May I Bring A Friend?
By: Beatrice Schenk de Regniers
Illustrated by: Beni Montresor
Medal Winner
NOT REVIEWED
What could be more natural, when invited by the King and Queen to tea, than to ask to bring a friend? And that, of course, is what the hero of May I Bring a Friend? does. Not only to tea, but to breakfast, lunch, dinner, apple pie and Halloween—one invitation for each of six days of the week.
The King is most gracious. "Any friend of our friend is most welcome here," says he. And his graciousness extends to giraffes, lions, hippos, monkeys, all kinds of friends. Not all of whom are on their very best behavior.
It must be assumed however, that everyone (including the reader) enjoyed the friends, for why else would the king and queen step off to the zoo for tea on the seventh day.
From the dust jacket
A Pocketful of Cricket
By: Rebecca Caudill
Illustrated by: Evaline Ness
Honor
Reviewed by: Lara Lleverino
Recommended age: 4-6 years of age
This book will make you long for slow living. The perfect antidote to today's social media and virtual living this book is long slow wallow in a sensory explosion of nature. The story follows young Jay as he interacts with the natural world around him as he walks to bring the cows in after a day of grazing on the hills around his home. A perfect example of a child that has over hours of experience grown the skill of "seeing" the world around him. Then Jay goes to school and shares with his class and teacher the wonder and awe of the natural world around them. I love the teacher of this book as well who takes the time to ask her student clarifying questions about the noise coming from his pocket when the temptation to get on with her planned lesson which opens the classroom to the wider lessons of nature and noticing.
Rain Makes Applesauce
By: Julian Scheer
Illustrated by: Marvin Bileck
Honor
Reviewed by: Sandy Hall
Recommended age: Ages 4-8
Also read and recommended by: Christine Kallner
"Rain makes applesauce." Now, does it really? Of course not! But in your imagination, it can. This delightful book is full of fanciful phrases like "I wear my shoes inside out,"Salmon slike down a Hippo's hide," and "Elbows grow on a tickle tree." Not really, but in your imagination, these things can be true. I can just hear the giggles you will hear when reading this book aloud to your little ones.
The illustrations are intricate and detailed, soft watercolors and black line drawings, and full of fun and whimsy. The illustrator, Marvin Bileck, said "When he read the script he felt himself entering childhood's own unique world where habitual ideas had little place. This world, he felt, would be small scale and filled with the tiny images so loved by children. For two years he played with ideas and sketches. For some of the drawings he used models: puppets and a doll collection. But for others he worked to depict the underlying feeling so the child's imagination could take off from the drawing." [from the dust jacket]
So read this charming book with your children, and then let them make up their own silly sayings, always followed by "Rain makes applesauce."
The Wave
By: Margaret Hodges
Illustrated by: Blair Lent
Honor
Reviewed by: Sandy Hall
Recommended age: Ages 4-8
So many powerful lessons come through in this retelling of an old Japanese folk tale: the wisdom and foresight of the elderly grandfather, the power of nature, the impetuousness of youth, and self-sacrifice for the sake of others. Grandfather Ojiisan set fire to his own rice fields to warn the villagers of the coming danger of a tidal wave. The illustrations reflect old Japan, using just three colors: gray, brown and gold. The waves flow through the pages. This story reminds me of my own father. One time we were traveling out West, getting ready to head up into the mountains of Wyoming on our way back home to Michigan in early September. My dad asked my husband to make sure the propane tank was also filled when we stopped for gas. My husband thought we probably wouldn't need it since we were toward the end of our long travels, but he did as my father asked. Sure enough, as we journeyed into the night and up into the mountains, we encountered a serious snow storm. The roads quickly became impassable, so we pulled into the church parking lot in a very small town and requested permission to park there for the night. Because my dad had foreseen the storm and cold, we were warm and snug in our camper that night. Hodges' book The Wave helps the young listener to understand the value of the wisdom of the elderly, an excellent lesson indeed.
