by Stacy
Here’s my selection for Perfect Picture Book Friday:
Title: A Beginner’s Guide to Bear Spotting
Author: Michelle Robinson
Illustrator: David Roberts
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2016
Suitable for ages: 3-6
Theme/Topic: Bears, Survival Tips, Humor
Opening Spread: Going for a walk in BEAR Country? You’d better make sure you know your bears.
Brief Synopsis: (from Amazon)
Do you dream of seeing some real, live bears? Then this essential guide to bear spotting, filled with offbeat humor and quirky illustrations, is for you!
In this perfect read-aloud, sure to delight kids and parents alike, a young aspiring bear spotter ventures into bear country . . . But coming face-to-face with the furry creatures themselves, whether black or brown, can be dangerous, and our protagonist–accompanied by a trusty teddy bear–might need to use some unconventional means to stay out of trouble and avoid being (gulp!) eaten.
Resources: The National Park Service has tons of information available on bears. Stuffed bears could also be used to act out scenes from the book.
Why I Like This Book: This books is funny from the first page! While the child is ready for an outdoor adventure, the narrator keeps warning the child about bears. As a person, who always hopes to avoid bears, I laughed out loud while reading this book. Michelle Robinson’s pacing is excellent and the second the narrator says “Don’t worry. Chances are you won’t even SEE a bear.” You KNOW when you turn the pages things will get more interesting. This book has been one of my favorites from 2016.
For more PPBF books, visit Susanna Leonard Hill’s Blog.
by Stacy
Here’s my selection for Perfect Picture Book Friday:
Title: Secret Agent Man Goes Shopping for Shoes
Author: Tim Wynne-Jones
Illustrator: Brian Won
Publisher: Candlewick Press, 2016
Suitable for ages: 4-8
Theme/Topic: Action, Adventure, Humor, Imagination, How to Tie Your Shoes
Opening Spread: S.A.M. is digging for the Lost City of Raisins … He is tracking down the treacherous green spitting bug, balancing on high places, and stealing home.
Brief Synopsis: (from Candlewick)
Secret Agent Man (S.A.M.) needs new shoes. His mom — er, sidekick, “K” (short for Kay) — takes him shopping. But the operation will be dangerous: to start with, Shoe Store Man looks shifty. “Frisk him,” says S.A.M. With the help of a Team of Expert Spies and keen observation skills, will Sam find that his brand-new tiger-striped shoes convey a new superpower . . . and that he can now tie his own shoelaces? Imaginative play is the mission in this witty picture book with retro illustrations that cleverly merge S.A.M.’s escapades with the ordinary world. Roar!
Resources: Here’s a whole website on Top Spy Secrets. We may need to go around and rename parts of our house based on the spread I mention below.
Why I Like This Book: The first spread sets up agent Secret Agent Man or S.A.M.’s imagination as he plays and the second spread immediately lets us know the reality of his world. It’s a fun story from the first page to the last. My favorite spread is near the end as S.A.M. tries to find K (his mom). He looks int he Secret Chamber of Silence, the Holding Cell of Despair, Torture Chamber, Rocket Silo, and the Darkest Valley of Doom. Most parents will laugh at this. I was going to be secretive about what each item represents, but Illustrator Brian Won has this spread on his website. Take a look. I hope it makes you smile like I did. I discovered this one while searching the library’s online collection for shoe tying books.
For more PPBF books, visit Susanna Leonard Hill’s Blog.
by Stacy
Here’s my selection for Perfect Picture Book Friday:
Title: Douglas, You Need Glasses!
Author and Illustrator: Ged Adamson
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade Books, 2016
Suitable for ages: 3-7
Theme/Topic: Glasses, Being Unaware, Humor
Opening Spread: Nancy and Douglas were chasing squirrels.
Brief Synopsis: (from Amazon) Meet Douglas, a dog with a big problem: he needs eyeglasses but doesn’t know it, and his bad eyesight tends to land him in some pretty hairy situations.
Readers will laugh along with the new picture book character Douglas as he chases a leaf that he mistakes for a squirrel, walks through wet cement because he can’t see the warning sign, and annoys the neighbor’s dog by mistakenly eating out of his bowl. And when Douglas’s owner Nancy finally takes him to what is clearly an eyeglass store and Douglas asks, “Why are you taking me to a shoe store?” everyone will be giggling.
After an eye exam confirms that Douglas needs glasses, and Nancy helps him find the perfect pair, readers will rejoice with Douglas as he sees all the amazing things he’s been missing!
Both kids and parents will laugh out loud—and may even recognize themselves!—while reading this utterly irresistible, hilarious picture book.
Resources: Articles on children wearing glasses. Encouraging your child to wear glasses.
Why I Like This Book: Douglas was a random find at the library. We spend much of May and June reading picture books about children with glasses after Enzo began wearing his own. It’s fun to laugh along as Douglas makes his discovery of how glasses can make a difference.
For more PPBF books, visit Susanna Leonard Hill’s Blog.
by Stacy
Here’s my selection for Perfect Picture Book Friday:
J.P. and the Bossy Dinosaur
Written By Ana Crespo
Illustrated by Erica Sirotich
Albert Whitman & Company, 2016
Suitable for ages: 4-7
Theme/Topic: Emotions, Sad
Opening Spread: I am JP the dinosaur.
Brief Synopsis: From the Albert Whitman & Company website — In his third adventure, JP is excited to be at the water park with his family. But when the bossy dinosaur says he can’t go down the waterslide with his sister, JP is sad. Using his vivid imagination and a little help from his family and best friend, JP remembers how to have fun again!
Resources: Ana has a variety of resources on her website for the J.P. books, including questions to use while reading.
Why I Like This Book: Enzo gave this one the important “Read it Again!” signal. He doesn’t care that he’s met Ana before (or the real J.P.). He enjoyed the story. I’ve enjoyed reading through the entire My Emotions and Me series with its cute Mood-O-Meter in the upper right-hand corner of the cover.
We love dinosaurs and sometimes we must deal with the emotions of big and little, bossy dinosaurs. The illustrations at a water park area are also a perfect fit. Pools and aquatic centers are filled with sad moments, because children hear “no” a lot. There are rules and disappointments. It can make for an emotionally taxing outing.
For more PPBF books, visit Susanna Leonard Hill’s Blog.
by Stacy
Here’s my selection for Perfect Picture Book Friday:
Delivering Justice W.W. Law and the Fight for Civil Rights
Written by Jim Haskins
Illustrated by Benny Andrews
Candlewick Press, 2005
Suitable for ages: 5-8
Theme/Topic: Civil Rights, Segregation
Opening Spread: Savannah, Georgia 1932 The smell of his grandma’s biscuits lured Westley to the kitchen. Westley was excited because today was Thursday, the day he would see his mother. The rest of the week, she worked for a white family just outside Savannah, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of their children. This was her day off.
Grandma’s friend Old John was sitting at the table. Westley loved listening to the old man’s stories. Old John had been born a slave. He had been taken from his mother and had never known her. He was nice — Westley’s age — when he and all the slaves were freed in 1865. Westley felt lucky — at least he saw his own mama once a week.
Brief Synopsis: from Candlewick Press—
“Grow up and be somebody,” Westley Wallace Law’s grandmother encouraged him as a young boy living in poverty in segregated Savannah, Georgia. Determined to make a difference in his community, W.W. Law assisted blacks in registering to vote, joined the NAACP and trained protestors in the use of nonviolent civil disobedience, and, in 1961, led the Great Savannah Boycott. In that famous protest, blacks refused to shop in downtown Savannah. When city leaders finally agreed to declare all of its citizens equal, Savannah became the first city in the south to end racial discrimination.
A lifelong mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, W.W. Law saw fostering communication between blacks and whites as a fundamental part of his job. As this affecting, strikingly illustrated biography makes clear, this “unsung hero” delivered far more than the mail to the citizens of the city he loved.
A gripping biography of the mail carrier who orchestrated the Great Savannah boycott — and was instrumental in bringing equality to his community.
Resources: Education resources on desegregation. The book has a number of talking points about segregation. It’s a difficult concept for children today to think about a time when people were treated differently, because of their skin color. The second spread gives a clear example of how W.W. Law and his grandmother were treated differently in a department store by clerks.
Why I Like this Book: Enzo found this book at the school library last week. It really breaks down the topic of segregation in digestible chunks for his age range. The opening spread really sets the stage, so children know this was a very different time period.
For more PPBF books, visit Susanna Leonard Hill’s Blog.
by Stacy
Here’s my selection for Perfect Picture Book Friday:
The Goodbye Book
Written and Illustrated by Todd Parr
Little, Brown and Company, 2015
Suitable for ages: 3-6
Theme/Topic: Loss, Friendship
Opening Spread: It’s hard to say goodbye to someone.
Brief Synopsis: From lb-kids.com: Through the lens of a pet fish who has lost his companion, Todd Parr tells a moving and wholly accessible story about saying goodbye. Touching upon the host of emotions children experience, Todd reminds readers that it’s okay not to know all the answers, and that someone will always be there to support them. An invaluable resource for life’s toughest moments.
Resources: I think using the book itself is a great resource. The text mentions “You’ll remember …” lines like “You’ll remember all the special times.” You can easily talk to your child about those moments with the person the child lost. Todd Parr posted a video about the book on his ToddTv. He has several coloring sheets on his site for his other books. Check out his site to see if he has added anything for this book. He has a fun link for educators too. Author Miranda Paul also has an extensive list of books on death at her blog, if you are looking for something else to read.
Why I Like This Book: When I shared with Julie Rowan-Zoch, my son’s recent fixation on death. She mentioned this book. We’ve always enjoyed the Todd Parr books we’ve read for their simplicity of text and illustrations. After we read this one, Enzo focused on the loss of a schoolmate — one who left school earlier in the year. While we like Bug in a Vacuum and its focus on the stages of grief, The Goodbye Book seemed more focused. It could just be the difference in the illustration styles.
For more PPBF books, visit Susanna Leonard Hill’s Blog.
I wanted to write a review of Dot by Patricia Intriago, because I recently rediscovered it. Since I had slept since 2011 … I forgot it was on the PPBF list already. If you are curious, look up this review on Joanna’s blog.
