Review: Some Bugs by Angela DiTerlizzi, illustrated by Brendan Wenzel

Some Bugs by Angela Diterlizzi

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
(see below for detailed rating)


We begin this review with the consideration of why Brendan Wenzel's illustrations are so damn cute. Cuteness researcher (really an ethologist) Konrad Lorenz identified a set of traits that cause human beings to think something is cute. We're apparently hardwired for it. Large head, large eyes, rounded shape all contribute to the cuteness factor, and Brendan Wenzel's animals have it in spades.

I'm not just talking about the bugs in this book, either. Wenzel has done illustrations of bazillions of animals for conservation organizations and companies promoting the welfare of animals.

The text itself is readable and provides plenty of fodder for thoughtful K-2 teachers (verbs! -ing suffix! pattern text to write!), but Wenzel's art is what really distinguishes this selection. I have not yet met one child who doesn't adore it, no matter if they love bugs or not. It's just that good -- and considering it was blurbed by Eric Carle, I think that says something. I will not hesitate to say every library serving children of any age needs this book.

Watch the book trailer.

Ratings start at 5 out of 10 (perfectly acceptable) and go up or down from there.

Awesomeness: 9. It doesn't get much better than this.
Wordsmithing: 7. Simple is hard. This is done very well.
Personages: 8. Considering there is no dialogue, the ladybug and her compatriots have a whole lot of personality.
Mesmerizitude: 9. We've read it at least a dozen times since I brought it home from the library.
Illustrations: 10. Bright, beautiful, detailed and kid-friendly.
Factfulness: 6. The only information here is the kind that comes from observation - but there is plenty of that to be had.

Other reviews: Jean Little Library | Sagging Bookshelves | Kate's Bookery | Teach Preschool

Check out this interview with Diterlizzi at Mr Schu's.

More about Brendan Wenzel: The Plucky Ones | Ninunina

View all my reviews

Review: What If? - Laura Vaccaro Seeger

What If?

written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Ages 4+

32 pages

Roaring Brook Press, April 2010

Happy Picture Book Saturday!

I have been especially fond of wordless books ever since I discovered Tuesday by David Wiesner (and yes, I know, it does have some words... but the point is, you can read the book without reading the words, and it doesn't significantly impact your experience of the book.  Such is the experience with What If?  The sum total words in this book are:

what
if
and
then
but
or

Seeger (niece by marriage of folk singer Pete Singer) tells, or rather shows, the story of three seals playing with a ball.  In the first two of three possible versions of the story, one seal is left out and feels sad.  In the third, they find an alternative that makes all three seals happy. 

My son, 2, is captivated by this book.  He can relate to playing on the beach with a ball, but I think more importantly he finds the feelings of the seals, so adorably presented on their little seal faces, accessible.  What child has not been left out, or left others out, intentionally or not?  Just as repetition is crucial to children learning to read, repetition of pictures is equally crucial to children learning to understand the importance of considering the feelings of others.  This would be a quick and easy springboard to a discussion of feelings without getting didactic. 

Laura Vaccaro Seeger's books have all been well regarded.  She received some recent acclaim when she received the Caldecott Honor, the NYT Best Illustrated Book of 2007 AND the Geisel Honor in one year (for First the Egg).  The following year, One Boy won a similar number of accolades.  But for sheer inventiveness, I especially love sharing Seeger's Walter Was Worried with children.  The book tells the story, in alliterative feeling statements, of children who are confounded by the weather, but the paintings show each feeling using the letters from the feeling word to create the child's face.  For example, if you look closely at the picture of Walter to the right, you can see each of the letters in WOrrIeD. 

It's really pretty amazing what Seeger can share in her seemingly simple illustrations.  I look forward to sharing them with my students this year, and listening to what they see.

Ratings

• Awesomeness: 7 - quiet and simple, but infinitely accessible to children of all ages
  
• Wordsmithing: 6 - almost no words, but the ones she chooses are just right
  
• Personages: 6 - sweet little seals!
  
• Mesmerizitude: 6 - I've read it several times now, and I see something new each time
  
• Illustrations: 7 - beautiful primary colors and sweeping sunsets
  

Other Reviews

• Preview it at Google Books
• at 100 Scope Notes
• at A Year of Reading

Review: The Mitten - Jim Aylesworth

The Mitten retold by Jim Aylesworth, illustrated by Barbara McClintock Ages 4-8 32 pages Scholastic Press, October 2009

In Michigan, winter goes on for quite a long time, and so there is a great demand by teachers for winter-themed tales.  Our school does not do much with holidays, so secular stories like this one are doubly requested.  I can already tell this new retelling of a classic Ukranian folktale will find a comfortable place in the early elementary curriculum.

Illustrated by Barbara McClintock (Our Abe Lincoln), in lines recalling the style of Maurice Sendak, Aylesworth tells the story of a boy gone out to play in the snow, proudly wearing mittens, hat and scarf knitted by his grandmother.  The mitten is lost in the snow.  In turn, a squirrel, a rabbit, a fox, a bear and a mouse squirm in to get warm.

The only other version of The Mitten I've read is the Jan Brett one, although we have another (Tresselt?) in the library.  I'm going to have to check that one out, because the ending of this one is quite different.  I didn't think it was as cute.  In the Brett retelling, the animals are ejected from the mitten by the mouse's sneeze, and the child finds the mitten all stretched out.  There's a hilarious, wordless picture of her holding the two mittens, one small, one enormous, with a befuddled look on her face.  Aylesworth chose to have the mitten explode into little bits (admittedly an excellent illustration, with freaked-out animals flying everywhere) and the boy's grandmother knits him another one; this is cozy, but not as strong a conclusion.

Otherwise, though, this is a masterful retelling of a very enjoyable tale.  Aylesworth's repetitive, rhythmic cadences just beg to be read aloud.  I immediately began writing the reader's theater script in my head.

Ivy chose this one from my big pile of Caldecott hopefuls.  She predicted the fox would eat the rabbit and squirrel, but was pleased by the actual outcome.

Ratings

• Awesomeness: 7 - Aylesworth + McClintock = a dynamite package
  
• Wordsmithing: 7 - fine repetitive retelling
  
• Personages: 5 - flat fairy tale characters
  
• Mesmerizitude: 6 - excellent re-readability
  
• Illustrations: 7 - nice contrast of colorful cartoon animals on white backgrounds
  

Other Reviews

• on KidsLit
  
• on A Patchwork of Books
  
• on 4IQRead
  
• on Kiss the Book

Review: Green Grass and White Milk - Aliki

Green Grass and White Milk by Aliki Ages 4-8 32 pages Harper Collins, 1974

My school is planning to buy a cow to support Heifer International during this year's March is Reading Month (MIRM), so I checked out all the books on cows and milk we had in our public library. You'll see several of these reviews come up over the next few weeks.

Aliki is a classic favorite picture book writer. This easy reader style nonfiction offering is simple, but offers some fascinating tidbits of information:

"Good summer grass and good winter hay are healthful food for a cow. The better a cow eats, the better milk she will give."

At the time this book was written, it may be that many cows were still fed on grass and hay. Now it is almost impossible to find a dairy that feeds that way. Most cows are fed grain (bad) and soy (worse) and leftover bits of I-don't-want-to-talk-about-it.

Later readers will encounter a diagram of the cow's 4 stomachs and an explanation of why cows chew their cud -- this is how grass is broken down into nutritious food for the cow. There is also a detailed dairy diagram with pipes & tubes demonstrating the pasteurization process. I can imagine my students who are fond of machines and technology will be riveted to this page. This explanation is given for pasteurization:

"It is quickly heated to a temperature of 161 degrees F (71 degrees C) for 15 seconds. That is not boiling."

Um, no. Most kids now drink "ultra-pasteurized" milk, which is heated to 284 degrees F (140 degrees C). This has the advantage of making the milk last much longer before spoiling, but also turns it into something completely different than it was before it was cooked. Beneficial, even crucial, vitamins, enzymes and nutrients are lost. Many people who are allergic to milk products are not allergic to raw (non-pasteurized) milk.

Raw milk is scary to many people because we grew up in a "sterile is better" culture. Of course, the folks who get the Heifer International cow won't be sterilizing their milk, will they? They'll drink it raw -- just like the way babies get their milk from mamas all over the world. In the United States, raw milk is illegal in most states.

The book then explains how to make butter and yogurt, which of course is fascinating. Incidentally, don't try to make yogurt with ultra-pasteurized milk, because it won't work.

I was even more bemused when I found out that this book was revised, re-illustrated and even renamed by Aliki in 1992. I guess a book about milk that included the word "grass" in the title was just too confusing for kids now.  I will track down the other title and see what the revisions look like.

Excuse me while I pour my illegal raw milk on my cereal.

Ratings

• Awesomeness: 6 - an important topic made simple for young children
  
• Wordsmithing: 5 - although it's hard to make complex subjects easy to understand!
• Mesmerizitude: 6 - I love the bits about pasteurization and homogenization, and the process of how to make butter and yogurt will be great projects
  
• Illustrations: 4 - I can see why she chose to reillustrate - these are somewhat washed out and from earlier in her career
  
• Factfulness: 6 - clear and full of good information

Allen Mock Caldecott 2010 runoff

I don't know if you have any concept of my to-read shelf, but it was overflowing... and that was before I brought home three new bags of books to review for my 2nd grade annual Mock Caldecott. Egads!

I have a big double stack of 2009 picture books that have appeared on others' shortlists or have won other Mock C's this year. Since I don't seem to have the time or the wherewithal to sit down and review all these titles, here's a list of the books I'm looking at tonight. I'll post the culled list in a few days. If you have suggestions of anything to (eek) add, or subtract, please do post a comment.

In no particular order:

Only A Witch Can Fly - Alison McGhee

Tillie Lays an Egg - Terry Golson

The Composer is Dead - Lemony Snicket

The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau - Dan Yaccarino

The Lion and the Mouse - Jerry Pinckney

Hook - Ed Young

Robot Zot - Jon Scieszka

Boats Speeding! Sailing! Cruising! - Patricia Hubbell

Dinothesaurus - Douglas Florian

The Cuckoo’s Haiku - Michael J. Rosen

Mama Says - Rob D. Walker

I Need My Monster - Amanda Noll

One Beetle Too Many - Kathryn Lasky

Surprise Soup - Mary Ann Rodman

Dinosaur Woods - George McClements

14 Cows for America - Carmen Agra Deedy

Chicken Little - Rebecca Emberley

A Foot in the Mouth - ed by Paul B. Janeczko

Tortuga in Trouble - Ann Whitford Paul

Home on the Range - Deborah Hopkinson

Do Re Mi - Susan L Roth

Sleepsong - George Ella Lyon

The Song of Francis - Tomie de Paola

Willoughby and the Lion - Greg Foley

The Anne Frank Case - Susan Goldman Rubin

Just in Case - Yuyi Morales

All of Baby Nose to Toes - Victoria Adler

If Kisses Were Colors - Janet Lawler

Yuki and the One Thousand Carriers - Gloria Whelan

Redwoods - Jason Chin

Eleanor Quiet No More - Doreen Rappaport

Machines Go to Work - William Low

Moonshot - Brian Floca

A Chair for Always - Vera B. Williams

Honk, Honk, Goose! - April Pulley Sayre

Sweethearts of Rhythm - Marilyn Nelson

Mommy, Where Are You? - Leonid Gore

I’m Your Bus - Marilyn Singer

Billy Milly Short and Silly - Eve B. Feldman

Button Up! - Alice Schertle

Billy Twitters and His Blue Whale Problem - Mac Barnett

Our Abe Lincoln - adapted by Jim Aylesworth

Living Sunlight - Molly Bang & Penny Chisholm

Written in Bone - Sally M. Walker

Marching For Freedom - Elizabeth Partridge

Thunder-Boomer! - Shutta Crum

The Sleepy Little Alphabet - Judy Sierra

What Can You Do With an Old Red Shoe? - Anna Alter

My Mom is Trying to Ruin My Life - Kate Feiffer

Open the Door to Liberty! - Anne Rockwell

Blueberry Girl - Neil Gaiman

Mystery Vine - Cathryn Falwell

Down Down Down - Steve Jenkins

Tell Me About Your Dragon - Jackie Morris

First Dog - J. Patrick Lewis

All the World - Liz Garton Scanlon

John Brown - John Hendrix

The Terrible Plop - Ursula Dubosarsky

Spot the Plot - J. Patrick Lewis

When Stella Was Very, Very Small - Marie Louise Gay

Waiting for Winter - Sebastian Meschenmoser

We Troubled the Waters - Ntozake Shange

Now that I've gone through them, I have a few sorted piles, but I have a bunch of reading to do before I decide for sure what goes where.

The Adventures of Bert - Allan Ahlberg

I brought this one home as part of my new promise to Ivy that I will bring her a new book every day from school.  It's easy enough to grab one from the shelf on the way out the door.  This is one I've had my eye on for years, but never picked up until this year.  

With spare language, Ahlberg has created a book that could count as an early reader, but works just fine as a picture book.  There's plenty of fun detail (the little spiders, the cat hiding under the bed that you never quite get to see), but it's very simply done.  The end of each chapter reminded me of Kitten's First Full Moon ("Lucky Bert!").  I liked the way the story came full circle from morning to night.  Whimsical and short, this is a fun one to read twice in a row, which is what we did.

Ivy liked the part where the reader wakes the baby and makes her cry!

Awesomeness: 5 - just another nice picture book

Wordsmithing: 6 - quirky

Personages: 6 - I would have enjoyed hearing from Mrs. Bert?

Mesmerizitude: 7 - kept me reading to the end

Illustrations: 6 - sweet and colorful

Ivy's Pick: That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown by Cressida Cowell & Neal Layton

This book reminded me strongly of a whole bunch of other books.  Photographic background images and floppy bunny: Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems.  Wit and style: Wolves by Emily Gravett.  Spunky heroine with strange capabilities to get around town without any adults present: A Beautiful Girl by Amy Schwartz.  And yet, it has a style all its own.  Army, Navy AND Air Force, PLUS a queen!  Boys and girls alike will swoon.   

Ivy made me read it three times in one day.  She covered her ears when I yelled the Air Force words too loudly, and solemnly pronounced Stanley "dead" as he lay in state at the royal palace after being stolen, restuffed and accidentally dyed pink.  

Awesomeness: 7/10

Wordsmithing: 6/10

Personages: 6/10

Illustrations: 6/10

The Pig's Picnic by Keiko Kasza

Is it just me, or does Keiko Kasza have a real mean streak?  She's very hard on her poor little animal characters.  They're always yelling at each other or calling one another names.  Maybe I'm just sensitive to such talk, but it seems a little excessive.  

This book is a perfect example.  Mr. Pig goes on his predictable, repetitive journey on his way to see his ladylove, and his friends all give them their best attributes (mane, stripes and tail) in which to dress up.  When he gets there, does she snort with delicate piggy laughter and encourage him to "just be himself?"  No!  She screams, attempts to shut the door in his face and calls him a monster.  I don't know about you, but if someone criticized my fashion sense like that, poor though it may be, I wouldn't be going on any picnics with them.

Well, it's Keiko Kasza, and it's still going to circulate effortlessly in my K-1 crowd.  I just wonder if it's exactly the message I want to send?  I'll guide them toward Grandfather Toad's Secrets instead.

Awesomeness: 4/10

Wordsmithing: 4/10

Personages: 3/10

Illustrations: 6/10

Ivy's Pick: How to Heal A Broken Wing by Bob Graham

Ah, Bob Graham.  How can you express such profound sentiment on a face drawn from a single line?  The characters do look awfully familiar... I think these are the same actors he drew in Max, just playing different roles.  

With great economy of speech, dramatic perspective and muted colors highlighted with patches of light, Graham has created another moving picture book which is truly for all ages.  

Ivy asked lots of questions about the bird's "scrape" and was greatly relieved to see her fly away at the end.

Awesomeness: 7/10

Wordsmithing: 6/10

Personages: 7/10

Illustrations: 6/10

Ivy's Pick: Who Needs Donuts? by Mark Alan Stamaty

This is a weird book.  

Now that I have that judgmental statement over with... it's a nice little story about materialism and greed. A boy wants all the donuts in the world, so he leaves his family, goes to the city and finds a kindred spirit donut seeker.  Boy eventually loses his friend to love and decides having all the donuts is not as important as having people who love you.  I'd never heard of it, but I decided I needed to read it when it turned up as #81 on Fuse #8's 100 Best Picture Books thingie.  

The illustrations are crammed full of black-and-white detail from one edge to another, with a preponderance of wide-mouthed caricatures and little signs with lots of words.  A little scary, a little bizzare, a little intriguing.  In the end, not really my cup of tea.

Ivy likes the elephant birds, of course -- she likes anything with elephants.  She also likes hunting for the little talk bubbles ("What does that say?").  

Awesomeness: 3/10

Wordsmithing: 5/10

Personages: 4/10

Illustrations: 6/10

Ivy's Choice: Birds by Kevin Henkes

I'm always surprised when Kevin Henkes writes a book, but doesn't illustrate it.  I wonder why he chooses to do that?  In this case, Laura Dronzek's illustrations are so similar to his newest styles (as in A Good Day) that I am further befuddled.  

I enjoyed the simple clarity of color and line in this introductory book about birds.  I can imagine using it to discuss fiction/nonfiction with my preschoolers or kindergarteners.  They could dissect which statements are fact and which are fiction.  

Ivy said, "Let's read it again."  

Awesomeness: 7/10

Wordsmithing: 7/10

Factfulness: 1/10

Illustrations: 7/10