I Had a Bad Dream (1985)

 I Had a Bad Dream by Linda Hayward (1985) is a Golden Book that begins with a “Note to Parents.” The note encourages parents to “check out” the content of their children’s nightmares, that is, separate their dreams from reality. In this story, Jason is not afraid of things that still frighten his younger brother. Yet Jason wakes up in the middle of the night feeling afraid. Then he recalls his nightmare and seeks comfort from his dad. Together, they work out that dreams are not real. Eugenie’s illustrations are characteristic of other Golden Books that I remember. They have clean lines and plenty of primary colors. The nightmare is scary but not terrifying. I don’t think I’ve seen a recent picture book on this topic, so it’s a refreshing library sale find.

All the dear little animals (2006)

 All the Dear Little Animals by Ulf Nilsson (2006) surprised me with its multidimensional treatment of death. One day, a girl named Esther finds a dead bumblebee and decides to give it a proper burial. The narrator, a younger boy, writes a poem for the graveside funeral. This leaves the children feeling so kind and unselfish, that they seek out other dead animals to respect with a brief, compassionate funeral. The size of their unfortunate subjects grow from bee to mouse to hamster. When they bury three fish found in the refrigerator, I wondered if they buried the family's dinner. As they fill one day with their endeavor, they become more sensitive to the sadness of death. At the end of the day, Esther finally cries for a rabbit they found dead in the road. The children provide a way for readers to address death that I found tender and wholesome. The illustrations by Eva Eriksson feel gentle and loving.

The Good~Bye Book (1988)

 The Good~Bye Book by Judith Viorst (1988) gave me a sense of déjà vu. It seems to be the same story as Don’t Forget to Come Back by Robie H. Harris and illustrated by Harry Bliss.(1978). 

Viorst’s version of the story is about the young boy whose parents are going out to a French restaurant. He objects dramatically to their leaving. He recommends they go to McDonald’s with him, or that he dresses up and goes with them to the French restaurant. We read about the many anticipated problems of a babysitter. Kay Chorao chose to illustrate said imagined babysitter as a woman with frizzy blonde curls and large blue pearls. She expects him to eat vegetables and watch the TV programs that she likes. When his parents remain unconvinced, the child says he’s getting sick so sick he can’t eat or drink anything except maybe a little ice cream. The little boy finally says he may run away from home. In the end, the boy is pleasantly surprised by the babysitter who shows up. 

I compare Viorst's story with Robbie Harris‘s story on my Wordpress site. 

Say Hello, Lily (2010)

 Say Hello, Lily by Deborah Lakritz (2010)  is a story of a young child getting to know the residents of Shalom House, a senior living community. Lily’s mother volunteers at Shalom House and brings Lily with her to visit. Lily is at first shy, but gradually warms to the friendly invitations to talk from the residents. She knows Mrs. Rosenbaum who used to live in Lily’s neighborhood, and this helps melt Lily’s shyness. At the end of the book, Lily celebrates her birthday at the senior community. This book was written by a social worker and has the feel of a message. The illustrations by Martha Aviles are brightly colored and filled with happy faces.

Cats in the Sun (1990)

 Cats in the Sun by Lesley Anne Ivory (1990) is a book about cats enjoying sunshine, usually outside. Her paintings are beautiful. Her cats are realistic, and her settings are so lovely that I wanted to step into the scenery and feel the warm sun for myself. There are cats perched on window sills, cats by a harbor, cats with kittens, cats in flower beds and on gorgeous, tiled floors. I cringe at the idea of so many cats outside; maybe some of them are strays and others killing wildlife. But, when I put that aside for a moment, I can gaze in awe at Ivory’s art.

Best Friends (1986)

Best Friends by Steven Kellogg (1986) is the story of two young girls who are inseparable until one goes to summer camp. When Louise sends a postcard saying she’s having the best summer of her life at camp, Kathy feels horrible. Then, a new neighbor arrives. It’s an elderly gentleman with a dog. When Kathy and he become friends, readers have an example of intergenerational companionship. After a little more drama when Louise returns home from camp, the friends find a way to repair their bond. The girls’ imaginations give Kellogg lots of opportunity to highlight his creative illustrations. 

Encounter (1992)

 It's a curious cioncidence that I picked up Encounter by Jane Yolan (1992) to read on Indigenous People's Day, a library sale book that's been sitting around for weeks waiting for me to read it. I had no idea what the story would be about. I bought it because I enjoyed Owl Moon so much that I looked forward to more of Yolen's poetic writing. To my surprise, this is a story about the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the New World. There is no poetry here. 

The author's note says Columbus landed on San Salvador on October 12, 1492. This ominous encounter is recognized by the young child telling the story. The native Taino adults dismiss the child's warnings and welcome Columbus and his men. "We did not know them as human beings, for they hid their bodies in colors, like parrots. Their feet were hidden, also." says the child. Their white skin "was moon to my sun" and their speech "like the barking of a yellow dog." Columbus' smile was "the serpent's smile--no lips and all teeth" as he eyed the natives golden nose rings and golden armbands.

 As we all expect, this story does not end well. As a ghostly old man on the final page, the narrator warns "all the children and all the people in every land" ... of what? Yolan describes the disappearance of a culture. In 2024, what is this called - colonization? oppression? cultural extinction? In 2024, can we hope for a mutual sharing of cultures? In 2024, how do we make amends for the mistakes of our ancestors? 

Encounter is not read aloud online, so I won't make a TPT lesson from it. It's not the kind of story I like to create a product for, fiction masquerading as history. But it's an important children's book that elicits big questions. 

Spuds (2008)

 Spuds by Karen Hesse is the kind of story I was hoping to find after reading Come On, Rain! (1999). The language of Spuds flows like poetry and the story's ending made me smile. There's a dialect of English here that I don't have the knowledge to identify. Maybe it's Hesse's voice shining through. In this story, three siblings haul their red wagon out in the middle of the night to gather tiny potatos from a nearby field. A full moon lights their way, though, unfortnately, the fields are not lit well enough for them to be successful. The ending is too kind for me to reveal here. The paintings by Wendy Watson fit the story perfectly. She captures both the characters and the landscape. This is a loving family in a difficult life. 

Christmas in the Country (2002)

 Christmas in the Country by Cynthia Rylant has cover art that made me pick it up. Diane Goode's illustrations are crisp, bright, and full of movement. They add zest to a story that's quite plain. The girl in this story lives with her grandparents in simple conditions in the country. She has three canine companions and gazes out at pastures that have horses. She has a traditional Christmas routine. Every year "Santa gave me just what I wanted: a new doll. And he always gave me something else I hadn't asked for and which was a surprise." It's a book for adult readers seeking nostalgia. It reminds me of another of Cynthia Rylant's books: In November, a nostalgic story of Thanksgiving.

I'd like to know why this girl lives with her grandparents. 

Nine for California (1996)

 Nine for California by Sonia Levitin is a happy-go-lucky telling of a journey across the country in a stage coach. A mother with five children join a banker, cowboy, and teacher on a twenty-one day trip to California. The mother fills a large bag with supplies in the way some monthers just know how to do.

 What's in the bag? There's a rag to mop up a baby's spit-up. She's packed sugar lumps to quiet the five children and string to play cat's cradle. This mom prompts her family to recall the names of plants, animals, presidents, states, countries, and oceans. They all sing, first in English and then in pig Latin. This mom has corn pone to give attacking Indians and licorice for everyone. I didn't know that a jar of red pepper would cause a herd of buffalo to sneeze and change direction! 

 It's a long, adventure filled ride. When silliness is called for, this book fits the bill. Illustrations by Cat Bowman Smith border on the cartoonish, which is appropriate for this version of history. 

My Great-Aunt Arizona (1992)

My Great-Aunt Arizona by Gloria Houston could be a mentor text for children wanting to write about their family history. It's a reason to interview older relatives and learn about the way life was generations ago. This story is an historical reveal via one relative, a great-aunt. By profiling Arizona, readers learn that children danced to a fiddler on Saturday nights, played outdoors, made natural treats from snow and tree sap, and attended a one-room school house.  I like the illustrations by Susan Condie Lamb. Their soft, almost dream-like quality transports the reader to a distant past.

Great-Aunt Arizona dreamed of faraway places she would visit some day. But she never did venture far. She was a school teacher her whole life, educating generations of children. "The boys and girls who were students in ther class had boys and girls who were students in her class. And they had boys and girls who were students in her class." She was a cherished teacher. But I close the book feeling a little sad that she never visited faraway places. 

The Emperor Penguin's New Clothes (1994)

 The Emperor Pengin's New Clothes by Janet Perlman was a huge disappointment for me. The cover art shows a penguin clothed in a patterned top, scarf, wig, crown, and long cape. Three penguins seem to be looking on with adulation. I looked at the cover and wondered how Perlman would add her own twist to this folktale. She adds nothing to the story but penguins, far as I can tell. I felt cheated when I finished reading the story. This was essentially the same folktale as Hans Christian Anderson's original, first published in 1837. 

How is it that Scholastic Inc. can publish this without any credit to the original? It's only polite. The title and author on the cover implied to me that a funny new variation of this classic was in store. But no. It's basically the same story with penguins. 

The Santa Clauses (1986)

The Santa Clauses retold by Achim Broger is a cute story of a young boy who saves Christmas. In this story, the little guy learns that there are many Santa Clauses and they are on strike. They're all in Miami Beach. In that way that children in stories seem capable of anything, Charlie leaves a short note for his parents and takes his piggy bank money "down to the docks" to ride on a ship to Florida. Of course, he doesn't have enough money to pay for a ticket, but he does accidentally secure a job as kitchen help on a ship. Eventually he finds the Santas (all of them white) relaxing on a beach and convences them to get back to work. 

The story has a curious beginning. Mr. Jones, a newspaper reporter, wrote a fake story about how there was no such thing as Santa Claus. ". . . since there was no other exciting news that day, he wrote a big headline that said 'THERE IS NO SANTA CLAUS!' All the other reporters saw it and copied the story in their own papers.'" Consequently, fewer children wrote letters to Santa and the Santas felt dismissed. 

The title says this story is retold, but I did not see any credit given to the original version. 

The pictures by Ute Krause have that childish cartoon like quality perfect for a book like this. 

Night Job (2018)

 Night Job by Karen Hesse shows us that we depend on people who work all night. A young boy hops on his dad's motorcycle on Friday nights and together they zoom along a highway to a school building. "Dad hauls out a ring of keys as big as the rising moon." Then, dad cleans the gym floor, the cafeteria, the stage, and classrooms. After sitting in the courtyard for a "lunch" of egg salad sandwiches, Dad cleans the library and the boy falls asleep on a sofa. As the sun rises, they roar home to what hints to be an apartment. G. Brian Karas' illustrations get the job done. They show a boy's joy spending time with his dad at work. The pictures feel like a lonesome night illuminated by bulbs. 

I searched a library network for other picture books by Karen Hesse after reading Come On, Rain!. What turned up was this one and Just Juice (1998), which isn't a picture book. While I like both these stories, they didn't have the magic of Come On, Rain! , at least for me. Maybe it was the collaboration with Jon J. Muth that birthed an especially lovely picture book. Of course, Hesse wrote many fine stories. My comments are actually in praise of Come On, Rain!, I guess. 

Not the Piano, Mrs. Medley! (1991)

 Not the Piano, Mrs. Medley! by Evan Lavine is a cute story about Mrs. Medley’s first visit to a beach. “She had just moved into a new house and hadn’t seen the sea yet.” She invites her grandson and dog to accompany her. Anyone who’s been to the beach knows there’s much to pack, beginning with towels. But what if it rains? Mrs. Medley stops in her flip flops and looks up at the sky. Then she turns around and walks home to get some rain things. On her way back to the beach she realizes they have no toys. Max says they don’t need toys, but the trio walk back home anyway. This pattern repeats until grandma, grandson, and dog arrive at the beach with a hilarious pile of belongings. The ending is adorable. This is a super fun story made even more enjoyable by S.D.Schindler’s illustrations. Each picture has lots of setting. I spent time with the pictures soaking in location details. 

I picked up this book because I expected a music theme. No music theme, but a delightful surprise instead.

 (Don’t you just love a title that needs punctuation!)