A wonderful tale of misunderstanding, culture shock, and opposites all rolled up in one!

Miranda, the princess, is going to her first day of public school. She has always had a private tutor before today.

Maude, the absolutely not a princess, wants to work for social justice.

Miranda is quiet and a girly, girl. Maude is a talkative, chicken loving, very casual dressing, knowledge seeking, loner – though not by choice.

On the first day of school, Miranda and Maude must sit next to each other in the back of the classroom because of alphabetical order. The princess assumes all the students will know all her likes and dislikes just like the servants do in the palace. Wrong. The other students just stare at her.

Day after day the class spends their time on practicing the Mandatory National Reading and Writing and Math Exam. Miranda does not understand the questions on the test. Miranda does not own a pencil. She is asked to borrow a pencil, which is sticky, from Maude. Miranda does not like the noisy lunch room or its food, noisy PE or noisy recess, or the music room’s recorders. Miranda keeps to herself. Maude is by herself, too. Maude is after knowledge and social justice. She has no friends, either.

Miranda’s parents inform her they are inviting her entire class to her birthday party in two weeks. Miranda says, “No.” Miranda thinks the class does not like her. When Miranda places a gold invitation on each student’s desk, before school, she purposely does not give one to Maude. Of course, Maude notices this immediately. Maude, in her quest for social justice, talks to each student individually about boycotting the party. They all agree.

The day of Miranda’s party no one shows up. Back at Maude’s house, Maude is upset, too. Then, Maude discovers the bandana she had tried to lend to Miranda is stinky. “No wonder Miranda hadn’t wanted to use it on her sneezy nose.” (103) Off Maude goes to talk to Miranda. Silence between Miranda and Maude. “And then Maude yelled, ‘ARE THOSE RAINBOW SWEETIES?’ “(107) The silence is broken and like falling dominoes the two girls discover a few things they have in common. Maude invites Miranda over to her house. Over the course of a few weeks, they become good friends. The only friend each of them has ever had.

Opposites attract. Miranda and Maude are opposites and they are now good friends.

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I like the message it has about the two sisters finding a way to each have her own space, while still being close, but on the other hand I don’t like the way it endorses the accumulation of stuff. When the book began, describing how the sisters had begun collecting stuff as children, getting two of everything until their house is so overrun by stuff that they can’t function, I was expecting them to end up with a grand yard sale to let go of a lot of unnecessary stuff. In some ways the ending felt like a cop out.

Though some of the older Caldecott winners have become dated over the years, and lost their appeal for young readers, there’s something timeless about this one. Perhaps it is the way the illustrations capture the passing of time and how the world changes over the years. It could be useful for lessons in the younger grades on how we measure the passing of time, by days, by months, by seasons and years. And besides, it’s just a good story. If your old copy could use refreshing, it’s worth updating.

It’s fine. Worrying about growing is certainly a concern of many small children. In this case, it is Muriel’s imaginary friend (small, green, rather alligator-esque) who notices that Muriel is growing and he is not. He tries planting himself in the garden; he tries having Muriel roll him like her play dough; he tries forcing the issue; and he tries tall shoes and hat. Nothing really proves successful, but gee, overnight he does indeed grow (even if he doesn’t actually catch up to Muriel, since she grows too). It’s really intended for the youngest readers, probably best suited to PreK or Kindergarten.

It’s a cute story about animals coming together to help a neighbor in need. When a storm washes away Possum’s brush pile home, he gathers his young and sets off to find a new home. Along the way he meets other animals who offer their assistance, beginning with chipmunk who offers to help dig a new home, which the baby possums love, but is unfortunately to small for Papa Possum. As each animal offers to help, they are of course offering their expertise for their own type of homebuilding, but when put all together, Possum ends up with quite a lovely home, and just as he asks how he can possibly thank them all for their assistance, another storm strikes, so they all hunker down together.

A great choice for readers’ theater! Because so many of the words repeat or are not real words at all, but animal sounds, this book would be a great choice for having partners share reading performances in a less intimidating way. The two-voice formatting is fun and adds to the appreciation of sound in poetry. There is a wide variety of animals included, so it would be useful as an introductory or cross-curricular connection for a variety of science units. Paragraphs in the back offer additional scientific background for deeper understanding of each poem.

It’s a simple concept book, suitable for even the youngest students, yet it doesn’t over-simplify the concepts. Each two-page spread includes four images of shapes opposite the title question. But the first set of four shapes adds the question, “why?” and goes on to explain how each of the four shapes could be the correct answer for different reasons. The important part isn’t which shape the reader chooses; the important part is in discussing why. A letter from the author in the back of the book reminds the reader that what words they choose to describe their thoughts aren’t what’s important either — as long as they are considering they different traits of the shapes, they are thinking mathematically. A great book for divergent thinking.

I like it. Pony Lovers abound in elementary school, and the sweet illustrations both draw readers in and offer support for the text. The poems are short and simple and child-like, which I think make them less intimidating that poetry can sometimes be for young readers. This book makes poetry approachable, inviting students to try composing themselves.

What a sweet story! When Sylvia writes a poem to celebrate the coming of spring, she carries it into he park to read it to a squirrel and tie it to a tree. On her way to school the next day she thinks she sees her poem fluttering in the breeze, but soon realizes it’s a new poem, and she believes the tree is writing back to her. For several days she continues to write the tree poems and find others in return (all the poems are, of course, included in the story). Then one day she finds a boy from school, who she doesn’t particularly like, at the tree and learns that the poems came from him, not the tree. At first she is sad to learn her tree wasn’t really writing to her, but then the two bond over poetry and become friends. The illustrations are soft and sweet and well-suited to the mood of the story.

I’m afraid I didn’t like it quite as much as I had hoped I would. I generally really like when they do picture books to song lyrics, and who doesn’t like The Beatles? But these lyrics maybe didn’t lend themselves so well to illustrations, or to being written as text without the musical accompaniment, because it just felt a little awkward. I was trying to make connections between the lyrics and the illustrations, and though there were times they fit better, there were also times I wasn’t seeing it.

This picture book biography a little known figure (who was not so little) will make for a good bit of reading for those who feel awkward, and as if they don’t quite fit in. Anna never did fit in — she was taller than her mother by the age of six — but she had a definite sense of adventure and found a way to use her unusual height to help her see the world. I like the way the book gently describes the ups and downs we all face, regardless of our individual struggles, by sharing the differences between good days and glum days. The author’s note in the back offers additional details as well as photos to remind the students that this is indeed a true story.

It’s packed with information, and both the cartoonish illustrations and the chatty writing style make it very approachable for young readers. I kind of have to like it because it makes clear to students a misconception that I carried with me until I got to college: that the sun isn’t bigger than other stars, it just looks that way because it’s so much closer. Though it covers lots of aspects about the sun and its place in our solar system and our solar system’s place in the greater universe, it can’t go into great depth, given that it is a picture book. One element I thought was over-simplified a bit was when, in explaining that the tilt of the earth gives us seasons, it declares that there are four seasons (spring, summer, fall, and winter), where it would have been more accurate to say that much of the earth has those four seasons; not everywhere has the same four seasons and North America and Europe.

Glitter on the cover is always a draw, but these books have substance to their stories, too. I’ve yet to meet a Tallulah story I didn’t appreciate. This one does a nice job of balancing the dual messages that it takes practice and persistence to get good at something, while simultaneously reminding readers that it’s not always important to practice and succeed — sometimes you’re allowed to just have fun. As an added bonus, the super skilled ice skater who gives Tallulah tips and reminds her that it will take time to improve, is a boy, avoiding what could have been a sexist stereotype.

Just six weeks after little Shylo left his mother and family out in the country warren, he is being called upon by the Royal Rabbits of London to help save the Queen’s reputation. If the reader has not read the first book in this series, never fear, the highlights are recapped in chapter one. (The Royal Rabbits are true rabbits that protect the royal humans in England and have been doing so undetected for centuries.)

In this story, the nasty, foul Ratzis (no ordinary rats, but rats just the same) are out to humiliate the the President of the United States (POTUS) and the King and Queen of England at their state dinner in London. The head Ratzi – Papa Ratzi- has numerous TV stations and Internet web sites. He will destroy both of these world leaders and their countries’ alliance to each other in one embarrassing event on live TV. BAD NEWS SELLS!!

Papa Ratsi wants small, meek- mannered, brainy Shylo caught for ruining their last attempt to humiliate the Queen. Papa Ratsi wants Shylo interrogated to get all the information he knows about their nemicus the Royal Rabbits of London.

Meanwhile, the Royal Rabbits do not want to work with the Rabbits of the United States (ROTUS) in their mission to protect these two leaders on their home soil. And the ROTUS do not want to work with the Royal Rabbits to protect their president. Thank goodness the two leaders of these two groups insist both sides work together.

In a diversion, the Ratzis grab Shylo. Once this is known, the Royal Rabbits and ROTUS decide that their mission to protect their leaders comes before trying to rescue Shylo. Shylo, being the smart bunny that he is, figures this out for himself. He is on his own to escape. Shylo outwits his guard, escapes his prison, and succeeds in stopping the Ratzis plot.

Shylo, the small, smart, unassuming ‘bunkin’, saves the day, once again! Time to celebrate with the finest carrot juice and dancing down in The Grand Burrow beneath Buckingham Palace!

Meanwhile, Papa Ratzi , AKA Nibbles, is off in America “with his plans to cause havoc in the world, and neither was he finished with his plans for a weak but troublesome little bunny called Shylo.” (201)

After the story ends, the readers will have the chance to test their knowledge on 1) London Landmarks, 2) make a recipe from the story, 3) take a personality quiz, and 4) read ‘Top Ten Facts about the US President and the White House’.

Illustrator Kate Hindley’s illustrations (one per chapter) add to a rabbit’s point-of-view, how the reader will relate to the rabbits’ point-of-view, how stylish the Royal Rabbits are, and how foul the Ratzis are with great charm.

“The text of this book was set in Aged Book” which adds to the allure of British charm this book strives to present to the reader.

I really enjoyed this one. The illustrations fill the animal characters with personality and spirit. The story opens with a chipmunk receiving a note from Bear to “Please come at once!” Imagining Bear in distress, since Bear never asks for anything, little Izzy sets out to brave a coming storm in order to help her friend. When she finds herself unable to continue, a squirrel comes to her aid, and they continue on until the storm is even too much for the two of them, when a duck in a knit cap and scarf try to fly them through, but eventually the three must accept the help of a sweater-clad raccoon too. As they persevere through each new struggle, we read again and again the refrain, “No matter how steep or tough the climb, a friend is worth it, every time.” When they finally reach their destination, it turns out Bear wasn’t really distressed — he just wanted to wish his small chipmunk friend a happy birthday.

On the one hand, the book got my hackles up right off the bat when it begins by telling about Gideon and Audrey’s tradition of building a sandcastle together every summer: “Gideon made sure each tower stood straight, every wall was level, and all the castle sides were smooth. Audrey made sure the castle sparkled with shells, sea glass, ad a starfish on the top.” Seriously? Are we still allowing children’s picture books to blatantly pass on gender stereotypes that the boy cares about the engineering of the castle and the girl is all about decorating? And yet if it wasn’t for that one page, I like how the story continued with Gideon deciding one summer that he was going to build one all on his own, and after many attempts that get destroyed by waves or wind or others on the beach, he does indeed succeed in building a structurally impressive sand castle, admired by many strangers, only to discover his success is a bit hollow when he sees his sister and parents joyfully laughing together over a much more lopsided structure. I like the message of valuing togetherness and joy over independent glory. I feel like the publisher let the author down here: if it had been big sister v. little sister or big brother v. little brother, it could have avoided the whole sexist flaw easily enough.

As a general rule, I am not really a fan of abridgments and adaptations. I find it a bit disrespectful to the original work of the author. That being said, this one does have really charming illustrations that invite the readers in. Since the original work has sat on my library shelves for years without circulating, this may be a good way to introduce students to the idea that the story came before Disney, even if the picture book format allows for only a taste of the full story.

The text is in phrases, rather than sentences — a rhyming poem describing a series of transitions in a small child’s life, from saying goodbye to last year’s favorite coat that’s now too small and moving on to a new one that fits just right, to a trip on an airplane which requires saying goodbye to the familiar in order to say hello to the grandparents at the other end of the journey; from giving away one’s preschool trike in favor of a big kids’ bike, to saying goodbye to velcro-covered toes when one learns to tie their own shoes. It culminates with saying goodbye to mom and dad in order to head out for the first day of school and all it holds. The illustrations are vibrant and simple and graphic, offering support to the limited text to make the meaning clear.

It’s a lovely glimpse into Japanese culture, as well as the sharing of traditions across generations, and the transformation of traditions as life changes. It begins with Mayumi as a young child, describing her annual visits to her grandfather who lived half a world away, and the time they spent together in the garden he built when she was born. She describes his garden as unlike any other gardens with which she was familiar: instead of flowers or vegetables, it is a rock garden. She shares what she learned as they worked together, and how much she enjoyed raking patterns in the small stones. She describes the small tin of souvenirs she kept from the garden to remember her visits when she was back at home. And then she tells of the year they visit, and find the garden overgrown and untended; the illustrations show her parents packing boxes and grandfather in a wheelchair as she learns he cannot live there anymore. Remembering how her tin of souvenirs comforted her when she was far away, she makes both her grandfather and herself miniature rock gardens in bento boxes so they can take a piece of their memories with them when they must move away.

It’s a fine story, a loving tribute and memoir of a girl’s outings with her grandfather, who she knew as Toppy, and the world knew as Charles R. Knight, a famous wildlife artist, responsible for many works at the American Museum of Natural History. Told from the granddaughter’s perspective, she shares how her grandfather began visiting the museum and the zoo when he was only five years old, and how he taught himself to observe closely the animals he loved, despite his poor eyesight. He was the first to paint prehistoric animals, based on his study of their fossils.