A Book of Sleep

Random House
Il Sung Na

Every once in awhile, along comes a picture book so beautifully illustrated that it doesn't need a single word of text. This is one of those amazing books that delights your eye with the very first page and holds your attention all the way through. Originally available as a picture book, this was such a success that it is now being offered as a board book. I think the larger version is more entrancing, but you can't beat the durability of a board book.  

This is a fantastic bedtime book in nearly every respect. The story centers around night time and how nearly all the animals are ready for sleep when the darkness descends. Only the nocturnal owl remains wide-eyed and alert.


The owl keeps watch over all the other animals as they sleep, and steps in as tour guide to taking a closer look at the dozers. On some pages the owl is very small and artfully hidden, which makes finding his small frame a nice game for readers. He swoops over the snoring elephant, gazes balefully at a row of giraffes and lofts over an enormous whale, before roosting among a large group of slumbering doves.

Animals sleep in all different ways - some stand, some swim, some perch. A clue to a snoozing animal is typically the closed eyes, but we discover there are a few animals who sleep with one or both eyes open! And what about that owl, when does he sleep? Ah, the tired owl gets sleepy when the sun glows brightly and all the others animals rise for the day.


There's nothing as soothing as a book centered around sleep to get your little ones settled in for the night, particularly one as lovely as this. Subdued colors and the tiniest of details make this a visually stunning read. The above photos don't do the book justice. Holding the book in your hands, you will be surprised to find tiny line drawings on every page. Beautiful flower patterns and curlicues are etched in a deep blues and grays on every page, with white stars and tiny animals decorating the corners. Gorgeous!

Review copy provided by Random House. 

The Phenomenal Postcard Book

Candlewick Press

Seeing as how Waldo is the consummate traveler, what could be more perfect than a book of postcards from him? This little, I mean phenomenal, book contains 30 scenes taken from the seven previously published titles by Martin Handford. The iconic traveler is hidden on each and every one.

You might think it would be easier to locate the traveler on the smaller postcard sized pages, but I still found the task to be a challenge. Waldo is excellent at blending into the scenes. In addition to the main character, on the back of each card is a small checklist with three more items to find.   

This is the perfect sized book to toss into your suitcase for a trip. Better yet, pack it in the car and let the kids amuse themselves on the way there. Filling out postcards for their friends is the ideal activity to have on hand while on vacation; just remember to affix an post office approved stamp over the Waldo illustrated one. Remember how great it was to get your own mail as a kid? It's fun to be able to pass that on to the next generation, especially at a time when snail mail is being overtaken by email and social media.         

Review copy provided by Candlewick Press. 

Scaredy Squirrel Has a Birthday Party

Kids Can Press

Melanie Watt 

Melanie Watt essentially created a gold mine with her first Scaredy Squirrel book. Better, yet, she continues to invent clever situations for this phobic with each successive book. Although she continues to use essentially the same template, the books always feel fresh, never tired or overused. Soooo, it's really Melanie Watt who is the gold mine. I'm happy to report the squirrel is back for his fifth adventure. And this time he's clad in a sweet powder blue tux!   

For those who are familiar with Scaredy's antics, it comes as no surprise that he usually celebrates his birthday quietly in his tree, and is not prone to hosting raucous parties. In fact, he will be inviting just one guest: the guest of honor. A party of one pretty much guarantees there will not be any nasty surprises to ruin the party, like Bigfoot, a pack of surly ants or the dreaded confetti. After receiving a lovely birthday card from his friend Buddy, Scaredy decides to invite him to this year's party. Because allowing an outside guest to attend is a risky move, Scaredy jumps into super plan mode.

I love Scaredy's birthday checklist and corresponding exhibits. Paint chips displayed to choose the party colors, nutty cake recipe at the ready for the cake, dry cleaning slip for aforementioned powder blue tuxedo, and Scaredy's birth certificate to verify the date. Watt is so careful to include so many funny details: boxes checked yes for cute and no for fleas on his birth certificate; the invitation's response choices are Yes, I can or No, I can't - I have to wash my fur. The Wheel of Dos and Don'ts include the single acceptable party activity of sitting quietly and seven bad choices, ranging from listen to loud music to surprise the birthday squirrel.

Although Scaredy is as careful as can be, erecting a germ-free party sign and selecting coversation topics ahead of time for small talk, the party spins out of control. Buddy shows up ... with a dozen of his closest dog friends. Scaredy panics, falls on the ground and plays dead. It always takes a couple hours of playing dead for this little squirrel to aclimate to the situation.In the end, he enjoys his party immensely and begins preparations to make next year's party even better. 
   

Another win for Melanie Watt! Check out Scaredy Squirrel at Night and Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach.

Review copy provided by Kids Can Press.

Pelly and Mr. Harrison Visit the Moon

Kane Miller

Lindsay Ward

Although Lindsay Ward is an accomplished illustrator, this is the first children's book she has both written and illustrated. She is also the pencil behind A Garden for Pig, which I found to be quite similar in style.

For starters, Mr. Harrison is the dog. And I like the chosen name. It conveys a certain amount of formality, which strikes me as completely ridiculous and hilarious. But on the next page he barks in cursive, so maybe he's a lot more advanced than I am giving him credit for. 

As Pelly and Mr. Harrison are readying themselves for bed one right, Pelly suddenly notices something odd: a rocket engine attached to her bathtub. That's new! When Pelly and Mr. Harrison climb into the tub, helmets and a steering wheel magically appear. And Mr. Harrison barks in cursive. They land on the moon and are greeted by a friendly alien who gives them a tour of her moon town. She shares the best moon things: spaceship racing, moon rock digging, star catching and moon pie eating. Pelly's favorite is toasting marshmallow by the heat of the sun - called s'moons. 
  
Review copy provided by Kane Miller.

Fox and Hen Together

Enchanted Lion

Beatrice Rodriguez

When we last saw Fox and Hen, they were happily resting after a frantic escape in The Chicken Thief. It's a possibility that this sequel will find these two living peacefully without incident ... but Beatrice Rodriguez comes through with a heck of a lot more fun than that. This book offers every bit as much excitement as the last, with another fun, unexpected ending.

And now Fox and Hen are blissfully co-habitating in an adorable house carved into the base of a tree. This is a happy house, as evidenced by a series of framed photographs of the embracing couple. The unlikely pair may be  long on love but they are short on food. With a kiss, Hen entrusts her egg to Fox (ha! See the twisted humor there?) and sets off with her fishing pole to snare lunch. Just as Hen catches a rather large fish, an enormous bird swoops from the sky, latching firming onto her fish. And the adventure begins!

Sure, Hen could let go, but she has a hungry family at home to feed. She clenches her beak and tightens her grip on her pole. For her efforts, she is deposited neatly into a nest of hungry baby birds who would like nothing better than a tasty chicken lunch. Hen quickly dives into the sea, only to be lustily pursued by a terrifying large sea monster. Brave Hen puts up quite the fight, besting the creature and landing on the beach directly in front of her own cottage. She dashes inside, only to find empty eggshells lying right next to a frying pan. You can't trust a fox!         

But it isn't a full-bellied animal who sits in front of the fire. Fox gently rocks a tiny bundle, the baby who hatched while Hen was away. Good thing this is a wordless picture book, because I can only imagine what would have come out of Hen's beak when she was jumping to her conclusions. It sure looks to us like this new arrival has the ears of a fox and the wings of a chicken. Should be a very interesting offspring, indeed.  

If you have not tried wordless picture books, I strongly recommend Beatrice Rodriguez. She includes action and adventure, terrific character expressions and plenty of fun-to-read body language. Plus, her books have a way of ending with a wonderful twist. I am delighted to report that we will be treated to one more Fox and Hen adventure, with Rooster's Revenge.     

Review copy provided by Enchanted Lion. 

The Dog Who Loved Red

 

Kane/Miller

Anitha Balachandran

Raja the dachshund has two main loves in his life: chewing and the color red. He is happiest when he can combine these two passions. Thus, Raja gets himself in a fair amount of trouble. The people who share his house do not share his passions. Not when he chews Mrs. Lal's red shawl. Not when he chews Tanvi's red shoes. And certainly not when he chews Mr. Lal's red socks.

After the sock chewing incident, Tanvi takes Raja to the park. Usually he plays ball (a red one, naturally) with his friend Champ. Only today, the ball is nowhere to be found. Raja has red radar and can usually find anything that color right away, but the ball is nowhere to be seen. The gray pigeons haven't seen the ball, nor has the orange striped kitten. Raja finally spots his favorite plaything in the neighbor's yard, but getting it is another story. When he makes it back to Champ, Raja is covered in brown mud, pink netting and a peach sock. But he's got that red ball clamped firmly in his mouth! 

I like how all the color words are printed in that hue. Those words pop right out in each sentence, putting the emphasis on the variety of colors, which makes for a festive read. The illustrations are cute too, with the pigeons flapping around wildly like pigeons do, and the sly scowl on the angry neighbor's face. I particularly like Raja's expression when retrieving his ball - that sly look of a dog who knows he is doing something he should not be doing and getting away with it.   

Review copy provided by Kane/Miller.

Where's Waldo: The Incredible Paper Chase

Candlewick Press

Martin Handford 

As amazing and fun as the Where's Waldo (known as Where's Wally in England) books are, there are not very many in existence. Martin Handford drew the original Waldo and cast in 1986, and went on to produce six books total. I know they are wildly popular, so I'm a bit surprised more haven't been produced. The sheer quantity of illustrations required for each page is probably the main reason. Sometimes it would take Handford up to eight weeks to draw a two page sketch. Which means it is that much more exciting when a new book appears!

The Incredible Paper Chase offers seven spreads with the traditional Waldo walking right through the fun. Our favorite was the prehistoric page, with dinosaurs of every color and shape playing games and goofing around. There are plenty of red and white striped bodies to keep Waldo hidden, plus we were side-tracked several times trying to figure out what the dinosaurs were up to. Some of them

Waldo seekers will also enjoy a castle page with the red army fighting the blue; a page full of postcards featuring characters from Waldo's travels; a ferocious man-eating monster gobbling soldiers; armies battling each other wearing dog masks; lines of soldiers standing at attention (this one appears easier, but it isn't); and a hedge maze with lots of lost travelers caught inside. The last puzzle is an enormous party featuring Waldo faces on banners and lots of red and white streamers, making it the most daunting of the bunch.    

What sets this book apart from the previous Waldo books is some three dimensional fun at the back of the book. The Muddy Swampy Jungle Game consists of a playing board, wacky Waldo rhyming cards and counters to move about the board. Just roll a die and follow the instructions on each spot until one player reaches the finish line. The Wacky Wado Circus is three pages full of perforated circus performers and characters. Simply punch out all the pieces and set up your own Waldo big tent. I think it's neat that they are trying to provide some additional materials in addition to the traditional Waldo hunt.       

Review copy provided by Candlewick Press.