Jeannine Gerkman, Author of Children's books, Poet, reviews delightful picture books
Candid reviews of delightful books
This isn’t a picture book, but it was SO delightful, I just had to share. The heroine of the story is an 7 year old whose fiercest friend is her crazy grandmother who has created an entire world with her bedtime stories. It made me laugh so hard, my sides hurt. There is a similar feel as “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee – young children trying to make sense of a difficult world. It completely drew me in, I didn’t stop reading until I reached the end. It is a very satisfying book.
This beautifully crafted book (written by Dianna Aston and illustrated by Sylvia Long) educates about all kinds of eggs with gorgeous pictures and fascinating facts. The education is done so artfully, you don’t even know you’re being taught.
“An Egg is Quiet” captures the hushed awe of these exquisite vessels of life. Young and old alike will pore over the illustrations with delight!
Love Monster by Rachel Bright is a delight to read aloud. It tells the story of a decidedly uncute, unfluffy monster who just wants someone to love him as he is (googly-eyed and all). His search takes him ‘high, low, and middle-ish’ as we go along the journey with him.
At some point, everyone feels left out and insecure. This story gives hope that somehow, somewhere we will find someone who will love us just the way we are. The illustrations are delightfully colorful with just the right amount of detail. Pre-schoolers will love pointing out the colors of the cute fluffy animals, and sighing “poor monster” along with the reader.
This is such a beautiful book, it makes me tear up every time I read it. Named one of the School Library Journal’s “Top 100 Picture Books” of all time; it definitely lives up to that accolade. There is a deftly subtle underlying theme that resonates with all of us – we don’t have to be perfect to be loved. In fact, our imperfections sometimes are what makes us most endearing. A book to treasure and read over and over.
Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are is a classic on every sense of the word. Can you believe it was written over 50 years ago! It was re-released by Harper Collins Publishers as a Fiftieth Anniversary Edition in 2014. Such a wonderful book! My favorite part is when Max’s bedroom turns into a forest. Right then and there, I knew I was in for a treat. This is a fun one to read out loud too. No library should be without it. Delicious.
I thought The Quiet Book was delightful, yet this one is just as charming. I am looking forward to sharing it with my little great-nieces this summer. There are MANY different ways to be loud. Some acceptable, some not so…. Check it out!
I Love You, Little One by Nancy Tafuri
This gorgeous board book is so soothing and comforting, it feels like a warm embrace. It tells of love between child and mother, depicted in numerous species; deer, ducks, rabbits, mice, bears, owls, (and people) dwelling in a idyllic woodland. The illustrations are so beautiful and detailed, little ones will not be able resist touching them. The fur looks truly pettable. The verses are poetic, and the loving repetition delights “forever and ever and always”.
Check it out.
I met Deborah Underwood at the SCBWI Golden Gate Conference this year in Asilomar and purchased her endearing book: The Quiet Book. There are so many different kinds of quiet and she captures them beautifully and succinctly. This Sunday, I was at Books, Inc. doing a reading of my book Spring for Children’s Storytime and afterwards, a woman was scanning the shelves with a couple of board books in her hands, looking defeated.
I asked her what sort of book she was looking for and she said ‘I’m attending a baby shower and they wanted books instead of cards. I want a sturdy book for the baby, but none of these seem quite right. They’re having a little girl.’ She had two brightly colored board books, one about trucks. I suggested this book, opened it up and read it to her. She smiled, took it from my hand and said: “This is perfect.”
It can’t get better than that.
jeanninegerkman 
