Reading List by Jayne for Late Autumn – Children’s Books
Pavlo Gets the Grumps by Natalia Shaloshvili
For those days when everything feels blah, a picture-book-shaped hug offered with humor and tenderness by a gifted Ukrainian artist.
Pavlo does not feel like going to the park. Not today. He does not want to go swimming. He even says no to the movies. What’s going on, Pavlo?
Pavlo has the grumps. Though Mama suggests one fun activity after another, Pavlo doesn’t want to do any of them. Can anything cheer him up on this down day? Capturing a range of emotions through nuanced expressions and a simple text, Natalia Shaloshvili’s comforting picture book looks at familiar childhood feelings, suggesting that grumpy days, sadness, and even anger happen to everyone. But that’s OK—good friends and family will love you anyway. And who knows what might happen if you decide to give that big slide a try after all?
Review
Pavlo is an adorable kitten who wears flip-flops and I just had to read about him. And his grumps. When you’re in a grumpy mood, nothing sounds like fun. There’s always a reason not to do something. Water is too wet and the fishies will nibble your toes, the slide is too slidey, swings are too swingy, and if you go to a movie, you have to sit too long which is hard if your butt’s too wriggly. But Mama and Pavlo’s best friend know how to get Grumpy Pavlo cheered up.
Charming illustrations are done in acrylic paint and watercolor pencil with a slightly Post Impressionist feel clearly showing Pavlo’s emotions. Yes, kittens need to wear flip-flops. This is a darling book about (she’s a saint) a mother’s love and friendship. B
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Trim Sets Sail (Adventures of Trim) by Deborah Hopkinson
When Trim trips over a napping dog, little does he know that soon he’ll set sail and begin learning how to be a ship’s cat. Among his first lessons: the parts of the ship (the front is called the bow, like “bow wow”), the dynamics among his new colleagues (Jack the ship’s parrot is not so easy to befriend), and basic skills like climbing (up is easier than down) and swimming. With the assistance of Captain Flinders, Penny the ship’s dog, and Will the ship’s artist, Trim learns new skills, tests his limits and abilities, and finds a way to contribute to life onboard.
This delightful early reader series by acclaimed author Deborah Hopkinson is inspired by the true story of Trim, often called the most famous ship’s cat in history. Owned by British explorer Matthew Flinders, Trim traveled on the HMS Investigator on the first expedition to circumnavigate Australia (1801–1803).
Review
Well, I learned something new about sailing in each book including what battens are and why they’re used on hatches. Actually there are lots of nautical things that Trim, and the reader, learn over the course of the four book series.
In this (now four books but two more are due out) series, Trim learns all about life at sea when he becomes the new ship’s cat. He makes new friends. He learns new things. He learns one of the best things to do is help someone else. Trim sails through storms. He finds buttons. He sees the crew work together. He discovers what a rat really looks like. He learns to be the best ship’s cat ever.
Trim was an actual ship’s cat and sailed with Captain Flinders in the early nineteenth century on a voyage of exploration and in an expedition between 1801-1803, Trim became the first cat to sail around the continent of Australia.
The books are short, with lessons for young readers to hear about and learn in each one. The illustrations are charming. They are perhaps a bit low tension but that’s probably best for young readers. B
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Sometimes We Fall by Randall de Seve
An uplifting story that offers a reassuring message about finding the courage to take a small risk—and the sweet reward that may follow.
Sometimes you want to eat a juicy red plum at the top of a tree, but it seems so hard. What if you start the climb and a strong wind blows and the tree shakes? What if it rains and you slip and FALL? But those sweet-smelling, juicy, ripe purple plums up there look so tasty, and best of all, Mama is waiting for you with words of encouragement. . . .
This tender picture book by New York Times bestselling author Randall de Sève, with illustrations by Kate Gardiner, is an empowering reminder that to fall and get back up again is the bravest, and sometimes most delicious, step of all.
Review
A little bear cub watches his mama pluck and eat juicy purple plums but has a whole host of worries and reasons why he should try, too. But for each thing that scares him, his mother calmly tells him that yes, sometimes you can be scared to leap, but you have to try. Sometimes weather makes our paws slip, branches can break, and sometimes we fall. But keep going, keep trying, and in the end, you get the juicy purple plums.
This one is sweet and encouraging. Positive messages of support carry the story and reinforce that it’s okay to be a little scared but overcoming fear can lead to getting what you long for. It’s a bit simple but the illustrations are lovely. C+
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The Bakery Dragon by Devin Elle Kurtz
The heroic tale of a tiny dragon with a heart of gold and a taste for treats! A scrumptious picture book for fans of funny fairytales and fantastic beasts.
Ember has always been different from the other dragons. His fearsome roar sounds more like a polite sneeze, and when he breathes fire, the villagers just pat his head and say awwww.
Ember fears he’ll never collect a respectable hoard of gold until a chance encounter with a baker causes his fortunes to turn (and his stomach to grumble). As the little dragon soon discovers, the gold you make is way better than the gold you steal—and gold that is shared? That’s best of all.
Magic shimmers on every page of Devin Elle Kurtz’s feel-good picture book that celebrates baked goods, dragons, and generosity in equal measure. Filled with adorable illustrations, this is a perfect read aloud for bedtime or brunchtime!
Review
“Meet Ember: a tiny dragon with a heart of gold and a taste for treats.”
I don’t know about anyone else but the smell of baking bread is fantastic. And the idea of a dragon who bakes bread is irresistible. Ember is a little dragon, not big enough to scare villagers out of their gold as the other, larger dragons can do. After a less than successful attempt, he’s so tired and far from home that he sneaks into town but still doesn’t find any. What he does find is a kindly female baker who lets him wait out the raging storm in her bakery. Ember discovers he likes baking better than stealing. When he returns with his bread pay and sees that his fellow dragons will pay any amount of gold to taste some, he gets an idea.
The illustrations are wonderful and Ember is a darling. His biggest and scariest flame might not scare anyone but he can light a bakery fire and he’s a dragon who spots an opportunity. His claws are also just right to score the loaves. He’s a natural. B+
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Good as Goldie: A Breaking Cat News Adventure by Georgia Dunn
This just in: There’s a new cat in the neighborhood and she is all kinds of mysterious!
The Breaking Cat News crew has never met a cat quite like Goldie before. Street smart, wildlife savvy, and determined to solve the mystery of how her People vanished, Goldie is here to turn life in and out of the studio upside down! Along the way they’ll meet trash collecting raccoons, a fork wielding squirrel, and one brave little chipmunk!
Go undercover with Tommy and Beatrix as Goldie gets to the bottom of this case with the help of Lupin’s (stolen) tape recorder. It’s an exciting adventure for the BCN team with friends old and new, and you’re invited!
The fun doesn’t stop there! The “More to Explore” section includes all new paper dolls of Goldie and the wild lands creatures, as well as fun disguises for Beatrix and Tommy, and a tasty applesauce recipe to try.
Review
So yeah at this point do I need to say more than it’s great and go buy it? “Good as Goldie” is the eighth book in the Breaking Cat News comic world and it’s better than ever. What has it got? Well, I’m glad you asked. The Girl’s First Birthday Party celebration complete with cat commentary on who’s wearing what, the cat’s take on the musical “Hamilton” for their 4th of July party, A “choose your own broadcast” adventure, another thrilling episode of the feline soap opera “Our IX Lives” (will Kit Chase manage to keep That Guy Brad from moving in on rich cat Angora whose father Snowball Taggart is [supposedly] at death’s door in the hospital?), a PSA on whisker fatigue (it’s a real thing), and of course, stray cat Goldie (whose awful People moved away and left her – BOO, HISS) joins the BCN crew at the Big Pink House. A
~Jayne
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The Great Zoodini by PJ Gardner
From the author of the Horace & Bunwinkle series comes this hilarious and heartwarming story of forgiveness, trust, and found family, perfect for fans of A Boy Called Bat and Wedgie & Gizmo.
The Great Zoodini—aka Radar the fennec fox—has never fit in. In fact, his only friend is a stuffed rabbit. Ever since his first family abandoned him, he’s had one goal: become world famous and show everyone how wrong they were about him. But no matter how many daring escapes Zoodini’s tried, he’s never even made the Association of Animal-Themed Attractions newsletter.
When his latest escape goes wrong, Zoodini winds up at the Twin Buttes Animal Sanctuary and Drive-In Movie Theater. He can’t believe his bad luck. How can he get famous in the middle of nowhere? But the residents—ranging from a pink-obsessed flamingo to an astrology-loving river otter to a grizzly cub who thinks he’s a superhero—all seem to like Zoodini. Even more surprising, he likes them too.
Then Zoodini overhears a plot to sell the sanctuary and sees his big chance—breaking out by himself would go unnoticed, but breaking everyone out? That would make him world famous. But what if being famous means losing the only family who’s ever accepted him?
Review
Cute and filled with emotions that children can relate to – abandonment, loneliness, rejection. But the caring animals at the sanctuary give Zoo his first real feeling of belonging. Of course this isn’t quite enough to keep him from initially reverting to what he knows – looking out for himself. It takes a friend being in even worse danger to allow him to grow as a person – as a fennec fox – and realize that he’s found others who care for him enough to trust and put aside his selfishness.
I think the “danger” level is enough but not too much for the targeted age group and there’s enough silliness to lighten the mood and keep things from getting too dark. Zoo rising to the occasion of letting his beloved Hoppy comfort another in emotional need is the cherry on the cake of the message of the book. Plus there are lovely pencil sketches throughout the book. B
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These all sound charming, Jayne! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Just reading about these books was fun. Bakery dragon? I need this. Thanks, Jayne.
@Darlynne: Even Paul Hollywood would like Ember’s loaves. ☺