A Tree is Nice
By: Janice May Udry
Illustrated by: Marc Simont
Medal Winner
NOT REVIEWED
"Trees are very nice," says Janice May Udry in her first book for children. She goes on to explain that even one tree is nice, if it is the only one you happen to have.
Some of the reasons why trees are so good to have around are funny. Some are indisputable facts. But in all of them there is a sense of poetic simplicity and beauty which will be sure to entrance any young child. Whether he knows one tree or many, he will relish the descriptions of the delights to be had in, with, or under a tree.
Marc Simont's joyous pictures, half of them in full color, accentuate the child-like charm of the words. And each painting of a tree or trees shows just how very nice they can be.
From the dust jacket
★
REVIEW TEAM FAVORITE
1 is One
By: Tasha Tudor
Honor
Reviewed by: Sandy Hall
Recommended age: Ages 4-8
Also read and recommended by: Christine Kallner, Sherry Early
Tasha Tudor's illustrations have been well-respected and enjoyed for over 70 years. Tasha did the artwork for such notable books as A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson, A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett, and The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.
In this book of numbers, 1 is One, Tudor helps the young reader learn to count from 1 to 20. Every other two-page spread is done in soft pastel colors and the next in delicate pencil drawings. Each page is bordered with floral garlands. The text is rhyming. Some of the words might be unfamiliar to young children of today like the heath or gourds, but many are part of every child's experience like stars and apples. Because the illustrations are so detailed, a very young child might have difficulty finding all 12 baby birds on a limb or 18 tiny stars in the night sky. Still, the enduring art of Tasha Tudor lends a vintage charm to this lovely book.
Anatole
By: Eve Titus
Illustrated by: Paul Galdone
Honor
Reviewed by: Sandy Hall
Recommended age: Ages 4 and up
Also read and recommended by: Sherry Early
In France near the city of Paris lived Anatole, a hard-working mouse who tried to take care of his family well. When he heard the people complaining about mice, he realized he needed to do something to prove his worth. What Anatole decided to do was sample every kind of cheese at the Duval Cheese Factory and leave a little note with his evaluation of the cheeses. The illustrations by Paul Galdone are drawn only in black, white, blue and red colors. Every other two-page spread is done in black and white. The anthropomorphic mice have delightful character. In this book, the author Eve Titus introduces us to Anatole whose stories continue through nine more picture books that are worth finding and enjoying!
Gillespie and The Guards
By: Benjamin Elkin
Illustrated by: James Daugherty
Honor
Reviewed by: Sandy Hall
Recommended age: Ages 4 and up
Benjamin Elkin's classic tale of a little boy who uses his wits to outsmart the three brothers is a delight. Ultimately, the reader sees how people only see what they want to see. I love Elkin's alliteration throughout the text. Examples: gleaming golden medal, and shimmering shining diamonds. He also uses exaggeration when describing the powerful eyes of the brothers who became guards for the king. Example: In the darkest part of the night he could cover his face with a heavy bandage and still read every page of a closed book that was in a locked room three blocks away.
The illustrator, the renowned James Daugherty, first explored modern art learned during his training in Paris in the early 1900s, and went on to do murals, Navy posters, and ship camouflage during World War I. Following that, he was a prolific illustrator of children's books. A book he both authored and illustrated, Daniel Boone, won the Newbery Medal in 1940. Over the years, he either authored or illustrated 104 books including Walt Whitman's America. Many of his illustrations reflect his love of Americana, including folktales and historic events and people. In Gillespie and the Guards, Daugherty's illustrations are done in black line drawings with the only colorization being a chocolate brown which gives the book a subtle vintage style reminiscent of the story's place in time. The exaggeration of some of the story line is accentuated with exaggerated illustrations of the characters' long noses, the dramatic facial expressions even on the animals, and comic charm.
Some parents might want to know that the king's carriage has several balancing "cherubs" blowing their horns. These are in the nude and seen from the back.
Lion
By: William Pène du Bois
Honor
NOT REVIEWED
This delightful fable tells how Artist Foreman first drew a tiny, ridiculous animal, then, by asking exactly the same question six times, changed it bit by bit into THE KING OF BEASTS.
Read this book page by page, and slowly but surely a HUGE LION will appear RIGHT BEFORE YOUR EYES!
From the dust jacket
Mister Penny's Race Horse
By: Marie Hall Ets
Honor
NOT REVIEWED
"You mustn't feel bad because you are not going to be in the fair," Mr. Penny said to Limpy, his faithful old horse. "You know about judges. They won't look at old fellows like us. But without you we wouldn't have any garden at all. And without you to pull the cart we couldn't get our things to the fairgrounds."
But Limpy was said. He thought the bandage on his lame leg made him look like a race horse, and, more than anything else, he wanted to run on the race track.
You will laugh at all the mischief the animals got into while trying hard to help Mr. Penny. You will laugh and be happy, too, at the way Limpy saved the day and earned enough for everyone to ride the Ferris wheel!
From the dust jacket
