Two Delightful Picture Books with "BIG FEELS"

Sky Pony Press, 2024

 Sue Fliess is an author whose mastery of narrative rhyme is reliable and kid-friendly, as noted in some prior offerings I reviewed HERE, HERE, and HERE. Her latest picture book is a feel-good, universally-appealing take suited to any kid who loses a baby tooth (universal, right?). This crew of tooth-losing-aged diverse kids begin with a celebratory success, and their anticipation of the tooth fairy's arrival. 

With that opening "Hooray!", readers are launched into the joyful fun (and some lively surprises) while preparing for the arrival of the tooth fairy. The truth about any child's loose tooth is that feelings prior to successful extraction can be ambivalent at best, and may include some anxiety or even fear. Thus, the title of this post: "Big Feels". 

This positivity about successful tooth removal and preparations will be a hit with parents and with youngsters awaiting that first experience and even for those who already display gaping grins. The clever premise of this book is that the crew of kiddos first describe what a tooth fairy (a "tiny flying friend") will do, then imagine a genuine dilemma. Just as someone might lose a tooth for the first time, a tooth fairy might be a beginner, a first-timer, and not be very successful at the job. Oh, no! Which way to fly? How to find the right house? Or the right pilliow?\

These little dynamos set out to help. Readers will delight in the  fun illustrations by Simona Sanfelippo, revealing clever, energetic personalities. They plan, they gather materials, they prepare signs, a tooth box, and even welcome signs. The tooth fairy is delighted, of course, leaves the child a new toothbrush and dental floss, with a note of thanks and also a promise to return when needed. 

At that point, the book brings welcome surprises, including pages that offer non-rhyming information paragraphs (suitable for the age) about baby teeth, tooth fairy traditions, origin stories, and other cultural practices. This is followed by some simple HOW-TO directions for little ones to make their own signs and messages for the tooth fairy when their time comes. This upbeat and unique take on losing baby teeth and tooth fairies will be a great addition to families, schools, libraries, and care centers for children of this age. 

Chronicle Books, 2023

As for those "Big Feels", Andy J. Pizza and Sophie Miller created a picture book that allows young children to consider confusing and complicated emotions that are deeply felt but can be challenging to identify and self-regulate. All too often, discussions and book explorations of feelings with young children tend toward labeling or explaining, sorting into "positive or negative", good or bad", "happy or sad". Adults reading this note may already be rolling your eyes about the over-simplification that implies, with losing a baby tooth as a perfect example of complex and confusing emotions for young people. 

These creators took a wonderfully creative approach that avoids such categorizing by inviting readers to don the "invisible thing" spotting glasses that are drawn on the opening end pages. By "wearing" imagined glasses, the illustrations become visible! I was excited about this effective way of making abstract subject matter both visible and open to better understanding. The first double spread illustrates and labels concrete object (even imaginary ones, like a monster) with a very short note that these are familiar characters from many picture books. I would add, from real life, too!

Interior, IMAGINARY THINGS,
Chronicle Books, 2023

One page turn demonstrates that even these recognizable characters experience "invisible things" (emotions). What the creators produced are varied irregular and colorful shapes that represent emotions, unnamed. One still unlabeled, not obvious as single, simple emotions. In fact, the simple side text on that page points out that "life is more than meets the eye." Cleverly (again) the senses are used to sort out some experiences, external and internal, that kids know well but may never have consciously processed. After several spreads of sensory explorations and emotions they may instigate, inner experiences and "senses" are pictured, labeled, and discussed. These pages are  followed by suggestions for ways to manage and cope with feelings (those invisible things). 

Interior, IMAGINARY THINGS
Chronicle Books, 2023

The extensive variety of feelings illustrated, labeled, and applied to little lives offers visual delight and rich content. The amorphous, colorful "blobs" and recognizable shapes use minimalist lines and dots to add emotional expression, even when open to interpretation. The visuals will appeal and encourage frequent return to the pages. Several spreads encourage a sort of "seek and find" fun that demonstrates how many ways emotions are universal. Whether the young people in your lives are pretty mellow or are highly reactive to sensory or internal experiences, this book will likely be a welcome exploration for them and for the older readers who share it with them. "Big Feels" near leave us, and that makes this original and clever presentation of them an appealing and valuable  addition to our lives.

RUMBLE and ROAR: Sound Around the World

 There's no denying that writing picture books with text that rhymes, effectively, is a challenge for most. It often is even for those with a talent for it. I've heard this advice to writers repeatedly- 

Do not use rhyme unless there is NO BETTER WAY to write it, and then do it VERY WELL. 

Sue Fliess is among those with a talent for writing in rhyme, and many of her books are favorites of little readers and their adult families and teachers. You can click on her name and check out her many titles, new and old. PLEASE wait to finish reading here first. You could spend hours at her website, and I don't want you to miss what I have to say about this latest offering. 

MILLBROOK PRESS, 2022

RUMBLE AND ROAR: Sound Around the World is delightfully written by Sue Fliess, offering a ral treat for the ear. It's illustrated with equal vim, vitality, and visual appeal by Khoa Le.

The tightly written, perfectly rhymed, onomatopoetic words reveal children and families in fully developed settings around the world, reveling in the adventure of engaging with nature using all their senses. The precise and mouth-popping word choices lend themselves to the eye-popping experiences each group encounters, in a tropical setting, on an African savannah or wooded mountainside, near a crashing waterfall or on a whispery-quiet night. 

The unfolding of an apparent single day, from rising to shining to reclining in sleep, makes it a terrific bedtime story. It will also be welcomed into classrooms for lessons on language or to consider various geographic regions and climates and biomes, and in homes for exciting and dreamy lap time stories. 

This is the second title in what I hope will be an extensive series by this talented pair of creators. I reviewed the first , FLASH AND GLEAM: LIGHT IN OUR WORLD here. In both picture books the characters and family configurations are as diverse as the global settings. Both also offer accurate and helpful information about their topics (LIGHT and SOUnd, respectively) in a few pages of accessible and clearly-explained back matter. These are books that should be made available in multiple copies, to shelve with poetry, science, and storytelling. In each case the main text is fewer than a hundred words, with the illustrations unveiling intriguing story-potentials on every spread. 

Take a look, read each out loud, share them with kids, and then tell someone about what perfect gifts they would make for classroom teachers and library story times. 

Shining a Light on Global Connections

Millbrook Press/Lerner 2020

FLASH AND GLEAM: LIGHT IN OUR WORLD is a picture book/poem written by Sue Fliess and brilliantly illustrated by Khoa Le. Fliess is a prolific and masterful writer-in-rhyme whose extended poem incorporates light-inspired vocabulary in lines and phrases that feel as if they were born to land exactly where they are in the text. Le is the Vietnamese artist who seems to have discovered light-transferring tools while creating the glowing and sweeping art in these pages. 
The subtitle encompasses the important role and magic of light within our physical and social world within a global perspective. Four diverse families from four cultures and distant corners of the world experience light from sunrise to bedtime in ways that celebrate distinctions and the universality of family life. 
This is an exemplary case in which the art and book design effectively reveal and pace  many patterns and themes (daily routines, holidays, mundane and special family time) with color tones, moods, perspectives, and expressions portrayed in parallel narrow panels, powerful double-page spreads, facing images, and sequential revelations that draw audiences into each scene and relationship. 
The back matter offers a double-page spread with basic science information about light (incorporating key vocabulary and concepts) and information about the central role of light within various cultural celebrations. "Fun fact" bubbles are splashed across those two pages. Each fact featured could spark (see what I did there?) further investigation. 
This book is a fine example of one rich with language, images, and concepts that subtlety offers an appreciation of our universal human connections, for young people and for those who read to them.

Opinion is based on eBook edition viewed via publisher with no promise of a review.

A Twist on Tradition: Little Red RHYMING Hood

After my months of focus on nonfiction, here's a fun twist on a familiar folk tale that also addresses the all-too-familiar everyday problems of bullying, self-concept, friendship, and competitions. 

Albert Whitman, 2019

LITTLE RED RHYMING HOOD is written by Sue Fliess and illustrated by Petros Bouloubasis. 
When a little girl with a natural gift for rhyming is teased by a playground bully, Big Brad Wolf, she confides in her grandma that she longs to talk the everyone else does. Grandma boosts her spirits with a red hoodie and news of a poetry contest. With new-found confidence, Little Red embravces her talent and her new nickname, Little Red Rhyming Hood. She gnores the taunts of Big Brad Wolf. 
She hopes to make some friends at the poetry event, but...
Brad finally manages to startle her, and when he does- he scares the rhyming right out of her! In an ironic twist of fate, Brad is 
suddenly "stuck" in rhyming mode while Red is not, leaving them both unhappy.  Red is unable to enter the poetry contest, and Brad is miserable, demanding help. In the process, they discover they can alternate lines and rhyme together. As a rhyming team they win first prize, and find themselves actually enjoying each other's company. 
There's fun to be had in this clever mashup of a familiar tale, word play, and a narrative that combines prose text with intermittent rhymes- not an easy thing to pull off. Fans of the author's many other titles may wonder if there's a touch of autobiography in this latest Red character, but Fliess demonstrates that her storytelling transcends both prose and poetry.
The real strength of this book will be for readers/audiences who are familiar with the underlying, traditional folk tale, Red Riding Hood, which comes in MANY versions. There is actually a concern that many children today are growing up without hearing/reading these previously ubiquitous tales. 
For a brief insight as to WHY we should make it a point to keep these traditional cultural touchpoints in the lives and literature of young people, check this out.
Meanwhile, this story has contemporary relevance even for those not aware of the baseline tales. It will be a richer, more humorous, and funnier book for those with that broader folk tale experience, so I hope it will prompt a deep dive into the many versions and fractured approaches to the tale. And I'd love to be a fly on the wall as those readings and discussions emerge. 

Easter Elf: Surprise!

As late as the holiday is this year, it's natural to imagine gathering armloads of blossoms, romping through blades of grass and buzzing bees, searching our garden for Easter eggs, and posing for pictures in spring finery while basking in Sunday's sunshine. Instead, you may be  tsk-tsk-ing at the snow, at flooded puddles, and at still-brown foliage in your yard. It's been a bummer of a spring so far, that's for sure.

But don't give up hope on Easter. 

It's all about renewal and hope and moving forward.

And Easter IS coming in just a few days, no matter what the weather. 

So, even though I can't promise sunshine, I'll offer up a brand new Easter tale, one that will lift your spirits and that kids will relish. 

KWiL Publishing, 2019

EASTER ELF is the debut picture book offering of author Rochelle Groskreutz and is illustrated by Leah Danz DiPasquale. 

The premise is a clever one, proposing that Easter has always had its own set of hardworking elfin helpers, but they have simply lacked the public relations efforts of Santa's elves. Full bleed pages and text layout awash in pastel and saturated seasonal colors provide a feast for our winter-dulled eyes. Lively Easter elves are preparing for the big day, dressed in springtime T-shirts and shorts, bunny slippers. and rabbit-eared elf caps. These characters are Easter eggs-perts, offering up pun-filled prose that will have kids and parents chuckling. Apart from gaining some long overdue attention for their annual hard work, the pre-season preparation stress ramps up when Santa's Christmas elves un-eggs-pectedly land and gum up their Easter routines. 

Along with the word play, there are plenty of laughs and visual antics to entertain. Throughout the action an important story about competition, acceptance, cooperation and building friendships emerges before everything is finally sorted out. This delightful soon-to-be-classic is widely available and makes a delightful addition to Easter baskets. It's a wonderful way to prepare for the big day with advance read-alouds with your kids and grandkids. 

When the weather finally invites you outdoors to celebrate spring, keep your eyes peeled for some of these Easter elves. They've been around for generations, it seems, but now we finally know what they look like!

You might also want to take another look at HOW TO TRACK AN EASTER BUNNY by Sue Fliess, reviewed HERE, and BORROWING BUNNIES: A Surprising True Tale of Fostering Rabbits, by Cynthia Lord, reviewed HERE. 

I'm proud to say that both Groskreutz and DiPasquale are Wisconsin friends of mine, but I'd be singing the praises of this lively addition to the holiday season even if they were total strangers.

How to Track an Easter Bunny: Get a Jump on the Holiday!

It's never too soon to build excitement for the visiting Easter Bunny, at least as far as prolific picture book author Sue Fliess is concerned. Her latest, HOW TO TRACK AN EASTER BUNNY released early in February, even getting a jump on Mardi Gras! 
In this holiday charmer, Fliess relies on her knack for writing read-aloud rhyming text to create an appealing how-to book. Then she provides interesting back matter about the origins of the Easter Bunny tradition, adds a craft idea woven with academic connections, then follows with suggestions for STEM activities. (Science Technology Engineering Math). 
The early launch allows plenty of time to engage young readers with the simple text and related activities well in advance of the holiday. After even a few re-read-alouds the young ones will be chiming in on rhyming words. 
The initial premise is that a clever Easter Bunny may hide eggs and other goodies so well that they could be left undiscovered on Easter morning. Simple steps explain and illustrations support directions for how to make a "nest" for EB (Easter Bunny), including enticements and construction procedures. A trail of carrots guarantees that EB will pause in her pursuits to discover the nest and take a brief break there before hiding the goodies. (SPOILER ALERT>>>)
The finishing touch to the nest is a generous application of glitter. Everyone knows that glitter clings to everything and leaves a trail, which is the point of this project. The story resolves as expected and the diverse group of siblings/friends resist the impulse to catch EB in the act, allowing her to continue on to the next eager home. 

Fliess has an ear for rhyme and a heart for young audiences. (Previous reviews here and  here.) Illustrator Simona Sanfilippo saturates each spread with the exuberant colors of spring, suggesting action and momentum with broad sweeping strokes and lightly interprets the excitement and energy of the characters. 
I enjoyed reading this holiday picture book and can imagine plenty of young folks who will respond eagerly to the story and to the suggested activities. 

The publisher provided a copy of the book for my review with no expectations about content.

Two Books by Sue Fliess: Rhyming Rocks!

Those of us who work diligently at writing picture book text are often frustrated by the widespread insider advice AGAINST writing in rhyme. The premise behind that advice is that publishers don't buy rhyming text. That's obviously not true, but this is: writing rhyming text is VERY hard to do, even harder to do WELL, and rhyming text is very challenging to edit. So, the REAL advice should be, don't write in rhyme unless it's absolutely the only/best way to tell your story. Then, if that's the case, study the best and do it WELL.

Author Sue Fliess seems to have figured out the secret sauce for a recipe for successful rhyming picture books. Her latest two releases are good examples of her rhyming skill in storytelling.

Two Lions, 2018

Since the orange of Halloween has been stored away and shops are filled with red and green, it's not too early to share her Christmas book. MRS. CLAUS TAKES THE REINS is illustrated by Mark Chambers. When Santa has the sniffles and opts out of Christmas, Mrs. Claus saves the day. She's well-suited in her green cardigan outfit, red socks and hair, and elfin glasses. 
She and her loyal troops weather storms, incoming ducks, snug chimneys, and exhaustion to "get 'er done"!
There are no real surprises in this rollicking adventure, but it's fun to follow a highly competent Mrs. Claus carry the toys, the spirit, and the joy of holiday giving around the world in a single night. 
The story reveals that Christmas magic is not Santa-specific, but seems to be anchored in (or lifted by) good will, generosity, determination, and love. Fliess incorporates all within this rousing, tightly-metered rhyming text that makes a lively and lovely read-aloud with a strong woman saving the day.

Running Press Kids, January 2019

You'll need to put her second title on your wish list because it won't release until early January, 2019. NINJA CAMP is illustrated by Jen Taylor. There are plenty of ninja picture books, a testament to the many wannabe ninjas among kids (and their parents!). 
Quite a few, although not all, are written in rhyme. Sharply metered, power-packed rhymes, many using onomatopoetic slams, bangs, chops, and kicks, suit the concept well. That's true of the text in NINJA CAMP, and the action-dense story is illustrated to enhance the text.
Fliess has managed to find an original take on the ninja theme in portraying a training camp and inter-camp challenge. The action is enhanced in the nighttime setting by using dense color tones with figures outlined by streaky white lines to suggest the backlighting of the starlit skies. There are plenty of page-turning twists throughout, with (no surprise) a happy ending for the young ninja stars. 

While you're waiting for NINJA CAMP to release, make a stop at your library and check out a few other fun Ninja picture books:
DOJO DAYCARE by Chris Tougas,
NINJA! by Arree Chung (The first in a series featuring this adorable little Ninja)
and 10 LITTLE NINJAS by Miranda Paul, featured in a an earlier post, here. (Now available as a board book)

Previews of Spring: Monarchs, Walking Sticks, and Bugs!

As I sit down to write this post a snowstorm is swirling outside my window. 

Well, it's not quite this bad, but it has been coming down nonstop since the middle of the night and shows no signs of stopping despite the weather forecasts of only a "few inches".

As a longtime Wisconsin resident it's really no surprise to have March roar in like a lion. This winter has actually been milder than the last several, and I'm both aware of and grateful for that blessing. My dismay has to do with two recent weekends that each provided fifty-degree days with loads of sunshine. At least that provided some relief from the cabin fever of other, more relentless, winters. With the calendar page turning to March, I also take comfort in knowing that the official start of spring is just 21 days away, regardless of what my eyes tell me.

Here are three titles to tide us over until the weather cooperates. 

Sleeping Bear Press, 2016

First up, take a look at this lushly-illustrated new picture book written by Wisconsin author Linda Vander Heyden and illustrated by Eileen Ryan Ewen. (Learn more about Linda in this great profile  from ON THE SCENE 2016 blog.) MR. McGINTY'S MONARCHS is one of those rare picture books based on an adult character, Mr. McGinty, and his lovable (but massive) dog, Sophie. 
This is my review on Goodreads:

"It goes without saying that Monarch butterflies are one of the most familiar and beloved insects in the western hemisphere. Grandpa-like Mr. McGinty is  one of their strongest and most dedicated fans. His devotion is fully supported by his almost-larger-than-life dog, Sophie. After a stand of milkweed habitat is cut down, it's up to that determined pair to find a way to rescue the unhatched monarch eggs on their damaged plants.

Author Vander Heyden succeeded in the most difficult of tasks for picture book writers- creating an "old guy" to carry the story on his shoulders while kids play a very minor role. She also blends action with nonfiction, richly enhanced by the illustrator's detail and colorfully appealing spreads, including the endpapers.

Add this one to your TBR pile and share it with kids, soon!"

Sleeping Bear Press, 2016

GOOD TRICK, WALKING STICK, written by Sheri Mabry Bestow and illustrated by Johnny Lambert, is another 2016 release.  It spotlights a different insect that seems to be universally adored. This nonfiction book about well-camouflaged walking sticks combines a seasonal-cycle narrrative with informative passages to expand the science. Smaller-print paragraphs on many pages provide accessibly-detailed  content (including specific vocabulary) to make it a resource for research. it also supports parents and other readers in answering the many questions kids can (and do) ask. Kirkus Review praises both the lyrical language and the inclusion of accurate science information in this review.
Sleeping Bear Press has produced two winning titles to welcome spring. In my opinion they are both destined to become longterm favorites.

Grosset-Dunlap (PenguinRandom House, 2016

Not to be outdone, Grosset-Dunlap (PenguinRandomHouse-Young Readers) has released THE BUG BOOK, written by flawless-rhymer Sue Fliess. I reviewed a trio of her titles in 2013, well in advance of the gender-neutral wave of titles hitting the market since then. They continue to appeal and to offer stereotype-free encouragements to young readers. (CLICK HERE to read about them.)
Her low-word-count text bounces with energy, humor, precision, and appeal while framing photographic images that will make you want to touch the little critters (well, at least some of them). Here's just one example of toe-pleasing rhythm, pitch-perfect rhyme, and sensory engagement:

Itch bugs, 

Head bugs, 

Uh-oh, bedbugs!

Shy bugs, 

bold bugs,

Catch-and-hold bugs!

Several hours have passed since I sat down to prepare this post. The snow stopped. (Hooray!) The wind, however, increased. If anyone else is dragging themselves through the waning (or howling) days of winter, I highly recommend these three titles to transport your thoughts to warmer climes and times. 

Meanwhile, to any little buggies out in the blustery cold, here's some advice from the last pages of THE BUG BOOK:

Bugs in beds of soil deep, 

Dreamy bugs fall fast asleep. 

Reader Anna shared a link in the comments below. Check out this encouraging news about the survival of MONARCHS!
 

Gender-Free Book Selection

In the last post I shared some outstanding titles about women who played pivotal roles in American and world history. The post included links to several admirable blogs, all in deference to Women's History Month. The always helpful blog,  Humor Me, offers a recent post featuring a cavalcade of stellar titles. But PLEASE, please, note my concern: once March is over don't let these titles languish on shelves or even be tucked away in unit boxes, not to see the light of day again until next March.

This week's TIME Magazine had a short piece titled: PLAY WITHOUT STEREOTYPES, which asserted that gender-stereotyping, mainly toy preferences, often first appear at the age of school attendance. Their report that toy-makers are tapping into new markets by developing gender-neutral versions of  various toys is encouraging. It reminded me that one reason I HATED kindergarten was the gender segregation of the activity centers. The "Girls' Corner" had a kitchen, playhouse, and various "homemaker" options. The "Boys' Corner" had, well, pretty much everything else: easel, blocks, anything on wheels, fire fighter, military, and police hats, tools, etc. (Is there any wonder I developed feminist leanings before that word even existed?)

Marshall Cavendish
Children's Books, 2012

Marshall Cavendish 
Children's Books, 2011

So, where am I going with this? I'm heading to a discussion of three titles by Sue Fliess. 
SHOES FOR ME  and A DRESS FOR ME are both illustrated by Mike Laughead. 
TONS OF TRUCKS is illustrated by Betsy Snyder. It's a sturdily constructed interactive book with delightful flaps, wheels, and folds to enhance the colorful illustrations.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012

All three are written in verse that is crisp, well-metered, and tightly rhymed with very low word counts. In the first two a young hippo  has outgrown her clothing and finds lots of options, but none that work. Her frustrated mom is heading for the door when the "just-right" choice is spotted and little hippo's mission is accomplished. 

On first glance the truck book appears to be nothing more than a compendium of truck types, richly embedded with colors, sizes, shapes, descriptive words, and charming characters. Add to that loads of appealing interactivity.  Then the final spread parks the vehicles at a rest stop, and suddenly it becomes a bedtime book. All three titles are delightful additions to any collection for young readers and I recommend them to you.

Hippo shares her pages with a variety of other animal shoppers, and the trucks are "manned" by a wide array of recognizable animals, most of whom appear to be male, but several sport bows or are generic enough to be gender neutral.

I asked a kindergarten-teaching friend to share these lively, colorful books with her class and let me know what they thought of them. She reported that all three received "thumbs up" from both boys and girls. Specific praise included the lively rhymes, the funny characters, the colorful illustrations. Of course, the interactive book was the favorite for both boys and girls. 

Then she asked her ultimate "rating" question: Would you take it from the shelf to reread?

The girls said they would choose any/all of the three eagerly. 

The boys said they would take the Dress and Shoe books for their sisters, but the Truck book for themselves. 

When it comes right down to it, that's not a "problem", and yet it bothers me. After listening attentively and praising many aspects of the first two books, none of the boys would actually choose to read them. Setting aside my personal gender-ization trauma from  kindergarten, I wonder if we've succeeded in helping girls find their way into activities and interests of all kinds quite easily, while allowing boys to self-limit and restrict their choices, particularly in book selection. 
When it comes to reading, CHOICE is the magic word, and I don't advocate ruling specific titles "in" or "out" for kids. But let's make sure we encourage wide reading for all kids, and never make the mistake of limiting their choices by gender assumptions.

And just as we would never suggest that only African Americans should read titles featured during Black History Month, let's never make the assumption that stories about women/girls won't appeal to boys. We need to find and share titles featuring characters and stories with such dramatic appeal that they will be snatched off the shelves by EVERY reader.
The same is true during Black History Month, Women's History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, or any "topical" focus unit.