*Merry-Go-Round: A Book About Nouns (1990)

*Merry-Go-Round: A Book About Nouns by Ruth Heller (1990) is one in her World of Language series. The text and illustrations make for a masterpiece. Think about it; how would you go about such an open-ended task, both describing and depicting nouns?! Heller chooses wisely by referencing legend, nature, and treasure. And she does so with brightly colored, elaborate pictures that fill her pages, often with close-ups. She transforms this dry topic into a gloriously beautiful exercise of English. “SINGULAR NOUNS are always one—PLURALS two or more. Just add an S when there’s more than one. . . That’s the way it’s usually done. . .” Her illustration for this page shows daffodils, eyes, ears, beetles, bows, roses, ships, sails, cabbages, chrysanthemums, and noses. How, might you ask? As two people wearing elaborate hats! 

In the Snow (1995)

In the Snow by Huy Vodun Lee (1995) is a narrative introduction to the Chinese language. The first page lists  five Mandarin Chinese characters alongside pictorial representations, English translations, and pronunciations. The story is about a mother and child’s walk in a snowy landscape. “The ground is a canvas of white” on which Xiao Ming and her son practice writing. She begins with tree, then doubles this to write forest. Then “three strokes next to the character for forest” creates the word pond. This gentle stroll on a winter day gave me some appreciation for how different the English and Chinese languages are from one another. I wondered what effect language has upon how speakers perceive and think about the world. This is a large book and the illustrations fill every page with wide expanses of snow dotted by trees, children, and wildlife. The jacket flap indicates the pictures are cut paper art. 

Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Why, Commas Really Do Make a Difference! (2006)

Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Why, Commas Really Do Make a Difference!  by Lynne Truss (2006) illustrates how different messages delivered depending upon where a comma appears in sentences. On the first page, a librarian asks a panda why it entered the library, ate a sandwich, and shot two arrows into the room. The panda replies, “‘I’m a panda. That’s what it says we do.’” In an introduction, Lynn Truss writes, “Commas can create havoc when they are left out or are put in the wrong spot, and the results of misuse can be hilarious.” Bonnie Timmons illustrates 13 sentences Truss punctuates in different ways. The illustrations are colorful and cartoonish, probably intended to highlight hilarious consequences. “Eat here, and get gas.” Requires a different image than “Eat here and get gas.” Grammatical explanations for the uses of the comma take up two pages at the back of the book. 

My Name Is Bilal (2005)

My Name Is Bilal by Asma Mobin-Uddin (2005) is the story of two Muslim siblings who encounter ridicule upon entering a school new to them. “Bilal wished his family had never left Chicago. At his old school, there had been lots of Muslim kids. Here, it seemed there were none.” As one might expect, there’s an aggressive bully at this school. He mocks the headscarf that Bilal’s sister, Ayesha wears. Bilal is so afraid that he tells the class his name is Bill. However, his teacher is also Muslim and knows Bilal. This teacher gives Bilal a book about Bilal Ibn Rabah who was tormented by residents of Mecca because he would not worship their gods. The story not only inspires Bilal to stand up for his sister, but to also invite the bully to play basketball. Lastly, Bilal discovers another Muslim boy. On the final page is the salat, a special type of prayer recited five times during the day. 

The Wanderer (2019)

The Wanderer by Peter Van Den Ende (2019) is a large, wordless, picture book of intricate black and white drawings of fantasy sea creatures. I didn’t understand the story, so I can’t do a good job of describing it. On the first page, it looks to me like two people fold a huge piece of fabric into a simple boat. One of the people is wearing a costume with cape, head covering, and horns. Next, the tiny boat floats away from a giant ship by the name of Exporatio. The boat floats through page after page of ocean landscapes, often under water. It contacts a variety of sea creatures that seem to be a fanciful conglomerations of body parts from human, animal, bird, and sea life. At the end of the little boat’s wandering journey, it arrives at a place where the Exploratio seems to be  docked. There’s no evidence of any inhabitants in the boat until the end when a person resembling one on the first page materializes. The final page and inside cover is a map of the boat’s journey. 

Tackylocks and the Three Bears (2002)

Tackylocks and the Three Bears by Helen Lester (2002) is a funny story about penguins who put on a play for a class of very young, fuzzy penguins. Five of the six penguins act as announcers and the bears. A more enthusiastic and less conventional penguin named Tacky has to play the role of Goldilocks. The penguins learn their lines but seem not to have had a full dress rehearsal. Tacky stumbles through his scenes like a veteran slapstick comedian. The young audience, bored by the bears’ careful performances, laugh and cheer for Tacky. The last page reads “Tacky was an odd bird, but a nice bird to have around.” The illustrations by Lynn Munsinger are perfect. They bring home the hilarity.

Josefina Javelina: A Hairy Tale (2005)

Josefina Javelina: A Hairy Tale by Susan Lowell (2005) was a disappointment for me. I’d only read one other book by Susan Lowell, The Tortoise and the Jackrabbit (1994), which I loved. The text and story were well crafted. The art was beautiful. A Hairy Tale was without the same charm. Josefina dreams of becoming a ballerina. One day she moves to Pasadena to visit her cousin Angelina. She auditions at the Big Break Talent Agency only to find a wolf in sheep’s clothing. As she and her cousin run from the wolf, Josefina accidentally enters the spotlight. She becomes a star, a star who misses her roots. It’s an ok plot made even more mediocre by Bruce MacPherson’s caricatures. Over the top cartoonish illustrations make this silly story even more ridiculous.