★
REVIEW TEAM FAVORITE
Time of Wonder
By: Robert McCloskey
Medal Winner
Reviewed by: Sandy Hall
Recommended age: Ages 4-8
Also read and recommended by: Jeannette Tulis, Lara Lleverino, Sherry Early
Beginnings and endings form a lovely cycling in this picture book by Robert McCloskey. Time of Wonder has the start and end of summer as well as the start and end of a hurricane during that season. The realistic illustrations are reminiscent of a childhood full of wonder, of the vacations of times long past, and flow across each two-page spread.
If you are planning a vacation to Maine or another coastal area of the Northeast, I highly recommend this lovely picture book to read to your children before you go or while you are there. I love how the mother helps calm the children during the hurricane by reading to them and leading them to sing loudly "...eyes have seen the glory."
★
REVIEW TEAM FAVORITE
Anatole and the Cat
By: Eve Titus
Illustrated by: Paul Galdone
Honor
Reviewed by: Sandy Hall
Recommended age: Ages 4-8
Also read and recommended by: Christine Kallner, Sherry Early
Who doesn't love children's books with mice as the main characters? The adventures of Anatole by Eve Titus here continue with his efforts to outwit a cat who comes to his cheese factory where Anatole is a taste tester.
Paul Galdone, the illustrator of the Anatole books, was a prolific artist whose work spanned four decades. Every other two-page spread in this book is black-and-white drawings; the other two-page spreads are black-and-white but complemented with bright red and royal blue. The illustrations show a lot of action and details. Anatole uses a typewriter to write messages to the owner of the Duval factory. You just might have to explain to your little ones what a typewriter is!
Fly High, Fly Low
By: Don Freeman
Honor
Reviewed by: Sandy Hall
Recommended age: Ages 4-8
In San Francisco, a pigeon invites a friendly dove to his nest where she lays two eggs. The nest is in the letter B of an electric sign on a building high above the city. One day when the pigeon is away from the nest, men come to take down the sign. Realizing there is a nest in the letter B, the men decide to place the letter in a new place. But the pigeon has no idea where. The story continues with the pigeon going from place to place through the city to find it. The illustrations by Don Freeman are soft and gentle and appear to be done in colored pencil. The drawings vary from close-ups of the two birds to spanning vistas of the city of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. If your children are learning about birds, in this case two common birds, or you are planning a trip to San Francisco, this book would be a delightful picture book to read together.
