As we read around Europe I’ll be making occasional brief trips back to the UK to review some of the latest releases in the anglo-saxon kidlit publishing world and today is such a day. One of my favourite books last year was One Smart Fish by Chris Wormell (which I reviewed here, and which later in the year deservedly won the Booktrust Early Years Award), so when I saw that Wormell had a new book out I was keen to get hold of a copy and see if he could follow up One Smart Fish with another gem in the form of Scruffy Bear and the Six White Mice.
Photo: Joost J. Bakker IJmuiden
One dark night a kindly bear thinks on his feet to save the life of six white mice hunted by an owl, a fox and a snake. As the mice curl themselves up into tight balls, Scruffy Bear convinces the predators that what he has at his feet are not mice, but rather snowballs, eggs or apples. At the last moment the hunters realise they’ve been tricked but by then Scruffy Bear and his new friends have made off and are safe and sound thanks to his quick thinking.
I’m sure some reviews will say that this book celebrates ingenuity, quick wittedness and courage, all characteristics we might wish to encourage in our kids as we read to them. But I’m afraid that this is not a book that has shot into my early-favourites-for-2011 list.
Scruffy Bear’s alternative descriptions of what the owl, fox and snake find on the ground just don’t work for me. I suppose they are meant to be clever but they lacked the kernel of believability that I think is necessary to carry the story forward.
Maybe this is a case of where an adult reaction to a book is very different to that which it might receive from a child. Indeed, M and J have both enjoyed this book a great deal and find Scruffy Bear’s white lies very funny indeed, but reading the book out loud I didn’t enjoy it to the same degree. In an ideal picture book I’m looking for something that my kids and I enjoy equally (even if for different reasons) and for this reason Scruffy Bear and the Six White Mice didn’t thrill me the way One Smart Fish did.
Maybe I’m missing the point entirely and Scruffy Bear’s alternative explanation for the six furry balls at his feet are meant to be totally outrageous and unbelievable in order that we can enjoy laughing all the more at fooling the owl, fox and snake. But if the enemy turns out to be just plain stupid, rather than the protagonist actually clever, the story falls a little flat for me.
The illustrations are perfectly nice and Wormell can definitely draw beautiful animals but like the story, whilst the illustrations are fine and appeal to the children I didn’t fall in love with them or feel that thrill of excitement I d
Photo: Laszlo-photo
With J’s current fish obsession we’re on the look out for books about fish at the moment. One Smart Fish by Chris Wormell was a chance find when we were visiting the Natural History Museum a few weeks back – it’s not a book I had previously heard of – but it’s now definitely one of J’s favourites so far this year.
One Smart Fish tells the story of a crucial evolutionary step – how many millions of years ago some fish left the sea and began life on land. It’s a big topic but through the use of stunning illustrations and perfectly pitched text, liberally sprinkled with humour, Wormell has written the ideal book for introducing the idea of evolution to young children.
Many pages are densely packed with a range of fish of all shapes, sizes, colours and texture, whilst the penultimate double page spread has a hugely detailed expanse of creatures surging out across the land showing the evolution from fish to – eventually – human beings. Like the earlier pictures of fish we can’t help pouring over the illustrations and playing “I spy” – just like we do when reading some other much enjoyed books of ours – Anno’s Journey or The History Puzzle.
One Smart Fish doesn’t attempt to deal with the science or evidence for evolution but it does introduce the concept of evolution exceptionally well. Both M and J find it funny yet brilliant that they are evolved from fish – this idea has really caught their imagination and M in particular has wanted to find out more. That Wormell’s book has so engaged my two kids and got them asking lots of questions is a testament to its brilliance.
Inspired by the range of beautiful and colourful fish in Wormell’s book we set about creating our own ocean full of fish. First I cut out lots of fish shapes from clear plastic containers I’ve been saving (strawberry punnets, for example). The girls used permanent markers (sharpies) to colour in and decorate the fish.
3 Comments on Fish feet…, last added: 6/23/2010
It's that time of the week again! I'm trying to clean off my TBR shelves from 2009, so once again I have a smorgasbord of picture books for you this week. Hopefully you'll find at least one that grabs you!
What's New at the Zoo? An Animal Adding Adventure by Suzanne Slade and illustrator Joan Waites
I'm a big fan of books published by Sylvan Dell, for their educational elements, combined with the fun aspect of a picture book for kiddos. This one takes the subject of addition and adds in some fun rhymes and enjoyable pictures of zoo life to keep your child interested, while their working on their math.
My favorite page features penguins, some of my own favorite animals (giraffes and dogs take a high stance on my favorites list too, in case you're interested!). The rhymes reads:
"Ten playful penguins
slip and slide and flip.
Five chicks want a turn.
How many take a dip?"
And then the problem, 10 + 5 = ? is show on the bottom of the page. Fun right?
And as always with Sylvan Dell books, the fun and learning isn't over when the story ends. The back is filled with lots of additional activities, like animal matching and different addition methods. And the website, www.sylvandellpublishing.com has free online resources to go along with the book as well.
What's New at the Zoo?
Suzanne Slade
32 pages
Picture Book
Sylvan Dell Publishing
9781934359938
June 2009
Review copy received from publisher
Bedtime for Mommy by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrator LeUyen Pham
If you read this blog on a regular basis, you know that Rosenthal is one of my favorite children's authors and she has yet another adorable book, coming out in March. You should preorder it...it's worth it!
Roles are reversed when a little girl has the challenge of putting her mommy to bed. First she has to have a bath, then teeth brushing, then a story, etc. And once Mommy is finally tucked into bed, it's time to start on Daddy!
A really sweet story, with fantastic illustrations. I've read a few books illustrated by Pham, but nothing that has stood out like the pictures in this one. A great bedtime read!
And if you're interested in the whole role-reversal at bedtime topic, Topsy-Turvy Bedtime by Joan Levine is another one to look up.
Bedtime for Mommy
Amy Krause Rosenthal
32 pages
Picture Book
Bloomsbury
9781599903415
3 Comments on Picture Book Saturday, last added: 1/23/2010
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Thanks for the link to the Harris book. It is NOT in our library system 
But I’ll keep a note of it. BTW the weather is still looking good!
There’s a long tradition of trickster tales, which tend to involve deceit, so the fibs of the bear wouldn’t bother me in context.
A similar issue is “Runaway Bunny”, which is all about a mother always finding her son no matter where he runs off to hide. But really, what is the boy doing running away? But the story is more about the emotional arc, not the actual plot, and in any case the bunny’s plans are too fantastical to emulate.
Hi Beth,
Ah – that’s good to know – about the wider context for this type of story. I guess this is just the first time that the use of fibs came up for us – maybe simply because M is now old enough to see the fibs, to know that we don’t normally encourage fibs and putting all that together to comment on it to me. Can you suggest another trickster tale picture book involving fibs we might enjoy here?