Tag Archives: Animals

A Boy And A House

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This wordless book is the story of a boy wandering down dark Grimm Street past interesting street and window scenes.  When he gets to #34 Andersen Street, he sees a cat in an open doorway.  He follows the cat up a stairway where there are discarded drawings on the floor, which he collects.  The sepia-toned watercolor paintings are full of enticing details. The two mice on each page are especially fun.  The boy journeys through the house, drawn forever forward until he reaches a lovely surprise.  Each page in the book is more amazing than the last. mjw

Title: A Boy And A House Author: Maja Kastelic Illustrator: Maja Kastelic Publisher: Annick Press Copyright: 2018 Original Language: Slovenian Original Title: Decek in Hisa Original Publisher: Mladinska Knjiga Zalozba Original Copyright: 2015 ISBN: 978-1-77321-055-1 Hardcover pages: 32 Age range: 4-7 Genre: Wordless Picture Book Book setting: Slovenian townhouse Author’s ethnicity: Slovenian Author’s residence: Slovenia Illustrator’s ethnicity: Slovenian Illustrator’s residence: Slovenia Awards: White Ravens List Subjects: Cats, Companionship, Discovery, Houses, Stories without words, Surprises

Milky Way

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In the remote mountains of Ladakh in India, Tashi is worried about his friend the roly-poly moon.  The moon always gives him “a special smile-eyes closed and no teeth showing,” But every night, the moon gets smaller and smaller until it eventually disappears.  Tashi thinks this is because the moon doesn’t get enough milk to drink.  So Tashi leaves a tall glass of milk on the window sill every night for the moon, and little by little the moon gets its full round shape back with its special smile.  Tashi’s grandma explains the phases of the moon.  Bold, colorful illustrations enhance the fun story.  A glossary of Ladakhi words and a note about Ladakh is included.  A lesson plan can be downloaded from the Yali Books website. mjw

Title: Milky Way Author: Mamta Nainy Illustrator: Siddhartha Tripathi Publisher: Yali Books.  New York Copyright: 2017 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-0-9890615-6-8 Hardcover pages: 44 Age range: 4-6 Genre: Picture Book Book setting: Ladakh, India Author’s ethnicity: Indian Author’s residence: New Delhi Illustrator’s ethnicity: Indian Illustrator’s residence: Ahmedabad Subjects: Buddhism, Culture, Himalayas, Moon, Tibet

The Dog Who Lost His Bark

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Patrick has always wanted a dog and when his mother suggests getting one while they are vacationing at his grandfather’s, he is thrilled.  Oz the dog had been abused by his former owners and consequently lost his bark.  Patrick helps Oz to heal through the power of music.  Being rescued by his new forever family gives Patrick and Oz the chance to form a special bond and learn what true love is.  The realistic pencil drawings capture both human and dog emotions beautifully. mjw

Title: The Dod Who Lost His Bark Author: Eoin Colfer Illustrator: P. J. Lynch Publisher: Candlewick Press Copyright: 2019 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-5362-0442-1 Hardcover pages: 144 Age range: 7-10 Genre: Fiction Author’s ethnicity: Irish Author’s residence: Dublin, Ireland Illustrator’s ethnicity: Irish Illustrator’s residence: Dublin. Ireland Awards: Both author and illustrator are former Irish Children’s Laureates Subjects: Animal abuse, Children of separated parents,Dogs, Grandfathers, Human-animal relationships, Music, Pets, Rescue dogs, Violins

Painting Everything In The World

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The people from the Rathwa tribe in Gujarat, India, are preparing for the Holi festival. Everyone is busy and happy, cleaning and cooking for the night.  They feast and dance for the best Holi celebration the village has had, as long as people can remember.  But the next day, strange things happen.  Everything seems to be going wrong.  The Wise Man says that the villagers have forgotten to honor the gods with a Pithora painting.  The artists get to work.  They believe the painting will bring good fortune back to the village.  A beautiful Pithora painting folds out of this fascinating book. An extensive note provides much more information about Pithora painting. mjw

Title: Painting Everything In The World Author: Gita Wolf Illustrator: Harsingh Hamir Publisher: Tara Books Pvt. Ltd., India Copyright: 2018 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-93-83145-48-5 Hardcover pages: 28 Age range: 6-10 Genre: Picture Book Book setting: Rathwa tribe in Gujarat, India Author’s ethnicity: Indian Author’s residence: India Illustrator’s ethnicity: Rathwa Illustrator’s residence: Gujarat, India Awards: The artist won the Nami Concours 2019 Purple Island Award for this book. Subjects: Art, Artists, Gods and goddesses, Holi festival, Pithora and Pithori

The Color Of The Sun

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This story takes place in one day of Davie’s life in Tyneside, his small town home.  He takes off on a journey after what appears to be the murder of a boy he knows.  Half real and half imagined, he meets characters from his town, which has rival gangs,. Davie thinks he knows who the murderer is.  As the story progresses, it gets harder to fathom what is real.  The ending is brilliant and leaves readers feeling positive and hopeful.  The book is beautifully written. mjw

Title: The Color Of The Sun Author: David Almond Publisher: Candlewick Press Copyright: 2019 Original Language: English Original Publisher: Hachette Children’s Group. U.K. Original Copyright: 2018 ISBN: 978-1-5362-0785-9 Hardcover pages: 224 Age range: 12 up Genre: Fiction, Fantasy Book setting: England Author’s ethnicity: English Author’s residence: Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K. Awards: Hans Christian Andersen Medal, Carnegie Medal Subjects: Adventure, Coming of Age, Death and dying, Violence, Young adult boys

The Elephant

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The illustrations of the elephants in this book are done in watercolor, acrylic, pencil, and crayon. They are accurate, strikingly detailed, and beautifully rendered.  They make the book!   Here, we join a young boy as he learns interesting facts about Asian and African elephants.  Elephants are intelligent and have amazing memories and excellent hearing.  They walk on their tip-toes and are either right-tusked or left-tusked.  Tusks can be as long as two seven-year-old children from toe to toe.  An introductory note describes modern threats to elephants and a map shows where these fascinating animals live today. mjw

Title: The Elephant Author: Jenni Desmond Illustrator: Jenni Desmond Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books.  New York Copyright: 2018 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-59270-264-0 Hardcover pages: 48 Age range: 4-8 Genre: Nonfiction, Information book Author’s ethnicity: British Author’s residence: London Illustrator’s ethnicity: British Illustrator’s residence: London Subjects: Africa, African elephants, Asiatic elephants, India, Zoology

Vanishing Colors

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In this haunting story, a young girl and her mother take shelter in their roofless house to sleep. The mother tells the story of a large bird that flies from the mountains to protect them.  Dark illustrations show that the city is ravaged by war.  The bird reminds the girl of happy memories and colors that were there before.  The girl and her mother can leave when the girl sees all the colors in the rainbow, which makes a bridge across the sky.  The book ends with the mother and child walking on, holding hands, under a rainbow. They will stay together and help each other. mjw

Title: Vanishing Colors Author: Constance Orbeck-Nilssen Illustrator: Akin Duzakin Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers Copyright: 2019 Original Language: Norwegian Translator: Kari Dickson Original Title: Fargene som forsvant Original Publisher: Vigmostad & Bjorke Original Copyright: 2017 ISBN: 978-0-8028-5518-3 Hardcover pages: 40 Age range: 5-9 Genre: Picture Book Book setting: Eastern Europe Author’s ethnicity: Norwegian Author’s residence: Norway Illustrator’s ethnicity: Turkish-Norwegian Illustrator’s residence: Norway Subjects: Destruction, Emigration and Immigration, Homelessness and poverty, Migration, Parents, Refugees, Social issues