The saving grace for The Dreamer is at the very end. I liked the “full circle” of the pig “admiring the birds” at the start and finish. The in-between is what I am not crazy about. The theme of “keep trying” and “making mistakes” has been done. Many times. The only difference here is that the friends and neighbors of the pig help him. Usually the “keep trying” is seen as a solo act. And the pig listens to the other animals. That seemed like […]
Adrian Simcox Does Not Have a Horse or does he?
Adrian Simcox Does Not Have a Horse by Marcy Campbell has some interesting elements. It is a softer version (text and illustration wise) of Enemy Pie by Derek Munson. Chloe, the narrator of our story knows that Adrian cannot have a horse. Why? Because he cannot have a horse in town. Or in his small house. Or the fact it takes a lot of money to take care of a horse and he has raggedy clothing. It is not until her mother gives her a […]
Let’s Clean Up!
Manny is back in Super Manny Cleans Up! Kelly DiPucchio and Stephanie Graegin have created a story that is all about environmentalism. Manny and Gertie are seeing that there is a lot of trash in their local park and decide to do something very bold and important: to clean it up. With help from their friends (some real and some not so real) they clean up! The story is sweet. You think it is going to be another story about friendship and using their imagination. […]
The Grains of Imagination
Grains of Sand by Sibylle Delacroix is one of those odd books that if you are in a good mood it will keep you there. If you are in a not so good mood it might be too hopeful and sugar-coated. It is modern and classic mixed. There is no action, just the active imagination of a child. Clever, simple and has just that “something more” to it, this is a good bedtime story or quiet time read. The story is about a young […]
Sophie Johnson, Unicorn Expert (Maybe)
Sophie is a unicorn expert. And if you do not believe her, she will tell you. And she does that in Sophie Johnson, Unicorn Expert. She knows everything there is to know about unicorns: what they should do, what they should learn, how they should look, what they should eat, even that their horns grow back if they lose them. Sometimes her mother does not agree with how Sophie teaches them (as mothers do not realize that magic is more important than cleaning up messes). […]
Petra finds herself?
Petra is a mountain. An island. And many other grand things. However, it keeps getting pointed out to her that she is just a rock. However, because of the things she can imagine (and finally the very unique way a young artist imagines Petra) she can be almost anything that she can dream of. At first, I was not sure I would enjoy this picture book. Very basic, simple, text (in fact I have almost already written more words about it then there are words […]