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Bat's Big Game
Retold by Margaret Read MacDonald, illustrated by Eugenia Nobati
by Travis Jonker, 100 Scope Notes
Author of Aught Seven standout Little Rooster's Diamond Button is back with this retelling of an all too common schoolyard occurrence: switching
teams when losing looks eminent. Bat's Big Game will be a nice addition to teachers' collections and will work well as a classroom read aloud.
Bat is anxious to take part in the Birds vs. Animals soccer game. The thing is, Bat wants to be on the winning side. He sizes up each team, decides that
the Animals have it in the bag, and joins their side. It helps that bat straddles the line between the two species—the wings of a bird, but also the
fur and teeth of animals. When Team Animal falls behind on the scoreboard, Bat makes a switch to the other team. The birds accept him but the animals go
on a scoring tear, nudging ahead in goals. When Bat tries to trade sides again, the jig is up and he is banned from both squads. Lesson learned and price
paid, Bat sulks off to practice his skills for next time.
As I was reading, I couldn't help but think this question: why is the soccer game birds vs. animals and not birds vs. mammals? After all, aren't birds
animals too? Maybe there's a good reason for this, but it struck me as odd.
Eugenia Nobati's digital illustrations continue to blur lines between paper/canvas and computer artwork. I would have placed a wager that these were the
former. Solid nonetheless. If I asked 10 random folks the first word that came to their mind when they looked at the illustrations in Bat's Big Game,
I'm guessing "cute" would be response numero uno. Softly textured characters exist within a world of slightly hazy, vague landscapes. If you know Rob
Scotton's work on the Russell the Sheep books, then you can get a sense of the style.
Bat's Big Game is more a "serves a purpose" book than a pure "just for the fun of it" story, but it fills its role of addressing schoolyard
mischief with success.
In A Blue Room
by Jim Averbeck, illustrated by Tricia Tusa
Reviewed by Jill Tullo, The Well-Read Child
It's past Alice's bedtime, and she insists she can only sleep in a blue room. Luckily, her patient mama brings her items to help her sleep from a cup of
warm tea to lullaby bells. Before you know it, Alice is fast asleep, her room drowned in the pale blue light of the moon. Tricia Tusa's soft and whimsical
illustrations are simply divine and perfectly complement the book’s warm tone.
In just a few short pages, Jim Averbeck successfully shows us the tenderness between a mother and daughter and even gives us a glimpse of our small place
in the giant world. This is a soothing and gentle bedtime story that will lull even the most bedtime-resistant child to sleep.
Sleepover Larry
by Daniel Pinkwater, illustrated by Jill Pinkwater
by Melissa Fox, Book Nut
Larry—who is a big white polar bear living in a hotel—gets an idea: he wants to have a
sleepover. He wants to invite his brother Roy, plus Polar Bears 1 and 3 from the zoo, and have them spend the night. Of course, because this is a picture
book, he has his way. I would love to say pandemonium ensues, but it's a mostly normal sleep-over party. Extra guests—a bunny and a wolf—show up.
They eat codfish cakes and blueberry muffins, they dance to music (very silly grizzly bear blues), they watch a "scary" movie (a polar bear documentary),
and try to sleep outside (but end up inside). There's really nothing unusual about the book. Except the whole premise: anything involving a talking polar
bear has to be a bit unusual. And the illustrations by Jill Pinkwater capture that believable unbelievablilty well. For fans of talking polar bears,
Sleepover Larry is just the book to have.
Stories from the Silk Road
Retold by Cherry Gilchrist, illustrated by Nilesh Mistry
by Melissa Fox, Book Nut
With the "Spirit of the Silk Road" as the reader's guide, Stories of the Silk Road, a collection of seven tales mostly from China, offers an
interesting mix of non-fiction and fairy tales. The book alternates between sections, with the "guide" offering information about each of the destinations
visited and about the Silk Road (and the trade found along it) before each folk tale. The information is presented in a very conversational
way, making it interesting and accessible, with illustrations that add to the mystique of the "guide" and his tales.
As for the stories themselves, they are well-told and fascinating in their uniqueness. They range from fairy tale to folklore to mythology, explaining the
origins of the silkworm goddess as well as Crescent Moon Lake, among others. There is a great variety—from dragons and flying horses, to love stories
and quick-witted fools. They run a bit long for bedtime stories, but they are written in such a way that early chapter book readers should be able to
understand them with ease.
It's a good first look into the tales told in China, and from the time of the Silk Road. Perhaps it'll even inspire readers to look for more stories from
Chinese culture.
A Very Improbable Story
by Edward Einhorn, illustrated by Adam Gustavson
by Melissa Fox, Book Nut
Ethan wakes up one morning—the morning of his very important soccer game—to find that he has a cat named Odds stuck to his head. The only way to
get rid of Odds is to play through a series of probability games. Odds will leave only once Ethan has beaten the odds and won.
At first, I found it an strenge premise for a picture book: what kid would want to read a story about probability? But Einhorn and Gustavson make the story
entertaining—not only is the idea of a cat stuck to a boy's head incredibly silly, but the Gustavson's illustrations add to the hilarity. The
situations that Odds puts Ethan into are interesting and somewhat challenging, as the probability games become more complex. The text is informative
without being dull, and even finds a practical application for probability. On top of that, the book encourages the reader to try and figure things out,
without being blatant. I even felt like I learned something when I was finished reading the book.
Books Reviewed:
Bat's Big Game, retold by Margaret Read MacDonald, illustrated by Eugenia Nobati. Albert Whitman & Company, 2008.
ISBN: 0-8075-0587-0.
In A Blue Room , by Jim Averbeck, illustrated by Tricia Tusa. Harcourt Children's Books, 2008. ISBN: 0-1520-5992-X.
Sleepover Larry, by Daniel Pinkwater, illustrated by Jill Pinkwater. Marshall Cavendish Children's Books, 2007.
ISBN: 0-7614-5314-8.
Stories from the Silk Road, retold by Cherry Gilchrist, illustrated by Nilesh Mistry. Barefoot Books, 2005. ISBN: 1-8414-8804-6.
A Very Improbable Story, by Edward Einhorn, illustrated by Adam Gustavson. Charlesbridge Publishing, 2008. ISBN: 1-5709-1871-6.
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