Picture Book Review: So-Hee and Lowy by Anna Kang

Image: Amazon

So-Hee and Lowy by Anna Kang. Illustrated by Christopher Weyant. unpgd. Two Lions, April 22, 2025.  9781542036658. Review of fng courtesy of MB Communications.

So-Hee lives in an apartment with her mother and just longs for connection. She's chosen last for things at school and she has not friends. She's severely allergic to fur and the usual pets are off the menu. No friends, not pets, what's a lonely tween to do? Luckily, her local pet store has the answer! Her mom agrees to bring home a yellow python and So-Hee names it Lowy and the two soon become inseparable, until they aren't.

This sweet story works on so many levels. It's about loneliness and friendship and community. The warm illustrations add to the story by depicting lots of little details, both humorous and heartwarming about So-Hee's life. 

I'm a huge fan of Ms. Kang and Mr. Weyent's books. So-Hee and Lowy is a keeper. Loved it. It's a great addition to home and pre-school and elementary libraries. 

Picture Book Review: Pink is Not a Color by Lindsay Ward

Image: Author's Website

Pink is Not a Color by Lindsay Ward. unpgd. Two Lions, July, 2022. 9781542026864. (Review of finished copy courtesy of Blue Slip Media.)

Adorable little Pink is perfectly pleased with the predominance of her favorite color in her abode. She sports pink boots and a pink unicorn headband. She paints pictures of her pet, Phil, the flamingo in her room. All is well until she finds her friends the primaries decorating for a rainbow party and realizes that she's not included. The secondaries are included, but she's not part of the rainbow and the party is a rainbow extravaganza! Wait! Could this mean Pink is NOT a color? All the other colors rush to make amends, but the damage is done. Pink is in a full-on mid-color crisis. 

The very best picture books entertain while they subtly teach. This book pairs wonderfully with This Book is Gray to introduce color theory to just about any age group. There's energy in the illustrations as well as plenty of visual humor leading to many happy requests for rereading. Additionally, the lessons here are also social emotional. Young readers who are not feeling self-confident can relate and confident young readers have the opportunity to empathize. 

The end pages are decorated and contain great information. Unfortunately, part of each is covered by the flaps, which isn't a problem for home libraries. Minor niggle. I still love decorated end pages. Pink is Not a Color is a joyful addition to any library. 

Fact Friday: All of a Sudden and Forever: help and healing after the Oklahoma City bombing by Chris Barton

Image: Lerner Publishing

All of a Sudden and Forever: help and healing after the Oklahoma City bombing by Chris Barton. Illustrated by Nicole Xu. 40 p. Carolrhoda Books/ Lerner Publishing Group, February, 2020. 9781541526693. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher.)

Fact Friday features All of a Sudden and Forever: help and healing after the Oklahoma City bombing by Chris Barton and illustrated by Nicole Xu. Last Sunday, April 19 marked the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Shortly after 9AM, a truck loaded with explosive material was detonated  killing 168 people, injuring countless more and effectively destroying the building. Improbably, an elm tree survived the blast though it was badly damaged. 

What Chris Barton does in this picture book for everyone is focus not on the bomber or why it occurred, but on what people affected by the blast did to heal and restore hope. They cared for each other and they cared for that elm tree. When the tree seeded, they gathered the seeds and cared for the seedlings. They gifted some of the seedlings and saved some. A memorial to the victims was opened in April of 2000 and many seedlings of what was dubbed, "The Survivor Tree" are growing and thriving on the site. 

Barton's spare language and effective use of repetition instructs and reassures. Nicole Xu's muted illustrations are equally spare yet beautiful. Back matter includes notes from both the author and illustrator, survivor interviews and a bibliography. All of a Sudden and Forever is the book you need - an important addition to any library collection.

Happy Thanksgiving! #tbt: Rettie and the Ragamuffin Parade by Trinka Hakes Noble

Rettie and the Ragamuffin Parade: a Thanksgiving story by Trinka Hakes Noble. Illustrated by David C. Gardner. Tales of Young Americans series. unpgd. Sleeping Bear Press, September, 2017. 9781585369607. (Own.)

I was going to skip #tbt today. Take a break for the Thanksgiving holiday. But then this book popped into my head and even though it's only a year old (#tbt usually features books older than 10 years), I decided to review it. 

The year is 1918 and a flu epidemic is sweeping the country, especially the tightly packed immigrant communities in New York's Lower East Side. Rettie is doing her best to care for her stricken mother and four younger siblings. She's only nine and her father is off fighting in the war. She scrambles to do odd jobs to earn money and hopes to participate in the ragamuffin parade so she can collect coins. She hopes the epidemic will not cancel the parade because she wants to feed her family on Thanksgiving. 

Poignantly told and sumptuously illustrated, this tale tugs at the heartstrings. This picture book for older readers is a wonderful Thanksgiving read aloud to encourage gratitude and reflection. An author's note at the end provides historical context. Rettie and the Ragamuffin Parade is a wonderful addition to any school, public or classroom library!

Picture Book Review: King Baby by Kate Beaton

King Baby by Kate Beaton. Unpgd. Arthur A. Levine Books/ Scholastic Inc., September, 2016. 9780545637541. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher.)

The back cover of this delightful book declares, "It is good to be the king!" Indeed, who gets more attention and adoration than a brand new baby? Who can be more demanding and tyrannical than a brand new baby?

Make room on the shelf with "New Sibling" books for this amusing gem. A bright palette depicts a potato-shaped newborn first bathed in a spotlight and sporting a crown. The next double-page spread depicts a diverse receiving line of adoring friends and family and the proud parents. Baby smiles and coos give way to demands such as, "Feed me!" and "Change me!" as the proud parents quickly devolve into an exhausted puddle.

As King Baby bumps up against his immobility and inability to communicate, he decides to do it himself. The page turn reveals an adorable sequence depicting King Baby crawling. But this is a mere stepping stone! There's talking and walking to conquer on his way to becoming a Big Boy! Ah, but there is a surprise in store for King Baby.

A bright palette, humorous cartoon expressions make this universal story of the highs and lows of a new family a keeper. 

Non-Fiction Monday: Two Books about Coyotes!

Whilst scouting the shelves at my favorite public library a few weeks ago, I spied Hungry Coyote on display. I had recently read this with the kids from "Period Kahn" that I see every day so I skipped over it and looked some more. Two shelf tops over, I saw Coyote Moon and thought, "compare contrast!" So I grabbed it and Hungry Coyote and a few others and trotted back across the street to my own library. 

Hungry Coyote by Cheryl Blackford. Illustrated by Laurie Caple. unpgd. Minnesota Historical Society Press, May, 2015. 9780873519649. (Review from finished copy borrowed from public library)

My first glance at the yellow-eyed coyote made me think that I was looking at a photograph. My second, took in the city skyline. As I learned from Ann Downer's book Wild Animal Neighbors, it is not unusual for coyotes to live in urban areas. This book follows one coyote and his family throughout one year, beginning and ending in the winter. The paintings are luscious and detailed. The language is spare and rhythmic. Coyote doesn't always catch his prey, and sometimes his prey is snitched sausage from a summer picnic. Young readers understand his need to feed his growing family. A half-page of additional information concludes the volume. No additional resources are provided.

Coyote Moon by Maria Gianferrari. Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline. unpgd. Roaring Brook Press, July, 2016. 9781626720411. (Review from finished copy borrowed from public library)

Wild Animal Neighbors and Hungry Coyote helped me appreciate the tenacity and adaptability of the coyote. Coyote Moon almost endeared me to them. This book follows a female out hunting for her family during a full-moon night. As in Hungry Coyote, the text is spare and evocative and absolutely wedded to the extraordinary illustrations. The ground-up perspective is unique and the lack of light forces the reader to lean in to peer closely in order to appreciate the incredible detail in each painting. My guys were constantly leaning in to touch the book. Just as they got used to the atmosphere, they jumped when the page turn revealed the pounce! 

This picture book can definitely be used for elementary report writing because the back matter is terrific. Suggestions for further reading and websites are also included. Make room in your collection for this one. It's a keeper.

The boys did a terrific job of comparing and contrasting these lovely volumes about coyotes.

Review(s) and Rumination: Jon Klassen's Hat Trilogy and Teaching Inference

Heads up, this is going to be a long and rambling post. I hope you stay. A series of events occurred that led up to my decision to revisit I Want My Hat Back and This is Not My Hat before reading Klassen's latest, We Have Found a Hat. 

I was attending a meeting of the valley librarians (seven towns send to two high schools and we all meet several times a year), when an email popped up sent by a colleague whose students I work with daily. She was attending a dyslexia workshop. She went to a breakout session on teaching inference and the presenter recommended the picture book, Widget, to teach inference. J. wanted to know if we had the book in our library. We did not but I offered to borrow it from the public library for her. Neither of my two home libraries owned it so I submitted an ILL request. When it arrived a few days later, I picked the book up and popped it in her box. I must have been busy because I did not stop to read it first. 

A week or so later, I had to go to her classroom to work with her kids because the book fair was being held in my library and they couldn't come to me. Since it was the first day of picture book month, I brought a couple of picture books to read and told the kids we were reading picture books all month to celebrate. There was still time after I read the two I brought, so J. asked if I would read them Widget. (by Lyn Rossiter McFarland. Illustrated by Jim McFarland. Square Fish, 2006. 978037448369.)

It is a sweetly humorous story about a stray dog who has to masquerade as a cat in order to stay in a nice cozy home occupied by a grandmotherly lady who owns six cats. The "girls" do not like dogs so Widget meows and otherwise adopts cat behaviors in order to fit in. The illustrations are appealing. The climax is cute, if a tad predictable. I enjoyed reading it and could see why it was recommended as a text for teaching inference, but I wasn't bowled over.

And that got me thinking.

First, it got me thinking that I could think of many other books that teachers could use to teach inference. That if I were presenting, of course I would share my favorite; but I would also provide a list of possibilities because my favorite might not be a universally good fit. 

Then, I thought of all the pre-service and early service teachers studiously jotting this title down and trying it with their kids. I thought of myself in my early years of school librarianship, studiously jotting recommendations down at conferences and trying them with my kids. Some worked some did not. What I did find was that, if I felt passionate about the recommended title - it worked. If I used it because x, y, or z said to and I didn't love it? Well, it almost always fell flat. 

And that made me think about "required" or "all-class" reading. I've had four sons go through a highly rated high school that dictated what books were to be read in LA classes. The sons who had teachers that were passionate about the book got the better deal. 

I told you this would be rambling. 

I did like Widget very much. I would have no problem teaching inference using it. It's a fine example. But I would suggest others. My personal favorites are:

The Hat Trilogy by Jon Klassen:

I Want My Hat Back. Candlewick Press, September, 2011. 9780763655983.

Klassen's authorial debut won a Geisel Honor and made the ALA Notables Books list. In it, a big lug of a bear has lost his hat and he plods through the woods politely asking each animal he passes if they have seen his hat. All of them answer tersely and truthfully except rabbit whose word vomit ends with, "I did not steal a hat." It takes a solicitous deer's request for a description of the hat for bear to realize that he HAS seen his hat! He sure does get angry! There are quite a few opportunities to infer in this darkly hilarious tale.

This is Not My Hat. Candlewick Press, October, 2012. Candlewick Press, 2012. 9780763655990.

Not only did this win Klassen a 2013 Caldecott Medal, he also snagged an honor for Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett. In This is Not My Hat, there is a theft and the gleeful little thief is the narrator of the story. The tiny fish has swiped a blue bowler hat from a large lunk of a fish claiming it was too small for him and anyway, he won't even notice it's missing. Big fish does though and the chase is on. The deadpan humor is delightful as is the underwater environment - a black background with collaged aquatic plants and streams of bubbles indicating movement. As in I Want My Hat Back, we must read the eyes. The crab is especially hysterical, ratting out the fish.

We Have Found a Hat. Candlewick Press, October, 2016. 9780763656003.

The trilogy concludes with another hat, this time a found hat. Two turtles find a white Stetson hat on their travels. They each covet it, but since there's only one hat and two turtles, they decide to leave it. Only…Again, astute readers will check out the eyes. As one turtle's eyes narrow, they will wonder what it has in mind. The story is told in three acts and readers who think they know what will happen are in for a surprise. 

Not surprisingly, this title is showing up on quite a few "Best" lists of 2016. Also not surprisingly, not everyone feels the love for this. Some just don't get the humor. 

I love everything about these books from the dark, deadpan humor to the minimal, almost monochromatic, gritty art. They tickle me to no end and I never tire of reading through any and all of them.

And that's the point I'm longwindedly trying to make. Because I adore these books, (hopefully) my enthusiasm for them will entice my students to go along for the ride. Folks who don't like or don't get the books will have a harder time using the books to teach inference. The moral? One size does not fit all. If you are recommending books, it is fine to model the one that speaks to you but provide a list of others that do the job as well.

Non-fiction Monday: Radiant Child: the story of young artist Jean-Michel Basquiat by Javaka Steptoe

Radiant Child: the story of young artist Jean-Michel Basquiat by Javaka Steptoe. unpgd. Little, Brown and Company, October, 2016. 9780316213882. (Review from purchased finished copy)

I had the privilege of attending the Little Brown spring preview, where I not only received an fng of this book, but got to view Javaka Steptoe's original art and listen to him speak about his research for the book and his artistic process. I read the fng immediately and posted a five-star quickie review to Goodreads. I also marked it as a 2016 favorite and intended to review it more fully here. I. Never. Did.

When all the starred reviews started appearing, I still somehow did not get around to reviewing it. Ugh! I am so lame! Now, it's deservedly appearing on many of the year-end "Best" lists. Last Thursday morning, I finally covered my school library's finished copy and, before displaying it on a shelf, sat down to reread it for the fifth or sixth time.

My love for this book has not diminished one iota. In fact, the finished copy is even more gorgeous. The care that went into this book shows on every page from the decorated end-pages to the portrait of Basquiat as a young man before the title page through the backgrounds for the title page and back matter. 

In a note, "About This Book," Steptoe explains that he emulated Basquiat and used "bits of New York City to create the artwork for this book." His "canvases" were textured pieces of wood retrieved from dumpsters and exhibit pieces discarded by the Brooklyn Museum. The art is simply stunning. Each double-page spread invites lingering as the textures and colors meld with other media such as colored pencils and tubes of paint. I find something new with each reread. 

The back matter includes a page with more information about the artist; an explanation of the motifs and symbolism used in the author/ illustrator's paintings and a note from Javaka Steptoe explaining his own connection to Basquiat and encouraging young artists to pursue their dreams.

Share this title with your art teachers. Radiant Child is a must-purchase title for all kinds of libraries. 

Non-Fiction Monday: Tiny Stitches: the life of medical pioneer Vivien Thomas by Gwendolyn Hooks

Tiny Stitches: the life of medical pioneer Vivien Thomas by Gwendolyn Hooks. Illustrated by Colin Bootman. unpgd. Lee & Low Books, May, 2016. 9781620141564. (Review from purchased copy)

This is the story of Vivien Thomas who wanted to become a doctor. So he worked hard alongside of his father, who was a master carpenter and saved his money. But he lost it all in the stock market crash of 1929. While jobs were scarce for carpenters during the Great Depression, Vivien learned about a job opening at Vanderbilt Medical School. He hoped that by taking it, he could keep his dreams of becoming a doctor alive. 

He interviewed with Dr. Alfred Blalock. Dr. Blalock wanted someone to help him with his research into treatment for patients in shock. Blalock was impressed with Vivien and offered him the job. Blalock taught Vivien how to conduct experiments and write up lab reports. Another doctor loaned him medical texts. Vivien was such a quick study that it wasn't long before he was conducting his own experiments. 

He learned to suture seamlessly. He also learned that his job description was that of janitor and that white men with the same duties were earning more than he. He informed Dr. Blalock that he would no longer work for him unless he was paid comparably. 

When Doctor Blalock left Vanderbilt to join Johns Hopkins, Vivien knew it would not be long before he was fired by Vanderbilt so he moved to Baltimore but could not find housing. It turned out that Johns Hopkins was more segregated that Vanderbilt but Vivien persevered. 

In 1943, a pediatric cardiologist, Dr. Helen Taussig, approached Dr. Blalock about finding a way to cure the tiniest cardiac patients, the "blue babies." These were babies who were born with a congenital heart defect known as Tetrology of Fallot, or four defects that prevented blood from being properly oxygenated.

After months of experimenting, Vivien realized that the solution might be a "procedure he and Dr. Blalock perfected at Vanderbilt for a different problem." One stumbling block to trying this surgery was that the needles were too long for the tiny infants' hearts and blood vessels. Vivien needed to make the needles small enough to use on a newborn. He tried his new needles out on animals and found a way to anastomose arteries using them. In November of 1944, Dr. Taussig had a baby girl who needed surgery or she would die. 

On the morning of the surgery, Dr. Blalock insisted that Vivien remain in the operating room to help guide him through the surgery. The baby survived thanks to Vivien's help but Dr. Blalock got all the credit and press. Dr. Blalock became world famous and Vivien was never credited for his research until 1971. In 1976, he was given an honorary doctorate and appointed to the faculty as instructor. 

Talk about injustice! What tenacity and perseverance on the part of Vivien Thomas! This is an important addition to any school, public or classroom or STEM library. The mostly double-page watercolor illustrations are fantastic. They convey Vivien Thomas' dignity and intelligence. Two pages of backmatter provides more information about Tetrology of Fallot and Vivien Thomas, followed by a glossary of medical terms and source notes. 

Truly a first-purchase with cross-curricular uses.

ETA: I almost forgot! The eighth grade social studies teacher has a unit on African-American inventors. I asked him if Vivien Thomas was on the list of possible inventors to research. He was not; but after hearing my synopsis of the story, the teacher wants to add him.

Non-Fiction Monday: The Alphabet from the Sky by Benedikt Gross & Joey Lee

The Alphabet from the Sky by Benedikt Gross & Joey Lee. 64 p. Price Stern Sloan/ Penguin Random House, September, 2016. 9781101995815. (Review from copy borrowed from public library)

Even though alphabet books are usually catalogued and shelved in the picture book section, technically, they are part of languages and should be found in the 400s. Exceptions are always made to cater to the needs of each particular library. Alphabet concept books might be more likely found by a parent or child browsing the picture book section. Personally, I lean toward cataloging them all as 400 so that a patron might see the variety and scope of choices. I happen to collect alphabet books and while my home library is not strictly ordered by the Dewey Decimal System, I have all my alphabet books together on the shelf.

I am definitely adding this one to my home library and probably to my school's.

Who isn't fascinated by aerial views? When do we really have the opportunity for bird's eye views? Even if we fly frequently, the view out of the tiny porthole window of a plane is tiny and relatively fleeting. And, except for take off and landing, really too high to identify much. 

This book is the result of a Kickstarter campaign by the co-authors, who want to map the Earth's typography. Yes. Typography. That's no typo. Not topography. What letters do roads, buildings, rivers and landforms make?

The result of Gross and Lee's inquiry is this beautiful book. Other than the introduction, there are very few words in this book. Readers are invited to "read the landscape." Each double-page spread has the words, "Find the __" in the upper left hand side of the spread and a small yellow box containing the name of each town, state and latitude and longitude over a map of the US on which the town is located. There are many towns in Florida, two in New Jersey, several from Pennsylvania, a couple from Michigan and Illinois, several from California and Wisconsin, Georgia and Texas are represented with one.

Each photograph is crisp and colorful and startling in clarity. The first entry was photographed over Lake Work, Florida. The reader is asked to find the "A." It's easy enough but one is also distracted by possibilities for other letters. Indeed, the A is part of a neighborhood in which the streets also seem to form the letters, U, F, L, E, J, Y, M, B, O, Q and N. Upon closer inspection of the photo, the neighborhoods appear to float on water!

The children you share this with might want to rush through the book in the excitement of the scavenger hunt. You should let them; but leave time and an invitation to return to each spread to linger. Build inferencing skills by asking, "What do you see?" 

Our small group of readers had trouble finding the L. They consulted the handy answer key at the end. Of course! Why hadn't they seen it? The final four pages contain a series of slightly-larger-than-thumbnail photos of additional letters. 

This book was great fun and I can see its use in a variety of ways. I would've loved a bit more information about each spot, like what actually is that Q-shaped building? Then again, what better way to spur research than a mystery? 

Picture Book Month: Barnacle is Bored by Jonathan Fenske

Barnacle is Bored by Jonathan Fenske. unpgd. Scholastic Press/ Scholastic Inc., May, 2016. 9780545865043. (Review from finished copy courtesy of publisher.)

Sometimes picture books can be sly. You think you have its number. You might even go into the book with a bit of an attitude, a kind of blasé,"Whatever, impress me." Then that book might just suck you in, turn on the charm and disarm you. Just as soon as you settle in, whoosh, out comes the chair you are sitting on or the rug you might be standing on. Tables are turned. Humor turns dark. 

The first time that happened to me was in 2005. I came upon a book called Tadpole's Promise. Luckily, I pre-read the book. (I have been known to occasionally read aloud cold.) Warily, I decided to read the book aloud to my youngest students. With class after class, there was this beat of something after the "punchline," perhaps it was surprise, perhaps dismay, perhaps confusion, followed by a variety of laughter from hearty to not-so-sure. I decided to read it all the way up to my eighth graders, who were mostly delighted with a side of shock. They didn't think a picture book could do that!

My next encounter with dark humor came with Jon Klassen's brilliant, I Want My Hat Back in 2011. Truth be told, I didn't totally appreciate it the first run through but soon became a fan. I Want My Hat Back won a Geisel Honor, a NYT Best Book Award and was an ALA Notable Book. He followed with This is Not My Hat in 2012, and nabbed a Caldecott Medal for his efforts. 2016 brings this picture book trilogy to a close with We Found a Hat. 

Back to our bored barnacle. Is he bored or having an existential crisis? Both maybe? Barnacle appears as a single, fleshy, tentacled blob hanging upside down under a dock. The pale blue water is calm and the dock is empty. Indeed, barnacle is quite alone as the tide comes in and makes him cold and wet; then the tide goes out and he's hot and dry. A simple change in eye-shape is oh-so expressive as insult is added to injury in the forms of rolling waves and errant seaweed. But wait, there's a new googly eye in the water along with a flash of yellow. A sunny yellow fish swims into view and barnacle is sure that guy is living the good life. He imagines all kinds of fun, diving, soaring, flipping and flopping until something dreadful happens.

Again, when I read this aloud to my fifth and sixth graders, there was that pause, that slight confusion as that sunny yellow fish disappears into the belly of an eel and barnacle decides he's not so bored after all. The rear end-pages reveal a twist in the story so don't skip them.

Kids today seem to be so easily bored. This playful book gently coaxes them to reflect. The cartoon style and colors are pleasing. The speech bubbles contain a single sentence and the large, bold, simple font is perfect for new readers. Barnacle is Bored is a fun read aloud and a great way to celebrate Picture Book Month!

Picture Book Month: The Cookie Fiasco by Dan Santat

The Cookie Fiasco by Dan Santat. 64 p. Elephant & Piggie Like Reading! Series. Disney Press, September, 2016. 9781484726365. (Review from purchased copy.)

Elephant and Piggie are BACK! Sorta. Mo Willems and Disney have launched an early reader imprint and Dan Santat is the author of its inaugural title. And what fun it is.

We all know that Elephant & Piggie love to read. Here, the front end-pages feature E & P sharing the book,The Cookie Fiasco and an introductory letter to "Dear Reader" from Mo Willems. Gerald wants to read a funny book and so does Piggie. On the first four pages, Gerald worries about how 2 people can read 1 book but Piggie is pragmatic. It is not until then that the Title Page for The Cookie Fiasco appears!

Hippo bellows, "Hey guys! It's COOKIE TIME!" and the fun starts in earnest because there are 3 cookies and 4 friends. As Squirrel, Croc and Monkey discuss possible iterations of sharing out the 3 cookies, Hippo gets more and more nervous. When Hippo gets nervous, she(?) he(?) breaks things, in this case the cookies. The other friends freak out as the three friends worry the cookies will be reduced to crumbs.

The Cookie Fiasco is a recipe for rollicking read aloud fun. I had the privilege and pleasure of listening to Dan Santat and friends read this aloud in Orlando at ALA Annual.

My listeners anticipated the end-pages, where they used their eagle eyes to spot Pigeon in a trice! I look forward to reading more in this early reader series.

Review: Footloose by Kenny Loggins

Footloose by Kenny Loggins. Illustrated by Tim Bowers. With bonus CD performed by Kenny Loggins. 28 p. Moon Dance Press/ Quarto Publishing Group, October, 2016. 9781633221185. (Review from finished copy courtesy of publisher.)

As earworms go, very little beats Footloose, the 1984 hit co-written by Kenny Loggins and featured in the movie of the same name. While I love the song, I never fully mastered the lyrics. But as soon as I hear those opening notes to that long introduction, my mood immediately lifts and I find a spring in my step. Well, Loggins is a grandfather now, as he shares in his author's note. He took Footloose and reworked to create a dance party for his young granddaughter. 

The result is this exuberant picture book illustrated by Tim Bowers. Zookeeper Jack's about to close the zoo for the night. He and the animals have plans to party. Two little tykes slip back in unbeknownst to everyone and witness the festivities, which include a DJ elephant, dancin' monkeys, giraffes, and kangaroos. Even a line of rhinos get on the dance floor. 

The font color, size and even position on the pages make the words bounce and pop. Bowers' ebullient, textured art exudes joy and humor. The decorated end-pages add to the story as well. This is a read-aloud that begs to be sung and danced to. Make room for your listeners to bust out some moves. It is probably a good idea to take a listen to the bonus CD first. It definitely helps you ease through some of the trickier transitions. The hefty weight of this is sure to stand up to repeated requests for rereads. Visit Quarto Books to view a trailer and a pdf with suggested activities. 

Come on everybody! Cut loose!

Review: Pug Meets Pig by Sue Lowell Gallion.

Pug Meets Pig by Sue Lowell Gallion. Illustrated by Joyce Wan. Beach Lane Books, September, 2016. 9781481420662. (Review of finished copy courtesy of Blue Slip Media.)

I'm a big dog person, more specifically, a lab person. We've owned and loved three and were about to find a fourth. That is, until son #2 thought it would be a good idea to buy a German Shepherd puppy at the end of his third year of medical school. After a week, he realized that this puppy needed more attention than he had time to give (Ya think?). Since he purchased the pup from a breeder somewhere in the south and picked him up at the airport, sending the dog back was not an option. So we took him. 

If I were to own a small dog, it would be a pug. Or a beagle. I'd rather own a pug than a German Shepherd - or at least this one. I love him but he's very skittish, always hyper-alert and extremely protective of us. He needs lots of attention and stimulation. He needs a job.

I think I need a pug. Pugs are the coolest little dog breed ever. They are so ugly that they are cute. And, little as they are, the way their stocky little bodies move and stand, it's very "You don't want to mess with me, Dude." Which brings me back to Pug Meets Pig.

Look at that cover. Pug is facing off with Pig and he is not happy! Consider the front end-pages, Pug is a happy pup, content to be alone frolicking about his yard. Pug has a lovely home, a wonderful bowl, and he works hard in the yard. He has a great little dog house where he can chill. Until. Pig trots in all la-di-dah! Everywhere Pug goes - his food bowl, his yard, even his doghouse! There is Pig. Pug is going to run away. But, what is this? A pug-door? Hm,m.

Yeah, there are other adorable Pug books out there, but make room for this sassy sibling rivalry book. It's completely adorable from it's endpapers through its creamy, lovely illustrations. Pug Meets Pig is a fun read aloud and great for newly emergent readers as well. 

Visit the author's web page for more information. There's also an activity guide with curriculum connections. Additionally, there's a Pug and Pig Halloween book in the works for 2017.

How This Book Was Made by Mac Barnett

How This Books Was Made by Mac Barnett. Illustrated by Adam Rex. unpgd. Disney-Hyperion, September 6, 2016. 9781423152200. (Review from finished copy courtesy of publisher)

I've hosted quite a few authors over the years. Most come to us for free for an hour while on tour promoting a new book, a few have been hired for the day to deliver large group presentations and small group writing workshops. One valuable takeaway for students next to seeing a real live author, is learning from each and every one of them that even professional authors are not immune to the often painful process of revising and revising and revising. I will never forget the reaction my students had to the slide Kenneth Oppel showed of a four or five foot high stack of revisions for This Dark Endeavor. 

Can't host an author? The next best thing is grabbing this book! Metafiction at its very best, How This Book Was Made is a hoot! Let's start with that cover! What a mess! Adam Rex is holding the letter E and Mac Barnett is holding the letter M, but a tiger is front and center, looking askance at a hamburger. Astronauts float up top. There are rainbow and masking tape and lots of cut paper scraps. Ask your students, "What's up with that?"

Endpapers = tiger fur. 

Don't miss the front jacket flap. Hyperbole? Hook?

Use the title page as a geography lesson.

Of course the book began with an idea. "Ideas can come at funny times." Yes, they can and the tiger is a great example of metaphor.

Once Mac's idea was born, he went to a quiet place and wrote. And wrote and wrote.  He wrote 12 drafts! And still the tiger was not done with him.

Oh how I laughed and laughed at the pages depicting Mac's editor wearing a tiara and lunching on the terrace of a fancy New York City skyscraper! 

Don't miss the chance to teach allusion with the lines, "I love this! This is perfect! Now, here are all the things you have to change."

"I took some of her advice. And I ignored some of her advice." Kids will really relate to that. The following pages chronicle the back and forth between editor and author "until most of the United States of America was crossed out."

Once both Mac and his editor loved all his words, enter Adam Rex, the illustrator. He worked very (hilariously) hard while poor Mac sat around and waited and grew a long beard. Once the art was done, the book needed to be printed. It was not printed in the United States. It was sent to Malaysia. We take a detour into space, get waylaid by pirates, deal with an eagle who tries to feed the book to her chicks, who reject it. Then, a toad uses it for cover only to have it picked up by a dog who brought it to his owner, who lost it in a poker game, who...

Looking for a fun, metafictive read-aloud to hammer home some language arts (or art or geography) lessons in a fun, palatable way? Look no further than How This Book Was Made. Your students will love you for it. Highly recommended for all ages. #nevertoooldforpicturebooks!

Want other metafiction treats? Try:

Chloe and the Lion by Mac Barnett & Adam Rex
Let Me Finish by Minh Le
Frankencrayon by Michael Hall
The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak
Open This Little Book by Jesse Klausmeier

Non-Fiction Monday: Frederick's Journey: the life of Frederick Douglass by Doreen Rappaport

Frederick's Journey: the life of Frederick Douglass by Doreen Rappaport. 48 p. Jump at the Sun/ Disney-Hyperion, November, 2015. 9781423114383.

There is no room for a title on the cover of this powerful picture book biography. Frederick Douglass' visage commands attention and gets it. 

A spare and starkly told narrative begins with the words, "Frederick was taken from his mother
when he was a baby and
sent to live with his grandparents." 

A one-and-a-half page spread accompanies these words. A grieving black woman is held back by a stern white man, while a flint-faced white man carries a swaddled baby away. Interspersed in the narrative, which continues to say that because his mother worked six days a week and the farm was twelve miles away, Frederick rarely saw his mother, are Frederick Douglass' own words, "I do not recollect ever seeing my mother by the light of day. She would lie down with me and get me to sleep but long before I waked, she was gone."

The next page turn features a stunning double-page spread showing a young Frederick learning to fish with his beloved grandmother and is almost soothing. "Living with my grandmother, whose kindness and love stood in place of my mother's, it was some time before I knew myself to be a slave."

These times ended when Frederick was six and his grandmother was ordered to walk the boy the twelve miles to bring Frederick to his master's farm where he slept in closet and wore only an itchy shirt. He witnessed much violence and always feared, "Her fate might be mine next."

Frederick was gifted to Old Master's relatives in Baltimore and there he was given clean clothes to wear and taught to read by his new mistress until she was ordered to stop by her husband. The seeds were planted though and Frederick was soon trading food for words.

This picture book biography is an eloquent but quick overview of the life of a complicated man. The illustrations are all quite powerful. I could not find what media the artist used. He does not mention it in his note, but does state that he grew his hair long, learned to tie a tie in the fashion and listened to Douglass' autobiography while painting for inspiration.

The slightly oversized book is beautifully designed. The end-pages feature watermarked portraits and two quotes. There's a short author's note, a timeline of important dates, selected research sources, and suggestions of books and websites for readers wanting to learn more about Frederick Douglass. I think I'm going to order his autobiography as an audiobook.

Bucky and Stu vs. the Mikanikal Man

Bucky and Stu vs. the Mikanikal Man by Cornelius Van Wright. unpgd. Nancy Paulsen Books/ Penguin Young Readers Group, July, 2015. 9780399164279. (Review from finished copy courtesy of Blue Slip Media)

My, my. How did I miss adorable homage to imaginative play? Many thanks to Blue Slip Media for remedying this. 

Bucky and Stu, two adorable bffs clad in homemade superhero outfits (the yellow rubber gloves are a hilarious touch) do battle against a variety of homegrown baddies delightfully constructed of various and sundry household items, such as boxes, vacuums and mops. I actually had this flashback to the clubhouse my brother made way back in the time of dinosaurs when I was young. That rickety contraption was a fort, a war bunker, a ship, and even a space ship and provided hours of play when our mother kicked the six of us out of the house for the day to find our own entertainment.

Bucky and Stu are totally in sync, totally engaged in their story, which is collaborative and a perfect outlet for their seemingly boundless energy, until it's time for lunch. Then food is the only thing on their minds. Once recharged, Bucky shows Stu, Mikanikal Man, a super-duper robot villain that only needs a power source for them to do battle with. A rain storm drives the boys indoors and a lightning strike powers Mikanikal Man. 

The next day, the boys are puzzled when they find that Mikanikal Man is missing, then terrified when he looms over them. Have the superheroes met their match?

The water color and pencil illustrations perfectly capture the boys' frenetic energy as does the ever-changing type-face. The illustrations have a graphic novel feel and contain lots of fun little details. This is definitely one to ham up during read aloud. The group I read the book to loved it and they all wanted to look at the book again to chuckle over the pictures.

Bucky and Stu vs. the Mikanikal Man might just inspire some free play in the library and, hopefully out of doors instead of in the basement on electronic devices. 

Don't miss this gem. Here's hoping to seeing some more of this dynamic duo in action.

ETA 6/29: Thanks to Mr. Van Wright for commenting! Please visit Bucky and Stu's website for cool animations, a curriculum guide and more!

Non-Fiction Monday: Bird & Diz by Gary Golio

Bird & Diz by Gary Golio. Illustrated by Ed Young. unpgd. Candlewick Press, February, 2015. 9780763666606. (Review from purchased copy)

Bebop is a jazz innovation that influenced and was influenced by  Dizzie Gillespie and Charlie "Birdman" Parker in the 1940s. This tribute captures the playfulness of Bird's and Diz's collaboration in an innovative format - the pages of the book accordion. While you can read it as a traditional book for the first half, you have a decision to make for how to read the second half. I opted for the dramatic. I put the book on the floor and said, "Wait a minute. Is this book finished?" Confused "No's" was the response. Then I lifted the pages to unfold them out along the floor and read the second half of the book while crouch-walking alongside the pages. This needs to be rehearsed. But the effect was fun. Don't forget to queue up Salt Peanuts! on iTunes for listening to after reading. You may find some budding jazz aficionados in your midst.

This exuberant portrayal of the creative genius and incredible friendship that these two musicians shared is a keeper! I correctly assumed that my group of students were unaware of who Bird and Diz were. I read the title and asked them to predict what they thought the book would be about. Of course, no one was even close. They were delighted by the playful rhythm and language of the text and intrigued by the pastel, impressionistic drawings. When laid out on the floor, the effect is something akin to elaborate sidewalk art.

An afterword provides further explanation of bebop, a discography and concludes with an invitation to draw! One possible extension activity could be to do just that - play Salt Peanuts! and see what images the music evokes. This book could be used in an LA class in addition to art or music class. 

Highly recommended!