Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Not a Box by Antoinette Portis

Not a Box
HarperCollins, New York, 2006.
Hardcover edition, 32 pages, ISBN: 978-0061123221.

Wrapped in brown cardboard paper and weighing a mere 11.5 oz. Net Wt., this item, which is clearly "not a box" needs to be handled "This Side Up".

"Why/what are you sitting (doing, squirting, wearing, standing) in/on this box?" asks an omniscient voice, page after page.

The simple line-drawn bunny accompanied by his suspiciously box-like object repeatedly disabuses the notion of boxhood by responding to the series of queries with increasing fervor, "It's NOT NOT NOT NOT a box!"

The object has, after all, been miraculously transformed by imagination into a racecar (mountain peak, burning house, robot, crow's nest, tugboat, hot air balloon, elephant howdah).

An easy beginning read with repetitive patterns, this little gem also invites small ones to create their own possibilities and visions for "outside of the box" thinking.

Provides a wonderful centerpiece for a "Bring your own Box" decorating event.

ALA Notable Children's Book Winner
Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor Book, 2007.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

On the Farm by David Elliott

On the Farm
Illustrated by Holly Meade. Candlewick Press, Cambridge, MA, 2007.
Hardcover edition, 32 pages, ISBN 978-0-7636-3322-6.

Meade's stunning and engaging earth-toned, double-spread woodcuts create a masterful backdrop for Elliott's simple, wry poetry. Children will delight in investigating the details of life on the family farm while absorbing clever observations on resident animals.

The Barn Cat
"Mice
had better
think twice."

Horn Book Starred Review
Cybils Award in Children's Poetry Books, Nominee, 2008
Raising Reader Selection, 2009

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Jamberry by Bruce Degen

Jamberry
HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 2000.
Hardcover edition, 32 pages, ISBN 0-06-021417-1.

Degen joyously depicts the exuberant quest of a boy and a bear for berries to make jam. All kinds of berries! Lots and lots of berries!

The simple silly rhymes grow in tempo and intensity as the story progresses from the idyllic countryside, canoeing over waterfalls, dancing with ponies, piling train cars with "billions of berries", greeting brass bands and skating elephants, and flying away in a raspberry balloon as berry rockets explode about them:

"Mountains and fountains
Rain down on me
Buried in berries
What a jam jamboree!"

The brightly-colored illustrations burst with berry hues, providing whimsical details for children to discover: tiny animals, biscuit and butter lily pads, marshmallow marsh plants, jelly roll flowers, and borders of berry-laden vines twining around it all.

Be sure to serve up some jam and bread, and an array of berries with a dollop of cream along with this celebration of color and sound inspired by Degen's family memories of berry-picking and jam-making.

ALA Booklist Editors' Choice
IRA/CBC Children's Choice
American Bookseller Pick of the Lists