Marshmallow Clouds: Two Poets at Play Among Figures of Speech by Ted Kooser and Connie Wanek, illustrated by Richard Jones (3/15/2022)

Quick Booktalk

This is a collection of poems inspired by the four elements and accompanied by original pieces of abstract art.

About the Illustrations 

The cover is so appealing, and the illustrations inside have the same vibrant, inviting look. This is a beautiful book to flip through.

Story Time Possibilities

Poetry can always be added to a story time, and I wouldn't hesitate to borrow a poem or two from this book to toss into a preschool or early elementary program. It would be a bit much to read the whole book in one go, but it could be an ongoing read-aloud during a weekly class visit, or the focus of a poetry month display or activity. I am thinking about using it in our homeschool as our daily poetry read-aloud for the summer. 

Readers Advisory

The poems in this collection really demonstrate how to effectively write poetry that does not rhyme, and how to use figures of speech well. Each of these poems is beautifully written, with a calming, gentle, and contemplative tone, and yet wholly accessible to readers who might not be that comfortable with poetry. 

Disclosure 

I received a review copy of Marshmallow Clouds from Candlewick Press in exchange for an honest review.

Take Off Your Brave: The World Through the Eyes of a Preschool Poet by Nadim, illustrated by Yasmeen Ismail (3/22/2022)

Quick Booktalk 

This is an illustrated collection of poems by a four-year-old boy.

About the Illustrations

The pictures in this book are fine. There are  diverse skin colors and styles of hair and clothing  and the pictures suit the whimsical tone of most of the poems.

Story Time Possibilities

This is probably not a story time book for most settings. It could work as an ongoing classroom read-aloud, perhaps as part of a project to inspire preschoolers to compose their own poems.

Readers Advisory

I'm a little unclear about the point of this book. It was hard to discern what was so remarkable about this particular four-year-old's poetry that it warranted being published. I think I was expecting more of a Mattie Stepanek phenomenon - a kid who used his poetry to further a particular message of hope duirng a time when he was undergoing great suffering. This ended up being just a collection of four-year-old thoughts, similar to the snippets of dialogue collected by Ruth Krauss, but without the careful curation that makes her books classics. I think the poems are cute, and I'm sure the author is a lovely child, but as a book, I think this only would have worked for me had his poems been included to illustrate how adults can foster a love of language in preschoolers. Otherwise, I prefer to have kids get their poetic inspiration from the great poets, not from their peers.

Disclosure

I received a review copy of Take Off Your Brave from Candlewick Press in exchange for an honest review.

Picture Book Review: Tomie dePaola's Favorite Nursery Tales (3/1/2022)

Quick Booktalk 

This collection of stories and poems for young children was originally published in 1986 and has been re-released for a new generation of little ones. 

About the Illustrations 

The gentle, cozy pictures done in dePaola's beloved and instantly recognizable style are the real draw of this book. The tales included can be found almost anywhere, but fans of Tomie dePaola which enjoy his visual interpretations of these old favorites. 

Story Time Possibilities

This collection is worth looking at for a few short pieces to supplement a story time plan. Because there are minimal illustrations per story, it might be tricky to share them with a larger group, but it would be manageable with a small audience. A few of the poems and stories are adaptable for the flannel board, but if the main point of the book is to share dePaola's art, it may not be worth doing so. 

Readers Advisory

This book would be a great start to a child's library. As such, it would be a great gift for a baby shower, baptism, or first birthday or Christmas. Though the book is from the '80s, it doesn't have an outdated or cheesy feel. The text and art both feel timeless. For parents like me who grew up with Tomie dePaola, it could have the added benefit of stirring up pleasant childhood memories, but the book also holds up well enough on its own without needing to appeal to nostalgia. 

Disclosure

I received a review copy of Tomie dePaola's Favorite Nursery Tales from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review.

Picture Book Review: Acorn Was a Little Wild by Jen Arena, illustrated by Jessica Gibson (3/15/2022)

 

Quick Booktalk

A free-spirited acorn lives every experience to the fullest - even being planted underground and changing into an oak tree.

About the Illustrations 

This book's autumnal color scheme and earthy textures bring to life the backdrop of the natural world against which cartoonish Acorn and his squirrel neighbors live. Though the story is fantastical, light and color work together to immerse the reader in a realistic forest environment.

Story Time Possibilities

This is a very contemporary and conversational book, and it's the exact kind of thing I loved to read aloud during class visits when I worked in the library. It can stand on its own as a single read-aloud or it would for a whole host of themes: growth, trees, fall, having a positive attitude, forests, and even squirrels. Potential books to pair with it include Ol' Mama Squirrel by David Ezra Stein, Fall is Not Easy by Marty Kelley, and the Pete the Cat series. 

Readers Advisory

The tone of this book is not quite irreverent, but it's not a tame, gentle text either. The author uses slang phrases like "so chill" and there is one reference to fox urine. I have less of a problem when animal bodily functions are mentioned in a natural setting than when books include human-based toilet humor, so I didn't judge this book harshly for this one detail. My kids don't really know what "chill" means but I think they can figure out from the context.

Disclosure 

I received a finished copy of Acorn Was a Little Wild from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review.