Summer time, time for relaxing, reading and reflecting. Some good books of poetry as well as other fun books to read aloud on these lazy days. Enjoy!
Wet Cement: A Mix of Concrete Poems by Bob Raczka
Concrete poems are those that give a visual representation
of what the poem is about. One of my favorite was a circle of words: Hola!
Gutentag! Boujour! Welcome to the circle tour. No one needs a ticket here. We
take this trip every year. Bon voyage! It’s nonstop fun as earth revolves
around” And then in the middle, a smaller circle with just the words: “the
sun.” So many poems, so many word pictures! So much inspiration!
When Green Becomes Tomatoes: Poems for All Seasons by Julie
Fogliano,
Pictures by Julie Morstad
Poems for every season, each one labeled with a date to give
it a personal touch. Mostly free-verse, some just a few words and some list
poems, like this one for March 24: what the snow left behind/was a red
scarf/next to a wooden carrot/one blue mitten/a big snow shovel/a little snow
shovel/and mud/and mud/ and mud/ and more mud/and muddy mud/and mud
These poems were made for sharing and for imitating,
sometimes for laughing and always for thinking.
Good Night Truck by Sally Odgers, Illustrated by Heath
McKenzie
A modern version of Good Night Moon, with rhyming couplets
about all kinds of transportation: trucks, diggers, tractors, boats. All of
these are anthropomorphized with shining eyes and crazy eyebrows, drawn in
off-beat colors that fit with the busy colorful backgrounds. In the end, all
the vehicles are tucked in for the night and the truck gets to cozy down with
the narrator as he/she snuggles in bed.
And now for a touch of whimsy, or if you prefer, just plain silliness!
Music Class Today!
By David Weinstone, Pictures by Vin Vogel
David Weinstone started teaching Music for Aardvarks almost
20 years ago. His interactive music classes are illustrated herewith whimsical,
multi-generational and multi-racial participants. One of Weinstone’s CDs would
have made a nice addition to this book, as the major focus of the story is left
to our imagination.
Bunny Dreams by Peter McCarty
What do bunnies know? What do bunnies dream? This whimsical
story takes us through the day and night of a group of bunnies, whose names all
begin with B. On each page, the bunnies are drawn to represent different
scenarios, sometimes with letters on their bodies, sometimes with wings. But,
my favorite pages are the ones where the bunnies are wearing little striped
sweaters to make them look like they are bumble bee bunnies. Kind of weird, but
in a good way!
The Fintastic Fishsitter: A Big Fat Goldfish Adventure by Mo
O’Hara, Illustrated by Marek Jacucki
What I liked about this book:
1.
The main characters are Indian-American, you
don’t find that in children’s books, maybe never!
2.
The other characters are a zombie fish and a
clever cat, you might find these in other children’s books, but rarely
together.
3.
The fish and the cat are both kind of evil, but
the girl prevails in the end, getting them to play nicely together.
4.
The humor is not lost on adults or little ones.
Is that enough? Try it, you’ll like it!
Go, Little Green Truck! By Roni Schotter, pictures by Julia
Kuo
Little Green is a useful pick-up truck who is displaced by
Big Blue when Farmer Gray’s farm grew. Little Green is now lonely, sitting to
the side and not being driven. Until finally one day, Fern (notice the name of
the farmer’s daughter, sound familiar to you children’s book lovers?) finds lonely
Little Green and determines that this truck should be used for trips to the
Farmers’ Market. All ends well, with Little Green once again feeling useful!
Lots of metaphors here as well as luscious pictures of the farm, all the
animals and vegetables! And who can not fall for a book with a farmer’s daughter
named Fern?
Let’s Go to the Hardware Store by Anne Rockwell, illustrated
by Mellissa Iwai
Buying a new house means a trip to the hardware store, for
sure, so Daddy sets out to get what he needs, accompanied by Flora and the
narrator, a little boy who remains unnamed. They explore and buy a myriad of
tools that are clearly illustrated and labeled. They even get a birdhouse kit
at the end of the trip. But, they forgot the one thing Mommy asked for: picture
hangers. So off they go again to the hardware story. Anyone who has ever done
any DIY in the home knows how important the trips to the hardware store are!
