Category Archives: Picture Books

The Bake Shop Ghost

Posted on June 11, 2014 | Comments Off on The Bake Shop Ghost

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Miss Cora Lee Marriweather
ran the best bake shop in
these parts–maybe even in the whole
state. The chocolate in her Mississippi
mud pie was darker than the devil’s
own heart. Her sponge cake was so light
the angels kept hoping it would float up
to heaven. No birthday was complete
without a Merriweather layer cake with
her special buttercream frosting.

It would be hard to find a sweeter ghost story than this one, although it does start out sadly. Miss Cora Lee’s baked goods get lots of attention, but she is basically ignored. After she dies (no one cries at her funeral until they realize her desserts are a thing of the past), her ghost refuses to leave her bake shop until a new baker can fulfill a very special request.

This book is very enjoyable to read aloud and the boys love hearing about (and dreaming of choosing from) the bake shop’s wares.  I especially like the gumption, persistence, and–ultimately–friendship of the two main characters.

Author: Jacqueline K. Ogburn
Illustrator: Marjorie Priceman

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The Magic School Bus series

Posted on June 5, 2014 | Comments Off on The Magic School Bus series

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Ms. Frizzle, who may be the coolest teacher ever, has a magic school bus which takes her (sometimes reluctant) class on incredible trips. They travel on the ocean floor; get lost in the solar system; have an electric field trip; explore in the time of the dinosaurs; and go inside the earth, a bee hive, a hurricane, the human body, and the waterworks. Yet they are always back before the end of the school day without anyone knowing of their adventures.

These books are well designed and fun to look at, are packed (packed!) with scientific information, and have fun stories too (with the exception of Lost in the Solar System, which has a truly annoying guest student as a major focus–I avoid that one whenever possible). I expect that, once the boys get older, they will enjoy reading all of the dialogue boxes and side notes that I usually skip in the interest of time. Their favorites are: Inside the Earth, Inside a Bee Hive, Inside a Hurricane, In the Time of the Dinosaurs, and At the Waterworks.

Author: Joanna Cole
Illustrator: Bruce Degen

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Peter and the Wolf

Posted on June 4, 2014 | Comments Off on Peter and the Wolf

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We enjoy looking at the beautiful pictures in this book and listening to its accompanying (fully orchestrated and narrated) CD. The wolf is delightfully scary, the (slightly edited) ending is happy, and hearing how instruments can create characters is fun (and educational). This is a perfect choice for when you are tired or have a sore throat.

Author: Janet Schulman from the work of Sergei Prokofiev
Illustrator: Peter Malone

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Rumpelstiltskin

Posted on June 1, 2014 | Comments Off on Rumpelstiltskin

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My youngest is fascinated by this one. It is a story of transformation (straw into gold, miller’s daughter into queen, callow girl into loving mother), which is why the awful, egocentric miller and king mostly don’t register (they’re walking plot devises). The Grimm’s version of this tale changed many times and Paul O. Zelinsky’s uses all of the best parts (including an ending where Rumpelstiltskin does not pay for his good deeds with his life).

Author: Paul O. Zelinsky/The Grimm Brothers
Illustrator: Paul O. Zelinsky

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Duck! Rabbit!

Posted on May 31, 2014 | Comments Off on Duck! Rabbit!

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Which is it? While the boys are firmly on Team Rabbit, they really enjoy the debate. If you’re looking for a quick and cheerful bedtime book, this is perfect.

Author: Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Tom Lichtenheld
Illustrator: Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Tom Lichtenheld


 

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Need a House? Call Ms. Mouse!

Posted on May 28, 2014 | Comments Off on Need a House? Call Ms. Mouse!

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As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been looking for this book for a long, long time. I’m very happy to have found it. Doris Susan Smith has an amazing eye and her illustrations are beautiful, thoughtful, and clever (click on the picture of the frog’s “pad” above to see what I mean–it will get bigger).

My oldest likes the cat’s Japanese-style house and the frog’s pad best. My youngest likes the otter’s hunting and fishing lodge and the frog’s pad. My husband likes the owl’s observatory and fox’s den. My favorites are the worm’s hollowed-out pear and the frog’s pad (although all of us have several runners up for favorites). None of us like the pig’s mansion much (too formal!).

The words are nothing more than an excuse for the wonderful pictures, but we all like the book very much (although Ms. Smith’s Jeremy Rabbit books and The Elephant’s Airplane retain their places among the boys’ very top favorites).

Author: George Mendoza
Illustrator: Doris Susan Smith


 

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The Art Lesson

Posted on May 24, 2014 | Comments Off on The Art Lesson

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Tommy knew he wanted to be an artist when he grew up.
He drew pictures everywhere he went. It was his favorite thing to do.

His friends had favorite things to do, too. Jack collected all kinds
of turtles. Herbie made huge cities in his sandbox. Jeannie,
Tommy’s best friend, could do cartwheels and stand on her head.

But Tommy drew and drew and drew.

This book is a great portriat of a young artist (“Tommy” is Tomie de Paola himself) and a very different time. The boys really enjoy this book. Highlights are Tommy’s joy in the sixty-four colors found in a large Crayola box (they agree that gold, silver, and copper crayons are especially exciting) and they are always amazed that each first grader in Tommy’s is given one (and only one!) precious piece of paper for art class.

In the final page of this book, a grown-up Tommy is sitting in his studio. Pictures from some of his most famous books (many of which the boys recognize) are on the wall. Tommy drew and drew and drew…

And he still does.

Author: Tomie de Paola
Illustrator: Tomie de Paola


 

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Little Fox Goes to the End of the World

Posted on May 23, 2014 | Comments Off on Little Fox Goes to the End of the World

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This is a tale of wild, imagined adventures; practicing leaving home behind; and of family. (It reminds me a lot of Where the Wild Things Are.) The boys like how Little Fox’s imagined journey to the End of the World unfolds–the creative perils and solutions are a huge part of the fun (and the pictures–get the version of the book with these out-of-print pictures, if possible).

Author: Ann Tompert
Illustrator: John Wallner


 

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Boynton Albums

Posted on May 18, 2014 | Comments Off on Boynton Albums

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Once you get hooked on Sandra Boynton books, a great surprise awaits. Boynton moonlights as a lyricist, and has gotten her work recorded in albums by some really unexpected artists. These books all come with illustrations, lyrics, sheet music, and…the real draw… CDs that have become some of our very favorites. Philadelphia Chickens is done in a musical-revue style. Dog Train‘s style is rock and roll. Blue Moo follows a 1950s-jukebox style. Below are some of our favorite artists and songs from each album.

–Philadelphia Chickens: The Bacon Brothers (title track), John Stey (Fifteen Animals), and Adam Bryant (Pajama Time).
–Dog Train: Blues Traveler (title track), Billy J. Kramer (Cow Planet), The Bacon Brothers and Mickey Hart (Pots and Pans), and The Phenomenauts (Don’t Give Me that Broccoli).
–Blue Moo: Brian Wilson (Speed Turtle), Christopher Kale Jones (Singing in the Shower), Davy Jones (Your Personal Penguin), and The Uninvited Loud Precision Band (The Uninvited Parade).

Author: Sandra Boynton
Illustrator: Sandra Boynton


 

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The Color Kittens

Posted on May 17, 2014 | Comments Off on The Color Kittens

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Once there were two color kittens with
green eyes, Brush and Hush. They liked to
mix and make colors by splashing one color
into another. They had buckets and buckets
and buckets and buckets of color to splash
around with. Out of these colors they would
make all the colors in the world.

I loved to look at these pictures when I was small and this story is great to read aloud. The boys don’t mind it, but they don’t reach for it either. Perhaps it is too dreamlike for now.

Author: Margaret Wise Brown
Illustrators: Alice and Martin Provensen


 

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