Tag: Picture Books

This lovely picture book shows a wide variety of places that people call home. Each page is a detailed illustration of a different kind of home- a city apartment, country home, thatched stone house on a mountainside. Some are really fanciful- the old woman’s shoe from a nursery rhyme, an underground sea lair (my favorite, with the writhing octopus tentacles and wavy aquatic plants), a diminutive woodland house- for a fairy or elf, you must imagine. There are so many particular details, you can imagine what kind of person lives in each home and the sort of activities they do. The page showing the artist’s own home is fun, as you can find objects, paintings and sketches in the room from most of the other illustrations in the book. Also there’s a visual thread running through the entire thing- which I didn’t notice until the second time I read this to my kid- of a mourning dove. The bird is present somewhere in each picture. Most of all, I loved the details of plants in the pictures- the variety of shapes, the fronds of sea plants and ferns- just lovely.

Note: I did not really think about how prevalent old, negative stereotypes are in this book -in the way it depicts the homes and lifestyles of non-European cultures- until I read the review in the third link below. Now it feels like a slap in the face. My four-year-old definitely wasn’t astute enough to pick up on this either, but that’s exactly the problem- the book will just define for her what other places and lives are like, if all she knows about Inuits are “that they live in igloos” for example. Sigh.

by Peter Brown

Lucy the bear wants to make a new friend. So she visits all the forest animals, eager and friendly. But a bit lacking in social skills. She\’s too boisterous and talkative for most of them, I can exactly picture what kind of outgoing, slightly annoying four-year-old child this bear personifies. The pictures of Lucy trying to squeeze into a rabbit\’s hole, belly-flopping into a frog puddle and trying to give a skunk a bath are cute and funny. She\’s well-meaning and nothing but persistent- but the other animals all look annoyed or at best, startled by her tactics. Getting frustrated, Lucy starts demanding that the other animals play with her, but of course that doesn\’t work either. Finally, when she least expects it, a flamingo comes along who likes to play Lucy\’s games. Phew, a happy ending!

Really cute book, and I\’m sure lots of kids know what it\’s like to be in Lucy\’s shoes (or have been on the receiving end). It\’s by the same author who did The Curious Garden.

This book was borrowed from the public library.

Rating: 4/5      36 pages, 2011

A Lonely Doll story
by Dare Wright

Picture book story of a little doll who lives with Mr. Bear and Little Bear. Mr. Bear comes home from a trip and brings presents- the younger ones clamor for gifts and then argue about whose is better. But the most wonderful thing is a glass-sided clock Mr. Bear bought for himself. Edith is fascinated by the workings of the clock; Mr. Bear puts it up high out of reach. One day when no-one is around Edith climbs up to see the clock closer, and accidentally breaks it. She hides the evidence, and then lies when Mr. Bear asks who did it. She feels bad about lying, but can\’t admit it and feeling worse and worse, starts being horrid to her friends and can\’t even enjoy her own birthday party. She decides to run away, but after wandering through the streets half a day cold and lonely of course she goes home again. Mr. Bear has been frantically looking for her. She is welcomed back and finally confesses what she did, all is better now. Well, at least, she made amends. But the story continues a little and you see that Edith isn\’t perfect- she still does naughty things, quarrels with Little Bear and likes to brag. But she never again lies to Mr. Bear.

The photographs by Dare Wright (a woman) illustrating this story are just lovely. They\’re made with a real doll and teddy bears (also a live kitten in a few scenes) posing in different situations with tiny props. Although black and white they\’re very nice and the vintage look is charming.

There\’s only one picture that looks awkward to me, where Edith has just come home and is standing ashamed in the doorway. Mr. Bear is holding the door open but it looks like he is going to hit her over the head with his pipe!

Reminds me of a children\’s book in my daughter\’s collection called Carmen (black and white photos illustrating a story of a lonely girl in a city apartment). I\’d like to find the others in this Lonely Doll series. I found this one at the public library, they have a few more.

Rating: 4/5         58 pages, 1964

by Anna Kemp

Princess Sue is pining around waiting for a prince to come and sweep her off her feet. When a prince finally arrives at her castle, she\’s ecstatic- until she realizes his plans for her. Her new prince expects his lady love to stay in the castle, try on pretty dresses and \”just smile a lot and twist your curls.\” Princess Sue is incensed- she wants to ride horses and have adventures. Not one to accept defeat, she teams up with a dragon to realize her dreams. Great fun. Love the bright, slightly sketchy illustrations by Sara Ogilvie. It\’s also nicely written, the rhyming text flows smoothly when read aloud. And funny, to the right listener- my ten-year-old was listening on the other side of the room and kept giggling quietly as I read this at bedtime to her younger sister. The story really reminds me a lot of The Paper Bag Princess.

Rating: 4/5      32 pages

more opinions:
Vulpes Libris
Waking Brain Cells
Jen Robinson\’s Book Page
My Favorite Books