Pied Piper Pics

Bed Hog by Georgette Noullet, illus. by David Slonim

The Pied Piper — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:01:21 +0000

Georgette Noullet’s first published book is a hoot! Bailey is a little beagle who is looking for a place to sleep. But he keeps getting pushed out of one bed and then another. This is a nearly wordless book with cartoon style illustrations.

David Slonim’s acrylic and charcoal pictures capture the feel of night as Bailey wanders looking for a bed. No words are needed to understand Bailey’s feelings as he tries each possible sleeping spot. The expressions on his doggie face are priceless.

This is an excellent choice for narrative practice for preschoolers. Encourage the children to “read” the story using the pictures. The repetitive phrasing will have the group joining in to chant “Move over, bed hog dog.”

Ms Noullet was inspired by her own dog, also a Bailey, who rules her home. David Slonim has illustrated many other children’s books including the delightful He Came with the Couch.

Check the WRL catalog for Bed Hog.

Are you sleeping? by Debbie Trafton O’Neal, illus. by Benrei Huang

The Pied Piper — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:01:44 +0000

I love books that feature songs. There is something very satisfying about singing a book as you enjoy the illustrations. Many times the pictures suggest new meanings to me. Other times I find my own feelings expressed in color and shape.
Are You Sleeping? By Debbie Trafton O’Neal depicts a family outing to the beach. Each double page spread illustrates one line of the verse. Ms O’Neal adds a second verse about God’s love and care through the night. Although the book is published by the Lutheran Augsburg Publishing House, the song and story could be enjoyed by worshippers of other religious faiths.
Benrei Huang, a Taiwanese born author and illustrator of children’s books, has created bright, happy scenes of a family at home and at play. Ms Huang has said of herself:

Being the third child among four in my family, the naughty one and a bookworm in the same time, I made my career a children’s book writer and illustrator after college so that I could be playful and doing something with books in the same time.

This book is completed with craft activities, accompanying hand motions, and the sheet music for anyone who wants to add a musical accompaniment.

Check the WRL catalog for Are You Sleeping?

This Little Chick by John Lawrence

The Pied Piper — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:01:20 +0000

This Little Chick proves that a book can be just right for a young audience, but can also be beautiful. John Lawrence has taken a traditional rhyme and adapted it for this large format picture book. Mr. Lawrence, who is a skilled wood engraver, has chosen to use vinyl engravings, watercolor washes, and printed wood textures to make the large, bold engravings that illustrate the story.
This simple tale begins on the front endpapers as Little Chick ventures away from Mother Hen and the other chicks to visit the neighborhood animals.

“This little chick from over the way
Went to play with the pigs one day.
And what do you think they heard him say?”

Before turning the page, ask the children to predict what will happen next. The most frequent response will probably be “oink”, but encourage the child who thinks of another possibility. What about “snort” or “snuffle”? The story comes full circle as Little Chick returns home to share his animal language skills.
The large illustrations make this an excellent choice for a group. It will also reward the attention a lapsit will allow. Toddlers can improve their pre-reading skills by learning animal sounds and retelling or adding to the story. Have children suggest other animals that Little Chick might visit. Preschoolers might create artwork by cutting pictures from magazines to illustrate the new animals.

Check the WRL catalog for This Little Chick.

The Spider and the Fly by Mary Howitt, illus. by Tony DiTerlizzi

The Pied Piper — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:01:20 +0000

This beautifully illustrated reworking of Mary Howitt’s poem The Spider and Fly is a must read from classic children’s literature. Originally published in 1829, the poem tells the story of a fly who meets a spider. and through flattery convinces The fly accepts the spider’s flattery and that leads to her demise. The poem was written for the author’s children to teach them about people who use sweet words but have not so sweet intentions. The illustrations are expertly done in black and white to give the book a 1920s horror movie look. This book was a 2003 Caldecott Honor Book and it definitely deserved this honor. Although the story is a little dark, children will enjoy the illustrations and the moral of the story. It would be a good book for ages 4 and up although a younger child might love the illustrations.
Mary Howitt was a prolific 19th century English writer who wrote over 180 books and poems. She was an influence on other English writers including Lewis Carroll. Tony DiTerlizzi is a well known illustrator and movie producer.

Check the WRL catalog for The Spider and the Fly.

Squids Will Be Squids by Jon Scieszka, illus. by Lane Smith

The Pied Piper — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 05:02:15 +0000

Squids Will Be Squids is a collection of clever “fables” written in the style of Aesop. The fables are designed to teach kids valuable life lessons in a funny and sarcastic way. Some examples of fables are “Duckbilled Platypus vs. BeefSnakStik” and “Frog’s New Shoes.” The absurd tales hit home with pithy morals such as “Don’t ever listen to a talking bug” and “He who smelt it, dealt it.” The bevy of interesting characters includes a cabbage, skunk, rock, paper, scissors, horseshoe crab, and an echidna. The illustrations, at times, can be very abstract and hard to understand. For the most part, they extremely well done and are quite funny in their own right. Although the book is quite clever and funny, it definitely appeals to a more mature audience. The jokes are subtle and sarcasm is used extensively making this book more suitable for the age range of 8-12.
Jon Scieszka is a well known author of humorous tales such as The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!, The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, and the Time Warp Trio series. He is well known for his eccentric and witty writing technique and his books have been translated into many languages and have sold over a million copies.
Lane Smith has been the illustrator for all of Jon Scieszka’s books whose absurd and highly entertained illustrations have been enjoyed by millions.

Check the WRL catalog for Squids Will Be Squids.

Jim, who ran away from his nurse, and was eaten by a lion by Hilaire Belloc, illus. by Mini Grey

The Pied Piper — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 05:01:21 +0000

This Victorian classic has been entertaining and giving cautionary advice to kids for over a hundred years. The classic poem has been masterfully illustrated by Mini Grey with colorful pop-ups and pull outs. The book tells the story of an unfortunate boy named Jim’s trip to the zoo. The naughty boy is shown to be spoiled with lots of candy, toys, and trips to the zoo. The boy runs away from his babysitter when she is not paying attention even after his mom told him to always hold hands with his babysitter. Running around the zoo he runs into a lion who promptly eats him from feet to head, the story ends with the witty pith, “And always keep a-hold of nurse For fear of finding something Worse.” The book is definitely not for everyone with its morbid dark humor and some illustrations of a child being eaten, but for kids from the ages of 8 and up and parents wanting to teach their kids a lesson this book is definitely a must.
Hilaire Belloc was an English writer who died in 1953. He was one of the most prolific writers in England during the early 1900s. He was mostly known for his poems and satires which are still popular to this day.

Check the WRL catalog for Jim who ran away from his nurse, and was eaten by a lion.

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett

The Pied Piper — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 05:01:08 +0000

The book revolves around the town of Chewandswallow where instead of weather every day food rains down at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Restaurants have no roofs so food can just fall right on to your plate, and rain gear is used for soup and juice. After awhile though the food starts to get more unpredictable and bigger; pancakes the size of houses start to fall, fifteen inches of cream cheese and jelly sandwich fall the next day followed by a tomato tornado. Eventually the weather becomes so bad that the inhabitants of Chewandswallow are forced to evacuate. This book appeals to all children because of the creativity the author uses. The beautiful illustrations make the story almost believable with striking panoramas of setting Jell-O in the west and clouds of hamburgers across the sky. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is a classic book for any child of any age. It has been made into a movie although the movie and book share almost nothing in common, but name.
Judi Barrett is the author of many well-loved books for children including: Pickles to Pittsburgh, Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing, and Things That are Most in the World. She currently teaches art in an elementary school in Brooklyn.

Check the WRL catalog for Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.

The Skeleton in the Closet by Alice Schertle, illus. by Curtis Jobling

The Pied Piper — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 05:01:21 +0000

This delightful tale tells the story of a boy and his eventful encounter with a skeleton one night. A boy wakes up in the middle of the night to a loud banging sound, and when he goes to investigate, he finds a skeleton. The boy runs upstairs frightened; he is followed by the skeleton. Many terrifying thoughts run through the boy’s heads as to the skeleton’s intentions, but all the skeleton wants is to borrow some clothes to cover his bones. The simple illustrations give a charming and cartoony quality to the book that will appeal to a younger audience. The author’s simple writing, yet vivid imagery will tickle any child from the ages of 4-8. Overall I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes to laugh.
Alice Schertle has written over forty children’s books. She is a former elementary school teacher and her writing combines her teaching experience and vivid imagery. The illustrator Curtis Jobling is the designer of the hit television show Bob the Builder and his illustrations are simple but highly entertaining.

Check the WRL catalog for The Skeleton in the Closet.

Monkey: A Trickster Tale From India by Gerald McDermott

The Pied Piper — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 05:01:47 +0000

The tale of the clever monkey and the dull-witted Crocodile is from Buddhist folklore. The story is part of an ancient collection of folklores, fables, and legends called the Jataka tales which originated from India. In the story Crocodile wants to feast on Monkey’s heart and the monkey must outsmart him if he is to enjoy the mangos on the other side of the river. At first the Crocodile tries to lure the monkey onto his back by offering him a ride, but right before he is about to snatch the monkey in his mouth. The monkey convinces the crocodile that his heart is in the tree and he must retrieve it if the crocodile wants to eat it. The crocodile then tries to pose as a rock and tells the monkey he can use him to cross the river. The monkey is not fooled and escapes again from the crocodile. The story ends with the crocodile scheming more ways to eat the monkey. The story is great for kids of all ages because the writing is simple. The illustrations are beautiful; the author used paper giving them a lifelike look. The moral that brute force can never win against a good heart is valuable.
Gerald McDermott has been writing children’s books since the 1970s. He is extremely well known and popular and has received a Caldecott Medal, two Caldecott Honors, and many other awards. He is well known for his popular trickster stories, taken from mythology around the world.

Check the WRL catalog for Monkey: A Trickster Tale from India.

Diary of a Fly by Doreen Cronin

The Pied Piper — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 05:01:28 +0000

“June 15: My school picture came out terrible. Mom says next time I better have all my eyes looking in the same direction.”

This is one of my favorite lines in Doreen Cronin’s laugh out loud picture book, Diary of a Fly. Anyone who has ever read Cronin’s other books Diary of a Worm or Diary of a Spider will be familiar with the format and style of this book. For those new to Cronin’s books, she uses each page as a new diary entry about the day’s happenings. It’s not your average picture book.

Not only is Diary of a Fly a fun and hysterical read, but also it realistically describes early elementary children’s lives through the life of a fly. For example a fly experiences terrible school pictures, time outs, and dreams of being a superhero. These experiences make Diary of a Fly such a relatable book for many children.

Check out one of my favorite books, Diary of a Fly.

Check the WRL catalog for Diary of a Fly.