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(For ages 3-7) A Good Day By Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow Books, hardcover, 32 pages, $16.99) A yellow bird loses his tail feather; a little white dog gets his leash tangled in the fence. But as sure as the glass is half-full, not half-empty, the little animals in this book learn about how to turn a bad day into a good one through a change in their attitude. The nicely done illustrations are rendered in watercolor and brown ink. The thick outlines give the animals heft and dimension. Anatole and the Cat By Eve Titus; illustrated by Paul Galdone (Alfred A. Knopf, hardcover, 32 pages, $14.95) Anatole the mouse is the happiest in all of France - he is the cheese taster at the local factory. But he does his work at night and no one knows their mysterious taster is actually a mouse. Factory owner Monsieur Duval brings his cat to work one night, and it is a bad one for Anatole. He is being threatened - will it be possible for the little guy to overcome the big black cat and tie a warning bell on him? This is the 50th anniversary reprint of this fine book, which took the Caldecott Honor the year of its publication for its illustrations. The pencil drawings, gussied up with splashes of blues and reds, hold up well as they picture the little mouse going through all his various adventures. A Mama for Owen By Marion Dane Bauer; illustrated by John Butler (Simon & Schuster, hardcover, 32 pages, $15.99) Owen the hippo was as happy as could be, living with his mother, swimming in the river, playing hide- and-seek. But then the rains came and poured continuously, then came flooding and Owen and his family were washed out to sea. A tsunami wave brought Owen back to shore, but his mother was gone. Despondent, Owen finds the nearest creature that looks like his mother - and it turns out to be a 130-year-old giant tortoise. And the tortoise doesn't seem to mind at all acting as a maternal stand-in for the young hippo. This is a sweet, winning book based on the true story of Owen the hippo and his tortoise "mother" Mzee. The illustrations, rendered in acrylic paint and colored pencils, are superb, highly detailed and full of compassion. I've Got an Elephant By Anne Ginkel; illustrated by Janie Bynum (Peachtree Publishers, hardcover, 32 pages, $16.95) A little girl has a pink elephant for a friend. But she has to go off to school, the elephant gets "lonely and then, he goes out and brings home an elephant friend." So goes this nice rhyming counting book, as the little girl goes off to ballet or the movies, or fishing, and the elephant keeps adding friends to the herd. It is funny to see the elephants trying to keep up with the girl - eating popcorn at the movies or moving uncertainly in their dance shoes. The illustrations are nice and sunny, done in watercolor, and are quietly humorous. Raymond and Nelda By Barbara Bottner; illustrated by Nancy Hayashi (Peachtree Publishers, hardcover, 32 pages, $15.95) Raymond and Nelda are the best of friends. They laugh at each other's jokes, they have fun together and they had a communication so deep, sometimes they didn't even need to speak. But one day, Raymond thoughtlessly laughed at Nelda when she fell down. Nelda was too proud to forgive Raymond for his lapse in judgment. And though Raymond tried to apologize by letter, Nelda would have nothing of it. But Florence the mail lady keeps trying to bring them back together. Will her plan work? Veteran author Barbara Botner has come up with a nice tale about friendship, and about remaining true to your friends even when they make small mistakes. The illustrations, done in pencil with watercolor, are sweet, but a little on the simplistic side. Alligator Boy By Cynthia Rylant; illustrated by Diane Goode (Harcourt, hardcover, 32 pages, $16) This is an absolutely delightful book from the veteran team of Newbery medalist Cynthia Rylant and Diane Goode. In this rhyming tale, a little boy decides he is tired of being a human and decides to become an alligator. His mother is quite worried about the situation, but the doctor says he will be just fine. He goes to school, fights the school bully (and wins!), does his work, and plays with abandon. The illustrations, done in line drawing and then colored with gouache and watercolors, are finely detailed, funny and full of expression. Penguins, Penguins Everywhere By Bob Barner (Chronicle Books, hardcover, 32 pages, $14.95) Colorful cut-and-torn paper illustrations set this simple rhyming book about penguins apart from the pack. (And there does seem to be a lot of penguins out there this year.) Simple text tells young readers about the black-and-white birds, while a glossary at the end describes all the variations of the species. Clancy the Courageous Cow By Lackie Hume (Greenwillow Books, hardcover, 32 pages, $16.99) Belted Galloway cows have a very distinguishing mark - a band of white around the middle of their black bodies. But poor Clancy. He was born without a white band and was picked on his whole life for being different. But he had one advantage - since he was all black, he could sneak over to the rich grass where the snooty Herefords grazed. As he snuck more rich grass, Clancy grew bigger and stronger. His herd decided that Clancy stood a good chance of doing well as the annual cow wrestling contest so he learned all the moves from the masters - the Cow Whisperer, the Helicowpter and the Hindquarter Drop. But are Clancy's newfound skills enough to bring the cows together? The Happy Lion Roars By Louise Fatio; illustrated by Roger Duvoisin (Borzoi Books, hardcover, 32 pages, $15.95) Louise Fatio was the author of 10 books, all about "The Happy Lion." The original was out of print for years until it was republished a few years back on its 50th anniversary. And now the same can be said for this lovely book in the series, which has been reprinted after long being out of circulation. In this tale, it seems the Happy Lion isn't so happy. Find out why. |
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