About a Bear by Holly Surplice, M E Media, 2011. The first thing that captured my attention was all the colorful leaves surrounding the bear.The tones of pink, purple, and oranges are beautifully carried out throughout the entire book. The illustrations are a mix of drawings and collages that support the almost musical text. I found myself almost humming the story as I was reading it. This is a simple book that could work well with a wide audience. Check it out at our library.
The Shape of My Heart by Mark Sperring and illustrated by Alys
Paterson, Bloomsbury, 2012. Throughout the book readers will be
delighted to find all the shapes that surround us from clocks to
watermelon slices you will find that each pages is full of different shapes. The vibrant
illustrations are full of shapes and details. Young readers will
create a fun game finding all the hidden shapes. The bold fonts help the
text pop up from the multicolor shapes and backgrounds. The final shape
is of course our hearts full of different shapes and objects from
everyday life. This was a fun book to read with my young son. Check it
out at our library.
This Moose Belongs to Me by Oliver Jeffers, Philomel Books, 2012. I love
Jeffers' books, his characters are so unique and confident, like Wilfred
who finds a moose and decides to keep it as a pet. Of course, Wilfred
made sure to review all the rules of being a good pet with Marcel like
rule 11: providing shelter from the rain or rule 16: knocking down
things that are out of Wilfred's reach. All is well... most of the time
Marcel remembers the rules until someone else claims Marcel is their
moose! Will Wilfred give up? Would Marcel still be his rule obedient
moose?. I loved the story and the bold fonts, super imposed images
against grainy backgrounds, oil paints, and water colors truly create an intimate experience when reading this book. Check it out at our library.
You Get What You Get by Julie Gassman illustrated by Sarah Horne, Little Boost, 2012. Melvin has a hard time dealing with disappointment, if he doesn't get his way he is known to throw a fit. And that is why he hates this new school rule "You get what you get, and you don't throw a fit". How unfair is that? He is determined to make sure that his family doesn't know about his new rule but what happens when they find out...would he still be able to throw a fit. The title of this book was the first thing that I noticed, I still tell my kids this saying every so often, so I knew it was going to be a fun read for all of us. Melvin's expressions are adorable and totally support the text and message. The black font is perfect against the white background allowing for oversize Melvin drawings to take over the entire page. This is a cute story that could be paired with similar titles to convey a good message to young readers. Check it out at our library.
