PPBF: My Family Tree and Me

Author/Illustrator: Dušan Petričić
Publisher: Kids Can Press , 2015
Age: 5+
Themes: family, genealogy, concept books
Opening: A long, long, time ago there lived my great-great-grandfather and mygreat-great-grandmother.

Summary: (from my library’s catalog) Come explore a boy’s family tree one side at a time, starting from the front of his photo album and then starting from the back–and see how they come together in the middle!

I like this book because: of the nifty idea to have the two (family) sides come together in the middle! AND it’s sooooo beautifully rendered! You might remember Petričić’s illustrations for another wonderful book: The Man With The Violin, written by Kathy Stinson – watch the trailer/interview below.

Resources/Activities: Research your family tree by asking relatives for help; ask relatives for favorite stories about family members.

For more Perfect Picture Book Friday picks with teacher/parent resources, check out the list on Susanna Hill’s blog HERE.

PPBF: The Mediterranean

Author/Illustrator: Armin Greder
Publisher: Allen & Unwin, 2017, originally publ. in Italy
Age: 8+
Themes: refugees, shipwrecks, Mediterranean region
Opening: After he had finished drowning, his body sank slowly to the bottom, where the fish were waiting.

Summary: (from my library’s catalog) A lifeless body. One of many in the waters of the Mediterranean. Precarious boats navigate the waters of the sea, from south to north. And more often than not, it is not only hope that drowns. The author and illustrator uses his distinctive charcoal drawings to depict a dark world with a global dimension. The only words in the story are a single sentence indicating what is happening to the body in the water in the first picture. From there on the reader needs to examine the pictures to draw conclusions about how that body came to be in the sea. An afterword by Alessandro Leogrande, an Italian journalist who writes about social, political and environmental issues, fills in thebackground about the ‘food chain’ portrayed in this disturbing picture book which demands discussion.

I like this book because: It is so powerful! Migration has always been an important issue, but especially now in it’s forced impact, and of our time on earth, and, I believe, one we will have to deal with on a myriad of levels and layers all over the world at least for the rest of my lifetime. And a wordless picture book may be the perfect vehicle for discussion. The execution makes the very best use of strong yet simple composition and contrast, limited palette, and loose rendering to deliver equally on an emotional and thought-provoking level. Pow!

Resources/Activities: Make this a weekly discussion, where new ideas and thoughts may be brought up to ponder over and over.

For more Perfect Picture Book Friday picks with teacher/parent resources, check out the list on Susanna Hill’s blog HERE.

 

PPBF: There’s A Hippopotamus On Our Roof Eating Cake

Author: Hazel Edwards
Illustrator: Deborah Niland
Publisher: Holiday House, 1980
Age: 4-8
Themes: hippos, imagination, humorous stories
Opening: Our roof leaks. Drip! Drip! Drip!

Summary: (from my library catalog) The hippopotamus who lives on the roof is able to do all the things the little girl who lives below isn’t allowed to do.

I like this book because: Simple, funny, and it’s based on a true story. Ha! Well, it’s true to our main character. And while we never find out what her name is, we surely know her! The bold yet spare palette capture the reader’s focused attention and get right to the point with very few lines. Hope you can find this ol’ gem!

Resources/Activities: write and illustrate your own stories based on what may be the reason for household problems and quirks. What makes the floors creak? Why won’t the toilet stop running? What goes bump in the night? Was that a squirrel or a branch or…?

For more Perfect Picture Book Friday picks with teacher/parent resources, check out the list on Susanna Hill’s blog HERE.

 

PPBF: Tickle My Ears

Author/Illustrator: Jörg Mühle
Publisher: Gecko Press, 2016, originally publ. in German
Age: 1-5
Themes: bedtime, rabbits, inter-active stories
Opening: This is little rabbit. Tap him on the shoulder – will he turn around?

Summary: (from my library’s catalog) Encourages readers to interact with the story by helping a little rabbit go through the steps of getting ready for bed.

I like this book because: I read it with my storytime gang not knowing how it would turn out having to share interaction with a board book with up to 10 kids! It went over splendidly, though  I opted out of having them each kiss the character good night! They loved it – even the 6 yr old joined in on the fun! A simple, adorable tickle of a book!

Resources/Activities: We read Big Bad Bunny/Billingsley and Karas, another bedtime book albeit with a slightly scary (Rrrar!) intro!; make hand- or potato-print pillowcases; staple together  a ‘sleeping bag’ from a strip of felt for a favorite stuffed animal or figurine or even a paper cut-out animal character. For more Perfect Picture Book Friday picks with teacher/parent resources, check out the list on Susanna Hill’s blog HERE.

PPBF: Danny McGee Drinks the Sea

Author: Andy Stanton
Illustrator: Neal Layton
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade, 2016 (Orig publ. by Hodder Children’s Books, 2016)
Age: 4-8
Themes: siblings, humorous stories, stories in rhyme
Opening: One summer’s day, Danny and Frannie McGee hopped into a car and drove down to the sea.

Summary: (from my library catalog) When Danny’s sister doubts his boast that he can drink the entire sea, he not only proves he was right, he swallows everything else in sight.

I like this book because: The humor and read-aloud-ability are the super-powers of this book. I really want to share it with my storytime crew, and though I wonder if the youngest might not catch some of the humor, it might just be worth trying! And summer is almost over – good time for us land-locked-lubbers! The illustrations are fun, bright and energetic, but in a few spots some interesting details are too close to the gutter – sorry I noticed at all, but hey, I notice stuff!

Resources/Activities: Read companion stories that have to do with eating, like I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie/Jackson and Schachner, The Runaway Dinner/ Ahlberg and Ingman, Stop That Pickle!/ Armour and Shachat;discuss your favorite foods and how much could be eaten in one sitting; have a mini watermelon eating contest (not as harmful as hotdogs!)

For more Perfect Picture Book Friday picks with teacher/parent resources, check out the list on Susanna Hill’s blog HERE.