Children's Book Roundup

Bink & Gollie by Kate DiCamillo

Holy moly do I love this series.  First let’s talk about the illustrations that I love, love love…and there’s a good reason why…they are done by Tony Fucile (ya know the genius that brought the Incredibles, Finding Nemo, Wall-E ect.ect.ect. to life!!!)  He uses a lot of black and white illustrations, and then infuses the page with splashes of bright color.  Let’s just say that there is one story that involves a pair of rainbow striped socks that I *need* to have. 

Now about the story…the book tells the story of an unlikely pair of best friends that may not agree on everything but having fun.  Its style is a mash up of graphic novel (comics), easy reader, picture book and short story.  And while it may seem too simplistic for older readers…the funny and whimsical stories will hook them in right from the start.

Book Description via Amazon

Release date: April 10, 2012 | Age Range: 6 - 9 years | Series: Bink and Gollie

Winner of the 2011 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award!
In a brilliant collaboration, best-selling authors Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee, along with acclaimed illustrator Tony Fucile, introduce an outrageously funny pair of friends.

Meet Bink and Gollie, two precocious little girls — one tiny, one tall, and both utterly irrepressible. Setting out from their super-deluxe tree house and powered by plenty of peanut butter (for Bink) and pancakes (for Gollie), they share three comical adventures involving painfully bright socks, an impromptu trek to the Andes, and a most unlikely marvelous companion. No matter where their roller skates take them, at the end of the day they will always be the very best of friends. Full of quick-witted repartee, this brainchild of Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo and award-winning author Alison McGhee is a hilarious ode to exuberance and camaraderie, imagination and adventure, brought to life through the delightfully kinetic images of Tony Fucile.

 

 

 

Dog Loves Drawing by Louise Yates

If you have an artist in your house…or anyone that likes a new box of crayons and a blank piece of paper…this is the book for them.  Dog gets a brand new sketch book and does not know what to do with it.  Very quickly he learns that a blank piece of paper can lead you to wonderful new places.  Robbie loved it and wanted to draw his very own adventures right after we read it (although his involved zombies…sigh…but that’s a story for another time.)

Book Description via Amazon

Release date: August 14, 2012 | Age Range: 4 - 8 years

Dog loves books, but one day he receives a strange one in the mail—it's blank! Soon, Dog realizes that this book is not for reading, but for drawing. Before long, Dog is doodling and drawing himself into a new world, full of friends and surprises.

Starred Review, School Library Journal, June 2012:
“This book will inspire and entertain young artists and fun-loving readers alike.”

 

If All the Animals Came Inside by Eric Pinder

 

 

My five year old reviewer and I both loved this book.  The rhyming and repetition made it a fun read aloud…and the illustrations showing all the different scenarios that the boy and the animals found themselves in were funny and cute.  We both gave it two thumbs up!

Book Description via Amazon

Publication Date: April 17, 2012 | Age Range: 3 - 6 years

The walls would tremble. The dishes would break.
Oh, what a terrible mess we would make!

If all the animals came inside, bears would run down the stairs, kangaroos would bounce on the couch, and hippos would play hide-and-seek through the halls! Join one family's wild romp as animals of all shapes and sizes burst through the front door and make themselves right at home.

Extraordinary collage artwork from beloved illustrator Marc Brown (Arthur series) pairs with Eric Pinder's hilarious rhyming verse to make this the perfect book to read aloud again and again