A Hungry Lion, or A Dwindling Assortment of Animals

A Hungry Lion, or A Dwindling Assortment of Animals
Written and illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins

My rating: ★★★★½

ISBN: 978-1481448895
Publisher: Altheneum
Date of publication: March 15, 2016
Age: 4 - 8 years

Themes: animals, surprises

There once was a hungry lion, a penguin (Well he was just here…), a little calico kitten (I could have sworn I just saw him…), a brown mouse (Now wait a second…), a bunny with floppy ears and a bunny with un-floppy ears (Okay this is just getting ridiculous), a frog, a bat, a pig, a slightly bigger pig, a wooly sheep, a koala, a hen, and also a turtle. Hey! What’s going on here…

When Jon Klassen (of I Want My Hat Back fame) calls this book "so smart and so cute and so dark all at the same time" then you KNOW there's some sketchy things going on. I mean, I should've seen it coming, really. (Gall, this book is so hard to review without giving it all away). Basically, it's just my style: cheeky illustrations, several surprising twists, a dark humor, and something that I'd think twice about reading in my preschool storytime. I laughed, it's true, and there will be many a kids who laugh, too. And perhaps some concerned parents... I just have to recommend it. It's too funny not to!

Readalikes would definitely include I Want My Hat Back and This is Not My Hat, and even a bit of Mother Bruce. Oh and Carnivores, of course.

Find it at your library or on Amazon

Judging By Its Cover: Warren the 13th and The All-Seeing Eye

Welcome to the "Judging By Its Cover" review series: which is when I pick a book at the library based solely on the enticings of its cover...

Warren the 13th and The All-Seeing Eye
Written by Tania del Rio, illustrated by Will Staehle

My rating: ★★★

ISBN: 978-1594748035
Publisher: Quirk Books
Date of publication: November 24, 2015
Age: Grades 4 - 6
Genre: Mysteriously Spooky Steampunk Fantasy Graphic Novel (Okay, we'll go with Mystery)

Themes: orphan, hotel, witchcraft, family relationships, heritage

Meet Warren the 13th. He's the lone bellhop, valet, groundskeeper, and errand boy of his family's ancient hotel. It's a strange, shadowy mansion full of crooked corridors and mysterious riddles—and it just might be home to a magical treasure known as the All-Seeing Eye. But if Warren is going to find the hidden treasure, he'll need to solve several other mysteries first: What is the strange creature lurking in the hotel boiler room? Who is the ghostly girl creeping around the garden's hedge maze? And why is the hotel's only guest covered in bandages?

Yes, the illustrations of the cover caught my eye, so I checked out the book. And, boy oh boy, the rest of them did not disappoint! All of the illustrations were expertly rendered with utmost style and finesse. Staehle used his fantastic designs to carry the creepy Victorian theme by using a monochromatic scheme (red) in a wood-engraved-style with classic typography. Basically, the illustrations are why I liked the book.

 

As for the actual story, however...well, it left a bit to be desired. Probably because the illustrations set the bar so high. It was fine. That's about it. The characters were sub-developed, cliche, and cute; the plot a bit twisted and broken, with odd little jumps and sudden discoveries. It was just okay. (After reading more about the creation of the book, and the fact that Warren is Staehle's brainchild, it feels like del Rio wasn't quite as invested  in the story as Staehle. But that's just my observation.)

So will I read any sequels? To be honest, I won't read them so much as look at all the pictures. Still, the simplistic story might be good to recommend to kids who love Tim Burton, Neil Gaiman, The Series of Unfortunate Events or other such spooky tales. And I'd definitely show the illustrations off to people of all ages. See them for yourself!

Find it at your library or on Amazon

April Fool's Library Display: 11 Funny Book Covers!

I'm admitting straight up that the idea for this display is not mine. Rebecca from Hafuboti was so nice as to let me expand on her posts Library Fools and More Foolish Than Ever with eleven of my own silly/funny/foolish book covers. I love photoshop and I love funny books, so basically, it was a match made in heaven.

So without further ado, here are eleven book covers of popular picture books/early readers for your April Fools pleasure. Hang them up on a bulletin board or wall for patrons enjoyment. Or number the covers on display and have kids write down the correct title for each number for a small prize. OR, even better, have some blank papers out for kids to make up their own silly titles or stories!

Easter Library Display

Easter is this weekend! Who's excited to eat a ridiculous amount of jelly beans?? And/or chocolate bunnies?? And/or, as the case may be, those marvelous marshmallow, ooey-gooey goodness known as Peeps??

Why do I bring up Peeps? Well I have to give a shout-out to my former coworker, Heather, who made this awesome library display:

For Peeps sake, people, just read a book! And Happy Easter!