Small Saul

 

 Kids Can Press

Ashley Spires

When you think of pirates, you think of fresh breath, a squeaky clean ship and lavender bunny tattoos, right? Yeah, me too. And yet the other pirates are completely dismissive of Small Saul - they feel he just doesn't fit in. Or could he?

More than anything, Small Saul loves the sea. After failing to meet the Navy's height requirement, SS turns to the only other profession he can think of that would allow him to spend his day on the open water: piracy. Because rough and tough does not come naturally to him, Saul struggles at Pirate College. His growl sounds more like a purr, he picks wildflowers while the others dig for treasure, and tidies when he should be looting.

Nevertheless, Saul squeaks through Pirate College and is lucky enough to nab a position aboard The Rusty Squid. Determined to fit in, Small Saul gets to work. I love the before and after of the sleeping quarters! He scrubs and straightens, adding pillows to the hammocks and tiny curtains over the windows in an attempt to make it more welcoming. The pirates are not impressed. Small Saul is cheerful and chipper, clean and comforting. He is pushed overboard. 

Without Small Saul aboard, the ship starts to stink. Mold grows on the deck, foul odors are afoot, and the crew is back to eating bread and gruel. The good ole pirate life doesn't see as attractive as it used to. The crew may be dirty and smelly, but they aren't stupid. They quickly turn The Rusty Squid around and scoop up their most valuable shipmate. And Small Saul returns to pirating the only way he knows how: by cleaning, baking and straightening. 

The entire concept and execution are fabulous. It's like Queer Eye for the Pirate Guy. There are tons of small details in the illustrations that crack me up: the funny looks the other pirates shoot Saul, the way he casually tosses a minty fresh breath mint into the captain's straggly toothed mouth, and his Big Book of Bunny Tattoos. Maybe best of all is the tiny frock he fashions for the seagull (from his head scarf) while he is waiting to be rescued. Saul has got to be Saul! And thank goodness for that.   

Review copy provided by Kids Can Press.  

Rocket Town

Sourcebooks

Bob Logan

This is an easy board book to like. It's bright and bold, plus sturdy to boot. Obviously, board books are aimed at the toddler set, and Bob Logan seems to know just what they like. Rockets!

Even though the words are few, I think there's a really cute story being told here. The first page shows a man and his trusty dog walking from their country style farmhouse towards a vintage yellow truck. The scene seems quite pretty vintage until I mention he's wearing a space suit and there's a large sign points down the road, emblazoned with words Rocket Town 17 miles.  

The whole town is a curious mix of yesteryear and the projected future. Big, old-fashioned streetlamps mark each corner, and striped awnings adorn the brick buildings.  And a giant rocket swoops through, with passengers riding much like they would in a train. Black iron gates surround the park, but the playground equipment inside consists of dozens of rockets! The burger joint looks just as old timey, but the waitresses wear jet powered footwear instead of roller skates.

It's so much fun to see where old fashioned and the future intersect in Bob Logan's mind. The school bus is the same yellow, but hovers five feet in the air. A used rocket shop looks very much like today's used car lots. It is there the man and his dog find a yellow rocket nearly identical to his vintage truck, and they take a very different sort of ride. 


I love the thought that went into this story. It's really neat to see an imaginative version of what the future will be like, incorporating many items which will probably be obsolete. I think it is not too often that you find a board book of this caliber. Very clever!   

Review copy provided by Sourcebooks. 

Cinnamon Baby

Kids Can Press

Nicola Winstanley; Illustrated by Janice Nadeau

I loved this book for a multitude of reasons. The first of which are Janice Nadeau's delightful illustrations. Watercolors mixed with pencil drawings and paper collage create the perfect environment, with the addition of swirly curlicues tucked in everywhere: on the bridge, the flowers, the lamp post and even in the font. 

Illustrations aside, I also love that the story takes place in a bakery, the characters have unique names (Miriam and Sebastian), it is the woman who is the successful business owner, and an interracial couple is featured in a children's book. Plus, there are cinnamon buns.

Miriam is a baker who wears her crimson hair swirled into a thick bun, very much resembling a large cinnamon roll tucked at the back of her head. Each day she rides her bicycle to her own bakery that sports sweet pink and white striped awnings. Inside, she creates the most wonderful breads, singing joyfully as she works. It was the combination of the Miriam's scented bread and melodic voice that attracted Sebastian. He bought a loaf of bread every day for a year from The Alchemy Bakery before asking Miriam to be his wife.

And now that Sebastian and Miriam are expecting their first baby, the mama-to-be continues her routine of biking to work and singing while she works. She makes a variety of breads, but always saves the cinnamon bread for last, so that the smell will linger in the shop.

When their baby is born, it is a beautiful and perfect child (this is unsurprising, considering Sebastian can play his violin while riding a bicycle). And a loud one. The child refuses to stop crying. Miriam tries everything, Sebastian tries everything, but the baby continues to wail. Finally, Miriam has a brilliant idea. She scoops up the baby and they go directly to The Alchemy Bakery. When the cinnamon begins wafting through the air, the baby's cries stop. She truly is a Cinnamon Baby.   

The writing is every bit as enjoyable as the illustrations.  I love her description of the breads Miriam is making: "a spicy bread, studded with peppercorns and basil, and a sweet bread with ginger." When the baby is asleep, she describes him as "a little, wrinkled raisin." She uses the perfect phrasing to make you feel as though you are right there inside The Alchemy Bakery with Miriam and Sebastian. So wonderful!  

Review copy provided by Kids Can Press.

Free printable bookplates!

Another round of free printable bookplates, this time courtesy of Urban Nest. The owl initially caught my eye, but I like the others just as much. The flower is sweet, the primary colors are strong and the blue plaid is simple. It's the perfect collection. 

The Urban Nest suggests buying Avery labels 8.5″ x 11″ sheets that are sticker-backed. Run these through your printer (with a color cartridge) and you'll have self-adhesive labels all ready to slap into your books.
 

Adventure Beneath the Sea

Boyds Mills Press

Kenneth Mallory;Photographs by Brian Skerry

Boyds Mills Press routinely publishes some of the very best non-fiction books on the market, and this is yet another excellent addition to their collection. Three and a half miles offshore the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and sixty feet under the Atlantic ocean sits Aquarius, the world's only undersea research station. This pressure-resistant steel cylinder allows author Kenneth Mallory and National Geographic photographer Brian Skerry to spend seven days living in the Atlantic ocean, studying and exploring the sea life. Their findings make for this fascinating book ... a real life adventure beneath the sea.     

 
Although Aquarius is a self-contained space for living, it's a tight fit with dimensions of only 43 feet long and 9 feet in diameter. The underwater pod is attached to a large above water platform called the Life Support Buoy, which produces a steady flow of air and communicates with Mission Control on land. After extensive training, the pair pass the tests necessary to allow them to live underwater for the next seven days.

Living underwater means that they will be able to become humans living like fishes. Actually, they will use scuba equipment and a tagging system to track fish around the reef to see where they go. At a later date, conservation biologists will use this information to design better habitats to protect fish. Very cleverly, the divers devise a way to implant a tracking device inside a moray eel (who are not as easy to catch as the smaller fish): using a bologna sandwich as bait.     

The first chapter explains the station and the second chapter gives a rundown of their mission. Chapter three covers the extensive training process needed to set foot on Aquarius, and chapters four and five show what life is like for the next week. All the chapters are accompanied by magnificent underwater photography that makes the whole book come alive. The clear, straighforward writing paired with the photographs really give readers a great sense of what living on Aquarius would be like.Consequently, this book treads the fine line of being both a good learning tool and immensely interesting. 

Review copy provided by Boyds Mills Press.