We Will Rock You – 12×12 Blog Party

It is 12-12-12 today and time to celebrate the first year of 12×12 in 2012 Picture Book Challenge. While I only finished 5 drafts this year, it has still been an amazing year connecting, learning, supporting, and being supported by my fellow picture book writers. It is such an awesome community, you guys are GREAT!

A Big, Big thank you to the amazingly, talented, organized, and creative Julie Hedlund (check-out her Beastie Boys song).

I can honestly say I don’t know where I would be in my writing without the wonderful 12×12. If you are a picture book writer, check-out the info for 12×12 in 2013, it just gets better and better.

Since I LOVE 12×12 for its repository of knowledge and supportive nature. Here is my very quickly done riff off of “WE WILL ROCK YOU” by Queen.

We Will Rock You – 12×12

<stomp – stomp – clap>

Buddy you’re a young writer, fast learner
But you need to join 12-by-12 today
You think you’re an ace
You big disgrace
You need to check-out 12-by-12′s knowledge base

We will we will rock you — EDITORS!
We will we will rock you — AGENTS !

Buddy its hard road, long road
But 12-by-12′s says you’re gonna make it someday
Put your butt in its place
Leave no blank space
Start writing words all over the page

We will we will rock you — EDITORS!
We will we will rock you — AGENTS !

TBR Bookshelf – Dec 2012

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Hope you are all having a good one so far. Just wanted to let you know I will not be posting any book reviews for the month of December. As much as I love reviewing books I need a bit of R & R. I will continue reviewing books in 2013. However, I need to re-evaluate how often I post reviews since between the day job, kids, and the blog I am spending very little time on my own writing. Will keep you posted.

I am currently working on a Best Picture Books of 2012, the list will be out within the next two weeks.

Below are the books I reviewed last month.

The Insomniacs
Tons of Trucks
Good News Bad News

Good News Bad News

Title: Good News Bad News

Author & Illustrator: Jeff Mack

Publisher: Chronicle Books, 2012
Book Type: Fiction
Ages: 2-4
Themes: Moods, Attitude, Friendship

Only Lines:

“Good News  …….  Bad News”

Synopsis (from Amazon website):

Good news, Rabbit and Mouse are going on a picnic. Bad news, it is starting to rain. Good news, Rabbit has an umbrella. Bad news, the stormy winds blow the umbrella (and Mouse!) into a tree.

So begins this clever story about two friends with very different dispositions. Using just four words, Jeff Mack has created a text with remarkable flair that is both funny and touching, and pairs perfectly with his energetic, and hilarious, illustrations.

Activities:

Checkout the companion activity kit at Chronicle’s website. Includes printable maze, connect-the-dots, and more.

Create your own good news/bad news story. Start off with a story starter like “a porcupine wins a balloon” which could be the good news. What is the bad news then does the balloon pop, does the porcupine fly away, or something else? The possibilities are endless. This could be a fun way to challenge kids to think creatively and see the upside to any situation.

Why I Like This Book:

A book that appears simple and comical at first, but has a deeper theme on attitude and friendship.

Rabbit is an optimistic, attentive friend, who is always pointing out the bright side to any bad situation. Mouse is a pessimistic, though in some case expected as he is getting the raw end of the deal (like the worm in the apple or getting splattered with icing). The book has a simple book design where each half spread shows a “bad news” scene (like mouse being grumpy about the rain) followed by a “good news” scene (rabbit offering an umbrella).  This back and forth between good and bad continues, with the situations ever-increasing until mouse has a double-paged spread where he screams “BAD NEWS” because he just can’t take it anymore. Here is where the emotion hits home as mouse for the first time notices his effect on his friend rabbit, who has begun to cry and wail “Bad News” too. The story ends on a satisfying note with a hug between mouse and rabbit and the line “very good news”.

This book is a visual story with a simple format that kids can easily follow. The bad news scene always correlates to the good news scene, hence the good news scene is used before the page turn. Because of this format kids will enjoy guessing what the bad news scene that is to come. This nearly wordless book with colorful, cartoon-styled artwork tells a visual story that will be attractive for kids just learning to read. Parents and teachers will appreciate the theme of optimism/pessimism. A great book to use for storytime.

See pages spreads from the book at The Children’s Book Review.

Bad News: This book will not be added to Perfect Picture Book Friday as it was already reviewed in September.

Good News: You get to read a great review by Erik at This Kid Reviews Books. Also check-out Carter’s review at Design of the Picture Book where she discusses the book design.

Creativity Time: Let’s create a good news bad news story of our own. I’ll provide the starter sentence. You provide a Good News or Bad News comment depending on the last comment made.

Good News – Porcupine and Skunk go to the circus! (first person to comment gets to pick which character is optimistic/pessimistic)

This book was nominated by Katherine Sokolowski for the 2012 Cybils Awards in the Fiction Picture Book category. I am a second-round judge in this category, but this review reflects my opinions only, not those of any other panelist, or the panel as a whole. Thanks!

Tons of Trucks

Title: Tons of Trucks

Author: Sue Fliess
Illustrator: Betsy Snyder

Publisher: HMH Books, 2012
Book Type: Fiction
Ages: Birth – 4
Themes: Trucks, Rhyming, Interactive

Opening Lines:

“Tons osf trucks before our eyes, in every color shape and size.

Big trucks, strong trucks, scoop and dig trucks.”

Synopsis (from Amazon website):

Big trucks, small trucks, dump trucks, tow trucks, and all kinds of other trucks can be found in this playful touch-and-move book. A backhoe scoops and digs, a cement truck spins, a tar truck oozes sticky tar, and tabs pull up and out to reveal surprises. The trucks eventually slow down for a rest, where little hands can lift the flaps to see animals snuggling up for sleepy-time—under a rising moon. Filled with vibrant art and adorable characters, this book gives a child everything he’s looking for when he presses his face against the fence at a construction site!

Activities:

Read more truck books, sing truck songs, or do truck crafts! (see this awesome post by Playing by the Book)

More links for truck crafts, printables (coloring sheets, mazes, word puzzles), and Pinterest boards on Cars & Trucks and Transportation.

Why I Like This Book:

Colorful, engaging concept book about trucks which have cute animals too. I fell in love with this book right away. The rhyming text has a good cadence, and the illustrations are just gorgeous. I love the way the colors just pop and the animals have a roundness to them making them appear child-like. The best part is the interactive aspect. The reader gets to pull, push, spin, swing, and lift as they explore all the different trucks. A unique aspect of the book design is that in some of the “lift” or “slide” parts, you don’t just see the rest of the truck but also the characters doing something fun or silly. Good feature which increases the re-readability and play-ability. Each spread shows the trucks at work. The final spread is a bedtime scene with parked trucks under a full moon. Lift the flaps to see how the animals are getting ready for bed.

Perfect holiday gift for any toddler, girl or boy!

This review is part of Susanna Leonard Hill’s Perfect Picture Book series. Visit her site to see the other books recommended.

The Insomniacs

Title: The Insomniacs

Author: Karina Wolf
Illustrator: The Brothers Hilts

Publisher: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2012
Book Type: Fiction
Ages: 4-8
Themes: Sleep, Bedtime, Night

Opening Lines:

“The Insomniacs weren’t always a night family.

But when Mrs. Insomniac found a new job, Mother, Father, and little Mika traveled twelve time zones to their new home.”

Synopsis (from Penguin website):

The wonder of nighttime comes to life in this breathtaking debut.

When the Insomniacs move twelve time zones away for Mrs. Insomniac’s new job, the family has an impossible time adapting to the change. They try everything to fall asleep at night–take hot baths, count to one thousand, sip mugs of milk–but nothing helps. Venturing out into the dark, they learn there is a whole world still awake and a beauty in their new and unconventional schedule.

Ideal for bedtime reading, this gorgeous and lyrical story celebrates nighttime’s mystery and magic.

Activities:

Time Zones

• Simple way to teach at home is with a globe and flashlight, click here for steps.
• Online learning videos which explain the reason for 24 time zones and a discussion about the four time zones in the US.
• National Geographic has a time zone exercise suitable for upper elementary grades.

Nocturnal animals

• Pinterest board which has links to books and crafts related to nocturnal animals.
• Article by National Geographic Explorer on nocturnal animals with photos.
• Lesson plan for ages 0-5 from the Library of Michigan – contains books, songs, links to activity sheets, crafts
• Lesson plans for elementary classrooms – version of tag, create constellations with marshmallows, and more.

Go for a walk with your child, a nighttime outing, ask the child what he or she sees and hears.

Why I Like This Book:

An original, fresh twist on the traditional can’t fall asleep bedtime story.

I love that the family has to move because of Mrs. Insomniacs job (yeah mom!). But adjusting twelve hours is hard and the family struggles to find a way to fall asleep at night, hot baths, counting to a thousand, six mugs, of milk, even meditation — but nothing works. The family decides to go ask their animal neighbors. With flashlight in hand they walk through the forest and notice that darkness is full of life and decide to try living at night instead. This unusual schedule works for them as they get to enjoy the moon, stars, and trips to the flower market and bakery.

The illustrations are gorgeous and quirky, and have an Oliver Jeffer’s kind of feel. The color palette is muted yellows/browns for the day scenes and blues/grays for the night scenes, with hints of color for items such as the scarf, book, or flowers. Check out the trailer below.

Read the book and discover the beauty of the night, but don’t forget your flashlight!

This review is part of Susanna Leonard Hill’s Perfect Picture Book series. Visit her site to see the other books recommended.

This book was nominated by ReadyAnnie for the 2012 Cybils Awards in the Fiction Picture Book category. I am a second-round judge in this category, but this review reflects my opinions only, not those of any other panelist, or the panel as a whole. Thanks!