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Book Reviews: Children's Books
A bear wants to paint a picture, and so he does; however, two fine, proper gentlemen don't think that it is a very fine picture at all. But just because they don't see what the bear sees doesn't make it a bad picture, right? Bear's Picture by Daniel Pinkwater turns art (and art critics) upside down in this classic tale, now beautifully reillustrated by D. B. Johnson.
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In The Dangerous Alphabet our journey begins on the title page, as two Victorian children and pet gazelle slip away from their father, treasure map in hand, and embark on an alphabetical path through a sewer populated with every sort of ghoul, only to emerge safe at home at the end. Following the A is for format, Neil Gaiman's text takes the form of 13 tight, evocative rhyming couplets, hand-lettered by Grimley. Page turns divide each couplet, moving the action forward and building the sense of mystery. The illustrations do double duty, telling the childrens story and filling each letters page with suitably ghastly, nominal matter. Gaiman and Grimley have combined forces to produce an acrid, gothic confection that bubbles with vitriol and wit.
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One night, while Little Rabbit is sleeping, a very scary creature appears in his dream. Little Rabbit is so worried about the "night mare" that he can't eat or sleep--and he "certainly" can't work on his school report that's due at the end of the week. He makes signs. He builds traps. But nothing keeps that night mare away . . . until Little Rabbit dreams up a brave and brilliant solution. Kate and Sarah Klise have created a heart-meltingly sweet story Little Rabbit and the Night Mare that will empower kids everywhere to face their fears.
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It's purple Pinkalicious! Pinkalicious loves the color pink, but all the girls at school like black. They tease her, saying that pink stinks and pink is for babies. But Pinkalicious doesn't think so…that is, until her friends stop playing with her. Now Pinkalicious has a case of the blues. But could she ever turn her back on her favorite color? In the follow-up to the bestselling Pinkalicious, Purplicious by Elizabeth and Victoria Kann is about a young girl remaining true to herself and discovers that pink isn't only a pretty color, but also a powerful one.
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Chester is more than a picture book. It is a story told, and retold, by dueling author-illustrators. Melanie Watt starts out with the story of a mouse in a house. Then Melanie's cat, Chester, sends the mouse packing and proceeds to cover the pages with rewrites from his red marker, and the gloves are off. Melanie and her mouse won't take Chester's antics lying down. And Chester is obviously a creative powerhouse with confidence to spare. Where will this war of the picture-book makers lead? Is it a one-way ticket to Chesterville, or will Melanie get her mouse production off the ground?
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