It's a Book by Lane Smith

This is a cute picture book mocking the ultra- techno society we seem to  becoming. The book is about a monkey and a donkey. The donkey is on his computer when he notices that the monkey has a weird rectangular thing made of paper in his hands. He then proceeds to ask him what it is and how to use it, but he keeps asking questions that would only apply to an electronic device. For example the donkey would ask 'how do you scroll down?' or 'does it need a password?' to which the monkey always replies 'it's a book'. It's a funny and playful reflection on the move from physical things to more digital medium.

Wanted: The Perfect Pet by Fiona Roberton

This is an adorable book. The story opens with a little boy who talks about how very badly he wants a pet, and of all the pets, a dog is the best pet of all. It is fun, cuddly and it plays with you. So the boy puts outs an ad in the paper for a dog to be his pet. Far away, a duck who lives on a hill-top is very lonely. He reads the ad in the news paper and decides he will try to be the perfect pet for this boy. He disguises himself as a dog and goes to meet his new owner. When he gets there the boy is overjoyed to finally have a dog all his own and takes it out to play immediately. He notices however that his dog isn't really good at doing regular doggy things such as play fetch or run around and soon the duck is revealed for who he truly is. The boy is somewhat dismayed to learn that his dog was in fact a duck and goes inside. The duck is of course heart-broken and dejectedly goes in to find the boy reading a book, the encyclopedia. The boy looked up what ducks can do and made a list of all of the good things about ducks and tells the duck that he is the perfect pet for him. And they're both happy.

This story is adorable. The illustrations are so cute and they compliment the story line so well. The story is about seeing the good in what you have and what comes your way, even if it's not exactly as you expected it, and it's told in a way that makes it a touching read for both young and old.

Early Reading

I worked in a book store for a while and the questions I got most often dealt with children's literature. Many people are either at a loss as to what books to recommend their children because their children don't read at all, or because they've already read everything. So here's a list of books most younger elementary aged children are reading or could be reading. (I've very much against giving books ages or levels. The only thing that should dictate whether or not one should read something is interest and ability. Not a random sorting system. But as this is how a majority of people work, these would typically be about 6-8). Most of these are a part of a series of some sort.

1.  Encyclopedia Brown by Donald J. Sobol

2.  Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne

Sea Monsters Don't Ride Motorcycles (The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids) by Marcia Thornton Jones

Magic Tree House by Mary Pope Osborne

Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute by Jarrett Krosoczka

Marigold and the Feather of Hope, The Journey Begins (The Fairy Chronicles) by J. H. Sweet

Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey

My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett

Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

Stuart Little by E. B. White

Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park

Roddy Doyle Slipcase: The Giggler Treatment, Rover Saves Christmas, The Meanwhile Adventures by Roddy Doyle

Judy Moody by Megan McDonald

Stink by Megan McDonald

Babymouse by Matthew Holm

Geronimo Stilton by Geronimo Stilton

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

Alligator Pie by Dennis Lee

Boy in the Oak by Jessica Albarn

Boy in the Oak is a picture book that almost can't be called a picture book. The story is told in full pages of text which are punctuated by black and which drawings and divided by translucent pieces of coloured, patterned paper. The pages of text are pretty full, I would almost be tempted to say that the book was meant for early readers, but the font is too small. Not your average picture book.

The story is about a young boy who was very rough and mean when he played outside. He would scare the animals in his backyard and do not so nice things like cut trees and pull out plants. The fairies in the area took notice and got so angry at the boy that one day they put a curse on him that trapped him inside an ancient oak tree. His parents went sick with worry and finally moved away when they couldn't find their little boy anymore. A new couple moved into the house. There were rumours that when it was very windy you could hear a boy crying near the house, but the couple ignored the rumours and moved in with their little daughter. The parents took care of the house and planted new flowers, and though the fairies were cautious of people they liked this. They really liked the daughter though. She was kind to all of the plants and animals and the fairies took note of this and appreciated her, especially in comparison with the mean boy. She fell asleep under the oak one day and because the fairies liked her so much, decided that they would put a spell over her so that she would never wake up and leave them. The boy in the oak over heard this and was outraged. He'd spent so much time in the tree that he had more than learned his lesson and had learned about the fairy's magic in the process, and he pushed both the girl and himself from the fairies.

The story is well told and unique, but the thing that will set this book a part is the presentation. I wouldn't personally associate that kind of art with a children's book. It is somewhat abstract and its displayed in the traditional way picture books associate pictures to text. The two translucent sheets that separate each page of text have nothing to do with the story and are there for a purely ornamental purpose and from my experience that is a little too intellectual for the average 3-5 aged child. I still recommend the book however. As I said the story is pretty good and it might be a fun way to introduce new art forms or storybook formats.

I Dream Dragon

I have loved dragons all my life. Here are some fictional books that have enhanced my love and have helped to paint the world in which they live.

Harper Hall of Pern Trilogy - Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, Dragondrums- great trilogy about a young girl who lives in a place where music is forbidden to girls and dragons are only for dragon riders, until one day she runs away from home and stumbles upon a clutch of small dragons that bond with her.

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles- Dealing with Dragons, Seaching for Dragons, Calling on Dragons, Talking to Dragons- amazing series about a princess who was captured by a dragon... and doesn't want to be rescued. Instead she befriends the dragon and they go off on adventures. The old covers look so much better than the new ones.

The Dragons Chronicles- Dragon's Milk, Flight of the Dragons Kyn, Sign of the Dove - a collection of books about girls who can speak with dragons in a time when dragons are being hunted down and killed. These girls try to save the dragons.

Song in the Silence - story about a young woman who falls in love with a dragon. Not as cheesy as it sounds.

Voyage of the Dawn Treader- chronicles of Narnia. book 5. One of the selfish children gets turned into a dragon.

The Ice Dragon- story about a girl who loves the cold and because of her inhuman tolerance and love of it, creates a bond with the legendary ice dragon.

The Book of Dragons- great collection of short stories by E. Nesbit, a classic children's author.

Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher- a young boy escapes some bullies by running into a magic shop and comes out with a dragon egg.

How to Train Your Dragon- story about a viking boy who isn't very good at being a viking, but his strange dragon training techniques may just save his town.

Kira (Shadow of the Dragon)- after the capture of their family, two sisters befriend a dragons and go about fulfilling a prophecy about bring down an unwelcome kingdom.

Dragon Slippers- Taking a few notes from Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles, this is a story about a girl whose aunt offers her to the local dragon so that a prince will come to save and marry her. When the prince comes she blows him off and goes her own way, but takes a pair of shoes from the dragon's cave. She meets with another dragon later on and befriends it.

Dragon's Blood- boy tries to train a dragon

Dragonhaven- boy takes care of a dragon. Not as good as her other books, but not horrible.

The Paper Bag Princess - classic story book about a princess who goes off to save her prince from a dragon. After she outwits the dragon and saves him however, she realizes that he's not worth the trouble and leaves him in the dust. All of his stories are better when you hear him read them, so look up the audio... it might be on his website.

Tell Me A Dragon- This book doesn't really have a plot, it is more a collection of different people saying what kind of dragon they have, and by dragon I would assume they mean imagination. It goes through many different kinds of dragons, fire breathers, ice dragons, big dragons, etc. and is more a kind of book to inspire you to take pride in your own imagination than it is taking you through someone else's.

Eragon- farm boy finds a dragon egg and forms a bond with the dragon when it hatches, they go on adventures.

Dragonheart- Great movie about a dragon who gives his heart to save the life of a prince.. and it backfires. Two words. Sean Connery.

Pete's Dragon- An orphan and his dragon friend, who is invisible unless he so chooses, meets a nice lighthouse keeper and his daughter.

King Bidgood’s In The Bathtub by Audrey Wood

This is a fun book about a king who likes taking a bath. The story is short and fun to read, but it's the illustrations that make this book noteworthy. They are lush and expressive and whimsical and the attention paid to detail is wonderful. The story is simple and if it was illustrated in another style would be like the endless board books simplistically introducing life skills to toddlers. However, this style makes this story an adventure. The pictures perfectly punctuate the prose in the most flattering way.

The story is about a page who asks the court to get the king out of the bathtub and several people try different things to get him out. A knight tells him there's a battle out side, the queen tells him it's time for lunch, a duke tells him they should go fishing, the entire court tells him to dance at a masquerade, but instead of leaving the tub he makes the person join him in the tub to do whatever they suggest to him! At the end when everyone is at wits end the page pulls the plug and the king finally gets out.

A fun book to read with illustrations that will get their imaginations working. The award on the cover is very much understandable.

Pirate and the Penguin by Patricia Storms

This story is (as you might have guessed) about a pirate and a penguin. The pirate lives a life on the seas plundering, pillaging, and the like, but as it turns out, this pirate is getting a bit sick of the whole 'pirate thing' and begins wishing for a quieter life. In the antarctic there's this penguin, and just by looking at him you can tell he's out of place. He's wearing a sweater because he's cold all the time, and instead of sliding around on the ice like the other penguins, he dreams of adventure and travel. So the penguin and the pirate each decide to leave their homes to find a place where they can fulfill their desires and end up where the other left.

This story is a 'you can be anything you want' kind of book, as one could assume from reading the first couple of pages. The penguin wants what the pirate has and vice versa, and the story comes to a close with them switching places and being happy. It sounds like it would be a rehashing of a cheesy, over-played plot that's been so watered down by politically correct sentiments that it's lost any value whatsoever as a decent story... but surprisingly this is not the case. The story telling is fresh and fun and the illustrations are colourful and animated. It's a fun read with a nice little moral.

Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley by Aaron Blabey

This book is about two friends that are opposites. Pearl Barley is really up beat and energetic and Charlie Parsley is introverted and calm. After showing how different they are, the book asks how they could possibly be friends. Well as it turns out, Pearl's energetic nature cheers Charlie up when he's down, and Charlie's practical nature helps Pearl out. For example, at one point he puts mittens on her hands when she's cold.

It's a good book about how opposites can attract and how you don't have to be the same as someone to be their friend. The pictures are colourful and very expressive.