Picture Book Reviews: Art and Max, Redwoods, and Lousy Stinkin' Grapes

  All of the picture books that I have reviewed today are listed either on the Monarch Book Award list or the Bluestem Book Award list where books are selected by librarians, teachers, and readers themselves. I find these lists useful, particularly when I'm not sure where to start with such a huge selection of picture books. Today I've got a mixture of folktale retelling and a just plain.

Description: A young city boy, riding the subway, finds an abandoned book about redwoods. He finds himself in the very forest described in the book. After finishing the book, he leaves it for someone else to read.

Review: Out of the three picture books that I'm reviewing today, Redwoods surprised me the most. With a lackluster description, I was prepared for a snoozeworthy read and I was pleasantly wrong. Redwoods effortlessly captures a reader's absorbation in a book, where the rest of the world fades into the background. A young city boy riding the subway finds an abandoned book to read. The book happens to be about redwood trees. Soon, he transports himself into a fantastical forest surrounded by redwoods. As he wanders into the forest, he learns exciting details about the trees. The illustrations are wonderful and the little facts sprinkled, not just dumped into long, verbose paragraphs, within the book holds our attention. I actually learned a lot from this book. I would highly recommend it to kids who show an interest in nature or who just want to be awed about learning something new.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: None. Recommended for Grades 1 and up.

If you like this book try: The Red Book by Barbara Lehman


Description: Retells the fable of a frustrated fox that, after many tries to reach a high bunch of grapes, decides they must be sour anyway.

Review: I guess you're never to young to develop a snarky attitude. Palatini and Moser have taken a dry Aesop fable and gave it a entertaining make-over that delights the eyes and ears of the reader while still retaining the purpose of the story. The proud and clever Fox eyes the grapes hanging from a vine high in a tree and thinks that he can get them easily. He repeatedly chants: "I am sly. Clever. Smart. After all, I am a fox." So, armed with paper and pencil, he draws his master plan filled with complex equations and recruits various animals around the tree to get the grapes. After repeated failed attempts and refusing to hear his recruits advice, the fox loses interests in the grapes and declares them "lousy, rotten, stinkin' grapes." Moser's wonderful watercolor illustrations of the doubting animals executing Fox's convoluted plans are rich in humor. My favorite illustrations involve Bear, especially with him napping in the background. The animals are silhouetted against plenty of white space, with the grapevines and tree dominating each large spread. Many reviewers have commented on the fox's plan being too complex and the story deviating from the story, but I would argue that this retelling of the story would invite active participation from the readers and storyteller. Kids are much more perceptive than we give them credit for and I'm sure they would immediately pick up on Fox's flaws.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: None. Recommended for Grades for K and up.

If you like this book try: Clever Beatrice by Margaret Willey, Cowboy and Octopus by Jon Scieszka


Description: Max wants to be an artist like Arthur, but his first attempt at using a paintbrush sends the two friends on a whirlwind trip through various media, with unexpected consequences.

Review: The story revolves around a rocky friendship between Art and Max.  When we first meet Arthur, he is creating a formal portrait of a stately reptile, one of several reacting to the unfolding drama in the desert. Frenetic Max dashes into the scene; he also wants to paint, but doesn't know where to start. Art suggests Max to start with painting a picture of his friend, "Well.you could paint me." Max's literal response yields a more colorful Art, but the master's outrage causes his acrylic armor to shatter. His texture falls in fragments, leaving an undercoating of dusty pastels vulnerable to passing breezes. Each of Max's attempts to solve Art's problems leads to unexpected outcomes, someof them humorous and others thought provoking about what one would define as art. 
  I have mixed feelings about Art and Max. I really enjoyed reading the thought provoking exploration of the meaning of art and the creative process, but without some substantial art background or knowledge, the book isn't as nearly entertaining. I know I missed out on a lot of references to several important artists while I did pick up on a few like Jackson Pollock, but that being said I think the book will resonate with some kids who are confused when some mistakes or marvels are judged differently by others. I would like to revisit Art and Max and give it another shot since there is so much to uncover in the book. I think in order to full appreciate this picture book is to closely read it and absorb all the little details.  

Rating: 3 stars

Words of Caution: None. Recommended for Grades 1 and up.

If you like this book try: Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson, The pencil by Allen Ahlberg, The dot by Peter Reynolds

Picture Book Reviews: Middle East Edition Part 2

  I'm having a great time reading and discoveirng new picture books for my picture book challenge, which is hosted by Jennifer over at An Abundance of Books. I wanted to read some children literature that take place in the Middle East. It was difficult to find some that were fiction and not slanted in a political opinion, but I did manage to find some. I will be reviewing: Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur! by Margaret Read Macdonald, Mystery Bottle by Kristin Balouch, Silent Music by James Rumford, and Joha Makes a Wish by Eric Kimmel.


Description: A childless woman's prayers are answered by the arrival of a talking pot, but the new mother knows that Little Pot must learn right from wrong just like any child.

Review: Based on a Palestinian tale, a woman wishes for a child to love, even if it is nothing more than a cooking pot. Her wish comes true, and red Little Pot appears. The two spend some quality time indoors, but the Little Pot grows restless and years to explore the outside world. Reluctantly, the mother lets her pot outdoors, and Little Pots adventures and troubles begin. For the most part, I really enjoyed this book. There's plenty of repetitive phrases and lots of action to keep an audience's attention. The vibrant illustrations with clear influence on Islamic art fill the pages; however, I found myself a bit lost on the cultural detail in the story. There are also some heavy messages of right and wrong behavior, but overall I enjoyed it. I think it would be interesting to pair this one with multicultuarl variations of the Gingerbread Man stories.
Rating: 3 stars

Words of Caution: None. Recommended for Grades Preschool to Grade 2.

If you like this book try: The Man With Bad Manners by Idries Shah,

Description: What happens when a boy and his grandfather are separated from each other by borders, politics, and distance? The mystery bottle unites the two through an extraordinary gift. The bond of their love.

Review: I loved the concept behind Balouch's Mystery Bottle. The first intriguing image is found on the book jacket, which features a picture of a bottle with a rolled map plugging the opening. We know we are going on a journey with the boy on the cover. The bottle arrives in a package; when the boy removes the map, wind blows out of the bottle, whisking him across the sea and through the city where his grandfather, Baba Bazorg, now resides. Together they spend time and the grandfather explains that can still have a relationship even though they are thousands of miles away. I would have liked a bit more clarification and exploration of the country which the boy travels to and from (according to the book's blurb it's Iran). have tea, and the grandfather explains how, whenever the boy wants a cup of tea, he can open the bottle and be carried back to him. I'm not entirely sure if kids would grasp the deeper meaning behind this book, but I think it would make a good discussion. The artwork, which can be a bit crowded, is striking and unique. It combines simple, cut-paper shapes, collage, and stamp art, set against maps charting the boy's adventures.
Rating: 3 stars

Words of Caution: None. Recommended for Grades K- Grades 3.

If you like this book try: Landed by Milly Lee


Description: As bombs and missiles fall on Baghdad in 2003, a young boy uses the art of calligraphy to distance himself from the horror of war.

Review: Silent Music is a beautiful book that brings hope and light behind the back drops of war torn Iraq. Ali is a simple boy who loves soccer, music, and above all calligraphy-forming the elegant Arabic letters, pen that move along to the silent music he hears in his head. Ali tells us that his secret hero is the famous artist Yakut, a renowned 13th-century calligrapher who is said to have fled to a high tower to shut out the violence by the Mongol invasion at Baghdad in 1258. Like his hero, Ali also escapes from war and seeks solace from the missles and bombs that falls on Baghdad in 2003. The effects of war on Ali is sublte yet profound. The Arabic word for war, Harb, comes easily to his pen, while he struggles to perfect Salam, the word for peace.
I absolutely loved the art work in this book. The jewel-toned illustrations are made with pencil, charcoal, and computer art programs. Ali and his family are depicted with warmth and personality, and their interactions add intimacy to the story, much like our own. Elaborately detailed designs appear throughout the book. It's clear that the illustrator is well aware of Islamic art from intricate tile arrangements, delicate floral motifs, and colorfully patterned clothing. Like the text, there are subtle images of war (army vehicles, helicopters, etc) that are striking with dark colors. I also loved how the the Arabic language adorns the pages as well as teaches the reader some new words. I highly recommend picking this up book.

Rating: 5 stars

Words of Caution: None. Recommended for Grades 2 to 6.

If you like this book try: The Librarian of Basra by Jeanette Winters, The Color of Home by Mary Hoffman

Description: An original story, based on the Joha tales of the Arabic-speaking world, in which a hapless man finds a wishing stick that brings him nothing but bad luck. Includes an author's note about the history of Joha tales.

Review: Joha Makes a Wish is a laugh out funny folk tale from the Middle East. Kimmel recasts a Jewish tale from Yemen, and borrows story elements from widespread Middle Eastern folklore featuring the foolish wise man, aka Nasreddin Hodja. Kimmel's introductory note which gives us a little background to the story doesn't really explain his choice of using a lesser known name of Joha for his story, but that doesn't detract anything from the delightful story.
One day Joha finds a wishing stick. Everything he wishes for gets reversed. For example, he wishes for a new pair of shows, but instead his shoes disappear entirely. In spite of Joha's angry efforts to rid himself of the troublesome stick, it tightly adheres to his hand, causing much worse trouble when he encounters the sultan in the streets of Baghdad. Kimmel's well-paced text smoothly builds events and dialogue, leaving the character interpretation to the comic portrayals in Rayyan's energetic watercolor drawings. The character's physical features are exaggerated for comic effecct. Joha is a small man with large hands and feet and a long, thin expressive face beneath a generous turban. His frayed sandals and patched trousers contrast with the splendor of the robust sultan and his armored guards. I don't know for sure if Joha's misadventures in this book are true to the original folklore or cultural roots, but I do know that this book will promise a great read along as the underdog outsmarts those who are powerful.
Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: Recommended for Grades 1 to 6.

If you like this book try: The King's Taster by Kenneth Oppel, The Queen's Feet by Sarah Ellis