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.
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.
Once upon a time, this blogger reviewed everything she read. The reviews weren't particularly long, nor were they particularly well-written, but they were a record of her reading. She started blogging when shortly after switching schools, she learned that the hundreds of annotations she put on the first school's website were wiped out with a keystroke by the webmaster who replaced her.
A little over a year ago, she began a quest to read a book a day. Since she reads much faster than she writes, and still doesn't write all that well, reviews/ posts fell, nay plummeted. Indeed, she has read 98 books so far this year and have reviewed only 20. Pitiful.
Hence, the idea for "Friday Flash Reviews."
First up:
Phoebe & Digger by Tricia Springstubb. Illustrated by Jeff Newman. 32 p. Candlewick Press, March 26, 2013. 9780763652814. (Peeked at a review copy)
"When mama got a new baby, Phoebe got a new digger." Phoebe and her Digger, yellow and vaguely reminiscent of Mike Mulligan's Mary Ann, worked very well together making noise (to drown out the baby noises) and mayhem (digging through the garbage, vrooming after the cat).
I'm well past needing a "new baby" book and five years past having students young enough to read one to, but I would so buy this one for my home library. Move over Lily, Phoebe's aggressive digging promises to upend nearly everything in the house and garden, so Mama decides the whole family would do well to go to the park. Unfortunately, a little cry baby crosses Phoebe's path, so she scares him, setting off wails of terror, which turns out to be a secret signal that causes all the babies in the park to wail much to Phoebe's delight.
Her delight comes crashing to a halt when a bigger kid decides that she wants Digger. Poor Phoebe. Poor Digger! Mom to the rescue.
The text is too delicious, with humor for those large and small. The illustrations just about steal the show though. I adored Jeff Newman's nearly wordless book, The Boys and this one might just nudge The Boys from my heart. Sly good humor is conveyed with mere lines. Make room for Phoebe and Digger.
Puffin Peter by Petr Horacek. 40 p. Candlewick Press, March 26, 2013. 9780763665722.
I will admit that I'm a sucker for puffins and pufflings and, well nearly any cover with a bird on it. But puffins are just too adorable. They are the most endearing of birds and I have several children's books about them in my personal library. This cover is just "aw-inducing." How can one resist a bright yellow cover? How can one resist this little guy?
This is a sweet story about friends lost, then found. Oh, and the power of communication as Peter's description of Paul painted a variety of different pictures in the mind of the rescuing whale.
I loved the energy of the illustrations and the expressiveness of the animals. A fine addition to any collection.
