Board book: A Little Book About ABC's

A Little Book About ABC's. Leo Lionni and Julie Hamilton. 2019. Random House. 28 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: A is for alligator. B is for beautiful butterflies. C is for chunks of cheese.

Premise/plot: This board book is inspired by the works/characters of Leo Lionni. It is a concept book--an alphabet book.

My thoughts: What you see is exactly what you get. This alphabet book stars some familiar characters from Leo Lionni's books. There is another book in this "Leo Lionni's Friends" series, A Little Book About Spring. My guess is that there will be more books coming soon.

I wish it was a little bit more transparent who did what when. The two people credited with the work are Leo Lionni and Julie Hamilton. Yet it doesn't say who wrote the text or who did the illustrations. The characters are all Leo Lionni. But is Julie Hamilton just illustrating in the style of Leo Lionni? Did she write the text to accompany the illustrations? If she didn't write the text, who did? (Leo Lionni has been dead since 1999.) 

© 2019 Becky Laney of Young Readers

Board book: A Little Book About Spring

A Little Book About Spring. Julie Hamilton. Illustrated by Leo Lionni. 2019. Random House. 28 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Hello, Spring. I'm so glad to see you. You make the trees bud...the flowers bloom...and the baby birds chirp in their nests.

Premise/plot: This book features classic illustrations and/or illustrations inspired by Leo Lionni's classic characters. This board book celebrates the season of SPRING.

My thoughts: I wish it was a little bit more transparent who did what when. The two people credited with the work are Leo Lionni and Julie Hamilton. Yet it doesn't say who wrote the text or who did the illustrations. The characters are all Leo Lionni. But is Julie Hamilton just illustrating in the style of Leo Lionni? Did she write the text to accompany the illustrations? If she didn't write the text, who did? (Leo Lionni has been dead since 1999.) 

Regardless of all that, is the story good? It is what it is. I personally will never get gushy about a book celebrating seasons. The text is simple and predictable. Not a bad thing for a concept board book about a season of the year. (Weather is usually more simple and predictable in children's books than in real life.) But I do like it.
 

© 2019 Becky Laney of Young Readers

Sprinkle Sundays #4 Ice Cream Sandwiched

Ice Cream Sandwiched. (Sprinkle Sundays #4) Coco Simon. 2018. [October 23] Simon Schuster. 160 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: I put the finishing touches on my book review as the school bus pulled into Vista Green School.

Premise/plot: Ice Cream Sandwiched is the fourth book in Coco Simon's Sprinkle Sundays series for middle schoolers. It is the second book narrated by Allie.

In the first book, Allie's parents get divorced. Allie moves with her mom and brother to a nearby town. She misses her best friends Tamiko and Sierra very much. Fortunately, these three friends find a way to be together each and every week by working together in her mom's ice cream shop. The second book is narrated by Tamiko. The third book is narrated by Sierra.

Allie is still having a bit of a time adjusting to her new life. She's made new friends. She's been able to keep her old friends too. She's getting along with her Mom and her Dad. (Though the brother might as well not exist for as much as he's mentioned.) But though things could always, always be worse, things aren't as smooth as she'd like them to be. For one thing, she feels caught between an arguing Sierra and Tamiko. And that's just one of the ways she feels "sandwiched." Allie struggles a bit to be true to herself for a bit, but ultimately she succeeds.

My thoughts: I like this series. It's enjoyable. It definitely has a bit of a wish fulfillment thing going on. It's not exactly one hundred percent realistic. (Three seventh graders who run an ice cream shop all on their own without adult supervision every Sunday afternoon while the owner (Allie's mom) is busy in the back. I doubt they've been trained and certified to handle/prepare food. And there is definite trust going on to let a seventh grader be responsible for all the cashiering.) But all that being said I am finding each title enjoyable enough that I want to keep up with the series as it's being released.

Original audience born circa 2009 to 2011.

© 2019 Becky Laney of Young Readers

The Giant Jam Sandwich

Board book: The Giant Jam Sandwich. Janet Burroway. Story and Pictures by John Vernon Lord. 1972/2018. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 28 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: One hot summer in Itching Down, Four million wasps flew into town.

Premise/plot: I would NOT want to be in Itching Down when FOUR MILLION wasps flew into town. I wouldn't want to be there for even ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND wasps. Would you? This classic picture book is told in rhyme. Though the situation is far from ideal, the text is DELIGHTFUL.

My thoughts: I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this one. It is so much fun. I love the rhythm and rhyme of it. From cover to cover it just works. Not all books written in rhyme do work. Some seem to struggle a bit here and there. This one is practically perfect in every way.

Quotes:

A truck drew up and dumped out butter,
And they spread it out with a flap and a flutter.
Spoons and spades! Slap and slam!
And they did the same with the strawberry jam.

Suddenly the sky was humming!
All four million wasps were coming!
They smelled that jam, they dived and struck!
And they ate so much that they all got stuck.

Original audience born circa 1968 to 1970.

Text: 5 out of 5
Illustrations: 4 out of 5
Total: 9 out of 10

© 2019 Becky Laney of Young Readers

A Hug Is For Holding Me

A Hug Is For Holding Me. Lisa Wheeler. Illustrated by Lisk Feng. 2018. Harry N. Abrams. 24 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Look around and you will see all the things a hug can be!

Premise/plot: You would think this picture book would celebrate two things primarily--HUGS and FAMILIES. And, in a way, I suppose it's true. But it is nature that sneaks in and steals the show.

Cocoons are strong
yet gentle hugs,
and then,
surprisingly...
the air is filled with wonderous wings!
Your hug amazes me.

and

A flower bud
can be a hug.
Come close and
you will see.
Tight petals wrap the bloom inside.
Your hug feels safe to me. 

My thoughts: I don't dislike this one. I just don't love it. I wasn't expecting it to be about nature. Or at least so much about nature. I suppose a better description would be... as a father and daughter share a lovely walk together the little girl reflects on the many things a hug can be.

Text: 3 out of 5
Illustrations: 3 out of 5
Total: 6 out of 10


© 2019 Becky Laney of Young Readers