Rutabaga's Reads 2020: Part 6

I don’t often pause to peruse what’s new in picture books, but it’s fun to see what’s out there when I do. I have my favorites that I search for (such as Jan Brett), but it’s more fun to see what creative new picture books have arrived on the scene. So much color or a good lesson or an adorable concept in the staging of the book, all the while knowing they crammed all that brilliance into a slim children’s book! This post contains authors mostly familiar to me.

Bigger Words for Little Geniuses (Sept. 2, 2019) by Susan ^and James Patterson.

   Hsinping Pan, illustrator.

Learning words is essential, and learning big words is fantastical! From ailurophile (I am one) to zoanthropy (which child hasn’t pretended at this?), this book contains 26 BIGGER words and houses another 26 bigger words at the end of the book.

            This extravaganza of ABCs is as fun and wordy as the first in the series. As a self-professed logophile, I found this book to be gloriously entertaining. I encourage everyone to build up their vocabularies with the fun books in this series!

How to Catch the Easter Bunny (Feb. 1, 2017) by Adam Wallace.

   Andy Elkerton, illustrator.

The E.B. (Easter Bunny) is a wily one, happily preparing the next round of eggs with the help of his peeps (a.k.a. fluffy, yellow chicks). He’s hippity and hoppity, all right, and ready to deliver treats to all of the children. Can the Easter Bunny be caught? From simple box-bait traps to a dance floor to the Bunny Tumbler 2.0, clever children everywhere try their luck at catching the E.B. But remember, the E.B. has his own lucky rabbit’s feet and likely can’t be beat. Try again next year?

            With an easy rhythm to the rhyme, colorful illustrations and a frenetic Easter Bunny, this picture book is one rollicking adventure. As one anticipates that the Easter Bunny will not ever be caught (otherwise, how could he prepare for next Easter?), there is no real plot, but there is an energizing simplicity. Although a cute tale, I did not feel any emotional connection to it, but I expect it to be a fun little tale to tell to small children who may not be invested in the words anyhow.

Juno Valentine and the Fantastic Fashion Adventure (Oct. 29, 2019) by Eva Chen.

   Derek Desierto, illustrator.

It is a day all kids look forward to and dread, whether in equal measure or with the scales tipping one way or the other: school picture day. Juno’s friends all know what they plan to wear, and Juno knows what her parents and friends would want her to wear, but what does Juno want to wear? In trying to ponder this very important decision, she has to retrieve her little brother, Finn, from the magical hall of shoes in her closet. Oh dear. She gets advice from everyone from Grace O’Malley (a fearless Irish pirate queen) to Maya Lin (designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in D.C. at just 21 years old) to Michelle Obama and Simone Biles.

            This second story in the Juno Valentine Series is as charming as the first story. It is also fun and upbeat. It’s a story that is part fashion fairy tale and all-around girl power. Juno may be focusing on school picture fashion, but for me, books are always a fashionable accessory!

The Night Before Kindergarten Graduation (Apr. 9, 2019) by Natasha Wing.

   Amy Wummer, illustrator.

Every kid knows that one of the great milestones is Kindergarten graduation, and that’s what the students in Miss Sunrise’s class are preparing for! Projects from the school year are displayed on the wall, the song has been learned and their best outfits are ready to wear. How will their graduation show go? Will there be celebration and tears? How about cake?

            A picture book in rhyme, it is a cute tale from preparation through the graduation itself. It’s meant to be peppy and carry its tune like anyone reading “’Twas the Night Before Christmas.” It is not a story with conflict or a deep message. It is meant to represent the thrill of Kindergarten graduation and knowing that one’s moving onto, drum roll please … First Grade!

The Tale of the Tiger Slippers (Sept. 17, 2019) by Jan Brett.

A Bengal tiger’s mother makes him slippers as a cub to protect and guide him with “room to grow.” He finds white clay to make bricks and makes those bricks into a pretty home for his beloved mother, eventually building houses, towers and bridges all over the land. He becomes wealthy. When his wedding day arrives, a crocodile calls out his inelegant, worn slippers. They’re dirty, but they’re dependable. Because of the taunts, he drops them in a stream, which causes problems further downstream. He tries to discard them multiple times only to receive them back, the last time from his uncle, who weeps with pride to see the frayed old slippers, hand-sewn by his sister and worn out from years of hard work. It’s the Bengal’s own cub who has an idea of what to do with the slippers, to honor them and the Bengal’s mother.

            The prose and watercolor/gouache illustrations created by Brett never cease to impress me. This story is set in the world of the Mughal courts and is a retelling of a Persian folktale called “Abu Kassem’s Slippers.” This picture book is a kaleidoscope of vibrancy and color blended with the ideal that hard work can lead to success and hopefully inspires readers to put in that hard work to reach those successes. In that regard, this story isn’t only for children, but will resonate with adults (and we’re really just big kids with bills -- gotta thank Mark Hall of Casting Crowns for that one). I always love Brett’s stories and her illustrations are magnificent; her books tend to be automatic purchases for me!