Three on a Match

A fresh array of colorful picture books about people, animals, the environment, and fantasy is on its way to the marketplace this spring. Picture books are written by adults for children, and purchased by other adults for children, often before matching the book’s format, size, and text to the targeted age. Were they produced with the right group in mind? Has the publisher considered the specific age group, or are the books being scattered to the market in the hopes that they will suit someone? The look of a picture book can confuse reviewers, buyers, and children.
The attractiveness of the illustrations may sell Grandma on a gift book for a three-year-old, but if the text and plot are too complicated, then little Ally won’t be interested. Its story, in fact, may more suitable to nine-year-old Elizabeth, but she wouldn’t be interested in a picture book designed for the day-care set. Middle- to upper-elementary students prefer chapter books and Harry Potter-style adventures.
It is challenging to write and produce a children’s book that is both original and age-appropriate in text and design. Authors of “mismatched” picture books seem to be writing and illustrating stories for themselves. They could avoid creating mismatched books by getting feedback before publication from teachers, librarians, bookstore personnel, and children.
The good news is that the newest fare from independent publishers includes many well-matched picture books. In each of the following, the book’s dimensions, style of illustrations, level of text, and subject matter make for a comfortable fit.
Counting books are not new, but Silly 123s!, written and illustrated by Joan Gallup (Courage Books, March 2002), contains fresh, humorous illustrations, which are just busy enough to make learning fun for toddlers.
Generations of preschoolers have been raised on classical nursery rhymes without knowing what they mean. That problem is solved with the father-and-son collaboration Over the Candlestick: Classic Nursery Rhymes and the Real Stories Behind Them, collected by Michael G. Montgomery and Wayne Montgomery, and illustrated by Michael G. Montgomery (Peachtree Publishers, March). Each rhyme is accompanied by background information. Tom, the piper’s son, for instance, didn’t really steal a farm pig, but ran away with a pig-shaped pastry filled with fruit. This is a rare example of a multi-level text that works well for two age groups. The illustrations have a luscious old-fashioned quality, as if they were plucked from the pages of an early Mother Goose anthology.
Two- to five-year-olds enjoy a good animal story and repetition of word or phrases. The mooing, blooing sound gives them a joyful participatory moment in Cappuccina Goes to Town, by mother-daughter team Mary Ann Smith and Katie Smith Milway, and illustrated by award-winner Eugenie Fernandes (Kids Can Press, Spring). The book is a tasty match of illustrations, text, and age group. Cappuccina, Farmer Fiori’s cow, goes to town thinking that it might be fun to be a person. She attempts to try on shoes, hats, and dresses in her favorite color, bloooooooo. In the end, she returns to her sweet alfalfa and simple barnyard pleasures. The illustrations capture Cappuccina’s bovine beauty, especially as she relaxes in a hair salon.
Also from Kids Can Press (April) is another felicitous match of age group, story text, and illustrations—The Perfect Pet, by Carol Chataway, illustrated by Greg Holfeld. Three little pigs want a pet “more than ice cream, more than chocolate, more than wallowing in mud on a hot summer’s day.” They decide to adopt a dog, and try a number of breeds. One is too big, one is too barky, another digs. Each experience is “dreadful,” “terrible,” or “disastrous.” So the pigs make a list of all the things they like and don’t like about dogs, and end up with . . . a cat. The pigs’ wide range of human expressions gives adults a chance to talk about feelings and emotions with older twos through fours.
Children often like to meld fantasy with real lives. Fairy Houses, written and illustrated by Tracy Kane (Great White Dog Picture Company, Autumn), is set in Maine’s Monhegan Island where people have been building “fairy houses” for years. Kristen makes her own, and discovers the magic of fairies in plants and animals. The illustrations are woodsy and gossamer, as if brushed by tiny wings. The author includes instructions for making fairy houses, a nice activity for three to sixes. The publisher also offers the video Kristen’s Fairy House, and expects to release Fairy Boat, a companion book, later this year.
Most four- to six-year-olds already know what it is like to forget their responsibilities, so they will be able to relate to Little Gil. His mission is to deliver newspapers to everyone in town, but he is soon distracted by a series of deliciously nonsensical adventures, from rescuing a lady in a tree to getting bullfrogs out of Miss Pimms’s living room. (“Miss Pimms, looking as green as frog skin, is hanging from the chandelier. Good thing Little Gil has an idea.”) Steve Beshwaty’s brilliant and comical illustrations for Lucie Papineau’s Little Gil (Dominique & Friends, Spring) are sure to tickle adults and young children.
A welcome trend in recent years is that of realistic, more diverse picture books. Two new ones about African-Americans are especially appealing. Loud Lips Lucy, by Tolya L. Thompson, illustrated by Juan R. Perez (Savor Publishing House, March) is written with a hip-hop beat for four to sevens. The boldly colored illustrations emphasize Lucy’s loudness. As her father warns, she loses her voice. She is transformed from loudmouth to listener, and ends up advising other children that they will be amazed at “the things you find when you close your mouth and open your mind.” Loud Lips Lucy, the start of a new series, includes health information on laryngitis.
Eerdmans Books for Young Readers has quite a different offering for four to sevens. When Daddy Prays, by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by Tim Ladwig (February) lets the reader eavesdrop on prayer uttered in a variety of circumstances. There is a prayer of worry (when a boy’s bus is late), for mercy (when a child is feverish), of thanks (for a home run), and one for patience (when Dad trips over Roller-blades left in the hall). The illustrations reflect the strength of family relationships and a gentle humor.
Peelable stickers make The Mess an adventure in creative reading for kindergarteners through second graders. As the family tries to clean their house, blanks in the text indicate where stickers with words such as “Neanderthal” and “casserole” can be inserted, with silly, changeable, results. Adults may be needed to help with reading. The “Create a Story” is by Jennifer Wolfe, with illustrations by Cindy Revell. (Annick Press, February).
First- and second-graders should enjoy Everybody Brings Noodles by Norah Dooley, illustrated by Peter J. Thornton (Carolrhoda Books, Inc., May). Carrie is helping to organize a Fourth of July block party. Each family in her multi-cultural neighborhood ends up sharing its favorite ethnic noodle dish (recipes included). The realistic, but stylized, illustrations capture the ethnicity of the neighbors. Everybody Brings Noodles is part of a series.
Just as children like to read about people who are similar to themselves, they are also eager observers of the world around them. Sharkabet: A Sea of Sharks from A to Z, by Ray Troll (WestWinds Press, March) is published in association with the American Museum of Natural History. Although the target age group is not clearly defined by the book’s design and text (publisher’s suggested age is from two to 125), Sharkabet appeals to early elementary readers for its vivid pictures of many types of sharks, and provides detailed appendix material for the third grade and up.
From the Caribbean comes the beginning of a new series of books for five- to seven-year-olds about the biodiversity of the islands. My Island and I: The Nature of the Caribbean (Pangaea, March) is written by biologist Alfonso Silva Lee, and illustrated by Alexis Lago, both natives of Cuba living in the United States. Spanish and French-Creole versions will be released later. The text explores the relationship of plant and animal life, from fungi and termites that feed on decaying trees to soaring red-tailed hawks. Watercolor illustrations capture the beauty of island life.
When the text and illustrations of children’s books match the targeted age group, and the books stimulate the imagination, promote understanding, teach about the world, and make adults and children laugh together, then youngsters will want to read more.