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PICTURE BOOKS
In The Day the Circus Came to Town, by
Melody Carlson, Billy’s family has tickets to see
the circus. This is a special event because he
and his sister Emma have never been to the
circus. Later in the day he and his friends are
playing when they meet Zino the Clown from
the circus. Zino offers the boys tickets, but Seth,
Samuel, and Jack give Zino a hard time. They
decide circuses are for babies, so Billy agrees
with the other boys and refuses the ticket. That
evening Billy refuses to go with his family to the
circus. While his family is gone he decides to
play with his friends but none of them is at
home. Then Billy decides it would not hurt to
go and check out the circus. He peers into the
tent and sees his friends inside with their
families. Billy decides he really wants to be
with his family, but the man at the door will not
let him in without a ticket. Billy is ready to go
home when Zino the Clown appears with a
ticket. Zino offers Billy another chance to see
the circus and Billy is happy to accept the
invitation.
The message to "follow your heart and not your
friends" is clear in this story. While some
children will find this story "old-fashioned," it
will be good for discussions about how
decisions have consequences. The illustrations
truly compliment the style of the author’s story.
Susan K. Brown, Teacher, Noblesville, Indiana
Elliot bakes a cake, written and illustrated
by Andrea Beck. (An Elliot Moose story.)
Toronto, Ont.: Kids Can Press, 1999.
ISBN 1550744437, HBB, $12.95.
E. Animals--Fiction. 32 p. Small children.
It’s Lionel’s birthday and Elliot wants to make
him a cake. Elliot recruits Socks, Amy, and
Paisley to help. They run to tell Beaverton their
plan. After digging around in his cupboard
Beaverton finds a good cake recipe. Finding
everything they need, the friends work together
to make the cake. Problems begin when they
don’t understand what it means to separate eggs.
Do you put them in separate bowls? And does
cream the butter mean you pour cream on the
butter? However, their biggest problem is
deciding when the cake is done. The recipe says
when they touch the cake it will spring up. But
no matter how close they watch it, the cake
doesn’t spring up. First it wobbles, then it
doesn’t do anything, and while they waiting for
it to spring up it burns. Disappointed, but
resourceful, they cut off the burned part,
decorate the cake, and surprise Lionel with "the
best cake they had ever tasted."
A story of co-operation and resourcefulness,
Elliot Bakes A Cake will delight young readers.
Often faced with complex situations or
instructions they don’t understand, young
children will empathize with the animals as they
stumble through the directions. And they will be
thrilled with the inventive solution to the
problem. Andrea Beck encourages the reader to
persevere in spite of problems. Beck’s
delightful, brightly colored animals crowd the
pages with happy expressive faces.
The recipe for the cake is on the last page of the
book. It is worded just like the recipe the
animals used. Children, or even adults who are
not in the habit of baking, could find the recipe
a bit confusing.
Barbara A. Bryden, Freelance Writer, Olympia, Washington
Enemy pie, by Derek Munson; illustrated
by Tara Calahan King. LCCN 99050821.
San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2000.
ISBN 081182778X, HBB, $14.95.
E. Friendship--Fiction; Fathers and sons--Fiction;
Pies--Fiction. unp. Small children.
In Derek Munson’s Enemy Pie, the author
shows how one boy learned to accept
differences in people and make a new friend.
This charming story chronicles the stages of
friendship. The problem begins when Jeremy
Ross moves into the neighborhood and does
things that really upset the main character in the
story. The main character seeks advice from his
dad, who understands stuff like enemies. Dad
even knows a way to get rid of enemies. His
secret weapon is enemy pie. It is guaranteed to
get rid of enemies. The main character brings
his dad all sorts of things to put in the pie like
worms, rocks, already chewed gum, but dad
gives it all back. Then Dad says the hardest part
of making enemy pie work is up to you. You
have to spend a whole day with your enemy.
The main character is not sure about this idea
but he follows his dad’s advice. In just a short
time the boys were having a great time together.
Now it is time to have some enemy pie. The
boys sit down with Dad to eat their pie and ice
cream. Then panic sets in. The main character
does not want Jeremy Ross to eat the pie. He
tries to stop Jeremy, but Jeremy asks, "If it is bad
then why has your dad already eaten half of it?"
The enemy pie is delicious and the boys became
friends. This story will lend itself to discussions
about friends and enemies. Most children will
be able to relate to at least one of the characters
in the story. Tara Calahan King uses color
pencil and pastel illustrations to add to this great
story.
Susan K. Brown, Teacher, Noblesville, Indiana
The everything book, by Denise Fleming.
LCCN 99053626. New York: Henry Holt,
2000. ISBN 0805062920, HBB, $18.95.
E. Children’s literature; Literature--Collections. 64 p.
Small children.
From the sunshine yellow end papers to the
bright colorful paper pulp paintings of children
and common everyday objects, Denise
Fleming’s The Everything Book is a joy.
Fleming calls this book her ‘diaper bag book,’
while the book jacket says ‘something for
everyone.’ They are both right! Whether in a
diaper bag or on a library shelf, this cornucopia
of rhymes, poems, labeled pictures, and
wonderful pictures of a small child’s daily life
would entertain a small child for a long time.
The title page has seventeen ladybugs trailing
across it, which sets up a treasure hunt for the
rest of the book: How many ladybugs are on
each page? Page 62 includes a list of the
number of bugs found on each page (although
the ladybugs on the book jacket are not
mentioned) and the ladybug parade continues
right onto the last page, where the final ladybug
flies across a starry sky filled with a huge
crescent moon and the words, ‘Bye-Bye.’
On the way to ‘Bye-Bye,’ little lapsitters can
learn the names of common kitchen items,
fruits, colors, animals, and even body parts
(including an overalled rear labeled ‘bottom’),
as well as listen to poems about subjects as
diverse as chickens, fireflies, and traffic lights.
Fleming likes to put personal touches in her
books from time to time; in this one, the faces on
pages 50-51 include Fleming’s great-niece-inlaw,
Lexie, and a little girl that represents what
Fleming thinks her Henry Holt editor, Laura
Godwin, looked like as a child. The final
personal touch is a poignant one. Children, no
matter how old they grow, are always children in
their mothers’ hearts, and although Fleming’s
daughter Indigo is now grown up, The
Everything Book is dedicated to her.
Betty Winslow, Bowling Green Christian Academy, Bowling Green,
Ohio
Fantastic faith. (Jay Jay the jet plane.)
Nashville: Tommy Nelson, Thomas
Nelson, . ISBN 849975468, VID, $12.97.
E. Children--Conduct of life; Children--Religious life;
Christian life. 1 videocassette, col., 30 min. Small
children.
How can children face their fears and talk about
them? How do they deal with fear of the dark,
or the jitters of the first day of school?
Computer animation is used to create a story for
each of these three areas. Fantastic Faith
centers around Jay Jay, the Jet Plane, an inviting
animated character with a human face. Jay Jay
is ashamed to share his bad dream with friends
but via song and talk about his fears, comes to
face them. On his first day of school he learns
he’s not the only plane who has ever struggled
with first-day jitters. On a camping trip, Snuffy
overcomes his fear of the dark with help from
Jay Jay.
Each of the short stories brings God into the
picture, e.g., God helps us through our friends in
the first story, and we are never really lost to
God in the third story where stars are the focal
point for dealing with the dark. Children will
like the quick moving pace of the stories, the
delightful animation, and the original songs.
Parents can utilize the stories with confidence,
even retelling portions, as kids will likely
remember the stories. Recommended for all
children’s libraries.
Leroy Hommerding, Director, Fort Myers Beach P.L. District, Fort
Myers, Florida
Farmer Brown’s field trip, written by
Melody Carlson; illustrations by Steve
Bjorkman. LCCN 99053086. Wheaton,
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