Monday 29 July 2013

Picture Book Review - Watch Me Throw the Ball! (Elephant & Piggie) - Mo Willems (Author & Illustrator)

Picture Book Review - Watch Me Throw the Ball! (Elephant & Piggie) - Mo Willems (Author & Illustrator)

Recommended for - Toddlers/Younger Readers



I'm still in the middle of a Mo Willems-fest, so here's another review for you - you've read all the other's that I've reviewed by now, yes?

One day, Piggie finds a ball. It belongs to Gerald, who assures us that he is excellent at throwing a ball, having worked very hard at it. Piggie wants to play, and teaches Gerald a lesson that, even though he isn't very good at throwing, he still had fun, which is what games are all about.

I giggled a lot, which is not unusual for a Mo Willems book, but I thought Piggie was particularly brilliant in this one ('Who rocks? The Pig rocks!'). The effort on her face, and the joy when she thinks she's thrown it all around the world are brilliant, and Gerald's reactions of quiet disbelief/annoyance that Piggie isn't following what he thinks she should do are perfect too. It's also a great chance to hammer home the 'It's not the winning, it's the taking part that counts message' if you want to !

It's probably obvious if you've read any of my other reviews, but this is my favourite series (along with the Pigeon series) of children's picture books around. They're genuinely funny, wonderfully but simply illustrated, and they make grown ups smile as much as children. Please, please, PLEASE check one out if you haven't done so yet.

10/10


Thursday 25 July 2013

Picture Book Review - Today I Will Fly! (Elephant & Piggie) - Mo Willems (Author & Illustrator)

Picture Book Review - Today I Will Fly! (Elephant & Piggie) - Mo Willems (Author & Illustrator)

Recommended for - Toddlers/Younger Readers



If you've not read an Elephant & Piggie book, I suggest you rectify that straight away (at your local library, of course...). This one is good fun, although it isn't my favourite, but as I'd recommend getting as many as you can out in one go, then make sure you check this one out still.

Piggie decides one day that she will fly. Although Gerald tells her it won't work, and that she needs help, she keeps trying, until finally she manages it with the help of a pelican (I think it's a pelican...).

My favourite part of the Elephant & Piggie books is the dialogue between the two main characters, and although I think other titles are stronger in this respect, it's still a great example of how the two friends inspire each other (often remaining hilariously blind to sarcasm). By the end of the book, Gerald decides that he too would like to fly, and what better friendship than what which inspires your friend to try something fun?

If I didn't enjoy this quite as much as some of the other Elephant & Piggie books, it's not to say that I didn't think it was excellent - I think Mo Willems has just set such a high standard that, when there are other books in the series that I have laughed at more, I can't mark this quite as high.

Well worth checking out, and then making sure you check out more of the Elephant & Piggie series to see how it gets even better.

8/10

Picture Book Review - Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late - Mo Willems (Author & Illustrator)

Picture Book Review - Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late - Mo Willems (Author & Illustrator)

Recommended for - Toddlers/Younger Readers



Good good, more of the pigeon!

We're warned that the pigeon is sleepy, and that he shouldn't let him stay up late. He does his best to convince us otherwise, but little yawns and tired eyes begin to creep in, and eventually he drops off to sleep.

I'm pretty certain that most parents will recognise the pigeon in their child here. Although I'm not quite there with my son, it's only because he can't talk properly yet - I'm certain that when he can he'll be trying to convince me that he isn't tired either. It's hilarious watching the odd little yawn escape from the pigeon's mouth, just after he's assured us he isn't tired, as I know full well that I still do this myself even now, and I'm the grand old age of 27. The pigeon tries all sorts of methods to get us to let him stay awake, asking how our day is, and using his toy bunny to bribe us ('You can't say 'No' to a bunny, can you?'), but to no avail.

Once again, I can't praise Mo Willems' illustrations highly enough, for they really enhance the story and the humour. The lines under the pigeon's eyes become more pronounced as the story goes on and becomes more and more tired, and I still love how damn angry he looks, and how he tries to appear innocent and fails completely. It's also great how hot dogs are mentioned a couple of times, tying into one of the previous books, The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!.

Please, if you haven't checked out Mo Willems work yet, make sure you do. You won't regret it.

10/10

Picture Book Review - The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog! - Mo Willems (Author & Illustrator)

Picture Book Review - The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog! - Mo Willems (Author & Illustrator)

Recommended for - Toddlers/Younger Children



I'm on a bit of a Mo Willems run at the moment, trying to read as much as I can, because he's so damn good. This is the second Pigeon book I've reviewed in quick succession, and for Mo Willems fans, there's more to come yet.

Our favourite angry pigeon returns, delighting in telling us that he has found a hot dog. Just as he is about to eat it, we see a small duckling appear, asking questions about what the pigeon has found and what it tastes like. The (very clever) duckling slowly winds the pigeon up more and more, until he gives in and lets the duckling try the hot dog. In the end they share it all, although the duckling would have liked some mustard.

Oh, how I love watching the pigeon get more and more irate. He's so wonderfully grumpy and selfish, and only the brains of a very clever and cute little duckling could wear him down and make him part with his hot dog. There's a wonderful image where the pigeon is waxing lyrical about his love of hot dogs and their flavour, where the duckling makes notes on a pad with an oversized pencil that creased me up, and it's down to Mo Willems illustrations again that the humour of the story is so strong. They're such simple pencil images, but so effective in getting the characters' emotions across.

Whilst it's not quite as wacky a concept as a pigeon driving a bus, it's still a great little story. It's a nice little lesson on sharing, of course, but really it's very, very funny, and both grown ups and children will laugh.

More please!

9/10

Picture Book - Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! - Mo Willems (Author & Illustrator)

Picture Book - Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! - Mo Willems (Author & Illustrator)

Recommended for - Toddlers/Young Readers



More Mo Willems now, this time his Pigeon series. If you've read any of my other reviews about Mo Willems' books, you probably know where this is heading.

When we open this book, we're warned by a bus driver who has to leave for a short while not to let the pigeon in question drive the bus. Boy, does that pigeon try to convince us otherwise. Unfortunately, despite all his best attempts, the bus driver returns before we give in, and the pigeon sulks off. And we laugh all the way through it.

It really is a very grumpy pigeon, and I really do like grumpy animals. I barely touched on Mo Willem's illustrations in previous reviews, but here they add layers to the humour - he's a master at somehow getting the varying emotions of a pigeon across to us, particularly when said pigeon is peeking around the page with mischief in mind, or trying to emotionally blackmail us. I can well imagine younger children laughing and shouting at the page, telling the pigeon that he isn't allowed to drive the bus, and the grown ups laughing about how the pigeon informs us that his cousin drives one everyday, and that he bets that your child's mother (yep, YOU, all the mothers reading this!) would allow it. I'm sure for some of you, you'll see your own child in this pigeon...It's also interesting to read a book that breaks the fourth wall i.e. the characters talk directly to you.

What I love about Mo Willems is the faint ridiculousness of the plot to most of his stories - I don't know how he thinks them up, but they're brilliant concepts, and he follows through with wonderful humour for children and adults alike. Thank heavens there are plenty of them, so it'll be a long time before I run out of his material.

This is a true classic of childrens picture books, and no wonder it's been voted into several Halls of Fame.

10/10

Wednesday 24 July 2013

Picture Book - Lost and Found - Oliver Jeffers (Author & Illustrator)

Picture Book - Lost and Found - Oliver Jeffers (Author & Illustrator)

Recomended for - Babies/Toddlers/Younger Readers



I'm trying to gather up everything I can find by Oliver Jeffers, as he's easily been one of my favourite picture book writers that I've discovered over the last year or so (and he's a fine illustrator too). I've discovered several books with a friendship between a boy and a penguin, and this is the first.

When a boy finds a penguin on his doorstep, he thinks he must be lost and tries to help him find his way home, eventually landing at the South Pole. As he leaves though, he notices that the penguin is still sad, and realises that he was just lonely. Will he make it back in time though to find the penguin and his new best friend?

I'm happy to say that, yet again, Oliver Jeffers has come up trumps. While it's not on the highest level with The Hueys in The New Jumper, Stuck or This Moose Belongs To Me, it's close, and well worth checking out. The slightly eccentric humour that Jeffers does so well is present, especially as the boy tries to ask various parties (including some random birds, which is hilarious how it happens) about where the penguin might belong. I also very nearly burst into tears in the last couple of pages (that's not unusual, but I've never done it reading a picture book before!) - there's a scene that's so touching, I wanted to force everyone else to read it straight away afterwards. There was no-one around though, so I had to read it myself again, which was absolutely fine by me.

It's almost become too easy to predict, but you have to check this out, and everything else Oliver Jeffers has done.

9/10

Picture Book - Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed - Mo Willems (Author & Illustrator)

Picture Book - Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed - Mo Willems (Author & Illustrator)

Recommended for - Toddlers/Younger Readers



Well, how could you not love a story about a naked mole rat.

The mole rat of this story in particular, Wilbur, is a troublesome one - whilst mole rat law dictates that every mole rat should be naked, Wilbur likes to wear clothes. He's frowned upon and disliked by all the other mole rats, who constantly remind him that 'nake mole rats don't wear clothes!', until one day Wilbur asks 'why not?'. When the other mole rats bring this problem to Grand-pah mole rat, he thinks about it and then decrees that Wilbur is correct, and why shouldn't they wear clothes. From then on, some mole rats wear clothes, some stay naked, and all of them are happy.

Firstly, I love the fact that it's a mole rat - I can't think of any other stories being written about a mole rat, which just makes this funnier and funnier. It's written with the same humour that Mo Willems other Elephant & Piggie and Pigeon series have, and he's fast become one of my favourite children's authors. It's also a great message to children, to sometimes think 'why not?' about a problem. And I do so like a book that has a bit of a moral message, when it isn't being hammered home to much. A subtle moral message is like...er, is like a...

I should stick to writing reviews, not metaphors.

Children will giggle at the fact the mole rats are naked, and adults will smile at the humour behind the text and illustrations. At the moment, I find it hard to give Mo Willems anything but 10/10, as all of them feel like bona-fide classics.

10/10

Picture Book - My Friend Is Sad (Elephant & Piggie) - Mo Willems (Author & Illustrator)

Picture Book - My Friend Is Sad (Elephant & Piggie) - Mo Willems (Author & Illustrator)

Recommended for - Toddlers/Younger Readers



If you've never read any of the Elephant & Piggie books by Mo Willems then apologies, but you're about to learn a lot about them, as they're going to form the bulk of the next 20 or so reviews for this site. For I have recently discovered them (thanks to a certain team of librarians - yes, librarians are awesome for learning about new books. Who knew?!), and the first time I read one of the stories I laughed, and laughed, and laughed, and laughed. I think at that point I had to go and serve someone in the library, but when I had finished I went back and laughed some more.

For those unfamiliar with the Elephant & Piggie series, they are books about best friends Gerald (the elephant) and Piggie (the pig - you guessed that already? Gold star!), and the funny adventures they get into. There's often a very funny little twist that will make grown ups smile knowingly, and this first story is no exception. This tale sees Gerald looking upset, and Piggie wondering about what can be wrong with his friend. Piggie tries his best to cheer him up by putting on disguises, but Gerald remains upset until Piggie comes to see him as himself, whereupon Gerald tells him that he was even more upset because he wanted to share the fun with Piggie, who wasn't there. It's a lovely little twist that will make grown ups smile and children laugh, and I warmed to Gerald and Piggie straight away because they're both slightly dopey.

These may be books for young children, but there's a genuine humour to them that reminds me of Jon Klassen and Oliver Jeffers. Oh, how I wish that my attempts at picture books could put me in their league. Mo Willems also does another series (as well as other books in general) based on a rather angry pigeon, and they're just as good, so look out for some of those reviews appearing soon too!

I really can't recommend highly enough that, if you have a child who's starting to appreciate humour in picture books, you should start getting the Elephant & Piggie books out straight away.

10/10