★
REVIEW TEAM FAVORITE
Chanticleer and the Fox
By: Barbara Cooney
Medal Winner
Reviewed by: Sara Masarik
Also read and recommended by: Lara Lleverino, Sherry Early
The House That Jack Built: A Picture Book in Two Languages
By: Antonio Frasconi
Honor
NOT REVIEWED
Generations of children have delighted in the nursery rhyme about Jack and his house. Starting with the familiar refrain "This is the house that Jack built. This is the malt that lay in the house that Jack built," the age-old chant expands to include the maiden all forlorn, the cow with the crumpled horn, and other distinctive characters.
This Caldecott Honor-winning picture book offers an additional attraction to the traditional tale: all of the verses appear in French as well as English. From the opening, "Voici la maison Queen Jacques a batie. Voici le malt qui se trouvait dans la maison que Jacques a batie," to the grand conclusion, the repetition of catchy rhymes provides effortless reinforcement of French words and phrases. Brilliantly colored woodcut illustrations by renowned artist Antonio Frasconi add an ageless beauty to this keepsake edition.
From the Dover Edition
Umbrella
By: Taro Yashima
Honor
NOT REVIEWED
The year Momo had her third birthday the sunny Indian summer weather stayed for too long. Mom wanted the rain to come so she could user her new birthday umbrella and her beautiful red rubber boots.
Then at last there was a morning when Momo's mother said, "Get up! Get up! What a surprise for you!" Momo did not even stop to wash her face and she pulled the boots onto her bare feet, she was so excited. The rain did not stop all day long, and it was a wonderful day for Momo because she found that she was grown-up enough to do something she had never done before.
Taro Yashima has captured in a gentle, poetic story and inimitably beautiful pictures the wonder of a little child's discovery of herself. Other little children, and their fathers and mothers who read to them, will share delight in a small adventure that has meaning for everybody.
From the dust jacket
★
REVIEW TEAM FAVORITE
What Do You Say, Dear?
By: Sesyle Joslin
Illustrated by: Maurice Sendak
Honor
Reviewed by: Lara Lleverino
Recommended age: 6 - 12 years of age
Also read and recommended by: Sandy Hall, Sherry Early
"What Do You Say, Dear?" followed by its sequel "What Do You Do, Dear?" by Sesyle Joslin are picture books about snort-through-your-nose absurd situations that tickle readers' funny bones while reminding us that what you say and what you do can be completely independent of the crazy situations we might find ourselves in. I find Maurice Sendak's expressive illustrations the perfect compliment to these laugh-out-loud scenarios.
