Big Plans by Bob Shea & Lane Smith

In Big Plans one young boy sets out to conquer the world with a stinky hat, a myna bird and some awfully big ideas.  This young narrator is unashamedly confident and I'm inclined to call this book an all American read. It's set in the US and loaded with American references from the White House to the St Louis arch, yet it's a universal tale of just how far your imagination can take you.

We meet our narrator at the end of a fraught school day where he's banished to sit in the corner and stare at the wall.  But on closer investigation there's not much staring going on. Instead, in his mind this little dude has already fled the classroom and is racing across the country like a frenzied politician who's got big ideas that he's about to action.  He reminds me of Ferris Bueller. His touch is like gold dust, people line up to get his attention, and no rules, government, parents or other boundaries are going to stand in his way! He's going to climb a mountain, paint the town red, become the mayor ... and the president ... then fly to the moon.  You see, he's got big plans.

This picture book has more text than many of the others I've featured and it's aimed at an older age group of 4 years plus.  However, you know it's a successful read when a two year old is happy to follow along from start to finish and gets caught up in the frenzy along the way.

It's all BIG; big format, big text and big illustrations.  I envision groups of kids shouting 'big plans' in unison as they read along to this book. From the board room to a football game and all the way to outer space, this kid is unstoppable. He shouts directions left and right and uses fantastic phrases like 'talk turkey' and 'big shots, big wigs and muckety-mucks'. There are telling details layered throughout the text and illustrations (have a look at the chalkboard and his rocket ship), which provide multiple opportunities for discussion when read aloud.  One of my favorite bits is at the beginning where our narrator decides that all he needs is a pair of his Dad's fanciest shoes and one of his shiniest ties in order to set forth and take over the world.  This one may make you sit back and wonder how the young people in your life really see you.

Big Plans is written by Bob Shea with illustrations by Lane Smith.  The publisher is Hyperion.

Little Mouse's Big Secret by Éric Battut

Meet Little Mouse.  He has a big secret and he doesn't want to share it - not with me, not with you and especially not with his menagerie of forest friends. He hides his 'secret' in the ground and slowly over several pages and several conversations the secret takes on a life of its own and everyone finds out what he was hiding!

E and I've had fun reading this book and as you might guess it's known as the 'mouse book' in our house. Little Mouse's big secret is actually a shiny red apple. He immediately decides that it's so unique that he must hide it and keep it for himself.  The key point here is that he hides it by burying it in the ground.

Each of his friends knows that he's up to something and they take it in turns to approach him about his secret.  A parade of characters follows and Squirrel, Bird, Turtle, Hedgehog, Rabbit and Frog each ask Little Mouse the same question and each receive the same response.

The repetition of their questions works well and gives the young reader time and space to focus on each animal and the accompanying picture on the facing page.  For in each picture Little Mouse's big secret is growing up and out of the ground behind him.  Little Mouse can't see it, but his buried apple soon sprouts and begins to shoot up first as a young sapling, then as a luscious green tree and finally as an apple tree in full bloom, laden with red apples. When the apples fall to the ground and surround Little Mouse he comes to the realization that maybe secrets (like apples) are better off being shared.

This is a lovingly simple book that gives you lots to talk about with your little one.  The idea of a secret, the growing cycle in nature and the importance of friends are all themes brought together by this Little Mouse. This book was published in France under the title Le Secret. My English version was published in 2011 by Sterling Children's Books.

In celebration of the work of Maurice Sendak (1928 - 2012)

I saw this quote online from legendary children's book author/illustrator Maurice Sendak and wanted to share it: 

Big Dog ... Little Dog by P.D. Eastman

I think the time has come to highlight P.D. Eastman's popular canine duo, Fred and Ted. This cover image is as familiar to me as the back of my hand so it was with some trepidation that I slipped it into E's book pile.  I would have been a bit crushed had he tossed it aside, but E patiently accompanied me on my trip down memory lane and became fast friends with both the big dog and the little dog.

Fred and Ted's adventures are often referred to as stories about opposites but I think of them as stories about differences. Fred is big and Ted is little. One plays the flute and the other the tuba. One likes beets and one likes spinach.

Eastman plays on these differences to form the theme of the story and it all comes to a head when Fred and Ted take a  trip together - one in a red car and one in a green car. They arrive in the mountains and all goes along swimmingly until they check into a small hotel for a night.  Fred sleeps in a little bed and Ted sleeps in a big bed.  Neither bed fits correctly and both dogs toss and turn all night.  Eastman's illustrations take on a comic strip quality here and the pictures are a flurry of dog legs, blankets and tangled sheets.  E loves this page and normally shouts and points 'oh no, bed' at this stage (read last week's post for the origin of that phrasing).

The next day both dogs sit to discuss their predicament.  Slowly, at a gentle childlike pace and with the help of an all knowing bird, they realize that the big one should be in the big bed and the little one in the little bed.  They zoom back to their new rooms in true cartoon fashion and sleep peacefully. This problem solving moment is perhaps my most favorite part.  Rather than dwell on the issue they communicate to one another, come up with a solution and then action it.  Two dogs sitting on a log put their little world to right - it's a lesson for us all.

Big Dog ... Little Dog was published in 1973 by Random House, Inc. P.D. Eastman wrote a number of books about Fred and Ted in addition to numerous other titles for children. I find it particularly interesting that during his military service he crossed paths with Ted Geisel, known to most of us as Dr. Seuss. For more details about P.D. Eastman, Fred or Ted visit www.pdeastmanbooks.com.

Oh No, George! by Chris Haughton

In our house all of E's favorite books are assigned nicknames. It's no surprise that Chris Haughton's second picture book was renamed almost immediately and is now affectionately known as Oh No, Cake! These days any mention of cake gets a shout out along these lines.  I brought this book home several weeks ago and E took one look and said 'owl book' (his nickname for Haughton's first book).  It was clear to me that we were on to a winner when E made the connection.

Oh No, George! is about a dog - a hound I suspect - and the mishaps and messes that he gets into while his owner, Harris, is out.  George tries to do the right thing but despite all his best efforts he just can't help himself.  George's issues begin when he sees a cake on the table and can't resist chomping into the whole thing.  E thinks this is just fantastic and sometimes it's hard for us to move past the cake incident and onto the rest of George's adventures.

By the time Harris comes home George has managed to dig up all the potted plans and chase the cat away.  George is contrite and offers Harris his favorite toy duck to make amends.  Lucky for George his owner is kind and takes him out on a walk instead. George encounters more temptations but manages to resist them this time around.  That is until he smells the rubbish.

This book is just plain fun and there's a lesson to be learned about owning up to the things that you do and trusting adults with the truth. It looks marvelous as well with Haughton's unique illustrations and vibrant colors.

I'm still struck by the similarities between my son and George.  They'd both eat a whole cake if you left them to it, they both dig up the flowers and they both chase the cat.  E even has a thing for the rubbish.  Should I be worried? No wonder he loves this book.

If you've not read this one yet then treat yourself to a little time in the company of Chris Haughton's irresistible cast of characters.  And if you're new to his work then see my archived post for a review of his first book, A Bit Lost.  Chris Haughton is published by Walker Books and his website is: http://chrishaughton.com.

How Little Lori Visited Times Square

I received this beautiful little gem of a hardback in the post last week. Originally published in 1963, the author is Amos Vogel and the pictures are by Maurice Sendak of Where the Wild Things Are fame. E knows that this one is 'mommy's book' and it requires sitting down with an adult in order to read it. We'll see how long that lasts.

Little Lori is a young boy in New York City who decides he wants to visit Times Square.  He goes uptown and downtown on subways and trains but never gets to the right stop. He rides a helicopter, jumps on a boat and even tries to take a taxi in hope of reaching Times Square.  All of his adventures are in vain, however, and after his final attempt via an elevator at Macy's he collapses in a heap of tears.  It's a turtle who comes to his rescue.  A turtle who talks very slowly (one word per page at this point), a turtle who for some reason makes me think of Shel Silverstein's The Missing Piece.  The turtle kindly offers to take Lori, at last, to Times Square.  Lori hops on his back and they start making their way to Times Square ... v e r y  s l o w l y.

There is a fair amount of text on some pages and potentially more details than a toddler will fully understand.  However, E seems to grasp that there's a journey and a series of adventures and basically he loves looking at the boats, trains and the general wonderfulness of Sendak's illustrations of New York City scenes.  Thankfully he's happy to sit still while I read this book cover to cover (with a little pace admittedly).  And maybe that's why he seems to really hone in when we meet the turtle.  Up until that point there's a flurry of text and illustrations and time moving quickly and Lori covering lots of blocks and miles and suddenly it all comes to a dramatic halt and the turtle speaks.

E seems to be as fond of this book as I am and I'm beginning to wonder if maybe I should just let him get his hands on it.  One more read for me and I'll consider it.

You may have to hunt around for this one or ask your local bookshop to order it.  It's published by HarperCollins and my copy has a renewed copyright date of 1991. Amos Vogler is much written about for his role as a film historian and especially for founding Cinema 16, a film society in the USA. Enjoy!

To the Beach by Thomas Docherty

This is known as the 'beach book' in our house and it's our collective introduction to the magical world of Thomas Docherty.  

The story begins with a little boy staring out his window at a rainy day. From there our little friend takes you on a series of wild imaginary rides by air, sea and land to finally reach a wondrous beach with a camel as a playmate.  And when it's time to come home there's an equally exciting return journey and a promise of more adventure to come.  E happily settles in to read this book with me, turning the pages in a bit of a frenzy while shouting joyously as he encounters so many of his favorite things: airplanes, tractors, boats, monkeys, helicopters, bicycles... it can get rowdy by the final page. 

                                                                                 

The text is simple and the action is in the illustrations.  I think this is what makes it exceptionally popular for the two year old in my life.  I particularly like Docherty's technique for allowing each adventure to dovetail into the next by interweaving the illustrations. While you're in the air riding the helicopter you see a bicycle on the road below ... turn the page and suddenly you're zooming down the hill on the bike and there's a tractor in the distance. It's a pattern that's followed throughout the book and it encourages E to look closely at the illustrations and pick out the details.  

Visit the author's website to see more of his magical offerings: www.thomasdocherty.co.uk.