final flourish of picture books for 2011

THE UNRULY QUEEN by E.S. Redmond (Candlewick 2012) presents one of the most rude children to grace a picture book. Minerva Von Vyle pitches fits, throws food to the floor if it is not to her liking, and demands candy all the time. After going through a nanny per week for a year, she is about to meet her match in a new nanny.
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AND THEN IT'S SPRING (Roaring Brook 2012) by Julie Fogliano with illustrations by Erin E. Stead (Caldecott artist for SICK DAY FOR AMOS MCGEE) opens with all of the fields and woods in shades of brown. However, a young boy knows that spring will come eventually. And so he plants and waits and waits for the brown to give way to the green. Soft pastel colors exude the calm patience of the young boy as he waits for his blooms to appear. <682>




Jeremy and the Monster are back in THE MONSTER RETURNS by Peter McCarty (Holt 2012). When Peter receives a note on a paper airplane, he learns that his monster is coming back. Jeremy enlists the aid of several of he neighborhood kids to welcome the monster back. Pay attention to the end papers in this book (and there are two different sets of endpapers) and also ask kids about the numbers...<683>




PIGGY BUNNY by Rachel Vail with illustrations by Jeremy Tankard (Feiwel and Friends 2012) is about holding on to dreams. Piggy wants more than anything to be the Easter Bunny. His friends scoff; his parents are dismayed. Only his grandparents listen to his desire and assist Piggy in fulfilling his dreams. <684>




On a perfect Kite Day, Bear and Mole design and create a kite. In KITE DAY (Holiday House 2012) Will Hillebrand not only creates a lovely friendship between mole and bear, he shows readers what even when something does not quite work the way you intended, good things may come of it. <685>




FRISKY BRISKY HIPPITY HOP by Alexina White and Susan Lurie with photo illustrations by Murray Head (Holiday House 2012) follow some squirrels in their antics up and down trees and flying between branches, foraging for food, and just generally having a great squirrel day. <686>