Learning to Fly

Kane Miller

Sebastian Meschenmoser

Waiting for Winter is one of my absolute favorite books. It comes as no surprise that Learning to Fly is just as terrific. Apparently Sebastian Meschenmoser has a policy of only creating brilliant, amazing things. That seems like a pretty good policy to have in place. 

More times that I can possibly count, a good story will be accompanied by subpar illustrations or a book with stunning illustrations will be paired with insipid writing. The latter is always worse because your expectations have been built up by the cover art. In any case, it's always a thrill to find an author who is equally adept at both. Sebastian Meschenmoser is both of those things, and funny to boot. Unfortunately, he is also German, and these are the only two books of his, that I know of, available in English. 

This is so told in such a straightforward manner, but it's also so wonderfully tongue in cheek. It starts off "Last winter, I found a penguin. He told me he'd been flying." And the penguin goes on to tell him that he thought he would just give flying a try, and it worked out okay. Until he ran into some other flying birds and they confirmed that penguins can't fly. Then he fell. I guess those other birds got in his head. Poor guy.  

Sebastian (because the drawn version looks an awful lot like the author; I think this might be an autobiographical tale) takes this poor, dejected penguin home. They eat dinner, get some sleep and run a few tests in the morning. The tests conclude that those birds were right: penguins cannot fly. But what if ....

Determined, the pair set up a training program, study books about flying, and put together some interesting (and downright hilarious) ideas on how to get the penguin flying again. They practice and try every hair-brained idea they come up with: penguin arrow, penguin rocket, penguin kite, penguin catapult. No dice. Until one day, a penguin colony flies overhead. And the penguin effortlessly joins them.    

You can do anything you believe you are capable of, and don't let any naysayers tell you any different. Believe in yourself and you can fly with the penguins! I wish all life lessons were delivered like this, as funny ideas with fabulous illustrations. This is simply a brilliant book.

Review copy provided by Kane Miller.  

Dream Big Little Pig

Sourcebooks

Kristi Yamaguchi; Illustrated by Tim Bowers

Kristi Yamaguchi's personal motto is Always Dream and also serves as the name of her charitable foundation for children. She has always believed in the power of dreams. Naturally, this is the crux of her first children's book. From Kristi: I founded the Always Dream Foundation to inspire children to reach for the stars. Through Poppy, I hope to reach kids directly, helping to pass along our message of hope that you are only limited by how big you can dream! Like Poppy, I learned about adversity and the importance of perseverance. As the mother of two young girls, I’m hoping that Poppy will inspire kids to do the same. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of Dream Big Little Pig will go to support the Always Dream Foundation and the early childhood literacy initiative.

Poppy is a pig with big dreams. And big pig dreams aren't what you might think - they have nothing to do with suey. Poppy wants to be a star, but she isn't quite sure how to get there. She gives ballet a shot, but she leans toward the clumsy and away from the graceful. Her voice isn't good enough to make it as a famous singer, and modeling is (literally) a flop. Despite the encouragement from her family, Poppy is feeling like she won't ever uncover her talent. 

And then our pig stumbles upon an ice rink, and immediately thinks it is the most beautiful sight she has ever seen. Although Poppy slips and slides all over the rink, she is determined to learn to skate properly. Poppy has found her passion! And every day the little pig improves until she is swirling and dipping all over the ice, just like a real skating star.

This is a cute book about learning to keep going when the going gets rough. The only negative are the three irritating catch phrases from Poppy's family that are repeated throughout the book. You can always just skip over those and hope your small listeners don't catch on. The message and cute illustrations far outweigh that little annoyance. Plus, the cover is pink and purple with tiny shimmery sparkles - a little girl's dream.

Review copy provided by Sourcebooks.

The Sea of Bath

Sourcebooks

Bob Logan

Clever and adorable, and nothing but good, clean fun. I had to say it, this being a bathtub tale and all! Might as well go all the way and also say it's a whale of a good time. Har, har. Thankfully the author doesn't give in to those cheesy tendencies and the result is a really smart and cute book. Bob Logan has worked as a story artist on feature animations such as Madagascar, Open Season, and my favorite, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Considering that impressive background, it should come as no surprise that his books would be as wonderful as this. 
 

The Captain is snoozing away on his boat, as evidenced by the snoring Z encapsulated in each soap bubble rising from his pipe. As water surrounds the S.S. Rubb A. Dubb, he snaps awake, eyes opened to perfect circles, a wary expression upon his face, as if he is familiar with this water ride. Afloat, the Captain navigates through a large group of ducks of the yellow rubber variety. He passes a deep sea diver and two brightly colored crocodiles. Experienced bathers will recognize the little hand cranks jutting off each body. 

The Captain passes by the strangest collection of sea travelers imaginable. An elephant wearing a sailor's cap floats along next to a tipsy, plum hippo, with brilliantly colored fish and sea creatures of all shapes and sizes bobbing along nearby. As raindrops pelt down and the waves start to rise, the Captain secures his cap and readies his craft for stiff weather. He encounters a several ships engaged in a battle - friendly water fire only, and considers racing a strange little boat named Soap. The Captain's voyage ends as it always does, the water mysteriously ebbs away and his ship is left on dry land.

I love how Logan took a mundane activity, put a spin on it and made it come alive. A large part of that I attribute to his charming illustrations. While it is an accurate portrayal of tub time for young kids, it just seems a heck of a lot more interesting from the Captain's point of view. I particularly like that it's just a mess of all kinds of toys, basically anything that will float, that gets chucked into the tub - just like at our house.

Bob Logan has a second book, titled Rocket Town, being released very soon! 

Review copy provided by Sourcebooks.

Six Crows

 


Random House

Leo Lionni

Leo Lionni didn't start writing children's books until he had retired from his official profession as an art director. He was fifty years old when he wrote his first children's book, Little Blue and Little Yellow. He wrote a total of thirty-nine more books over the next thirty-five years - not too shabby for a retiree, eh?

Lionni's illustrations are immediately recognizable and of course, he became a huge influence on other young illustrators. As Lionni was always interested in nature as a child, most of his books prominently feature animals and the great outdoors.

This is a book about problem solving and compromise. A farmer is proud of his field of wheat. Having worked hard, he is anxious to harvest his crops. Little does he know that there are six winged deterrents perched in his way. A dozen noisy crows cluster in a nearby tree, also anxious to help themselves to the farmer's hard work. The black bodied birds swoop down into the field just as wheat is about to ripen.

The farmer chases the crows away, only to have them return. To trick them, he puts together a fearsome looking scarecrow, that holds a large stick in one hand. The birds devise a plan, striking back with their own equally  fearsome looking bird kite. Both terrified and furious, the farmer retaliates by adding a second, larger scarecrow next to the first, this one with two sword and a very angry mouth. The birds amp up their creation. And so on, both sides getting angrier. It takes a wise owl (those birds always play the wise role, don't they?) who has been watching the proceedings to talk some sense into both parties before the wheat wilts.   

The farmer and the crows all realize it is better for everyone to make peace and come to an agreement. At first they had feared it was too late to make peace, but the owl reassurred them that it was "never too late to talk things over." That's a wise owl, indeed. The wheat is saved ad the owl transforms the angry scarecrow into a friendly one. 

Review copy provided by Random House. 

When Martha's Away

 

Candlewick Press

Bruce Ingham 

What exactly are pets doing with their time once the humans have left the house for the day? If his activity while we are home is any indication, our pug sleeps for 80% of his day, and spends his remaining time rubbing his nose against the furniture. Throw in the occasional pee on a scatter rug to keep us on our toes and that's his whole day. Martha is under the impressions that her big, orange cat just sleeps the day away and boy, has he got news for her!

Martha's cat (whose name is not revealed) has an entire daily routine that good ole Martha knows nothing about. Actually, his routinely is even more jam packed than mine. He kicks his day off by reading Cats Today - the newspaper written specially for felines. He entertains cat visitors and pumps a little iron before calling his cousin in Atlantic City for a relaxing telephone chat. He makes his own lunch, listens to the radio and dons a tiny tuxedo (with tails) to play the baby grand for the neighboring cats. They love his deft piano skills, calling for encores.  

These Illustrations are just hilarious. While Martha's car is pulling out of the driveway, her cat is left standing in the window, with his paw raised, as if waving goodbye. No litterbox for this this guy - he reads his newspaper in the bathroom like the evolved cat he is. I like how he pushes a stool over to the stove to make his lunch and throws his little paw behind  his head when settling in for a good long chat on the telephone. He is very careful to dash to the sofa just before Martha returns home, so she will believe he has been curled up asleep all day.   
See - a cat's routine isn't much different than a human's! And here we thought they just lounged around and slept all day. But really, when Martha's away ... the cat will lift weights and raid the fridge. Who knew?

Review copy provided by Candlewick Press.