PPBF: The King and the Sea

Author: Heinz Janisch; translated by Sally-Ann Spencer
Illustrator: Wolf Ehrlbruch
Publisher: Gecko Press, 2015 (original: Der König und das Meer, Sansouci im Carl Hanser Verlag, 2008)
Ages: 4-8
Themes: short stories, kings
Opening: ” I am the king,” said the king. The sea answered with a whoosh.

Summary: (from the publisher) These stunningly illustrated, ultra-short stories are seemingly simple but ultimately profound tales. In each story, the king has an encounter which he tries to rule over. But of course the rain doesn’t stop just because a king orders it, and tired eyelids can be much stronger than a king’s will. The king sees that his power has limits; the world is diverse and much of it operates under its own rules.

I like this book because: these stories talk UP to children, demanding thought and reflection, with sparse and humorous illustrations designed with plenty of negative space – room for all that contemplation!

Resources/activities: make a leaf crown (next fall!)

For existing PPBF selections including resources and activities, go to Susanna Hill’s blog: HERE

PPBF: A Sock Is a Pocket for Your Toes

Author: Liz Garton Scanlon
Illustrator: Robin Preiss Glasser
Publisher: HarperCollins, 2004
Ages: 4-8
Themes: stories in rhyme, pockets, poetry
Opening: A sock is a pocket for your toes, a vase is a pocket for a rose.Summary: (from my library catalog) A poetic celebration of non-traditional pockets and what they hold, pointing out that a sock is a pocket for your toes and a vase is a pocket for a rose.I like this book because: it’s so creative and inviting – inspires me to think up my own pocket rhymes. Definitely on my list for Christmas gifts!Resources/activities: creat your own ‘pocket’ rhymes; consider other objects in lieu of pockets – like, a roof is an umbrella for my house.For existing PPBF selections including resources and activities, go to Susanna Hill’s blog: HERE

PPBF: This is Sadie

Author: Sara O’Leary
Illustrator: Julie Morstad
Publisher: Tundra Books, 2015
Ages: 3-7
Themes: imagination
Opening: This is Sadie. No, not that. That’s a box. Sadie is inside the box.
Summary: (from the publisher) Sadie is a little girl with a big imagination. She has been a girl who lived under the sea and a boy raised by wolves. She has had adventures in wonderland and visited the world of fairytales. She whispers to the dresses in her closet and talks to birds in the treetops. She has wings that take her anywhere she wants to go, but that always bring her home again. She likes to make things — boats out of boxes and castles out of cushions. But more than anything Sadie likes stories, because you can make them from nothing at all. For Sadie, the world is so full of wonderful possibilities … This is Sadie, and this is her story..

I like this book because: Patricia does too! Haha, we do like a lot of the same books, but I had just read it before Patricia posted. I agree that is is great to see the limits of imagination go beyond gender (I so wanted to be Dr. J!). The illustrations are so charming and make us fall head over heals for the character, not as easy to achieve as one might think.

Resources/activities: discuss role-play: what are some of the things we like to play when we are on our own and how that might differ from what we do together?

For existing PPBF selections including resources and activities, go to Susanna Hill’s blog: HERE