Book Review: The Day the Crayons Quit – by Drew Daywalt

Book: The Day the Crayons Quit
Author: Drew Daywalt
Illustrator: Oliver Jeffers
Publisher: Philomel Books
Date: 1st edition June 27, 2013
Genre: picture book
Pages: 40
Price: Kindle $8.66; hardcover price varies from about $9.00 up
My Rating: A unique idea that makes a funny story for children to
enjoy

Duncan is a little boy who loves to colour. One day he opens his crayon box to find – not crayons, but – notes from his crayons! It seems they each have filed a complaint with him, quit, and left home. Of course, each wrote the note itself so the words are in the colour of the crayon. Here are a few:

Pink crayon feels that it’s more of a colour for girls so isn’t used much. How many things are pink?

Red crayon feels it’s used too much.

Blue crayon complains about being used so much it’s become too short to see over the edge of the box.

White writes that it usually can’t be seen unless outlined.

Peach is embarrassed. It seems Duncan peeled its paper off so now it feels naked.

Yellow and orange are fighting – something about the colour of the sun – so aren’t speaking to one another anymore.

Poor Duncan. What is he to do? You’ll have to read the book to find out what he comes up with to make them all happy. 🙂

This is a funny, well-written story young children should enjoy having read to them, and later learning to read themselves. This reader wanted to know what colour’s note would come next and what problem would be presented. The illustrations are cute and nicely done, with the crayons’ printing like a young child would do.

This book by Drew Daywalt was rated as Amazon Best Children’s Book of 2013.

You can find The Day the Crayons Quit on my BUY THE BOOK! page.

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Picture Book Idea Month (aka PiBoIdMo) began today!

Today is a great day for picture book authors and illustrators.

Today is the first day of Picture Book Idea Month 2014, also known as PiBoIdMo. (Learn more HERE.) Thanks to Tara Lazar who is the creator of this inspiring challenge, November 1-30 is brainstorming month for those of us who appreciate the push, nudge, encouragement to capture our ideas. (Read my interview with Tara HERE.) This morning before I was out of bed I was thinking about this being Day One of PiBoIdMo and how I just didn’t want to get out of my bed yet … and an idea came to me for a picture book! Yay! I still haven’t written it down but that’s next on my to-do list. Maybe in the next couple of brainstorming days I can add to that story by coming up with my character’s name and a great title for the book. Or maybe I will settle on those today – now the imagination wheels have begun to turn again. Either way, I will try to keep track on my blog as I progress with this year’s PiBoIdMo challenge.

It is not too late if you are interested take part in Picture Book Idea Month; you have until midnight of November 7 to read about it and register HERE.

Each November since 2010 I have worked on a YA fiction novel, last year being the least I added to it. With a little regret, this year I decided to not participate in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). This means I may not even finish my novel, but I surely want to! My problems are tiredness, trying to beat back depression, too much going on in my brain as it is – including all I feel I have to do or should be doing but not wanting to overextend myself further. I care about my own health, and if I get sick I am of little help to anyone else. My dad needs me, my sister needs my contributed half in caring for Dad, my husband and daughters even need me sometimes. And, of course, little Meyya needs me. Okay, there. Does that sound convincing enough?

Even though this month I’m not officially adding to my novel through NaNoWriMo, my fiction story stays on the back burner of my mind. I’m not sure how to bring it to its natural end yet, but the characters won’t go away. It seems they’re telling me this is a novel that needs to be completed, which I plan to do. In fact, I’m kind of excited to see how it turns out!

What it comes down to is I believe my biggest problem may be lack of adequate organization of my time. Well, that and I get distracted easily. And I’m tired. And I have so many ideas and things I want to do. hmm Yeah, I’ll go back to the first point – lack of adequate organization of my time. (Can anybody relate to this?)

Share with me your thoughts on this.

What do you find to be the main thing that prevents you from moving forward, and how do you conquer it? Any tips for me on how to better divide and manage my time?

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Book Review: Emma Bean – by Jean Van Leeuwen

Book: Emma Bean

Author: Jean Van Leeuwen

Illustrator: Juan Wijngaard

Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers

Date: September 6, 1993

Genre: picture book for ages 3 and up

Pages: 40

Price: can be found at a wide range of prices, from a few cents for used to phenomenal prices for new

My Rating: a book to love for its wonderful story and fabulous illustrations

The back story: I was studying, taking a course called Writing Children’s Literature. I had a long reading list of children’s books, so I began buying some from the bookstore and borrowing many from the library to read from that list. One day I made a trip to the bookstore and just wandered around lovingly looking at and touching the many, many books, when I came upon this particular one. Emma Bean by Jean Van Leeuwen was the most gorgeous hard cover book I had seen that day … and maybe ever up to then. I stood in a quiet aisle of that bookstore and read the story. Oh my goodness! It so touched my heart it was all I could do to keep from crying right there. In fact, I think I did sniffle a little. Not prepared to buy anything that day I reluctantly put the book back, but a few days later I went to the little shop with a specific purchase in mind and left with my own copy of Emma Bean.

Look at the words of the opening page: Once there was a rabbit and she had a girl. The girl’s name was Molly. The rabbit was Emma Bean.

How sweet and inviting is that beginning? This is the most adorable story. Emma Bean was made to be a cuddly toy bunny for a baby, and as the little girl grew Emma Bean got to have lots of experiences – from taste-testing to ‘flying’ (not always the best fun) to going to school.

The illustrations by Juan Wijngaard are fabulous. Rich, colourful, realistic, they help to make the story delightful and memorable.

This is the back cover.

If Emma Bean by Jean Van Leeuwen had been available for me to read as a little girl, for sure it would have been one of my most cherished. Even though it was published two decades ago, I highly recommend this book for a child you care about, or for your own bookshelf – like I did. 🙂

You can find Emma Bean listed on my BUY THE BOOK! page.

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Book Review: The Moon has a Date with the Sun – by Marc Geller

Book: The Moon has a date with the Sun

Author: Marc Geller

Illustrator: Robert M. Henry

Publisher: Marc Geller

Date: February 8, 2013

Genre: children’s fantasy

Pages: 44

Price: Paper – $10.80; Kindle – under $1

My rating: fun story with great illustrations

The Moon has a date with the Sun by Marc Geller is a fascinating story for children. The illustrations are fabulous – bright, cheery, realistic portrayals of cityscapes, day and night sky, and more colourful, beautiful pages by very accomplished artist Robert M. Henry.

The Sun is king of the sky, but he gets lonely even though he demands he is the only one who can take up space in his sky. A little cloud befriends Sun and suggests maybe he and Moon can meet. Moon is lonely too and is interested when the cloud mentions the possibility of her having a friend. Sun and Moon begin to have hope.

You have to read this yourself to see what happens. It’s a cute story, one which children will love to read or to have read to them. The words are rather advanced in places for the youngest ones, but it’s a great way to introduce words with their meanings in context. It also will teach them some historical facts in a fun way.

The Moon has a date with the Sun is quite a different story, well done and interesting, almost like a fable.

You can find The Moon has a date with the Sun listed on my BUY THE BOOK! page.

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Book Review: A Dragon’s Work is Never Done – by Stephanie Barrett

Book: A Dragon’s Work is Never Done

Author: Stephanie Barrett

Illustrator: Taryn Dufault

Publisher: Stephanie Barrett

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

Date: August 28, 2012

Genre: children’s picture book

Pages: 64

Price: under $10 paper; under $3.00 Kindle

My Rating: A delightfully fun story to capture the imagination

What a delightful diversion from novel-reading! I enjoy a good picture book, and this one fits the bill.

Six-year-old Alfie is busy playing with his train set one afternoon when his mother interrupted him to come wash his hands and sit at the table to eat his lunch. She had prepared for him a ham and cheese sandwich slathered with mustard, and she warned him to take small bites and chew carefully. But, Alfie took a “great big whopping bite” and … ohhhh … spicy hot! When he took a deep breath of air out came smoke, just like smoke from a dragon’s nostrils, followed by flames when he burped! He had toasted the top of his cheese and ham sandwich!

The author, Stephanie Barrett, built such a fun story from there. The kitchen in which Alfie was sitting changed, with grass and tree branches growing out of everywhere and right up through the ceiling and out the roof. He was sitting in a forest. When Alfie looked up he saw dragons flying across the sky!

Now, what child wouldn’t love to meet a friendly dragon? Even now I think I would love it. But this adventure was for Alfie, and what an exciting adventure he had! He learned to fly, and helped a dragon scare a princess, guard treasure, and many other interesting things. The dragon always received payment from the people he helped, but I won’t dish out that spoiler. 🙂

A Dragon’s Work is Never Done is not the usual 32-page picture book, so it is a little long for young readers but should keep them interested easily. The marvellous illustrations by Taryn Dufault complement the story with wonderful visuals.

An added highlight is at the end of the book. There is a Florida postal address with an invitation to write to Marty (the dragon) or Alfie. From reviews I’ve read they do send handwritten replies to the children who write to them. Imagine a letter from a dragon; how cool is that!

A Dragon’s Work is Never Done is the first book in the Alfie’s Sandwich Series. Book two has since been released.

You can find A Dragon’s Work is Never Done listed on my BUY THE BOOK! page.

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Book Review: I AM OTTER – by Sam Garton

Book: I AM OTTER

Author: Sam Garton

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Date: April 29, 2014

Genre: picture book, ages 4-8; Preschool – grade 3

Pages: 32

Price: hardcover $16.99 US suggested price, but can be found for less

My Rating: amusing, amazing illustrations to go with a delightful story. Love it!

If you have never met Otter or Otter Keeper (Sam Garton) through the blog I am Otter: The Unheard Ramblings of a Modern Day Domestic Otter, then you really must remedy that situation and go there. (But wait! Please read my review first, of course.)

I don’t remember how I was introduced to Otter, but I’m glad I found her and Otter Keeper because I always enjoy reading about what new antics have occurred. The best news yet is this book: I AM OTTER. I had to pre-order and be patient, but when it arrived it was certainly worth the wait.

I AM OTTER by Sam Garton is a gorgeous book! Sam is both the author and the illustrator, and he certainly has found his voice and artistic talent. Otter has attitude and determination which come across in amusing mishaps. The detail worked into each illustrated page is amazing and entertaining.

Otter Keeper is very patient and tolerant. Otter is such a loveable character who is always getting herself into trouble of one kind or another, and Teddy is always getting the blame. For example, on the jacket cover Otter says: I hope you like the story! (And if you don’t it’s probably Teddy’s fault.)

Small spoiler alert … enough to tempt you: Because Otter Keeper, no matter how much Otter tries to prevent it, goes to work every Monday, and Otter and Teddy don’t have jobs, they decided to open a toast restaurant. Unfortunately, they immediately ran into problems. Here’s an excerpt: Next, Teddy hadn’t told anyone how much our toast would cost. As a result, no one brought any spending money, which led to some embarrassing situations. Finally, Teddy got several of the toast orders wrong. Some of the customers complained and had to be asked to leave the restaurant. The customers are toys from Otter’s toy box, and the illustration is of a few toys having been escorted (tossed) out the window. Too cute!

There are such pleasing and amusing surprises to this story, I laughed out loud. When my grandson was here for a short visit the day my book arrived, he and I enjoyed reading I AM OTTER together. Every page has so much to see, and the situations created are truly funny. I love books like this.

Check out this book trailer and get a taste of I AM OTTER by Sam Garton.

If you are looking for a fun and entertaining picture book for a little someone special, I urge you to consider I AM OTTER by Sam Garton. When I asked my grandson to read my copy with me he didn’t want to then, so I suggested we take turns reading the pages. That was acceptable, but he got so into the story he forgot a couple of times it was my turn and kept reading. 🙂 Now that’s a great recommendation. 😉

You can find I AM OTTER listed on my BUY THE BOOK! page.

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings!

Book Review: Cowboy Christmas by Rob Sanders

Book: Cowboy Christmas

Author: Rob Sanders

Illustrator: John Manders

Publisher: Golden Books-Random House

Date: September 11, 2012

Genre: picture book

Pages: 32

Price: $11.49 or less, in both hardcover and Kindle

My rating: A funny and colourful book that is enjoyable to read

I bought this book – Cowboy Christmas by Rob Sanders – as a Christmas gift for my grandson and borrowed it from him to review. He said he likes the book, and then enjoyed reading it to me.

Even though it currently is not in season, Cowboy Christmas is well worth the read anytime. Rob Sanders is expert with words, using some that will broaden a child’s vocabulary while enhancing the story. He has written such a cute twist on the idea of preparing for Christmas when things are not the same as one is used to having available.

Three days before Christmas four cowboys are in the desert – three are taking care of a herd of longhorn cattle and the fourth is the fatherly cook. The three worry that “Santy” won’t find them way out in the desert. They individually lament over being without a Christmas tree with decorations, yummy Christmas cookies to eat, and horses to dress up as reindeer to hitch to a wagon. Cookie (the cook) quietly convinces each that they can do that, and each makes the attempt – with hilarious results. For example, did you ever see a cactus Christmas tree with cans of corn hanging from it in lieu of popcorn? Rob Sanders wrote: Dub corralled cans of corn. “No corn popper,” he explained.

The surprise ending (for the young reader) is satisfying and yet leaves the reader imagining what is coming next beyond the end of the story. The illustrations by John Manders are colourful, funny, and well-matched to the story, adding great visuals to the descriptive words.

Visit Rob Sanders’ very informative website (www.robsanderswrites.com) and check out the trailer for Cowboy Christmas, a book you may want to buy now for a young reader for Christmas – or anytime.

You can find Cowboy Christmas listed on my BUY THE BOOK! page.

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂