Product Type: Books
Age: Early Elementary School Years
Categories: Fantasies
2003 Award
(by Tess Weaver/illus. by Andre Wesson, Clarion $15 Score:
) Madame SoSo, the opera diva, gets a serious case of laryngitis on opening night. But the show must go on! Little does she know that Alma, her adoring cat, is ready to sing every aria pur-r-r-fectly. 5–8
Age: Early School Years. Award Year: 2003.
2006 Award
(by Wong Herbery Yee, Houghton Mifflin $16 Score:
) There are several connected stories about these two neighbors, Mouse and Mole, that play on the theme that we don’t all enjoy the same things—yet we can be friends. Learning that others have different tastes and needs for their comfort is a giant idea to children who are struggling with being and making friends. 4–7. Age: Preschool,Early School Years. Award Year: 2006.
2007 Award
(by Kate DiCamillo/illus. by Bagram Ibatoulline, Candlewick $18.99 Score:
) This story will remind you of Rachel Field’s classic Hitty, but the tale of Edward Tulane is far more accessible. As always, Kate DiCamillo whisks you away into a special place, where she spins a tale, this time, of a china rabbit who must survive many losses before understanding what it is to love and be loved in return. Age: Early School Years,Later School Years. Award Year: 2007.
2007 Award
(by Brian Lies, Houghton Mifflin $16 Score:
) Ever wonder who goes to the beach when you are sleeping? Why, bats of course! In an amusing send-up, a family of bats arrive seaside, spread on their moon tan ltion and enjoy digging, singing and sailing on “wing-boats.” Told in lilting verse with charming illustrations, this is a summer’s night tale that flies! Age: Preschool,Early School Years. Award Year: 2007.
2007 Award
(by Barbara Lehman, Houghton Mifflin $16.95 Score:
) A wordless adventure that finds a young boy alone and lonely in his home on a rainy day. He finds akey and tries all the locks he finds until it opens a chest that leads to an afternoon of adventure. Can be told in the child’s own words and ends with the possibility for creating more adventures! Age: Preschool,Early School Years. Award Year: 2007.
2007 Award
(by Kevin Hawkes, Knopf $16.99 Score:
) In the spirit of a Paul Bunyan tall tale, this spirited oversized picturebook is brimming with a giant size baby and his dotting family. It’s a book that will make you smile from the first page to the last...but alas, the ending is something of a thud. That said, this is still a fun book of images to share. Maybe you and your child can take the last image and spin some new adventures for Toddie and his family. 4-8. Age: Preschool,Early School Years. Award Year: 2007.
2008 Award
(y Allan Ahlberg/ illus. by Brice Ingman, Candlewick $16.99 Score:
) Remember Harold and the Purple Crayon? This has the magical, imaginative joy that Allan Ahlberg has long been know to bring to his work! You probably know him best for his Jolly Postman series that was done with his late wife, Janet. It all begins with a lonely little pencil that got up and began to draw a boy who commands him to draw a dog…and so it goes until the pencil makes a mistake of drawing an eraser that tries to undo the Pencil’s world. I won’t spoil the ending. Only to say that writers can write themselves into a corner, but the good news is they can write themselves out, as well. This is a gem. 5 & up, up, up!
Age: Early School Years. Award Year: 2008. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.
2009 Award
(by Simon Bartram, Candlewick $16.99 Score:
) Bob, the Man On the Moon, is a Sci Fi picturebook—a fun choice for the upper end of the picturebook set. Bob, a tour guide on the moon, spends a good deal of time up there and frankly he’s lonely. What he needs is a friend. Seems that some things never change. Enter a space dog. There’s not really a big story here but it is told with wry humor and kids will enjoy the details in the space and cityscapes. We think that Bob’s first book, Man On the Moon ($6.99 paper 4.5) , is more amusing as it introduces the notion of a fellow who works on the moon, blasting off daily and doing his job cleaning up after the astronauts and tourists. It’s a brave new world of the future with images of some strange futuristic inhabitants on earth. Bob does not see any aliens, but young readers are sure to spot some. 6 & up.
Age: Early School Years. Award Year: 2009. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.
2009 Award
(by Mordecai Gerstein, Roaring Brook Press $16.99 Score:
) A truly original book that is full of familiar storybook characters who all try to help the young girl who is looking for her story. Indeed, the quest for that story is the story and along the way you'll meet not just the goose who laid a golden egg, but the Three Bears, Jack of Beanstalk fame, Robinson Crusoe, Sherlock Holmes, and Alice's rabbit among a cast of many, many more! It has a wonderful pace, sophisticated charm, and a sense of humor that will make adults smile and invite children to explore.
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Age: Early School Years. Award Year: 2009. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.
2009 Award
(by Daniel Postgate/ illus. by Nick Price, Scholastic $16.99 Score:
) An amusing fantasy that comes under the heading of be careful what you wish for! Sam wants a pet. His parents have turned him down on dogs, cats and the usual requests. That is when Sam comes up with a Snaggle Grollop. Assuming such a creature would never appear, they approve and the rest is good fun as a friendly good-natured fantasy arrives. All goes well till that endearing pet gets lonely for a friend of its own. Meanwhile it has worked the magic of giving Sam a friend. A happy ending for all.
Age: Preschool, Early School Years. Award Year: 2009.
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