The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo

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Everyone who has read even one month's worth of posts (that's, ahem, four) knows that it's no secret that I'm a huge Kate DiCamillo fan. Her youth fiction is outstanding and although I wouldn't put The Magician's Elephant at the top (that's reserved for Because of Winn-Dixie and The Tale of Despereaux), it's another great story with a raggle-taggle bunch of characters you grow to know and love.

The main character, Peter, is a young orphan who decides to spend the day's food allowance on a fortune-teller's fee rather than the normal old bread and small fish, and hears an earful before he leaves the tent. The fortune-teller tells Peter that an elephant will take him to his long-lost sister (who has always been dead, according to his caretaker, Vilna Lutz). This bizarre prophecy seems to appear likely when an elephant comes crashing through a rooftop that very night, unbeknownst to Peter.

The sorrowful and gray tale is a story about community, family, and the threads of hope that are braided together in unlikely ways. DiCamillo's writing is fantastic as usual, and her characters come alive with the descriptions and back-story she gives them. 

I would suggest this book be read to or read by those above the age of 8, for a few reasons. One, a part of the story deals with war, deep grief and trauma, and many deaths. It's one of her heavier books, though there is a redemptive theme. I also believe it to be just a bit harder for younger ones to follow based on the metaphors and descriptions of people and their personalities. My daughter had a harder time following the actual plot of the book, while my son was delighted by the details. I think my 6 year old got the jist, but she missed out on a lot simply trying to keep up with the story developments. 

Summer Birds The Butterflies of Maria Merian

I loved this picture book that we found at the library, Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian by Margarita Engle. It is a true story, a picturebook biography about a woman who lived centuries ago and was one of the first true naturalists. She discovered that caterpillars turn into butterflies, as it was common belief at the time that butterflies and caterpillars were two separate types of insects.

The pictures are stunning, and have that a botany-for-kids feel (like if these posters were made for kids), and perfectly align with the narrative. I had never heard of Maria Merien before but when looking her up on Wikipedia, I found that she illustrated her first botany book at age 28; quite impressive for the 17th century and being female.

This is a wonderful companion book for science and nature lovers, studies in female scientists and game-changers, and just an all-around beautiful picture book. I see a butterfly project in your future!

The Loch Mess Monster by Helen Lester

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Have you ever read the Tacky books? You know, that penguin who marches, 1-2-3-4-2-3-6-0-2 1/2-0? Tacky the Penguin was one of my favorite characters growing up as a child, and I knew the author, Helen Lester, often produced books that were illustrated by Lynn Munsinger. Lester's words and Minsinger's pictures blend so well together, that I have rarely seen one without the other (and it is a bit jarring when you see one without the other!), and I like it that way.

Lester's newer book, The Loch Mess Monster, is about a little loch monster who is incredibly messy. His parents have rules about going above the water in the Loch Ness, which parents will find amusing knowing the story behind the original Scottish myth, and children will delight in the hilarious story about the sticky, jammy, messy monster. 

I own several of Lester's hilarious books, and for good reason. She has a way with words that create truth and humor about children without sounding the least bit patronizing. Listen, Buddy! is another family favorite that I have read at least 50 times, probably more. Catch up with this wonderful book and have your children heartily cracking up before bedtime, especially if you have a little messy monster yourself!

The Scraps Book: Notes from a Colorful Life by Lois Ehlert

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This book is new to me, authored by Lois Ehlert, and it is beautiful! I know you know Lois Ehlert's work, because it's everywhere. Leaf Man, Chicka Chicka Boom Bom, and Eating the Alphabet are some of her most well-known books, followed closely by many others (and they're all excellent!) but this book, Scraps, is very different from the rest of her work in that it isn't a picture-book story, but a picture-book autobiography of Ehlert from the time she was a little girl and using all sorts of bits and bobs to create art, to present day as a children's author. 

This book is filled with Ehlert's recognizable collage art, and the 'notions' spill across each page followed by words and sentences all over the place. Since this book is still written for children, the autobiographical part is finely tuned to snippets, much like her pieces of cut paper. 

I thought this book was just lovely, and so interesting, since I didn't know much about one of my children's favorite author/illustrators. I find her collage illustrations to be very inspirational, and I might even buy this book for my kids to use to get their imaginations rolling. It's no secret collage illustration might be my favorite, so I am potentially biased, but I found my kids to be just as interested. Often while reading it aloud, Ani would touch the pieces on the page (from photography, natural and found items, cut or torn paper, etc.) to see if they had an actual texture. Scraps is a great book to introduce to young children who want to know a bit more of the artist behind some of their favorite childhood books!

The Green Ember by S. D. Smith

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I picked The Green Ember up after requesting my library buy it, and there have been people ahead of me AND behind me waiting for it, which is a great sign for a new author like S. D. Smith.

I first heard about this 360+ paged novel by Sarah McKenzie from Amongst Lovely Things and the Read Aloud Revival podcast. She has an interview with Smith AND another interview (this week's!) that just went live with the illustrator, Zach Franzen. I loved the illustrations from the cover and the book (though I think I expected more throughout the book) and really enjoyed Franzen's interview on the podcast. 

The Green Ember is about two rabbits, Heather and Picket, and the adventure they go on when their family's home is burned and attacked by evil wolves and hawks. The siblings have to rely on each other, and the community they find themselves in, even though the secrets they will find out about their extended family loom large and black in the present day of preparing for war. 

The names are excellent in this book--they stuck out to me, and the story is full and quick-paced, even for a large 'children's' novel. I think adults would enjoy reading this book as well, though I see it as primarily a book for children. I found it a bit clunky to read aloud, often jumbling my words because the sentences were so meaty. That's not necessarily a bad thing, for a sentence to be quite full, but it did diminish my overall experience of the book because of the verbal toll. 

My kids loved this book. There has been a lot of hype on this book since it came out, and the kickstarter fund was well received. The action and the drama of the book kept my kids entertained, but I was thankful we only spent two weeks on it as our family read-aloud, because I wanted to move on. I would recommend this book not necessarily as a family read-aloud, but to an older child, perhaps 8 or 9 and above (with really high reading skills, otherwise maybe 11 years old), and let them have at it on their own. What kid wouldn't like rabbits with swords?

I Wish I Had A Pet by Maggie Rudy

I just found the sweetest gem of a stop-animation picture book! What a treasure of photos, and a great message to boot about selecting and caring for the right pet. 

Maggie Rudy's I Wish I Had A Pet follows a mouse family (community?) caring for various pets of shapes and sizes, and dreaming of the perfect one. Rudy's picture book has lots of tips for keeping your pet comfortable, fed, tidied, and loved. 

It's a sweet book for kids as young as 2 years old, up to ages 8 or 9. My son thought it was really cute, and my daughter loved looking into the small mouse scenes, each so very different and creative in their own right. 

I found out that Rudy's blog is a collection of wonderful little mouseling 'shorts' (or gifs), or photos of her Mouse Land. It's really quite adorable if you like the 'dollhouse' feel of textured layers for picture book illustrations. The reader gets to view the little mouse houses from inside the living room, along with the inhabitants. 

This book is very minimalist and has a lot of white space, too, which I enjoy. It's easy on the eyes, and it really lets the words of the story and the lovely stop-animation 'scenes' shine as the brightest star of the show. I'm already looking for my library to get the next one, The House that Mouse Built.  What a sweet book to encourage new pet owners, both big and small!

The Tooth Mouse by Susan Hood

The Tooth Mouse by Susan Hood was one of my favorite picture-book finds recently. I loved the watercolors by Janice Nadeau and the muted color palette of the book was so quaint, like a Parisian macaroon shop. I noticed that first, and second, found out once reading, that the story actually takes place in Paris! Well, they nailed that aesthetic.

This story is a very different take on the tooth fairy, and quite frankly, one I liked better than our American fairy tale. This story is about an aging 'tooth mouse', and a little mousling who is very determined to fill the important shoes as next in line for the job. She, with a few others, have to fulfill challenges that the Tooth Mouse provides, testing her skills in ingenuity, character, and wit.

I'll let you find out what happens to the main character, la petite souris, Sophie. Pick up this gorgeous and interesting book and you will enjoy it as much as your kids will, learning a few lessons about how children see 'the tooth fairy' around the world. Be prepared for the tooth scene above, which took me aback (I'm sorry, I have a thing with teeth, and that watercolor is well-done, but abrupt), and laugh along with Sophie and the other mice as they finish their challenges to see who will become the next Tooth Mouse!

No Such Things by Bill Peet

 I picked up Bill Peet's goofy rhyming story book, No Such Things, on a lark at the library because it looked like there were horses on the front cover. My daughter loves horses and a new horse book is always a welcome addition to the weekly book bag. What I found, instead, delighted me. I've found a new author/illustrator that I love, and that I can't wait to explore more of.

Peet's hilarious book is a large poem broken up into two-page spreads. On each spread there is a new animal that is wacky and hilarious, and a small story about each nonsensical creation. All of them are clever and unique, which makes this book such a fun and easy read-aloud. My kids love books like this: ones that have a really great cadence, descriptive pictures, and plenty of nonsense. That seems to be a formula for great children's books, at least with my two monkeys.

There are so many Bill Peet books to read, some are offshoots of this book No Such Things, like, Buford the Little Bighorn. Now that I've searched his Amazon author page to see all his books, I recognize two books (not quite as nonsensical) that I've already read to the kids: The Gnats of Knotty Pine, and Merle the High-Flying Squirrel. I'm definitely going to be putting a couple of his on hold from our local library until we've read all they can offer. Try them out and tell me you don't have the kids bobbing up and down in merriment and good, fun rhythm!

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

My favorite thing about homeschooling is the read-alouds, and I'd been wanting to share the world of Pippi with my kids for awhile. I was priming them on other chapter books because I really wanted them to enjoy this one. I had never read the book as a child but I grew up on this TV show (which I found that amazon prime members can watch free!) and now own it in my DVD collection. I bought it before kids were even a thought, because I loved Pippi, Alfonso, and Mr. Nillson so much as a child. 

The chapter book did not disappoint, and we laughed at all the hilarious things she'd say to just about anyone she came across. She's part Ramona Quimby, part Amelia Bedelia, a little bit of Peter Panish mischief, and full of spunk up to her impending braids! The movie does take a few turns that were not in the book (don't they all?), but Pippi's world at Ville Villekula is not hard to imagine by reading words with very few pictures. She lives without adults, and with just a monkey and horse and a couple neighbor kids to keep her busy, and she finds lots of fun. 

This book was published in 1945, though I believe my above copy is from the 70s. I've been lucky to find all three of the full length chapter books at garage sales and thrift stores, spending maybe $1 for each title. Since I'm a regular thrifter and always book scavenge, I'm guessing you might haven't seen these before--I've only ever seen my own copies! Check your local library for a copy if you don't want to purchase it. I'm going to scout out the picture books Lindgren wrote after the original three!

If Ramona, Amelia, Peter Pan, and Pippi were the four you'd have to choose between, who would you choose? My answer is easy! Pippalotta!

Author Love: Jon Agee

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An author whose work I've noticed and started following within the following year is one of Lukka's favorite picture book authors, Jon Agee. His quirky books and humorous word play is contagiously clever and fun to read aloud. The last book I picked up was The Retired Kid, about a kid who has literally had it with being a kid. He was sick of the piano lessons, if you will, and decided to head to a retirement community in Florida to live out his days in enjoyment. 

I can see you smirking across the computer screen, as well you should. This new retiree does everything a stereotypical 70 year old would do in Florida, including golf. Pretty soon he realizes he misses those mundane 'kid things', even the boredom. 

In another favorite Agee picture book, The Other Side of Town, a little space-like man gets a taxi drive to keep driving through the intricacies of what looks like New York City, to "the other side of town", a side that we humans have never seen, nor could have imagined existed under our very noses! 

Jon Agee's illustrations are very soft colored, and they seem simplistic at first, but I've come to realize that Agee is a master of edit. His pictures are simple, though quite often the backgrounds can be complex, full of imaginary characters, odd out-of-place items, and he moves the story along with undertone humor in the language and the drawings. 

My son loves his books, and whenever I pick up a new one at the library, he's eager to have me read it to him. Very often, he's laughing out loud throughout the story. These are not long stories, so they are great for bedtime. Wouldn't you want to read a story about who Santa was as a kid? Or how about a funny book called "Smart Feller Fart Smeller: and other Spoonerisms". I want to read a book about spoonerisms! Jon Agee's books have finger on the hilarity parents delight in from a picture

book, and the wacky and imagination that kids demand in the books they want to hear read. 

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

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It's no secret I'm a huge Kate DiCamillo fan. I recently chose this young adult novel off my own bookshelves to share with my kids for our weekly home school read-aloud book. I remembered the general gist of the story and that I enjoyed it, but I didn't realize how touched I would be by sharing this book with my two kids, and how surprised I'd be by the writing. 

Because of Winn-Dixie (BOWD) is a story about a young girl named Opal, a PK (that's preacher's kid) who has just moved to a new sleepy Florida town. She's kind, lonely for her mama who has left the family, and on the lookout for friends. She meets a curious stray dog in the middle of the local Winn-Dixie supermarket and the two become inseparable. As the hot summer lingers on, Opal befriends an elderly librarian, a blind woman with bottles hanging from her tree, an ex-prisoner who plays music for his pet shop friends, and a little girl named Sweetie Pie. What happens with this raggle-taggle group is worth the read, and a hint? A few tears, too. 

 Something DiCamillo has always been spectacular at is creating characters that are so magical and yet so normal, with a lot of depth, in such few pages. She's a master at child-like description, and the situations and relational conflict that comes up in BOWD are simple enough for children to grasp the meaning, and deep enough for the adult reader to pause and grapple with. I would like to compare DiCamillo as the Marilynne Robinson (author of Gilead, pulitzer prize winner) of the children's book world. Their books have much in common, though they write for completely different audiences; both are masters of the word. 

The story has already been made into a movie though I can't vouch for it--I haven't seen it yet--but I hope to watch it with the kids soon. Lukka loved this story so much that he listened to the entire book a second time on audio during his quiet time. 

When a kid wants to listen to the same story again and again? That's the mark of a classic. 

Cowgirl Kate & Cocoa by Erica Silverman

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Little Tomato LOVES horses. As her vocabulary strength has progressed and she is reading early chapter books, Cowgirl Kate & Cocoa is a favorite. Each chapter is a short story relating the charming relationship between Kate and her horse, Cocoa. Cocoa has a short attention span, and a long appetite, but Cowgirl Kate knows how to take care of him. Their playful relationship makes for a delightful dialogue as the duo exchanges stories and banter.

The language is easy and the stories are  peppered with expressive illustrations, which make this series an excellent transition from reading picture books to early chapter books. To date, there are 6 books in the series, though 'green light readers' have also been published as shorter 'favorite stories' option for younger readers.

Zany Zoo by William Wise

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Zany Zoo is a clever and poetic romp of a picture book through the animal kingdom, illustrated by Tacky's friend, Lynn Munsinger. Her illustrations are a perfect mix of bright color, busyness, and humor, and they are the extra credit to William Wise's A+ poetry.

Interspersed with adult humor for the reader, the child will think these poems are engaging, rhythmic, and hilarious. The characters all have different quirks, and along with common animals like raccoons, horses, and skunks are the rare or endangered ones like tapirs, terns, and yaks. 

Often the poems will have a pun about the animal's name or personality, as you can see in the above poem, Daisy. I recommend reading this book while the kids munch on breakfast, or enjoy their after-school snack, because the laughter and movement of these poems will excite your children, not lull them to sleep. 

After checking out this book from the library because I first noticed Munsinger's illustrations with her distinct drawing style, I would definitely look for more of Wise's picture books. My kids were laughing and enjoying the little animal blurbs and rhymes, and I was thoroughly enjoying the puns and above-the-head humor. 

James Herriot's Treasury for Children: Warm and Joyful Tales from the author of All Creatures Great and Small

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When I was little, one of the handful of jobs I wanted "when I grew up" was to be a veterinarian. I love animals and have always enjoyed their company. It's no surprise that I begged for a dog for decades, and one of the most thoughtful gifts I've ever received was a puppy from my husband in our first year of marriage. I'm jealous of those who call country bungalows 'home', and I have mighty plans to someday have property where I can house dogs, a cat or two, hens, bees, and a couple of ducks: Basil and Patty. Surely you'd expect me to have names! It should be no surprise, then, that I would absolutely adore James Herriot's  Treasury for Children . 

James Herriot was a pen name for British surgeon James Alfred Wight, who as a country vet himself, retold many of his semi-biographical stories in his book "All Creatures Great and Small". His Treasury is a book of 8 condensed stories with beautiful illustrations by Ruth Brown, miraculous and simple tales of animals and their people. I first heard about this book from the Sonlight catalogue, which I use for their wonderful lists of 'living books'. I ended up requesting it from the library, along with the audio version, because each story is fairly long, and I thought it would enhance the reading with characters' voices. It was worth it. 

The stories in this Treasury are all set in England or Scotland, where the author lived, and placed firmly in rural settings in the early part of the 20th century. Your entire family will truly love this compilation. You can even enjoy more of the stories on an older tv series created in the 70s, which 87 episodes on Netflix called "All Creatures Great and Small" are streaming free on netflix! Each story is truly endearing, whether it's about an orphaned cat, a frisky lamb, or old horses, and all have the theme of care for animals and each other; and what a responsibility and  honor it is to share lives with creatures--great or small. 

A Home For Bird by Philip C. Stead

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What a playful book! A simple, sweet story about a toad named Vernon, and his quest to find a home for his silent but gentle friend, Bird, A Home for Bird is magnified by the vibrant background colors, and has a very child-like, scratchy quality to the illustrations. 

Philip Stead has a truly beautiful track record as children's illustrator, having won numerous awards for A Sick Day for Amos McGee, and having a wide variety of artwork in children's books including mixed media, watercolor, and careful drawing. 

The plot thickens as Vernon the toad goes around to his animal friends to inquire about his new pal, and then resolves to find Bird's home, taking his silent partner across a river "into the great unknown". Resourceful, Vernon shows Bird where he might be happiest, where he could  be home, but sadly, Bird stays silent and uninterested. At long last, Bird chirps up to reveal where his true home is.

This book is a fun find due to the pictures. The storyline is cute, but the exploding colors, scribbly crayon-like pages, will really appeal to children. Illustrators set moods with the colors they choose, and this story is packed full of bright hues, attractive to the eyes. 

A wonderful way to find new books to read to your children is to start by collecting and going through favorite authors and illustrators. Philip C. Stead is surely an artist to follow, and that's just how I found this title, A Home for Bird.

The Zoo by Suzy Lee

The Zoo by Suzy Lee

First I am going to say a few words about the Author/ Illustrator, Suzy Lee. 

I am a fan. 

Suzy is an artist at heart. Her books use few, if any, words. However, you cannot deny that Suzy is telling you tales full of playfulness, imagination and intrigue. Her brilliant, controlled use of color to strengthen her stories, and her illustrative style that brings expression and character to inanimate objects (ex. an ocean wave or the contents of a broom closet) has made her a favorite in my library.

Suzy Lee is best known for her book Wave, which has become enormously popular recently. It is a wordless book depicting energetic charcoal sketches of a girl playing on a beach among the splashes and waves of a crisp blue ocean. This is a treasured book in our home.

The Zoo is a lesser known book. When I stumbled upon Wave several years ago, I took a chance and ordered The Zoo sight unseen. I was not disappointed. 

The Zoo is not a wordless book, but the text is minimal. Again, Suzy uses her power of illustration and control of color to pull her reader through the story. The short and direct narrative is told through the eyes of a little girl brought to the zoo by her parents. The illustrations on these first pages are dull, washed out grey tones as the girl visits empty cage after empty cage with her parents. Suddenly you are introduced to a colorful peacock who captures the attention of the little girl. As she absentmindedly wanders away from her parents to follow the peacock, the greyscale background of the empty zoo melts away into a vivid green one.

The following pages are a contrast between her parents search for the girl in the grey empty zoo and the girl's adventures in the colorful oasis of animals. "We watched the hippos in their pool," the girl narrates, on a greyscale page where her parents are searching for her at the empty hippo pool. The following page shows the peacock leading the girl to a colorful pond with happy hippos and monkeys who have escaped their drab cages.

In the end, she is found by her parents asleep on a zoo bench. As the relieved parents carry her home, the animals in the background are watching her go and, as she smiles at them, the girl states, "I love the zoo. It is very exciting." 

The narrative only follows the girl's perspective of her adventures with the animals, but you SEE the contrast of the empty cages and parents. Many authors would have left the parents behind and told only the story of the girl's adventure, but Suzy did not. Some parents may find this choice to be a criticism; that you see the frantic parents searching for her and that she was truly missing rather than a dream as she dozed in a stroller. This may be a deal-breaker for some parents, as it does capture the frantic nature of the 'wandered-off child'- in one Amazon reviewer's words, 'the parents' fear is palpable.' But I believe that the contrast of narratives is part of what makes this such a unique and worthwhile read.