Forsythia & Me

Booklist (January 1, 2011 (Vol. 107, No. 9))


Preschool-Grade 2. Chester adores his best friend, Forsythia, and he is breathless with admiration at her amazing feats. She makes him a tall, layered birthday cake and then flies right out of it; she grows shining purple roses that bloom in the middle of winter snow; she can play piano while standing on her head; and she has tamed the ferocious animals at the city zoo so well “that they never arrive late for tea.” Then there is a reversal when Forsythia is not feeling well, and Chester performs amazing feats for her. He rearranges all her stuffed animals, gives her a bouquet of her namesake flower, and plays “Chopsticks” on his accordion for her with only 13 mistakes. The young audience will welcome the wild, imaginative play and the story of loyal friendship, all captured in the winsome ink, watercolor, and pencil illustrations.

Emmy and the Rats in the Belfry

Kirkus Reviews (June 15, 2011)


Ten-year-old Emmy Addison returns with rodent pal Raston Rat to prove she's a responsible kid who still has what it takes to outwit her former nanny, the devious Jane Barmy, in this fast-paced sequel toEmmy and the Home for Troubled Girls(2008). Fresh from their unscrupulous ventures three weeks ago, when they were transformed into rats, shameless Jane Barmy and her besotted partner in crime, Cheswick Vole, resurface, intent on revenge. While vandalizing Emmy's bedroom to frame her for irresponsibility, the dastardly duo learn Professor Capybara has developed patches embedded with kisses from Raston's sister Sissy that can turn them back into full-sized humans. Together they steal Capybara's formula, dupe Emmy's parents into sending her to visit her great aunts in Schenectady and trick Sissy to go with Emmy to find her "Ratmom." In Schenectady, bats "ratnap" Sissy, who's forced to produce more patches while Emmy discovers her elderly great aunts barely surviving on their own. Using every transforming rodent trick (bites, kisses and reverse aging tears), Emmy and Raston crash a river-rat bar, scale a batty belfry and stow away on a train, attempting to rescue Sissy and save the aunts. The complicated, improbable but highly entertaining plot showcases brave, responsible Emmy and hilarious, irresponsible Raston. Bats appropriately swirl in the flip-book feature. Fans of Emmy and Raston will welcome their latest escapades.(Fantasy. 9-12)

Chocolate Moose

Booklist (February 1, 2011 (Vol. 107, No. 11))


Preschool-Grade 2. What’s the difference between a u and an o? A mouse and a moose! Moose loves chocolate, but when he misreads the Help Wanted sign in the window of Mrs. Mouse’s bakery, it becomes quickly evident that he may be in for trouble. The mouse-sized bakery cannot accommodate his moose-sized body, and he’s too large to handle the tiny kitchen utensils. This sugar-sweet story has a perennially wise message at its center: we all have talents, it just takes a while to find them. Although Moose is hopeless as a baker, he is ideal as a babysitter to Mrs. Mouse’s crying children. This is a winsome offering, illustrated in soft-edged shapes and pastel colors. Moose has a Pooh-bear cuddliness, while the mice are drawn with more detail. Their clothes and expressions distinguish them from each other, and the size difference among creatures is exaggerated for good comedic effect as Moose bumbles about. The baby mice are delighted with Moose, and children will be, too.

999 Tadpoles

Booklist starred (July 2011 (Vol. 107, No. 21))


Preschool-Grade 3. Though justifiably proud of their 999 offspring, Mother and Father Frog know that it’s time to find a bigger pond. They are all crossing a field when a hawk snatches Father and begins to fly away. Quickly, Mother grabs Father’s leg, a young frog grabs hers, another grabs her, and so on until the predator is hauling a heavy chain of frogs. Unwilling to lose “a whole year’s supply,” the hawk holds on as long as he can, but eventually he lets go, and 1,001 frogs fall to their . . . new home in a big pond. Translated from the Japanese, this amusing picture book was given the same English title as a 2006 picture book with the same author, illustrator, and title but a different story and artwork. Even if you have the first book, you don’t want to miss this one. Written with a storyteller’s flair, the simple text finds just the right balance of drama and humor to make this tale of thwarted predation a real crowd-pleaser. The naive paintings suit the story well, and the cartoonlike exaggeration of the little frogs' features reassures viewers that, somehow, these upbeat little characters will come out on top. Highly recommended for reading aloud.

The Duckling Gets a Cookie!?

Kirkus Reviews starred (January 15, 2012)


Everyone's favorite grouch of a fowl returns, though the spotlight is firmly fixed elsewhere.Never content to be merely a supporting character, The Pigeon nonetheless takes a backseat in a story in which The Duckling asks for and receives a cookie with nuts.Incensed, The Pigeon proceeds to rant about the various items and impossibilities he has asked for over the years, ignoring point blank the fact that The Duckling got her cookie by asking politely.At the end of the expected meltdown, the smaller bird reveals thatshe only got the cookie in the first place so that she could give it to The Pigeon.Flabbergasted ("Hubba-- Whaa?!?"), our hero leaves with cookie in hand, and The Duckling reveals that her seeming sainthood--she shares slyness as well as color with Tweety Bird--may be a bit of an act.Even those who think they may have tired of The Pigeon's antics will find much to enjoy in this familiar but different outing.The importance of politeness is evident, but its delivery is not didactic in the least.Just as enjoyable as a read-aloud to a group or as a one-on-one lapsit, it's a pleasure to see Willems at the top of his game, and The Pigeon suitably humbled.(Picture book. 3-8)

The Beetle Book

Kirkus Reviews starred (February 15, 2012)


Jenkins' splendid array of beetles will surely produce at least one budding coleopterist. The colors and patterns of this ubiquitous insect (one out of four creatures on the planet is a beetle, Jenkins tells readers) are fascinating, as are the details about the various adaptations that beetles have made over millennia in response to their environment, diet, and predators. "Perhaps the innovation that has been most helpful to the beetle is its pair of rigid outer wings." Beautiful book design and a small but clear freehand-style type contribute to readers' appreciation of the elegant structure and variety of these creatures. Deep, bright hues in the torn-and--cut-paper--collage illustrations set each beetle with its own singular pattern and colors against generous white space. Actual-size silhouettes allow the detailed, larger illustrations to be matched with a realistic appraisal of each beetle's dimensions. A list of the several dozen featured beetles along with their Latin names and their principal geographic locations appears on a two-page opening at the back. Only a couple of quibbles: The author's claim that without the dung beetle "the world's grasslands would soon be buried in animal droppings" begs for a little further explanation; and the absence of a bibliography seems like an oversight. Otherwise, distinguished both as natural history and work of art. (Nonfiction. 7-12)

Wolf Won't Bite!

Horn Book (March/April, 2012)


Creating a circus sideshow with the wolf as its unwilling star, three pigs enjoy taunting a captured wild wolf. The pigs pull up to the circus with the wolf inside a decorated rolling cage, his head and tail protruding from each end, and seem determined to humiliate him at every opportunity. They stand him on a stool, tie an oversized, ridiculous bow around his neck, ride him like a horse, make him jump through hoops, throw knives at him, shoot him through the air like a cannonball, even saw him in two, magician style. No matter what these vindictive pigs do, "Wolf won't bite!" is the joyous refrain of the porcine tormentors. The pigs' bravado and the wolf's compliance seem to have no bounds until the final taunting is just too much for the wolf. Gravett's impeccable pacing, sly visual clues, and clever use of white space elevate this universal story of gloating gone wrong. What appear first to be circus poster fonts turn out to be carefully drawn individual typefaces for each character. The wolf has exactly one word in the book (the last word, of course), and his typeface is deliciously hairy. The wolf's expression, which reflects each fresh indignity, changes ever so slightly at the end to warn the reader that the wolf has Had Enough. The color palette -- heavy on the red and gray -- is reminiscent of that of Falconer's Olivia, and it is quite possible that these three pigs would enjoy her friendship very much. robin l. smith