The Pretty, Pretty Bunny by Dave Horowitz

Pretty, Pretty Bunny by Dave Horowitz

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I think this book is very funny; some coworkers don't think so because it doesn't teach a lesson, but I just find it humorous!



The story is about a bunny named Narcissa who thinks she's the prettiest thing around. Not only is she in love with herself, she makes fun of whomever she encounters. For example, when she sees a beaver, she says "Boy, am I glad I don't look like *that* guy...Just look at those silly teeth--and what a goofy tail."



She goes on to make fun of a turtle and a moose before she settles down in front of a pond to gaze at her reflection. When a magic frog shows up and grants her a wish, she doesn't even hear what he says because she is too busy laughing at him. This makes him mad, so he places a spell on her that makes her look ridiculous--with a beaver tail and teeth, moose antlers, and a turtle shell.



Of course, she's devastated, and says to her reflection "How I *wish* I could do it all over again" and poof! the wish the frog granted to her comes true and she's back to normal, gazing at her reflection.



And that's it!



I just think it's funny, but I can see how others might not like this story. I think it would be a great flannel board story, so maybe I'll work on that this summer.



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The Greedy Sparrow retold by Lucine Kasbarian

The Greedy Sparrow: An Armenian Tale by Lucine Kasbarian

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I picked this book up because the drawings and colors reminded me of Medieval pictures. It ended up being an Armenian tale, so it wasn't Medieval in any way, but I still enjoyed it.



The story is about a sparrow who has a thorn in his foot and asks a woman who is baking bread to remove it for him...she does, and then she tosses it into the oven. When the sparrow wants it back, she obviously can't give it back to him, so he demands some bread as compensation. He next asks a shepherd to watch his bread for him while he does something else...however, he's gone so long that the shepherd gets hungry and then eats the bread. When the sparrow returns, the shepherd obviously can't give it back, so the sparrow demands a sheep as compensation...and so the story goes. It ends up coming full circle, as he gets another thorn in his foot at the end.



An author's note explains part of the first line to the story 'Once there was and was not', meaning that "fantastical tales may be real or imagined" (copyright page). It's nice that this bit was included because I questioned that very line.



I liked this story about the greedy sparrow and am glad I picked it up. It's nice to read alone or in pairs, but is too long for a storytime.



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Take Care of Me from A to Z by Harriet Ziefert

Take Care of Me from A to Z by Harriet Ziefert

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I was drawn to this book because the 2 stuffed animals on the front (a yellow bear and an orange beaver)--they're so cute! The rest of the book is made up of various brightly-colored stuffed animals using each letter of the alphabet as a suggestion of something to do with 'me'; for example, the letter R is "Read to Me" with a bear holding a book and the letter S is "Sniff me" with a rabbit holding a bottle of perfume.

It's cute but not particularly clever, so I don't know that I'd buy this for someone with a young child. It's nice to look at once though.



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Little Chimp's Big Day by Lisa Schroeder

Little Chimp's Big Day by Lisa Schroeder




I initially passed on this book on the new book cart because I don't like monkeys that much, but a coworker said that it's really cute, and...she was right!



This story is told in a rhyming format and is about a little chimp who falls to the jungle floor when the branch he's sitting on snaps. He's left to his own devices in the jungle for the first time--he sees a bunch of neat things and sees other jungle animals...but he still misses his mom.



Sure enough, his mother finds him at the end of the story and all is well.



The pictures are really cute! This would make a good storytime book.



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In One Ear Out the Other by Michael Dahl

In One Ear, Out the Other by Michael Dahl

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


I had high hopes for this book, but I didn't like it at all. The strange pictures are what drew me to it, but they couldn't make up for the lack of story.



The story is about a monster named Bud that never pays attention to anything and ends up feeling the results of it. This would make sense if the story told it that way, but this is the turning point in it: he says, "I have to keep these words in my head, and I know the perfect way to do it...I will use my socks!"



What? Okay...



And it continues: "Not only did Bud fix his listening problem, but he always knew where to find his socks."



Umm...



A coworker and I couldn't figure out what his socks had to do with him finally listening to what's going on around him. It looks like he sticks his socks in his ear. How will that help him listen better? Is the author being ironic? Who knows? But I do know that I won't be reading this one again.



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Pick a Pup by Marsha Chall

Pick a Pup by Marsha Chall




This book was on the new book cart and a coworker noticed it and had me read it. It's cute; it's about a boy who is going to adopt a dog but is worried about how he'll pick the right dog for him. His grandma, though, assures him that he'll know the right dog when he sees it.



On the way to the place where they'll adopt a dog, the boy pays close attention to all of the dogs they pass.



Sure enough, when they see of the the dogs up for adoption, a dog chooses the boy--problem solved! A happy ending.



This book would make a cute storycards story--or maybe even a prop story.



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Memoirs of a Goldfish by Devin Scillian

Memoirs of a Goldfish by Devin Scillian

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I came across this on our 'new books' cart and it caught my eye. It's cute! It's about a goldfish who does his thing in a fishbowl (describing his days in a journal/diary format), but then his bowl gets more and more crowded--stuff, other fish, and other creatures are added to it and he isn't happy. But before he knows it, he's taken out of the bowl and put into a tiny bowl.



While there, he realizes that he misses how crowded his bowl was and starts to wonder about how everyone/everything is doing. Luckily, he finds himself scooped up again and placed in a new, big place--with everyone and everything he left behind! A happy ending...and he meets a new girl fish, too!



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Art and Max by David Wiesner

Art & Max by David Wiesner

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


I didn't particularly like this story. The drawings were pretty neat (I like the picture of Max in front of the cactus) but the story was sort of stupid. I felt like the author came up with the picture idea first and then tried to write a story around it.

Art is a big lizard and Max is a small lizard. They're both in the desert, and Art(hur)is painting on a canvas. Max sees this and wants to paint too. Not knowing what to paint, he begins painting Arthur. When Arthur shakes the paint off, he loses all of the paint color--along with his original color, making him nothing more than lines. Then Max tugs on the lines and Arthur collapses into nothing.

Max bends the lines back together to make Arthur, then uses a fan to blow all of the shaken-off paint back on. However, he doesn't look like how he did before; he's all pixelated...but this appears to be the answer, because that's how Arthur remains. And that's the end.

This is the sort of book that's okay to read once...it won't make it onto any of my favorite lists or anything.



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Picture books for mock Caldecott

Some recent posts here are going to include picture books that are on the mock Caldecott book list that I'm trying to read before there's an actual winner. The winner will be announced on January 10, 2011. More information about this and the books involved can be found here.

The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy)

The Extraordinary Mark Twain by Barbara Kerley

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I liked this book! The pictures were neat and the colors really pop. There are also pages from the journal written by his daughter Susy attached to some of the pages...and a note about Mark Twain and Susy at the end of the book.



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Shark vs. Train by Chris Barton

Shark vs. Train by Chris Barton

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This book is just okay. It's too long to use in a storytime and the pictures didn't impress me at all; I feel as though this book is just an average preschooler book.



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My Heart is Like a Zoo by Michael Hall

My Heart Is Like a Zoo by Michael Hall

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Animals made of hearts; story is in rhyme...nothing special.



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Summer Birds by Margarita Engle

Summer Birds by Margarita Engle

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Who calls butterflies...birds? This person, evidently.



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Mama Miti: Wangari Maathai and the Trees of Kenya by Donna Jo Napoli

Mama Miti: Wangari Maathai and the Trees of Kenya by Donna Jo Napoli

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I [sort of] see how this book is important, but...

Many people visit the lady who comes to be known as Mama Miti; they visit her for help and advice. However, her advice is always the same: to grow Maathai trees. Well, taken literally, the starving family is still going to starve if they plant a Maathai tree--won't it take years to grow and bear fruit? And the family who needs shelter will still need shelter if they plant a Maathai tree--won't it take years to grow enough to take branches from to build a home?

Because this is just so outrageous to me, all symbolism is lost and becomes meaningless. The pictures are nice, though.



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My Garden by Kevin Henkes

My Garden by Kevin Henkes

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I really liked this book--the pictures are so sweet! I used this in a storytime already and bought a copy for the department's story collection.



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Jimi: Sounds Like a Rainbow by Gary Golio

Jimi: Sounds Like a Rainbow: a Story of the Young Jimi Hendrix by Gary Golio

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This book was just okay. The pictures are interesting, but I found the text looking disorganized on the pages because of all the color and fonts used. It may prompt older readers to wonder about Jimi Hendrix and seek out other materials about him.



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Knuffle Bunny Free by Mo Willems

Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion by Mo Willems

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I was done with this story after _Knuffle Bunny, Too!_ I mean, really, how irresponsible is this family? Luckily, it should be over now. The author's letter to his daughter at the end is sweet, though.



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Here Comes the Garbage Barge by Jonah Winter

Here Comes the Garbage Barge! by Jonah Winter

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This book is based on the true story of trying to find a 'home' for garbage that no one wanted to take responsibility for. The pictures were funny and interesting but not cutesy. This would be a good book to read one-on-one.



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Librarian on the Roof! by M.G. King

Librarian on the Roof!: A True Story by M.G. King

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This book is just okay. Readers will admire the determination of the librarian RoseAleta, but it doesn't really excite me in any way.

When RoseAleta was hired as a new librarian at the Dr. Eugene Lark Library in Lockhart, Texas, she discovered that the library was very underused by the people in town (wouldn't she have learned this during pre-interview sleuthing about where she was going to interview?). The current staff seems generally apathetic, so she brings a new energy to the library personnel. When nothing she does-participates in parades, etc.-brings in children or adults, she re-evaluates the children's department and realizes that they need to update the furniture, computers, books, and more.

Of course, upgrades like these take money, and, of course, the library didn't have any money to spare. So RoseAleta endeavors to camp out on the roof of the library until 40,000 dollars is raised for the children's department. (Again, wouldn't she have gotten an idea of what the library's collection and budget were when she interviewed?).

All works out, happy ending, the library gets the money it needed to update the children's department, it is a busy place now, yadda yadda.

I understand that a suspension of belief is needed (maybe) for a story like this to succeed without having readers feel the need to ask questions like mine, but, like I said, I just can't get excited for this book.

I hope she got a raise after all she did for her library!



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Always with You by Ruth Vander Zee

Always With You by Ruth Vander Zee

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I came across this book while working on my library's weeding project. (I didn't weed it!) The book grabbed me because it looked like it would be very sad; I knew that a death was somehow involved, but I didn't know who or what the circumstances were.



It's a very quick read; it's a longer picture book that has a subject not so acceptable for browsing children/parents in the picture book section. I was right about my first impression though; it is indeed about a death.



This story is about a girl named Kim whose village is bombed during the Vietnam War. Her loving mother is killed and her dying words to Kim are: "I will always be with you."



An enemy soldier hits Kim with his gun, which ends up hurting her sight for the rest of her life. She is, however, eventually found by United States soldiers and taken someplace safe. Because she needed special surgeries for her eyes, she was sent to the United States for medical help and ended up staying in an orphanage there.



She ends up living a happy life overall, but she always remembers her mother's last words to her.



The story was so sad! But I think it's important to have pieces of literature like this so that we will always remember that events like this happened in our history.



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