Bonnie Ferrante's Blog, page 80
March 6, 2015
Hills, Tad. What’s Up, Duck? A Book of Opposites. Book Review.
My twenty-month-old granddaughter made this a favorite book after the initial reading. The first day we read it four times. The second day we read it three. By then she was beginning to “read” the words herself. The ducks are adorable. The pictures are simple and clearly show the concepts. Hills illustrates the ducks’ emotions […]
March 4, 2015
Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Book Review.
It’s clear why this gutsy book is a National Book Award Winner but I don’t agree with it being used in elementary school. I don’t think students that young will be able to see past the vulgarity, etc. to the true message. Even thought it is based on the true experiences of children that age, […]
March 2, 2015
Hansell, Kim. A Star for Ethel. Illustrations by Rob Flore. Book review.
The illustrations in this picture book are wonderful, a blend of realism and animation style drawings. These pictures could easily be up on a movie theater screen. Ethel, the elephant, tries to make friends but the monkey, the giraffe, and the lion cub make fun of her long “ugly” nose. Ethel tries to explain that […]
February 27, 2015
Dean, James. Pete the Cat Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Book Review.
My granddaughter’s favorite song is Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. She also loves cats so I thought this book would quickly become a favorite. She was fairly attentive during the first reading but hasn’t shown any interest in since. Pete the cat is a cute, but fairly stagnant character in the illustrations. He seriously lacks expression […]
February 25, 2015
Srinivasan, Divya. Little Owl’s Night. Book Review.
This thick board book appears to be done with vivid digital illustration. The flowers and animals are colored brightly enough to stand out against the black pages sprinkled with stars. Little Owl is brown with super-sized green eyes and tiny feet. The text is as magical as the words. Children will be exposed to vocabulary […]
February 23, 2015
Patricelli, Leslie. Huggy Kissy. Book Review
This small board book is illustrated with brightly colored, comic illustrations on red, purple, and orange backgrounds. It features an adorable little baby in a diaper with a single curl on top of his head. The illustrations tell as much of the story as the words do. The first page says, “Tuggy, tuggy.” It shows […]
February 20, 2015
Puttroff, Brieeana. Rumpelstiltskin’s Daughter. Book Review.
I’ve always loved fairy tales and am especially interested in remakes of traditional stories. Rumpelstiltskin has always fascinated me. I imagined diverse, both good and evil, reasons why Rumpelstiltskin might want the Queen’s baby. I recently wrote a picture book on this subject, titled Rumpelstiltskin’s Child so I was particularly intrigued to come across Puttroff’s […]
February 18, 2015
Top Three Children���s Picture Book Reviewers
PIGEONHOLE BOOKS Children���s picture books for blended, divorced, multicultural and same-sex families http://pigeonholebooks.com/2015/02/18...
Genechten, Guido Van. Too Loud! Book Review.
This board book has realistic, beautiful full-color page illustrations showing suggestive expression. On the cover, we see a monkey plugging his ears, frowning, and looking to his left. On the first page, a parrot covers his ears with his wings. “Too loud! squawks the parrot.” The story continues with the rhino, dolphin, elephant, crocodile, and […]
February 16, 2015
Bland, Nick. Some Dads. Book Review.
This book is laugh out loud funny the first page. But, it is also endearing. Various animal fathers are shown anthropomorphized with exuberant expressions. I think it would make a wonderful gift for any dad. On the first page we read, “There are some dads who worry.” The double-page, beautifully illustrated picture is of a […]
