My daughter loves this book because it gave us a clever idea for dealing with the creatures that go bump in the night. Grandma had suggested she pray them away, and I'd told her to ignore them (they are just in your imagination). But Lane Fredrickson gave us something useful here. A funny, magical, charming solution! And I suggest everyone with an imaginative young child buy or borrow this book to find out the answer.
What I Liked
I'd like to give kudos to the illustrator Michael Robertson, not only for bringing these silly, wacky, wonderful monsters to life (without too gross or too scary) but because she chose to make the protagonist a little black girl. He didn't have to. He drew her the way he organically imagined her. I appreciate that this illustrator has a wide varied pallet of characters and a talent for being diversity into his artwork. Check more of his work on his website: https://www.michaelrobertsonillustration.com/
What I Disliked
The only thing that I dislike about this story is that it comes sooo close to a picture book idea that I've been workshopping for years. I hate to admit it but this one is better. And that's why I've chosen it as it my Halloween Highlight (ten years late).
If you liked Monster Trouble check out some of Michael Robertson's other illustrated works.
Hey! I review books. Long books, short books, picture books, old and new books. Check out my blog PB&Jellyphish gift ideas, library guides. Also check out the JellyBell Book Club a new perspective on your favorite YA and Adult literature
Room on the Broom is perfect picture book. Anyone looking to learn how to write picture books should take note of this one. It's fun and charming. The rhyme scheme is so long strong you could almost sing this book. And the twist at the end made me laugh out loud. The only other book I really say that about was the Grufflalo by *gasping* the same creative team!
What I Liked
The message of friendship. Each time the witch drops something from her broom a new creature pops out and gives it back. In return the creature asks for a ride on her broom and she obliges them. As a result she help when she needs it most!
What I Loved
In the end a dragon emerges who loves to eat with fries! Thankfully, her friends are there to turn the table in her favor in a way that makes me laugh out loud!
Dislikes
After about the twentieth read it gets a bit repetitive in the middle. It breaks the rule of three and by the fourth drop from the broom I'm over it. But the rhyming makes even the is easier to get through.
Author and Illustrator Team
Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler really bring in the magic when they work together. It's a book I don't mind reading on repeat to my daughter all "Spooky Season". Having two of their books to shuffle between really helps. Check out more about this creative team here: https://www.gruffalo.com/julia-and-axel/.
Check out these other books by Gruffalo Creators
Hey! I review books. Long books, short books, picture books, old and new books. Check out my blog PB&Jellyphish gift ideas, library guides. Also check out the JellyBell Book Club a new perspective on your favorite YA and Adult literature
Meet Clarisse!She’s a clever cat who loves books.She may not understand the dark, squiggly lines, but she can’t get enough of the pictures.
One day she stumblesupon a magical building where people walk in empty-handed and come out with armloads of books.She has to find a way inside!
There’s just one problem: NO CATS are allowed in the library!
That’s not going to stop clever Clarisse, though.Once she sneaks in, she stumbles upon exciting new stories and even helps a little girl practice reading aloud.But when the librarian comes looking, will Clarisse be allowed to stay?
Vid:
About the Author
Simon & Schuster image
Lauren Emmons is an award-winning illustrator who currently lives in North Dakota with their partner, dog and two rambunctious cats.They earned a master’s degree in children’s booknow spends their days illustrating for children’s books, magazines, and galleries. No Cats in the Library is their debut author-illustrated picture book.Lauren has loved libraries since they was a child, and still regularly walks out with their arms full of books.Visit them at laurenemmons.com
Concepts/Lessons
If your child is shy about reading, try encouraging them to read to an animal, or a stuffed friend. As shown in "No Cats in the Library" pets are surprisingly good listeners. And an audience of stuffies can cure stage fright before it begins.
Review:
A curious kitten wonders into the library wondering what all the action is about it. This cat loves books and excited to find a room full of them. But when the librarian kicks the kitty out, it has to get clever to find a way back in. Then it discovers a whole world of worlds, and new friends willing to let it in on the secrets of the library.
This book is charming! I'd recommend it to go libraries and parents who are trying to encourage young readers to read to their level. The idea is build confidence in reading because that will build confidence in all the other subjects as well.
The Art
Illustrations captured this story in charming basic colors. The images have rounded edges keeping this mood of this book smooth, cool, and calm just like in the library. The stakes are low but the charm is high.
My cat Savannah
What I Loved
The over story of a cat who loves books sneaking into a library. I love the idea of libraries have cats for the children to read to, or to keep company with people in quiet study. I also love the idea of a cat just sitting and listening to young readers as they struggle over syllables and vowels, but with the calm patient alertness that only cats have.
What I Liked
I liked how my daughter reacted to this book. The story is imitable and gives kids a solution to a problem most adults might not realize is a problem.
Dislikes:Unrealistic expectations. After reading this my daughter was disappointed that her library doesn't have a cat. Even though I explained that there are people who don't like cats, who are allergic or afraid of cats, she didn't buy it. She still tried to ask the librarians to adopt cats. They of course gave her the same answer. So for kids in a situation were they have no pets, a stuffed animal is just as nice.
Thee is also very little re-readiblity about this book. I don't see a kid wanting to read this book over and over. It's best for a teacher or a librarian during a class reading session. But not great for a bedtime story. I also don't see a kid really picking up this book as much as an adult. Any a kid picking up this book would certainly be expecting humor, and wackiness from a cat sneaking into a library. Instead we have a low stakes lesson giving tips on reading out-loud better. Might be a tad disappointing.
Lessons to Take away
Cats and books go together like pickles and peanut butter. They are just right for each other!
"No Cats in the Library" is a clever and cute book that teachers, librarians, and little readers will enjoy. I love it for encouraging confidence in reading and giving a strategy for encouraging little learners to read out-loud. The story is not as wacky as the title may suggest, but it's still worth a trip to the library.
If you like this book you might also enjoy:
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Everybody want to squeeze the baby. Everybody wants to kiss the baby! Everybody loves the baby….SO MUCH!
“Masterfully captures the closeness of the family and the wonder of the baby…A celebration of warm and loving African-American family.”Kirkus Reviews.
Critically Acclaimed Winner of:
Smarties Book Prize
The Kurt Maschler Award
The WHS Smith and She Magazine Awards.
100 Best Children’s Book of 2016 by Time Out.
Trish Cooke is a British playwright, actress, television presenter, scriptwriter and children's author who might be best known for being a presenter on the children's series Playdays. She also wrote under the pseudonym Roselia John Baptiste
Review
What I loved:
I'm going to say the quiet part outloud on this one. I love the choice to wrap this story around a Black family, specifically a little Black baby boy.
Black boys get it so rough in this world. Black men feel that the only way they can receive love is to be "respected", and many black men have grown up learning that the only way they can gain respect is to be the hardest, roughest, meanest, toughest richest man in the room. I love that this story paints a different picture.
Everyone loves this little black baby boy. He is shown just as much affection by his uncles and male cousins, as by his mother, grandmothers, and aunt. He is kissed, snuggled, read to, played with, danced around and generally enjoyed by the entire family. There is no doubt that everyone loves this baby.
The twist at the end was the perfect cherry on the top of this cake of family affection. The entire family has gathered to show, not just love for the cute child, but also adoration for his father, a grown black man who has clearly been at work all day, because it's his birthday. They are celebrating his birth, his life, and his presence while he is still alive to enjoy it.
His wife has made him a meal. You can't tell if the uncle and aunt are the father's brother and sister or his in-laws. You can't tell which of the older women is the father's mother, because they all love him so much! The family wraps around the father and shows him just as much love as they've shown his son.
We all know that families are not simple. There are complications and complexities that can make or break a family dynamic. But in just this two short panels we see a family coming together to celebrate a man just for being present. How this story changes the narrative of black boys, unconditional love, and masculine energy being able to receive affection will effect his son's future, or, more profoundly, it will change the perspective of everyone reading this story. Black kids, kids, all kids, male and female, everyone needs love.
What I liked:
This story met all the picture book story beats in a clever and creative way. The repetitive sentences make listening to the book fun for young readers, but also allows for the adult reader to have fun telling it.
Each character has a unique way of expressing love and happiness at seeing the baby. This allows adult readers to find different ways to voice the characters thus making the book a bit of a performance.
What I'd change:
The language of the book was very familiar to me. I enjoyed reading the story aloud. However my husband, who is white, felt uncomfortable attempting the cultural twang. He felt as though he were being culturally insensitive just reading the words of the book and felt like it wasn't something he or other white parents would/should attempt to read the story in that way. Or else they risk appearing like they are parodying black people or making fun of black families to entertain their children. I want families of all ethnic and racial backgrounds to bond over this story - and perhaps develop feelings of empathy for people they have learned to feel hard towards, perhaps unintentionally in some cases. But I see my husband's point, so I mention it here.
Also, in other reviews of this book, the grandmother's threatening to "eat the baby" were taking in the wrong way. I've had adults threaten to "eat me up because she's so cute". So this didn't bother me. But even my mother wished they'd chosen different language, because times have changed and my daughter didn't understand.
Conclusion:
This book is an excellent book for showing the pure love a family. It has excellent illustrations that show black boys and black men need and deserve to be loved. The language is very black, which may limit it's audience. But it's a beautiful story with a beautiful message that everyone could learn from.
If you like this book please show Trishe Cook and illustrator Helen Oxenburysome love by checking So Much! out from your local library or purchase it your favorite bookstore.
When a very small ant is invited to the lion’s dinner party, she knows to be on her best behavior.It is truly an honor to dine with the king of the jungle!
But the other partygoers don’t share her good manners.The greedy guests gobble up dessert, leaving nothing but a crumb for the ant to share with her king.Baking another cake seems like the perfect way to make it up to him…until the other boastful guests turn her kind gesture into a contest.
Exactly how many cakes are fit for a king?
YouTube Vid of Book
The Illustrations
The illustrations work seamlessly with the story. They clearly capture the character of each individual animal, and help parents craft funny voices to go along with the dialogue. They are also an excellent visual aid for the mathematical concepts presented.
The Story
Comes off like an African folktale that I've heard before, where the lion has his annual party. Usually, the king of beasts issues punishments to rude guests in a story like this. But this time, the lion set back and let's the guests punish themselves.
Likes! I like any story that can introduce complicated mathematic concepts to youngsters without them noticing. In this story your child will be introduced to fractions, and multiplication, all while listening to an entertaining story of characters trying to out do each other.
What I Loved
This story is actually fun to read out loud. It's easy to get into character and give each of the animals different voices. It's easy to explain that the animals are over doing themselves trying to one up the ant. And it's lovely seeing the polite ant get ahead by logical and low drama.
Disliked
My only critique of this story is that the king lion has very little personality. He barely reacts to the rudeness of his guests - only a frown in the illustrations show's he's bothered.
Nor is there any explanation as to why the animals felt it was ok to be so rude at the King's table.
This story puts me in mind of African folktales I've heard before. In those stories there are consequences for animals being rude to the king. Here the lion says nothing, and does nothing while his guests disrespect his table.
I understand that table manners isn't the point of the story. But I think having the lion express irritation in some way would help lend to the ant's hurried apology, and the other animals rush to overreact. As it stands, why are they even trying to impress the king? He doesn't really seem bothered by anything.
Bedtime Breakdown
This is an excellent story for little listeners of all ages! It's a good introduction to fractions, and an entertaining support story for multiplication. It's fun to read out loud, and can easily be told as a free style performance when you don't have the book handy. I wish the lion of the story had more personality, but there is plenty of characterization in the other animals to make up for it.
This book is excellent for anyone who knows, or is expected to some day learn, fractions, fairness, and multiplication.
In conclusion.
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Monster Trouble! by Fredrickson, Lane (September 1, 2015) Hardcover by Lane Fredrickson
