Tag Archives: Animals

The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly

The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly Book CoverSprout is a feisty, philosophical egg-laying hen who escapes from her cage and dreams of raising her own chick. She is shunned by all the other farm animals except for an outcast mallard duck named Straggler. Straggler protects her while she hatches an egg she found in a briar patch. At first she is unaware that her offspring is a duckling, not a chick. Sprout is brave, strong and heroic in her struggle to overcome violent and harsh conditions. This unforgettable fable is about life, death, a mother’s unconditional love, survival, and freedom. Spare line drawings enhance the story, which is part of the school curriculum for fifth graders in Korea and has been made into a record-breaking film. mjw
Title: The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly
Author: Sun-Mi Hwang
Illustrator
: Nomoco
Publisher
: Penguin Books
Copyright
: 2013
Original language
: Korean
Translator
: Chi-Young Kim
Original title
: Madangeul maon amtak
Original publisher
: Sakyejul Publishing Ltd, Seoul
Original copyright
: 2000
ISBN
: 978-0-14-312320-0
Paperback pages
: 134
Age range
: 10 up
Genre
: Novel
Author’s ethnicity
: Korean
Author’s residence
: Seoul, South Korea
Illustrator’s ethnicity
: Japanese
Illustrator’s residence
: London, England
Awards
: 2013 Amazon Best Book of the Month (November), 2013 Sejong Children’s Literature Prize, 2012 Best Book of the Year in Poland
Subjects
: Animals, Chickens, Eastern Asia, Individuality, Korea, Mother and child

Mikis And The Donkey

Mikis and the Donkey Book CoverWhen young Mikis receives a donkey from his grandpa, he falls in love with the animal and carefully (with the donkey’s help) names it Tsaki. Grandpa Pappou wants the donkey to be a working animal but Mikis convinces him that Tsaki can be a pet, too. Mikis plans a special stable for Tsaki, finds a donkey friend, and they all have some delightful adventures. Black and white pen and ink drawings bring the gentle story and the Greek island to life. An afterword provides information about a donkey sanctuary on the island of Corfu in Greece. mjw
Title: Mikis And The Donkey
Author: Bibi Dumon Tak
Illustrator
: Philip Hopman
Publisher
: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
Copyright
: 2014
Original language
: Dutch
Translator
: Laura Watkinson
Original title
: Mikis de ezeljongen
Original publisher
: Em. Querido Uitgeverij, B.V. Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Original copyright
: 2011
ISBN
: 978-0-8028-5430-8
Paperback pages
: 89 (Advanced Reading Copy)
Age range
: 8-12
Genre
: Fiction- novel
Book setting
: Corfu, Greece
Author’s ethnicity
: Dutch
Author’s residence
: The Netherlands
Illustrator’s ethnicity
: Dutch
Illustrator’s residence
: The Netherlands
Awards:  2015 Mildred L. Batchelder Award
Subjects
: Animals, Donkeys, Grandfathers, Greece, Southern Europe

If You Can…We Can!

If You Can We Can Book CoverTwo rabbits, one big and one little, decide to be friends forever in this touching tale with a very positive message regarding friendship.  They giggle, sing songs, tell stories, and run around.  All of these activities are enjoyed together.  The simple, heart-warming text compliments fun, lively illustrations.  Every reader will enjoy this story that exemplifies what friends are, what they do, and how friends make us feel. cc
Title: If You Can…We Can!
Author: Beth Shoshan
Illustrator
: Petra Brown
Publisher
: Sandy Creek, an imprint of Sterling Publishing, New York
Copyright
: 2013
Original language
: English
Original publisher
: Meadowside Children’s Books
Original copyright
: 2008
ISBN
: 978-1-4351-4800-0
Hardcover pages
: 24
Age range
: 3-6
Genre
: Picture book
Author’s residence
: England
Illustrator’s residence
: England
Subjects
: England, Friendship, Western Europe

The Runaway Hug

The Runaway Hug Book Cover Lucy asks to borrow her mother’s very last hug before heading off to bed.  She promises to give it back and decides to keep it safe. As she shares the hug with all of her family members, Lucy gets the hug back each time until Annie, the family dog, dashes away with it. This charming and warm story conveys the power and love in ordinary bedtime routines of family life. Mixed-media illustrations follow Lucy’s journey around the house until she is tucked snugly into bed. cc
Title: The Runaway Hug
Author: Nick Bland
Illustrator
: Freya Blackwood
Publisher
: Random House Children’s Books, New York
Copyright
: 2013
Original language
: English
Original publisher
: Scholastic Australia, Sydney
Original copyright
: 2011
ISBN
: 978-0-449-81825-1
Hardcover pages
: 32
Age range
: 3-7
Genre
: Picture book
Author’s residence
: Australia
Illustrator’s residence
: Australia
Awards
: 2012 Children’s Book Council (CBC) of Australia Award
Subjects
: Australia, Bedtime routines, Family life, Hugging, Oceania

Community Soup

Community Soup Book Cover Kioni is busy rounding up her mischievous goats who have roamed away from home and broken into the garden of a Kenyan schoolhouse on soup day. Meanwhile, her friends are gathering ingredients for soup. Just as the goats begin wreaking havoc on the garden, Kioni and her friends problem solve and find a way to make the soup even more delicious.  They add goat milk. Striking 3D artwork combining paper sculpture and mixed-media collage illustrate the Kenyan community. A recipe for pumpkin vegetable soup that can be made by children and adults accompanies the story. cc
Title: Community Soup
Author: Alma Fullerton
Illustrator
: Alma Fullerton
Publisher
: Pajama Press, Ontario, Canada
Copyright
: 2013
Original language
: English
ISBN
: 978-1-927485-27-9
Hardcover pages
: 32
Age range
: 4-7
Genre
: Picture book
Book setting
: Kenya
Author’s residence
: Canada
Subjects
: Community gardens, Community kitchens, Eastern Africa, Goats, Kenya, Social life and customs

Pancho Rabbit And The Coyote: A Migrant’s Tale

Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote Book Cover When Papa Rabbit doesn’t return home as expected after many seasons of working in the great carrot and lettuce fields of El Norte, Pancho sets out on a dangerous journey to find him.  He packs up Papa’s favorite meal: mole, rice and beans, warm tortillas and a jug of aguamiel. A cunning coyote offers to guide Pancho on his journey in exchange for some of the sustenance he brought along. The pair travel until all the food is gone and the coyote decides he’s still hungry…for rabbit.  In this allegorical tale, Tonatiuh sheds light on the hardships faced by thousands of families who seek out opportunities at better lives for their children and cross the Mexican border into the U.S. illegally. cc
Title: Pancho Rabbit And The Coyote: A Migrant’s Tale
Author: Duncan Tonatiuh
Illustrator
: Duncan Tonatiuh
Publisher
: Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Abrams, New York
Copyright
: 2013
ISBN
: 978-1-4197-0583-0
Hardcover pages
: 32
Age range
: 6-9
Genre
: Picture book
Author’s ethnicity
: Mexican-American
Awards
: 2014 Pura Belpré Award (Author and Illustrator Honor), Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award
Subjects
: Allegories, Animals, Central America, Coyotes, Mexico, Migrant labor, Migration, North America, Rabbits, Voyages and travels

Learning To Fly

Learning to Fly Book Cover The deadpan, bearded storyteller declares, “Last winter, I found a penguin.”  The wayward penguin knew how to fly until some other birds told him that he couldn’t fly.  That’s when he crashed.  The man takes the penguin home, determined to help the little penguin out.  They eat fish sticks together, test the penguin’s body stress level in a clothes dryer, and try all kinds of schemes to get him airborne.  Fireworks, ites, and glued-on feathers don’t do the trick.  Finally, when he sees a group of penguins flying above, he stretches his wings and takes off.  And he “flew pretty well…for a penguin.”  The straightforward tone and black-and-white pencil sketches with splashes of color will delight children and adults.  This contemporary fable is about believing in yourself and dreaming and creative problem solving. mjw
Title: Learning To Fly
Author: Sebastian Meschenmoser
Illustrator
: Sebastian Meschenmoser
Publisher
: Kane Miller Book Publishers
Copyright
: 2011
Original language
: German
Translator
: Margarita Santos Cuesta
Original title
: Fliegen lernen
Original publisher
: Esslinger Verlag J.F. Schreiber
Original copyright
: 2005
ISBN
: 978-1-1935279-99-0
Hardcover pages
: 56
Age range
: 4 up
Genre
: Picture book
Author’s residence
: Germany
Awards
: 2008 Bank Street College Best Children’s Books of the Year
Subjects
: Germany, Self-esteem, Self-respect, Penguins, Persistence, Western Europe

Letters To Anyone And Everyone

Letters to Anyone and Everyone Book Cover Snails, elephants, bears, ants, crickets, and squirrels write whimsical letters to one another.  Twenty-three little stories are are included.  Some are humorous, like The Elephant who cannot keep his balance and The Bear who just wants to eat cake.  Some are philosophical, like The Squirrel who wonders about the table and writes a letter to a letter.  Tellegen’s world of the imagination is perfectly complemented by Ahlberg’s delicate watercolors.  A ribbon bookmark adds to the charm of this little book. mjw
Title: Letters To Anyone And Everyone
Author: Toon Tellegen
Illustrator
: Jessica Ahlberg
Publisher
: Boxer Books Limited
Copyright
: 2009
Original language
: Dutch
Translator
: Martin Cleaver
Original publisher
: Em. Querido’s Uitgeverij B.V.
Original copyright
: 1996
ISBN
: 978-1-906250-95-9
Hardcover pages
: 156
Age range
: 6 up
Genre
: Fiction
Author’s residence
: The Netherlands
Illustrator’s residence
: England
Awards
: 2011 Marsh Award for Children’s Literature in Translation
Subjects
: Animals, Children’s stories, Dutch, Epistolary fiction, Letters, Netherlands, Western Europe

One Gorilla: A Counting Book

One Gorilla Book Cover One gorilla, two orangutans, and three chimpanzees lead the way in this portrait gallery of primates.  Every face has a distinctive personality and quirky details  Larger, more rare creatures appear first, progressing to smaller, more numerous primates like eight macaques, nine colobus monkeys, and ten lemurs.  This effective counting book ends with a group portrait of humankind- many ages and ethnicities.  “All primates. All one family.  All my family…and yours!”  Naturalistic, intense watercolors will capture the attention of small children. mjw
Title: One Gorilla: A Counting Book
Author: Anthony Browne
Illustrator
: Anthony Browne
Publisher
: Candlewick Press
Copyright
: 2013
Original language
: English
ISBN
: 978-0-7636-6352-0
Hardcover pages
: 32
Age range
: 3-7
Genre
: Picture book
Author’s residence
: England
Awards
: Hans Christian Andersen Award (Author)
Subjects
: Animals, Counting, England, Europe, Primates, Western Europe

The Big Book Of Slumber

The Big Book of Slumber Book Cover In this quiet, rhyming couplet bedtime story, we meet countless cozy animals settling in their beds.  Camels snore under quilts in their bunk beds.  Lion sleeps on his white lace pillow.  Snake dreams in his elongated twin bed.  Monkey in his striped pajamas is tucked in with a banana.  Paint and collage illustrations are restful and have a folk like quality. mjw
Title: The Big Book Of Slumber
Author: Giovanna Zoboli
Illustrator
: Simona Mulazzani
Publisher
: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
Copyright
: 2014
Original language
: Italian
Translator
: Antony Shugaar
Original title
: Il Grande Libro del Pisolini
Original publisher
: Topipittori
Original copyright
: 2013
ISBN
: 978-0-8028-5439-1
Hardcover pages
: 26
Age range
: 3-7
Genre
: Picture book
Author’s residence
: Italy
Illustrator’s residence
: Italy
Subjects
: Animals, Bedtime, Europe, Lullabies, Southern Europe, Stories in rhyme

Anna Carries Water

Anna Carries Water Book CoverAnna, the youngest child in her large Jamaican family, wants to fetch water and carry it on her head like her brothers and sisters do.  But, she cannot even balance an empty coffee can on her head.  Anna is determined and she finally does succeed when the cows in Mister Johnson’s field frighten her and she runs home with her full coffee can on her head.  She doesn’t spill a drop.  The Jamaican landscape, a Jamaican flag, dasheen leaves, and Anna’s family are presented in interesting, bold acrylic paintings in tropical colors. mjw
Title: Anna Carries Water
Author: Olive Senior
Illustrator
: Laura James
Publisher
: Tradewind Books
Copyright
: 2013
Original language
: English
ISBN
: 978-1-896580-60-9
Hardcover pages
: 40
Age range
: 4-7
Genre
: Picture book
Book setting
: Jamaica
Author’s ethnicity
: Jamaican
Author’s residence
: Canada
Illustrator’s ethnicity
: Antiguan
Illustrator’s residence
: United States
Subjects
: Brothers and sisters, Caribbean, Jamaica, North America, Water supply

A Fish Named Glub

A Fish Named Glub Book Cover As Glub the fish swims around in his glass bowl on the counter, he ponders big questions in life: “Who am I?” “What do I need?” “What is a home?”  He finds the answers he seeks by listening to the lively, colorful characters who eat at Foster G. Williker’s diner.  Through Glub, these characters, including Foster,  find answers of their own as they look into the bowl while Glub swims around painting pictures in bubbles of their dreams and long forgotten desires.  This power to show people their dreams comes in handy as Glub is able to help Foster achieve his desperate desires of adventure and change . Rich illustrations accompany lively, lyrical dialogue that alternates between humans and Glub’s personal thoughts. cc
Title: A Fish Named Glub
Author: Dan Bar-el
Illustrator
: Josee Bisaillon
Publisher
: Kids Can Press
Copyright
: 2014
Original language
: English
ISBN
: 978-1554538126
Hardcover pages
: 32
Age range
: 4-8
Genre
: Picture book
Author’s residence
: Canada
Illustrator’s residence
: Canada
Subjects
: Canada, Dreams, Fishes, Friendship, North America