Book Review: Breathe by Scott Magoon

     Every so often a picture book crosses my path that I just fall in love with.  Breathe by Scott Magoon is definitely one of those books.  

     Breathe follows a day in the life of a baby white whale.  The book opens with an illustration of the mother whale lifting her baby up to the water's surface for a nice deep breath.  From there the baby whale goes on an exploration of his world where he plays, swims, makes new friends and, most importantly, always remembers to take a few moments to just breathe.  

Bean Bags and Beyond!

For those of you who have been to a storytime at any Pima County Public Library branch, you know that we love bean bags.  We are borderline fanatical about them.  And, so are the kids.  In fact, at Himmel Park Branch, if the storytime doesn't end with the bean bag song, well, you better have some scarves or a parachute to distract the group from the terrible fact that you didn't play the bean bag song.  It can get ugly, believe me.  There has been crying, screaming, and clawing of the face, even. Pure anguish can result, and, let me tell you, combine that with a toddler and you'll have some scary stuff brewing. So, we LOVE the bean bag song.

Where Have You Been?

Have you ever wondered where a cat or a squirrel has been or where a bird flies or a whale sails?  Those are the kind of questions answered in  Where Have You Been? a lesser-known book by legendary children's author Margaret Wise Brown (Good Night Moon).  As you read along you'll learn a bit about each animal's habitat....little bee has been in the pink apple tree, while little mole has been down a long dark hole.  

The simple rhyming stanzas that introduce each animal share the same format, making this an ideal book for interactive storytelling as well as an interesting alternative for children who are learning to read.   The pattern of the repetitive text is so easily replicable that you might find yourself playing the game of thinking up new stanzas for animals not pictured in the story.  And by pointing out the pattern, you'll be helping your child learn about and better understand what a pattern is, an important concept in math, art, and science.  

Be sure to note and enjoy the beautiful and humorous illustrations by husband and wife team Leo and Diane Dillon.   Enjoy!   - Miss Meg

Joone by Emily Kate Moon

Meet Joone, an adorable and quirky five year old who lives with her Grandpa and her turtle, Dr. Chin. Joone shows us what a day in her life looks like, and reminds us to enjoy every minute of ours.

I don't think they make books any cuter than this. Joone, written and illustrated by Emily Kate Moon, is an adorable picture book about the what makes life special - the little things. The illustrations were created in gouche and pencil - and fit the sweetness of this story to a tee.

Enjoy!

~ Roller Derby Librarian

Princess Sparkle-Heart Gets a Makeover

 With all the tutu-flouncing wannabe princesses flitting through homes and birthday parties, one wonders if daughters everywhere really did get eaten by Cinderella. Aside from instigating an overdue intervention to stem the "pinkpocalypse," there is an another option out there for beleaguered parents. Enter books like Princess Sparkle-Heart Gets a Makeover.

The eponymous, stuffed, lavender-haired doll does EVERYTHING with her girl, Amelia. Unfortunately, Amelia's dog does not view this friendship with favor. The growling canine stalks after Princess Sparkle-Heart as she attends tea parties, royal weddings, and bubble bath extravaganzas. It's not the dog's fault clumps of stuffing are discovered scattered all over the house (and in between his teeth). After the crying and wailing die down, Mom and Amelia set out to engineer the best makeover ever.

Josh Schneider's Orphan Annie-ish illustrations and timely story transform what could have been "just another princess book" into something every little girl allergic to tulle will treasure for a long, long time.

MightyM

Book Review: Stella's Starliner

If you haven't yet discovered Rosemary Wells, read on.  And if you have, well, read on.  I have been entranced by her many characters over the years including Max, Ruby, Yoko, and Sophie and was recently delighted to discover her newly published picture book, Stella's Starliner.  Stella is a young fox who lives with her mom and dad in a silver house by the side of the road.  Inside the house is tidy and compact with a room for sleeping, a room for being awake, and a kitchen for eating pancakes on Sunday morning. Stella has everything she needs and not a worry in the world. Until the day a band of bullying weasels stop by and say mean things to Stella declaring she is poor and her house is nothing but a tin can.  "Their words stung Stella's heart like the stings of bees."  Being a sensitive fox  she won't tell mama what is bothering her because she doesn't want her to feel the stings too. But wise mama knows and comforts Stella with an imaginative story about the Starliner sailing through the Milky Way and landing on a bright, sunny island.

Book Review: Pom and Pim

      Little Pom and his stuffed toy of indeterminate species, Pim, are off for the day. They are lucky that it is a bright warm day, but as Pom carries Pim along, he trips on a rock and they both fall down.  Bad luck!  Or is it? Because he is on the ground, Pom discovers some money – good luck!  This picture book by Lena and Olaf Landstrom is a clever and preschool-friendly retelling of the old Chinese good luck/bad luck parable. Pom and Pim was originally published in Swedish under the title Pom uch Pim, and it’s kind of fun to think of the blending of different cultures that brought this book together.