A red dragon, an ugly dumpling and Malala…..

Red is a Dragon written by Roseanne Thong and illustrated by Grace Lin

is a delightfully rhythmic story of colors.  Great illustrations and definitions in the back make this a fantastic choice for storytime.

 

The Ugly Dumpling written by Stephanie Campisi 

and illustrated by Shahar Kober

tells the story an ugly dumpling who doesn’t get eaten and just can’t figure out why.  Enter the cockroach and the story turns toward acceptance and friendship.

 

Last, and certainly not least, is Malala’s Magic Pencil.  Malala Yousafzai has written a picture book about her childhood.  Every night she wished for a magic pencil.. a magic pencil that didn’t arrive.  Malala soon learned that using her voice was just as powerful as a magic pencil.

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It’s been a long long time…..

2017 was a terrible year…well I shouldn’t say terrible, I should say bad.  My father passed away unexpectedly just 5 days in to 2017 and with that came turmoil and stress beyond belief.  I hardly read a book let alone review any.  I had just started reviewing for a website and had to let that go.  I had finished writing my first picture book (which needs an illustrator) and let that go.  My head hurt, my heart hurt but I had to pick myself up and push forward.  It sucked.

Now I am more clear headed, physically a wreck and I know I need to get back to what I love.  So, today, Jan 14th, 2018, I start anew with the hope that 2018 doesn’t suck worse than last year.

Karl Newsom Edwards

I previously reviewed “Fly” by @karledwardsart about a year ago.  I had found in on Edelweiss and fell completely in love with it!  Now Karl is on a roll and has a few more picture books coming out.  His blog has information about Hugely Wugely (which I have NOT read yet…hint hint Karl) but I have read I Got A New Friend which is due out in May (so.far.away).  In this story a little girl and a puppy become new friends….they play together, they eat together, the get messy together…the illustrations are great and the text is sweet and will make a perfect storytime reading!

Bears and Rain and Skates…oh my!!

Il Sung Na  who has written A Book Of Winter, A Teacup in the Storm and many others, has a new title coming out in March of 2017.  Thanks to Edelweiss and Knopf Books for Young Readers  for advanced access to this new book, Bird, Balloon Bear.  Bird is new to the forest and wants to make a new friend.  He sees Bear and decides to approach when just at that moment Bear makes a friend in Balloon.  Bird feels left out and wants to join in.  When Balloon disappears (pops actually), Bird and Bear then become friends.

 

Raindrop Plop! by Wendy Cheyette Lewison and illustrated by  Pam Paparone is a counting book told in rhyming text.  The little girl journeys outside and the counting goes from 1-10…..until it rains too much then she runs inside and the counting goes backwards.  A fun story I am looking forward to reading at storytime!

 

Little Red Gliding Hood by Tara Lazar  and illustrated by Troy Cummings is a “fractured fairytale”…or in my words a fairytale twist…..Super great illustrations and fun text tell the story of Little Red who wants to take part in an ice skating competition but she doesn’t have a partner.  Her Granny makes all kinds of suggestions and then one day Little Red meets Wolf out on the ice.  Will he eat her?  Will he follow her back to Granny’s house?  Will they become friends?  This is a little wordy for me to read at a storytime but it is worthy of getting added to the the collection at school!

New for 2017…..

If I haven’t said it before, I will say it now…Edelweiss is just the best.  Early access to some really great titles is such a privilege to me.  My only complaint is when I wish to read a really great picture book as an actual physical book and not as an ebook…on my tiny tablet.  But I will seek out these titles once they are published so that I can really get the full effect of them.  Here is a new batch of picture type books that I have read:

 

Wild Animals of the South by Dieter Braun and translated by Jen Calleja , published by Nobrow/Flying Eye Books is simply stunning.  With facts and illustrations of animals from Africa, South America, Asia, Australia, and Antarctica you could really look at this book for days and days.

   expected publication May 16, 2017

 

Next, from the same publisher is My very Own Space written by Pippa Goodhart and illustrated by Rebecca Crane.  A little rabbit just wants to read his book, but there is too much commotion.  Rabbit creates a quiet little space where no one is allowed to come in…but rabbit soon discovers that it may be too quiet.

  expected publication July 11, 2017

 

Flying Eye Books released many new titles on Edelweiss in the past couple of days.  Next is The Secret of Black Rock by Joe Todd Stanton.  Erin lives with her mum and her pup Archie.  Erin has grown up hearing tales of the mysterious Black Rock…she longs to discover the truth herself.  One day she finally is able to stay on her mum’s ship unnoticed but then tragedy…Erin falls overboard!!!  What happens as she discovers that things under the sea are not as they appear above the water line!

  expected publication June 13, 2017

Getting my groove

I’ve been blogging for about 3 year now and while I am still certainly a novice, I do feel like I am getting better.  I’ve changed this site a bit and am trying really hard to be more creative with it.  I’ve also started writing reviews for Children’s Literature out of DC but I think that I cannot use the same reviews so I will have to rewrite some things…Anyways, with the hope that I can get more creative, here is some picture book catch up that hopefully is different enough from my Goodreads that you won’t be bored.

 

How to Find A Fox by Nilah Magruder is a great new picture book.  The illustrations are great and the text will be so much fun to read at storytime.  How do you catch a fox?  Finding a fox hole, having patience and not falling asleep are great ways to try and catch a fox.  Unfortunately for our little girl, it doesn’t seem to fall that way for her right away.

  This fun little one is exasperated and you can completely feel her pain as she is waiting waiting waiting.

 

Dinosaurs in Disguise by Stephen Krensky  and illustrated by Lynn Munsinger (Of What Grandma/Grandpa/Uncles do best) come together to bring us a fun new picture book about dinosaurs.  Dinosaurs aren’t extinct, they are just hiding.  Dinosaurs have been hiding so long that we just don’t notice them anymore.  This will make a fun storytime book!

 

You are Wanted…….

Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Nevin

I think I have to credit Goodreads with finding this title.  I have been on a more realistic fiction path recently which has not been horrible…it’s just not my normal.  I think that I will try Niven’s All The Bright Places since I had success with this one!

I wasn’t sure what to think when I first started this book. I almost put it down because I thought I wasn’t going to be able to accept the negativity…but i kept going and i’m glad I did…the negativity plays an important role in this story of acceptance and love and friendship.
Libby is overweight and has been since her life started spiraling out of control after her mom passed away. She quit attending school and got so large that at one point she had been named America’s Fattest Teen. She lost weight, started high school and wondered if she would ever be able to fit in.
Jack Masselin seems to have it all together…a hot on-again-off-again girlfriend, good friends and swagger. But Jack is harboring a deep dark secret that threatens to ruin his entire life. When he decides to write Libby a letter and join the “Fat Girl Rodeo” both lives are changed forever.
A story about acceptance of yourself and others, of true friendship and finding love.