Format: Picture Book Fiction

Food Truck Fest!

Food Truck Fest!Food Truck Fest! by Alexandra Penfold, Mike Dutton
on March 13th 2018
ISBN: 0374303185
Pages: 40
Goodreads
four-stars

A day in the life of a food truck at a festival! This original topic is described in rhyming couplets from early morning until the day is done.

Full color illustrations by Mike Dutton alternate between the trucks and a family preparing to attend. Some pages seem to be talking to the food truck owners, other pages are directed to people going to the fest. The endpapers are a visual treat of bold black and white images of related words, foods, and a few trucks.

Other than a small band playing, there doesn’t seem to be any other particular purpose for the festival. However, the anticipation and excitement are built through the text with phrases like, “Everybody’s going to the food truck fest!”  A little suspense is presented when the bridge is blocked, and trucks have to take the ferry across the rough river.

Preschoolers might like to compare the types of food sold by various trucks, or compare their own experiences with the uniqueness of eating from a food truck. This would be fun to read aloud and have children supply some of the predictable rhyming words. Early elementary students might create their own “food truck’ based on an international unit – what would be served and what would the food truck be named.

Reviewed by Lynn Mayer, Librarian, Old Town Elementary School, Old Town

four-stars

Douglas, You’re a Genius!

Douglas, You’re a Genius!Douglas, You're a Genius! by Ged Adamson
Published by Schwartz & Wade Books on September 11th 2018
ISBN: 1524765309
Pages: 40
Goodreads
five-stars

Ingenuity, determination, and friendship highlight this fun picture book that brings together a Spanish-speaking boy, an English-speaking girl and their pet dogs. Through cleverness and perseverance, they overcome the barriers of a fence and language in their backyard. This is a fine example of a true picture book because the illustrations take the text to another level with a punch at the end when the reader discovers that both youngsters have been trying to figure out how to find out who was on the other side.

Is the term ‘tom-boy’ outdated? I hope not, as girls who like to ‘get their hands dirty’ will appreciate the main character here.

This is a follow-up to the 2016 “Douglas, You Need Glasses” that received very good reviews.

Full-color, cartoonish illustrations done in pen and watercolor show a variety of perspectives, sometimes up close, some from far away to show the expansiveness of the backyard where the action takes place. Text includes occasional speech bubbles and lots of handwritten notes and diagrams of plans. A Spanish glossary is provided on the verso page. Endpapers show a hand drawing of the train (which facilitated the first communication between the potential friends) on graph paper, with realistic smudges of a project in the works.

Preschoolers will enjoy the humor and friendship. Older readers will go deeper to explore the parallel story, finding ways to communicate, and thinking outside the box.

Recommended for Cream of the Crop.

Reviewed by Lynn Mayer, Librarian, Old Town Elementary School, Old Town.

five-stars

All Are Welcome

All Are WelcomeAll Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold
Published by Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers on July 10th 2018
ISBN: 0525579648
Pages: 44
Goodreads
five-stars

With simple, rhyming text and bright illustrations, Penfold and Kaufman have created a diverse, welcoming, harmonious school setting in which children of all skin colors and abilities and cultural backgrounds can learn and share. This is the world that we wish our children lived in and should be a goal of all adults working with and reading to youngsters. The book does include a double-page fold out which will need to be handled carefully, but the reveal is so joyous, it is worth buying once and then again if it ever rips. From the end pages to the cover, every detail is thought through. A wonderful read-aloud and essential for all library collections.

Reviewed by Jill O’Connor, Merrill Memorial Library, Yarmouth

five-stars

Everybody’s Welcome

Everybody’s WelcomeEverybody's Welcome by Patricia Hegarty, Greg Abbott
Published by Doubleday Books for Young Readers on October 23rd 2018
ISBN: 1524771651
Pages: 32
Goodreads
three-stars

“Everybody’s Welcome” is a picture book written by Patricia Hegarty and illustrated by Greg Abbott. The book starts with a mouse who wants to build their own house. Frog arrives in tears because his pond has dried up and now he has no home to go to. Mouse invites Frog to build the house together because everyone is welcome here. The book continues with many other animals that are now without homes and Mouse invites all of them to build together. Each animal brings its own strengths to building the home.

The illustrations are beautiful and give the book a classic feel. The font size is a little small, but definitely readable. The theme that “everyone is welcome” and “everyone has value” is clearly displayed through the illustrations and text. The only downside to the book was that there are different size pages throughout (almost like flaps), which occasionally made it a bit more difficult to turn to the correct page, but this is a minor issue. Aimed at children aged 3 to 7, “Everybody’s Welcome,” is a beautiful and friendly book. I would not call it a must-buy, but would still recommend it for purchase for families who are moving or for teachers to read in a classroom setting.

Reviewed by Kate Radke, Walker Memorial Library, Westbrook.

three-stars

Coming Home

Coming HomeComing Home by Michael Morpurgo, Kerry Hyndman
Published by Candlewick Press (MA) on October 23rd 2018
ISBN: 1536200425
Pages: 32
Goodreads
five-stars

“Bring me home, my beating wings, Bring me home, my beating heart.”

The picture book Coming Home by Michael Morpurgo is deceptively emotional and intense. The robin is lost and faces many perilous situations in his flight home. The lovely prose is balanced well on the pages, surrounded by gorgeous illustrations from artist Kerry Hyndman.  In my opinion, Coming Home would be best suited for students second-grade and older. Educators should expect discussions about predator versus prey, the effects of weather on migrating birds, and how humans can care for injured wildlife.

I recommend this book for Cream of the Crop.

Reviewed by Liz Davis, Children’s Librarian, Waterville Public Library

five-stars

Where’s Waldo: The Spectacular Spotlight Search

Where’s Waldo: The Spectacular Spotlight SearchWhere's Waldo?: The Spectacular Spotlight Search by Martin Handford
Published by Candlewick Press (MA) on October 2nd 2018
ISBN: 1536201766
Pages: 16
Goodreads
two-stars

I was excited to see a new “Where’s Waldo” book, since I loved them as a kid, but this is actually just a repackaging of several old Waldo scenes with a new gimmick. The scenes are now printed on a dark-tinted plastic (that almost look like x-ray slides) and you are given a “Spotlight Searcher” to slide underneath the image and brighten up a small part of the scene. The “Spotlight Searcher” is just a black wand with a large white circle on one end and a small white circle on the other. When slid underneath the darkened transparent plastic scene, the white circles brighten up the images (by providing a white background, rather than a black one). This does look a bit like a spotlight zooming around the scene and kids will probably have fun using it to find Waldo and his friends. Aimed at children ages 5 through 9, the scenes have a lot of tiny detail to sort through. The book gives you several things to find in each page, so it can be revisited to find more items. If you already have most of the Waldo books, I would not bother purchasing this one. I do not recommend it for libraries because if the “Spotlight Searcher” gets misplaced, it will be very difficult for anyone to use the book.

Reviewed by Kate Radke, Walker Memorial Library, Westbrook

two-stars

The Things That I Love about Trees

The Things That I Love about TreesThe Things That I Love about Trees by Chris Butterworth
Published by Candlewick Press (MA) on February 28th 2018
ISBN: 0763695696
Pages: 32
Goodreads

A little girl loves trees. She introduces the reader to a plum tree and then proceeds to tell the reader why she loves the tree in the spring, summer, fall and winter. In spring, it is the change that takes place, buds that get bigger and produce leaves. Leaves that attract bees and spring begins. She then tells her love of the tree in summer, the look of full leafy trees and the sound, in fall it is the color and in winter, the bareness.  The text that tells of the love of trees is in large print, while lots of information about trees is in small print that does not interfere with the illustrations. These illustrations are done in ink and watercolor. they are soft browns and greens and give a calmness to the story. Through the eyes of a little girl the reader in introduced to the cycle of the seasons and what each season offers and the cycle of a tree, something that  is affected by the seasons. It is reminiscent of Gail Gibbon’s Seasons of Arnold’s Apple Tree.

This is a great way to begin the spring season. It is a wonderful selection for young readers.

Reviewed by Kathy George, Gray Public Library, Gray, Maine

Blue

BlueBlue by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Published by Roaring Brook Press on September 25th 2018
ISBN: 1626720665
Pages: 40
Goodreads
five-stars

Blue by Laura Vaccaro Seeger is simple and elegant  with just two words per spread. This book can be enjoyed on many levels. Children will like peeking through the various die-cuts, one per spread, and see the next shade of blue including berry blue, ocean blue, and midnight blue. There is also a touching story of a little boy and a puppy(baby blue). They grow older, and the dog dies (true blue, so blue). After a passage of time you see an older boy with a girl friend who has a dog (new blue). Seeger’s  textured acrylic on canvas illustrations add richness and depth. This is similar to Seeger’s earlier Green, but this new book is easier to follow as a story. Recommended for Cream of the Crop. Margy Soule, Coffin School, Brunswick

five-stars

Nothing Can Frighten a Bear

Nothing Can Frighten a BearNothing Can Frighten a Bear by Elizabeth Dale, Paula Metcalf
Published by Nosy Crow on January 2nd 2018
ISBN: 0763696277
Pages: 32
Goodreads

A family of bears (mom, dad, Grace, Ben and baby) settle down for the night. Baby awakens when he hears a noise – a ROAR! It must be a MONSTER! Unable to sleep until he knows what made the noise, the entire bear family sets out to look for monsters! With the refrain” nothing can frighten a bear” they continue to hunt for the noise and the reader sees that one by one a member of the bear family disappears until it is just baby and dad. When they turn around and discover mom and siblings are gone, they think maybe there is a monster and they are next!

Large illustrations of mixed media add to the atmosphere of a monster hunt at night. Will dad (and reader) figure out what happened to the family and is there indeed a monster on the prowl.

The text lends itself to exposing the listeners to counting and the emotions of being scared, afraid, and excited about what will happen next. It is a good read aloud and invites the reader to experience feelings they all have- the monster in the room!

Reviewed by Kathy George, Gray Public Library, Gray, Maine

The Boy Who Went to Mars

The Boy Who Went to MarsThe Boy Who Went to Mars by Simon James
Published by Candlewick Press on November 20th 2018
ISBN: 076369598X
Pages: 32
Goodreads
three-stars

The Boy Who Went to Mars by Simon James is a story about a little boy who pretends he is a Martian while his mother is away on a short trip. After his mom leaves, he climbs in his cardboard box space ship, takes a quick round trip to Mars, and comes back a Martian. Under his dad’s care, the boy acts up in relatively modest ways, not brushing his teeth, ignoring vegetables at dinner, and shoving a child (not seriously hurt) on the playgroup. Once his mother comes home and asks him how he was, he feels guilty, jumps back in spaceship and returns as a boy, glad to be his old self again. Young child who are trying to figure out how to express their feelings will relate to this child. The father comes off as warm and caring; the brother understanding, and the little boy creative in his rebellion.  The sketchy cartoon illustrations give a sense of lightness to the story. Recommended for ages 4 to 7. Margy Soule, Coffin School, Brunswick

three-stars