Mortimer's First Garden

Wilson, Karma. 2009. Mortimer's First Garden. Illustrated by Dan Andreasen. Simon & Schuster.

This one is being reviewed slightly out of season. A book about spring time just weeks before the start of fall? Well, that happens sometimes. And I think better late than never. I really, really loved this one. It stars Mortimer the Mouse. And according to the jacket flap, Mortimer is a character first introduced in Mortimer's Christmas Manger. I haven't read that one. (Though if Mortimer is as Mortimer-ish there as he is here, then it's something I really need to get my hands on!)

Little Mortimer Mouse looked outside. "Brown, brown, brown," he squeaked. "Nothing but brown! Too dull, too drab, too dreary!" Mortimer longed to see something green. Anything green.

As the title suggests, this one is about Mortimer planting a garden. To be truthful, it isn't so much a whole garden as it is one tiny seed. Mortimer has decided--after eavesdropping on his humans--to plant one sunflower seed. He's not always sure that this was a good idea. But he's hopeful that something good might come of it. If he's patient enough. But it sure is hard to be patient sometimes!

What should you know about this one? Well, Mortimer is a God-loving little mouse. So if pictures of a mouse praying to God and being thankful for God's blessings offends you, then this might not be the book for you. I personally, thought the book was sweet and charming.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Kisses on the Wind

Moser, Lisa. 2009. Kisses on the Wind. Candlewick Press. Illustrated by Kathryn Brown. (Releases September 2009)

Picture books with historical settings aren't all that common. This one is set in the pioneer-era. It stars a little girl, Lydia, who is struggling with just how to stay goodbye to her grandmother. Her family is going to Oregon--the wagon is packed, and nearly everything is ready to go, except for Lydia. How do you say goodbye to someone you love so very very much?

On the day we left for Oregon, I said good-bye to the barn cats. I said good-bye to the farmhouse. But I just couldn't say good-bye to Grandma. I watched Papa and Mama load the wagon. They packed barrels of cornmeal, the iron kettle, and Papa's tools. Mama said the trip would take months and months. I knew only one thing. This trip would take me a thousand miles away from Grandma.

It's a sweet story, bittersweet in places, but it's a good story. It's a story about priceless gifts like love and family. It's very heartfelt. I enjoyed this one very much. Loved the text. I also really loved the illustrations. They were perfect for this story. They made it just right.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

The Tiger Who Came To Tea

Kerr, Judith. 1968/2009. The Tiger Who Came To Tea. Candlewick Press.

I honestly still don't know what to make of this one. Candlewick's first edition of this UK classic is being released next week. It's a silly story, no doubt, about a tiger who comes to visit a girl and her "mummy" one day.

Once there was a little girl called Sophie,
and she was having tea with her mummy
in the kitchen.
Suddenly there was a ring at the door.

Apparently, this one is quite popular and well-known in some circles. Since it's being done "live on stage." I'm a bit more reserved in my opinion. Maybe you had to grow up with it? Anyway, it's available soon and you may just like it :)




© Becky Laney of Young Readers

One Dragon's Dream

Pavey, Peter. 1978/2009. One Dragon's Dream: A Counting Book.

Candlewick's first edition of this is releasing soon--next week in fact. The first thing that struck me about this one is how similar (in some ways) the look and feel of it is to the old Sesame Street cartoons of numbers--the pinball song I guess you'd call it. And then I saw the video for "When I'm Sixty-Four" and I saw the counting sequence (You know, the one minute is a long time part.) So in other words, even if I hadn't found the "1978" copyright date, there's no disguising that this one is from a different era.


The numbers, I like. I'll admit that. But everything from that point on is just weird, weird, weird. You'll have to be the judge on if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Seriously, one person's weird is another person's awesome.

1 One dragon had a dream
2 That two turkeys teased him,
3 Three tigers told him off,
4 And four frogs seized him.

It's not exactly my kind of counting book.


© Becky Laney of Young Readers

The Little Dump Truck

Cuyler, Margery. 2009. The Little Dump Truck. Illustrated by Bob Kolar. Henry Holt.

This is a sturdy picture book about dump trucks. (One of those that isn't quite a board book, the pages aren't quite that thick, yet they're thicker and sturdier than the average picture book making it perfect for preschoolers.) It's a simple book, brightly illustrated.

I'm a little dump truck
run by Hard Hat Pete,
rattle-rattle-clatter,
driving down the street.

It rhymes, but it's the good kind of rhyme. The smart kind. The rhythmic kind. The kind that's fun to read aloud, again and again.

I'm a little dump truck
hauling stones and rocks,
bumping, bouncing, thumping,
crossing city blocks.

See, it's just fun to say bumping, bouncing, thumping. But the book isn't all about rhyming. It's about trucks--what dump trucks do, the kinds of work, the kinds of jobs they do. You see them in action.

I'm a little dump truck
backing to the right,
tipping down my dumper
at the garbage site.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers