Olivia and the Fairy Princesses

Booklist (August 2012 (Vol. 108, No. 22))


Preschool-Grade 1. Olivia is depressed. She sees that individuality counts for little in her world. Every other piggy girl (and some of the boys) all like to dress as sparkling fairy princesses. She, however, prefers a French sailor shirt, matador pants, red bag, pearls, and a gardening hat. Wherever she turns—ballets, books, bedtime stories—there are princesses. After she spends the night pondering what she can be other than a princess, the last page shows her glorious answer. She has made the leap—to queen. The text has some funny moments—when Olivia disdains a happily-ever-after story, her mother switches to “The Little Match Girl”—but as with previous books, most of the fun comes from the delicious artwork executed in signature charcoal perked up with reds. Here the high points include Olivia as four different kinds of costumed princess (Thai, African, Indian, and Chinese); a two-page spread of dancer Olivia eschewing tutus, dressed as Martha Graham in Lamentation; and Queen Olivia at the balcony. There are also some strong messages here about individuality and reinventing yourself according to your own vision. It’s an idea you’re never to young to learn. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Olivia is a successful franchise now, but quality remains high. Fans will be pleased with this addition to the series.

The Obstinate Pen

Horn Book (March/April, 2012)


Writers and artists sometimes feel that their materials and tools are uncooperative, even hostile, but Uncle Flood has this problem in spades. His new pen is insulting, subversive, and anarchic. Uncle Flood tries to write, "The following story is all true," and what appears on the paper is "You have a BIG nose." When the pen falls into the hands of police officer Wonkle as he's trying to write a ticket, things look bad, but the pen turns out to be a bit of a romantic and matchmaker. In act three the pen ends up with Mrs. Norkham Pigeon-Smythe. She is determined to write a memoir of her "very lush life," but the pen has other ideas. Finally, the obstinate pen comes to rest with Uncle Flood's nephew Horace and in this congenial company finds its true purpose in life. Dormer's skinny-limbed, dot-eyed characters inhabiting a world of merry chaos are reminiscent of Quentin Blake and share his energy and warmth. sarah ellis

The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict

Booklist starred (February 1, 2012 (Vol. 108, No. 11))


Grades 4-6. Meet Nicholas Benedict, a skinny nine-year-old orphan with a lumpy nose, an extraordinary intellect, and an inconvenient tendency to fall asleep when he is excited. Newly arrived at his latest orphanage (Rothchild’s End, ominously shortened to ’Child’s End), Nicholas quickly learns to avoid the Spiders (a gang of bullies) as best he can. Meanwhile, he secretly searches for the treasure rumored to be hidden in the dilapidated mansion and finds a couple of steadfast friends. With courage and ingenuity, he solves the mystery at the heart of the orphanage and even sets in motion a plan to defang the Spiders. This prequel to The Mysterious Benedict Society (2007) gives readers a reason to fall in love with the series all over again. Fans of the series will find here much that they loved in the opening volume: adventures, danger, cleverness, dry wit, and good-hearted characters at the center of the action. The novel is long, true, but many readers will find themselves reluctant to reach the end; and while Stewart leaves an opening for sequels about Nicholas as a child, this invigorating novel stands on its own. Two hundred years after Dickens’ birth, this orphan story plays notes in a familiar key but creates its own memorable tune. HIGH DEMAND BACK STORY: The popularity of The Mysterious Benedict Society and its sequels provides a built-in audience for this. Name recognition!

Traction Man and the Beach Odyssey

Booklist starred (April 15, 2012 (Vol. 108, No. 16))


Preschool-Grade 2. Here’s another standout from a popular franchise. Traction Man Is Here! (2005) was great and Traction Man Meets Turbodog (2008) was even better. Here, just the endpapers in Traction Man’s third picture book would immediately make this purchase worthy. Just as every Ken needs a Barbie, the action-figure star meets his match in Beach Time Brenda (“Fully Accessorized with Lots and Lots of Stuff” and “Available in Light Pink, Mid Pink, or Sick Pink”). In this adventure, Traction Man and his trusty sidekick, Scrubbing Brush, are brought to the beach by their boy owner. They explore an underwater world of crabs and cockles, defend their picnic lunch from a hungry dog, and get swept out to sea by a vigorous wave. They’re rescued by a girl and squirreled away in a sand castle, where they meet two towering sirens called the Dollies (“You can stay in our castle FOR EVER!”). All ends well when, in a nice reversal, the Dollies show as much pluck as Traction Man in escaping as the castle crumbles. Grey supplies equal doses of humor and heroics in the zippy illustrations that play out the dual dramas on both human and miniature scales. The adventures that toys have apart from their owners is a surefire theme worth revisiting, and even more so when done with this much panache.

Creepy Carrots!

Kirkus Reviews starred (May 15, 2012)


Kids know vegetables can be scary, but rarely are edible roots out to get someone. In this whimsical mock-horror tale, carrots nearly frighten the whiskers off Jasper Rabbit, an interloper at Crackenhopper Field. Jasper loves carrots, especially those "free for the taking." He pulls some in the morning, yanks out a few in the afternoon, and comes again at night to rip out more. Reynolds builds delicious suspense with succinct language that allows understatements to be fully exploited in Brown's hilarious illustrations. The cartoon pictures, executed in pencil and then digitally colored, are in various shades of gray and serve as a perfectly gloomy backdrop for the vegetables' eerie orange on each page. "Jasper couldn't get enough carrots ... / ... until they started following him." The plot intensifies as Jasper not only begins to hear the veggies nearby, but also begins to see them everywhere. Initially, young readers will wonder if this is all a product of Jasper's imagination. Was it a few snarling carrots or just some bathing items peeking out from behind the shower curtain? The ending truly satisfies both readers and the book's characters alike. And a lesson on greed goes down like honey instead of a forkful of spinach. Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories. (Picture book. 4-7)

Boot & Shoe

Booklist starred (August 2012 (Vol. 108, No. 22))


Preschool-Grade 3. Boot and Shoe, Shoe and Boot—they’re a perfect pair. The white-and-black canine moppets are identical littermates, except for one small detail: Boot has boot-high black markings on his legs, while Shoe has shoe-high markings on his. They live in harmony, eating out of the same bowl, peeing on the same tree, and sleeping in the same bed. Boot is “a back porch kind of dog,” while Shoe prefers the front porch. Sounds blissful, right? And it is, until a pesky squirrel upends their little lives. Frustrated by the squirrel’s shenanigans, the two chase the tiny menace “until it gets bored,” then collapse belly-up from exhaustion. Boot wakes to find himself on the front porch, with no Shoe in sight; Shoe finds himself on the back porch, with no Boot in sight. Befuddled, they each wait lovingly for the other to return to his rightful spot. Two-time Caldecott Honor winner Frazee creates the dogs’ world in a series of cozy, expressive vignettes (nestled in plenty of white space), which capture the devoted friends’ joy and angst in shades of muted green and yellow. Full-page spreads offer up views of their tidy house, both porches visible, and a particularly amusing image depicts (seemingly) hundreds of squirrels and shaggy pups chasing one another around, up, and over the structure. Rarely have dogs—or footwear—been so charming.

This Is Not My Hat

Horn Book (September/October, 2012)


The eyes have it in Klassen’s latest hat book (I Want My Hat Back, rev. 11/11). Klassen manages to tell almost the whole story through subtle eye movements and the tilt of seaweed and air bubbles. The wide-eyed little fish on the cover looks guilty. He is. He has taken the tiny bowler from the head of a large sleeping fish and pleads his case to the reader. He explains why he will never be caught -- the fish is asleep; he won’t wake up or notice the missing hat; and he won’t know who took it or where the thief has gone. The culprit continues to flee the scene of the crime, moving to "where the plants are big and tall and close together." Once he reaches his destination, the reader sees the little guy for the last time, disappearing amidst the "safety" of the seaweed. The final spread is laugh-out-loud funny: the large fish now sports the teeny hat, eyes closed and relaxed in slumber. The seaweed wafts innocently, and the air bubbles are calm. Since every claim the little fish makes is belied by the pictures, the reader is in on the joke, by turns rooting for him to get away and nervously hoping he is caught. Klassen continues to be the master of black and brown, and the viewer will not tire of the palette. Little eyes will pore over the end pages, looking for evidence of foul play, but all the interaction between the two characters takes place where the plants grow tall and close together, obscuring the view. Darkly hilarious. robin l. smith