1001 stories 1-929132-92-1 Publisher's Weekly

1-933605-12-X
Kirkus Reviews (August 1, 2006):

Told and illustrated with equal spareness, this tender Japanese tale will please young readers who find the fate of the oysters in “The Walrus and the Carpenter: discomfiting. Having left her “mean and feisty” years behind, an old witch not only can’t bring herself to pour the bagful of small, gently snoring clams she’s brought home into her boiling miso soup, but when they wake and begin to cry, she offers to take them back to the shore. Buying train tickets for so many, however, seems impossible – until the clams begin to sing “with pretty little voices, like tiny popping bubbles,” charming enough contributions from passersby to finance the trip. By the end, not only have the faces that Kojima puts on the clam shells in her tiny, delicate line drawings gone from dismay to delight, but the habitual frowns on the witch and her bad-tempered cat have likewise changed to smiles. All live happily ever after on the beach, “surrounded by the pretty voices of the clams, the gentle sound of the waves, and the warmth of the sun.” A feel-good episode if ever there was one.

TDMonthy.com (August 2006):

A witch who used to be mean but is now merely grumpy is determined to make a bowl of miso soup with clams. But her clams sleep and snore so peacefully, she can't quite bring herself to dump them in the boiling water. Instead, she goes to the marketplace and tries to raise money to take them back to the beach, where they belong. Written and illustrated by Naomi Kojima, the Singing Shijimi Clams is a delicate tale of determination, ingenuity and kindness.

BIG A little a (September 2006):

Even witches lose their way sometimes. The hero of Naomi Kojima's Singing Shijimi Clams is one such witch: "When she was younger she was a mean and feisty witch, and she had liked nothing better than making fun of people and picking fights. But, now, perhaps because she was older, her sparks were gone, and she was simply miserable."

On an ordinary, tired day, the witch brings home some Shijimi clams for dinner. She plans on making a miso soup with the clams and sharing her dinner with her cat, Toraji.

But the clams' snoring disturbs the witch and she feels sorry for them. It's plain old miso for the witch and her cat, a result the cat disapproves of strongly.

Night after night, the witch can't cook the clams. One day they wake up, crying. The clams don't know where they are and they miss their home by the sea. By now they've even won Toraji over and the witch and the cat decide to beg for money to buy train tickets for the clams to return to the sea. But no one is impressed with a bowl of Shijimi clams. Until they start to sing "with pretty little voices, like tiny popping bubbles," that is.

Who would think Shijimi clams could be so charming and sweet? The witch didn't expect it, nor did Toraji, nor does the reader. Look more closely, Singing Shijimi Clams says, and you can find beauty almost anywhere.

Naomi Kojimi's eccentric, charming story is accompanied by simple drawings and just about the cutest clams you've ever seen.

KidsBookshelf.com (September 2006):

In a large bustling city there lived one miserable, old witch with one slightly grumpy cat. One day the witch brought home some shijimi clams for her dinner and put them in a bowl of water to soak. As she was preparing her soup the old witch heard a strange noise from the bowl, the clams were asleep and snoring. The witch didn't think it would be very nice to eat the clams since they were sleeping peacefully, so she decided to wait until the next night. But the next night she heard voices coming from the bowl, and the little clams asked her where they were, then they began to cry. The witch felt so bad for them she promised to take them home. With a little help from her cat, Toraji, and some creative thinking the witch takes the clams to a very special place. A tender tale of kindness and friendship.

Children’s Bookwatch (September 2006):

Naomi Kojima’s Singing Shijimi Clams tells of an older, not-so-wicked witch, a grouchy cat, and a bucket of singing clams: hardly the ordinary start for a picturebook and stirs all into a story of miso soup without clams. Black and white, simple drawings accent a fun tale.

Jen Robinson’s Book Page (November 12, 2006):

Singing Shijimi Clams is the tale of a witch, old and without her sparks, who brings home some shijimi clams for her dinner. She's taken aback, right before cooking them, to find the clams snoring away. "Their shells were opened slightly, and their little bodies moved contentedly." Her cat, Toraji, tries to convince the witch that it's ok to boil up the clams because "(t)hey won't feel anything if you put them in quickly." But she can't do it, and witch and cat end up eating miso soup sans clams.
Eventually, the witch and Toraji start talking with the clams, and the clams cry when they learn that they aren't in the ocean anymore. The witch and Toraji have to undertake a major project to take the clams back to the sea. Along the way, the clams sing! "And every day, as the witch listened to the shijimi clams' sweet voices, she too began to feel happier, and less miserable."
I'm not such a fan of message books, and this one bears a pretty strong vegan message. But Singing Shijimi Clams is a lot of fun. The illustrations are deceptively simple, small black and white sketches rather than full page drawings. They convey the grouchy witch's gradual thawing, as she does something good for the clams. The cat is a riot, starting out callous, but by the end admitting "I will miss them when they go." The drawings of the little clams are priceless, with tiny faces, and lines to show movement and emotion.
This book grew on me. I thought that it was ok on the first read, but by the end of the second read I was quite attached to witch, cat, and clams. Because of the lack of color in the illustrations, and the relatively high text ratio, I think that this book will resonate more with kids on the older end of picture book range.


The Washington Post (December 24, 2006):

A "mean and feisty witch" and her hungry cat bring home some clams to add to their miso soup. But before she pops them in the pot, the witch pauses. "They were asleep and snoring. Their shells were opened slightly, and their little bodies moved contentedly." The stage is set for a huge change of heart. Kojima's childlike line drawings are priceless.

The Bloomsbury Review (Jan / Feb 2007):

This is a delightfully quirky picture book by Japanese-born author-illustrator Naomi Kojima. Her pleasingly sparse prose and delicate black-and-white drawings work in perfect harmony to tell the tale of a formerly feisty witch gone soft, unsuspectingly brought down by a bowl of sleeping shijimi clams. Overcome with compassion, one evening as she is preparing her dinner, the witch finds herself unable to drop the snoring bunch into her pot of boiling broth. He cat Toraji, utterly disgusted by this display of sympathy (and hungry for something more substantial than plain miso soup), urges the witch to push these bothersome feelings aside. But the endearing little clams capture the witch’s heart and eventually win over her cantankerous cat. Together, with some surprising assistance from the clams, the pair carries out a most unexpected plan. This is a marvelous book for kindhearted people of every age.

Jelly Mom (February 5, 2007):

A grumpy witch softens in her old age and takes pity on some clams. Even her grouchy cat has a change of heart when the clams they were supposed to eat prove they aren't just things but living beings with feelings, too. They sleep peacefully, snore, cry and sing. I loved this story filled with dialogue and warm characterizations. An old-fashioned storytelling with a happy ending.

SLOW LORIS

1-929132-28-X

School Library Journal (July 1, 2002):

By day, a slow loris (an animal native to southern Asia) leads a quiet, some would say completely boring, existence in a zoo. At night, however, he comes to life and amazes the other animals with his energy and zest for fun. This slight story is primarily a vehicle for its strong graphic illustrations. The fact that a nocturnal animal would be more active at night than in the daytime does not seem startling or amazing, so the other animals' surprise at discovering Slow Loris's "secret" seems a bit far-fetched. The story veers into fantasy when the other zoo creatures join his party, donning "cool cat" hats and ties and striking jazz-musician poses. The dark tones of the paintings, many with thick black outlines, add to the atmosphere of mystery and secrecy. The layout is unusual and visually arresting. The illustrative point of view changes abruptly, one page folds out, another has a flap to lift. However, the dramatic illustrations create more interest in terms of design than in appeal to children. Teenagers might relate to this book-they may see themselves in Loris's love of nightlife and daytime sleeping as well as his sense of feeling misunderstood. While the reversal of preconceptions could inspire a writing exercise about judging others, this book may have a difficult time finding an audience.

Publishers Weekly (Monday, January 21, 2002):

A seemingly lethargic lemur proves appearances can deceive in this amusing tale. British newcomer Deacon subtly draws readers into Loris's supposedly sluggish zoo existence by using paintings awash in cheerless hues and small text peppered with ellipses. Three successive spreads track the lackadaisical fellow, noteworthy for their continual change in perspective: "It took Loris ten minutes to eat a satsuma... twenty minutes to get from one end of his branch to the other... and an hour to scratch his bottom." As Loris plods along his branch, the twisted bark spirals across the gutter towards the reader. Then comes a revelation: "At night, when all the other animals were sound asleep, Loris got up and did things... FAST..." Here Deacon devotes a spread to a close-up of Loris that resembles an out-of-focus photograph. He is not a lump after all, but a tie-and-hat-wearing, satsuma-eating nocturnal party animal. Other zoo animals soon catch on to Loris's secret life and join him in an unrestrained nighttime spree in which bunnies sport neckties and a meercat wears a fez. A quirky tale with an entertaining twist.

The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (May 2002):

This is a witty and engaging animal story, and youngsters may also take to heart the subtle implication here about zoo visitors’ expectations, especially for nocturnal animals; next trip to the zoo the kids’ll stun everyone by rushing to see the lorises.

SOCCER CAMP

1-933605-07-3

KidsBookshelf.com:

Book 3 in "The Team" series begins with the team - Harvey, Darren, Rita, Matt, and Steffi - at Soccer Camp. The team is excited and nervous, especially since they're supposed to have two adult chaperones. Professor Gertie, Harvey's inventor neighbor, is one adult, but she's brought along one of her inventions, Mark 1, as the second adult. The team is worried that the soccer coach will find out their secret, especially since KC, a reporter for Soccer Stars magazine, keeps poking around and asking lots of questions. Can the team keep it together enough to win a game and keep their secret from being revealed? A fun and fast paced chapter book young readers will dive in to!

THE SOLES OF YOUR FEET

0-916291-72-3

Kirkus Reviews (March 15, 1997):

Yagyu (The Holes in Your Nose, 1994, etc.) focuses on another part of the body that doesn't get much attention from adults, in a book that was first published in Japan in 1982. The narrator compares his feet to those of adults, to apes' feet, and to horses' hooves. An interesting nugget for readers to take away is the image of a foot having treads, like sneakers or tires; a sequence drawing shows in “stop motion” how a runner's foot hits the ground (heel, whole foot, toe). The simple line drawings, plain colors, and design recall old titles in the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out series--utilitarian at best. Two pages invite readers to make foot tracings and foot prints, enticements that may limit the book's longevity in school or public libraries.

SOMETHING IS NOT QUITE RIGHT!

1-929132-29-8

Children’s Bookwatch (September 2002):

Each of the colorful, cartoon-style, full-page-spread illustrations contains a host of unusual ‘mistakes’…for young readers to spot and find on their own. There is a simple, visual answer key at the back of this thoroughly enjoyable, creatively original, highly recommended picture book for kids.

Hornbook Guide to Children (Wednesday, January 1, 2003):

As Lisa begins her day, she has a feeling that "something is not quite right!" The thought nags at her as she eats breakfast, walks down the street, and goes grocery shopping. Readers will enjoy spotting many things that aren't "quite right" in the busy double-page spreads, including shoes in the refrigerator and a zipper on a fence. Like the cartoony color illustrations, the simple text is mundane.

SOSU'S CALL

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Publishers Weekly (Monday, February 4, 2002):

Ghanaian author Asare (Cat in Search of a Friend) touches on weighty themes of prejudice and courage as he introduces Sosu, a disabled African boy whose bravery eclipses his physical limitations. Incapable of walking, Sosu is shunned: "It is bad luck to have the likes of him in our village.... You must keep him in your house," two fishermen tell Sosu's father. While children will empathize with the unfairness of Sosu's situation, the story moves sluggishly. Lengthy blocks of text unhurriedly relate both the poignant and exciting moments. It is mainly through slow, third-person-omniscient narration that readers learn of Sosu's feelings, as in Sosu's jealousy of his active dog or his interest in watching the chickens, "perhaps because there was nothing to envy about them!" When storm waters rage one day, Sosu drags himself to the drum shed, where he beats out a rhythm to call the men back from their work, to help save the others. Drab hues dominate the watercolors in the climactic scenes and elsewhere, possibly echoing Sosu's feelings of deficiency and loneliness but issuing little welcome to readers. And while rainbow colors grace the final spread when Sosu receives a wheelchair for his heroic deed the ending is a bit of an abrupt turnaround. Children may celebrate the message of Sosu's triumph, if not the way in which it is delivered.

School Library Journal (Saturday, June 1, 2002):

Sosu lives in a small village "Somewhere on a narrow strip of land between the sea and the lagoon." Unable to walk and considered "bad luck" by the villagers, he is forced to stay at home with only a dog for company while his brother and sister attend school and his parents go to work. But when a storm causes the sea to overflow, threatening the lives of the young and the old, Sosu conquers his fear and, led by his dog, crawls through the "howling wind" and "churning water" to the drum in the chief's house. His drumming brings help, and in gratitude for the lives saved, the villagers provide Sosu with a wheelchair. African designs grace the endpapers, and Asare's pastel-hued, impressionistic watercolors aptly depict life in an African fishing village: the blue sea, swaying palms, thatched huts, and villagers going about their daily chores. When Sosu is thought to be a spirit, accusing neighbors loom over him in black gray shadows in a particularly eerie spread. The lengthy text contains some lyrical descriptions and evidence of the author's love of the land. While there is never any doubt that Sosu will save the day, and some of the dog's actions stretch credibility, this story of overcoming a serious physical challenge and achieving acceptance may offer hope and inspiration to young readers.

Hornbook Guide to Children (Monday, July 1, 2002):

Illustrated with dark-colored, muddy, and indistinct paintings, this Ghanaian import about an African boy who is unable to walk relies heavily on sentimentality. In the end, because of the attention generated by his actions--he saves his village during a storm by playing drums--Sosu is given a wheelchair. The plot is unbelievable, and the books’ tone patronizes its disabled hero.

THE SPIDER AND THE BEE

1-929132-25-5

Family Matters! (October 2002):

…a delightful tale designed to help children who are coping with divorce.

Hornbook Guide to Children (Monday, July 1, 2002):

Told in clunky rhyme, this brief, simplistic story introduces a spider and a bee who fall in love and get married but eventually break up because they can’t overcome their differences. After separating, they live "happily 'til the end of their days." The brightly colored cartoon illustrations in this miniature volume have decorative appeal, if not much pizzazz.

STANDING UP

1-929132-71-9

Kirkus Reviews (Tuesday, February 15, 2005):

To pee and how to pee? That's not even a question for our young protagonist. No longer will he sit upon the toilet, but stand, proudly, like Manneken Pis, the little bronze cherub in Brussels who pleases so many with his urinating bravado. Our hero proves to be a fountain as well, his inexhaustible bladder allowing him extended practice in the art of peeing on one's feet (as it were). He pees into his mother's bath and on the street and soon learns no one's impressed. It's not as easy as it looks, as anyone who cleans a bathroom in a house full of boys will affirm, but it's a handy trick to learn. Gillet never makes it seem a superior act, just a natural extension of things, and Gilboux's easygoing artwork will keep even the most squeamish amused. Peeing standing up—there are benefits and downsides, and Gillet and Gilboux give them just the right degree of innocence and innocence lost.

The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (April 2005):

This Belgian import’s young narrator is initially contented to use his potty from a conservative seated position, but then one day he sees the famous Manneke Pis fountain in Brussels and conceives an ambition to “pee like a big boy.” Easier said than done, however, and our by struggles to develop some aim, in the process dampening clothes, shoes, bathroom neighbors; there’s also the matter of appropriateness, as our boy lets fly in public and on a poor unsuspecting snail. Finally, though, he masters the skill and stands proudly beside his father. Though young viewers may not immediately get the concluding connection between standing urination and the ability to avoid lines (and most American kids wont have heard of the Manneke Pis), the general notion of increasing urinary independence is sure to attract toilet tyros and the humor makes this welcomely accessible. Illustrations sort suitably fluid lines, though they rely on colored pencil rather than watercolor for touches of vivid pigment. The spare layouts pose text and narrator against airy white backgrounds, the better to focus on the actions; the cartoony approximation, the emphasis on profile and rear view, and the penis’ realistic tendency to peep modestly out from our hero’s hands make the views more suggestive than implicit for viewers not already in the anatomical know, but those possessed of the equipment will fully understand the proceedings and the dilemma. Kids will sympathize with the narrator’s wayward waterworks even as they giggle, and the book’s general lack of self-consciousness may help ease adults as well as kids into discussion of bathroom practice.

School Library Journal (April 2005):

This story has limited appeal for boys in the United States. After seeing Manneke Pis-the bronze statue of a boy peeing that is located near the Grand-Palace in Brussels-a toddler is motivated to learn how to stand up to urinate. His first attempt doesn't go well, but by his fifth try, he is aiming at trees, snails, and cracks in the sidewalk, and, finally, standing next to his father and peeing at a European-style urinal. Humorous color cartoon drawings will have adults smiling as this training is not easy.

The Horn Book (May/June 2005):

Standing Up celebrates a uniquely male rite of passage with gusto and charm. Our small hero is perfectly happy sitting on the potty until the day he spots Manneke Pis, the famous Brussels statue of a boy who "pees" standing up. "'Why don't you try it too?' he seemed to say." The boy quickly discovers that "it was a lot harder -- and a lot messier -- than it looked." Fresh, funny illustrations in warm pastels and breezy outlines depict the boy's varied attempts, from yellow dribbles to sweeping arcs -- often with disastrous aim. Victory comes at last as he and Dad pee side by side at a urinal. "It was terrrrrific!" the boy beams. Endpapers feature numerous items hanging on a clothesline -- a sly reference to the unavoidable mishaps along the road to success. The book is sure to make a splash with tots in training and with the slightly older crowd still newly proud of their own accomplishments.

THE STORY OF CHERRY THE PIG

978-1-933605-25-8

Booklist (February 15, 2007):

The cherry red, green, and yellow cover featuring a smiling pig invites children into a story that is sweet, both literally and figuratively. Cherry loves to bake, and her apple cake is incredible––at least that’s what she thinks she hears a family of mice say. With that encouragement, she decides to enter the Harvest Festival. Then she hears the mice finish what they were about to say before she ran them off: her cake is incredibly awful. Cherry is crushed until the judging, when she learns she has won first place. Then she sees what the mice are devouring––hard, salty biscuits––and realizes why the mice rendered the opinion they did. Although this is a Japanese import, the artwork has the feel of a 1950s picture book both in terms of colors and style––a little Bemelmans, a little Duvoisin, and Yamada nicely mixes up the happy frenzy of an outdoor festival with moments of Cherry alone to give the book balance. And even though the denouement seems somewhat forced, this book is still a tasty treat.

Curled Up Kids (January 16, 2007):

After hearing “It’s incredible!” Cherry the pig knows she has to enter her apple cake in the bake-off. However, all thoughts of winning the gold whisk subside when she hears a second conversation about her apple cake. Her bafflement about the varying opinions leads her to some “very hard, very salty, very cheesy” biscuits. One taste of these tells Cherry everything she needs to know. Now, with a new outlook, Cherry is ready to open her own bakery, where she’ll bake something to suit everyone’s tastebuds.

Before Cherry became known in the village for her apple cake, she did all her baking in her own kitchen. This dessert lover has been known to eat a whole dessert all by herself. Little does Cherry know there are mice in her house until she hears them chatting about and snacking on her hot-out-of-the-oven apple cake. Inspired by the mice, she enters the Harvest Festival bake-off. Her mix of butter, sugar, eggs, apples and spices is up against Jane the cow’s Caramels and Mamie the chicken’s Mint Tart. In the middle of baking, Cherry is stunned to tears when she overhears a negative conversation about her apple cake. After the bake-off, Cherry sets out to solve the taste mystery surrounding her apple cake. Not only does she have the flair to solve this mystery, she has a knack for recreating in her kitchen foods she’s tasted elsewhere. And she does just that, but in her new bakery. Now, everyone in the village can find something to their liking at Cherry’s.
Picking out the fun details in the illustrations is an extra treat with Utako Yamada’s Cherry. Right on the cover is a poster of a muffin man; near the end of the story, three little kittens, who haven’t yet lost their mittens, can be seen buying pies from Cherry’s.
Cherry is very much a lady-like pig with her long, patterned dresses and floppy straw hat. She carries a woven basket while out running errands, and she definitely enjoys her kitchen. The author, who has opened her own teahouse and dessert shop, has fun with illustrating Cherry’s kitchen. Eyes and smiles grace the canisters and pitchers, and some containers of ingredients boast unusual labels. “Good Tea” is written on Cherry’s tea tin and even on her tea cup. She has a personalized apron and recipe box for her kitchen, not to mention all the gadgets she could ever need to make the wonderful desserts lying on her counters.
The peaceful village where Cherry lives is full of a variety of animals, including sheep who like to play the Snap Apple Game and rabbits who wear old-fashioned dresses and bonnets. Yellows and reds dominate the color scheme in this book; the subdued shades and colors lend themselves well to this harmonious story.
The Excelsior File (January 28, 2007):

Cherry the Pig loves to bake. One day she makes an apple cake, doting on each step of the process to make the tastiest cake she can. Enjoying a cup of tea while the cake cools she hears from the kitchen "It's incredible!" Dashing in she finds a family of mice nibbling at her cake and shoos them away.

Did they say her cake was incredible? They're right! And with that Cherry the Pig sets about to enter her apple cake in the bake-off at coming the Harvest Festival.

Festival time comes and Cherry is as proud as a pig can be when entering her cake in the contest. Then she once again overhears a conversation, the family of mice again. "Why would she enter that incredibly awful cake in the competition?" Could it be? Had she misheard the mice the first time? Perhaps they were right, and perhaps she was making a fool of herself. But it's too late, the competition has already begun and the judges have begun their announcements.

Sitting in the shade there is little left for Cherry to do but wait until the competition is over and take her cake home. Needless to say she is surprised when the winner of the Golden Whisk is announced and it's for Cherry and her apple cake!

Flush with the praise of all the judges Cherry the Pig is moved to open her own bakery. On her way home she discovers a bag of snacks where the mice had been sitting. Cherry tries them and to her amazement they turn out to be biscuits, very salty and very cheesy biscuits. Cherry then understands everything, that mice with a preference for hard, salty, crusty biscuits would never find a sweet scrumptious apple cake delicious. Once she has opened her bakery and served all her delectable items to others she sets about making one last item, biscuits perfect for discerning mice.

Much of the summary of this story is between the lines. The story and dialog are very direct and easy to understand and charming in an innocent sort of way. The book is deliberately paced in a way that is reminiscent of books several decades older yet still feels fresh. In fact, the entire look of the book speaks to picture books of the past. The four-color illustrations in crayon and spot color, bright and cheery in yellow, green, brown and that peachy-red seem to have been borrowed from 1964. There is a sense of nostalgia, a very palpable link between past and present that makes the book feel timeless without trying. It's a bit of Mary Blair filling in a Golden Books pastry. Quite a concoction.

According to her biography on the Kane Miller website it appears this was Utako Yamada's first book, that she has illustrated other books, and that she has been the proprietor of a tea house (named Karel Capek, which speaks volumes in and of itself) and a dessert shop in Japan. It also says she's illustrated at least 20 other books. If they're anything like this -- and the smattering of translated web pages I was able to hunt down with her work on it -- then I'll look forward to seeing those down the road.

As publishers have been dipping into their archives to revive anniversary editions of older books (Anatole and The Happy Lion, for example) it is nice to see that satisfying books can be made that slide in easily along side these classics. More like this, please; More warm and inviting stories with illustrations that match, and a little less of the cold, harsh workmanlike wanking of books whose titles will not be mentioned here.

Kids Literati (January 29, 2007):

The Story of Cherry the Pig is a delightful tale of a dessert-loving pig who bakes lots of desserts, shares an infamous Apple Cake, enters a baking competition, and opens her own bakery...all because of a misunderstanding. Cherry finds out that different creatures have different tastes and that she has a gift that can make every one's lives sweeter...or saltier. This is a very cute fairytale from Japan written and illustrated by the talented Utako Yamada, who also owns a dessert shop of her own.

The illustrations are adorable and the tale is sweet. The simple warm color tones of the book add a classic feeling, reminding me of reading old-fashioned children's picture books. Cherry is an industrious and resilient pig who delights in her desserts. This story will be an inspiration to it's readers to try their own hand concocting sweet treats. Luckily, the publisher Kane/Miller has provided Cherry the Pig's Apple Cake Recipe (almost, Cherry doesn't share her real recipes, but this one looks good too). Check it out!

A Readable Feast (February 12, 2007):

For ages four to six, the book teaches about self-esteem, identity, and value of friendship. Cherry the Pig is happy and content. Being a pig, she loves to bake and eat desserts every afternoon - lucky girl! Then one day, she hears a family of mice talking about her “incredible” apple cake. She thinks her apple cake is pretty incredible, too, so she enters it in a bake-off at the Harvest Festival.

Women Day by Day (February 12, 2007):

In Tokyo, there’s a tea house and a little dessert shop run by Utako Yamada. Seems like all the sweetness and the perfume of her teas inspired her to put together books for children, and Cherry the Pig is one of the sweetest you’ll find.

A simple story, and one that could be read by beginning readers with lots of help and encouragement, Yamada’s newest American release has a lot to teach. The lessons, how we see things differently from the way our neighbor might, diversity makes the world go ‘round, and what happens when we payback a hurt, are gently expressed in the way the characters react to their plot concerns.

Cherry is a pig who loves to eat – and loves to cook. She, like the author/illustrator, expresses herself through cooking special treats for those she loves, for her customers and for a cooking contest. On her way to the contest, she overhears harsh criticism of her delicate entry, and is terribly unhappy about it.

You and your favorite youngsters will learn how the contest concludes and what Cherry does to the mice who made fun of her prize recipe. The story works. It’s fun. It’s a quick read, but not too quick. The illustrations made me nostalgic for the 1950s and 60’s with a line drawing, 2-color affect, a camera-angle perspective and enough busy action to keep little kids engage din pointing to items they’re familiar with.

I enjoyed the non-rhyming prose and the good quality paper. Can’t think of much to criticize, except, perhaps the price, but books are costly these days and this one measures up.

For Immediate Release (February 14, 2007):

Does anyone else remember The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton? That book was, and is, one of my favorite children's books. The illustrations are warm, cheery, and there are small hidden treats to discover in every picture. When I first opened Cherry the Pig, I was struck by the illustrations, so similar to Burton's in, not subject matter, but the love that went into them, and the bright colors, warmth, and the hidden mice on nearly every page.

The Story of Cherry the Pig tells the tale of a dessert-loving pig. She creates a delicious apple cake, and decides to enter the cake in the Fall Festival Bake-Off. While baking her cake during the competition, Cherry hears the mice that reside in her kitchen say how incredibly awful the cake is. Cherry is heartbroken, but finishes her cake. The end results, and Cherry's actions with the mice, will delight and amuse children and adults alike. This is a very sweet, fun book, and the illustrations and story will brighten up the most dreary of days.
Trivium Academy (February 20, 2007):

Cherry is a pig that loves her desserts! When a family of mice taste her apple cake and exclaim how delicious it is, Cherry decides to enter her apple cake into a bake-off.

This picture book from Japan is great for illustrating selfishness, peer influence, courage, confidence, insecurity, humility, empathy and forgiveness to children ages 4 and up. The illustrations are beautiful, which are also by Utako Yamada and are reminiscent of older books with its old fashioned appeal.
Kane/Miller Book Publishers specialize in foreign translated children’s books and this is just one wonderful example of how using multicultural books can enhance a child’s imagination and view of the world.
SUERTE

1-933605-08-1

Suite 101 (September 8, 2006):

Suerte, (“Lucky” in English) is a dog who lives at a really cool shelter. The canines are happy and well treated there, but of course they all want a home. Suerte helps his best friend, Bernardo, become a more appealing dog -- by teaching him to smile. Bernardo finds a home, but Lucky isn’t sure he’ll have the same, well…luck. I enjoyed the illustrations more than I did the story, though there’s nothing awfully wrong with the book. The pictures are large, simple line drawings filled with color. They caught my little grandson’s eye and kept him interested for a long time. One of the best things about this story is that the people in it are diversified and unusual. No stick figures. You’ll find social lessons to talk about as you turn the pages. Thinking about and discussing people’s similarities and differences is important and it’s never too early to start. You know, it’s nice, too, to find a reasonably priced picture book. Also available in English, called Lucky.

SUPERTEAM

1-933605-06-5

KidsBookshelf.com:

The Team is back for another soccer season. Harvey has just spent his savings on the best pair of cleats around - the Armadillo Aces. But when Professor Gertie gets ahold of Harvey's cleats, they end up destroyed. Harvey is upset, but he knows Professor Gertie was only trying to help, and to make up for it she is selling off all her inventions to buy him another pair. To make things worse, Jackie Spoyle has started her own team and is trying to recruit members from Harvey's team by offering them all kinds of free sports equipment. With no cleats and a discouraged team will Harvey's team fall apart or keep it together for another season? A fun read for young sports fans!

THIS IS THE OASIS

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School Library Journal (March 1, 2006):

A good depiction of a specific biome, told in a lyrical narrative. The African Sahara, the book states, was once a lush fertile land where giraffes and hippopotamuses roamed. The art, too, is often lush. The soft watercolors are especially fine in depicting the animals, while the landscapes, plants, and humans are more evocative than realistic. The large, clear format is perfect for group sharing. The illustrations, though nowhere near Peter Parnall's dynamic work in Byrd Baylor's The Desert Is Theirs (S & S, 1975), serve the text well. The concluding two pages offer facts about the Sahara, its climate and inhabitants.

Book Moot (August 18, 2006);

The end papers of this book set the tone with edge to edge ripples of sand. Life in the Sahara dessert is described in lovely language:

This is the place where dust evils, like whirlwinds,

dance spirals of sand dust

high into the air.

The art work is serviceable and illustrates the information. A glossary of terms at the end of the book explains concepts such as the Tuareg, Sandstorms, trading salt and more. Perfect book for study of biomes.

THIS IS THE TREE

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Hornbook Guide to Children (Monday, January 1, 2001):

Moss's roll-call of animals that use the stately African baobab tree is more lyrical than it is informative about savanna ecology. The baobab's features are enumerated in lackluster prose poetry, and the color illustrations, showing an improbable density of wildlife, lack focal points. Notes at the end of the book give more facts about the baobab tree and its various uses.

School Library Journal (Thursday, March 1, 2001):

This evocation of the African baobab tree works hard to be both poetic and informational and it succeeds at neither. The tree is straightforwardly described but also personified as having a "huge rounded belly," with rain causing "-dark-stained wrinkles/on knuckles and knees," and toes pointing to the moon. Each sentence begins with "This is the tree-," which gradually wears on readers, but the often-dramatic watercolor illustrations, lush with detail, reward viewers and extend the text. The book notes various uses animals and humans make of the shade, bark, blossoms, and fruit but readers are left to wonder why the elephant gores the trunk and what the tribespeople are doing with the bark they cut. The text doesn't explain, and the picture shows two men watching insects pour out from under the cut. More information is presented on a double-page spread at the end. Barbara Bash's beautiful, informative Tree of Life (Little, Brown, 1989; o.p.) is for slightly older readers. Like Lynne Cherry's The Great Kapok Tree (Harcourt, l990) and Brenda Guiberson's Cactus Hotel (Holt, l991), Moss's title does show how one species supports an ecosystem of interrelated animals and is an important part of the larger terrain.

Green Teacher (Summer 2002):

Lush illustrations and lyrical prose convey the respect that this tree deserves.

Thinking Mother (May 7, 2006):

This children’s non-fiction picture book is an introduction to learning about the unique Baobab Tree which grows in the African savannah. This book is perfect for use by teachers or homeschoolers who are studying the habitat of the African savannah or about the animals of Africa. The text rhymes and the book has a low word count, making it suitable to read to not only elementary school aged children but to preschoolers and even toddlers. The reader could breeze through reading the text and not do much more with the book than that if they wanted. However, that would be a shame because the book is filled with lots of illustrations of the creatures that live in and around the Baobab tree. Although the creatures are not discussed in detail and most are not even named, they provide a lot to look at and to stir curiosity. The parent or teacher could use this book as a jumping off point to learn about some of the creatures that are pictured in the book. The pages are so crammed with illustrations of the creatures that to truly look at each thing on the page could take a good amount of time. The illustrations are hand dawn, very colorful and are detailed. I learned a lot about the Baobab tree, which is sometimes called the Upside-Down Tree, which I did not know. The tree has many uses, for its leaves, flowers, fruit, and is used for food and for shelter, and even the bark has special uses! Many animals, insects, other critters and humans all use the tree as a habitat for living in. Children will be amazed to learn about this giant tree which grows to 10 meters in diameter and can live for 2000 years! A double page spread at the back of the book provides about a paragraph of non-fiction facts and information on the different parts of the tree and it’s use by humans and creatures of all kinds. I found this section helpful.

My only complaint is that the illustrations contain so many creatures which are not mentioned in the book. I wish we could know more about them by reading just this one book. The book aroused our curiosity of these things, such as to know their names and a little about them. I guess at this point we will have to find another source of information to learn more. Perhaps it would have been nice to have a key code at the back of the book with little numbers next to each creature and a key to tell us what the name of it is, so we could read more about a creature that we were interested in. As a homeschooling mother I plan to use this book while teaching my children about Africa. I read this to my children ‘just for fun’ and they enjoyed it.

Curled Up Kids.com (July 2006):

It’s a treat to find a book for very young children that doesn’t rely on dull language or sugary sweetness for enjoyment. This Is The Tree: A Story of the Baobab is a poetic tale of the African baobab tree. The ecological importance of the tree is shown through a series of elegant, three line stanzas. Each begins with “This is the tree,” offering young readers a chance to recognize words and read along, before continuing with more challenging and descriptive language. The repeated first words and brevity of the sentences take on the quality of a chant when read aloud and are powerfully visual even without illustrations.

The illustrations by Adrienne Kennaway sometimes feel unfinished, but they are colorful, soft, and full of details that small children will love discovering. The baobab is a world of soft grey curves, full of warm contrasting creatures and cool shadows, just begging to be touched.

The ode to the tree is followed by a two-page spread of baobab facts, presented in rather more conventional trivia form. The information that people have installed houses in baobab trunks and eat the leaves like mustard greens are interesting, but it’s the magical poetry and inviting pictures of the African plains that children and parents will remember.

TIBILI, THE LITTLE BOY WHO DIDN'T WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL

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Publishers Weekly (Monday, January 28, 2002):

First published in France, this tale set on the African savannah puts an exotic spin on the familiar story of the reluctant first-time school-goer. Tibili is such a happy child that sometimes he "even laughs himself to sleep." But the thought of starting school fills him with dismay. Who wants to look at a chalkboard all day? Seeking truancy advice from the animals, Tibili is told by Crope the wise spider that a magical Box of Knowledge will give him "what you are looking for." But when he discovers that using the Box of Knowledge requires basic literacy skills a flock of guinea hens mocks him for his illiteracy the prospect of school suddenly becomes more inviting. The text is brisk and pointed, yet peppered with poetic interludes; when a sulking Tibili pooh-poohs reading, Leonard writes, "He would rather read like his grandfather, not from a piece of paper, but from the sky, where the sun sings during the day and the moon dances during the night." Prigent's sunny, accomplished pastels are stylized, rendered as if by a child, with the result that her figures convey an instinctive joie de vivre. Often appearing several to a spread, however, the illustrations seem cramped by the book's smallish format.

School Library Journal (Monday, April 1, 2002):

As the subtitle states, Tibili is reluctant to start school. This child of the African savannah would rather spend his time outdoors, looking at the sky, reading the tracks of animals in the dirt, or dreaming of catching fish. When he consults the animals for advice on how to avoid school, they send him on a quest that ends with a piece of paper he cannot read. Now, he has a reason to go to school. Translated from the French, this story has a fresh sound and it's naive illustrations give it a fresh look. The tale has elements of folklore, with talking animals and a boy who learns a lesson, but it is in fact a modern story with magical elements.

The San Diego Union-Tribune (March 24, 2002):

Originally published in France, this little masterpiece sings with freshness. Tibili’s new understanding is surprising and feels exactly right.

Hornbook Guide to Children (Monday, July 1, 2002):

In this French import, Tibili, an African boy, asks Crope the spider how to get out of going to school. Cropes answer is in the Box of Knowledge, but Tibili can’t open it because he can’t read the directions. The smudgy crayoned illustrations are unpolished, but the taut writing and simple story form a pleasant whole.

Booklist (Saturday, June 1, 2002):

As the subtitle states, Tibili is reluctant to start school. This child of the African savannah would rather spend his time outdoors, looking at the sky, reading the tracks of animals in the dirt, or dreaming of catching fish. When he consults the animals for advice on how to avoid school, they send him on a quest that ends with a piece of paper he cannot read. Now, he has a reason to go to school. Translated from the French, this story has a fresh sound and its naive illustrations give it a fresh look. The tale has elements of folklore, with talking animals and a boy who learns a lesson, but it is in fact a modern story with magical elements. A good change of pace from the usual starting-school fare.

Curled Up Kids.com (October 2006):

Any child about to start school for the first time will love Tibili: The Little Boy Who Didn’t Want to Go to School by Marie Leonard. Tibili is a happy child who loves to laugh, but it all gets real serious and scary when his mom tells him he will be starting school, so he sets out to ask his creature friends about how he can get out of going to school.

There are all the usual ideas – claiming to be sick, hiding from his mother - you know, the stuff your own kids tried on you. But Tibili soon realizes those excuses won’t work in the long run and goes to visit a very wise friend who tells him to seek out a hidden treasure. This treasure is a Box of Knowledge, only Tibili soon comes to understand that he cannot open the box without a very special key, and that only by going to school can he achieve that secret key.

This is author Leonard’s first children’s book, and it is a fun story with a great message that never preaches but is built right into the insightful plot. The whimsical illustrations of Andree Prigent readily capture the bold colors of life on the African savannah, where Tibili lives and plays.

Read this book to your little one and he or she will want to get up and go to school right away, ready and eager to learn and experience all the adventures that just cannot happen when you stay home sick in bed all day or hide from you parents.

TROY THOMPSON'S EXCELLENT PEOTRY BOOK

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School Library Journal (Thursday, January 1, 2004):

At the beginning of sixth grade, Ms. Kranke introduces her students to a yearlong assignment in which they will learn about different forms of poetry and write their own. The best poems will be entered in a contest at the end of the year. One of the students, Troy Thompson, is a smart, funny kid who has had his share of heartache. He includes a ballad and a sonnet about his father, a police officer who was killed while on duty. Readers learn about his dogs, Ferris and Bueller, in haiku and limericks, and of his girlfriend through ballads and acrostic poems. He also writes poems about stinky sneakers, the condition of the boys' bathroom, and smarmy game-show hosts. Troy enters a sonnet about his teacher in the contest and readers learn, through a photo on the final page, that he won the grand prize-a computer. This colorful book resembles a student's notebook. Left-hand pages contain Ms. Kranke's instructions, while those on the right show Troy's poetry and whimsical mixed-media illustrations. The poems are typewritten, handwritten, or printed from a computer and "pasted" into his book. This title is complete with silliness and serious topics.

Washington Post

In this painless introduction to poetry -- sorry, 'peotry' -- Aussie sixth-grader Troy Thompson does his best to keep up with Ms. Kranke's assignments on, variously, the haiku, the ballad, the limerick, the sonnet, occasional poems, concrete poetry, the ode and the acrostic. Ms. Kranke's encouraging instructions are juxtaposed to hilarious effect with Troy's scatological word lists, wild illustrations and manful efforts to actually write poems.

THE TRUFFLE HUNTER