Animals All the Time

Sorry for the missed week! Last week I was on my own with the girls, and was just trying to keep my head above water and the house in some state of repair.


We got a variety last week:

Olivia Goes to Venice by Ian Falconer
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
It's the Bear by Jez Alborough
Where's My Teddy by Jez Alborough
Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin. Pictures by Harry Bliss.
Duck on a Bike by David Shannon

"Diary of a Worm" was a cute book, but was very much a diary, with humor that went a little over EJ's head. She's 2--many things sail over her head. She liked the pictures, but the diary style was hard for her to follow, I think.

The "Bear" books were cute, and Erica thinks they're great. I was a little bored by them, because they are setting up a story that I already know because our first one was " My Friend, Bear," in which we have already met all the characters described in the books. Alborough does a nice job with the poetic narrative. Honestly, my one critique is for the publisher, not the author: in many kids' books,

the line breaks in the poems occur, not when they should naturally to set up the rhythm and rhyme scheme, but randomly to fit the text into the light areas of the illustration. WRONG! It's a book, and the text is of primary importance, supported by the art. Place the words first, then work the art around that.

The clear winner this week was "Duck on a Bike," for Erica and me both. The illustrations were great, the characters were able to be funny without being too adult in their humor and when the animals, who all dismiss Duck's antics, spot their own chance to ride, their faces are hysterical.

Of note: If you pick up "In the Night Kitchen," know that it is an anatomically correct book. When kiddo gets nekked and falls into the night kitchen, there are a couple of full frontals of his boy bits. THEY ARE NOT RUDE, or anything, but we're so used to neuter illustrations that I may or may have giggled like a preteen. It's a decent book, but just be aware so you can stifle your giggles while explaining to your daughter why Mike's bits don't look like hers.