PPB: Saving Sweetness by Diane Stanley - Illus. G. Brain Garas

 

I don't want people to think that, in my opinion, only rhyming picture books can be perfect, so I'm throwing in some southern prose.

Saving Sweetness
by Diane Stanley
Illus. by G Brain Karas
Picture Book
published: 1996

About

Mrs. Sump is so mean to the ophans that little Sweetness runs away. The sheriff is duty-bound to find that little 'thang' and save her from the hot hot desert and that nasty outlaw Coyote Pete. But who really saves whom?

Reaction

I was first introduced to this book at a writing conference where I was privileged to hear Diane read it out loud to us. We were in stitches. It was glorious. I had to immediately acquire my own copy and have loved reading it to my kids since. It is a tad longer than your average picture book, but you won't even notice. You'll love the resourceful, polite, clever Little Sweetness and that good-intentioned but hapless Sheriff. And the book is a wallow of fanciful and funny southern sayings. I challenge anyone to read it out loud and not fall into a southern accent, fake or otherwise. And the ending is funny, sweet, and laced with my all-time-favorite, poetic irony.

Please check it out! You won't regret it.

PPB: Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson - Illus. by Jane Chapman

I told you I was going to make it a feature. And now I have. Ta da! And I'm really excited about my button. That is my baby girl and I took that picture and I actually helped my husband make the button. (Okay, for the record, I always tell him what I have in mind, so I basically design them, but he does all the magic with the clicking and outlining and whatnot. He gets lots of input. I want to be like him when I grow up.) Anyway, it makes me happy. I love her toes.

Bear Snores On
by Karma Wilson
Illus. by Jane Chapman
Picture Book
published: 2002

About

In the middle of a fierce winter storm, a gang of little creatures gather for a party in the den of huge hibernating bear. Everything is going great until that proverbial pepper fleck...

Reaction

This really is a perfect picture book. The story is adorable, with a fearsome surprise and a sweet ending. It is told in perfectly rhymed and metered poetry. It flows off your tongue in jumps and tickles. And the author manages, in the short stanzas, to give each character a voice and a personality. A joy to read out loud. And the illustrations are so cute I want to keep all those creatures and use Bear as a pillow.The expressions on their faces are priceless.

I own this one in it's original picture book size and in a board book form so the littler Littles can have fun with it too. And this author/illustrator team have paired up for several more books about Bear and his friends that are all lovely as well. Perhaps I'll feature a sequel some time in the future.

How about a tiny taste? I thought so!

An itty-bitty mouse,
pitter-pat, tip-toe,
creep-crawls in the cave
from the fluff-cold snow.

Perfect.

PPB: Falling for Rapunzel by Leah Wilcox

Falling for Rapunzel
by Leah Wilcox
illustrated by Lydia Monks
Picture Book, Fairy Tale
published: 2003
5 of 5 stars

About

What if Rapunzel really didn't need saving? What if her cries where only hair woes? What if the Rapunzel was so high up she couldn't quite hear what the prince was asking?

Reaction

This is one of my favorite picture books. (I need to make a list of those. Hmmm. Listful Monday idea, huh?) It is told in spot on rhyming couplets. It is illustrated in an adorable, expressive style with cut photos thrown in for foliage. Oh yeah. And it is funny. Giggle-fest funny. Your Littles will love it. You will love it. You will love reading it over and over - and we all know that is exactly what you will have to do. There is even a plot twist at the end that you probably won't see coming.

Do I go too far? NOT AT ALL. It is a perfect picture book. Ha! That's gotta be my new feature series. Perfect Picture Books. Huzzah.

Anyhoo. This one is awesome.

Have a couplet (from my memory no less...though I did check for punctuation accuracy):

          By now the prince was feeling hammered,
          not to mention less enamored.

Your welcome. :)