The House in the Night

The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson

Illustrated by Beth Krommes

Published by Houghton Mifflin Company

2008

     "Here is the key to the house. In the house burns a light. In that light rests a bed. On that bed waits a book."  As a girl picks up the book, her imagination takes flight on the wings of the bird that lays inside it, and she takes us all the way to the moon and back to "the house in the night, a home full of light."

     An old nursery rhyme collected in The Oxford Nursery Rhyme Book (1955) begins with the verses: "This is the key of the kingdom: / In that kingdom is a city, / In that city is a town, / In that town there is a street..." (from Swanson's Author's note at the end of The House in the Night).  This nursery rhyme was the inspiration for Swanson's beautiful book.  The text follows a cumulative pattern and it takes you from the smallness of a key to the immensity of the sky and, then, backtracking, all the way back inside the house. 

     The House in the Night is a wonderful bedtime story, taking the readers on a journey to the vastness of the world, but always coming back to the comfort of the home and a warm bed.  The text is beautiful, no doubt about it, but the real stars for me are the illustrations by Beth Krommes.  They are nothing short of spectacular.  They are made scratchboard style and there is no color, all black and white except for splashes of gold to highlight specific objects (the sun, the moon, the lamp, the book, the teddy bear).  This is the kind of picture book that will stay with you because of its utter beauty.  Just gorgeous! 

    

The Heart and the Bottle

The Heart and the Bottle by Oliver Jeffers
Illustrated by Oliver Jeffers
Published by Philomel Books
2010

     "Once there was a girl, much like any other whose head was filled with all the curiosities of the world." Her grandfather would sit in his armchair and read to the girl, opening to her a world of wonder, inspiring her imagination and creativity.  "Until the day she found and empty chair." With her grandfather's passing the little girl found that the only way to protect her heart from pain was to put it in a safe place. "So, she put it in a bottle and hung it around her neck." While that helped the sorrow at first, she soon began to forget about the curiosities and wonders of the world. She grew up.  And then she met someone younger who was still curious about the world and she felt it was time to take her heart out of the bottle.
     The Heart and the Bottle is painfully beautiful.  As I read it the first time I immediately choked up and had to go back and read it a second time to absorb all its gorgeous imaginary and illustrations.  The way Jeffers showed the girls imagination is just magical.  We see her laying in the grass next to her grandfather, whose dialogue bubble shows a picture of a constellation, while hers shows her seeing the sky as a bumble bee on fire.  And then there's the heartbreaking image of her drawing on paper a bunch of doodles and, as she runs to show her grandfather, we see that in her head the picture is of her with a whale...and that when we turn the page to find the empty chair where grandpa used to sit.  The thing about The Heart and the Bottle is that it feels like it's more for us the adults than for children; to reminds us to keep the inner child alive. The illustrations will entertain the young readers though, even if they don't quite "get it". Such a beautiful book!

Penguin

Penguin by Polly Dunbar
Illustrated by Polly Dunbar
Published by Candlewick Press
2007

     Ben got a very special present: a penguin. He wanted to play and talk with him, but the penguin just stood there saying nothing. Ben tried everything to get a reaction from the penguin: funny faces, silly dances, tickles, wearing funny clothes and singing silly songs. But penguin said nothing.  Ben eventually got so frustrated he began to whine and scream. A lion was passing by and he got annoyed with all the noise so, as it often happens, he ate Ben (can't help thinking about Sendak's Pierre and his "I don't care").  And the penguin, well, this time he did do something.
     Penguin is delightful, funny and endearing.  The simple and clean illustrations by Polly Dunbar are wonderful, especially all the different facial expressions by Ben and the proportion contrast between Ben and the gigantic blue lion.  At the end, Penguin is a story about friendship; one that starts with a lot of "nothing" and ends with a hero penguin.  Great read aloud for the K-2 crowd and a fun bedtime story.

A Dog Is a Dog

A Dog Is a Dog by Stephen Shaskan
Illustrated by Stephen Shaskan
Published by Chronicle Books
2011

     "A dog is a dog, wether is it's naughty...or nice." Wether it's skinny or fat. A dog is a dog. Unless, he takes off his costume to reveal...he's a cat! And a cat is a cat, wether hairless or furry...unless it is...a squid!
     A Dog Is a Dog is a delightfully funny read aloud.  The text pattern will have young ones trying to guess what animal will show up next and laughing at the crazy situations (my favorite was the squid taking off his cat costume.  The illustrations by Shaskan are bold and hilarious (check out the squid stuck in a bottle and the moose with a head lamp).  Reading this book made me think of two things: the classic ending of old school Scooby Doo episodes and Bark George! by Jules Pfeiffer. Any one else? I also appreciated the circular form of the story, which makes it a great text to share in the classroom. Great read aloud.

The Secret Footprints

The Secret Footprints by Julia Alvarez
Illustrated by Fabian Negrin
Published by Dell Dragonfly Books
2000

     On an island in the Caribbean, not too long ago, lived a secret tribe called the ciguapas.  They lived underwater and came out to hunt for food only at night. They were all beautiful women, fearful of being discovered by the humans who, they believed, would imprison them and force them to live on land.  The ciguapas looked just like us except that their feet were pointed backwards.  That's what helped them protect the secret of their existence, because their footprints always seemed to point in the opposite direction when they walked on land.
     The Secret Footprints tells the story of guapa, on the ciguapas. Guapa (which means beautiful and brave in Spanish) was very curious and, against the advice of the queen ciguapa, she kept venturing inland to observe the humans. One day, following the smell of delicious pasteles, she gets too close and was seen by a family having a picnic. Guapa has to find a way to protect the secret of her tribe.
     The Secret Footprints is beautifully written by Julia Alvarez and Negrin's illustrations full of blues, aquamarines, and the warm tones of the Caribbean, are a wonderful match.  At the end of the tale, Alvarez adds an author note describing the Dominican folklore around the ciguapas.  A great read-aloud to bring some magical realism into the classroom or home.

Cybils Fiction Picture Books Finalists. My journey as a panelist.

   
     This year -I guess is now last year- I had the honor and pleasure of being selected as one of the panelist for the first round of the Cybils Awards, Fiction Picture Books category.  It has been one of the coolest things I've been able to do as a blogger and reader. Thanks the 250+ nominations, I got to read more picture books in a two month span that I ever thought was humanly possible. Some were good, some were, well, painful, and some were just awesome.  I also got to connect with some brilliant teachers, librarians, and bloggers. I kept pinching myself wondering how I had ended up being part of such a brilliant group and at the end, it was a perfect ending to my first year as a blogger.
     Coming up with the seven finalist was very difficult. We spent hours agonizing over what books to include/leave out...and here they are: Fiction Picture Books Finalists.  Check each book out! You won't be disappointed. I promise. By the way, I reviewed all but one of them on this blog, so you might know them already.
     And if you want to see the finalists under all the other Cybils categories, go here: Cybils 2011 Finalists. So there you go.  Now go and make your TBR pile as big as possible!

ps: You get extra #nerdybookclub points for knowing that TBR is To Be Read

   
   
 

Drawing From Memory

Drawing From Memory by Allen Say

Illustrated by Allen Say

Published by Scholastic Press

2011

     Allen Say, the Caldecott Medal recipient for Grandfather's Journey, has created a marvelous book in Drawing From Memory. Part graphic novel, memoir, and narrative with a collage of drawing, sketches and photographs, Drawing From Memory is Allen Says first person tale of his journey to become an artist.   

     The narrative focuses on his youth in Japan, living through WWII, and battling his father's disdain for Say's artistic gifts.  He's able to move out and live on his own by the age of twelve and finds his way to become the apprentice of Noro Shinpei, one of Japan's leading cartoonist.  

     Drawing From Memory grabs you from the beginning and won't let you go. It's inspiring, heart-breaking at times, but more than anything else, it's an homage to Allen Say's sensei, Noro Shinpei.  It's a loving letter to the man who became his "spiritual father" as well as a thank you to all the teachers and peers that helped him on his path to become the artist he's today.