Old Misery by James Sage

Old Misery by James Sage

by Carol6 Comments
I admit it. The drawings are what drew me to Old Misery, along with the title. The blurb above gives a good summary, but I will say I found it amusing who all managed to get stuck in her tree. The illustrations are perfect for the story, simple and amusing but grim too. But we all know that wishes can often be double-edged swords.  The "surprise visitor" who really probably wasn't much of a surprise to the old woman, ends up stuck in the tree and Old Misery learns why you have to be so careful with your wished. It's a cute re-telling of the Auntie Misery folktale. It's dark and a reminder that there will always be Misery and Death in the world, but I'm pretty sure there are certain kids, some of whom may or may not be in my family, who will love it....
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Fish-Boy by Vanita Oelschlager

Fish-Boy by Vanita Oelschlager

by Carol6 Comments
I wanted to love Fish-Boy. It's a re-telling of an Inuit tale and the illustrations are gorgeous. It has several good lessons about acceptance, hospitality and fear. It also shows that people with handicaps can be full contributors to a community. There's a bit of magic and like in any good tale, the bad guys get punished and the good guys get rewarded. My problem was it was a little confusing and perhaps a touch long. The legend is being told by an elder to a boy during a trading expedition. I like that the emphasis here is on passing down stories. The legend itself is about Fish-boy and his adoptive father and tells why there are so many puffins near the Bering Strait. There were a couple bits that I didn't quite understand why they happened, but I liked the fish-boy's attitude and his father's kindness. The illustrations are lovely and may be worth picking up the book on their own. Here's...
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Not Quite Narwhal by Jessie Sima

Not Quite Narwhal by Jessie Sima

by Carol2 Comments
Not Quite Narwhal is a sweet little story. Kelp is born at the bottom of the sea with the narwhals. Now, we know he's a unicorn with a kind of bubble around his head, but he thinks he's a narwal. All the narwhals love and adore him, even if he's not like them. Then one day he sees a unicorn and realizes that he's a unicorn, too. Only he still has bubble around his head on land too. Okay, so the bubble probably bothered me more than it would a kid. All the unicorns accept him and the narwhals greet his announcement that he's a unicorn with well, of course he is, they knew it all along. And they never gave him the chance to meet any other unicorns? The story's about accepting each other, differences and all, and about being yourself. The illustrations are whimsical, soft and lovely. It just didn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but I'm...
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Christmas Picture Books

Christmas Picture Books

by Carol4 Comments
I read a few books with my niece and nephew over Christmas. The Snowy Day is a sweet, simple little story about enjoying the snow. The illustrations are warm and inviting and go along with the text well. It's never been one of my favorites, but is still a classic worth reading. I like that The Biggest Snowman Ever encourages teamwork. It also encourages creativity, no two snowmen are alike, they can be traditional or a princess or a martian and they're all good. The Littlest Christmas Tree makes me tear up a little in the middle, when the tree is sad and lonely and afraid it will never get to be a Christmas tree. Thankfully it has a happy ending and the tree gets to go to the perfect home.  ...
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Santa, Please Bring Me a Gnome by An Swerts

by Carol6 Comments
Santa, Please Bring Me a Gnome is a sweet little Christmas story. I love how Tess' grandparents play along, building furniture and making a blanket for the gnome that Santa will surely bring. Of course, Santa doesn't bring a gnome, but he does bring a darling little hamster who needs a home. And the becomes her best friend of course. The illustrations are sweet and gentle, like the cover. It would be a nice read to book to share with kids. But I'm not a big fan of animals as Christmas presents. It made for a heart-warming ending here, but animals, even hamsters, are a big commitment not something to buy on impulse because your daughter is expecting a gnome on Christmas. But kids won't look at it that way, they'll just enjoy the story and maybe ask for a gnome or hamster of their own....
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The Dream Dragon by Kathryn England

by Carol2 Comments
I should maybe quit reading kids books. I picked up The Dream Dragon because it looked cute and I try to keep an eye out for books my nieces/nephews would enjoy. And it was a fine book, I just felt a little sad for the dragon. The dream dragon protects the boy's dreams. He scares away the bad dreams, but he also pushes the good dreams to the edge, because he wants to be the dream the boy remembers. Then, a t-rex comes along and defeats the dragon. It is the new protector, but then comes along a superhero, then a pirate, and each, in turn, stars in the boy's dreams. I like how the book first shows than not all monsters are scary. It also connects what we read about or learn about in real life to our dreams, which I think can be helpful for kids. At least it was when Amber was little. Knowing why she dreamed about something...
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