Tag Archives: Animals

My Dog Thinks I’m A Genius

An eight-year-old budding artist finds out he is not the only one in the family with talent. When the boy thinks he is finished painting his daily masterpiece, he asks his dog if his work is done. His dog, Louie, barks suggesting his master include him in the picture to perfectly complete the painting. Unfortunately, the boy must leave to go to school as his pouting pooch watches from the window. Louie spends the day in the art studio creating a rendition of Cezanne’s “Still Life with Fruit Basket,” proving he and his master are both creative geniuses. Barroux’s warm and charming illustrations bring life to the loving relationship between a dog and his master. cc

Title: My Dog Thinks I’m A Genius
Author: Harriet Ziefert
Illustrator: Barroux
Publisher: Blue Apple Books, New Jersey
Copyright: 2011
Original language: English
ISBN: 978-1-60905-059-7
Hardcover pages: 40
Age range: 4-8
Genre: Picture book
Author’s residence: United States
Illustrator’s ethnicity: French
Illustrator’s residence: France
Subjects: Animals, Art, Creativity, Dogs, Painting, Pets

Elsa and the Night

Leave a reply

Elsa, a badger, finds something neither animal nor a ghost underneath her sofa. It is the Night. She shuts the trembling thing in an old cake tin with some raisins and puts it in the basement. Without Night, Elsa’s town never gets dark. The asphalt roads melt and the people are dizzy and quarrelsome for lack of sleep. Elsa gives in and lets Night out. Night comforts her as she tells of her traveling the globe, her career as a lighthouse keeper, and her beloved elephant companion Olaf. Night passes back through the town and tucks everyone into bed. Blocky silkscreen illustrations in plum, sienna, umber, and olive accompany this strange melancholy story. mjw

Title: Elsa and the Night
Author: Jons Mellgren
Illustrator: Jons Mellgren
Publisher: Little Gestalten, an imprint of Die Gestalten Verlag GmbH and Co KG, Berlin
Copyright: 2014
Original Language: Swedish
Translator: Anita Shenoi
Original Title: Sigrid och Natten
Original Publisher: Natur & Kultur, Stockholm
Original Copyright: 2013
ISBN: 978-3-89955-716-9
Hardcover pages: 32
Age range: 3-8
Genre: Picture book
Author’s ethnicity: Swedish
Author’s residence: Sweden
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Swedish
Illustrator’s residence: Sweden
Subjects: Animals, Badgers, Bedtime, Night

Surprise

Leave a reply

Beautiful, vividly colored birds and chicks accompany simple, handwritten words of feelings and actions that correspond with the stages of parenthood. From expecting and caring to encouraging and letting go, this thoughtful book will especially appeal to parents who can relate to their own cherished parenthood journey. Though the concepts portrayed seem mature or abstract for the intended audience, children will delight in the energetic, neon illustrations.cc

Title: Surprise
Author: Mies Van Hout
Illustrator: Mies Van Hout
Publisher: Lemniscaat USA LLC, New York
Copyright: 2014
Original language: Dutch
Translator: Lemnisaat USA
Original title: Verrassing
Original publisher: Lemniscaat, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Original copyright: 2013
ISBN: 978-1-935954-34-7
Hardcover pages: 32
Age range: 3-6
Genre: Picture book
Author’s ethnicity: Dutch
Author’s residence: The Netherlands
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Dutch
Illustrator’s residence: The Netherlands
Awards: 2015 USBBY Outstanding International Books Grades PreK-2
Subjects: Birds, Emotions, Families, Parenting

Archie’s Vacation

Leave a reply

Archie has been hard at work and could use a carefree vacation. Instead of dreaming of the upcoming good times, Archie frantically packs the proper accessories for any imaginable situation including poor weather conditions or eating too much. When Archie tries to force his extremely over-packed suitcase closed, it explodes dramatically as illustrated in a four-page foldout. The dapper, clever canine thinks of a comical solution and finally heads off to paradise. The warm mixed media art and sparing text of Archie’s simple musings such as “canoe? snorkels? cooler?” create a humorous sense of urgency. cc

Title: Archie’s Vacation
Author: Domenica More Gordon
Illustrator: Domenica More Gordon
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children’s Books, New York
Copyright: 2014
Original language: English
Original title: Archie’s Holiday
Original publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc., Great Britain
Original copyright: 2013
ISBN: 978-1-61963-190-8
Hardcover pages: 32
Age range: 2-5
Genre: Picture book
Author’s ethnicity: Scottish
Author’s residence: Scotland
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Scottish
Illustrator’s residence: Scotland
Subjects: Animals, Dogs, Luggage, Packing, Preparation, Stories without words, Travel, Vacation

Jumping Jack

Leave a reply

Jumping Jack, a show-jumping horse, and Roger Trotter, his best friend and rider, were international champions. However, at the International Tournament of Primrose, they fall and look like very bad amateurs. They visit a veterinarian and a psychologist to discover that there is nothing wrong that would cause their problems on the course. They even try a two-week vacation. After a mishap at the next International Tournament, they invent a new style, finish the competition brilliantly, and see that Jumping Jack just needed glasses. The vividly colored gouache paintings are downright comical. On a small stool in the vet’s waiting room, Jack’s knees are up to his chest. And in the psychologist’s office, Jack lies on his back on the couch. The final spread shows Roger reading Sports Weekly and Jack reading Don Quixote, both wearing red, round spectacles. mjw

Title: Jumping Jack
Author: Germano Zullo
Illustrator: Albertine
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Copyright: 2014
Original Language: French
Translator: Taylor Norman
Original Title: Dada
Original Publisher: Editions La Joie de lire SA, Geneva, Switzerland
Original Copyright: 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4521-3152-8
Hardcover pages: 40
Age range: 5-8
Genre: Picture book
Author’s ethnicity: Swiss
Author’s residence: Switzerland
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Swiss
Illustrator’s residence: Switzerland
Awards: 2014 Hans Christian Andersen Illustrator Award
Subjects: Confidence, Glasses, Horses, Show-jumping, Sports

In This Book

Leave a reply

I am in the poppy, said the bee. I am in the hair, said the barrette. Each page contains a simple, straightforward linocut with subjects of people, animals, food, places, and other everyday objects, each of which (or whom) declares its location. Although a coherent, flowing story is not present, this whimsical book offers a springboard for wondering, learning, dreaming, and storytelling. cc

Title: In This Book
Author: Fani Marceau
Illustrator: Joelle Jolivet
Publisher: Chronicle Books LLC.
Copyright: 2014
Original language: French
Translator: Chronicle Books
Original title: Dans le livre
Original publisher: helium, Paris
Original copyright: 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2588-6
Hardcover pages: 64
Age range: 3-8
Genre: Picture book
Author’s ethnicity: French
Author’s residence: France
Illustrator’s ethnicity: French
Illustrator’s residence: France
Subjects: Animals, Families, Food, Sports

Welcome To Mamoko

Leave a reply

Search for twenty-five crazy characters in this wordless book to create stories. Cosmo Lens is an alien with a camera. Claude Van Clue solves a mystery of stolen artwork. Malcolm Ratz makes deliveries on his bicycle. And Vincent Brisk is ready for romance. The characters’ paths often cross as they go about their day from morning to night at the Town Carnival. There are also hidden items to find on each page in this colorful cartoon world. mjw

Title: Welcome To Mamoko
Author: Aleksandra Mizielinski and Daniel Mizielinska
Illustrator: Aleksandra Mizielinski and Daniel Mizielinska
Publisher: Big Picture Press, an imprint of Candlewick Press, Somerville Massachusetts
Copyright: 2013
Original language: Polish
Original title: Miasteczko
Original publisher: Wydawnictwo Dwie Siostry, Poland
Original copyright: 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6891-4
Board book pages: 16
Age range: 5-8
Genre: Picture book
Author’s ethnicity: Polish
Author’s residence: Poland
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Polish
Illustrator’s residence: Poland
Awards: 2010 IBBY Outstanding International Books List
Subjects: Activity books, Animals, Board books, City life, Town life, Wordless books

Woolly Jumpers

Leave a reply

Twins Mike and Jake reluctantly move with their family to sheep country in Australia. They miss email, the dishwasher, and their friend Justin, until their father offers them spending money for mowing the grass. They borrow the neighbor’s sheep to do the job. Chaos results as the sheep end up in their bedroom closet and in the family car. The story is told from both Mike’s point of view and the animals’ with whom he interacts. Four black-and-white drawings appear multiple times. mjw

Title: Woolly Jumpers
Author: Nette Hilton
Illustrator: Emma Quay
Publisher: Kane Miller, A Division of EDC Publishing
Copyright: 2012
Original language: English
ISBN: 978-1-61067-050-0
Paperback pages: 150
Age range: 8-11
Genre: Contemporary realistic fiction
Book setting: Australia
Author’s ethnicity: Australian
Author’s residence: Australia
Illustrator’s ethnicity: English
Illustrator’s residence: Australia
Subjects: Animals, Australia, Farm life, Rural

A Tale Of Two Parrots

Leave a reply

This delightful tale about the importance of love and freedom was inspired by a story by Rumi, a 13th century Persian poet. A wealthy mustachioed merchant, elaborately dressed in traditional wide-legged silk pants, flowing robe, and tall black hat keeps a beautiful parrot in a shiny golden cage. But the parrot is sad. When the merchant travels to India to bring a message to the parrot’s friend, the friend drops dead. The merchant returns home, tells the parrot the sad news, and his parrot also drops dead. He removes the bird from the cage and it flies out into the garden. The parrot tricked the merchant. The wise merchant learned a valuable lesson and became friends with the parrot, who now lives freely in the garden. Hidden in the whimsical, mostly green and red, acrylic paintings is a Farsi narrative written on an envelope that further explains the Persian concept of gifts and the parrot’s message to his friend. There is an accompanying animation on North South Book’s YouTube channel. mjw

Title: A Tale Of Two Parrots
Author: Rashin Kheiriyeh
Illustrator: Rashin Kheiriyeh
Publisher: North South Books Inc., New York
Copyright: 2014
Original language: English
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4171-0
Hardcover pages: 32
Age range: 5-8
Genre: Picture book
Book setting: Iran/Persia, India
Author’s ethnicity: Iranian
Author’s residence: United States
Subjects: Friends, India, Iran, Merchants, Parrots, Persia, Southern Asia

The Big Woods Orchestra

Leave a reply

The big woods orchestra’s birds welcome a new spring day. The thrush sings a cheerful song, the woodpecker taps away, the wood pigeon practices coo-cooing, and the robin warms up his vocal chords. Others join the beautiful concert and greet rabbits and more forest animals in a bright gatefold finale. This simple story is beautifully illustrated with realistic bird paintings and individually colored and sized bird calls. mjw

Title: The Big Woods Orchestra
Author: Guido Van Genechten
Illustrator: Guido Van Genechten
Publisher: New York: Clavis Publishing Company
Copyright: 2012
Original language: Dutch
Original title: Het Grote bosorkest
Original publisher: Clavis Uitgeverij, Haselt- Amsterdam
Original copyright: 2010
ISBN: 978-1-60537-113-9
Hardcover pages: 24
Age range: 3-5
Genre: Picture book
Author’s ethnicity: Belgian
Author’s residence: Belgium
Subjects: Animals, Birds, Birdsongs, Nature, Western Europe

Once Upon A Northern Night

Leave a reply

In this enchanting, poetic lullaby, an unnamed narrator paints a picture of a northern winter night. It begins with one tiny snowflake. Soon the night sky is filled with “sparkling specks of white” and a mother deer and her dawn discover some frozen apples. A great gray owl, two snowshoe hares, an auburn fox, and a scurrying mouse all join the peaceful panorama. Bursts of color are added throughout the mostly sepia mixed-media illustrations until the final lavender and white shimmering double-page masterpiece- “And then I had the moon gently kiss you and the wind whisper…I love you.” This is a perfect bed-time read-aloud. mjw

Title: Once Upon A Northern Night
Author: Jean Pendziwol
Illustrator: Isabelle Arsenault
Publisher: Groundwood Books, Canada
Copyright: 2013
Original language: English
ISBN: 978-1-55498-138-0
Hardcover pages: 32
Age range: 4-7
Genre: Picture book
Author’s ethnicity: Canadian
Author’s residence: Canada
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Canadian
Illustrator’s residence: Canada
Awards: 2013 Governor General’s Literary Award Shortlist
Subjects: Animals, Canada, Night, North America, Snow, Winter

Pomelo’s Big Adventure

Leave a reply

Pomelo, the petite pink pachyderm, packs his knapsack with his toothbrush, pumpkin seeds, a world map, a good book, his courage, and other useful and silly necessities for the road. He ties a ribbon to a stone and tosses it to determine the direction he will travel. He passes through mythic landscapes, gets swindled by a fast-talking rat, shares a sausage with Papamelo, builds a boat, and sails to a land where he befriends a starfish. Bright, lively, oversized cartoon artwork depicts the surreal landscapes in Pomelo’s big, wide world. This story about Pomelo’s curiosity, courage, and fortitude is number four in the “Pomelo the Garden Elephant” series. mjw

Title: Pomelo’s Big Adventure
Author: Ramona Badescu
Illustrator: Benjamin Chaud
Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books
Copyright: 2014
Original language: French
Translator: Claudia Bedrick
Original title: Pomelo et la grande aventure
Original publisher: Albin Michel Jeunesse
Original copyright: 2012
ISBN: 978-1-59270-158-2
Hardcover pages: 40
Age range: 4-8
Genre: Picture book
Author’s ethnicity: Romanian
Author’s residence: France
Illustrator’s ethnicity: French
Illustrator’s residence: France
Subjects: Animals, Adventure, Elephants, France, Self-reliance, Western Europe