Under the Big Green Roof: October's Picture Book Reviews

The Most Magnificent Thing
Ashley Spires

The girl has a wonderful idea. "She is going to make the most MAGNIFICENT thing! She knows just how it will look. She knows just how it will work. All she has to do is make it, and she makes things all the time. Easy-peasy!" But making her magnificent thing is anything but easy, and the girl tries and fails, repeatedly. Eventually, the girl gets really, really mad. She is so mad, in fact, that she quits. But after her dog convinces her to take a walk, she comes back to her project with renewed enthusiasm and manages to get it just right.

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I adored this picture book!  Filled with illustrations that made me grin, The Most Magnificent Thing teaches a wonderful lesson about perseverance and working through the bumps in things, even when it seems like your idea has no merit.  I especially love how Spires shows the nameless little girl's progression from a brilliant idea, to anger over it not working the way she wants, to giving up, and all the way around to success.

Definitely a book for your storytime library, and a book I look forward to adding to my own library for future munchkins.

Publication: April 1, 2014
Publisher: Kids Can Press
-Digital ARC provided by NetGalley, in exchange for a review.

To Be Read Pile: October

Since my TBR pile isn't getting any smaller, here are the books I want to get through this month:

Picture Books

Middle Grade

Under the Big Green Roof: September's Picture Book Reviews

Worms
Bernard Friot and Aurelie Guillerey

John-Paul is bored, bored, bored.  His dad invited a bunch of important people over for dinner, and no one's talking about anything fun.  So when John-Paul's dad asks him to go get the salads, he decides to add his own addition to the dishes.

I absolutely adored this picture book!  The vintage style illustrations, and ridiculously expressive worms were a perfect pair.  And the result of John-Paul's mischief making at the end is a wonderful example of taking your own dues.

Publication: September 1 , 2015
Publisher: Kids Can Press
-Digital ARC provided by NetGalley, in exchange for a review.

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Snap!
Hazel Hutchins and Dusan Petricic

What could be more perfect than a brand new set of crayons? Evan can't wait to use them, until Snap! the brown one breaks in two. Then one by one, the others break, get crushed, are blown away, or simply disappear. How can he possibly draw when there's no green, purple, or even black?

I love this book!  The colors are bright and eye catching, the illustrations whimsical, and the message of finding new ways to be creative is fantastically portrayed.  Both Hutchins and Petricic do a wonderful job of showing the different emotions Evan goes through in a way that will translate well to the story time audience.  If I had kids of my own, Snap! would be a staple of their library.  As it is, I still want a copy for my own library, for when I get called to read to kids, or have kids of my own. :3

Publication: September 22, 2015
Publisher: Annick Press
-Digital ARC provided by Netgalley, in exchange for a review.

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The Night Children
Sarah Tsiang and Delphine Bodet

When the streets are empty and kids are called home for dinner and put to bed, the world becomes a magical place. It's only then that the night children emerge from the shadows, ready to play. In this evocative and lyrical picture book, it is the night children who rule, taking over the world that the day children have left behind.

I really liked the whimsical illustrations Bodet created for this book; however, I can't help but think this story would fail to retain the younger set of story time audiences.  It's a whimsical and poetic picture book, but the story is quite loose and very abstract.  I found myself underwhelmed by the whole of it, and wished there'd been more to the story to pull the audience in.

Publication:
Publisher:
-Digital ARC provided by Netgalley, in exchange for a review.

Under the Big Green Roof: August's Picture Book Reviews

I adore picture books.  There's just something about the simple outward stories, and the full page illustrations that gets me.  So, although I have no children of my own, every month I'll be doing a post like this one, to review the picture books I discovered.

Quackers
Liz Wong

Quackers is a duck who lives at the pond.  But sometimes he doesn't feel like he fits in with the other ducks.  Then one day he meets Mittens...

Cute, quirky, and filled with fun illustrations, Quackers is about struggling to fit in, and learning to find room in life for everyone.

Publication: March 22, 2016
Publisher: Knopf
-Digital ARC provided by edelweiss, in exchange for a review.

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A Friend for Bo
Elisabeth Zuniga

A little rabbit named Bo has a new friend named Rollie.  The only problem is Rollie doesn't seem to do, or say much.  How can Bo get his new friend to have some fun?

The illustrations in this are golden!  I love the details in each page.  A Friend for Bo is an adorable story about how friendships have a way of 'hatching' exactly when you need them to.

Publication: January 26, 2016
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
-Digital ARC provided by edelweiss, in exchange for a review.

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Penelope Perfect
Shannon Anderson

When Penelope oversleeps, her daily routine is thrown for a loop.  From wearing mismatched socks, to receiving her first 'B' ever, will 'Penelope Perfect' be able to survive this imperfect day?

Told in irresistible rhyme, Penelope Perfect is a brightly illustrated story about finding the balance in life, and not always being stuck on the same routine day after day.  Additionally, the last few pages are filled with activities and resources for parents or teachers to explore anxiety and perfectionism with young children.

Publication: September 15, 2015
Publisher: Free Spirit Publishing
-Digital ARC provided by NetGalley, in exchange for a review

To Be Read Pile: August

I'm hoping, since I've got an extensive TBR pile, that if I post a list of titles I hope to read during the course of the month, I'll actually make it through them without getting distracted.

Picture Books