Wake Up, Bear . . . It's Christmas! (1981)

 Wake Up, Bear . . . It's Christmas! by Stephen Gammell is lots of fun! The illutrations are beautiful, as usual. Bear is a full-bodied, cuddly looking character always wearing a smile. And while the narration is in prose, Bear speaks in rhyme. 

Bear plans to wake up from his winter nap to enjoy Christmas. He snuggles into bed and falls asleep until his clock wakes him on Christmas Eve. Snow covers the woods ourside his tree trunk home. Wearing red scarf and red mittens, he walks out into the weather and finds a small pine tree. The tree is decorated and stocking hung as he plays a guitar and settles in to enjoy the evening. 

A surprise visitor taps on Bear's door. It's a man in a red suit, green striped mittens, and white beard. "'Hello, Bear. I saw your light. I'll warm myself, if that's alright?'" It's after an evening of conversation and song that the little man asks Bear to join him for a ride. You can guess the rest."'Oh, what a Christmas!' hollered Bear. 'I've never had such fun. I'd like to think that it could be like this for everyone.'"

Andrews' Own Place (1993)

 Andrew's Own Place by Nancy Riecken is about a very young boy who cherishes routine. He has a special chair in which he sits to eat his morning oatmeal from his Vitamin Pals bowl. His toothbrush is the sparkley purple one. His carseat with the soft blue blanket is his place in the family van. So when his routine is disrupted by a family outing, Andrew gets anxious. 

The family drives to a wooded area to picnic and hike. Andrew asks to watch the woods rather than enter them. Andrew's breakfast is a sandwich, not his usual oatmeal.  His family is gently reassuring, so Andrew goes along with with everything. When his father and two siblings enter a cave, I too get anxious. Since when is it ok for kids to explore a cave? Andrew cries that he can't go in there and I'm with him. He and his mother wait outside the cave until Andrew worries they need help. He stands at the opeing and calls for his father and sisters. They reappear and Andrew is relieved, so relieved that "the deep woods seemed pretty". 

Meg Kelleher Aubrey's watercolor illustrations drew my attention to the book. She captures Andrew's expressions preceisely. 

The Brilliant Deep: Rebuilding the World's Coral Reefs (2018)

 The  Brilliant Deep: Rebuilding the World's Coral Reefs by Kate Messner is a book about Ken Nedimyer.  He loved the ocean as a child. I mean, really loved the ocean. He watched Jacques Cousteau on television, swam amongst coral reefs as a child, and had 30 aquariums in his bedroom. As an adult, he tackled the problem of dying coral reefs by creating coral colonies. "Six small coral colonies...glued onto a limestone surface where a reef had once flourished...Would they grow?" It was an enormous effort carried out by volunteers in the Florida Keys. It was so successful, that Nedimyer worked with other coutries to help their coral reefs flourish. 

I thought this would make a fabulous Picture Book Talk lesson. I guess others did also, because I see seven resources based on this book. That was enough for me to put the book aside. But, honestly, I was unhappy with Matthew Forsythe's illustrations. The limited palette didn't reflect a brilliant deep for me. And they didn't add content to the text. I chose not to spend hours rereading this story and savoring the pictures. 

Fred Stays with Me! (2007)

 Fred Stays with Me! by Nancy Coffelt  is about a child who sometimes lives with her mom and sometimes lives with her dad. It's a very quick read, often only one brief line of text on a page. So there's not really much to say about it. This child's disrupted life has a constant--her dog Fred goes with her to her mom's house and to her dad's house. Fred barks and chews socks, behaviors that upset both parents. But when our main character makes it clear that Fred stays with her, the parents come up with solutions to his annoying quirks. 

Illustrations by Tricia Tusa are fun, though minimalist. She adds very little content to the story. I wonder why she uses such a limited palette in this book. 

Neeny Coming, Neeny Going (1996)

 Neeny Coming, Neeny Going  by Karen English won the Coretta Scott King Award. An introduction "To the Reader" says that the setting for this story is Daufuskie Island off the coast of South Carolina. It's was home to a culture "that blended American and West African customs. The language, too, was a blend of African and English". This is a story about change for this island. 

Neeny is a cousin who moved off island to live with her mother. Her mother "works for a high-class family in Charleston" and Neeny has shed her island ways and adopted a more sophisticated outlook on life. Several pages begin the story with the main character super excited that her cousin Neeny is visiting. But the exceitement fades as Neeny shows no interest in participating in island activities. The text is a dialect of English I'm not familiar with. It adds to the overal atmosphere of being on island. At the end of the story, "Neeny come like a visitor who didn't want to visit..." 

Paintings by Synthia Saint James add color to the story. I'm wondering if her style, with its lack of detail,  complements the fading island culture.

Floss (1992)

 Floss by Kim Lewis (1992) was difficult for me. Floss is a happy-go-lucky border collie that belonged to an old man who lived in a town. Floss has it good. She loves taking walks with the old man and playing ball with children in the park. One day, the old man gives Floss to his son. I found this separation painful to read. The son lives in the country and needs a new young dog to herd his sheep. His present dog, Old Nell, Is worn out and quite frankly she looks it. So Floss learns to herd sheep, but she remembers her happy past. Floss sleeps in a dog house now and works long hours every day. We can imagine Floss becoming like Old Nell.

When Floss sees the farmer's children playing ball, she runs to join them. Consequently, the sheep run wild through the farmer's back yard and garden. The farmer is furious. From from then on, "She worked so hard to gather sheep well that she was too tired to dream anymore.” How sad is that? When the old man comes to watch Floss running dog trials, we don’t see a warm reunion; we see Floss panting with exhaustion post competition.

At the end of the book, the farmer gives Floss permission to play ball with the family. What is the message here? Perhaps this is a book about adulting, about moving from childhood play into the rough world of adult responsibility? 

Dog (1994)

 I picked up Dog by Robert J Blake (1994) because the cover art was so familiar. It’s strikingly similar to the cover of Floss by Kim Lewis (1992). Both covers show the head and upper body of a dog in the foreground.  One dog leans against a stone wall, the other leans against a fence.Both books show Irish countryside in the background. This is the story of a dog who suddenly appears out of nowhere to enrich the life of a reluctant, somewhat cranky the old man. On the jacket cover of Dog, Blake says that he met the main character of his story and painted the place where Peter lived. One can imagine the persistent dog seeking companionship. And some of us know bitter old men who want nothing more to do with the world. It takes a dog to warm Peter's cold heart - just enough. Not so much as to give the dog anymore of the name besides Dog. 

Mr. George Baker (2004)

 Mr. George Baker by Amy Hest illustrated by John J Muth (2004) is a book I read several years ago. I thought it was quite clever at that time. The end surprised me, as I suppose it was meant to. But as I read it now, I have too many questions. I want to know where a white boy lives next-door to a black family. I want to know more about the history of Mr. George Baker. While it's adorable that he and his wife dance on the porch, I'm left wondering where they danced when they were younger. The story teases us by suggesting that George Baker is a famous drummer. Maybe he’s someone I’m supposed to know. The ending puzzles me now when I look at the other (light skinned) people in George Baker‘s adult classroom. I jump to the conclusion that they're learning English as a second language while Mr. Baker was denied the opportunity to read. I suppose this book has all  information a young child needs to know, and I’m responding as an adult. 

Sam, Bangs & Moonshine (1966)

 Sam, Bangs & Moonshine written and illustrated by Evaline Ness (1966) has written at the bottom of the cover “ winner of the Caldicott medal”. I wonder why it doesn’t have the seal on the cover. The age of this book tempted me. Also, it seemed a book for which I could write a lesson for the older elementary school-age child. But I discovered there were many lessons on TPT for this book. And then I was put it off by a summary the story itself, so in truth, I never read the book. Sounded like it was going to be two moralistic.

A House is a House for Me (1978)

  A House is a House for Me  by Mary Ann Hoberman illustrated by Betty Fraser ( 1978) caught my attention because of the front and back cover illustrations. They are busy with pictures of animals and children smiling directly at the viewer. The title page is delightful. Each letter in the title is formed by objects. The letter O in the first house is a the basket of eggs. And the O for the second house is a pumpkin. The O in the word for is a raccoon. I love the illustrations all through the book. And I was pleasantly surprised by the rhyme. It’s melodic and downright fun to read.