*Never Trust a Squirrel

*Never Trust a Squirrel by Patrick Cooper (1998) is a classic tale of a little creature, this time a guinea pig, venturing out into the world. A squirrel coaxes William out of his hutch to play. Despite his mother’s warnings, William tries playing games with the squirrel until a fox appears. The squirrel runs away up a tree and leaves William to fend for himself. His mother saves the day. Catherine Walters's pictures are perfect and the reason I made this one of my favorites. The scenery is full of wild flowers. The simple, furry faces of the squirrel and guinea pigs have expressions. The squirrel sticks its tongue out at the mother guinea pig as it scampers off with her son! A scene with the fox is truly frightening. 

Night and day (1985)

Night and Day by Catherine Ripley (1985) is the kind of story I never fully appreciated as a child. This entire book describes the forest as the site of hungry creatures hunting down one another for dinner. As an adult, these woods sound terrifying to me. Maybe it was illustrations like these by Debi Perna and Brenda Clark that created scenes of peaceful coexistence—in direct opposition to the text—that contributed to my delusion.  There’s no killing in the text, except for a woodpecker’s beak full of insects. But “Soon the meadow is full of many hungry animals.”  Although an owl closes in on prey, “The mouse jumps to safety just in time. . .Tonight, the owl will stay hungry.” Even the absence of death is distressing. All the animals except for the porcupine and rabbit appear to be carnivores. 

Night Noises (1989)

 Night Noises by Mem Fox (1989) is a story about Lily Laceby, an elderly woman who lives in an old cottage. She is "nearly ninety." One evening, Lily falls asleep in her cozy chair "by her fire, snug and warm, she drifted off to sleep and began to dream." Her dog, Butch Aggie, naps at her feet. Lily dreams of moments in hr life. The older I get, the more I love stories like this one. There are noises outside, and Lily doesn't hear them but her dog does. He dog gets progressively more alert and then defensive with each page turn. When a simple knock at the door doesn't wake Lily, people bang on the door and shout at the windows. Butch Aggie barks and barks. Finally Lily awakens and wonders who could be outside. The answer is a happy one. Terry Denton's illustrations are brightly colored and somewhat comic. They lighten the growing tension and he succeeds in portraying Lily at different times in her life. 

*Is That You, Eleanor Sue? (2018)

* Is That You, Eleanor Sue? by Tricia Tusa (2018) is a fun story because of Eleanor Sue's mother. Not only does Eleanor Sue love to dress up, her mother plays along. When this little girl wears a wig, jacket, and purse she climbs out her bedroom window and knocks on her own home's door. Eleanor Sue introduces herself as Mrs. McMuffins, a new neighbor; her mother invites her in for tea. When Mrs. McMuffins transforms into a witch, her mother  fixes lunch. She listens as this witch explains how she flies around. Eleanor Sue returns as a wizard, a bear, a delivery person, and a kitty. The story has a delightful ending. 

Very Last First Time (1985)

Very Last First Time by Jan Andrews (1985) scared me to death. Eva is an Inuit who lives in northern Canada; "ever since she could remember she had walked with her mother on the bottom of the sea." What?! This is the story of the very special day in which she would walk on the bottom of the sea all by herself. Again, I say, what?! Eva and her mother bundle up warmly, and each pull a small sled that holds a shovel, a long ice-chisel, and a musel pan. They walk to the shore when the tide is out. They dig a hole in the thick sea ice, and Eva goes down into the hole alone. Eva lights candles in order to see the mussels she collects. Readers get a brief tour of the sea bottom. Then, Eva hears the lap, lap of waves. The tide is coming in. Her candles are burning down, and she looks for the mussel pan she left behind when she went exploring. As she climbs out of the ice hole, I'm a little unsure if she will do this again alone. Illustrations by Ian Wallace shows the eerie underwater landscape and Eva's expressions of resolve and fear. 

*Playing Right Field (1995)

*Playing Right Field by Willy Welch (1995) is a unique story made even more special because it’s in rhyme and made fabulous by Marc Simont’s illustrations. First of all, a simple picture book about baseball sure is fun. There’s only four lines at most on a page. Often only two lines captures the essence of standing far away from the action. “Playing right field can be lonely and dull. Little Leagues never have lefties that pull.” The writing is excellent, the rhyme works, and the vocabulary assumes a familiarity with baseball. Simont fills the book’s large pages with acres of dandelion covered fields. Right field feels miles away. The ending is authentic. The kid who ends up in right field doesn’t suddenly display awesome, until now hidden, athletic talent. But he’s a hero anyway. 

Swim the Silver Sea Joshie Otter (1993)

Swim the Silver Sea Joshie Otter by Nancy White Carlstrom (1993) is a boring book that left me with a curious afterthought. The illustrations by Ken Kuroi are nothing to write home about. I realize this is a harsh review, but I’ve read similar books that actually add story to the themes of journey and getting lost. All we get here is an introduction to creatures that live near Joshie Otter. My afterthought is that the lesson here, if there is one, is that mothers should play with their children. Joshie Otter leaves home after his mother refuses to play. On the last page (of course he gets home ok) they are playing, “Joshie and Mother, two otters at play.”