PDF - Christian Library Journal

BOOK REVIEWS
PICTURE BOOKS
A. Lincoln and me, by Louise Borden;
illustrated by Ted Lewin. LCCN
95001921. New York: Scholastic Press,
Scholastic, Inc., 1999. ISBN 0590457144,
HBB, $15.95.
E. Lincoln, Abraham--Fiction. unp. Small children.
Sometimes it’s hard to be a kid, especially when
you stand a foot taller than your class and your
hands and feet are as big as a baboon’s, but what
our hero in A. Lincoln and Me finds out is that
sometimes being different isn’t as bad as it
seems. In this sweet tale of growing up by
Louise Borden, one little boy discovers that the
things that make him stand out are the same
things that made President Abraham Lincoln
stand out. They even share the same February
12th birthday.
Ted Lewin’s illustrations combine sketches of
Abraham Lincoln with realistic water color
images of the boy and those important to his life,
weaving a tapestry of black and white to
represent the past, and bright colors to represent
the present. The book is clean and crisp and
doesn’t even hint at any real hurt in the boy’s
heart for being laughed at and ridiculed; however
it does give the teacher the important role of
mediator and shows how one person’s
encouragement can make up for another’s
cruelty.
Virginia Schnabel, Freelance Writer, Shelton, Washington
Bear on the train, written by Julie Lawson;
illustrated by Brian Deines. Toronto, Ont.:
Kids Can Press, 1999. ISBN 1550745603,
HBB, $14.95.
E. Bears--Fiction. 30 p. Small children.
Bear smells food and gets on the grain train,
where he eats his fill and settles down to
hibernate. Only young Jeffrey has seen Bear.
The train continues to crisscross Canada, passing
through Jeffrey’s town each trip and only Jeffrey
sees Bear as the train passes through. Crossing
Canada the train passes through the many
terrains of Canada and experiences the passages
of the seasons. Finally spring arrives and Bear’s
hibernation ends as he leaves the train and goes
back to his home in the woods.
Julie Lawson uses repetition and refrain to
emphasize the on-going trip. The words are
lyrical. Brian Deines’ oil on canvas illustrations
beautifully convey the vastness of Canada and
the changing of the seasons. Both the author and
illustrator are Canadian. Children will
appreciate Bear and his search for food. Julie
Lawson and Brian Deines have combined their
talents to create a lovely pictorial story.
Barbara Wall, School Library System Director, Oswego County
BOCES, Mexico, New York
Big Truck and Little Truck, by Jan Carr;
illustrated by Ivan Bates. LCCN
99047323. New York: Scholastic Press,
2000. ISBN 0439071771, HBB, $15.95.
E. Trucks--Fiction. unp. Small children.
A working mother, Carr lives in New York City
with husband and preschool son, and was
inspired to write this book, as her son adores
trucks. She offers a story in which children will
feel reassurance and warmth. The story centers
on Big Truck who teaches Little Truck
everything. But one day Big Truck’s engine
won’t start, and while it’s at the repair garage,
Little Truck needs to manage.
The story about separation, independence, and
love includes delightful illustrations by Bates
who makes the trucks into animated characters.
One can see Little Truck’s growing confidence,
and also challenges.
Carr has previously written Frozen Noses
(Holiday House, 1999) and You’re Invited to
Mary-Kate and Ashley’s Ballet Party
(Scholastic, 1998), among others. Bates has
illustrated other children’s books like The Dark
at the Top of the Stairs (Candlewick, 1998) and
Just You & Me (Candlewick, 1998), both by Sam
McBratney. He lives in England with wife
Rachel.
Leroy Hommerding, Director, Fort Myers Beach P.L. District, Fort
Myers, Florida
Boomer’s big surprise, by Constance W.
McGeorge; illustrated by Mary Whyte.
LCCN 98008434. San Francisco:
Chronicle Books, 1999. ISBN 0811819779,
HBB, $14.95.
E. Dogs--Fiction; Dogs--Infancy--Fiction; Animals--
Infancy--Fiction; Babies--Fiction. 24 p. Small
children.
Family dog Boomer has a very big surprise
waiting for him. His owners have a new baby to
add to the family. The baby is a new puppy
named Baby Boomer. Baby is so cute and
lovable that the family wants to play with him
and not Boomer. Boomer is very sad that his
family no longer wants to play fetch or pet him.
Baby Boomer saves the story by wanting to play
with and be loved by Boomer. So Boomer and
Baby Boomer become wonderful friends and
learn that they can both be loved by the family.
Mary Whyte has fantastic illustrations that really
help the reader feel Boomer’s sadness. Also
from the illustrations, the reader will want to
pick up and cuddle Baby Boomer. Boomer
appears in other stories, but the reader does not
need to have read those previous books in order
to love Boomer’s Big Surprise.
Connie Weaver, Church Librarian, Newville, Pennsylvania
Brave Martha, written and illustrated by
Margot Apple. LCCN 97042616. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin, 1999. ISBN
0395594227, HBB, $15.00.
E. Cats--Fiction; Fear of the dark--Fiction; Bedtime--
Fiction. 30 p. Small children.
"Scritcha, scritcha, scritch." Martha hears the
unusual noise as she peeks timidly from her bed.
Usually, Sophie, her cat, would check all the
dark corners and creepy places before Martha
went to sleep. But tonight, Sophie isn’t around,
and her father hasn’t checked under her bed, a
favorite hiding place for something scary.
As the story progresses, Brave Martha searches
out all the potential places as her imagination
builds great, scary monsters. But nothing turns
out as it seems. At last Sophie her cat reappears,
having been the noisemaker all along.
This is Margot Apple’s second book as
author/illustrator. The pictures are big and
expressive, the text short and to the point. The
story line of Brave Martha is quite simple and
would allow for good discussion with children
about those imaginary fears many have. A
comforting point to make is the final picture
where Martha has settled down for the night, and
her father is checking on her to be sure she is all
right. This gives assurance that parents care and
do their best to keep their children safe and
secure.
Mary McKinney, Former Teacher, Freelance Writer, Editor, Port
Orchard, Washington
Bright 'n beautiful. (Jay Jay the jet plane.)
Nashville: Tommy Nelson, Thomas Nelson.
Vid, 0849975484, $12.97.
E. Primary (Elementary).
Bright ‘n Beautiful is comprised of three tenminute
adventures from the "Jay Jay the Jet
Plane" series from Focus on the Family.
In "Snuffy’s Rainbow" little Snuffy the Airplane
sees his first rainbow and is determined to fly to
the rainbow to meet it personally. But what he
seeks always fades before him. Oscar the
Airplane tells him that the rainbow has a secret.
Resting in his hangar because of rain, Snuffy
falls asleep and dreams that he has caught up to
the rainbow and she tells him that her secret is
that some things—like his skywriting—look
better from far away. Snuffy awakens realizing
that the truth of what she has told him and
skywrites a rainbow for everybody.
In the second installment, "Snuffy Discovers the
Ocean," upon seeing a fish in an aquarium
Snuffy wonders asks Tracy and Jay Jay about the
ocean which they are about to go fly over. As he
is thinking over what they say, he falls asleep and
soon hears the fish calling his name. The fish
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