpses of us human critters with our hungry pups. Wolff puts us lactating ladies in soft focus with gouache illustrations that remain tasteful for all their explicitness.

I'm a little envious of bears, who get to hibernate through the whole thing, but grateful I'm not a platypus, whose puggles (!) must lick milk from patches on her belly. Wow, does that look awkward.

Oh, stop squirming. Honestly. Kids have a natural curiosity about breast feeding (I know, I'm still at it with kidlet #2) and are considerably more mature than some grown-ups. I've never had weird stares and awkward confrontations like some...

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AnneWithAnE says "Some new classics for kids--well worth a read or six. " about Here's a Little Poem

AnneWithAnE — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 21:45:53 GMT

Here's a Little Poem
collected by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters; illustrated by Polly Dunbar

If you could pick 60 poems for toddlers that capture their unexpected joys, instant frustrations and non-stop escapades, you'd be a genius. You'd be Yolen, in fact, (and collaborator Fusek Peters) and the book would be this eclectic, surprising and always delightful collection that absolutely belongs on your shelf.

Unlike some other kiddie poets, ahem, Yolen's not resting on her laureates, so to speak, and she's out there collecting the best of the best for us to titter and giggle over. I'm going to completely trash a few copyrights in the hopes you'll be inspired to get your own copy.

Jill Townsend obviously has mothered at least one clothing-challenged small person. This gem of hers sounds familiar in our household:

Dressing too Quickly
Too many buttons.
What along zip.
Velcro to fasten.
Mind you don't slip.
Dress more slowly.
You'll fall in a minute!
You've one trouser leg
And two legs in...

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AnneWithAnE says "Gets kids to think outside the (ice) box. " about The Pink Refrigerator

AnneWithAnE — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 21:42:49 GMT

The Pink Refrigerator
by Tim Egan

I'm a creature of habit. If my husband didn't move me cross-country every few years, I'd be covered in cobwebs by now. I like Dodsworth, the mouse in this story who owns a resale shop. His daily routine's enviable--he does just enough to get by, then relaxes and watches TV. This is bad?

Then on one of his daily rounds to the junk yard, he spies a discarded pink refrigerator with a note tacked on: "make pictures." Inside, he finds a sketchbook, paints and brushes.

He doesn't hit on instant inspiration, that day or any of the other days he goes back to discover different notes: "read more" or "play music" or, lastly, "keep exploring." His is a gradual awakening to the possibilities, until the refrigerator stands empty and the call to adventure must come from within Dodsworth instead.

This is a fine message for both parent and child, to challenge yourself with a few new amusements, preferably the artsy-fartsy kind that don't involve serious risk of injury....

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AnneWithAnE says "The porpoise-driven life" about Dizzy

AnneWithAnE — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 21:40:11 GMT

Dizzy
by Stacy A. Nyikos; illustrated by Kary Lee

A few publishers have figured out my weakness for nature stories or those involving animals in their natural habitats. I've only ever lived in cities, where the wildlife happens indoors, and my natural habitat is pretty much confined to this desk. I enjoy a good jaunt outdoors if only vicariously via picture books.

One of the publishers I've adopted is Stonehorse, a newish upstart whose marine biology books blend scientific accuracy and captivating stories. Dizzy's the third effort for both publisher and author, which this time features a speedy, Pacific white-sided dolphin.

Not that I'd know any particular species of dolphin from a can of tuna, but Dizzy's a cheerful addition to the pantheon of loveable sea critters. If I'm reminded of the sharks in "Finding Nemo" who sneeringly dissed their cutesy rivals, it's only because middle age makes me cynical. I usually want to bite someone that smiley.

Fortunately, the whip-fast Dizzy gets...
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AnneWithAnE says "A cosmic encounter with playful rhymes and stellar art. " about Comets, Stars, The Moon and Mars

AnneWithAnE — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 20:59:41 GMT

Comets, Stars, The Moon and Mars
by Douglas Florian

Not since Ogden Nas has there been a kids' poet as inventive and playful as Douglas Florian.

Check out the charming wordplay in Saturn, for example:
Saturn's rings turn round Saturn.
Its moons turn round it, too.
Saturn, by turns, turns round the sun
Saturning through and through.
And then there's this pithy summation of Pluto's woes:
Pluto was a planet.
Pluto was admired.
Pluto was a planet.
Till one day it got fired.
Not only will this help fix the planets and other heavenly bodies more firmly in a child's memory, but it's startling and fresh for parents as well.

Florian avoids the kiddie poetry cliches that drive me nuts: he varies his meter and rhyme schemes, he fiddles and diddles with meanings, his images often startle and amaze, and he's playful and witty at almost every turn, but gets his facts straight.

And the art! He primed brown paper bags (how's that for recycling?) and used great swashes of wet, drippy color, and then...
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