It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? was initiated by Sheila at Book Journey, and adapted by Kellee at Unleashing Readers and Jen at Teach Mentor Texts with a children’s/YA focus – perfect for a children’s librarian like me. This weekly roundup is a great way to discover new blogs and bloggers, share recommended (or not so recommended….) titles, and add to your ever-growing to-read list.
Title: Who’s Next Door?
Author: Mayuko Kishira
Illustrator: Jun Takabatake
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Publication Date: 201
Genre/Format: Fiction/Picture Book
Publisher’s Summary: Chicken is thrilled when he finds out someone new has moved in next door. His quiet house deep in the woods can be lonely sometimes, and it would be so much fun to have a friend! But Chicken never catches so much as a glimpse of his neighbor, despite many days spent waiting, pacing, and knocking on his door. As it turns out, his neighbor, Owl, has been doing the same thing, yearning to meet Chicken – only he’s been doing it at night. It’s not until after the two exchange notes and mix up plans for a visit, each using his own definition of “tomorrow,” that they meet fortuitously and find a creative way to enjoy each other’s friendship despite their different schedules.
My Two Cents: Simply illustrated with eye-catching primary colours, Who’s Next Door is a gentle story about two neighbours who, after an initial misunderstanding, find ingenious ways to bridge the gaps between them. Kids will love trying to figure out who the mysterious neighbour is, and will be delighted when his identity is revealed. A sweet, lovely little picture book.
Title: Nose to Toes, You Are Yummy!
Author/Illustrator: Tim Harrington
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: 2015
Genre/Format: Fiction/Picture Book
Publisher’s Summary: An interactive picture book that encourages readers to sing and dance to celebrate every body part. Sing and dance along with tigers, pandas, giraffes, and more. “Wave your hands! Tap your feet! Tug your ears!” Final page teaches you how to do the Yummy Dance.
My Two Cents: I am always looking for singable picture books, and picture books that incorporate singing and movement are even better. I haven’t tried this one out in story time yet, but it looks like it could be a lot of fun with toddlers and preschoolers. You can download the official song from the publisher’s website, but I think you could just as easily chant the text or make up your own tune. The book also includes instructions for the “Yummy Dance”, which you can probably take or leave, as the text is largely self-explanatory. Looks like fun!
Title: Butterfly Park
Author/Illustrator: Elly Mackay
Publisher: Running Press Kids
Publication Date: 2015
Genre/Format: Fiction/Picture Book
Publisher’s Summary: When a little girl moves to a new town, she finds a place called Butterfly Park. But when she opens the gate, there are no butterflies. Determined to lure the butterflies in, the girl inspires her entire town to help her. And with their combined efforts, soon the butterflies—and the girl—feel right at home.Elly MacKay’s luminous paper-cut illustrations and enchanting story encourage community, friendship, and wonderment in the beauty of everyday life
My Two Cents: Oh. My. Goodness. This is one of the most perfect picture books I have ever come across – not for story times, perhaps, but for sharing with a child on your lap. A little girl moves from the countryside into an urban world of grey, brown, and grey. In her quest to bring colourful butterflies into the sadly abandoned Butterfly Park, the little girl brings her neighbors together to transform the neighborhood park into a beautiful riot of colour. The multi-dimensional papercut illustrations are truly a wonder to behold – as the little girl builds relationships with the people around her, the tones and colours of the illustrations mirror the blossoming and revitalization of the town. A stunningly beautiful work of art that is begging to be displayed on your library shelves.
I loved Butterfly Park, too, just the sweetest story. And thanks for the other two, especially Who’s Next Door. It sounds great.
So glad you shared Butterfly Park. I saw it on someone’s blog awhile ago and meant to note the title, then promptly forgot. I love papercut illustrations anyway, and these look especially luscious. The other two titles are new to me but sound quite interesting.
Isnt it beautiful? I’m the same way – I’ll come across an amazing book but forget to write it down, which is one of the reasons I love participating in these link ups 🙂
Butterfly Park sounds so great! I need to seek that one out.
Butterfly Park sounds wonderful. I wonder if I could convince my 8 year old to read it with me. I think she’d enjoy it.
I’d definitely give it a try! The artwork is so detailed and so pretty – sometimes when I want to share a picture book with older kids I’ll call it an “illustrated book”, or tell them I want to share a book with beautiful artwork in it. Sometimes it’s all in the wording – “picture books” are for babies, but “illustrated books” sound grown-up and perfectly acceptable 😉