17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore

 

Random House

Jenny Offill and Nancy Carpenter

I was immediately drawn to this book because the cover art looked quite similar to M is for Mischief, which we really loved. Sure enough, Nancy Carpenter is the illustrator for both. Although the books are from two different authors, the content is actually pretty similar. 

The main character here is a little girl, who is remains unnamed - probably to protect her identity given her bad behavior. Gosh, she has some truly terrible ideas! Judging from what she shared here, I'm guessing her mom drinks a lot of wine. There are exactly seventeen things she is not allowed to do anymore - one for each bad idea she brainstorms.


No more glue after she affixed her brother's bunny slippers to the floor. The Swingline was banned after she had the idea to staple his hair to his pillow. She set a kid's shoe on fire using the sun and a magnifying glass, froze a dead fly in the ice cube tray, and washed her hands in dog's bowl before dinner. Yes, all bad ideas, but the illustrations are so terribly funny! The look on the dog's face when he finds her hands immersed in his bowl is alone worth the price of this book.

I love that the main character is a funny, sassy little girl. She has the idea to do her George Washington report on beavers instead, then goes on to tell her classmates that she personally owns one hundred beavers. When she is fed up with being punished, she packs up gear and tries to move out to live with "the kind and happy beavers." She's pretty much banned from mentioning anything beaver related. 

I was a bit surprised by the ending where she apologizes to her mom, but then remarks she is allowed to say the opposite of what she means forevermore. Nevertheless, the book's positives far outweigh the ending. Her poor ideas are funny on their own, but the illustrations raise them to hilarious.  The same team just published 11 Experiments That Failed, which features the same little girl. I have no doubt it is equally fantastic.     

Review copy provided by Random House. 
        

Chilly Milly Moo

 

Candlewick Press

Fiona Ross

Chilly Milly Moo is a very special cow. Her tendency to overheat means she has a very difficult time in the summer. It probably doesn't help that she insists on wearing a knit cap and boots year round, but apparently that's her thing. Does fashion ever really make sense? 

It might not be too hot for boots, but it is certainly too hot for milk making. Millie skulks around the barn, embarrassed by her inability to perform her main function. It doesn't help that the other cows are lolling around in the pastures, bragging about the quantities of milk they regularly produce. While Millie sulks, they loudly proclaim that the heat from the sun's rays boosts their milk production. Poor Chilly Milly Moo. The farmer informs her that if she doesn't make milk, she won't be able to stay at the farm.

This dried up cow goes to bed feeling confused and unappreciated, and wakes to find a snowstorm raging outside. While the other barn inhabitants are shivering, moaning and groaning about the temperature, Milly Moo is pleased as punch to see the farmer arrive. Strange noises erupt from her midsection when the farmer settles on his milking stool. Once the farmer sees what his crazy cow can do, he can't believe his fortune.  The snowstorm has turned Chilly Millie Moo into an ice cream dispenser!  

Fun book, funny ending, and great illustrations. This is the first children's book from Fiona Ross, but I have my fingers crossed that this is her signature style of illustration and hope to see more. The digitally created illustrations have kind of a messy look to them, almost like smudges of ink everywhere. The font runs in different directions (I particularly like the sentence printed on the farmer's bum) creating a sense of whimsy. It is certainly fitting that the cow unique enough to wear a hat with a pom pom is the who who astonishes the farmer in the end.   

Review copy provided by Candlewick Press.  

The Busy Beaver

Kids Can Press

Nicholas Oldland

While we were reading Making the Moose Out of Life, I was thinking "That nutty beaver really deserves his own book." Apparently, Nicholas Oldland had that same thought, plus the ability to illustrate and create a book. He chose to title it The Busy Beaver, which is funnier and more sensible than That Nutty Beaver.

The expression "busy as a beaver" is a commonly used one, as we all know these animals to be an incredibly busy bunch. This one is no exception. The only problem is, he is so busy that he doesn't take any time to think things through. He's distracted and careless. He fells more trees than he needs, leaves the forest a mess, and builds sub-par damns. Worst of all, the other animals are starting to get hurt by the beaver's careless ways. Bear is clunked in the head by a piece of fallen wood, birds have lost their nest, and moose once looked down at his own leg to see his own leg being enthusiastically chewed.

The mayhem continues until the day the beaver miscalculates the direction of a falling tree and finds himself pinned under it. He wakes up in the hospital, flat on his back, covered in bruises and bandages.While recuperating, the beaver has time to self-reflect. He finally notices the mess he has made of the forest and his injured friends. He feels terrible and resolves to make amends.

Understandably, the others are worried about the beaver's return to the forest, but he remains true to his word. He apologizes to his friends, cleans up the forest, plants saplings to replace the missing trees, and builds a nest for the homeless birds. The beaver also discovers when he isn't rushing around frantically felling as many trees as possible, he has time for other activities he loves .... like naps. And the whole forest is at peace.   

I like how every one of Oldland's book has a lesson to be learned. This is pretty much "stop and smell the roses" but with a "don't chew on your friend's leg" presentation. It is adorable and so very funny. There are plenty of hilarious illustrations, like the way the momma bird clutches her babies in her wings and glares balefully at the beaver after he demolishes her tree. Fantastic way to read your kids an important lesson. 


Review copy provided by Kids Can Press.

Where's Waldo Now?

 

Candlewick Press

Martin Handford

Waldo books don't ever seem to decrease in popularity. These books stand the test of time and constantly manage to find a new audience. It doesn't matter how many times we look through a Waldo book, I can't ever seem to remember where I spotted him or his cohorts. Which essentially means, every time we pick one up, it is pretty much like seeing it for the first time.

I love that Candlewick is releasing the entire six book series in affordable paperback editions. Plus they have included a handy little circle in the upper left of the cover, indicating where it falls in the series. This makes it really easy for parents to keep track of the editions they already have and those that are needed to complete a collection.

 
In addition to finding Waldo on each page, of course you must also find his four close friends hiding on each page: Odlaw (Waldo spelled backwards), Wizard Whitebeard, Wenda, and Woof. Those careless travelers have dropped five precious belongings in each scene: Waldo's key, Woof's bone, Wenda's camera, Wizard Whitebeard's scroll, and Odlaw's binoculars. I find it difficult to find Woof when all you can see is his tail, so the odds of finding Waldo's key seems like an impossible feat. 

This edition contains a dozen scenes to hunt in. Waldo has been reading history books, so this book is put together in a time line format. The first scene is the time of cavemen, then ancient Egyptians and their pyramids, games in ancient Rome, and so on. The last scene is meant to be the future, with space cars flying around glass domed shopping structures. Even after all that hunting, there is a bit more tucked in at the end. The last two pages contain a checklist for each scene of additional random things to search for, like an insolent statue, yellow teeth, and sunbathers in peril. Truly, this book could keep you (or small children) engaged for hours on end.    

Review copy provided by Candlewick Press.

Paul Thurlby's Alphabet

Candlewick Press

Paul Thurlby 

There are so many alphabet books on the market that any newcomers must be pretty special to stand out. Paul Thurlby must be aware of that fact because he sure nailed it. He describes his unique book as "the challenge of fusing the object of the word with the shape of the letter." Even the cover is cheery, like the boy with the sparkly scarlet A body is cheerily waving the readers in. Appropriately enough, the A in this book is for awesome! 

No crunched up alphabet here - each letter gets its own two page spread. The left page shows both upper and lower case letter against a solid colored background. The right page is the uppercase letter embedded in or transformed by design. Just underneath the letter is the two word description. Some of them are obvious, like D for dog or R for rabbit, with others a bit more abstract.

A fun game to play the first time through the book is to cover the written description with your hand and try to guess what the letter stands for while only being able to see the picture. We stumbled on H for Hang and F for Fierce, but had fun with our guesswork.      

I like how the solid colored pages have small scuff marks and little bits of color in various places. It gives a nice patina to the pages, like this is an older, well-loved book that has been passed down through the ages. The style of the illustrations reinforce this thought, as Paul Thurlby has a very distinctive, vintage type style. 

At the back of the book is the Artist's Note, which provides some interesting insights into how this book came to be. I love learning how writers and illustrators come up with their ideas, or how a particular project evolved. Another little perk: the book's dust jacket is doubled up. Remove and unfold to reveal a nice poster of the entire illustrated alphabet.

Review copy provided by Candlewick Press.

I Want My Hat Back

 

Candlewick Press

Jon Klassen

There is not a lot of middle ground on this book. Readers will either find it wildly funny and truly love it, or dismiss it as an odd children's book they don't get. The style is quite distinctive and the humor is deadpan. I find it hilarious, particularly the surprise ending.   

The storyline is very straightforward: the bear has lost his hat and wants it back. He makes the rounds, asking all the other animals if they have seen it. Neither the fox nor the frog have seen the bear's headgear and they are quite polite about it. The rabbit, however, seems very defensive, and not a little bit shifty. Also, he's wearing a pointy red hat while they are talking, but this apparently doesn't register with the bear as he thanks rabbit for his time and moves on. The bear asks three more animals about his hat before he becomes discouraged and lies down on his back in the grass.

He starts to worry that he will never find his hat again, and he misses it terribly. That hat was the perfect shade of red, and tapered to a nice sharp point .... wait a minute. The bear sits bolt upright. He just SAW a hat like that. With narrowed eyes, he lumbers past the line of animals to confront the rabbit, who still wears that crimson headpiece. After a bit of a stare down, the Bear emerges triumphant, flatly remarking "I love my hat." As for the rabbit? No good comes to liars or thieves, but you'll have to ask the bear about that. 

It is very humorous how the bear doesn't change position or expression for the first seven pages. The other animals are illustrated similarly, staring forward in a flat sort of way. It would be creepy if the overall effect wasn't so darn funny. All the pages that are directly related to the hat share the common element of red. The hat itself is red, the rabbit's words are the only red text, and the page with the bear's realization stands out with a solid red background. The entire book is very clever, in an understated way. And extremely funny!  


Review copy provided by Candlewick Press. 

10 Trim-The-Tree'ers

Random House

Janet Schulman, Illustrated by Linda Davick 

This is an adorable little Christmas board book - just right for tucking into a little one's stocking. I love adding to our collection of Christmas books - getting them out each year brings back so many memories from years past.

Ten little tots band together to get their tree ready for the big day. These kids may be young, but they know the proper steps to tree trimming. First, one shiny gold star is balanced at the tippy top, before two strings of colored lights are carefully draped on the branches. Ornaments are added layer by layer (in specific amounts, of course) - my favorite is the five blue reindeer with glowing red noses. One pretty present for each neighbor is placed under the tree before they gather round for caroling.

Seasonally appropriate, fun, bright and silly - this is perfect for the toddler set. The easy chair is purple, the walls are salmon, and the staircase is gold, making for an especially cheerful and eclectic house. Round faced kids tumble all over the pages, sporting holiday attire. One child is dressed an elf, another as an angel, and a third has donned a snowflake sweater to match the ornaments. The very last page gives a nice pictured recap of the countdown.

Review copy provided by Random House. 

My Name is Elizabeth!

 

Kids Can Press

Annika Dunklee; Matthew Forsythe

I love how simple this book is. Elizabeth speaks in that straightforward, short sentence way that only children can. She is happy with her life and herself and turns out that she isn't shy about speaking up.

Elizabeth loves her name, all nine letters of it. She wakes in the morning and proudly exclaims "My name is Elizabeth." though her only audience is her pet duck. She likes that a queen has been named after her (and not the other way around).That and some of the illustrations show that Elizabeth seems to be a bit of a character. She plops down in the sink basin to brush her teeth, wears funny hats, and owns a pet duck.
 

Elizabeth is such a great name, so why do people insist on shortening it up and using those ridiculous nicknames instead? She's not a Beth, Liz, or Lizzy and certainly not a Betsy. Elizabeth gets a bit more irritated with each nickname, until she loses her patience. She announces to the entire town (in really big letters) her FULL name. It turns out that Elizabeth has four middle names, so her full name is quite a mouthful. With a curtsy, she graciously adds "But you may call me Elizabeth." And everyone does.    

I have no idea why Elizabeth has a pet duck, and the storyline does not address it. When Elizabeth dons her winter hat, she places a crown on the duck's head and he seems to wear it quite willingly. Even after his leash and collar fly off, he sticks close to Elizabeth's side. This is one well trained duck! He's got his own funny facial expressions and it wouldn't surprise me one bit if he wasn't equally offended by the nicknames. I wish his name had been provided, because I am sure it would have been funny.   

I love that the entire book is done in just four colors: black, white, soft blue and a solid orange. A unique choice, the effect is both bold beautiful. The orange really stands out against that baby blue. Probably as much as Elizabeth and her duck stand out in that town.

Review copy provided by Kids Can Press.