Picture This: Tiny Creatures: The World of Microbes

Tiny Creatures: The World of Microbes by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Emily Sutton

Microbes may not sound like an appealing topic to read about in a picture book, but Nicola Davies and Emily Sutton reveal the curious world of microbes as a fascinating place.

"You know about big animals, and you know about small animals...but did you know that there are creatures so tiny that millions could fit on this ant's antenna? So tiny that we'd have to make the ant's antenna as big as a whale to show them to you?"

The author and illustrator explain concepts simply and clearly through both the text and the accompanying illustrations. They illuminate the wide variety of microbes and their various functions--from making us sick to turning rocks into soil. Who knew how interesting, relevant, and even beautiful microbes could be?

"They are the invisible transformers of our world--the tiniest lives doing some of the biggest jobs."

Recent Read: The Thickety: A Path Begins

The Thickety: A Path Begins by J. A. White

As the children of an executed witch, Kara and her little brother Taff are shunned by their small, secluded island community, for there is nothing more evil than witchcraft. Kara knows and believes this too, until a mysterious bird guides (or lures?) her to a grimoire, full of magic, power and, perhaps, ties to her mother.

The title refers to the black forest that rules a significant portion of their little island. The Thickety is home to nightmarish creatures, black trees, dark magic, and the evil Sordyr. The Children of the Fold, as the island people call themselves, follow the teachings of Timoth Clen, a man who eradicated magic from their world many years before. By strictly adhering to the cardinal rules of his cult-like religion, the villagers can protect themselves from evil (and each other). The rules are: 1. Never use magic. 2. Never enter the Thickety.

In one fell swoop, Kara violates both of these rules and opens a sort of Pandora’s box in the form of an insidious and magical grimoire.

Sinister. That’s the word to describe this gripping children’s novel. Despite the size, format and illustrations, this is a dark story, not for the feint of heart. White does not shy away from pure, unadulterated evil in this tale of power, addiction, and truth. But this is one of the reasons it’s so good. It’s a unique and complex story, full of excitement. The language is both evocative and concise. As the title suggests, the path begins here, and I was left both shocked and eager to see what happens next. One of my favorites of 2014.


Book 2, The Thickety: The Whispering Trees, comes out March 10, 2015.

Picture This: Sam and Dave Dig a Hole

Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen

As the title suggests, Sam and Dave decide to dig a hole in the yard in the hopes of finding something spectacular. What they cannot see (though the dog seems to know) is how close they are to finding gigantic diamonds. They continue to dig, but will they ever find anything spectacular?

I would love to see an audience of children react to this one. I can imagine the shouts and cries as Sam and Dave miss yet another giant diamond.  The only problem I see is that the ending doesn't quite makes sense (they dig themselves through the bottom of the earth?), but I don't know that kids will really care.

Picture This: Viva Frida

Viva Frida by Yuyi Morales

Viva Frida is a lovely tribute to Frida Kahlo. Morales has made beautiful handmade dolls, setting them in brightly colored scenes, which were then expertly photographed by Tim O'Meara. I can't think of another book quite like this. Each page contains no more than 3 words (usually 2): simple phrases like "I see," "I search," "I dream," with Spanish translation in lighter, italic type in the background. Motifs and symbolism from Frida Kahlo's paintings (and life) are featured throughout (her monkey, parrots and dog, a wounded deer, the earrings she wears are in one of her self portraits). Her husband, Diego Rivera is present, as is her famous blue house.

But I'm not sure how well it succeeds as a book for children. It's hard to follow. There's no story at all. At one point the ideas are dragged over so many spreads that I forgot what it was saying (and I'm not sure how much literal/logical sense it made anyway). The whole thing could be summarized with one trite phrase like "live, laugh, love" (I create therefore I live

The dream sequence, the abstract concepts, the surreal art--is it all lost on the audience? Can it mean much to someone totally unfamiliar with Frida's work--child or adult? But it is beautiful to look at, and children, I'm sure, will appreciate the art. As I saw someone say, it seems a bit more like an art installation in tribute to Frida than a book for children.

Picture This: Pom and Pim

Pom and Pim by Lena Landstrom, illustrated by Olof Landstrom

Pom and her stuffed...creature have a lot of ups and downs, but what seems like bad luck often turns to good.

Personally, I love Pom and Pim for the face plant alone.

Much like Jeff Mack's Good News Bad News except this time, it's good luck and back luck.

Picture This: Neighborhood Sharks

Neighborhood Sharks: Hunting with the Great Whites of California's Farallon Islands by Katherine Roy

The cover alone should give you a clue to how awesome this nonfiction picture book is. First time writer (she's previously illustrated three other books) Katherine Roy starts off in the water with an unsuspecting sea lion:

"While their 800,000 human neighbors dine on steak, salad, and sandwiches, the white sharks hunt for their favorite meal." 

Building suspense through a number of perfectly framed spreads, Katherine Roy introduces us to the infamous predators with a dramatic punch as the great white finally catches his dinner, leaving a cloud of red in his wake.

"But how do they do it?"

"But how do they do it?" she asks. What follows is series of spreads focusing on specific traits of great whites (and their prey) that make them the formidable predators they are. She shows the reader how things like a warmer body temperature and a streamlined body work, with diagrams depicting blood vessels as pipes or comparing sharks to airplanes. The illustrations that accompany the clearly explained facts are consistently fantastic (and often contain a bloodied meal somewhere).

About halfway through Roy shifts gears (and what a well done transition it is) to describe the research performed in the Farallon Islands. Every September, great whites converge on these small islands, located just 30 miles from San Francisco. She describes how the scientists study the sharks (identifying them by their unique, dorsal fins, attaching tags to collect more information, etc) and what we have learned as a result of this research.

In the author's note, Roy describes being able to spent time with the Farallon scientists, learning from them, and even venturing out into the bay with them. Her interest in the subject is apparent not just from the note, but in the excellence of her work. She seamlessly combines exciting narrative with interesting information. The prose is interesting and clear. The illustrations dynamic and beautiful. Superb. I hope to see her win an award come the ALA Youth Media Awards.

Recent Read: El Deafo

El Deafo by Cece Bell

At the age of four, Cece loses her hearing after a bad bout of meningitis. She must now navigate the world with the help of powerful hearing aids that allow her to hear, but not always understand, the sounds around her.

As she enters a new school where everyone but her can hear, she becomes the deaf girl, trapped in a bubble that no one dares approach. Her very visible Phonic Ear seems to ward off her classmates, but she discovers that it gives her superpowers! Not only can she hear her teacher in the classroom, but anywhere in the building—scolding a student in the hallway, complaining to other teachers in the lounge, and even the “zzzip” “tinkle” sound of her teacher going to the bathroom! Thus her superhero alter ego, El Deafo, is born.

This is author-illustrator Cece Bell’s own story. Her deafness may set her apart, but the emotions she feels and challenges she faces are universal. What Cece desires most is to find the elusive true friend. It’s a journey that’s painful at times, but always told with a strong dose of humor.

Bell deftly communicates the experience of being deaf. First we see empty speech bubbles, then the unclear dialogue that she compares to listening to someone underwater (“I thig you loo goo”). She depicts what Cece thinks she hears next to what someone is actually saying (“doo yoo wan sumding do dring? We haff Jerry’s mop…shoes…or a goat” cherry pop, juice, coke). She goes to a special school to learn how to lip read and decipher visual, contextual, and gestural clues.

But Bell’s expressive skill does not end there. Her depictions of day to day life (which includes everything from TV to crushes) are relatable and funny. Cece’s struggle to find a good friend, though she’s at times trapped in a “bubble of loneliness,” while at others trapped with friends that don’t treat her very well, rings true.

In the author’s note Cece Bell talks about deafness and how this is a depiction of her unique experience and emotions. As a child, she believed for a time that her deafness made her different, disabled, and ashamed. But she came to appreciate it. “And being different?” she says, “That turned out to be the best part of all. I found that with a little creativity, and a lot of dedication, any difference can be turned into something amazing. Our differences are our superpowers."

I highly recommend this funny, heartwarming graphic novel. It’s the best children’s book I’ve read all year.

Recent Read: Through the Woods

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll

In one story from Emily Carroll’s Gothic collection of graphic short stories, a new bride arrives at a manor house that is now hers. At night she hears a sad song:

"I married my love in the springtime, but by summer he'd locked me away. He'd murdered me dead by the autumn, and by winter I was naught but decay. It's so cold where I am and so lonely but in loneliness I will remain, unloved, unavenged, and forgotten, until I am whole once again." 

She goes searching through the house--in the walls, under the floor. And this is what she finds:

It gets creepier, as do all of Emily Carroll’s stories in this haunting collection. The beautiful illustrations, as you can see, contribute to the eerie tone. I half expected some ghostly hand to reach out and pull me into its depths. A must for fans of horror and another great read for Halloween.

Recent Read: Witches

Witches: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem by Rosalyn Schanzer

Ever wonder what really happened in Salem all those years ago? I realized that my knowledge of it was limited to (1) The Crucible and (2) the offhand comment my high school history teacher made about the possibility they were all high. Rosalyn Schanzer takes us through the blow-by-blow of what we know happened—the fits, the accusations, the hysteria, the biased judges, the tragic executions.

Spoiler alert, but I imagine many of your questions will go unanswered, as mine were. What was fake and what was real? What was honest and what was false? What were the motivations? Schanzer gives an overview of the various theories scholars have come up with to answer these questions, but we don’t really know. Still, this makes for a very interesting read, and helped me distinguish between tales and reality.

And then there are the illustrations. Fantastic! Dynamic black and white scratch board illustrations, with little red accents add real pizzazz.

Recent Read: The Family Romanov

The Family Romanov by Candance Fleming

Tsar Nicholas II: well-intentioned, but ill-prepared and oblivious ruler of 130 million people and 1/3 of the land on Earth, with a family wealth estimated to be worth $45 billion.

Empress Alexandra: slightly reclusive, mystic obsessed, German-born wife to Nicholas.

The Romanov children: four lovely daughters, and one hemophiliac heir, Alexei.

The Russian people: 84% peasants living in crude huts without electricity, chimneys, or real furniture, with barely food enough to eat. 10.5% urban workers, enduring dangerous working conditions and long hours, and making only enough money to rent a small tenement without water, kitchen, or toilet. 

With Alexei’s hidden condition, Nicholas’s passive nature, and Alexandra’s penchant for mysticism, the family was destined for trouble from the beginning. Add to that workers’ discontent, miserable peasants, the toxic monk Rasputin, the rise of communism (and Lenin), World War I, and revolution, and doom seems inevitable.

Author Candace Fleming expertly weaves together many different threads to form a complex, tragic tapestry of Russia and its last royal family. She focuses on the Romanov family, providing us a thorough and colorful portrait of the Romanovs—quirks and all (Alexandra personally hung over 700 icons on the walls of the imperial bedroom).

The story of the Romanovs cannot be divorced from the historical and political events of their time, and so their lives and decisions are always included in the larger context of Russia and its people (and problems). To provide an even richer understanding of the time, Fleming includes first-hand accounts of life in Russia at the time from the viewpoint of individual Russians and the occasional foreign journalist.

As readable as any good novel, this nonfiction book is excellent on all fronts. Fascinating and compelling from cover to cover.

Picture This: Have You Seen My Dragon?

Have You Seen My Dragon? by Steve Light

A boy has lost his dragon and traipses across New York City in search of him.

Along the way, the boy finds many other things: 2 hot dogs ("maybe he got hungry and stopped for a hot dog"), 3 buses ("or perhaps he went downtown on the bus"), 4 sailboats ("it's possible he went for a swim), etc. In every case, the boy is correct. We can see the dragon eating a hot dog and going for a swim, but the boy doesn't see. Drawn in bold pen and ink, each spread is black and white, with the counted objects in bright colors. Meanwhile, the dragon blends right in. The endpages feature a map of where the boy and his dragon have been. Lots of fun, with great illustrations.

Picture This: Queen Victoria's Bathing Machine

Queen Victoria's Bathing Machine by Gloria Whelan, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter

Queen Victoria loves to swim, but can't because it would be scandalous to see more of the queen than her hands and face. Fortunately, her husband comes up with a solution.

Mary Carpenter's illustrations are a bustle of activity, featuring the royal couple's nine children in nearly every spread. But what sets this picture book apart is Whelan's rhythm, rhyme, and diction. Whelan is creative, colorful and funny with her choice of words.

The queen sighed a sigh. "I'll give up the notion.
I'll never be allowed to enter the ocean.
For how can I swim if I wear all my clothes,
my petticoats and dresses, my shoes and my hose?
They'd get drippy and slushy and soggy and sodden,
and down I would sink right to the bottom.

Add to that the true story of Prince Albert's invention of the bathing machine (a dressing room that can be wheeled into the ocean so the queen can go into the water without showing so much as toe to the public during the transition), and you have this this charmer.

Recent Read: Better Nate Than Ever

Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle

The ultimate dream-come-true for Nate Foster would be to star in a Broadway musical, which is why he’s leaving sports-obsessed podunk Jankberg, Pennsylvania to try out for E. T.: The Musical in New York City. He’s got his mother’s credit card, his lucky rabbit’s foot, a New York-savvy catch phrase (“The A train is running local today, what a hassle”), a greyhound bus ticket, and a best friend at home cheering him on. But New York is full of all sorts of surprises, and the experience isn’t quite what Nate had imagined.

I laughed throughout this heartwarming novel. Seeing New York, Broadway auditions, even Applebee's through Nate’s eyes was so much fun. He’s innocent, earnest, funny, and oh so loveable. As an example, he and his best friend, Libby, shout the names of Broadway flops instead of swearing (“Holy Dance of the Vampires!”).

Not too surprisingly, short, chubby, always singing Nate has a history of being bullied, called names and accused of being gay—something which he himself says he’s not even old enough to really know about yet. When he reaches New York City, it doesn’t live up to every expectation, but he still feels as though he’s found a place where he might belong. He faces obstacles and disasters, but almost nothing can get this indefatigable thirteen-year-old down. His warmth and excitement win over our hearts (and maybe some others, too).

It would seem that Federle was inspired and influenced by his own life. He himself moved to NYC as a teenager to pursue a career on Broadway. He performed in The Little Mermaid and Gypsy, among others. At thirty, he was working as an associate choreographer on Billy Elliott, constantly auditioning boys whose voices hadn’t changed yet, when he saw a pudgy, freckled boy, clutching a rabbit’s foot on stage. That sparked an idea for a story, and many of his experiences working on Billy Elliott provided material for Better Nate Than Ever.

One more note: I listened to the audiobook of Better Nate Than Ever which was read by the author Tim Federle. He was a delight as a reader. This is a must for theatre kids in particular.



Also, if you want to get a sense of his humor, don't miss his twitter.

Picture This: Princess Sparkle-Heart Gets a Makeover

Princess Sparkle-Heart Gets a Makeover by Josh Schneider

Amelia and her dog love to play...until Amelia gets Princess Sparkle-Heart. Amelia and Princess Sparkle-Heart do everything together...until disaster (should I say jealousy) strikes...

It's true. The dog rips the doll to shreds. Amelia's devastated. But mom says she can fix her. As the reader watches blissful scenes of Amelia and Princess Sparkle-Heart, the dog is always there in background, giving them the evil eye, a "grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" often spanning the two page spread. But perhaps the funniest (and most shocking part of all is the renewed Princess Sparkle-Heart. You'll have to read it yourself to see what I mean.

Isn't this fantastic?

Recent Read: Salt & Storm

Salt & Storm by Kendall Kulper

Avery Roe is one in a long line of witches on Prince Island. She wants nothing more than to take her place as the next witch, but her mother has trapped her with a curse, preventing her from learning her grandmother’s magic. When Avery has a dream foretelling her own murder, she becomes desperate to break the curse so she can unlock her magic and prevent her death--so desperate that she reaches out to a tattooed islander boy with strange magic of his own.

This is a story that feels rich with history and atmosphere. Prince Island is home to a whaling community that regularly seeks charms and spells from the Roe witch to protect them at sea, keep their lovers faithful, and protect their wares and goods. I loved the world and magic that Kulper has invented here. She not only composed beautiful, rich descriptions of the place, she effectively created a sense of history, tradition and folklore.

As readers, we feel and see with Avery--including her biases. But I didn't realize this until later when it becomes clear that Avery's world is more complicated than she thought. I was surprised by some of the developments in this book.

The love story was a bit lacking--told more than shown, underdeveloped. And the pace started to lag a bit in the middle. But overall it was very good. I loved the atmosphere, the feeling of history, the interesting twists, and the magic itself.


Salt & Storm comes out September 23

Picture This: Three bears in a Boat

Three Bears in a Boat by David Soman

When three bear siblings accidentally break their mother’s beautiful blue seashell, they decide to find a replacement seashell in the hopes that their mother will never know what happened. They set out in a little boat, encountering new people and traveling to new places in search of the elusive blue seashell, but with no luck. Soon a storm hits--both literally and figuratively. The bears turn on each other and the waves start to form. Will they make it home safely?

A lovely story told with lovely words and even lovelier pictures. The bears do make it home, shaken up but safe and humbled. As they arrive, they find a pristine blue seashell. When they get back, Mama bear is waiting. They apologize, offering her the shell, and she sweeps them into a hug. This book is excellent on all fronts. I could tell how much thought Soman put into the telling of the story. Not only did it have a nice flow, but a nice sound (“the little boat sailed out of the storm and into the sun”). He used rich imagery and diction (“their sail flew open like a wing”). He also incorporated humor for children and adults into the story and illustrations (they encounter an Ishmael-like whale-hunting bear). The story itself was quite nice—themes of honesty, contention, family, and love. I liked how although the bears are welcomed home in a big hug and forgiven, they still have to go without dessert. It's a bit long for a picture book—there’s quite a bit of text to read aloud.

And then there are the illustrations! Beautiful!! The fluid watercolor illustrations are at their most impressive in the full-color 2-page spreads. The seascapes are some of the best I've ever seen--whimsical, vivid, and sensory.

Beautiful illustrations by David Soman

Picture This: Big Bug

Big Bug by Henry Cole

That bug looks awfully big until you see it on a leaf, in a field, next to a dog. Henry Cole explores perspective and scale in this wonderful concept book.

I think this book mostly speaks for itself. It's a great concept carried out with lush, lovely paintings, and spare, repetitive (in a good way) text.

Picture This: Elizabeth Queen of the Seas

Elizabeth Queen of the Seas by Lynne Cox, illustrated by Brian Floca

"There was once a lovely elephant seal who lived in the city."

What I loved most about this book was the story itself—an elephant seal chooses to live in the big city. Though it may sound like some sort of invented children’s story, it’s nonfiction. Indeed, an elephant seal did take up residence in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. The locals named her Elizabeth after the Queen of England, but her presence became problematic when she took to sunbathing in the middle of the road. Multiple times they tried moving her out to sea, farther and farther away each time, but each time, she eventually came back. Told very nicely through Lynne Cox’s words and Brian Floca’s illustrations, this is a good one. And I love the photograph of the real Elizabeth of the Seas lounging by the side of the road.