Maw Books » M-P Title

Ollie’s Halloween by Oliver Dunrea

Natasha Maw — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 15:49:06 +0000

Ollie’s Halloween by Oliver Dunrea is just about the cutest Halloween picture book that I have read. Oliver Dunrea’s popular characters Gossie, Gertie, Peedie, BooBoo and Ollie all make an appearance in what can only be called an adorable tale.

Gossie is a wizard. Gertie is a chicken. Peedie is a dragon. BooBoo is a bunny. And Ollie is a mummy. It’s Halloween night and the goslings are all on the prowl. They hoot, they howl, they creep, they scare and they stalk. It’s Halloween night, a night to beware. But most important, it’s a night about sharing.

I love Oliver Dunrea’s books and this one also hits the mark. Love the characters, love the illustrations, love the story. If you have little ones in your house this Halloween, don’t miss picking up Ollie’s Halloween. You’ll want to add it to your permanent collection. It’s just too cute to miss.

Links of interest: Oliver Dunrea website, more book blogger reviews.
Genre: Fiction Picture Book, approx age 4-8.
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. September 6, 2010
Hardcover, 32 pages. ISBN 0618532412
Source:Library. A 2010 Cybil’s nomination for which I am a 1st round panelist.
Ollie’s Halloween is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

__________________________________________________

Maw Books has an affiliate relationship with several bookstores, including Indiebound, Powell’s, and Amazon . When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, Maw Books earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog. There is no cost to you.

The Potty Train by David Hochman and Ruth Kennison, Illustrated by Derek Anderson

Natasha Maw — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 20:40:44 +0000

I am going to tell you a secret. I have checked out The Potty Train by David Hochman and Ruth Kennison and illustrated by Derek Anderson from the library SO many times that it is really ridiculous that I haven’t bought it yet. I am most ashamed of this because if I have checked out the book no less than half a dozen times (renewing three times for three weeks each – meaning I’ve had the book in my home at least for 54 weeks off and on) then the least I can do is to actually buy this this book thus supporting the authors and illustrator. So by putting this shameful secret on the internet I will remedy the error of my ways and make the book a permanent book in my collection.

We started reading The Potty Train when I was potty training my oldest who has since mastered it some time ago. And sadly, I do have to say that no matter how many times we read The Potty Train much to the enjoyment of my three-year-old we have come to a standstill with the potty training. I’m hoping that you will have better luck than me.

That said, we LOVE The Potty Train! I mean come on, any book that says “Chugga chugga pooo-poooooo!” not only on the cover but also in the story is going to be a huge hit. My boys love trains so this is perfect for them. The illustrations are ADORABLE! And we love how learning how to go potty is just like taking a train ride – sometimes you get off track, you might get wet, sometimes you have to wait at crossings but one day you’ll even be able to ride through the night.

Highly recommended for the potty training toddler in your life. Sadly, I think mine just might enjoy the book more than actual potty training. We’ve already read it twice today. I do wish potty training books would come with a 100% guarantee to actually potty train your child. I can dream right?

Links of interest: David Hochman website, Derek Anderson website, more book blogger reviews.
Genre: Fiction picture book. Approx ages baby to preschool.
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing. January 8, 2008
Hardcover, 32 pages. ISBN 1416928332
Copy source: library.
The Potty Train is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

__________________________________________________

Ned’s New Home by Kevin Tseng

Natasha Maw — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 14:29:12 +0000

My two boys LOVE worms. I have a huge rule in my house which they know well: no worms in the house! We have an insane amount of worms in our backyard (which for this gardener is a good thing) and they love to go out with a shovel in hand to find them. My oldest has come to me before with no less than twenty worms all writhing in his two little hands. I won’t lie. That sight does make me want to puke a little. I won’t touch them. Anyways, they enjoy non-fiction books about worms from the library and I’ve listened (book on CD) to Diary of A Worm by Doreen Cronin in the car I don’t know how many times.

So it was pretty much a no-brainer that my kids would like the picture book Ned’s New Home by Kevin Tseng. In this book, Ned, the worm, lives inside a wonderful red apple. He loved to bake apple pies. But when the apple began to rot Ned knew that he would have to find a new home. He tests out various other homes including a pear, watermelon, blueberries, lemon, kiwi, and a bowl of cherries. None of them were perfect like his apple used to be. One day he finds himself being lifted into the sky by a big hungry bird. He manages to escape and lands in a tree full of big, beautiful . . . apples.

A happy ending for this cute little worm and a book which will make children happy as well. And if only real worms were as cute as Ned. If they were, he could move into my house. But as it is, my rule stays. No worms in my home.

Links of interest: Kevin Tseng website, more book blogger reviews.
Genre: Fiction Picture Book
Publisher: Tricycle Press. August 11, 2009
Hardcover, 32 pages. ISBN 1582462976
Copy source: Review copy for 2009 Cybil’s nomination consideration for which I was a panelist.
Ned’s New Home is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

__________________________________________________

My Goldfish by Barroux

Natasha Maw — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 03:00:01 +0000

If you are a parent of young children and don’t currently have a goldfish in your house then I would not recommend My Goldfish by Barroux. After you read this book together they will beg you for a goldfish of their very own. Every time you go to the store, they will beg you to go to the fish display. They will be very upset when you just look at the fish as opposed to immediately summing a clerk over right away to pick out which fish you will naturally take home.

But if you have a fish at home and perhaps are looking for a way to get rid of that fish, oddly enough My Goldfish will help you in that area as well. This book just happens to end with the very old goldfish jumping out the bowl and leaving. Where too? To swim with the great white fish of course (perhaps they’re white because it’s fish heaven).

I love the big thick lines and bold color in the illustrations for My Goldfish. The fish bowl is front and center in each picture. And the fish is quite talented as it’s proud owner would love to tell you. He’s strong. He loves to dress up for Halloween (my boys favorite picture spread), he loves to sing, he even goes on vacation and comes back sunburned. Some days he lives like a pig and must have his bowl changed everyday, other days he acts like he might be in love.

A fun look at pet ownership although I suspect that reading this book would actually be more entertainment than watching a goldfish. So for now (and hopefully forever) you will find no fish at our house.

Links of interest: More book blogger reviews.
Genre: Picture Book,, Fiction. Approx ages 4-8.
Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. January 20, 2009
Hardcover, 32 pages. ISBN 080285334X
Copy source: Review copy for 2009 Cybils picture book nomination for which I was a panelist.
My Goldfish is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

__________________________________________________

The Mistress’s Daughter by A.M. Homes

Natasha Maw — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 15:30:15 +0000

So in all honesty it’s been a while since I listened to The Mistress’s Daughter by A.M. Homes. I have discovered (and I suspected this would be true of me) that with two kids in the car it’s probably better for me to have read a book before listening to the audio. I’m just too distracted. I can’t pay attention. Plus, I got really impatient. I wanted to speed things up. Obviously, I can read faster than I can listen to a book and felt like it was taking way to long to get through the book. And again, being honest here, I don’t consider myself “well-listened” when it comes to audio books. Totally new territory for me. I’ve really only listened to the Harry Potter books, which I ADORED in audio. But I had read them previously. Thus enhancing my enjoyment I think. I had never read The Mistress’s Daughter but had it on my bookshelf and when going out of town and pursuing the library thought it would be perfect to listen to while in the car.

It took me weeks and weeks to listen to this very short memoir. I did not like the narrator at all and found myself wincing when I turned the audio back on. Annoyed. Very annoyed. That, of course, hampered my enjoyment. I really wish I had read this book in print instead of having listened to it. But even if I had read it, I suspect that I would have felt slightly annoyed with the book itself as well. I never really connected to A.M. Home’s story which is sad because it’s a memoir. I always hate when I don’t love a memoir because then it feels like I’m discounting the author’s story. It’s their life experience. And I don’t want to dismiss anybody’s life experience as being less than what it is. But it is what it is, and I never connected with her or her story.

In this memoir, author A.M. Homes recounts how she was given up for adoption before she was born. Her adoptive parents won’t tell her anything about her birth, her adoption, or her background. The Mistress’s Daughter is the story of how at the age of thirty, she reconnects with her birth parents and the road she travels in discovering how she is, who her family is and does that knowledge really change who she is? In her case, yes, the family narrative she discovers has a direct correlation with her sense of self.

All her life, she knew that there was some secrecy behind her birth. Her adoptive mother simply wouldn’t give her any answers. It was these answers that she would have to discover for herself. She becomes obsessed with genealogy work on both her biological and adoptive sides of the family. And when her birth mother dies, she hopes to figuratively find her mother in the box of personal effects that she left behind. And in doing so, she hopes to find herself as well.

I really wanted to love this book but found both her story and the narrator annoying enough that I couldn’t embrace it like I had hoped. I never understood the motives that drove the story. Sure, she explained the motives and I knew of them, but I just had a difficult time believing in them. I never felt convinced of the genuineness and truth of the story. And I HATE to say something like that particularly for a memoir because it is her truth. As for me, I simply kept shaking my head and saying, “Really? I just don’t get this.”

This one of those book reviews that I simply wonder if I would be singing a different tune had I not listened to the audio. Perhaps I would have been more apt to receive the story had I not been annoyed by the narrator every time I simply hit the play button. So, moral of the story? Skip the audio for this one and read the book. But even then, I was a bit leary. I’d be curious to hear what others think of it. As for me, The Mistress’s Daughter just didn’t do it for me.

Links of interest: A.M Homes website.
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
Publisher: Viking Adult. April 5, 2007
Hardcover, 240 pages. ISBN 0670038385
The Mistress’s Daughter is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

__________________________________________________

Mouse Was Mad by Linda Urban and Illustrated by Henry Cole

Natasha Maw — Mon, 24 May 2010 10:28:41 +0000

My two little boys, age four and three, love Mouse Was Mad by Linda Urban and illustrated by Henry Cole. I secretly wish that I could keep the pages of picture books perfectly crisp and pristine but then I have to tell myself that if that was the case in my house, then nobody would be reading the book. I’m pleased to say that I can see the wear and tear of where little hands having been turning the pages of this adorable book.

Mouse was mad. Hopping mad. But Hare shows mouse how he’s not hopping properly. But Mouse couldn’t hop right. Which made him even more mad. This time stomping mad. But Bear doesn’t call that stomping. When he stomped the trees shook and the earth rumbled. Mouse tries to stomp like Bear but the trees did not shake and the earth did not rumble. Which of course, made him even more mad. Bobcat and Hedgehog don’t think he’s doing a fine job either. But in the end, Mouse finds that he can be a type of mad that not even the other animals can perfect and also discovers something about himself as well.

As a parent, I really enjoy reading Mouse Was Mad aloud because it’s got such a great rhythm and really fun actions. We can act out the book all together. This book will have your kids up and moving. Giggles will be sure to ensue as well. Mouse, illustrated by Henry Cole, is so cute, I wouldn’t mind toting him around in my pocket. Even if he is a mouse.

Links of interest: Linda Urban website, Henry Cole website, more book blogger reviews.
Genre: Fiction Picture Book, approx age 4-8.
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. May 4, 2009.
Hardcover, 40 pages. ISBN 0152053379
Source copy: Review copy, Cybil’s nominee for which I was a panelist.
Mouse Was Mad is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

__________________________________________________

Ninety-Three in My Family by Erica S. Perl, Illustrated by Mike Lester

Natasha Maw — Tue, 04 May 2010 11:38:55 +0000

What happens when you have 27 owls, 10 cats, 11 dogs, 1 pygmy hippo, 8 frogs, 1 gerbil, 6 goldfish, 1 fox, 1 goat, 4 lions, 1 duck, 2 tigers, 1 penguin, 3 armadillos, 2 flamingos, 1 squirrel, 1 bear, 5 gophers, 2 llamas, 2 parents, 2 sisters and 1 brother? You get a very fun and entertaining book titled Ninety-Three in My Family by Erica S. Perl and illustrated by Mike Lester.

One little boy recounts to his unbelieving teacher at school just exactly how many people are in his family. Having ninety-three in ones family makes for very interesting meal times, car rides, bath times (somebody after all has to blow dry the 27 owls) , and bed times (particularly as they all wear matching pajamas).

Kids will get a kick out of reading this one and parents won’t tire of it either. From the author who also brought us the awesome Chicken Butt, Erica Perl has a great book on her hands. One that we enjoyed a lot.

Links of interest: Erica S. Perl website, Mike Lester website, Maw Books review of Chicken Butt by Erica Perl.
Genre: Picture Book, approx ages 4-8.
Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers. September 1, 2006
Hardcover, 32 pages. ISBN 0810957604
Ninety-Three in My Family is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

__________________________________________________

The Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston Hughes, Illustrated by E.B. Lewis

Natasha Maw — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:22:15 +0000

Yesterday I just reviewed the book My People that was illustrated to a Langston Hughes poem, so why not another one today? The Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston Hughes and illustrated by E.B. Lewis is a beautiful book with simply stunning watercolor spreads.

Langston Hughes was just 18 when he composed The Negro Speaks of Rivers and in it he captured the strength, the history and the courage of not only African Americans but black people all over the world.

I’ve known rivers:
I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow
of human blood in human veins.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.
I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.
I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.
I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down
to New Orleans, and I’ve seen its muddy bosom turn all golden
in the sunset.

I’ve known rivers:
Ancient, dusky rivers.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

E.B. Lewis has taken this poem and visually interpreted it as a gorgeous tribute. One that will find you eagerly turning the pages to discover the next watercolor but forcing yourself to not move too fast and linger over each spread.

The Negro Speaks of Rivers is part of my themed reading for the month of February which celebrates Black History Month. Join me this month as I explore books that celebrate the history of African-Americans.
Links of interest: E.B. Lewis website, more book blogger reviews.
Genre: Fiction Picture Book, approx age 4-8.
Publisher: Hyperion. January 6, 2009.
Hardcover, 32 pages. ISBN 0786818670
Source: Review copy from publisher for Cybils consideration.
The Negro Speaks of Rivers is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

__________________________________________________

My People by Langston Hughes, Photographs by Charles R. Smith Jr.

Natasha Maw — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:02:04 +0000

I enjoy books that have excellent photography, which is why I was curious about My People by Langston Hughes with photographs by Charles R. Smith Jr.

Hughes 1923 poem is a simple one:

The night is beautiful,
So the faces of my people.

The stars are beautiful,
So the eyes of my people

Beautiful, also, is the sun.
Beautiful, also, are the souls of my people.

He, of course, is talking about his fellow African Americans which served as a source of pride in both identity and their diverse culture in his work.

In the author’s note at the end of the book Charles R. Smith Jr. says:

To me, the words celebrate black people of differing shades and age, so I wanted to show skin color as bright as the sun and as dark as the night; I wanted to show the newness of a newborn smile and the wisdom of wrinkled skin. But, more than anything, I simply wanted to show that like any other group of people, black people come in all shapes,sizes, shades, and ages, and that each of us unique.

I was expecting to be blown away with the photographs but ultimately found them to just be okay. That’s not to say that they weren’t beautiful because they were but I didn’t find myself gasping as I turned the page. But I REALLY liked how the photographs were presented in the end flaps. The treatment between the text and the photographs was well done and allows for a quiet contemplation of the text.

A fantastic photographic tribute which I’m glad to have in my home.

My People is part of my themed reading for the month of February which celebrates Black History Month. Join me this month as I explore books that celebrate the history of African-Americans.
Links of interest: Charles R. Smith website, more blogger reviews.<
Genre: Fiction Picture Book, approx age 4-8.
Publisher: Ginee Seo Books. January 6, 2009.
Hardcover, 40 pages. ISBN 1416935401
Source: Publisher for Cybils consideration where I served as a panelist.
My People is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

__________________________________________________

Our Children Can Soar: A Celebration of Rosa, Barack, and the Pioneers of Change by Michelle Cook

Natasha Maw — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:39:14 +0000

Our Children Can Soar: A Celebration of Rosa, Barack, and the Pioneers of Change by Michelle Cook was inspired by the phrase “Rosa sat so Martin could march. Martin marched so Barack could run. Barack an so our children can soar!”

Each spread highlights key figures in African American history including George Washington Carver, Jesse Owens, Hattie McDaniel, Ella Fitzgerald, Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks, Ruby Bridges, Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall and Barack Obama. Amazing pioneers of change. After reading the book and pouring over the beautiful illustrations, children can read more about each leader at the back of the book. This simple biography will enhance the reading and teach children about those who came before them.

What’s incredible about this book is that each spread is illustrated by a different celebrated African American illustrator. Yes – thirteen illustrators: Cozbi A. Cabrera, R. Gregory Christie, Bryan Collier, Pam Cummings, Leo and Diane Dillon, Ag Ford, E.B. Lewis, Frank Morrison, James Ransome, Charlotte Riley-Webb, Shadra Strickland and Eric Velasquez. I loved how different each spread was but how cohesive the book was as a whole. My favorite illustrations were Jesse Owens by Ag Ford and Martin Luther King Jr. by Frank Morrison.

As the dust jacket aptly says,

Our Children Can Soar is the story of a people rising. It is a story for anyone, for it is one the backs of our ancestors that every child is raised.

I wholeheartedly agree. It’s a special book.

Our Children Can Soar part of my themed reading for the month of February which celebrates Black History Month. Join me this month as I explore books that celebrate the history of African-Americans.
Links of interest: More book blogger reviews. Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast has a great feature with all the illustrators.
Genre: Non-Fiction Picture Book, Biography approx age 4-8.
Publisher: Bloomsbury. April 14, 2009.
Hardcover, 32 pages. ISBN 1599904187
Source copy: Library
Our Children Can Soar is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

__________________________________________________