Picture This: Little Elliot Big Family

Little Elliot Big Family by Mike Curato
 
Elliot and Mouse are the best of friends. Mouse is looking forward to his family reunion where he’ll eat his grandmother’s cheese chowder with his 15 brothers, 19 sisters, 25 aunts, 27 uncles, and 147 cousins. When Mouse leaves, Elliot is all alone. He walks around the city and sees families everywhere. “Elliot wondered what it would be like to have 147 cousins. Or even just one.” Just as he’s about to be taken over by loneliness, Mouse comes to find him and invite him to join his family in their reunion.

Mike Curato’s debut, Little Elliot Big City tells the story of how a small polka-dotted elephant and a mouse bonded over a shared love of cupcakes. Maybe it’s my bias talking, but I think this one is even better than the first. As someone who comes from a large extended family, I really appreciated this family-oriented story. You have the main storyline of a lonely elephant, and his touching adoption into the mouse family. You also have a number of lovely family scenes as he walks around 1940s New York: brothers playing baseball, fathers playing with their children, sisters sharing secrets. It’s touching and it evokes the feelings I have about family.

Curato’s pencil illustrations are soft and inviting. He creates a vintage feel with his unique combination of pencil and Photoshop (read about it here). Often his illustrations look like they could be scenes out of an old movie. He uses color and composition to enhance the mood and emotions of the story. Curato pictures Elliot as a small, lone character among a sea of empty seats, or as the only soul on a snowy street. Page after page is perfectly composed. I just love looking at the illustrations. The family photographs that cover the endpages are a kick, too.

 

Picture This: Fire Engine No. 9

Fire Engine No. 9 by Mike Austin


Fire Engine No. 9 is exactly what it sounds like—a book showing a day in the life of fire engine number nine. The text is almost all sound effects—the whoosh of firemen sliding down the pole, the brrriing of the alarm, the bark of the Dalmatian. The illustrations are exciting, colorful, and action-packed. Austin uses each double-page spread to its fullest advantage. The endpages show fire fighters' tools, and there's a small lesson on fire safety at the end. This is a must for truck-loving kids.

Picture This In a Village by the Sea

In a Village by the Sea by Muon Van, illustrated by April Chu

 On the surface this is a simple tale—a day in the life of a family in a Vietnamese fishing village. The father goes out to sea early in the morning; his wife stays home and makes soup as her child naps. They eagerly wait for father’s return.

The story turns a bit magical when the cricket who lives in a hole in the floor paints a scene of the father’s activities. He’s caught in a storm, looking at a picture of his family, hoping to return to them.

It’s beautifully done in every way. It feels a bit like gently rolling waves—rhythmic and soothing in its cyclical nature. Each new page repeats a bit from the previous page in text and illustration. And the whole tale comes full circle at the end as the father envisions his family in that house that has already been so carefully described. Where at the beginning he looked back toward his home, the book ends with his family looking out to sea toward him.

The illustrations are beautiful. They’re filled with wonderful details. I love seeing the carefully chopped vegetables on the table, the chilies hanging on the kitchen wall, the flip flops lined up just outside the back door. Chu uses creative angles and perspectives to bring visual interest. I love the overhead view of the kitchen with the baby reaching for the dog.

And then there’s that cricket. Is his painting really happening or has he imagined it? But perhaps that’s the point. In the author’s note, Muon Van says of her own fisherman father, “we would often wonder where my father was, if he found the catch he was looking for, and when he would return home again, safe and sound.” Those mysterious paintings convey this feeling very well.

On a more philosophical note, this story captures the essence of life—work, food, and family—and the beauty of those simple necessities. It underscores what home is.

 

Picture This: Wait

Wait by Antoinette Portis

Antoinette Portis’s Wait contains two words (okay, three, but for my purposes, let’s say two): “Hurry!” and “Wait.” A mother is rushing to get to the train on time, but her son is much more interested in the world they’re passing than punctuality. He wants to pet the dog, and watch the construction and help feed the ducks, and look at the tropical fish in the window.

But of course, mom finally relents when her son points out a double rainbow. “Yes, wait,” she says (there’s the third word).

Portis has illustrated the book in a flat style, with thick charcoal outlines and lots of color—bold eye-catching, especially for young readers. Readers will be able to anticipate each new “wait” request because of details in the illustrations. I love how much well it portrays a fundamental difference between adults and children. It reminds me of a street photographer describing how children notice everything. He can stand and take pictures of people walking by in New York City, and the adults often walk by without acknowledging him—whether they’re too busy to stop, don’t notice or don’t care. Children, on the other hand, always notice and always look. Children haven’t lost their sense of wonder at the world. And I think this book reminds us of that and how much there is around us that’s worth noticing.

Independent Reading: Flop to the Top

Flop to the Top by Eleanor Davis and Drew Weing

Wanda is a superstar, complete with fans (unwilling siblings), a red carpet, and glamorous clothing. When the selfie she takes with her dog Wilbur goes viral, Wanda is dismayed to find that the crowds of fans aren’t there for her, they’re there for Wilbur! As Wilbur skyrockets to stardom, Wanda gets left behind.

Furious that her rightful fame has been stolen by her lump of a dog, Wanda goes after him, trying to convince the world that Wilbur is not the funny, cool one, rather she is. But soon jealousy morphs to genuine concern for her beloved pet, and Wanda seeks reconciliation. This one is funny, sweet and quite modern.

Recent Read: Dream On, Amber

Dream On, Amber by Emma Shevah

 “You know how sometimes you get an idea? And then you follow that idea and complicate your life so badly that you wish it had never popped into your head? Yeah. That’s what happened. Me and my genius idea.”

Eleven-year-old Ambra Alessandra Leola Kimiko Miyamoto, who goes by Amber (“I have no idea why my parents gave me all those hideous names but they must have wanted to ruin my life you know?”), lives with her mom and six-year-old sister, Bella in South London. Her dad left the family when they were little. His absence feels like a gaping hole in Amber’s life. When Bella decides to write a letter to her dad, Amber has an idea. She writes Bella back, posing as their father, hoping to save her sister from the pain that she feels. But of course, this ruse proves difficult to maintain, especially with a sister who has a vivid imagination.

Funny, charming and poignant. This easily could have been sappy or didactic, but Amber’s spunky narration always moderates the more serious subject-matter. Family is central to the book, and while it does highlight the meaning of a dad and having one in your life, it also shows how family is family no matter who is or isn’t there. The way this family comes together and Amber tries to help her sister (even if it is a little ill-advised) is heartening. I loved the characters and enjoyed reading Amber’s narration. The letters exchanged between sisters cracked me up. This is a winner.

Picture This: The Bear Ate Your Sandwich

The Bear Ate Your Sandwich by Julia Sarcone-Roach

“By now I think you know what happened to your sandwich. But you may not know how it happened. So let me tell you.” 

So begins this story of a bear who finds a delicious treat in the bed of a pickup truck, falls asleep, and wakes up in the middle of the city. He explores this “new forest,” discovering climbing spots, new smells, places to scratch an itch, and a very delectable looking sandwich. You can probably guess what happens next.

The saturated illustrations invite the reader into a warm and dreamy world, created with acrylic paint and pencil. The facial expressions and movements of the animals throughout are wonderful and often add humor. But did you notice who is telling the story? The end reveals the narrator of this tale (a dog), immediately calling into question everything he just recounted—especially with that suspicious piece of lettuce right at his feet. And don’t forget to look at the endpapers!