Children's Picture Books

-- Publishers Weekly, 3/19/2007

Boxed and starred reviews indicate books of outstanding quality.
Boxed, unstarred reviews indicate books of special interest.

Orange Pear Apple Bear
Emily Gravett. S&S, $12.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4169-3999-3

Gravett, who won the Kate Greenaway Medal for Wolves, has another winner here. Using just the four words in the title in various combinations (plus a fifth word for a punchline), she ingeniously chronicles a big friendly bear's encounter with some fresh produce. Some of the vignettes are semi-reality based: the bear juggles the fruit ("Apple, bear, orange, pear") and balances all three pieces on his nose ("Orange, pear, apple, bear"). But other spreads are thoroughly fanciful: in one, Gravett tints the pear bright orange, and renders the dubious-looking bear in the green and blush hues of a Granny Smith apple ("Orange pear/ Apple bear"). The ursine hero later makes a quick meal of each fruit ("Pear, bear") and trots off into the sunset to the sound of the satisfactory punchline: "There!" Gravett sets her simple, almost iconic watercolor images against crisp white backgrounds. The fruit looks good enough to eat, and the bear, who clearly relishes his moment in the spotlight, is a winning performer. Ages 1-4. (May)

Bad Dog, Marley!
John Grogan, illus. by Richard Cowdrey. HarperCollins, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-06-117114-7

In this lively, if over-the-top, picture-book adaptation, Grogan puts a fictional spin on his Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog (see Marley: A Dog Like No Other, reviewed below), placing the irrepressible Lab in a family that includes parents, a tow-headed girl and a cherubic baby boy with "a giant, droopy diaper and a thumb that rarely left his mouth" (in reality, Grogan and his wife adopted Marley before they had children). Cowdrey's (Frosty the Snowman) sweetly sentimental pictures chronicle Marley's growth from pint-size pup to large-scale pooch—and even bigger troublemaker. Kids will chuckle over the dog's nonstop naughtiness, as his head and front paws disappear in the toilet ("He drank what was in his bowl. He drank what wasn't"), he crashes through a screen door and climbs onto the microwave to reach a chocolate cake perched atop the fridge. After Marley snacks on the couch cushions, creating an "indoor snowstorm" of feathers, Mommy declares, "That dog has got to go!" But the nimble pet redeems himself when he once again makes his way to the top of the fridge—this time to rescue the baby, whom he gets hold of by his overlarge diapers. In a complete narrative break, Marley dances in celebration, musing, "Finally, I did something right!" Youngsters familiar with mischievous canines may most appreciate this playful portrait. Ages 3-8. (May)

Kid Tea
Elizabeth Ficocelli, illus. by Glin Dibley. Cavendish, $14.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-7614-5333-8

This book makes a nifty observation that doesn't quite live up to its potential: plunk a kid covered in muck (brown mud, purple popsicle juice, yellow paint) into a tub, and the child will cause a chemical reaction analogous to what happens when a teabag is dunked into a cup of hot water. The book follows a week's worth of kid tea–making activities: "Wednesday, friends day,/ markers-paints-and-pens day/ .../ should-have-worn my smock day./ Dunk me in the tub, please/ for yellow kid tea!" Dibley's exaggerated kid portraits have a distant, editorial feel; the sense of everyday magic that a bath embodies never quite materializes. Similarly, Ficocelli's rhymes could use a bit more starch. By building every one of her verses around "day" ("Monday, fun day/ mud-pies-in-the-sun-day..."), she almost wears out her welcome within a few pages. Ages 3-7. (Mar.)

Little Donkey and the Birthday Present
Rindert Kromhout, illus. by Annemarie van Haeringen, trans. from the Dutch by Marianne Martens. NorthSouth, $15.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-7358-2132-3

The hero of the beguilingly offbeat Little Donkey and the Baby-sitter returns with a real dilemma on his hooves: he covets the red kite with the "long, long tail" that he picked out as a birthday present for his friend Jackie the yak. But no matter how Little Donkey tries to maneuver the kite into his own toy collection (he even claims the kite is lost when it's really tucked under his covers) he can't outfox Mama Donkey. "That's very sweet of you," she says when Little Donkey pointedly picks a bouquet of flowers for Jackie on the way to the party. "But you're still giving him the kite." Author and artist make both the yearnings and scams of their little protagonist utterly authentic and thoroughly sympathetic. Kromhout's direct, descriptive prose acknowledges that his young audience is more than capable of filling in the emotional tumult and humor that lurks beneath the words ("Little Donkey was sad that it wasn't his birthday. He changed his mind about giving the kite to Jackie. He'd rather keep it. He'd give him something else"). Haeringen's understated rendering style portrays characters who are poignant but never cloying, and her saturated splashes of color add just the right amount of visual and emotional punctuation to the distilled environments. Children will instantly identify with (and probably admire) Little Donkey's stratagems, but down deep they'll also be reassured by Mama Donkey's loving, knowing firmness. Ages 3-up. (Mar.)

Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy
Jane O'Connor, illus. by Robin Preiss Glasser. HarperCollins, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-06-054213-9

Fancy Nancy fans will loudly cheer her return and will be happy to discover that she has not lost a lick of her joie de vivre—or her glitter and glam. "I am ecstatic. (That's a fancy word for happy)," she announces, explaining that her family is getting a puppy, "a real one," she adds, as Glasser creates a comical scene of Nancy drafting her sister into the role of pretend-pooch (drawing on a noise with indelible marker). Nancy initially hopes for a dog like Jewel, the papillon that belongs to her elegant neighbor. But Nancy's practical parents think this breed is too small and delicate, and instead suggest hardier dogs; "I shake my head. Too big. Too brown. Too plain. Sometimes it's hard being the only fancy person in the family." Yet when she dog-sits for Jewel, she discovers that the prim and proper pooch does not enjoy romping or fetching like Nancy's friends' dogs. She realizes that Jewel's breed is not the perfect kind for her family. Her parents' idea to visit an animal shelter, however, brings about the perfect solution. Nancy spies spirited and smart Frenchy ("a La Salle spaniel," according to her father), who turns out to be just what the family needs. Glasser's fittingly fancy flourishes and abundant humor once again capture this young heroine's exuberant personality and delightfully exaggerated facial expressions. Author and artist make a sparkling encore performance. Ages 4-7. (Apr.)

Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Caralyn Buehner, illus. by Mark Buehner. Dial, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8037-2939-1

A Goldilocks with jump-rope rhythm who speaks in rhyme injects some freshness into the Buehners' spin on the favorite nursery tale, starring Papa Bear, Mama Bear and "Little Wee Bear." Though Caralyn Buehner doesn't stray far from the original set-up—three bowls of porridge, three chairs and three beds all figure into the mix—her bear family's humorous dynamic and contemporary-sounding exchanges will feel both fun and familiar to young readers. The bears' fair-haired visitor, who bursts on the scene singing, "Tra-la-la and tee-hee-hee,/ Won't you come and jump with me?" to an empty house, makes for an entertaining and fittingly irritating protagonist. Mark Buehner's lushly layered oil-and-acrylic paintings feature a pleasantly plump and nattily dressed ursine clan and a rustic, cozily appointed home. Images of the wild-eyed Goldilocks in her bright yellow frock and red cowboy boots, jump rope in hand, will likely not be soon forgotten. Ages 4-up. (Mar.)