Potpourri of Picture Books

PRESIDENT TAFT IS STUCK IN THE BATH by Mac Barnett with illustrations by Chris Van Dusen. Candlewick Press, 2014.

The President's stuck
In the tub. Who should we call?
How will he get out?

STONE SOUP WITH MATZOH BALLS: A PASSOVER TALE FROM CHELM by Linda Glaser with illustrations by Maryam Tabatabaei. Albert Whitman, 2014.

All we need for soup
Is a stone, some water, and
Generous people.

PLEASE, LOUISE by Toni Morrison and Slade Morrison with illustrations by Shadra Strickland. Simon & Schuster, 2014.

All Louise will need
Is at the library just
Just waiting for her there.

A CATFISH TALE by Whitney Stewart with illustrations by Gerald Guerlais. Albert Whitman, 2014.

His wife wants it all
A magic catfish can help
But how much's too much?

THE SHORT GIRAFFE by Neil Flory with illustrations by Mark Cleary. Albert Whitman, 2014.

He doesn't show up
In any photo. How can
We solve the problem?

Myths Retold

DO NOT OPEN! THE STORY OF PANDORA'S BOX by Joan Holub. Illustrated by Dani Jones. Simon Spotlight, 2014.

Pandora cannot
Resist opening the box.
Sad consequences.

THE ONE EYED PEOPLE EATER: THE STORY OF CYCLOPS by Joan Holub. Illustrated by Dani Jones. Simon Spotlight, 2014.

Odysseus and
His men are trapped by Cyclops
But they outwit him.

A rose by any other name

A WOUNDED NAME by Dot Hutchison. Carolrhoda LAB, 2013.

The headmaster, Hamlet, is dead. Ophelia mourns his loss as he was one of the few people at her boarding school who understood the demons who haunted her after her mother's suicide. But now, he is gone, and his son Dane is also being haunted by demons. Hutchison places the elements of Shakespeare's play in the present day, populates it with familiar characters, and set the wheels of the tragedy in motion. Tie this one to SOMETHING ROTTEN by Alan Gratz and other variations of the story.

Parodies and retellings

THE GHASTLY DANDIES DO THE CLASSICS by Ben Gibson. Razorbill 2013.

Being succinct is sometimes difficult when it comes to the classics. In this slim volume, retellings of classics such as Moby Dick, Don Quixote, Frankenstein, and The Great Gatsby (to name a few) are handled in about 2 double page spreads with large illustrations and minimal text. What better way to encounter a classic initially than in this foreshortened version?

Truth or Death?

THE REAL BOY by Anne Ursu. Walden Pond Press, October 2013.

Order this one now, folks. Anne Ursu, who gave us BREADCRUMBS, now tackles Pinocchio on her splendid reimagining of the story. Throw away all your preconceptions, especially those that center on Jiminy Cricket and good old Walt Disney's adaptation. Suspend your disbelief, and enter the world of Oscar, a young boy in the employ of the local magician in the Barrows. Oscar is kept in the cellar. His task is to gather herbs and prepare them for various concoctions. The magician has an assistant who works in the shop. Well, until one day when the assistant and his tryst are found dead out in the woods that surround (and protect) the Barrows. Now Oscar must be upstairs, must deal with customers from the Barrows and from the shiny city. As Oscar interacts ore with other people, he begins to suspect all is not well in his world, and it all has to do with magic. Motifs, archetypes, magic, and more meet in this remarkable novel.

There's more than one way to tell a story

NOBODY ASKED THE PEA by John Warrne Stewig with illustrations by Cornelius Van Wright. Holiday House, 2013.

Imagine the story of The Princess and Pea told from the viewpoint of the Pea (and some of the other players in this fairy tale). Point of view is really important, isn't it? The Prince, Queen, King, Pea, and Princess all have turns at telling their version of what is happening. <685>

THE PRINCESS AND THE PEAS by Caryl Hart with illustrations by Sarah Warburton. Nosy Crow, 2013.

Lily-Rose May does not wish to eat her peas. In desperation, her father calls for a doctor who declares that Lily-May must go live at the palace if she is ever to be cured. At first, life at the palace is grand and no one makes her eat peas. But we all know this cannot last. <686>

Twisting the tale

CINDER by Marissa Meyer (Macmillan Audio 2011) has been my driving companion for a few weeks. As the cover not to subtly suggests, this is no ordinary retelling of the Cinderella story. What you get here is a futuristic story with cyborgs, aliens, plagues, and so much more. Cinder is a mechanic and a darned good one. That comes in handy as she has a prosthetic foot and hand, the result of a horrific accident that she does not recall. She lives with her stepmother and two stepsisters. One stepsister adores Cinder, the other sister and stepmother, not so much. And have we mentioned the handsome Prince, soon-to-be-emperor, who comes to Cinder for a repair on his faithful android? a prince, a ball, palace espionage, and a deadly plague all play pivotal roles in this first book in a planned 4 book series. Lots of clever references to Cinderella will amuse readers familiar with the tale's origin, but the story will rivet any reader interested in the twists and turns of Cinder's fortunes. <119>

seeing with new eyes

Will Moses' great grandmother was Grandma Moses. Now, we see her great grandson use much of her techniques and approach in MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB: THE TRUE STORY OF THE FAMOUS NURSERY RHYME (Philomel 2011). I had always thought Sarah Josepha Hale the author of this rhyme, but now know the story of how it all began. Like some of the Mother Goose rhymes, this one had a basis in a real life event. <513>



PAUL THURLBY'S ALPHABET (Templar Books 2011) takes each letter of the alphabet and illustrates it with an object beginning with that letter. Nothing ground breaking there, right? But, take a look at the illustrations and how the letter itself is woven into the object (or rather how the object contains the letter) and you have an alphabet book that takes readers to a new level. <514>



THE THREE LITTLE ALIENS AND THE BIG BAD ROBOT (Schwartz & Wade 2011) by Margaret McNamara and Mark Fearing takes three little aliens and sends them off into the galaxy in search of a new place to live. Two do not heed their mother's warning about the big bad robot. Luckily little alien #3 builds a home suitable for sharing. <515>