Our Little Mushroom: A Story of Franz Schubert and His Friends by Emily Arnold McCully
* Review copy courtesy of Margaret K. McElderry BooksWriting: The life of Franz Schubert is condensed to a length that can be read easily in one sitting. I like the way it's told from the point of view of Schubert's childhood friends, as it lends an intimacy to the details.
Illustration: As in many picture books, the illustrations show inaccurate portrayals of how instruments are held and played. Otherwise, McCully does a nice job incorporating period dress and other historical details into her pictures, which have an old-fashioned flavor suited to the text.
Content: This is a nice, straightforward biography of a historical figure whose significance is clear, and it does not seem to have been written in service to any agendas.
Overall: This is a solid biography by a talented author and illustrator that will stay on our shelves.
Action!: How Movies Began by Meghan McCarthy
*Review copy courtesy of Paula Wiseman BooksWriting: Kid-friendly language is broken up into digestible bites in this survey of the early history of motion pictures. I appreciate that the author tells a straight narrative without scattering extra tidbits of text amidst the illustrations. Saving the extra details for the author's note was a wise decision.
Illustrations: The cartoonish bug-eyes of the figures are not my favorite, but there is a ton of information packed into these pictures and every page is engaging. I love the way McCarthy incorporates her renditions of real movie scenes into the book, even if I'm not sure kids will recognize most of the references as readily as their parents.
Content: The book opens with a scene from Saturday Night Fever, which is not a film I would want my elementary age kids watching. It's not really necessary to skip it, it just struck me as an odd choice. It was also a litte bit strange that a book with an otherwise very broad take on history gets very specific about racism in the 1920s. Those moments of the book felt tacked on in service of an agenda that should probably be addressed in its own book. There is nothing in the book I would call truly inappropriate.
Overall: Action! is a well-researched informational book best suited for a middle grade audience.
Illustrations: The cartoonish bug-eyes of the figures are not my favorite, but there is a ton of information packed into these pictures and every page is engaging. I love the way McCarthy incorporates her renditions of real movie scenes into the book, even if I'm not sure kids will recognize most of the references as readily as their parents.
Content: The book opens with a scene from Saturday Night Fever, which is not a film I would want my elementary age kids watching. It's not really necessary to skip it, it just struck me as an odd choice. It was also a litte bit strange that a book with an otherwise very broad take on history gets very specific about racism in the 1920s. Those moments of the book felt tacked on in service of an agenda that should probably be addressed in its own book. There is nothing in the book I would call truly inappropriate.
Overall: Action! is a well-researched informational book best suited for a middle grade audience.
Wellington's Big Day Out by Steve Small
*Review copy courtesy of Paula Wiseman BooksWriting: Straightforward narrative and believable dialogue between a young elephant, Wellington, and his parents drive this story of a birthday outing. The plot involves Wellington's birthday gift of a jacket just like his father's, which is too big. Wellington and Dad set out to get the suit altered by a tailor, but for reasons that feel a muddled, that doesn't quite end up happening. The strength of this book is in the characterization rather than the plot. I think the message was that kids shouldn't want to grow up too fast, but I didn't feel like we quite got there.
Illustration: These anthropomorphic elephants are charming! It was fun seeing them dress and move through the world like people. I also like that every page has a white background, as it allows the figures' expressions and body language to be the primary focus.
Content: There is nothing objectionable in this book. It's a sweet story about a boy, his dad, and later, his grandpa.
Overall: I have one little boy, and he has four sisters, so books that portray boys and dads doing things together are gold for us. I like that Grandpa also comes into the story. Books that celebrate generations of males are not as common as similar books about female characters.
ABC ROAR by Chieu Anh Urban
*Review copy courtesy of Little Simon
Writing: Every page in this book has the same structure. A sentences states the letter, the name of an animal beginning with that letter, and an action taken by the animal. There is nothing particularly remarkable about any of these sentences; they are adequate, generic concept book sentences.
Illustration: Each illustration of a letter is recessed in the page so that young children can easily trace their fingers in the shapes. Letters are decorated with the animals referenced in the text. Arrows show children how the letters are to be drawn.
Content: This is simply an animal-themed board book with the added bonus of helping kids learn preliminary writing skills.
Overall: I find this book pretty basic, myself, but my son (2 years 8 months) is a big fan of this one and of 123 Zoom, which is the automobile-themed number-focused companion book. I also appreciate that it's a book with some bulk that stands up to rought toddler handling.
Illustration: Each illustration of a letter is recessed in the page so that young children can easily trace their fingers in the shapes. Letters are decorated with the animals referenced in the text. Arrows show children how the letters are to be drawn.
Content: This is simply an animal-themed board book with the added bonus of helping kids learn preliminary writing skills.
Overall: I find this book pretty basic, myself, but my son (2 years 8 months) is a big fan of this one and of 123 Zoom, which is the automobile-themed number-focused companion book. I also appreciate that it's a book with some bulk that stands up to rought toddler handling.
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