Picture Book Review: Mindi and the Goose No One Else Could See by Sam McBratney

Image: Candlewick Press

Mindi and the Goose No One Else Could See by Sam McBratney. Illustrated by Linda Ólafsdóttir. 32 p. Candlewick Press, March, 2021. 9781536212815. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher.)

Poor little Mindi is bothered by a goose that appears in her bedroom each night. It's a goose no one else can see - not her mother, who doesn't take her seriously, nor her father, who does. It's a common enough plight that, I believe, will be relatable to many children and their parents. This sweet story is just the ticket for both groups.

The illustrations are warmly retro and vaguely Icelandic or Scandinavian, featuring Wellies and cozy woolens. They also contain little bits of humor, such as the shadow of the goose peering at Mindi's dad under the gooseneck lamp over Mindi's bed. The text does not condescend in the least. Instead, it is respectful of these very real fears, as is Austen, the elder that Mindi's dad treks to consult. 

Austen advises a visit to his bucolic farm, but emphasizes the her dad makes "sure she knows she is going on a journey." And so they do. The series of spot art depicting this is so endearing. At the farm, Mindi meets the animals, including two geese, who are very nice. She finally meets and bonds with a baby goat, whom she names Black and Whitey. 

Some time later, Austen comes to visit, bringing Black and Whitey, whom he trades with Mindi in exchange for the goose no one else can see. 

If only all such manner of nighttime monster could be dealt with so beautifully. 

This gorgeous and relatable book should be a hit at story time be it one-on-one with a parent or at the library.

Teen Tuesday and Audiobook Review: Poisoned by Jennifer Donnelly

Image: Scholastic Inc.

Poisoned by Jennifer Donnelly. Unabridged downloadable e-audiobook, ~11 hours. Read by Rosie Jones. Scholastic Audio, October, 2020. 9781338637496. (Review of e-audiobook downloaded from public library. HC purchased.)

Teen Tuesday features Poisoned by Jennifer Donnelly. Buckle up everyone! This is no Disney version of Snow White! This feminist fairy tale hews a bit closer to the Brothers Grimm. It is dark and twisty and oh so intriguing.

"Once upon a time, a girl named Sophie rode into the forest with the queen's huntsman. Her lips were the color of ripe cherries, her skin as soft as new-fallen snow, her hair as dark as midnight. When they stopped to rest, the huntsman took out his knife… and took Sophie's heart."

Wait, what? Yes, dear Reader, Princess Charlotta-Sidonia Wilhelmina Sophia of the Greenlands - Sophie, was left for dead by the Queen's huntsman in this re-imagined fairy tale by Ms. Donnelly, who, you may remember, re-imagined Cinderella from the stepsister's POV in Stepsister.

Sophie was rescued by seven brothers, who were able to capture her soul before it was too late. One brother fashioned a clockwork heart to replace hers and Sophie recovered in their home in a hollow. Alas, clockwork, no matter how finely crafted does tend to wind down eventually, though Sophie does not know this initially. She pines for her prince, whom she betrothed the night before her "murder." She continues to think he will come searching for her. Poor kind and naive Sophie!

This tale is familiar, yet new and filled with an intriguing cast of characters. It is richly atmospheric, menacing and really satisfying. I read this one with my ears and was always sorry to have to turn it off. If you love magic and fairy tale retellings, you will love Poisoned. Isn't that cover incredible?

Picture Book Review: Circle by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen

Circle by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen. Shape trilogy #3. unpgd. Candlewick Press, March, 2019. 9780763696085. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher.)

Triangle and Square are joined by Circle and the three friends decide to play hide and seek near Circle's place. Circle has two rules, 1. go and hide and, 2. do not hide behind the waterfall where it is dark and scary. Readers familiar with the trilogy will anticipate what happens next as sassy Triangle announces she's not afraid of the dark and heads where she has been warned not to go. Square, being Square, immediately rats her out to Circle. Brave Circle follows Triangle into the very dark until all the reader sees are her eyes. And then another pair of eyes appear. We assume they belong to circle. But wait!

As in all their previous collaborations, Barnett's spare yet droll text and Klassen's spare yet engaging art meld perfectly to provide read aloud delight. I really don't understand how Klassen manages to create such substance and texture with his digital and watercolor art. The illustrations appear so simple and yet are so beguiling. 

All three books are first purchases and perfect for any school, public, classroom or home library. More please!

November is Picture Book Month! Review: After the Fall by Dan Santat

Oops! I almost forgot! November is Picture Book Month! Thanks to school librarian, Andy Plemmons for posting about it on FB today and reminding me. I usually try to read and post about a picture book as much as possible in November. So far for this year, I've read 118 picture books so I'm definitely living by my motto, "never too old for picture books!"

After the Fall: how Humpty Dumpty got back up again by Dan Santat. Unpgd. Roaring Brook Press, October, 2017. 9781250179371. (Review from purchased finished copy.)

I admire Dan Santat's art. He has illustrated quite a number of middle grade novel covers and the work of picture book authors with Oh No! by Mac Barnett being one of my favorites. He also re-illustrated Dav Pilkey's Ricky Ricotta series and wrote his own graphic novel, Sidekicks. This is his, I don't know, fourth solo picture book? Let's see, there was Beekle, Are We There Yet? and The Cookie Fiasco. I might be missing one. I loved Beekle and the fact that he wrote so beautifully about an imaginary friend. I got a big kick out of Are We There Yet? I thought he outdid himself with the outside-the-book thinking, visual humor and meditation on a long car ride. The Cookie Fiasco is hilarious fun. But, I think After the Fall is his best yet. Heartfelt and honest as well as having a healthy dose of outside-the-book thinking. When I first heard that he was retelling Humpty Dumpty, I thought he'd go for the goofy gags. This was a profound surprise.

The basic gist of the plot is Humpty Dumpty does indeed survive his fall. He IS put back together again but he's not the same. While "It was just an accident," his whole life is changed. He now has a fear of heights and getting hurt again. So he leaves Kings County Hospital (punny but also funny to those in the medical profession in the New York metro area) and returns home. But he sleeps on the floor because he's afraid to climb the ladder to his loft bed. In a brilliant double-page spread, Humpty chooses the blah cereal on a lower shelf instead of his favorite from the top shelf. The worst thing about avoiding the wall where it happened is that he misses birdwatching. Sure, he can see them from the street, but there was something about being on top of that wall...

This is a story of healing and it's beautifully told. Spare accessible prose will speak to all children, especially those suffering from anxiety. The art is captivating. Seriously, I could get lost in every spread. There's so much to see! Adorable little details like his dedication to his wife, Leah written as graffiti on Humpty's wall and incorporating her last name on a billboard in the final triumphant illustration. The end-pages are lovely as well. The publisher put a lot of care and thought into the design with an embossed wrap-around cover and pleasingly thick paper stock that will hold up to the multiple reading parents and librarians will be required (and want to) give this book.

Do not miss this gem. I expect to see it get something come YMA award time in January, oops February. It's late this year. It has already made a "Best" list. Publishers Weekly named it to theirs. It's one of my favorites of 2017 and will be yours too!

Blog Tour Review: I am (Not) Scared by Anna Kang. Illustrated by Christopher Weyant

I am (Not) Scared by Anna Kang. Illustrated by Christopher Weyant. unpgd. Two Lions/ Amazon Publishing, March 21, 2017. 9781503947451. (Finished copy courtesy of Blue Slip Media)

Happy book birthday tomorrow to I am (Not) Scared! The husband and wife team who brought us the delightful, Geisel Award winning You are (Not) Small and the equally delightful That's (Not) Mine, are back with the perfect book about conquering fear. 

Neither furry creature looks particularly happy on the cover. Our Mutt and Jeff bear friends are headed to the amusement park. Little purple bear looks happy and big brown bear does not. Little bear announces, "You are scared." Big bear denies this and asks, "Are you?" Little bear asserts that he is brave and states, "You look scared."

Big bear admits, "...maybe a little." We learn that the two are waiting to ride the LOOP OF DOOM. Little bear says there are much scarier things than rides...like snakes. The two friends imagine other scary things before coming face-to-face with the car they need to ride the roller coaster in. What's in the car? A snake! He's just ridden the roller coaster and wants to go again!

Simple sentences, plenty of white space and adorable pen and ink and water color illustrations convey the thrilling terror that a ride on a roller coaster, as well as other fears, can bring. The kids I read this to were unfamiliar with the two previous books. They were so taken by our two furry friends that they immediately demanded that I order the first two for their next read aloud. A spontaneous discussion of fears arose in a natural and comfortable way. 

Visit the author's website or click here for an activity guide. Visit the illustrator's website here.

All three books are adorable, hilarious and absolutely first-purchases! 

Arc review: The Best Worst Thing by Kathleen Lane

The Best Worst Thing by Kathleen Lane. 208 p. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, June 7, 2016. 9780316257817. (Review from arc courtesy of publisher.)

To say that Maggie is a worrier is an understatement. Not only is she worried about starting middle school, there's Gordy, her tough-guy neighbor and classmate, who's been bragging that he's getting a gun for his twelfth birthday. She's also worrying about the fate of the baby bunnies next door, some may be heading to the cooking pot. And, ever since learning about the murder of the checkout lady at the local convenience store, which she and her sisters visited moments before the botched robbery, Maggie has been obsessing about the possibility of being murdered by the criminal since he is still at large.

This unique debut is told from Maggie's point-of-view and can be a rather challenging read even though it's short. The stream-of-consciousness style used to portray her obsessions and repetitions can be disorienting. Be patient and stick it out. 

Maggie can't simply travel from point A to point B without any number of rituals (counting, repeating, checking). This glimpse into the bind that those who suffer from OCD labor under should help tween readers empathize. At the same time, there's a lot that's familiar to the average tween. She's eleven and given to flights of fancy and abrupt shifts in concentration. Anyone who spends any time with tweens being social with one another is used to this. Her relationships are changing within and outside of her family. She's recognizing that her assumptions can be wrong. She grows in the many wondrous ways that happens in these special in-between years. 

It'll be a pleasure to add this short, satisfying novel to my school's collection. There aren't a lot of books for tweens dealing with OCD. It's an important addition because it seems that severe anxiety and OCD in children is on the rise. Students may recognize either themselves or someone they know and might benefit from the respectful portrayal in The Best Worst Thing. 

The 2016 Schneider Family Book Award went to a YA book, The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B, in which the main character is working through his struggle with OCD. It was heartbreakingly wonderful. Different year, different committee, different age category - but I hope someone considers The Best Worst Thing.