PPBF: Do Not Open

Author/Illustrator: Brinton Turkle
Publisher: Penguin, 1981
Age: 4-8
Themes: cats, seashore, magic
Opening: Miss Moody lived at land’s end with Captain Kidd. Captain Kidd wasn’t the famous pirate; he was a cat.

Summary: (from my library’s catalog) Following a storm Miss Moody and her cat find an intriguing bottle washed up on the beach. Should they ignore its “Do not open” warning?

I like this book because: Drawn to the illustrations on a another one of Jama Kim Rattigan’s facebook posts, I placed several of Brinton Turkle’s books on hold, and this is one I had enjoyed before with my children. It’s a His use of dramatic pencil lines and efficient yet bold compositions is food for my soul! (I would have preferred not to have the text boxes set in the middle of these lovely images though!) It’s a dramatic little story too!

Resources/Activities: Brinton Turkle’s started making picture books before I was born, and one title, Thy Friend, Obadiah, won a Caldecott Honor Medal in 1970. Look for a pile of his books, ones he wrote and ones he illustrated for others, and enjoy!

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

PPBF: The Wall In the Middle of the Book

Author/Illustrator: Jon Agee
Publisher: Dial, 2018
Age: 3-7
Themes: knights, assumptions, walls
Opening: There’s a wall in the middle of the book. And it’s a good thing.

Summary: (from my library’s catalog) A knight who feels secure on his side of the wall that divides his book discovers that his side is not as safe as he thought, and the other side is not as threatening.

I like this book because: I live for picture books with humor so dry, concepts so simple, yet all brought together elegantly! And when the function of text and pictures can only work together, just as the maker intended, well, the stars shine brighter, don’t they?

Resources/Activities: once you’ve read the book together a few times (because you’ll want to) discuss each spread and all the elements present that help deliver the picture book maker’s intentions; act the whole thing out as a play; imagine what happens after the last page.

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

 

PPBF: Penguinaut!

Author: Marcie Collen
Illustrator: Emma Yarlett
Publisher: Orchard, 2018
Age: 3-7
Themes: penguins, zoo, moon
Opening: Orville was small. His friends were big. And their adventures were bigger

Summary: (from my library catalog) Orville is a little penguin who lives in a zoo and dreams of big adventures, like going to the Moon; the other animals are skeptical, but Orville is determined, so he builds a spaceship and sets out all by himself–and discovers that real adventures are best when they are shared with friends.

I like this book because: full disclosure: I am biased! This is a BA-BOING brand new picture book from one of my critique partners, and it IS fabulous! Great rhythm and readaloudablity, oodles of onomatopoeia and lots of alliteration! AND I love the mixed media illustrations and adorable KA-BOOM character designs! BLAST OFF to your library and enjoy it yourself!

Resources/Activities: create your own milk-carton rockets; make a volcano-styled blast-off with recyclable water bottles, instructions HERE; make night sky art on dark paper, like the one above which I found HERE

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

PPBF: The Bear & the Fly

Author/Illustrator: Paula Winter
Publisher: Crown Publishers, 1976
Age: 4-7
Themes: bears, disaster, wordless picturebook

Summary: (from my library’s catalog) A bear tries to catch a fly with disastrous results.

I like this book because: It’s a book we would likely not see published today, which is a shame. Kids understand how one family member’s distractions, weaknesses, and faults affect the whole family and may well be able to identify, and also see the foolishness and humor in obsessions. The illustration style is still highly attractive and effective today. I also love the handy size: 5.5”x7”

Resources/Activities: Study wordless picturebooks; how do artists what to draw to move a story forwards and create a page turner without text?; consider other solutions for this family – how could this story have ended differently? Watch the video at the bottom of the post.

 

PPBF: The Teeny-Tiny Woman

Author/Illustrator: Paul Galdone
Publisher: Houghtoin Mifflin, 1984
Age: 4-7
Themes: folklore, bones, scary stories
Opening: Once upon a time there was a teeny-tiny woman who lived in a teeny-tiny house in a teeny-tiny village.

Summary: (from my library’s catalog) Retells the tale of the teeny-tiny woman who finds a teeny-tiny bone in a churchyard and puts it away in her cupboard before she goes to sleep.

I like this book because: It’s a teeny-tiny classic, a re-telling of a folktale that has just the right amount of silly in just the right amount of spooky for not so teeny-tiny kids! The illustrations are cute but not too cute too! And it’s so much fun to read aloud – a priority for me!

Resources/Activities: read this at Halloween or at a sleep-over, or on a dark, rainy afternoon; along with other slightly scary titles like A Creepy Pair Of Underwear/A.Reynolds and P.Brown, Big Bad Bunny/Franny Billingsley and G.Brian Karas

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