Ta-Da! by Kathy Ellen Davis, illustrated by Kaylani Juanita

-
Ta-Da! by Kathy Ellen Davis, 
illustrated by Kaylani Juanita
Review Copy from Chronicle Books
Ta-Da! begins, "Once upon a time, a girl lived in a crystal castle on a hill. She had lots of animal friends and was very happy." But, "DUN DUN DUH!" A boy and his dog (a wizard and a dragon) arrive and an imagination filled day fueled by fantastical adventures is underway. "Ta-Da!" and "DUN DUN DUH!" take turns throughout the book, as the story moves from sailing into the sunset to being taken prisoner by a pirate. An island vacation becomes a fiery sneeze. Fortunately, the girl had, "trained in flamethrowing her whole life," and was able to avert disaster - even when the dragon drank so much water he had to go to the bathroom. The girl makes a dragon-sized toilet with magical toilet paper that never runs out!
The two join forces to put on a magic show then head to the kitchen for snack time, the one-upmanship of earlier replaced with collaborative play. The day ends with a trip to the Lost City of Atlantis, spilled hot cocoa and combined magical powers that make for a happy ending. Davis's story has just the right amount of ups and downs, while Juanita's superb illustrations perfectly balance the real life of the play date, from the blocks, tea sets, stuffed animals and fairy lights, with the magic of boundless imagination.

A very fun read that is sure to inspire even more fun play!

Popular posts from this blog

Fox + Chick: The Sleepover and Other Stories by Sergio Ruzzier

-
Image
Fox + Chick : The Sleepover and Other Stories  by Sergio Ruzzier Review Copy from Chronicle Books Friends. Opposites. Inhabitants of a pastel-hued, water color world that is vaguely surreal, Fox and Chick are back for a third installment of their inviting, if curious, easy-to-read stories. In "The Sleepover," "The Hammer," and "The Surprise," Chick's odd logic is once again upending Fox's life. Happily, Fox responds with patience and even wisdom at times. To these unforgettable characters and luminous illustrations, Ruzzier brings a sublime simplicity that makes this series perfect for emerging readers, adding books with character and intelligence to the often dull world of beginning reader books. If you aren't familiar with this delightful duo, definitely check out my reviews of the first two books (links below) where I put the greatness of Ruzzier's work into historical ( Frog & Toad ) context. Then check out ALL of Ruzzier's p
Read more

Be a Tree! by Maria Gianferrari illustrated by Felicita Sala

-
Image
Be a Tree! by Maria Gianferrari illustrated by Felicita Sala Review Copy from Abrams Kids I picture-walked Be a Tree! three times before I actually read the words. Felicita Sala's illustrations for Maria Gianferrari's poetic text are mesmerizingly immersive and richly colorful within a palette of earth tones. Throughout the text, Gianferrari, who shares her inspiration for this book in the author's note ( Peter Wohleben's The Hidden Life of Trees ), gently maintains the human connection to trees and the connections (and communications) trees share with each other.  Be a Tree!  begins exuberantly, inviting the reader to "Be a tree! Stand tall. Stretch your branches to the sun. Let your roots curl, coil in the soil to ground you." From your spine/trunk to your skin/bark and your heart/pith, the words carry you inward and then zoom outward and up to the canopy and ultimately, the forest. "You are one of many trees," and our roots "twine with fung
Read more

Reading Levels: A Quick Guide to Determining if a Book Is Right for Your Reader

-
Image
While I wrote an article titled Reading Levels: How I Assign Reading Levels to Books, How the Publishers Do It and How You Can Help Your Reader Find the Right Book at the Right Time that discusses how reading levels are determined by professionals and amateurs like myself, there is more on this subject to discuss. Determining the reading level of a book from the children's section is never easy, mostly because there are several different standardized methods of determining reading levels. Add to this the fact that knowing their children's reading level is most often the only tool a parent is armed with when exploring the bookstore, library, website, etc, and the job becomes even more difficult. While I think that knowing a child's reading level is a very valuable tool if your child is reading below grade level, I think that it is a secondary consideration when finding books for children reading above, especially well above, grade level because, in most cases, content app
Read more