Provo Library Children's Book Blog

BUFFALO MUSIC ; Tracy E. Fern; illus. by Lauren Castillo; New York: Clarion, 2008. 31pp. Picture Book. Based on the true story of Mary Ann and Charles Goodnight, this work of fiction celebrates the efforts of settlers and pioneers to save some remnant of the great buffalo herds that once covered the plains. Miss Molly and her husband farmed and ranched on the rim of Palo Duro canyon, alone except for the animals. Molly did her chores to the tune of "buffalo music"--huffing and scritching and galloping across the prairie. But soon the buffalo hunters came and the buffalo were gone. But Molly took in strays and orphans, nursing them back to health when necessary and building a herd which would eventually be shared with Yellowstone National Park and other places which preserve buffalo herds to this day. Buffalo Music is a tender and heartening story, with pictures perfectly matched to its understated, evocative text.

PALEO BUGS: SURVIVAL OF THE CREEPIEST ; Timothy J. Bradley; San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2008. 46p. Non-Fiction Though done up in picture book format, this thorough, readable, fascinating account of prehistoric creeping things is densely textured enough to be better-suited to older children. Bradley has done a masterful job of picturing the ancient creepy creatures that became part of the fossil record. He provides pronunciation for each name, show either with a picture of a hand, or of a child, the size of the creature (some over 9 feet long), and adds sidebar information in an informative but also lighthearted way. Paleo Bugs is an outstanding work of non-fiction for children; expect it to win prizes at year's end.

The Wave is one of my favorite picture books. There are no words in the story so the reader is left to create their own story in their mind simply by looking at the pictures. The story is about a young girl playing at the beach. She plays and splashes in the waves with the usual seagulls looking on. She continues to tease the waves until disaster strikes. However, where there is a disaster, there are also rewards. The illustrations in this book are simple, but very great. They consist only of charcoal and blue paint, but are splendidly done. This is a great story for anyone who likes the beach.

THE FACTTRACKER ; Jason Carter Eaton; New York: HarperCollins, 2008; 260p if you include the Pop Quiz. Juvenile Fiction. "Everyone loves a good explosion" says an imaginary character at the beginning of this delightful book. An explosion follows, but one must read the rest of the story for the complete explosion. The facttracker of the title lives in Traakerfaxx, where the community's business is to dispense facts. The facts came from the fact ory where the facttracker worked. In this town lived the just small enough boy who didn't know much about himself because his bundle of facts had fallen from the partly finished factory and swept away his parents as it rolled down the hill and far away. As the just small enough boy searches for his life story, the facttracker's dreadful twin brother Ersatz shows up with the Seed of Truth, sets up shop in the Liebrary and fills the town with falsehoods. Soon the townspeople are selling Untruths instead of Facts, sending them

No No Yes Yes by Leslie Patricelli is a wonderful board book that teaches toddlers proper behavior in specific situations. Each picture on the left shows a young child doing a "no no". The opposite page shows the child doing the "yes yes" version of the same act. The illustrations are simple and adorable. The baby's joyful expressions as he dumps food on his head, bops his little sister with a toy and yanks the cats tail will make even adults laugh out loud. There is only one set of pictures that didn't quite seem to fit, it involves scissors and a small child in diapers. I know the concept is good - teaching children to cut paper not their hair with scissors - but most children of that age will not be given scissors. If they somehow do get their little hands on some, they will mostly likely not cut a symmetrical snowflake as a "yes yes" behavior. This book is highly recommended by my 2-year old son, tears were shed when I had to bring it back to

If your older cousin tells you your delicious looking pie is poisonous and that he will eat it to save your life, you should be suspicious. But when he tells you many things that are true, how do you know when he is teasing? Maybe the pie IS poisoned! There is only one way to find out! Would I Ever Lie to You? is a story that will be familiar to anyone who's had a teasing older sibling, friend, or relative. Funny illustrations by Jack E. Davis are an excellent complement to Buehner's humor and will delight children.

What would you do if you were President for the day? The young star of the book Madam President knows exactly what she would do and how she would accomplish all the things that a president should. Sometimes she shows extreme dignity and at other times she says what each one of us wishes we could say, such as, "I know you are, but what am I?" Lane Smith works his magic in yet another funny and charming book filled with his innovative, beautiful mixed-media illustrations that complement his text perfectly. Madam President is a perfect book for a young would-be president--just brace yourself for many "vetoes!"

One day, a single, solitary pencil decides it would like some company--and so begins to draw. A boy, dog, and cat appear and immediately start making demands. The pencil uses much ingenuity in its attempts at solving everyone's problems, but has it drawn itself into a sketchy situation? The Pencil is a quick, funny read that is "drawn -out" in the best possible way. It encourages the imagination and the reader to anticipate what will happen next as well as showing the value of creative solutions. The pen, or pencil in this case, once again proves to be mightier than the sword!

Chester the dog feels very neglected by his family and so decides to venture out into the world to find a new home. After searching far-away places with little success, his family comes to claim him and he comes to the conclusion that there is no place like home when one is appreciated! In the book Chester , the message of the story is a good one. The story could use polishing, but the pictures are the real charm of this book. Beautiful, spare illustrations reminiscent of Lisbeth Zwerger and Nicoletta Ceccoli span the pages in soft yet modern color combinations. There is nothing trite or dull about them, shown in the very way that Chester decides to house hunt--with his own little doghouse constantly in tow.

CLOSE TO THE WIND: THE BEAUFORT SCALE ; Peter Malone; New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2007; unpaged. Nonfiction. Science meets history in this finely wrought and beautifully well-illustrated story of Captain Francis Beaufort's development of "a graduated scale for measuring the force of the wind." Told through the eyes and letters of a fictional midshipman of the 19th century Royal Navy,Malone describes how sailors learned to determine wind speed by observing the surface of the sea and the action of the ship. Malone also shows landlubbers what to look for on dry ground.Much naval lore and language of the Napoleonic Wars era shows young readers how sailors reefed and tacked to make headway in heavy seas. Splendid.

The Black Book of Colors’ text stole my attention as soon as I opened the book. This is not because the text is so well written, but that it is in Braille as well as regular text. The book also has raised black drawings of things such as rain, strawberries and feathers. This book is pure black and is designed so children can begin to understand how a blind person feels without color and relying only on words to describe a picture and touching. This is a must check out for all ages!

POTATO JOE ; Keith Baker; New York: Harcourt, 2008; unpaged. Picture Book Potato Joe is a great guy--friendly, exuberant, and tasty. He and his fellow potatoes begin this delightful counting book with the familiar One Potato, Two Potato, which quickly morphs into so much more, as Potato Joe and friends wind up at the Rodeo dancing Do-si-Do, and then hang out with Watermelon Moe. What a great read-aloud this book will be, although it is so jouncy, who could sit still for it? Great pictures perfectly matched to a delightful text.