1 Volume of Poetry Plus Children's Books

[lunabee34]

1. I didn't want to put this in my Goodreads review, but I know Angela Ball. She was a professor at my undergrad alma mater. I did not ever take a class with her, but I went to many a party at her beautiful home, and she was always a very gracious host. I should post about that under flock sometime.



The Museum of the Revolution by Angela Ball

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I really like this volume of poetry. The speaker of the collection is a grad student on a trip to Cuba in the late 80s/early 90s. The poems are narrative with no rhyme; lots of beautiful turns of phrase. These poems aren't cryptic or precious or pretentious; they explore themes of travel and the beauty, history, and culture of Cuba, including its violent legacy.

Well worth a read.



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2. I decided that it is totally not cheating to log all the books I read to Emma FIONA (sheesh, self, it's enough that you call them the wrong names in person LOL) at night on Goodreads, so have a long list of children's books.



Biscuit: 5-Minute Biscuit Stories: 12 Classic Stories! by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Biscuit is adorable. The stories are really well-illustrated with a good text to picture ratio. I love that Biscuit says, "Woof woof" and his best friend Puddles says, "Bow wow." My kindergartener thinks all of Biscuit's adventures (like getting into the bird seed and chasing balls) are extremely adorable.



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Olive, the Other Reindeer by J. Otto Seibold

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I don't care for the style of the illustrations, but I think the story is really cute. My kindergartener thinks Olive is really funny.



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Duck On A Bike by David Shannon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is beautifully illustrated. My five year old really likes it; the concept of barnyard animals riding around on bikes while the humans are inside unsuspecting is really cute.



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Don't Grown-Ups Ever Have Fun? by Jamie Harper

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


My daughter really likes this one. The parents don't ever want to have fun (for definitions of fun that include getting up at 6:15 and the suchlike). At the end, the parents cave and manage to have more than a little fun with the family.



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Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


My daughter really likes this book; the first time we read it, she was really invested in Madeline's health and worried about her. I like the art work. The book is pretty boring to me as an adult, but I suppose I'm not the target audience here.



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The Chocolate Rabbit by Maria Claret

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is an extremely cute story with nicely done illustrations that remind me of the old Golden Books illustrations. It's about a rabbit family and the origin of the chocolate rabbits we eat at Easter.



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It Really Said Christmas by Laurie Parker

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


In this book, a family drives around and looks at fancy Christmas decorations, predictably concluding with a simple nativity scene that truly encapsulates the spirit of Christmas. I do not like the art style here; there's also a weird Jack-in-the-Box that doesn't look at all like a Christmas decoration. The poetry scans pretty nicely; no egregious meter errors. My daughter really likes the book, though, and I suppose she's the target audience.



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Oh Say Can You Say? by Dr. Seuss

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


One of my favorite Dr. Seuss books for sure. That East Beast vs West Beast tongue twister always trips me up. (Also, I seriously side eye Pete Briggs.)



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The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


My daughter loves this book; she totally buys into the premise which is that a book with no pictures is out to humiliate adult readers because they HAVE TO read everything it says, including "my only friend in the whole wide world is a hippo named Boo-Boo Butt."



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The Shape of Me and Other Stuff by Dr. Seuss

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A big fave with the kiddo. Very Seuss.



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The Mischievians by William Joyce

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is really clever and funny (or should that be punny). Lots and lots to unpack via the pictures and enough text to engage older readers as well. This is a bedtime story I don't mind reading (although we usually break it up into three nights because it's kinda long).



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Doctor Rabbit's Lost Scout by Jan Wahl

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is delightful. The illustrations are gorgeous in this. Really nice turns of phrase. Adorable baby animals. Lovely.



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Comments

[zulu]

Ha! L is ga-ga over The Book With No Pictures. We eventually had to take it back to the library and he's still going around saying "Blorf!" and "I'm a monkey who taught myself to read." Absolutely in stitches.

[lunabee34]

Boo Boo Butt gets a lot of play around here.