Penguin's 12 Days of Picture Books: The Nonsense Show

Penguin Young Readers is celebrating the holiday season with 12 Days of Picture Books from 12/2 to 12/18. Today's picture book is The Nonsense Show. Check out Penguin Young Readers' Facebook page for the giveaway. For more gift ideas, check out Penguin's Gift Guide.

The Nonsense Show
by Eric Carle
Philomel Books (October 13, 2015)
Fiction * Imagination * Word Play

Description from GoodReads: 
Ducks growing out of bananas? A mouse catching a cat? What’s wrong with this book?
 
Yes, there’s something strange, something funny and even downright preposterous on every page of this bookBut it’s not a mistake – it’s nonsense!  And it’s also surrealism. Nonsense lies at the heart of many beloved nursery rhymes.  Children readily accept odd statements like “the cow
jumped over the moon” and “the dish ran away with the spoon.”  This fanciful bending of reality is also basic to surrealism.

In this book, nonsense and surrealism combine to spark creativity and imagination.  What’s true? What’s impossible? What’s absolutely absurd? From Eric Carle, creator of the classic, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, comes a book to make children laugh and think, preparing them for a
lifetime of loving both words and art.

Following on the heels of The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse (an homage to the artist Franz Marc and expressionism) and Friends, with its semi-abstract artwork,  The Nonsense Show  forms a trilogy of sorts, dedicated to introducing young readers to different styles of artwork without ever overlooking the need to, first and foremost, appeal to children and their love of play. One of the true legends and pioneers of picture book making continues to expand and challenge the genre. 

Official Book Trailer:

Thoughts about this book: 
At 86 years old, Eric Carle is still creating children's books. His latest, The Nonsense Show came out in October 2015. 

Filled with rhyming text, riddle like questions, Carle leads readers through a series of absurd images and scenarios such as the duck coming from the banana on the cover or a fish in a bird cage. 

Though The Nonsense Book is different from some of Carle's more well-known books, the book invites readers to explore, laugh, and talk about the wacky combinations throughout the book.

Collectors of Carle's previous books will want to add this to their collections. Those looking for a read aloud that will engage students in conversation and laughter will want to pick this one up.

Photo: © Cirsten Carle

About the author/illustrator: 
Eric Carle is acclaimed and beloved as the creator of brilliantly illustrated and innovatively designed picture books for very young children. His best-known work, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, has eaten its way into the hearts of literally millions of children all over the world and has been translated into more than 25 languages and sold over twelve million copies. Since theCaterpillar was published in 1969, Eric Carle has illustrated more than sixty books, many best sellers, most of which he also wrote.

Penguin's 12 Days of Picture Books: Ladybug Girl and the Best Ever Playdate

Penguin Young Readers is celebrating the holiday season with 12 Days of Picture Books from 12/2 to 12/18. Today's picture book is Ladybug Girl and the Best Playdate Ever. Check out Penguin Young Readers' Facebook page for the giveaway. For more gift ideas, check out Penguin's Gift Guide.

Ladybug Girl and the Best Ever Playdate
by David Soman, Jackie Davis
Dial Books (August 25, 2015)
Fiction * Social Issues * Friendship

Description from Goodreads: 
Lulu is excited about her playdate with Finny—and especially excited about Finny’s Rolly-Roo. In fact, Lulu loves the toy so much that she . . . kind of forgets to play with Finny. So when the girls accidentally break the Rolly-Roo, will Lulu realize her mistake? In this compassionate and charming story about the value of a great friend, Lulu and Finny repair the broken toy, and soon forget all about it, blasting off on new imaginative adventures together as Ladybug Girl and Grasshopper Girl.

Thoughts about this book:
Ladybug Girl is an ongoing popular picture book series featuring a young girl who dresses up as Ladybug Girl.  Each book can be read individually and often books focus on issues and lessons that are important to young children. In the latest book, Ladybug Girl is excited about a playdate with Finny/Grasshopper Girl and her special toy Rolly-Roo. 

Young children can relate to playdates and struggles with sharing toys and Ladybug Girl is no different.

Ladybug girl learns that friendships are more important than even super cool toys.

And she learns a few things about what makes the best playdates ever. 

About the authors: 
Jacky Davis, along with her husband David Soman, is one half of the creative team behind the New York Times Bestselling Ladybug Girl series. She lives in upstate New York with her husband and children.

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday: Mock Sibert Part III - More Picture Books

Since I do try to read comments and tweets, I am responding to requests for making one more list for those who have decided to join in and give a Mock Sibert Award Challenge a try but need titles that they can easily read and share with their students.  So this post, will include five more picture books. 

If you want to know more about the Mock Sibert Award Challenge, click here. For the a list of my Mock Sibert picks including both picture books and long form titles plus more information about the criteria of the award, click here. 

Here are five additional picture books to add to your list:

A Chicken Followed Me Home!: Questions and Answers About a Familiar Fowl by Robin Page (Beach Lane Books, May 2015) - This question and answer format is just right in providing younger readers with lots of great information about chickens. 

Trombone Shorty by Troy Andrews, Illustrated by Bryan Collier (Abrams Books for Young Readers, April 2015) - I found this autobiographical picture book fascinating to read and Collier's illustrations are gorgeous. I wouldn't be surprised if it was honored with a Coretta Scott King Award for story and illustrations.

Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton by Don Tate (Peachtree Publishers, September 2015) - Another picture book biography that I enjoyed reading was POET. I loved learning about George Moses Horton and his life and writing. 

Earmuffs for Everyone!: How Chester Greenwood Became Known as the Inventor of Earmuffs by Meghan McCarthy (Simon & Schuster, January 2015) - I am a big fan of McCarthy's work and was particularly intrigued in how she wrote this story. An excellent choice for older students to discuss when thinking about who is really the inventor of something.

I, Fly: The Buzz About Flies and How Awesome They Are by Bridget Heos; Illustrated by Jennifer Plecas (Henry Holt and Co., March 2015) - I thoroughly enjoyed both the humor and information packed into this book. Heos is quite talented in putting the two together. 

This will be my last Mock Sibert post for a few weeks. Happy reading and I hope that you will link up your Mock Sibert predictions so that everyone can read them.  If you do not have a blog, please feel free to share your top Mock Sibert pick in the comments. 

Don't forget to link up your nonfiction reviews:

Dear Santa, Love, Rachel Rosenstein Giveaway

Dear Santa, Love, Rachel Rosenstein
by Amanda Peet and Andrea Troyer; Illustrated by Christine Davenier
Doubleday Books for Young Readers (October 20, 2015)
Fiction * Holiday * 
Audience: Ages 3-7 years

About the book: 
Actress Amanda Peet brings us a hilarious holiday drama in a story that every Jewish family will relate to and appreciate.

Rachel Rosenstein wonders why Santa Claus never visits her house. But this year is going to be different--even though her family is Jewish and doesn't observe Christmas. With hilarious and heartwarming mishaps, Rachel visits Santa at the mall with her special request, writes a letter to Santa explaining her cause, and clandestinely decorates the house on Christmas Eve (right down to latkes for the reindeer). And while Rachel may wrestle with her culture, customs, and love of sparkly Christmas ornaments, she also comes away with a brighter understanding of her own identity and of the gift of friends and family.

Sneak peak into the book:

The illustrations in this book are charming.

I was curious how they would handle the subject matter. 

Not to spoil it, but I do think the creative team pulled together a realistic ending for this story. 

About the Creative Team: 
Amanda Peet is an actress and playwright. Her first play, "The Commons of Pensacola," starring Blythe Danner and Sarah Jessica Parker, opened to critical acclaim in 2014 at Manhattan Theater Club. A native of New York, Peet graduated from Columbia University with a degree in American History. She has appeared in numerous films, including "Please Give," "Syriana," "Something's Gotta Give," and "The Whole Nine Yards." She also starred in the TV series "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," and the Broadway revival of Neil Simon's "Barefoot in the Park." Peet stars in a new comedy series, "Togetherness" for HBO, debuting in fall 2014.

Andrea Troyer grew up in Minnesota and received an MFA from the University of California, Irvine. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two young boys.

Christine Davenier is the illustrator of many children's books, including Julie Andrews's "The Very Fairy Princess" series. She lives in Paris, France.

CELEBRATE TOGETHER Prize Pack Giveaway
Come together with friends celebrating different holidays! One winner will receive 2 copies of Dear Santa, Love, Rachel Rosenstein, one to keep, and one to share.

Giveaway open to US addresses only.
Prizing and samples provided by Penguin Random House.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

30 Days of Gratitude: Days 13, 14, & 15

Apparently, I am once again catching up on my gratitude posts. However, something felt weird in sharing a gratitude post in light of where the world was and continues to be these last couple of days. Sharing small things I was grateful for seemed so minor in light of the needs of the world. And yet, isn't this just the time to find ways to be grateful? Thankfulness for those who were first responders. Thankful for the outpouring of concern being shared by so many from everywhere. 

However, our concern for France is not enough. We need to be concerned about the pain and hurting in multiple countries and communities. Beirut. Baghdad. Kenya. And we need to act.

Please know that I am not trying to minimizing what happened in Paris. There is much pain and grief and fear at the moment because what has happened.  But gratitude can contribute to change. If I am focusing on being thankful and on what I appreciate, I am less likely to be focused on the negative. I am also more likely to respond positively to others, which in turn can have a positive impact on their lives and their responses.  If we all begin living more compassionately and concerned about those around us but in our neighborhood and the world, things will slowly change. Here is to a future of change. 

Picture Book Pick of the Day:

The Tea Party in the Woods
by Akiko Miyakoshi
Kids Can Press (August 1, 2015)
Fiction * Forest Animals * Parties
IndieBound | WorldCat

Checkout the book trailer:

This year there has been a number of picture books that have come from Canadian, European, or Asian authors and illustrators. I am thankful that we are able to access so many of these fantastic books. If you haven't seen this one, it is a bit like Little Red Riding Hood meets Alice in Wonderland. Fantastical and fun.  Go pick it up and tell me what you think.