Day 202: Grandpa Green

We've gotten this gorgeous story out of the library several times now, and each time, I've vowed that I'm going to go home and blog about it.  Grandpa Green is an absolutely beautiful book, brought to life by some of the loveliest, most creative illustrations I've ever seen. 

In this heartfelt, poignant story, a young boy recounts the life of his great-grandfather, a remarkable man whose experiences and memories have been magically preserved in his garden.  As we wander among Grandpa Green's topiary trees, we learn of his childhood on a farm, time as a soldier in a world war, how he met his wife in a French cafe, and of the family they went on to create together.  Along the way, the great-grandson is seen admiring the memories so beautifully sculpted for him.  If you look closely, you'll also notice that he is gradually collecting gardening tools that have been left behind, as if to reassure us that his great-grandfather's memories and talents will live on long after he is gone.   

Grandpa Green is definitely the type of book that kids and adults of all ages will love for different reasons.  My children love studying the illustrations and quietly observing new details each time we read it, especially given their love of nature.  In many ways, though, I think this book is one that I love and appreciate far more than they do.  There are so many clever little things within the story that might be missed by kids but exhibit exactly why this book is so brilliant, such as the topiary sculpture of an elephant on the page that tells us how the great-grandpa sometimes "forgets things like his favorite floppy straw hat," or the way that the leaves on the tree gradually fade from green to brown when we learn that now Grandpa Green is pretty old.  I feel like we could read this story 100 times and discover something new each time.  

Grandpa Green was a Caldecott Honor Book in 2012, and deservedly so.  The text is brief, but the illustrations add volumes to this touching, whimsical story.  The description on the jacket cover describes this lovely book as exploring "aging, memory, and the bonds of family history and love."  The New York Times Book Review calls it "an unassuming little masterpiece" whose "power lies in its rich, allusive artistry."  I couldn't agree more.  

Day 143: Bats at the Library

I've been wanting to write about this book since we brought it home from the library last week, but somehow the days keep getting away from me and the nights get too late too quickly, so now that I have a few minutes I'm just going to get right to it.  This book is fabulous in every way.  It's wonderfully clever, fun to read, and its illustrations are amazing!  Plus, it's also about the magic and wonder of one of our most beloved places: the local library.  If you love libraries and books as much as we do, you've got to check this one out.  "Can it be true?  Oh, can it be?  Yes! -- Bat Night at the library!"  We fell in love with Bats at the Beach a few months back, but had to return it to the library before I had a chance to feature it here. I made a mental note to check it out again sometime, but now I figure I can just rave about its equally wonderful sequel and you can be on the lookout for both.  (In fact, I think I love Bats at the Library even more, which is also partly why I'm writing about it, instead.  There is also Bats at the Ballgame, though I haven't read that one yet.)  In Bats at the Library, those curious little critters are back and looking for more adventure.  When word gets out that a window has been left open at the library, the bats fly off to one of their favorite places for a night of fun.  "For most old bats, this isn't new -- they've got lots of things to do.  They'll flutter off and lose themselves among the books lined up on shelves.  Other bats, in munchy moods, will study guides to fancy foods [bugs!] or hang out by a lamp instead to talk about the books they've read."  Young bats frolic about making shadows on the walls, splashing in the water fountain, and playing wing-tip tag as they flutter about the halls.  Eventually, they settle in for story time, and to me, this is where the book becomes even more brilliant.  Brian Lies' illustrations are so wonderfully clever and creative here, and I just love how he depicts the way good stories draw us in until we feel like we are a part of them. I also love so many of the little details in the pictures, such as how the books are upside down while the bats read.  My favorite pages in the whole book are the double-page spreads that feature different famous literary characters (as bats, of course):  McCloskey's Make Way for Batlings, Little Red Riding Bat, Winnie the Pooh Bat, Peter Rabbat, Mr. Bat's Wild Ride, even a family of bats cuddling together to read "Goodnight Sun," among others.  Delightful content of the illustrations aside, Lies' ability to paint nighttime scenes is simply stunning.  I'm talking truly amazing. If you have any painting or drawing experience yourself, you know how incredibly hard it is to create nighttime images, mostly because casting light and shadows and getting those tones to be just right can feel near impossible.  Lies' illustrations, however, shine the perfect light on our friends' nocturnal escapades.  Whether you love libraries, bats, or are just looking for an all around fun book to read with your little one, Bats at the Library is one that is sure to delight readers of all ages. 

Day 123: Magnus Maximus, A Marvelous Measurer

I'll admit it.  I sometimes judge a book by its cover.  Or at least, I decide to pick it up based on its cover.  Such was the case the other day when I saw Magnus Maximus, A Marvelous Measurer, standing along the top of the library bookshelves in the new titles section.  There was something wonderfully intriguing about the cover illustration, and I added it to our pile of books to check out without even opening it or reading a few pages.  Another reason I picked up this book is that my son loves to measure things around our house with a tape measure -- his trucks, the couch, his arm, his sister -- so I naturally thought of my own little marvelous measurer when I saw it.  I read this book for the first time by myself later that evening after my son had gone to sleep, since he had chosen other titles to read at bedtime that night.  As soon as I finished the story, I loved it.  I couldn't wait to read it with my son the next day.  (He now loves it, too.)  I secretly hoped there would be more.  It's not that the book is incomplete or ends abruptly, but because I wanted more lovely images in my mind of Magnus Maximus appreciating the beauty of the world around him.  Magnus Maximus is indeed a marvelous measurer.  He particularly loves to measure extraordinary things: "wetness and dryness, nearness and farness, and everything else in between." He loves to count things, too, from the clouds in the sky to the petals on a geranium.  When the town makes Magnus its official measurer, he finds himself measuring even more things.  The wobbliness of a jellyfish.  The itchiness of an itch.  The stinkiest socks.  In fact, Magnus is so consumed by his daily (and nightly) measurements, that he misses much of what is going on around him.  "Whenever his friends invited him over to dinner, he was so busy counting the number of peas in the stew or cherries in the pie, that he never noticed the smiles in their eyes, or the tears in their voices."  When Magnus accidentally breaks his glasses and is unable to measure anything, he doesn't know what to do... until a young boy takes his hand and shows him there is far more to life than that which can be measured.  There are so many things I love about this story.  Most of all, I love its message that no matter how busy life can get, we must never forget to slow down and take time to appreciate the simple things in life that make the world so beautiful.   Feel the icy cold of the ocean on our feet.  Build a sandcastle.  Watch the sun set.  Gaze at the stars.  I love that it is the innocent, joyful nature of a child that first changes Magnus' perspective on the world, and that this all begins by the sea, a place which, to me, is inherently rejuvenating and peaceful.  There are some gorgeous descriptions throughout this book, such as "the butterfly that danced by on apricot wings," and "the snugness of a hand in a hand," which only add to the overall beauty of this story.   And of course, there are the amazing illustrations, which led me to pick up this book in the first place.  S.D. Schindler's artwork is masterfully detailed, and I am reminded of Erin Stead's illustrations that I love so much in A Sick Day for Amos McGee.  (This book is Caldecott-nominee-worthy, too, in my opinion.)  If you are looking for a fabulous new story to read with your child, this is one you will not want to miss.   

Day 92: Animalia

Magnificently marvelous menagerie makes a masterful, meticulous monograph.  Base's beautiful book of beasts bestows brilliance beyond belief.  Without a doubt, Animalia will be one of the most beautiful books you ever read with your child.  Ever.  "Within the pages of this book, You may discover, if you look, Beyond the spell of written words, A hidden land of beasts and birds.  For many things are 'of a kind', And those with keenest eyes will find, A thousand things, or maybe more -- It's up to you to keep the score."   This is not your ordinary alphabet book.  On every page from A to Z, Graeme Base creates an amazingly intricate illustration, complete with an alliterative tongue-twister that will test even some adult's vocabulary.  A few examples include "Crafty crimson cats carefully catching crusty crayfish," and "Ingenious iguanas improvising intricate impromptu on impossibly impractical instruments." Or perhaps the biggest tongue-twister of all, "Victor V. Vulture the vaudeville ventriloquist:  versatile virtuoso of vociferous verbosity, vexatiously vocalizing at the Valhalla Variety Venue."  Of course, it is the illustrations that truly make this book amazing.  They are beautifully detailed, exceptionally clever, and masterfully done.  I read in an interesting interview of his that it took Base months to complete each drawing.  I can certainly believe it!  Each incredible picture is full of things that begin with that letter of the alphabet.  You could literally look at some of them for an hour and not find everything.  As my son loves playing alphabet games, this book is a huge hit with him lately.  He loves looking for everything hidden in the pictures, including a small boy who appears in each one (intended to be Graeme when he was a child.  As he points out in the interview, this was even before "Where's Waldo?" came to be.)  This book can certainly be enjoyed by the older child, as well, and in fact might even be intended for a more sophisticated audience.  We especially love the lions on the L page.  My son always calls them the "library lions", after another one of our favorite books, featured back on Day 34. (One little warning to parents of very young children:  the "K" page features a picture of "Kid Kookaburra and Kelly Kangaroo kidnapping Kitty Koala," with some type of gun in their hands.  My son doesn't even seem to notice and loves looking for all of the other "K" things, plus it is illustrated in a cool, 1930's style, but some people might be turned off by the gun.  Just throwing that out there.)  We've had hours of fun with this book, and I love that it is the type of story that can grow along with your child.  There are so many other things you can do after reading this, too.  Make your own alphabet letter pictures, or see how many words you and your child can name that begin with one letter (my son loves doing this!)  We also happen to have an Animalia puzzle, which he loves doing, too.  Animalia is a beautiful work of art that is bound to captivate minds both young and old. 

Day 82: Over in the Ocean: In a Coral Reef

Over in the Ocean is fabulous in so many ways!  This is definitely one of our favorite books to read and sing -- perfect for a summery beach day!  There are so many things we love about this book that I hardly know where to begin.  First, the artwork by Jeanette Canyon is FANTASTIC!  All of the beautiful illustrations are crafted out of colorful polymer clay, which makes for a spectacular and unique style that is unlike any other I've seen.  Her work is truly amazing.  Second, it's a wonderful sing-along put to the classic tune of "Over in the Meadow," and I just love any book that gets us singing and moving! (Don't worry if you don't know the tune -- the words and music are featured at the back of the book.)  We read this story so many times when we first brought it home from the library that I very quickly had the whole thing memorized.  My son was only about 18 months old at the time, and even now, two years later, he still asks to read it all the time.  I find that we sing the song quite often, as well, when driving in the car, playing in the bath, or even as a lullaby.  It's also a counting book that tells about some of the many wondrous species that make our ocean's coral reefs their home.  Count your way from one to ten, meeting angel fish, clown fish, stingrays, puffer fish, seahorses and others along the way.  "Over in the ocean far away from the sun, lived a mother octopus and her octopus one.  "Squirt," said the mother.  "I squirt," said the one.  So they squirted in the reef far away from the sun."  I also love that the animals' actions in the book are true to their actions in real life.  An octopus really does squirt ink, parrot fish grind on coral, and clown fish dart among anemones.  It's educational, engaging, fun, colorful, and fantastically creative!  Maryann Berkes also includes great supplemental information at the back of the story, including more detail about the featured species, how the illustrations were made, and suggestions for ways children can move about to the song.  There are others in Berkes' series, as well, such as another family favorite, Over in the Jungle (featured back on Day 5.)  We absolutely love this book, and find that it makes a wonderful birthday gift for young children.  If you're headed to the beach at all this summer, be sure to check this one out.  You just might find yourself singing the song the whole way there!

Day 51: A Sick Day for Amos McGee

Philip and Erin Stead have created a beautiful masterpiece in A Sick Day for Amos McGee.  We adore this story about a sweet old zookeeper and his beloved animals and love the fabulous illustrations even more.  Amos McGee is the city zookeeper.  He gets up every morning, puts on a fresh pressed uniform, and rides the number five bus to the zoo.  Although he has a lot to do when he gets there, he always makes time to visit his good friends.  He plays chess with the elephant, runs races with the tortoise (who always wins), sits quietly with the shy penguin, lends a handkerchief to the sniffly rhinoceros, and reads stories to the owl (who is afraid of the dark) at sunset.  Then he returns home to rest before another busy day ahead.  When Amos wakes up sick one day and is unable to go to work, he receives a pleasant surprise:  his animal friends come to return the favor and take care of him!  It's a wonderful tale of friendship that has some of the most expressive and unique illustrations I have seen.  In fact, when I went to save the image from Barnes and Noble's website, I saw that it was the 2011 Caldecott winner -- deservedly so!  A big congratulations to artist Erin Stead, whose woodblock print and pencil drawings are simply incredible and tell the story in and of themselves; a sign of a truly great picture book, in my opinion.  In fact, my favorite pages are the only two in the book that have no words at all, with the animals waiting for and then riding on the city bus.  If you haven't yet discovered this wonderful story, look for it the next time you go to the library.  It is bound to be a classic in our house.