Saturday, January 28, 2017

Picture Book Review: Meg and Mog by Heather Nicoll Illustrated by Jan Pienkowski

I had never heard of this book series before reading it on the list of 1001 children's books. So I went
into this picture book blind. This book is being used for 1001 children's books and the picture book challenge.

Ok so I can't really give a synopsis of this book other than Meg is a witch with a cat named Mog. Meg gets together with some witchy friends to create a spell that backfires. 

This is a small book that is a super fast read. It is meant for the youngest of the youngsters. It is a cute book that has some fun illustrations. My favorite thing would have to be when Meg is coming down the stairs they staggered the words to follow along the stairs. 

It is hard to review books like this there is rarely much content to it. This is not a beloved childhood classic for me but I know that it is for others. I enjoyed it and if I had a little toddler I'm sure I would have enjoyed it even more. 

4 out of 5 stars

Friday, January 27, 2017

Picture Book Review: The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses By Paul Goble

Looking to fulfill a few more of my reading challenges I stumbled upon this book that I have never read before. The striking artwork on the cover had me eagerly scooping it up in children's section of the library. This Caldecott winning book fills in slots for 1001 children's books, old school kidlit, and picture book reading challenges.

Riding on the back of a horse a Plains girl ends up lost during a major storm. She is welcomed by a herd of wild horses and becomes their friend and part of their family. 

The best part of this picture book was the artwork. It was AMAZING! This is the type of picture book that has me flipping back through the pages to soak in the beauty of the art. I love how how motion is conveyed with things like her hair blowing outwards. 

The story was decent and showed the love that the girl had for both her family and her adopted horse family. I love the ending that plays into what you would see with traditional lore. 

4 out of 5 stars

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Picture Book Review: Chanticleer and the Fox By Geoffrey Chaucer Illustrated by Barbara Cooney

When I was in college I decided to take a course on Chaucer. Well, let us just say that it was the hardest class I had ever taken. We read Chaucer in Middle English and it may as well have been reading it in a whole other language. If you think Shakespeare is hard to understand try reading Chaucer in Middle English. Chanticleer and the Fox is a retelling of one of Chaucer's tales. To be honest I don't remember reading this tale though I'm sure I did.  This book managed to cover a number of reading challenges I'm doing including The Old School Kid Lit, 1001 children's books, and The Picture book Challenge.

The tale is of a fox luring in a vane Rooster. Using flattery he manages to catch the Rooster. The Rooster uses similar logic to free himself from the fox.

I have never read this book before. I enjoyed the illustrations immensely. I am to understand that the illustrator actually researched artwork of that time. It is reflected in the art style. I love the simple color palettes and it really does make you feel like you are looking at an old tapestry or centuries old book.

The story itself is a good one but honestly I think it may be above the level of some younger children. The writing is not a familiar style to most children so some may struggle to understand it. Though I'm sure there are many who would enjoy it especially with the unique art style.

3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

So Far Behind

Well January has been a hellish month for me. With my family rotating a stomach virus at the beginning of the month, my husband having a major infection in his leg that led to hospitalization, my mother landing in the hospital, and working extra hours at work for inventory prep....whelp I haven't read a single thing. Nope not a single book or short story. So now I have to play the catch-up game as I'm behind now on a couple of reading challenges. I'm hoping the end of January and all of February will see an improvement in my life. So now I'm gonna pull up them big girl pants and get to it!