Gumption! by Elise Broach

Gumption! by Elise Broach, illustrated by Richard Egielski

Rating: 5 adventurous stars!

As you know by now if you've read a handful of blog entries here, there are some books I read to Lorelei and Ben just for a certain vocabulary word.  Well, Ben still grunts his yes's and no's and everything in between, but Lorelei's speech is sweet and exciting and impressive and adorable.  I found this book while in the Boulder Book Store, and I LOVE it!  The best part is, Lorelei and Ben love it, too.  I don't even have to force one of my favorites on them. 

We are loving Elise Broach right now, though Richard Egielski is a new illustrator for us.  His work is fantastic!  He won the Caldecott for Hey, Al, a book we've not read.  Yet.  The illustrations are just amazing, and it's easy to think they are the only thing that make this book work.  They definitely bring the words to life, but that's because this book is about the pictures as much as it is the story.

I must say that this book is best read in a British accent, or at least when Uncle Nigel is talking.  My years joking around with my family and friends, leaving messages in different accents on their answering machines, really come in handy sometimes while reading to Lorelei and Ben.

Anyway, young Peter's favorite Uncle Nigel has invited him to the jungle to find the majestic and illusive "Zimbobo Mountain Gorilla."  They hunt through the jungle, crossing obstacle after obstacle.  At each obstacle, Peter says he can't do it.  Uncle Nigel replies: "Nonsense, my boy!  All you need is a bit of gumption!" and starts to go across the river or climb through the tall grass or climb up the mountainside by himself.  Then, you see in the picture, that an animal appears to help Peter across the obstacle--in a friendly way or by accident.  Peter arrives across the obstacle at the same time as Uncle Nigel, who doesn't see a single animal the whole time.  It is a gorgeous, clever book and really exciting in an old school, African safari, exploring the unknown sort of way.

This is such a neat book.  It's a great gift book, too!  (I'd get it for an adventuresome 3- or 4-year old.)  Lorelei and Ben both love it--thanks to the great story that Lorelei completely gets and the incredible pictures that captivate Ben.  Bravo again, Elise Broach!

Wet Dog! by Elise Broach

Wet Dog! by Elise Broach, illustrated by David Catrow

Rating: 5 wet stars

Since I berated Elise Broach's sibling/new baby book What the No-Good Baby is Good For the other day, I had to applaud this awesome book.  This book is SO fun to read that I am constantly requesting Lorelei and Ben to request it.  The rythym makes me want to be a professional story teller at our local library.  I tap my toes and slap my knee.  David Catrow's images once again make me laugh out loud; I know all too well what happens when a wet dog shakes its stinky hair and lets loose a rainshower of dog drizzle.

If your child has a dog in her life, there is no way you can pass this one up!  Especially if that dog is a hairy one like our Golden Retriever was growing up.  (We have short-haired weims now...I'll never go back to the long-haired dogs, or so I say today.)  It is such a funny book! 

The wet dog you see panting on the cover goes on a quest to get wet, and he bumps into a bunch of different people who can help him achieve this goal.  A guy washing a limousine, a lady making bouquets of flowers, some guys making music by a lake.  They all shoo him away immediately when he starts to shake and get them wet, and he goes on his way: "pat-a-pat, pat-a-pat, pat."  All the people he encounters are actually going to a wedding, which the wet dog easily crashes with his dog drizzle.  All the grown-ups are dismayed by the wetness of the wet dog, but a little baby welcomes him: "More, wet dog, more!"  Soon the baby's laughter is contagious, and the grown-ups are all getting in on the wet fun.  In the end, instead of getting yet another "Shoo!  Go on now, SHOOO!" the wet dog hears: "Hoo-ray, wet dog!  Hoo-ray!"

Lorelei and Ben love how the entire wedding party and grown-ups just jump into the lake with the giggling baby and wet dog--David Catrow is such a favorite in our house, but this might be my favorite of his books of all the ones we've read.  (Click on the tab below to see his other books I've reviewed.)  Elise Broach is also at her best here; most of her books are simple prose, but this is a sing-songy poem reminiscent of a banjo folk song, hence the aforementioned foot-tapping and knee-slapping. 

Dog lovers (especially miniature ones): you've just got to read it!

What the No-Good Baby is Good For by Elise Broach

What the No-Good Baby is Good For by Elise Broach, illustrated by Abby Carter

Rating: 2 stars

We love Elise Broach, but...this book is not great.  We are throwing it into the sad, big pile of books-that-assume-big-siblings-hate-their-little-siblings.  It sure isn't for us, and it makes me wonder who would welcome a book like this into their house?  I hope there aren't many people out there, because it sure doesn't help promote a loving family atmosphere that we'd like to pretend we'll have for longer than the next few years. 

Please don't burst our bubble if you think this is untrue.  We are really enjoying our kids' relationship with each other right now!

In this book, the big brother resents his baby sister, says she's good for nothing, and wants to get rid of her.  "It's time for the baby to go," he says.  And then, the mother says, to his and my surprise, "I guess you're right."  Together, they help pack her belongings.  As they pack, the big brother realizes that the very things that his baby sister does to annoy him--throw Cheerios on the floor, pull the cat's tail, make noise at the library--could actually be seen as good things.  So he and his mother decide to just send the baby sister away for the day--to Grandma's eager arms--and spend the day together.

Obviously, there are some redeeming qualities here:

• The big brother learns that attitude and perspective is everything, and if he looks at his baby sister through a more positive lens, the scene is better.  That's definitely an important lesson.
   
• The mother recognizes her son's need for some time apart from the baby, and some time spent just with her.  That's another important lesson in new-sibling-hood--that while you do have to share everything (including mom) everyday and all day long, taking a break once in a while is healthy and refreshing and wonderful.

Still, we've had this book from the library for over a week and Lorelei and Ben haven't seen it.  I don't really want "no-good baby" in their vocabulary for a few seconds, let alone years.  I wish that Elise Broach had just changed the title and text to be more positive, because then the book would be better. 

But the book still rests on the premise that the big brother doesn't like the baby sister, and I just don't want to be the one responsible for putting that idea into my own children's heads.  Things are going swimmingly now, with Lorelei believing--rightly, we think--that Ben is a wonderful addition to the family.

When Dinosaurs Came with Everything by Elise Broach

When Dinosaurs Came with Everything by Elise Broach, illustrated by David Small

Rating: 5 dino-mite stars

This is such a fun book.  Our neighbor got it for Ben, for Lorelei's birthday.  You know you've got a great friend when both of your kids get a gift on one of their birthdays.

The gist of the book is simple:  One day a little boy and his mother go out for their "boring" route of errands and...WAIT.  I have to stop here and tell all children's book authors to stop saying that errands are boring.  Let's call them riveting and fun and exciting, as we pretend they are in our house!

Anyway, at each stop, they get a dinosaur with their purchase.  At the doughnut shop, then leave with a triceratops.  At the doctor, a stegosaurus.  At the barber, a pterosaur.  And on the way home, the little boy can't help but feed a baby hadrosaur that runs alongside his car some doughnuts, so that "little" guy follows the car home, too.

His mother is, understandably, fairly distraught at the thought of keeping four dinosaurs.  But then, crafty as all moms are, she figures out ways for them to help with the household chores.  So, they stay.

The fantastic illustrations of David Small deserve a round of applause, too.  Small makes the dinosaurs giant--check out the image on the right.  The triceratops, and the other dinosaurs, practically leap out on to your lap!  What talent!  The way that he contrasts the exasperated mothers and the delighted kids as mother-kid combos tote around their new dinosaurs is really funny.

I have to say that I feel an affinity towards Elise Broach.  Maybe because she is super educated and started writing children's books when her youngest (of three) kids was a year old.  She points out on her website that she started writing books when she was in grade school, and her "parents, teachers, and school librarians showered me with totally unjustified encouragement, saying they knew my books would be on their shelves one day."  Just goes to show you what some quality, surely justified encouragement can do to child.