Punk Farm

About a year ago, I somehow landed on Jarrett Krosoczka's website, liked his art style, and started reading his blog regularly. This was before I had read any of the books he had out. Over the last year I've been slowly collecting his work, from Max For President to Bubble Bath Pirates to Baghead. He has two new graphic novels coming out right now (the Lunch Lady series) and I'm so excited to get my hands on those. But somehow, through all of my adoration of his work, I've managed to not read his most popular story, Punk Farm. So when I was at the library this week, I noticed it was checked in (finally!!) and picked it up.

Punk Farm starts out like any other farm story. We see the hardworking farmer toiling happily amid his farm animals. But when the day is done, the story changes. Farmer Joe goes to his home, and the farm animals whip out guitars, drums, and microphones to put on a great concert. Farm animals from all over come in to see their favorite band play. And of course what song do they play? Old McDonald of course. Pig is on guitar, Cow is on drums, Goat is on bass, Chicken is on keyboards, and Sheep does vocals. These guys are the coolest animals in the barnyard.

It is impossible for me to describe this book without words like high-energy and excitement. Like any good punk song, this book is really high energy with a bit of an edge thrown in. Krosoczka uses a bright palette that makes each illustration pop of the page. The illustrations, which are painted, seem to go from very defined and somewhat subdued, when the farmer is around, to chaotic and blurred during the concert. I love how Krosoczka treats the book as almost a documentary about the band. We see them getting ready for the show and watch the crowd streaming in. The first time I read it, the book seemed almost like an animal homage to "This is Spinal Tap". Cleverly done.

Krosoczka seems to have a ton of fun with the story. The lyrics are creatively changed so that the moos and clucks of the standard song are replaced by keyboard and drum sounds. He throws in a ton of fun little side jokes like the sheep waiting to buy tickets with a hat that says "Obey". I loved the "Thank You Wisconsin" thrown out at the end of the set which just reminds me of "In the Street". Even the little thank you note from the band at the end is a clever dedication from Jarrett.

This would be a great read aloud book for kids, who will particularly like the song. Adults will enjoy the little inside jokes and the general energy of the book. This is one of the more high-octane books I've read in a while. The animals have a celebrity status that adults will chuckle at. Kids will just find the band cool. The band's number one song can be downloaded from Jarrett's website and the book has been optioned as a possible film. I can see why it's so popular. This book was quirky and fun and energizing.

Rules for Nonreaders

This was originally posted in January 2009 on Ancora Imparo but I figured it fit better over here.

The previous library I worked in subscribed to the Horn Book. The Horn Book is a children's literature review magazine. It covers hundreds of children's books in each edition giving out stars to the best enjoyed titles. When we would weed out the collection I would go through each issue looking for books that looked interested or good articles. It was in the March/April 2001 issue that I found the "Rules for Raising a Nonreader" and I knew I had to pull out that list. My parents had raised me (and all my brothers and sisters) as readers and I'm happy to say they never did any of the things on this list.

I've been something of a nonreader recently in that I haven't been working on a book every night. I read every couple of days and for me that seems almost scandelous. But I have friends who don't have books in their house. (unfathomable for me) Whose kids never pick up a book for fun. Last year a U.S.A. Today poll found that one in four people had not read a single book in the previous year. I get testy if it's been more than five days since I last read for fun.

So without further ado, here is the way to make sure your child grows up as a non-reader. Remember people, that TV's not going to watch itself.

1. Never read where your children see you
2. Put a TV or a computer in every room. Don't neglect kitchen or bathrooms.
3. Correct your child every time he or she mispronounces a word.
4. Schedule activites every day after school so your child will never be bored.
5. Once your child can read independently, toss out the picture books. They're for babies.
6. Don't play board games together. Too dull.
7. Give little rewards for reading. Stickers and plastic toys are nice. Money is better.
8. Don't expect your child to enjoy reading. Kid's books are for teaching vocabulary, proper study skills, and good morals.
9. Buy only 40 watt bulbs for your lamps.
10. Under no circumstances read your child the same book over and over. He or she heard it once and should remember it.
11. Never allow your child to listen to books on tape; that's cheating.
12. Make sure your kids only read books that are "challenging". Easy books are a complete waste of time. That goes double for comic books and Mad magazine.
13. Absolutely, positively, no reading in bed.

Unlucky Arithmetic: Thirteen Ways to Raise a Nonreader. Dean Schneider and Robin Smith. The Horn Book, March/April 2001.

I can remember whole days spent lounging on some sofa reading. My parents encouraged us to read and read to us (normally the same books over and over) from the time we were very small. Mom would read picture books to us so many times we would easily have them memorized. Dad read the chapter books to us in the evenings. And once we were old enough to read for ourselves, we devoured every book we could get our hands on. I continue to read picture books (no they're not for babies) and young adult chapter books. I read fiction and nonfiction and almost any genre out there. I will pick up whatever book is handy if I'm waiting somewhere with nothing to do. Reading for me is like breathing. I can't go too long without it. I'm a librarian because I love to read. And I love to read because my parents raised us as readers. Thanks.

Tickets to Ride

There are times in my life that I have picked up children's books without having read reviews, without word of mouth recommendations, and knowing nothing of the author. I have bought them on a whim, drawn by some sort of force. Once or twice I've been disappointed but most of the time I'm always pleased and surprised by how good they are. I bought Tickets to Ride by Mark Rogalski on a whim. I saw the gorgeous cover, actually not the one above but an equally wonderful one. (I'll see if I can find an image.) I took the book home, not even opening the cover, because it was a bad day and I wanted to be surprised by it. Plus some bad days are greatly improved by buying a book. This book blew any other random purchase away. It easily became one of the prettiest picture books on my shelves.

This book is a visual feast. I mention the cover, which is unique in itself. Rogalski produced four different covers for the book based on four different page spreads. The book's full title is Tickets To Ride: An Alphabetic Amusement and it is a carnival romp through the alphabet with some of the most beautiful and strange rides ever imagined. Each ride is animal themed, like the Zebra Zepplin which graces the cover above, or the Bear shaped Bumper-Car. Each spread has one page covered with glorious illustration and the other half is covered with a rhyming verse about the ride. We are taken from the amusement park entrance all the way through the last ride, and a beautifully illustrated map of the park.

I can't even begin to say how incredible Rogalski's illustrations are. These whimsical creations are odd, sweet, and so much fun. The text that goes with them is bouncy but I was completely absorbed in the paintings. It was only when I got to the end that I discovered another secret of the book. Within each illustration is a number, 1-26, which diligent readers must go back and find. There is also, hidden within each page, a little robotic duck. Like the very popular I Spy series I loved going back through to find the duck and the number. Particularly since it allowed me to spend even more time with the strange and wonderful ride creations. This book is a illustrators dream. When looking into writing this I stopped by Rogalski's website, linked above, and noticed that he has another book called Dream Machines. Guess I'll be making a trip to the bookstore again tonight. Another beauty to grace my shelves.

Bently & Egg

I want to start by saying that I love me some William Joyce. I remember the first book of his I ever picked up (A Day With Wilbur Robinson). I picked it up at the bookstore because I had been intriqued by the cover, (how can you not be?) and bought it that afternoon. Then I tried to hunt down the rest of his work. I love his zany sense of style, his detailed and bright illustrations, and his odd and fun stories. One of the great, and frustrating things, about having a favorite author is that there are very few stories of theirs you have never read. I finally found the last of Joyce's this past week.

Bently and Egg is the story of Bently, a rather lonely frog, who loves to paint and sing. He claims to have only one friend, a duck named Kack Kack. When Kack Kack lays an egg, Bently is jealous of the attention it gets. So when Kack leaves Bently to egg-sit, Bently decides to paint the egg to make it less boring. A little boy, mistaking the duck egg for an Easter egg, runs off with it. Bently follows the boy to attempt to get the egg back. During his journey he runs into a stuffed elephant abandoned in the garden, a little girl who is feeling ill, and a series to transportation problems. When he finally returns the egg to its spot, he is so exhausted that he falls asleep. When he wakes up the egg is gone, but it has hatched. Various friends tell Kack Kack of the adventure that Bently has been on to save the egg and he, her and the new chick become good friends.

Unlike so many of Joyce's books, the illustrations in this book are done in a soft palette of pastels. Colors are muted, giving the book a very gentle feeling. And despite the constant adventure of the book, this story seemed tame and grown-up to me. That is not said as a complaint. Instead the illustrations and the story combine to create a more touching story than Joyce's normal zaniness. Bently seems like a grown-up and I found him to be a character I identified with quite a bit. He is painted with a little vest and spectacles which make him seem practical, smart, old-fashioned, and sometimes a little grumpy. Kack Kack on the other hand seems much more frivolous but sweet.

One of the greatest parts of this book are the little songs that Bently sings, first to Kack Kack and then to the egg. As he grows to love the egg, the songs become shows of affection for him. What struck me about them is not that he sings but the wordings to the songs. Joyce uses words that we don't often hear in regular society. He always starts the songs for the egg by addressing it as an unusual name. Here is an example of a song when Bently is trying to sail the egg back. 

Oh, sailin' egg, mast-mainin' egg,

Our travels have been whirligig.

I sail us to your mother, who

Sits at home and years for --" 

I love how Joyce uses words like whirligig and mast-maining. This goes back to my idea about Bently being a bit old-fashioned. It is a wonderful touch to a sweet book. I enjoyed the action but the character of Bently and his changing relationship with the egg were what made this a wonderful book for me. 

Honk!

When I was younger my parents took me to the ballet occasionally. We saw standards like the Nutcracker but we also saw plenty of other shows including a very intriguingly done Macbeth. Because of that early introduction, I've always loved the ballet. Much like the main character in Honk!: The Story of a Prima Swanerina by Pamela Duncan Edwards. Of course the main character happens to be a swan.

The story follows Mimi who happens to be flying by the Opera Hall when she spies a ballet in progress. Mimi falls in love with the graceful figures and the dances. She practices at her pond, trying to get the steps right. And then she decides that she should go see another performance. She tries to walk in to the Opera House but is turned away by the manager with the words "No swans in the Opera House!" Mimi tries other ways to sneak in to see the performance but her Honk always gives her away. Finally, as she is about to give up, a late ballerina shows up at the backstage door. Mimi follows her in and takes a place in the lineup of dancers. As the ballerinas and one swan go on stage, Mimi dances all the steps she knows. Luckily the ballet is Swan Lake and audience loves her. She is invited back to perform again the next night.

This is a cute little story about ballet and dedication with a good deal of silliness tucked in. Children will love all the clever ways Mimi tries to sneak into the opera house. I love the random honks that give the swan away. And of course the irony of the ballet being Swan Lake. The focus is more on Mimi than on the ballet itself although the book goes through many of the classic positions of the ballet early in the book. I love how Mimi seems so matter of fact about her going to see the ballet. There is no doubt in her mind that she should be allowed in. Her self-assurance and determination make her a surprising character. Those are not normally attributes given to swans.

Henry Cole provides the illustrations for the book and they are downright beautiful. The soft images seem have a good deal of color and warmth. There is something fuzzy about the images which reminds me of old color films. There seems to be a nostalgic quality to the images to remind us that people used to go to the ballet regularly. The ballerina's dresses and the soft feathers of the swan seem very similar and stand out well against the dark outfits of the manager and the others attending. I enjoyed the colors of the pieces but it was the softness of the images that made them stand out for me. A beautiful book.

What's Under the Bed?

I've already admitted many times that I regularly judge a book by its cover. I'm more likely to check out a book if the cover appeals to me. So when I saw the little boy on the cover of Joe Fenton's What's Under the Bed? I knew I had to check the book out. How can you possibly resist those huge glasses, small eyes, worried expression, and adorable teddy bear?

This cute little story is simple but illustrated with an eye towards the adorable and strange. The majority of spreads are in black, white, and shades of grey. But each of them have a speck of color in them to draw attention. Whether it is Fred's (the narrator) blue striped pajamas, or a monster's huge red head, the color draws our attention. The simple story is told in rhyme (apparently I had a theme for the week since most of my books rhymed, unintentional I assure you). It tells the story of Fred, who is told to go to bed. Fred climbs into bed but then thinks he hears a sounds and starts to imagine the scary monsters that could be under his bed. He imagines them green or red, big or small, with sharp nails, or multiple tails. All this time he is seeing the terrible monsters of his imagination. When he finally does look it is only his teddy bear Ted.

This book is just adorable. Fred is cute with his gigantic head (and even bigger glasses), little body, and excellent expressions. We can see Fred's fear when he is about to look under the bed. He's simply terrified. I loved the roundness of the images. Fred, Ted, and even the bed are rounded, giving it a very visually appealing look for children. Even the monsters are somewhat circular. The monsters are well done to not be terrifying and will more likely make children giggle, then be afraid. These are not the scary monsters of monster movies but softer monsters like those found in Monsters Inc. The dark images heighten the suspense but the gentle roundness of the shapes seems to say that everything will be alright. The illustrations are very cartoony, making them more palatable to children who are easily frightened. The book isn't scary, in fact it's silly. This is a great book for children who are dealing with monsters under the bed. And a cute book for anyone else.

[Edit: What's Under the Bed was chosen for the General Mills book giveaway so you may be able to find little copies of the book tucked into your Cheerios and other cereals. I know those spots were very hotly competed for, so my Congratulations to Joe.]

Grumpy Bird

Last week Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast (a must read children's book blog) did a column on Jeremy Tankard. His new book Boo Hoo Bird was released recently and they were talking about how wonderful the new book was. I liked the look of Tankard’s artwork, with its deep brushstrokes and bright colors. So when they mentioned his previous Bird book I had to go pick it up. Grumpy Bird has the same great colors, unique backgrounds, and fun characters. But it also has something else, a fun story.

The story follows Bird who wakes up grumpy. He’s too grumpy to eat or even to fly. So he decides to walk. As he’s grumpily walking he passes each of his forest friends who decide that walking would be fun. They don’t even mind Bird’s sarcastic and angry responses to them. They just keep walking along behind him. Finally Bird realizes what they are doing. He stops and the play games. Bird forgets that he is grumpy and everyone eventually has a good time. The story is simple, but the dialogue was surprising for a children’s book. Bird is not always nice and sometimes snaps at his friends. And I found that incredibly refreshing. Children will love the repetition of the animal’s question “what are you doing?” and will enjoy seeing what Birds response is.

If the words are fun, the images are just fantastic. Tankard mixes photographs, broad brush strokes, bright colors, and simplistic but adorable characters. Bird in all his grumpiness is very cute. The other animals are sweet looking and done with minimal lines. Raccoon is defined with his mask and ringed tail. Fox looked a little like a cat except he is red. But somehow the simple characters make everything that much sweeter. Even Bird. The backgrounds are some of the most unique I have ever seen. Tankard uses photographs for the far background with painted brush strokes over the top. Close items, like bushes or trees, are heavy ink and very simply done. On top of all this is a wash of color that is almost startling. Tankard uses oranges, yellows, greens, and browns for each of the pages and these are almost always bright. With the bright backgrounds, the red, blue, white, brown, and orange characters stand out well particularly since the characters are outlined in black. This kind of art is fantastic, producing sweetness and brightness for a grumpy subject. The mixed media is inspired and I’m truly in love with Tankard’s style.

This is an adorable book that any child would be sure to love. I found myself going back again and again to enjoy the artwork. I was constantly missing little details that I would find later. A brilliant book, both in subject and artwork. I look forward to checking out Boo Hoo Bird as soon as possible. Grumpy Bird left me anything but grumpy.