ON MY ISLAND

By Marie-Louise Gay


(Groundwood Books, 2000)

After reviewing Not a Box by Antoinette Portis in my last post, I thought of On My Island by Canadian author/illustrator Marie-Louise Gay. It's clear that the bunny in Box has an active imagination. What if a child, however, lacks imagination? He even lacks observation skills to take in the amazing world around him. (Think about the upcoming so-called dog days of August when kids hang upside down on sofa, sigh loudly and complain that there's nothing to do.)

According to the boy from On My Island, nothing happens where he lives. Ho-hum. Yawn. The boy just hangs with his (ordinary?) crew: "a wolf, two cats, three ants and a...swo-o-o-ooping bat."


Confession: I was hooked by the three ants. The rest of the critters didn't matter. The wonderful thing about picture books is you can insert something as seemingly random as three ants and keep the viewer's interest throughout. Turning each page, I immediately looked for the typically miscast picnic pests. (Another great thing about picture books? If you get so focused on ant spotting that you miss the story, you can read it again!)


Gay is a masterful storyteller and illustrator. On My Island allows her own imagination and illustrative talents to shine. While the boy and his entourage look one direction, they miss the fanciful, often surreal events around them. (Think Salvador Dali or children's author/illustrator David Wiesner.) Elephants fly in parachutes (and as a kite), a train emerges from the ocean, a large teacup floats by, a dragon pursues a fish which flees on roller skates. There is plenty of visual impact on each page--look beyond the ants! Alas, the boy and his friends are too wrapped up in themselves and their pervasive state of self-fulfilling ennui to ever notice.

On My Island is a natural for repeated readings/viewings.

NOT A BOX

By Antoinette Portis

(HarperCollins Children's Books, 2007)

I love toys. When children walk into my principal's office, they notice two things: (1) kids' books, and (2) toys. In the toy department, I stock the classics: Slinky, Magic 8-Ball, wind-up critters. But I've overlooked an even more popular classic, one that doesn't require navigating your way through PlayStation gadgetry and Transformer movie tie-ins at the local Toys "R" Us. Get your hands on a large cardboard box--large enough to climb in--and watch the fun begin.

This picture book is an ode to the lowly cardboard box, cleverly designed with that familiar drab brown for the cover. (Hey, Benjamin Moore, there's a new paint color for you: ooh, Box Brown.) The title appears in simple red letters along with a "NET WT." stat on the front and a "THIS SIDE UP" on the sparse back cover.

The simplicity continues inside the book, with respect to both text and drawings. The unimaginative narrator's questions (e.g., "Why are you sitting in a box?") are typed on the left page while a simple black-outlined bunny figure literally assumes the position on the otherwise blank right side. Turn the page and bright yellow and red wash over the spread as bunny's imaginative play is revealed.

Life really can be that simple. This book will make you smile and hopefully reignite some of that wonder in the adult mind.

Anybody around here just purchase a new refrigerator? How about I take that box off your hands...

CLOUDETTE

By Tom Lichtenheld











(Henry Holt and Company, 2011)


That's right, Cloudette, not Claudette. I grabbed this book for its originality in creating a new character. If talking hamsters make you cringe, Cloudette, the "cute little cumulus" could precipitate a thunderous objection. Still, I was captivated by Cloudette and her sunny disposition.


Cloudette is tiny. Sometimes that has its advantages, but Cloudette longs to do something big and important. The other bigger clouds create storm fronts, thunderstorms and enough snow to shut down school for a day. (Important, indeed!)

Cloudette faces rejection on her quest to make a difference. The car wash is automated and the plants at the nursery need LOTS of water. Cloudette doesn't matter.

It takes a fierce storm with strong winds to blow Cloudette to a new environment where she finally finds the perfect opportunity.

This is a clever twist on the "different is special" story formula. I read it to a grade one class to see if the students could take to a cloud as a main character and they empathized and cheered for Cloudette in a snap. There is an undercurrent of science appeal in the book as well as kids see the value of rain and become casually introduced to terms like cold front, cumulus and precipitation. Still, the story is what stands out.

The illustrations are often splashed with sky blue backgrounds (naturally). Lichtenheld also has a fondness for yellow, helping to brighten each page. The art figures don't pop, but that helps the viewer focus more on the expressive facial reactions given to Cloudette.

Cloudette would make a good rainy day read.

A PET FOR PETUNIA

By Paul Schmid

(Harper, 2011)

A few years ago, kids were obsessed with penguins. Not practical as pets, but no doubt common items on Christmas wish lists.


Petunia has a different black and white critter in mind: a skunk. Schmid writes, "Petunia wants, wants, wants! a REAL pet skunk." And Petunia is a persistent child.


Parents and children will be able to relate to the pet-begging pitches and promises. If Petunia gets a skunk, it will surely be one pampered pet. But Petunia's parents hold strong, daring to assert that skunks stink.


Petunia's ensuing verbal tantrum is the highlight of the book. (Too many of us will see ourselves in petulant Petunia.) She decides to run away and you can guess what she encounters in the woods.


The simple, amusing black and white illustrations are adorned with splashes of purple and the odd dash of mustard yellow. They are just enough to move the story along. It's Schmid's word choice and phrasing that truly stand out.


While I rarely review books with female protagonists, boy readers will easily connect to Petunia and their own imaginations are likely to be sparked by thoughts of an ultra-stinky pet. Penguins? Yawn. Pigs? Phooey! The skunk's the thing.

I'D REALLY LIKE TO EAT A CHILD

Written by Sylviane Donnio

Illustrated by Dorothee de Monfreid

(Random House, 2007)


Sometimes a book's title is too perfect. When I discovered this book on a shelf in a toy store in Seattle, I knew it would make a most amusing addition to the collection I keep in the principal's office. (Runner up that day: Monsters Eat Whiny Children. Oh, how I'd love to meet the store's buyer!)

One clever young office visitor spotted the book and fought unsuccessfully to repress his grin. It was a command reading.


Achilles the crocodile is seemingly content to feast on bananas and the occasional chocolate cake until one day he stages a hunger strike. He wants to eat a child; nothing else will do. Mama and Papa Crocodile are distraught as their weakening offspring cannot be swayed. As they console one another, Achilles sneaks off to the river for a swim. Lo and behold, he spots a child! Dinner! Suffice it to say the hunt doesn't go as planned.


This amusing book provides an inventive way of supporting picky eaters. More than that, it's just plain fun. How can it not become a repeated read?

I MUST HAVE BOBO!

Written by Eileen Rosenthal

Illustrated by Marc Rosenthal

(Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2011)

Linus had his blanket, but most of us clung to a stuffed animal during our younger years. Mine was a well-chewed grey dog named Woofie that disappeared for years, only to turn up at the bottom of our deep freezer in the basement. I still blame my sister.

In I Must Have Bobo!, Willy's morning gets off to a rocky start when he discovers that his beloved socky monkey has vanished. Billy is distraught. How can he cope with all the uncertainties in life without Bobo?!

The story is a delightful battle for Bobo between Willy and Earl, the family pet. Bobo's back with Willy. Bobo's gone again.

Can Willy and Earl learn to share Bobo?

The simple, colorful illustrations and short text complement each other perfectly. This book will make both children and adults smile. And maybe a few of us older readers will secretly hug a teddy bear when looking at bills online or before bedtime. At the very least, hug the family pet!

CHICKEN BIG

By Keith Graves

(Chronicle Books, 2010)

I have author envy. It arises whenever I see a book title like Chicken Big. Of course. How obvious. Take the classic Chicken Little and give it a twist. But it only became obvious after author/illustrator Keith Graves beat me to publication. And, I must admit, his goofy book is more amusing than anything I could have hatched.

The story begins when "a very small hen laid a big, humongous egg". The other chickens don't know what to make of the giant hatchling. The smallest chicken ("not the sharpest beak in the flock") determines that something so big must be an elephant. Then, when it rains and the big chick offers shelter under its wings, the smallest chicken realizes this is no elephant. Clearly it is an umbrella. And the case of mistaken identity continues.

This kind of silliness will entertain young readers (and older ones too). Chicken advocates, take no offense. Do not complain of perpetuating stereotypes. The sky isn't falling. Let the breezy text and zany pictures (with comic speech bubbles) bring a smile to your face and enjoy the chorus of giggles sure to surface during a bedtime or early primary read-aloud session.