Picture Book Tuesday

STARTED & FINISHED:

Lehman, Barbara. (2008). Trainstop. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

[I normally love what this woman does, but this one just didn't hold much mysterious fun for me. The train stops in a land of little people?? It's great that they thank her by bringing a bit of the outdoors to the concrete city, but even that is pretty random.]



Frazee, Marla. (2008). A couple of boys have the best week ever. Orlando, FL: Harcourt.

[I'll use the word random here, too. These kids go away to camp, but I guess it's a camp that takes place only during the day and they need to be dropped off and picked up every day? The rest of the time is spent with one of the kid's grandparents - the grandfather is obsessed with penguins? Is there a lesson to be learned here or am I missing something (I'm willing to accept that I am wrong...)? Some folks at ACL have voted to include this one on the end of the year distinguished list, but I found it to be kind of rambling and pointless - one that a child probably wouldn't get invested in either.]



Brannen, Sarah S. (2008). Uncle Bobby's wedding. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons/Penguin.

[Sure to incite controversy (what is WRONG with people??), this one is about a little hamster who gets upset when her favorite uncle tells her he's going to marry his "friend" because she wants him all to herself. It's good in the fact that it handles the whole "gay angle" as though it is perfectly normal, but the fact that it is done with odd little animals is a bit silly.]

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