Posted on by TracyC · 1 Comment

Make Way for Ducklings

MakeWay

Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey, 1941.

Mr. and Mrs. Mallard are looking for a new home where they can raise their babies.  After trying several places, they finally find a place that seems right on an island in the Charles River, not far from the Public Garden where people fed them peanuts.

MakeWayPic1

Then, one day, Mr. Mallard decides to take a trip to explore the river, leaving Mrs. Mallard and their ducklings on the island.  The two of them agree to meet again with their ducklings in the Public Garden in a week.  However, the journey from the river to the garden is perilous.  Mrs. Mallard and her ducklings need the help of some friendly policemen to make it safely through the city!

MakeWayPic2

The classic children’s picture book is cute and gentle with a happy ending for the Mallard family. This book is a Caldecott Medal winner and the Official State Children’s Book of Massachusetts.

MakeWayPic3

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive (multiple copies).

Posted on by TracyC · 1 Comment

Ginger’s Upstairs Pet

GingerUpstairsPet

Ginger’s Upstairs Pet by John Ryckman, 1971.

This is a cute picture book about a little girl named Ginger and the mysterious new “pet” she’s found.  At first, her mother doesn’t believe that Ginger has a pet, but Ginger keeps running downstairs from her room to ask for more food to feed her pet.  First, it’s cake.  Then, it’s apples.  Ginger keeps coming back down stairs with more requests for food.

GingerUpstairsPetPic1

Ginger’s mother thinks that Ginger is eating the food herself until Ginger comes downstairs with an especially strange request.  Then, her mother decides to see Ginger’s mysterious pet herself.

What kind of pet does Ginger have?  More importantly, how did she get it?

My Reaction and Spoilers

If you don’t want to know what pet Ginger has, don’t look at the pictures below!  I don’t mind giving spoilers, though, because this isn’t a very common book these days.  It isn’t on Internet Archive, although it’s possible to buy it on Amazon.  I won my copy in a drawing back when I was in first grade, and the school library was raffling off books they were getting rid of.

It’s a fun, light-hearted story about a strange day in the life of this family and the unusual “pet” that little Ginger temporarily acquires without even leaving her upstairs bedroom.  It’s a calm but humorous story that has enough reality to it to be believable.  Ginger’s pet and the way she found it are unusual enough that it would be unlikely that anything like this would happen to any real child, but not so far out and crazy to be completely unbelievable or too cartoony, and the situation is resolved realistically, after which Ginger and her mom have some cake themselves.  There’s nothing serious or tense about the story at all, so it would make good bedtime reading.  It’s one of the books that I think would be nice to see in print again.

The drawings are cute, and they’re interesting because they only use four colors: black, white, red, and green.

Posted on by TracyC

Cranberry Thanksgiving

cranberrythanksgivingCranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin, 1971.

Maggie and her grandmother like to invite friends to spend Thanksgiving with them.  Grandmother always tells Maggie to invite someone who doesn’t have anyone else to spend the holiday with.  This year, Grandmother has invited Mr. Horace, a pleasant man with an elegant manner staying at the local hotel.  Maggie has invited Mr. Whiskers, a friendly but somewhat scruffy sailor who has been on his own for years.

Grandmother has never really approved of Maggie’s friendship with Mr. Whiskers (whose real name is Uriah Peabody, but is called Mr. Whiskers because of his long, busy beard).  Mr. Whiskers’s unkempt appearance and lack of refinement have always bothered her.  She also suspects Mr. Whiskers of wanting to steal the secret recipe for her famous cranberry bread because he often shows up when she’s making it.  Some people have offered her a great deal of money for her recipe, but she insists that it’s a family secret that she’s leaving to Maggie.  Still, Mr. Whiskers has been a good friend to Maggie, so she allows him to come to Thanksgiving dinner.

As it happens, someone is out to steal Grandmother’s recipe, but not the person that she suspects.  It’s a nice holiday story about how appearances can be deceptive and real friendship is shown through honest behavior.

This book is part of a series, and like all the other books in the series, there is a recipe in the back.  The recipe in this book is for Grandmother’s Famous Cranberry Bread.

Posted on by TracyC · 1 Comment

Sarah Morton’s Day

sarahmortonSarah Morton’s Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl by Kate Waters, 1989.

This book is part of a series of historical picture books. It features a young girl who was an historical interpreter at Plimoth Plantation, a living history museum, playing the part of a real pilgrim girl who lived in 17th century Plymouth.  The pilgrim girl’s name was Sarah Morton, and she was nine years old in 1627, the year that Plimoth Plantation reenacts.

As Sarah Morton, the girl takes readers through a typical day in her life.  She demonstrates the chores that a pilgrim girl would have to perform.  She explains the clothes that a pilgrim girl would wear and what people ate.  There is a recipe for 17th Century Indian Corn Bread, a simple recipe that readers can make at home, but it warns that modern people wouldn’t think that it tastes very good.  It’s basically just water and cornmeal grits.

sarahmortonpic1Although much of Sarah Morton’s day is taken up with chores, she also discusses her relationship with her mother and her new stepfather.  The death of a parent was something that pilgrim children often experienced.  After her father’s death, Sarah’s mother remarried, and Sarah is concerned about whether her new father likes her.

However, her stepfather is a good man who cares about her.  He gives her lessons in reading and writing, something that not every pilgrim girl would have.  He also gives her a special toy: a knicker box, which is a wooden box with arches for rolling marbles through as a game.  She gets to play with her friend, Elizabeth.

The two girls are also excited about a ship that has been sighted out at sea.  Soon, new people will be coming to their colony, and they wonder if the ship is also carrying letters from England or special goods that they would like, like a new bolt of cloth.

In the back of the book, there are sections explaining a little about the Plimoth Plantation living history museum, the real Sarah Morton, and the girl portraying Sarah Morton, Amelia Poole. The Plimoth Plantation site has more information about the real Sarah’s Morton’s life, including what happened to her when she grew up.  If you’re curious about what Amelia Poole is doing today, she is a fiber artist and lives in Maine.

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

sarahmortonpic2

Posted on by TracyC

The Eleventh Hour

The Eleventh Hour by Graeme Base, 1989.

Horace the elephant is turning eleven years old, so he’s invited all of his animal friends to his house for a costume party.  The best part will be the extraordinary feast that Horace has created himself with all kinds of cakes and pastries and other desserts.

eleventhhourguests2

But, Horace refuses to let his friends eat any of the goodies until after they’ve played the party games. The guests have a lot of fun, but through all the games, they’re still thinking about that glorious feast. Only, when they finally go to eat, the food is all gone! Who could have taken it?

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

My Reaction

This picture book is actually a puzzle book, with puzzles difficult enough to even challenge adults.  Hidden within each of the large pictures taking up the entire page of each page in the book, are secret messages that hint at the identity of the thief, who is one of the party guests.  Some of the messages are in code.  Although a young child might enjoy the pictures in the book and the rhymes of the story, it would take someone older to be able to solve the puzzles.

There is a way to find the thief without finding the hidden messages or solving any codes, but it still requires attention to detail. There is a section in the back of the book that explains everything, pointing out all the secrets that you can find in the pictures, including the names of one of the giraffes and the swan, whose names are not given in the story itself.

But, don’t skip straight to the answers.  As Base himself says at the beginning to the section of answers, “the getting of wisdom is no match for the thrill of the chase, and those who choose the longer road shall reap their reward!”

Posted on by TracyC

Jumble Joan

jumblejoanJumble Joan by Rose Impey, 1989.

A boy and his friend, Mick, take his little sister upstairs to explore their grandmother’s attic one evening.  The boys are hoping to scare the girl by telling her all sorts of creepy stories about the stuff they find in the attic, but if they’re scaring anyone, it might just be themselves.

A rocking horse becomes one of the dreaded “Ten O’Clock Horses” that might drag a child off into the night if she isn’t in bed on time.  An old stuffed parrot in a cage becomes “The Deadly Vampire Bat”, waiting to suck their blood.  But, the most sinister creature of all might be “Jumble Joan”, who hides by pretending to be a pile of old clothes, ready to steal away any little girls who might want to play dress up in their grandmother’s attic!

Although the brother narrates the story, the pictures show that his little sister knows exactly what the boys are trying to do, and she does things to turn the situation around.

This is one of the books in the Creepies Series.  Kids under the age of seven might find stories in this series a little scary because they focus on how stories about monsters can build in the imagination, even if you know that you made them up yourself.  Still, all of the books have good endings, and this one is pretty funny.

This book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

Posted on by TracyC

The Flat Man

flatmanThe Flat Man by Rose Impey, 1988.

Before Slender Man, there was . . . The Flat Man!  And he wasn’t quite as scary. As far as I know, there is no connection between the two fictional characters other than a similarity in name.  Still, the Creepies Series, while picture books, should probably only be given to children no younger than seven who like scary stories.  They might provoke nightmares in very young children and sensitive children.  I liked these stories as a kid for their imagination, but individual tastes may vary.

Like all the books in the Creepies series, The Flat Man features a child who enjoys being a little scared and makes up his own imaginary monster to battle with at bedtime.  The entire time, the boy knows that the monster is imaginary and prides himself on knowing just how to deal with him.

While lying in bed one night, the boy imagines the scary creature called the Flat Man for the fun of it.  He amuses himself with imagining that every sound he hears is the Flat Man, a paper-thin creature that can sneak in anywhere, squeeze himself through any crack. But, the Flat Man has weaknesses: he’s afraid of light and open spaces. The boy acts out his duel with the imaginary Flat Man, enjoying his triumph . . . right up until his father comes in to find out what’s going on.

This book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

My Reaction

Even though his imaginary creature is frightening, the boy enjoys it, comes up with his own solution for defeating it, and acts out a triumphant battle with it. Those who don’t mind a bit of spookiness will appreciate the boy’s imagination and may giggle at how he gets a bit carried away with his fantasy.

Posted on by TracyC

Scare Yourself to Sleep

scareyourselfScare Yourself to Sleep by Rose Impey, 1988.

A girl and her cousin are camping out in the backyard when they decide to play a game they made up themselves called “Scare Yourself to Sleep.” They take turns inventing and telling stories about monsters lurking out in the darkness. The winner of the game is the one who successfully scares the other.

They talk about the Garbage Goblins, who live in trash cans. The Flying Cat is a creature that is half-cat, half-moth. The Tree Creeper lives in trees and looks like a branch, just waiting to fall down on someone. But, the best of all is the Invisible Man!

However, their stories are interrupted by the girl’s brother, Simon, who is trying to scare them . . . at least, they think it’s probably Simon. The monsters are made up, aren’t they?

The book is currently available online through Internet Archive. It’s part of a series.

scareyourselfpic1

My Reaction and Spoilers

I first read this when I was about seven years old, and I’ve loved it ever since! The pictures show not only what’s happening in the girls’ imaginations but hint at what’s happening in real life, just outside their tent as Simon acts out the things in their stories. It might be a little too scary for very young children, but kids about seven and up will like it (provided that they also like creepy stories).

The illustrations are vivid and detailed, and readers may be wondering up until the very end how much is really imagined. All the books in the Creepies Series are about the power of imagination and how it can be fun to be a little bit scared.

scareyourselfpic3