I Scream Ice Cream: a Book of Wordles

Chronicle Books

Amy Krouse Rosenthal; Illustrated by Serge Bloch 

At first I thought "wordles" must be a fabricated word for the sake of humor, but it's a real thing. A homophone is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differ in meaning. Wordles are a group of words that sound exactly the same as another group of totally different words. I scream/ice cream is easily the one that people are most familiar with, but it certainly isn't the funniest one in the book.

The first group of words is given with a terrific illustration by Serge Bloch. The reader is supposed to guess what an alternate meaning might be, before turning the page. The first couple are on the easy side (probably just to boost the readers' confidence) but they ramp up after that. Honestly, the obscurity is what makes the book so funny. I loved turning each page to see the answer and illustration. "Pants. Knees." becomes "Pant ... sneeze."

Rosenthal has laid the groundwork of the book by coming up with some really clever phrases, but I think it's Serge Bloch who adds the magic with his illustrations. Instead of showing reindeer placidly standing around, his are soaring across the sky, like a pack of geese flying south for the winter.The wordle with Snow White has a pack of dwarfs lined up behind her, all glowering at the wicked queen. This is like a puzzle and a picture book rolled up into one.

Review copy provided by Chronicle Books. 
 

Maya Was Grumpy

Flashlight Press

 Courtney Pippin-Mathur

Maya is having a bad hair day. Her wild red hair reflects her mood… cantankerous and smoldering. She isn’t sure why she’s in a grumpy mood; she just is. And she wants to make sure everyone around her knows it. She mopes through the house, scowling and grumbling, trying to infect the pet cat, her brothers, and even the birds outside, to no avail. Maya’s bad mood is ignored, which only makes her grumpier.

In a last ditch effort to share her grouchiness, Maya attempts to get a rise out of her grandma. Gramma’s silly comments at first infuriate Maya, but then Maya begins to succumb and eventually resorts to giggling at Gramma’s fantastical suggestions that they spend the day swinging with the monkeys and tickling tarantulas. Gramma fixes Maya’s hair, and off they go to enjoy the day. 

I love Pippin-Mathur’s illustrations. She perfectly captures the facial expressions of an obstinate little girl who is determined to have a bad day. It’s clever how she uses Maya’s hair as a symbol of feeling out of control, and then transforms it into cute, fun pigtails as Maya’s mood improves. And all parents can learn a thing or two from Gramma, who remains cool and calm throughout.

Maya Was Grumpy is Pippin-Mathur’s first picture book. It’s an entertaining read for young children, and is sure to bring forth smiles from parents as well. I hope a few Maya sequels are in the works.

Reviewed by Leslie. Review copy provided by Flashlight Press. 

This is Not My Hat

 

Candlewick Press

Jon Klassen 

Jon Klassen's I Want My Hat Back won the New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year, and was named an honor book of the 2012 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award. Clearly I wasn't the only who loved the story about a bear who was trying to track down his misplaced (stolen!) hat, with a fantastic sardonic ending.

This one is about a small fish who nicks a hat from a much larger fish, and his attempted getaway. I like how this book is quite similar to I Want My Hat Back, but written from the complete opposite point of view. Before we were identifying with the victim and now we're seeing the captor's point of view (who also turns out to be a victim).  

After the hat swiping, the little thief is quite smug as he darts away, sure that the big fish was dead to the world. Even if he did wake to notice the empty space on his head, he wouldn't have the faintest idea who the thief could be. Should he be suspected, the little fish is confident that he's smart and quick enough to make it to the thick plants, where he will hide and never ever be found.  

Many of the pages look similar, but the book isn't a bit boring. I love the four pages of the big fish, right in a row. All four illustrations are nearly identical, except for the way his big fish eye conveys his reaction to the story. Even better, his reaction is a direct contradiction to the text printed on that page. It's so cleverly done.

Review copy provided by Candlewick Press.

Winner Bakes All: The Cupcake Club

Sourcebooks

Sheryl Berk and Carrie Berk

In this third installment of The Cupcake Club series, the mother and daughter writing team of Sheryl Berk and Carrie Berk focus on fifth grader, Sadie Harris. Sadie has a lot on her plate, and not just cupcakes!

Not only is Sadie failing math and trying to take the girls basketball team to the next level, she’s also worried that her parents are headed for divorce. On top of it all, she and her friends are vying for a spot on the hit show Battle of the Bakers. As a result of the struggling economy, their cupcake business has hit a snafu and orders are dwindling. PLC (Peace, Love, and Cupcakes) needs a boost, and winning TV’s ultimate cupcake competition is just the ticket.

In this fast-paced chapter book, we follow Sadie and her friends through the many highs and lows of being business owners. As if being an adolescent girl isn’t hard enough! As they support and learn from each other, they discover that it’s not all about winning. It’s about putting forth the effort and giving it your all.

This book is a sweet treat for middle school girls. As a mom, I would highly recommend it as a wholesome and heartwarming read. My first grader was drawn in by the cover art and title, and quite jealous that I was reading the book without her.

As the book closes, we are left feeling satisfied yet wanting more… and what better way to get more than to turn the page and find three delicious PLC cupcake recipes. But now I’m torn: Snowball Coconut, Golden Caramel, or Chocolate Chili? I may just have to bake them all.

Reviewed by Leslie. Review copy provided by Sourcebooks. 

Free Printable Bookplates!

How beautiful are these printable bookplates from Lily Ashbury? They are versatile enough to use in children's books as well as adult. Download all four designs here and start personalizing your own books. I like the mix of patterns and colors, and how she offers two in printed font and two in cursive.

Where's Waldo? Santa Spectacular

 

Candlewick Press

Martin Handford 

I think kids of all ages (even adults) can enjoy Waldo books, but this one has a definite age range. It is important to note that I think this book is intended for younger children, as older kids would find the games and activities a bit simplistic.  

Stickers feature predominately, with six full color pages in the center to use on various pages of activities. The first page instructs the child to "stick the stickers on top of the matching silhouettes to complete the scene." There's a very simple Sudoku page, a reindeer matching game, a two page board game, and one page of finding Waldo and his friends. But 75% of the book is using stickers - both for decorations and as games. I would estimate that sort of activity would be super attractive to a 3 or 4 year old, but a 6 year old might be bored.

I think it would be easy for people to glance at the cover and think "Waldo with santas!" without seeing the additional description of "Puzzles, searches and hundreds of cool stickers" right below the title. I think it's a super activity book for young children, but I would hate to see someone order this for an older child (or themselves) and be disappointed. But if you have a sticker lover, absolutely order this one.

Review copy provided by Candlewick Press.

No Bears

Candlewick Press 

Meg McKinlay; Illustrated by Leila Rudge 

"Every time you read a book, it's just BEARS BEARS BEARS - horrible furry bears slurping honey in awful little caves." That's how fed up Ella is with bears hogging all the storybooks. She needs a break from all the bears. The obvious solution is to take matters into her own hands and create a storybook that has, you guessed it, no bears. No bears in her castle, no bears in her forest, no bears putting their grimy little paws in her book, period. 

Instead of bears crowding up the joint, Ella's book has a tutorial for making your own paper crown, fairies with shimmering wings, a map of faraway places, and a terrible monster. This monster is also terribly (hilariously) dressed, replete in a pair of yellow and coral striped tights and an offbeat patterned mask. Ella's story has action, adventure, and like all good storybooks, a happy ending. 

I like how Ella includes classic storybook elements in a seemingly random way. When she introduces the monster to the story, a little girl in a red cape and hood runs past with a basket while a wolf looks on. The monster crosses the river in a bathtub with an owl and a pussycat, later passing by a trio of pigs in one house, and a girl with a suspiciously long braid in another.

There may be no bears allowed in, but one lurks (unknown to the bear banning author) right at the edges of the book, with a paw reaching in on several pages. Could it be that a bear is having a huge effect on Ella's book on the sly?

Leila Rudge does a great job tempering all the colors and activity in Ella's book against the pure white background. There are so many little details to take note of, but it's not the least bit overwhelming. There is action and adventure on every page, paired with adorable little patterned clothing (Ella's pink patterned shirt is my favorite) and clever little jokes tucked in everywhere.

Review copy provided by Candlewick Press.

Bear Despair

Enchanted Lion 

Gaëtan Dorémus

Another wordless treasure from Enchanted Lion, who seems to be the king of finding the really great ones. 

 
Bear is peacefully snoozing away with his teddy tucked under his arm, when Wolf happens past. And wouldn't it be a funny joke to pluck out that teddy bear and fling it away as far as he can? Not to Bear. Turns out to be not so funny for Wolf either, after Bear gobbles him up as penance. With a scowl on his face, and Wolf safely tucked away in his belly, Bear starts to hunt for his teddy. He smiles when he sees that Lion has picked up the toy. Apparently Lion shares Wolf's sense of humor, because instead of returning the stuffed animal, he mocks Bear and tosses his toy over a steep cliff. For that, Lion gets gobbled up and finds himself right next to Wolf.  

The really brilliant part of this book is that Dorémus allows us to see the goings on inside of Bear's tummy. In no time at all, Wolf and Lion are joined by a pair of eggs (soon to hatch) gulped down as retribution from a teddy snatching bird. By the time an elephant find his way inside, Bear is quite large, his head balancing atop his mammoth body like a tiny pea. Possibly it is his fearsome size that persuades the Octopus to return his teddy. As soon as Bear is pacified, those who were eaten are now released and Bear returns to his nap.  

This is indeed clever, and deftly proves you don't always need to have words to understand the story being told. Just how brilliant are these illustrations? Brilliant enough to have won a spot on the New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2012.

Review copy provided by Enchanted Lion.