Part of the fun--ok, who am I trying to kid--nearly all of the fun of going to Library Conferences is discovering new books. (The rest of the fun is meeting their authors...or dodging the authors of books you didn't like--it's a game I play). I didn't even find this series AT the Library Conference, it came to me later, but I met the nice staff from Peachtree at PLA, and they sent me William Bee's "Stanley" series. Stanley is a very helpful Guinea Pig (ok, he might be a hamster...I can't tell and the book jacket and publisher website don't say...but he's a cute little rodenty animal). In mostly simple declarative sentences in big dark friendly text, we hear about Stanley and his busy days full of colorful machines. In Stanley's garage..."Here is Stanley's friend Hattie. / She needs some gas for her red sports car." Stanley fixes a flat on a blue car, tows a purple car (which leaks oil on him when he puts it on the lift)...he has a full day and goes home for a nice dinner (and a bath). When he's a builder, he builds a house for his friend Myrtle. He clears the land with an orange bulldozer and digs out the foundation with his yellow digger. Then he and his mouse buddy Charlie build the house from the ground up. Another busy day. These hit several different picture book genres: cute animals, colors, machines, jobs. The cartoon illustrations with their heavy black lines and bright colors are mostly full bleed (full page) and very inviting. Kind of a combination of Richard Scarry books and Philemon Sturgis's "I Love..." series. William Bee is a race car enthusiast who lives in the English countryside (rough life). He has a pretty-bare-bones yet colorful website at http://www.williambee.com/ I am definitely looking forward to more from him...Try these (once they're out). |
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Banjo's Book Recommendations and Mousie Recon -- "Kittens! Kittens! Kittens!" by Susan Meyers4/23/2014 This is, on the surface a nice rhyming picture book about a bunch of kittens with the refrain "Here and there and everywhere, Kittens! Kittens! Kittens!," but it sneakily takes you (little humans) on a tour of a kitten's first year. "Newborn kittens, soft as silk, Tummies filled with mother's milk. Nestling, cozy, then at last-- Standing up and growing fast." I think if these were little humans, you would call the kindle of kittens "multicultural" because there's one orange stripy one (Bubble would like that), one grey, one brown spotted and one white spotted and one very handsome grey stripy puss. These kitties find their tails to chase and learn about litter and food. They start scratching curtains and furniture (bad kitties!) but they learn: "Kittens getting bells to wear, Scratching posts instead of chairs. Learning where to climb and leap, Choosing perfect spots to sleep." I particularly like the illustrations by David Walker. He knows kitties very well. It says he uses acrylic paints to achieve depth. I think he did a great job of capturing kitty emotions in the shapes of their bodies and the fluff and shape of their tails. My favorite page was the one that showed a kitty that looked like Sissie Bruegel knocking over a vase at the top and the orange kitty in a bag being stalked by the grey stripy kitty: "Knocking knickknacks, crouched in sacks, Leaping out in sneak attacks!" I have a small issue with the book: On an early page the orange kitty is in a cat carrier with the text "Kittens leaving all they've known, Soon exploring brand-new homes." But then the orange kitty doesn't really go anywhere. That is not real kitty life. When we go to a new home, we don't get to keep playing with our siblings. I also, don't think ALL kittens grow up to have kittens of their own, like the ones in the book. Although if we did, maybe we could finally take over and fix the world. I give this four treats. Any Kitty lover would like it!
He tries a human baby cart, but the baby's mommies won't let him nap there. He tries a hole in a tree, but the squirrels already living there kick him out. Then he sees a bald man (like Daddy Tim) who is cold on a bench. Ralph curls up on the man's head. He's found his cozy, high, warm, safe place! And he gets a forever home in the process. Neat little story. And I like the pictures by Amanda Haley. They are water colors, and Ralph looks like a real cartoon kitty. The pictures have a lot of the story in them. I like that because I still don't really read human words. I liked it and I think little humans just starting to read will too. They can learn important words like "cat." Here is a real life version of Ralph and the man...it looks less practical in real life... Today's tip for Cat Children of Human People (CaCHuPs): When the white stuff leaves the ground...if you are lucky enough to have a human and a house...your human will probably open the "windows." My Daddies have, and it is almost like being outside. There is still something between me and outside...I don't know what it is. It does keep the bugs out and the bad kitties. There is a bad grey kitty who comes up on the porch to see me. I think he is the one who makes stinky patches in the back yard too. I made sure he knew this was my house when he came to the window. So my tip is: if the white stuff is on the ground, just hold on...windows will open soon...and you can chase away mean kitties and talk to the birds and watch the real living mousies in the garden...and on occasion maybe your Human will take you on a visit to outside for some grass munching and dirt rolling.
After discovering South African Latimer earlier this year, I have burned through his picture books. I quite like his quirky, dry sense of humor, his blocky watercolors and the fact that his protagonist in "The Boy Who Cried Ninja" was named Tim. Since I reviewed his "Lion V. Rabbit" elsewhere...and I'm not a huge fan of "Pig and Small" this is the last of his American editions that I haven't reviewed. The lady at the Peachtree booth at ALA recommended this one when I talked to her about "Pig and Small" so I dug it up. The animals are having a talent show. Everyone practices their talent...but Penguin doesn't know his. Fox is going to burp the alphabet. Bear is going to juggle appliances. Albatross is going to swallow huge fish. And Rabbit is going to do magic. Since Penguin doesn't know his talent, the animals offer to help him learn their's... This does not go well. So Penguin just organizes the event since he's not busy. It goes so well that the animals decide to throw Penguin a thank you party for doing such a good organizing job. It is pretty much a failure... Rabbit says that if Penguin had organized the party, it would have been great... And Penguin's hidden talent is revealed! He's a great party planner! So he plans his own party... And it's fantastic!
There, everyone has a talent! Very cute. A great self-esteem tale for youngins. No one named Tim, but still worth adding to your collection or to your bundle of books next time you visit your local library. And here's a gratuitous picture of cute penguins enacting a live version of the talent show...just 'cause: I am surprised, if she is so smart, that her first book wasn't about cats. We are so important as the book will tell you if you read it. In this book you can learn about different breeds of kitties. You can learn about our history with humans. You can learn about our paws and claws and the way we talk. There is even a section about how to look after your cat if you are lucky enough to be adopted by one of us. The big labeled pictures have even more information AND each features a different color of kitty. I think my favorite part came at the end when there were short entries about cats in history. 4000 years ago people called Egyptians were smart enough to worship kitties. And we have been in America since 1700...how about that! The best thing about the book (and Daddy Tim said it's the same in all of Gail Gibbons's books) is that it treats the reader like they are already smart and never talks down to them. That is great. I give this book three and a half treats. Little humans should all read it to learn imortant things about their kitty best friends.
Each letter has a poem: "M is for Meow Feed me, pet me, come and play. Let me out, please go away! A cat fits all these thoughts somehow into the tiny word MEOW." At the sides of the poems is a lot of information. So little humans can read the poems and learn a little or read the whole page and learn a lot! There is stuff there about cats inspiring famous artists (of course!) and kitty ancestors and when cats decided it was ok to live with humans. Neat! G is for grooming. R is for rescue. T is for tail and toes. It's a pretty good cat alphabet. And I really like the mostly realistic pictures by Robert Papp. Some of the kitty eyes look suspiciously like human eyes...what IS it with humans that every animal has to look human? Narcissistic much? (Daddy Tim helped me with that word). Only one cat has on clothes...and apparently he is from a famous story called "Puss in Boots," so I guess it's ok in this one instance. Speaking of the pictures, I would like to know HOW they got a picture of me, Martian Baby, Squeakless Mouse and my cosmic catnip bag...Check out the P is for purr page! That's us. Creepy! I included a picture of Squeakless below just in case you forgot what he looks like. Little human cat lovers need to have this book. It's the perfect way to learn the human alphabet and learn about your cat siblings too! Today's tip for Cat Children of Human People (CaCHuPs): Your human will probably be pushy at times and think that they are in charge. My Daddies take me outside when they can...instead of when I want to and that is annoying. Then they make me go in even if I haven't sniffed everything. It's your job to control them with cute, targeted lovins and sleep deprivation. I think we have covered "turning on the cute" to get what you want. Like if I want to stay out longer, I roll on my back or talk to a bird (sometimes there isn't even a bird...I just pretend and charm my Daddies). And of course, if you keep them tired by waking them up repeatedly, they will be more suggestible. Remember: just because they are bigger and have thumbs doesn't mean they are really in charge! And her Goyangi likes her. He even waited for Soo Min before she arrived. She likes her new parents who she calls Omah and Apah, but the goyangi is the best...smart girl! So the cat goes missing one day and Soo Min and her new Mommie go looking--they don't find him. Thankfully, Goyangi knows his way home and the little human is happy again. I like the swirly art and the pretty Siamese kitty. If I wasn't orange, I would want to be Siamese...but then I would make Daddy Tim sneeze, so I am doubly glad I am orange! There are even Korean words in the pictures (according to Daddy Tim) and that is kind of neat too. Apparently not all Humans write the same either--sheesh!
I think little humans Korean or not would like this story very much because the little human Soo Min and her kitty get back together at the end and both have a forever home! Today's tip for Cat Children of Human People (CaCHuPs): Sometimes people leave you {Daddy Trent would say "halfway through the woods" at this point...I don't know why}. Daddy Tim is sad because someone at his work is leaving. I had to leave my kittens at SICSA so other humans could adopt them. I hope they got adopted by nice Daddies like mime (or nice Mommies or Mommie-Daddies). So CaCHuPs, when you get a forever home, make the most of it! Your Daddies and Mommies might be a pain sometimes (like when they only give you a little food) but they love you. Make sure you love them back. Banjo's Book Recommendations and Mousie Recon -- "Homer the Library Cat" by Reeve Lindbergh4/9/2014 Then he steps into a nice quiet place...and there is his quiet lady...in the library! Homer purrs and jumps on his lady...and the end says he goes there every day and the children think he's purr-fect. Daddy Tim says that though the library is SUPPOSED to be quiet, a kitty like Homer (and me) who likes a nice quiet place would probably NOT be at home in a library. He says this picture : Is more like what the library is like. SO I am glad that Daddy Tim does not take me to the library each day. I would rather try to ignore one loud little sister cat than a whole bunch of small humans. That said, I really like this book. Anne Wilsdorf's watercolor illustrations are fun and funny and her Homer looks like a real kitty. Daddy Tim says he likes that the quiet lady does not have a bun (I don't know what that is) and that there are ladies working in the rail yard. I give this book three and a half treats.
I never watched wrestling as a kid. I had friends who did, but I always thought it was pretty silly. The closest I got to watching anything "Pro Wrestling" as a kid was Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" video. But I knew who Andre the Giant was. I think everyone did. He was a guest on a couple of regular TV shows when I was a kid (though I didn't know he was inside the Bigfoot costume on two of my favorite episodes of Six Million Dollar Man until just this moment looking him up on IMDB) And when the Princess Bride came out in 1987 everyone really did know who he was.
There are other wrestling "Stars" in the story of course. Some of them even supplied stories for the book. The source notes at the end are as interesting as the book. It has a good explanation of how the fakeness that is "pro wrestling" works and a good explanation of Acromegaly, Andre's condition. And most importantly for me there is a bit about the filming of the Princess Bride. (I would have liked more).
I can't say that I loved the book. I did like it. Even in graphic form, I am not a fan of multiple time shifts in the narrative. That may be my fault more than the book's. But I will say that if you are at all interested in Andre or the entertainment industry that is "pro wrestling" then you should pick this up when it comes out next month. And he is happy again. He eats cream from a blue bowl (why don't I get cream?) and he lounges around the geraniums (doesn't his human lady know those are poisonous to kitties? Maybe Moe doesn't like to eat leaves as much as I do--I like to eat salad with my daddies!)...But when the weather gets nice again, he wants to wander. But outside isn't as nice as it used to be. And he misses his lady human and his bowl and his catnip toys. When he goes back to her, she's very happy. Then she lets him be an indoor cat by day and an outdoor cat by night when the weather is good. She even goes out with him sometimes. I want a deal like that! But Daddy Tim says the neighborhood is too full of stinky old dogs and humans who don't know how to drive (or even use their turn signals whatever that is)...oh well, I do like lounging around and looking out at the wildness outside. I will just content myself with my visits to the back yard with my Daddies...when it's sunny...and warm. So I liked Moe's story. I liked the pictures too by Linda Bronson even though they are loopy and pointy and not too realistic. Moe looks like a happy cat. Today's tip for Cat Children of Human People (CaCHuPs): Plants can be tasty. Yes, tuna in creamy sauce and crunchies from the pink bag are the BEST kind of foods especially with a side order of treats from the little bag, but leaves are yummy. Some of them even stay down when you swallow them! Daddy Tim lets me have a piece of lettuse when he makes a salad. (Sometimes when he is working on cooking something else, I jump up on the counter and lick the leaves in the bowls. I don't think he has noticed this yet). So CaCHuPs, if you haven't tried a nice leaf of lettuce, give it a try. Daddy Tim even made a movie of me munching lettuce. I'm a star! And they cry. Then their mother (who is baking and wearing an apron) says they get no pie because they lost their mittens. This threat gets them to look a little harder and...they find their mittens. Well, yeah...woo-hoo...those are some maniacal little kittens They now get pie...which they eat with their mittens on. Now, their mother is mad because they soiled their mittens. (Where was she when they were eating pie with mittens on? She only has herself to blame!) The kittens wash their mittens and hang them up to dry...and this makes Mom happy. Then she "smells a rat near by" and the story ends...WHAT?! What about the rat? And what kind of pie was it? Was it a neighbor rat coming for his piece of pecan pie? Or did the family go off hunting rat for dinner? Or was the first pie a rat pie? And the rat they smell is coming to seek revenge for his brother who was baked in the first pie? Does the story end there because he was a ninja rat and he slaughtered the family? Humans are really weird. And they write weird books.
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About MeTim is a writer, book reviewer and Librarian. He has a Master's of Library Science and was on the Newbery Committee twice. Technology scares and often annoys him, but he is always game for a silly costume! Archives
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