The Scarecrow's Dance

Yolen, Jane. 2009. The Scarecrow's Dance. Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline. Simon & Schuster.

The Scarecrow's Dance is a seasonal picture book in verse. Jane Yolen can be quite poetic at times. And some of her books really wow me. (But this one wasn't one of them.)

Here's how it begins:

An autumn eve,
The moon was high,
As yellow as
A black cat's eye.

Out in the field,
Stiff and forlorn,
The scarecrow stood
And watched the corn.

This scarecrow is about to be brought to life by the wind. And oh how he loves dancing and prancing--being free. But can a little boy's prayers bring the scarecrow back to his pole in the field?

What I liked best about this one is the art. I love Bagram Ibatoulline. His artwork wows me every time. It's oh-so-amazing. The richness of the colors and the details. The way he has in bringing the heart of any story to life. So I appreciated that aspect of this one. But the story itself--the text--didn't move me.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Weekly Geeks: 2009-43 (Top Ten Lists)

My top ten children's books:

Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas (Picture Book)
My Elephant by Petr Horacek. (Picture Book)
1000 Times No by Tom Warburton (Picture Book)
A Mighty Fine Time Machine. Suzanne Bloom (Picture Book)
All God's Critters by Bill Staines. (Picture Book)
Binky The Space Cat by Ashley Spires (Picture Book)
Creature ABC by Andrew Zuckerman (Picture Book)
How To Get Married by Me the Bride by Sally Lloyd-Jones (Picture Books)
Max Spaniel: Dinosaur Hunt by David Catrow (Early Reader)
Where's Tumpty by Polly Dunbar (Early Reader)


© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Here Comes The Big, Mean, Dust Bunny!

Thomas, Jan. 2009. Here Comes The Big, Mean Dust Bunny! Simon & Schuster.

I loved the dust bunnies first adventure: Rhyming Dust Bunnies. And I loved this second one as well. Who knew that rhyming could be so very fun?! So very entertaining?! Ed, Ned, Ted, and Bob are back! And there is plenty more rhyming fun to be had. But someone doesn't like all the rhyming. Someone in their midst is in a very bad mood. That someone would be the BIG and MEAN dust bunny. For some reason, he just doesn't want to sit around playing rhyming games. And because that's the kind of guy he is, he doesn't want Ed, Ned, Ted, and Bob to have any fun either.

Want to play a rhyming game?
No!
Come on!
What rhymes with fit?
lit
kit
cat
I know!
SIT!

Yes, the big, mean dust bunny squashes the other four by sitting on them! Can these dust bunnies make a new friend out of this grump?

This one is fun and playful. Definitely recommended!

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Rhyming Dust Bunnies

Thomas, Jan. 2009. Rhyming Dust Bunnies. Simon & Schuster.

I don't think I've always been good when it comes to reviewing Jan Thomas, but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Jan Thomas. And this one is no exception. In this book, we are introduced to four very colorful (and rhyming) dust bunnies.

Hello! We are Ed, Ned, Ted...and Bob. We rhyme all the time!

As you can see--from the start--one of the dust bunnies isn't quite like the others. Poor Bob! But it is because he is different from the others that makes this one so very funny and charming.

What do I mean? Well, let's go back to the text:

Hey! What rhymes with car?
Far
Jar
Tar
Look!

Anyway, this one is a LOT of fun. These lovable little dust bunnies are guys I would have just been crazy about as a kid. Hey, I love them now!!!

I would definitely recommend this one.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Yummy: Eight Favorite Fairy Tales

Cousins, Lucy. 2009. Yummy: Eight Favorite Fairy Tales. Candlewick Press. 121 pages.

Lucy Cousins (perhaps best known for her Maisy books) brings us eight (familiar) tales in this bright and bold collection for young readers. The tales included are: Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, The Enormous Turnip, Henny Penny, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Little Red Hen, The Three Little Pigs, and The Musicians of Bremen. (I only wish she'd chosen to include The Gingerbread Boy.)

Cousins' stories are a bit more violent than some contemporary retellings. She doesn't shy away from death and violence. (Though not each tale is violent. It's really just Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs that are. Her wolves are definitely in the big and bad category.)

The text of each story is simple and straightforward.

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Little Red Riding Hood. Her mother asked her to take a basket of food through the woods to her grandmother, who was ill. Little Red Riding Hood had not gone far when she met a wolf.

What did I like best about this one? The illustrations! If you like Cousins' bright, bold, and colorful and larger-than-life (almost) illustrations. (Illustrations that command your attention right from the start.) Then you'll appreciate this collection of stories.

This is another impressive title by Candlewick Press.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Cat On The Mat Is Flat

Griffiths, Andy. 2007. Cat On The Mat Is Flat. Illustrated by Terry Denton. Feiwel and Friends. 167 pages.

This early reader is heavily illustrated. So don't be intimidated by its length! It's a fun little collection of stories--rhyming stories--that are just about right. Mostly. I read The Big Fat Cow That Goes Kapow first. So I was comparing this earlier effort with his newest effort. But I *still* think this one is a lot of fun. There are nine little rhyming stories in all. Some stories have more substance than others. But all are simple and meant to appeal to a young audience.

My personal favorite is Bill and Phil and the Very Big Hill. I just thought that one was hilarious.

Here's how it starts out:

There was a man.
His name was Bill.
Bill had a friend.
His name was Phil.

One day Bill and his friend Phil
climbed to the top of a very big hill.
"I dare you to roll down the hill,"
said Bill.
"I will if you will, Bill,"
said Phil.
"I will if you will, Phil,"
said Bill.

So Bill and Phil rolled down the hill.

Of course that is just the start of this story. With nine stories, there is something for everyone, I think. You may not love all of the stories. But there will probably be a few--at least--that you think work.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

The Beast of Blackslope

Barrett, Tracy. 2009. The Sherlock Files: The Beast of Blackslope. Henry Holt. 174 pages.

This is the second in a mystery series. The first is The 100 Year Old Secret. Xander and Xena are a brother-sister detective team. Descendants of the great Sherlock Holmes. They inherited his book of 'unsolved cases' in the first book, and are back for their second adventure. These two (along with their parents) are visiting a not-so-cozy bed and breakfast in the country. They hear a strange and frightening noise one day, and then begin to hear rumors of a beast. Thanks to a superb memory, one of the two remembers that Sherlock Holmes tried to solve this case a hundred years ago--a case of a strange beast in this area--but couldn't. Can these two figure out both mysteries--the identity of the beast then and now?

© Becky Laney of Young Readers