Category: Seasons-Nature Animals

Mr. Postmouse`s Rounds.

12/19/2015

Mr Postmouse`s Rounds.
By : Marianne Dubuc
Publisher ; Kids Can Press ( Aug., 2015)

An absolutely brilliant and exceptionally imaginative creation. Mr. Postmouse takes off to do his delivery rounds.
He visits many animals; from the Bee family to the octopus in the sea, to the penguins in an igloo and the mountain goats in a house of a snowy mountain den and many more. We get to peek through each of their houses when Mr. Postmouse delivers their post. These remarkable houses are designed to match with their lifestyles and food habits,
The Bee family lives in a hive on top of Bear`s house. There`s a connecting pipeline to carry honey from the Bee house to the Bear`s kitchen so the bear can enjoy a fresh and lovey cup of honey anytime; just as it`s depicted in the pictures. And the Croc. family lives in a house on stilts inside a swamp. It`s a three storied house, the rain water drainage system goes through inside the house with a tap on each floor so the floors are kept flooded all the time. And what`s more, they have a lovely "garden of water" to play and hunt in, all the time.
What Mr. Postmouse has to deliver to them are equally interesting; Mr Squirrel gets a delivery of nuts as always, the Ants get some sweet treats, Mrs Turtle gets two pairs of roller skates and Mrs Mole gets a mechanical shovel.
The story climaxes by noon when Mr. Postmouse joins Mr. Dragon for a nice barbecue, and of course Mr. Fire breathing Dragon can have a barbecue anytime. How he visits their houses depicting different modes of transport provides some extra bit of information.
Mr. Postmouse`s delivery rounds keep the pages well connected in creating this amazing story. Heavily detailed yet very clear and simple illustrations, all done in soft pastel shades, plays the key role. And the few lines of text ,one or two lines per spread, supports the illustrations well, altogether creating a perfect ambiance to support imagination and concentration. As children will linger over these pictures wondering ,thinking and making up their stories!!
This is a wonderful celebration of one`s power of imagination cleverly being utilized to make learning a delightful and enjoyable experience for children !!
(With many thanks to Kids Can Press and Net Galley for the free digital copy.)

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Little Tree.

12/9/2015

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Little Tree ( Ages 4 to 7)
By ; Loren Long
Publisher :Philomel Books ( Oct., 2015)

With a poignant line of reality underneath , The story of "Little Tree" who`s trying stubbornly to hold on to her?leaves when all the other saplings were playing by the rules of the nature and shedded their leaves in preparation for the harsh winter season.....is the story of every child. And this beginning of the story is quite dramatic and engaging.
Little tree was an adorable sapling and had a quite satisfying life full of happiness during her very early days: Long depicts these happy days with playful squirrels and the singing dove on her branches.
Just like a young child who wouldn't want to let go of her beloved things and her fear of unknown changes, The Little Tree wants to keep her beloved leaves and fearfully anticipate the winter. She faces the consequences. As days and years pass other saplings grew up with bright new leaves ,squirrels played on their branches. Soon they were out of reach tall and sturdy,The Little Tree couldn't feel the sun anymore nor she heard the Dove singing her song. She became frail. The forest animals thought she was sick ........But she didn't accept the fate of passing away,on the eleventh hour she did let go of her now yellow beloved leaves .Await an enchanting final spread with a fully grown beautiful "Little Tree!!"
By twisting the real tale of a growing up sapling Long has created a magnificent story about realities of life. I`m awestruck by his brilliance in turning this complex theme into a simple picture book.
A compelling tale to learn about seasons , nature and pains one might have to under go during their journey of growing up years. Well defined illustrations full of clarity supports the text well.

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How the Sun got to Cocco`s House.

12/2/2015

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How the Sun got to Cocco`s House.
By : Bob Graham.
Publisher : Candlewick ( Sep.,2015)

An ever fascinating theme for children being produced with ultimate skill!
How the sun rises through snowy mountain perks on the other side of the world,slowly illuminating a family of sleepy polar bears.Turning into a soft golden ball peeping at the endless seas,whispering a lone fisherman in the far away waters and awakening the sleeping seagulls ; It glides along the water touching a windblown fisherman`s cap, briefly catching in the eye of a whale and heads up the beach.
" The rising sun met birds still flying south for the winter
and a plane flying high in the night
It balanced out on the wing
just for young Lovejoy. off to visit his grandma."
The tale of the sun continues illuminating little thoughts with Graham`s beautiful lines and eye-catching illustrations grasping them all until it meets "Cocco" and join her in the playground.
Sun and moon are always fascinating topics for small children,with these clear,explanatory illustrations, the rising sun with a touch of soft pink, growing up to a blazing yellow and softly shaded backdrops in cold colours with it`s simple poetic lines; the book can reach the smallest from 2 years. Then it provides many possibilities from discussing about the sun,time zones and continents to nature and the use of language and illustrations. Which touches the age range of upto 7 or 8 years.
Bob Graham is an acclaimed author-illustrator,who won many awards.

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A Bear`s Year.

12/1/2015

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A Bear`s Year ( Ages 3 to 6)
By : Kathy Duval & Gerry Turley
Publisher : Schwartz & Wade ( Oct .,2015)

Another beautiful book to discuss changing seasons and animal behavior; With simple rhyming text and some cute bear figures, kids will love this book.
Mother bear goes to "sleep" with her newborn babies in the winter. Then comes out in the spring . Throughout the seasons baby bears live their life slowly growing up learning to live through the guidance of their mother, They search for food from berries to grubs and roots to fish and they play.As the seasons change and days become shorter they start building a new den getting ready for their winter sleep.
Softly shaded backgrounds in ice blue with white dots all over the place depicting winter and soft shades of green for summer with imposingly broad yet lovely bear characters, the book creates the essential warm and tender tone and mood for the story.Children will learn about bears,their life and animal hibernation surrounded by an air of love and protection!

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First Snow.

11/25/2015

First Snow ( Ages 2 to 4)
By : Peter McCarty
Publisher : Balzer + Brey ( Jan.,2015)

After having our first snowfall of the season,just a few days ago,this book seems like the perfect choice of reviewing.
"It`s a day of firsts for Pedro,
First snow fall, first snow angel ,
First taste of a snowflake...."
The "first" thing that captivated me were the images of this book. Pedro is visiting his cousins Sancho and his siblings from a far away non-snowy land.
At the beginning Pedro refuses to go out or to see the snow,.but later due to eager requests of his cousins he gets to experience snow; together with his cousins he enjoyed. Fun filled activities a child could do in the snow as well as simple facts about snow are explained in the form of a tale through Pedro and his cousins.
Plain simple text without any eloquence makes it very much suitable for younger kids from 2+; as it`s easy to grasp the wonders of snow through these very enjoyable activities they do in the snow.
But it lacks the decorative literary descriptions that would emphasise the awe,fascination and the wonders of a child who would get to see the snow for the first time.
My eldest missed the snow for the past two and half years and my youngest is seeing it for the first time: their pure joy of the sight of the first snowfall was obvious - they were dancing in the snow!
I feel that the characters were used to explain the setting or maybe a concept in this context. However I recommend this as an ideal way to start up a discussion about the subject.

Wave .

11/21/2015

Wave ( Ages 2 to 7 )
By : Suzy Lee
Publisher : Chronicle Books (April.,2008)

I have no words to describe the unbelievable beauty of this book. And quite obviously this is a wordless picture book.
It`s also good for us to remember that art is a key factor to improve a kid`s ability to observe,describe,analyze and to interpret !
The book depicts a little girl`s pure pleasures and joy in the beach , her silent dance to the tune of the waves. Suzy Lee`s brilliant creation of the sea in beautiful translucent azure , the tiny little girl and a flock of sea gulls in pencil sketch , that same little one once drenched being recreated in a blue dress and her utter merriment in discovering some sea shells will leave us all to linger over these pages.
Kids will linger , wonder and grasp the story through these wonderful illustrations easily and they will tell you the story!!

How ever having said that , Lee`s powerful images in this book brought back some memories of another book called "Wave".
Sonali Deraniyagala`s book Wave is a book for grown ups. Which also won the PEN / Ackerley Prize in 2014.
We have discussed tragedies and resilience in the book "It`s tough to loose your balloon" and fascinating,beautiful yet powerful waves in "Wave". Now , Sonali Deraniyagala`s Wave is an absolutely stunning account of a real life tragedy and the power of resilience; A memoir of a woman who lost her life ( Her two sons,husband and her parents) to the Tsunami altogether. My own memories of that Tsunami wreckage are back now..,
The New York Times Reviewer of the book (24-3-2013) says " I was thunderstruck by Deraniyagala`s loss, yes, but most of all by her ability to reveal the whole "outlandish truth" of her grief, to write about a tragedy so bewilderingly complete that, nearly a decade out, it still seems far- fetched,my story,even to me". - Cheryl Strayed. I think it`s worth reading it, If you haven't read it yet.

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Tree.

11/17/2015

Tree ( Ages 4 to 6 )
By :Patricia Hegarty & Britta Teckentrup
Publisher : Little Tiger (Sept.,2015)

"Tree" is a beautiful explanation about changing seasons and it`s effect on nature completed with rhyming text and peek-through features.
Changing seasons are explained by a life - cycle of a single tree,in the wilderness, artfully done by Britta Teckentrup , helping children to grasp the concept easily.
The book opens up into winter, at the beginning the tree is a skeleton without a single leaf.As the seasons change the backdrop changes accordingly.Animals could be seen through the holes cut in the tree trunk and in it`s branches,depicting animals climbing the tree. and then the number of cut-out holes decreases again, animals disappear accordingly . Until finally the Owl takes his leave. The rhymes and pictures compliment each other well in this book. Hegarty`s explanation on summer is as enchanting as the illustrations .
"On a warm mid summer`s night
All the stars are shinning bright.
The trees sway gently to and fro,
Shimmering in the moonlit glow."
Here one could see the singing birds and buzzing bees through the holes of the branches.The illustrations doesn't feature a lot of details, but the right amount.which is beneficial in understanding the concept.

Night Animals.

11/14/2015

Night Animals ( Ages 2 to 5)
By :Gianna Marino
Publisher : Viking Books ( July.,2015)

An eye-catching creation.With it`s most compelling illustrations ,brilliantly done in a stark black background emphasizing features of the animals and beautiful child-like dialogues. A hilarious theme where scary animals try to hide away from more scarier animals. Addresses nocturnal life as well as night-time fears.
Gianna Marino is also the author of "Following Papa`s Song" and "Meet me at the Moon".

African Animal Tales.

11/2/2015

African Animal Tales Series ( Ages 4 to 7)
By : Mwenya Hadithi (Author) Adrienne Kennaway (Illustrator)
Publisher : Hodder & Stoughton

There are about twelve books in this series to my knowledge. Although these books were published in the nineties, to me it's still worth discussing , for the many merits they offer and I think folktales are best for providing insights about the world around us.
These books come with rhythmic narratives and stunning watercolor illustrations.simple but interesting stories. Can easily capture the reader's attention.Each story delivers a simple message for kids.A cleaver way to introduce animals & fables to the younger set.

The Ride-by-Nights

10/22/2015

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The Ride-by-Nights ( Ages 4 to 7)
By Walter de la Mare Illustrated By Carolina Rabei
Publisher : Faber & Faber September 2015

The best picture book to celebrate the season!!,Pairing up with celebrated poet Walter de la Mare is an equally brilliant artist Rabei and she has painted this magical poetry amazingly.
Up on their brooms the witches stream,

With a whoop and a flutter they swing and sway,
And surge pell-mell down the milky way,

They hover and squeak in the empty air,
Then round they sweep past the glimmering lion..........
This feast of language accompanied by it's glimmering and shimmering illustrations will make kids wonder and their thoughts will surely wander,,,,.

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Mr. Postmouse`s Rounds.

Little Tree.

How the Sun got to Cocco`s House.

A Bear`s Year.

First Snow.

Wave .

Tree.

Night Animals.

African Animal Tales.

The Ride-by-Nights

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