Faves: Read Roawr (Joosse), Max (Isadora), Pancakes for Supper (Isaacs)

Last week we read books by these authors:

Isaac

Isadora

Jonas

Johnston

Johnson

James

Joose

Joyce

Rachel Isadora's stories of children learning skills (dance, baseball, and music) and feeling pride in those skills offer lots of opportunities to talk about talents. We talked a lot about what the kids wanted to learn to do as we read each one. Somehow through the fiction children are presented with a sneak peak of possibilities.

Tony Johnston's book and the potential they have to teach about the westward migration. Amber on the Mountain is one of my friend stories of friendship I've ever read in picture book form.  Sunsets of the West (about pioneers moving from New Hampshire to the Rockies) and A Quilt Story are more stories of families on the frontier. The former is a great one to read to kids to teach about the process of moving by covered wagon--it reminded me of Eve Bunting's Dandelions.

My kids couldn't get enough of Simon James' Baby Brains who has all sort of adventures but then always cries out "I want my mommy!" and returns to her.

Barbara Joose's Roawr is a classic tale of a child confronting his fears heroically. We read it twice in succession and I resist that when at all possible, so you know can trust it was great. Get it and you'll laugh--that little boy is so clever.  She also wrote a great book about a big family get-together at Christmas time called A Houseful of Christmas that brought back so many memories of huge family get-togethers.

Anne Isaacs' award-winning Swamp Angel was our favorite read of hers, but all of her folkloric stories were enjoyable, though Luckless Gulch was long, albeit about my beloved California at the time of the Gold Rush. Pancakes for Supper is a great re-telling of a classic tale involving a smart child who outwits all the beasts of the forest and then enjoys pancakes with his family.

And finally, D.B. Johnson's Henry books are really wonderful. Henry the dog is really a type of Henry David Thoreau, and you follow his adventure as he walks instead of taking the train, as he climbs a mountain, and as he sits in a jail as an act of civil disobedience. And kids can understand it! I am partial to the pictures, too.


*This school year I'm going on a Big (Picture) Book Tour. It's not a book tour to show off a book I've written. It's a trip through the children's section of our library. Here's how it works:

• Each week I give myself about ten minutes at the library to choose over a dozen books from one alphabetic section of the children's picture books, usually several of the same author. 
• This is not a comprehensive review of each artist. I limit myself to what is in the library that day.
• The objective is to share these with my kids and then I'll briefly review the authors here. 
• I don't give equal attention to the artists because the books aren't categorized that way, but I'll try to do that, too. 
• I'll highlight my favorites in case you're looking for recommendations.

Great Graphics, Amazing Stories, and Predictable Patterns

A couple weeks ago we read our second installment of books in the H section* and I didn't do this review right away, so it might seem a little bland. These are the authors we sampled:

Hopkinson

Horse

Hubbell

Hughes

Huneck

Hutchins

Pick up Patricia Hubell and Stephen Huneck's books for bold graphics enjoyable for children and adults.  Patricia Hubell's books are filled with awesome mixed media art and very few words per page which make them perfect for little pre-readers who like to memorize text. The Sally series by author/illustrator Stephen Huneck whose unique woodcut prints are both humorous and beautiful. (I think the farm one might have had something weird in it--I can't remember what it was.) We loved Sally Goes to the Mountain most.

Deborah Hopkinson's books are picture book historical fiction at their finest. I loved Apples to Oregon most because I could picture my own tree-loving father trying to transport tree saplings over thousands of miles: its subtitle reeled me in "Being the (Slightly) True Narrative of How a Vrave Pioneer Father Brought Apples, Peaches, Plums, Grapes and Cherries (and Children) Across the Plains." Girl Wonder about Alta Weiss who played semi-pro baseball in 1907 at the age of 17, is also highly recommended.

We picked up a few of Pat Hutchins' books (because we love Rosie's Walk and The Doorbell Rang), and this time we liked The Wind Blew and Shrinking Mouse best. The latter is perfect for teaching about perspective, by the way.

*This school year I'm going on a Big (Picture) Book Tour. It's not a book tour to show off a book I've written. It's a trip through the children's section of our library. Here's how it works:

• Each week I give myself about ten minutes at the library to choose over a dozen books from one alphabetic section of the children's picture books, usually several of the same author. 
• This is not a comprehensive review of each artist. I limit myself to what is in the library that day.
• The objective is to share these with my kids and then I'll briefly review the authors here. 
• I don't give equal attention to the artists because the books aren't categorized that way, but I'll try to do that, too. 
• I'll highlight my favorites in case you're looking for recommendations.

Joe Hayes or Keven Henkes (Depending on the Age)

Bottom line: it will take us two weeks to review the H stacks in our children's library, so this is just week one.

This week's line-up of authors*:

Katherine Holabird

Mary Ann Hoberman

Holly Hobbie

Robie Harris

Joe Hayes

Kevin Henkes

Amy Hest

Robie Harris' books speak to and in behalf of children. She seems really understanding of childhood anxiety. My kids loved Mail Harry to the Moon! about a boy who is jealous of his younger brother (and he comes around) and Don't Forget to Come Back (about a little girl who doesn't want her parents to leave her with a babysitter.) My favorite was Maybe a Bear Ate It about the possible whereabouts of a particular misplaced object. I might memorize it for those moments when someone says "I can't find it anywhere! Where is my ____? I need my ____?" That happens a lot around here.

Joe Hayes' stories about a skunk and a rattlesnake are hilarious and were read several times this week. I don't know much about him but his storytelling is superior. If I needed to memorize a story for a campfire, I would go to his books. Though there are many words on the page (requiring lots of patience from toddlers) young readers and older readers can't escape the humor.

I love every single Toot and Puddle book (by Holly Hobbie) and every Keven Henkes book we read this week. My pre-K twins loved these most.

Mary Hoberman's Seven Silly Eaters (which we own) is one of my favorite books ever, and we enjoyed Whose Garden Is It for completely different reasons. It's about a garden and all the creatures that claim it.

We read One Halloween Night by Mark Teague even though we didn't find it in the H stacks. I love the emphasis of imaginative problem-solving in this story. This is a fun one for future Halloweens.

Amy Hest deserves mention because her books all seem to be about special connections children make with others, particularly older grandparents and aunts. There are no nasty mothers or sleeping grandpas in these books.



*This school year I'm going on a Big (Picture) Book Tour. It's not a book tour to show off a book I've written. It's a trip through the children's section of our library. Here's how it works:

• Each week I give myself about ten minutes at the library to choose over a dozen books from one alphabetic section of the children's picture books, usually several of the same author. 
• This is not a comprehensive review of each artist. I limit myself to what is in the library that day.
• The objective is to share these with my kids and then I'll briefly review the authors here. 
• I don't give equal attention to the artists because the books aren't categorized that way, but I'll try to do that, too. 
• I'll highlight my favorites in case you're looking for recommendations.

Arthur Geisert (an Author Illustrator) and a Few Family Stories

These were the authors I reviewed* last week.

Faye Gibbons

Paul Geraghty

Diane Goode

Taro Gomi,

Libba Moore Gray

Sally Grindley

Susana Gretz

Arthur Geisert

Valeri Gorbachev

Libba Moore Gray's books in the library's stacks seemed to be largely about families or they were musically-based, and Is There Room in the Feather Bed couldn't be more like our current nightly challenge of kids climbing into beds with us!

The author/illustrator Valeri Gorbachev was new to me, and I loved both his illustrations and his tales. I love the clever mother in Nicky and the Big Bad Wolves, and the last illustration of The Big Trip is a perfect ending/beginning.

My kids asked me to read Mucky Duck and No Trouble at All by Sally Grindley over and over again. I didn't ask them if it had to do with the bad behavior highlighted in its illustrations.

I love Mountain Wedding by Faye Gibbons, the story of the wedding day for two large families. Think Yours, Mine, and Ours (the movie) but a snapshot focusing on ten minutes of action. It starts with family tension and ends with laughing and family love.

Arthur Geisert's books are interesting at every level. I don't think any of his books would disappoint, but our favorites were Lights Out and The Giant Ball of String. Older readers will love the details and the problems and the contraptions. Younger children's pre-reading and early reading skills will be strengthened with all the illustration searching to be done.


*This school year I'm going on a Big (Picture) Book Tour. It's not a book tour to show off a book I've written. It's a trip through the children's section of our library. Here's how it works:

• Each week I give myself about ten minutes at the library to choose over a dozen books from one alphabetic section of the children's picture books, usually several of the same author. 
• This is not a comprehensive review of each artist. I limit myself to what is in the library that day.
• The objective is to share these with my kids and then I'll briefly review the authors here. 
• I don't give equal attention to the artists because the books aren't categorized that way, but I'll try to do that, too. 
• I'll highlight my favorites in case you're looking for recommendations.