Mouse receives a new airplane as a gift. When he and his friend, Rabbit, who has an uncanny knack for causing trouble, begin to play with the new airplane for the first time, the anticipated trouble follows. When the plane gets stuck in the branches of a tree, Rabbit consoles the distraught Mouse by reassuring him that he has a plan. Rabbit proceeds to gather a menagerie of animals and create a living ladder by stacking the animals one on top of the other until he thinks that the top animal can reach the stranded airplane. When he discovers that the airplane is just out of Squirrel's reach, Rabbit holds Squirrel, who holds Mouse. But, as Mouse grabs the tail of the plane, the ladder collapses, sending all the animals tumbling to the ground. When the feathers clear, Rabbit finds himself surrounded by angry animals. Just as the animals are about to throttle Rabbit, Mouse swoops down from the tree in the recovered airplane and rescues him from the clutches of the irate animals. Rabbit, overjoyed at being rescued by his friend, hugs Mouse, blocking his vision and causing him to crash into the tree branch again.......
This story of friendship and loyalty will delight readers of all ages. Rohmann's simple, colorful illustrations augment the sparse text, allowing the reader to witness Rabbit's antics and the reaction they elicit through his use of engaging facial expressions and body language.
Rohmann, Eric. 2002. My friend rabbit. Brookfield, Connecticut: Roaring Book Press.
ISBN: 0761324208.
Elizabeth, like many children, wants a pet. But, her parents buy her a cactus instead. Elizabeth promptly names the cactus, who has a "prickly sense of humor", Carolyn. She even manages to give it a quick hug from time to time. Even though she loves Carolyn, Elizabeth still "really, really, wants a pet." She plots various strategies for attempting to convince her parents to give in to her desire: surprising them in the middle of the night, catching them off guard in the bathroom, asking them for a cat just after they have finished a good meal. Her parents, however, have objections to all of Elizabeth's suggestions: dogs are too loud, cats scratch and shed, horses are too big, etc. Finally the dejected Elizabeth literally stumbles across the perfect pet in her bedroom, a bug that she names Doug. Doug moves in the doll house next to Carolyn and becomes Elizabeth's unique pet. He almost meets with disaster when her mother spies him sitting on Elizabeth's bed, but Elizabeth comes to his rescue. The book ends happily with Elizabeth, her mom and dad, and Doug eating popcorn in front of the TV where Carolyn is standing guard.
Margie Palatini focuses on a subject that is central in the lives of most children, having a pet or wanting one. The inclusion of humorous comments throughout the book ensures that both children and adults will enjoy this story. Palatini effectively uses "chapters" within the book to show changes of scene or action. Illustrator Bruce Whatley's bold and colorful realistic drawings extend the text and complement the story, supplying details not included in the text. The idea of Doug, the bug, as a pet becomes believable through Whatley's drawings.
Palatine, Margie. 2003. The perfect pet. Illus. by Bruce Whatley. U.S.A.: Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN: 0060001097.
Widow Shaw discovers a witch whose broom had suddenly lost its power lying in her garden. She, being kind-hearted, helped the witch inside her home and put her to bed. The next morning when Minnie Shaw awoke, she found that the witch had departed, leaving behind her useless broom. The widow tried out the broom and found it "no better or worse than brooms she had used before." However, one morning, the Widow Shaw awakened to find the broom sweeping the kitchen floor by itself. She later taught the broom to do other things like chop wood, fetch water, bring in the cow and play simple one note tunes on the piano. It wasn't long before her neighbors witnessed the broom going about its tasks. The women thought that the broom was wonderful, but her neighbor, Mr. Spivey, told Widow Shaw that the broom was evil, a tool of the devil. When the Spivey children began taunting the broom, it finally knocked them on the head and catapulted their dog across a field. The neighbors, hearing this, came to the widow's house to get the broom. They burned it at the stake. A few days later when Mr. Spivey saw a ghost broom circling his house carrying an axe, he loaded up his family and moved. That night, the widow who had fallen asleep while listening to simple piano music was awakened by a gentle tap on the shoulder from the broom which was "still covered in the coat of white paint she'd given it."
Van Allsburg perfectly blends his surreal sepia-toned illustrations and text; each supplying details lacking in the other. Even the tall, thin shape of the book fits perfectly with the shape of a broom. His theme of intolerance and prejudice brings to mind the Salem witch trials of early American history. This book will be enjoyed by both children and adults and quite possibly read over and over again by children who like to take a "safe" look at the supernatural.
Van Allsburg, Chris. 1992. The widow's broom. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
ISBN: 0395640512
Bubba and Beau, Bubba's puppy, love to go "bye-bye." They head out to run errands with Bubba's dad, Big Bubba in his trusty pick-up truck, Earl. They stop by the Feed and Seed where they pick up corn for the chickens and shoot the breeze with the good ol' boys on the porch. Then they go to the post office where they pick up stamps emblazoned with the American flag which cause Big Bubba to get all choked up. They proceed to Sam's vegetable and fruit stand and finally stop by the Freezee Deluxe for ice cream. At the end of the day, they return home to Mama Pearl and everyone is pooped except Bubba and Beau. Mama Pearl tries everything to get them to go to sleep, even resorting to singing "Hush, Little Bubba." Finally Big Bubba asks Bubba and Beau if they want to go bye-bye. He loads them back in Earl and they retrace their path from earlier in the day. By the time they drive past the Freezee Deluxe, both Bubba and Beau have gone night-night.
Kathi Appelt's satirical look at parenting and the problems associated with getting children to give up the excitement of the day and go to sleep will be appreciated by parents everywhere and enjoyed by children who can identify with going on an adventure. She cleverly uses chapters to delineate each of the stops in the adventure. The illustrations by Arthur Howard reveal a look at "Bubbaville", complete with Earl who is decked out with a longhorn hood ornament and sporting American and Texas flags on his roof. Howard's illustrations extend Appelt's humorous text, making this book a delightful read for both children and adults.
Appelt, Kathi. 2003. Bubba and Beau go night-night. Illus. by Arthur Howard. San Diego: Harcourt, Inc.
ISBN: 0152045937
Leonard S. Marcus, children's book historian, biographer, and children's book critic, has written a book detailing six artists from six different decades and chronicling their paths to winning the Caldecott medal. His book focuses on the works of Robert McCloskey's Make Way for Ducklings from the 1940's, Marcia Brown's Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper from the 1950's, Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are from the 1960's, William Steig's Sylvester and the Magic Pebble from the 1970's, Chris Van Allsburg's Jumanji from the 1980's, and David Wiesner's Tuesday from the 1990's.
A Caldecott Celebration takes a behind the scenes look at the each of these authors, focusing on their inspiration for their award winning book, their creative processes, and culminating with their elation upon receiving the news that their book had been chosen to receive the Caldecott award. McCloskey actually lived with sixteen ducks while working on Make Way for Ducklings to ensure that his drawing were accurate. Where the Wild Things Are underwent many metamorphoses as author Sendak changed the focus of the book from Wild Horses, to Wild Animals, to Wild Beasts, and finally to Wild Things.
As well as chronicling the artistic endeavors of these six artists, A Caldecott Celebration also chronicles the evolution of children's literature over this time period. Readers can witness the changes in society through the changing themes, techniques, and styles of each of these authors.
A Caldecott Celebration will augment any library's collection, perhaps even inspiring young artists to follow in the footsteps of these award winning authors.
Marcus, Leonard S. 1998. A Caldecott celebration. New York: Walker and Company.
ISBN: 0802786561.
