LitBit Speaks

Apologies for the disappearance over the last little bit. I've been in the midst of a number of deadlines and have fallen behind on my reviewing. In any case, I'm back now, at least for today, with some really great picture books! Oliver has always dreamed about where he will fit. Will he be in the mane of a unicorn? The tentacle of a pirate squid? The helmet of an astronaut? When he finally goes in search of his perfect place, he finds that trying to fit in is a lot harder than he thought. But like any puzzle, a little trial and error leads to a solution, and Oliver figures out exactly where he belongs. This book is adorable, heartfelt, gorgeously colorful, and speaks to the real-life anxieties around feeling inadequate or being unable to fit in. Oliver is a delightful little fellow, trying to find a place and a purpose. Frank loves being a spider, especially the part that involves having eight glorious legs. But one morning Frank wakes up missing a leg. One of his fri...

Picturebook Favorites [Part IV]  ALA (2017) Where Are You?  Sarah Williamson "Where are you?" asks the green worm. "I am here!" replies to the pink worm.  But can you  see where the pink worm is? In the tradition of hide-and-seek storytelling, this seemingly simple story will keep youngsters engaged right from page one.  Simple shapes, delightful textures, and bright, solid colours make this book highly appealing to those with a visual aptitude! (Already Available - Knopf BFYR) The World is Not a Rectangle: A Portrait of Architect Zaha Hadid  Jeanette Winter Jeanette Winter tells the story of Zaha Hadid, a female, muslim architect who refused to play by the rules. She wanted her buildings to mimic nature: the waving grass, sea shells, and desert sand dunes that she saw around her. This inspirational true story is one that children and adults alike can hold close to spark their own imaginations and hopefully keep the work...

Picturebook Favorites [Part III]  ALA (2017) Not Quite Narwhal  Jessie Sima This book is hard to describe without using the word "sparkly" a lot. It is so vibrant and colorful, the images leap off the page. Sima's story is adorable, but has depth as our cute little protagonist works to find out where in the world he belongs. Is he a Narwhal because he was raised by them? Or is he a Unicorn because he looks and plays like them? A sweet read aloud, for any age! (Already Available - Simon & Schuster) LIFE  Cynthia Rylant (Author) and Brendan Wenzel (Illustrator) Life is big, bold, and beautiful, and sometimes a little bit scary. All of life's awesome wonder is expressed radiantly through Wenzel's artistic experimentation. Every animal expresses joy in its given environment, every vista boldly displayed in its full glory. Rylant's elegant prose is paired perfectly with every image. This is truly a work to savor! (Already ...

Picturebook Favorites [Part II]  ALA (2017) La La La  Kate DiCamillo (Author) and Jaime Kim (Illustrator) A beautiful story of hope and personal exploration told through a simple, repeated refrain, and accompanied by incredible illustrations rendered in a combination of black and white and vibrant color. You won't want this wonderful little book to end! (10/03/2017 - Candlewick Press) Love, Triangle  Marcie Colleen (Author) and Bob Shea (Illustrator) Told through a delightful combination of word play and geometric imagery, Love, Triangle  is a hilarious story of friendship and the complications that ensue when a new arrival comes into the picture. As circle and square compete for triangle's attention, Shea's illustrations perfectly capture the and exaggerate their shenanigans. (10/03/2017 - Balzer + Bray) Read the Book, Lemmings!  Ame Dyckman (Author) and Zachariah OHora (Illustrator) Why won't the lemmings r...

Picturebook Favorites [Part I] ALA (2017) Claymates  Dev Petty (Author) and Lauren Eldridge (Illustrator) Metafiction at it's finest, this hilarious picturebook features two clay creations playing around with an artist's tools, turning themselves into increasingly bizarre and silly shapes. What a bunch of trouble-makers! What will the artist think when she gets back to her studio?! (Little, Brown - 06/20/2017) Little Penguin and the Lollipop Tadgh Bentley When Little Penguin eats his friend's lollipop, he feels bad and tries to make things better, but he just can't seem to figure out what to do (even a hug doesn't work!) Funny faces and silly escapades abound as Little Penguin tries everything he can think of to make up for his bad behavior. He's certainly learned his lesson: Never take a lollipop from a seagull! (Balzer + Bray - 10/03/2017) That is My Dream Langston Hughes (Author) and Daniel Miyares (Illustrator) ...

Upcoming favourites of 2016: Hungry Bird (Sept. 27, 2016) Jeremy Tankard Bird is hiking with his friends when his tummy rumbles. But no one packed him a snack that he likes! With every step, his hunger mounts until he collapses on the ground. How will Bird survive if he doesn't eat the perfect something this instant?! Penguin Problems (Sept. 27, 2016) Jory John & Lane Smith Have you ever considered running away to Antarctica? Of course you have! Because it’s a land free of worries and responsibilities! All of your problems will surely be blown away by the icy winds of that lawless paradise! . . . Won’t they? Think again, my friend. This penguin has come to tell you that his life down there is no more a picnic than yours is here. For starters, it is FREEZING. Also, penguins have a ton of natural predators. Plus, can you imagine trying to find your mom in a big ol’ crowd of identical penguins? No, thank you. Ninja Bunny (Sept....

In this glorious celebration of observation, curiosity, and imagination, Brendan Wenzel shows us the many lives of one cat, and how perspective shapes what we see. When you see a cat, what do you see? What can I say? I think this book is absolutely marvellous. It's a truly stunning debut (yes, a debut!!!) I had no idea what to expect when I first saw the cover reveal earlier this year, and when I got my first glimpse at a Chronicle Books event, I was floored.  Each spread utilizes a unique style of art and perspective in order to show the differences in how various other animals see  the cat. Wenzel's illustrations and text encourage young readers to think more consciously about perspective and how differently things can be understood depending on context and underlying biases. This book is much more than it may appear on the surface! Highly Recommended (NOTE: This review is from an Advance Reading Copy - Out Aug. 30, 2016)

Every morning is beautiful when Noah visits his Grandparents. When Grandpa and Noah wake up, they take off singing and hardly stop: walking the dog, splashing through puddles, and eating French toast with cinnamon.  But one summer Grandpa seems to have forgotten how to do the things they love. Does he even know who Noah is?  Grandma steps in energetically, filling in as best she can. But it is Noah who finds the way back to something he can share with Grandpa. Something musical. Something that makes the morning beautiful again.  This is a story about how love helps us  find even what we think is lost. It isn't often that something as complex and emotionally nuanced as alzheimer's is explored in a picturebook. Arthur Levine has written a story that is incredibly sensitive and insightful, filled with descriptive and imaginative language. The book is an emotional rollercoaster, moments of happiness contrasted with moments of heartbreak, confusion, and frustration....

Asteroids! Planets! Astronauts! In this charming debut picture book, a grumpy asteroid named Astro is thrown out of orbit and takes an unexpected journey through space! Astro is a cranky asteroid who just wants everyone to respect his personal boundaries. But when a satellite knocks Astro out of orbit, he is forced to embark on an epic adventure through space…whether he wants to or not! So, a few years ago I started to notice some amazing covers being produced by Candlewick Press, then I noticed that most of my favourite covers were being designed by a guy named Matt Roeser. So when I found out that there was a new picturebook coming out from Simon & Schuster authored by Matt Roeser, I got SUPER EXCITED!! I managed to snag a copy the other day from a bookstore down the road, and did a happy dance, waving the book excitedly in the air until I was quietly escorted to the front to either pay or leave. But I still got the book! Yay! And now I have the book, so I can sleep at n...

Eddie is five and a half, and thinks she is the only one in her family who isn’t really good at something. So when she hears her little sister say “birthday—Mommy—fluffy—little—squishy,” it’s extra important for her to find this amazing present before anyone else does. So, gregarious, charming, clever little Eddie goes all around the neighborhood to all her fabulous friends—the florist, the chic boutique owner, the antiques dealer, and even the intimidating butcher—to find one. It’s a magical adventure that draws on Eddie’s special gifts, ones that she herself learns to appreciate. Originally published in French as  Le merveilleux Dodu-Velu-Petit, Alemagna's sweet and enticing tale recently won the Batchelder award for translation from the American Library Association in January of 2016. The plot is high energy, and little Eddie is totally sympathetic, adorably desperate to find her mother a perfect gift for her birthday. The cast of secondary characters are a mixtur...

Paul is a fish who used to go around in circles. He made big circles and little circles. He circled from left to right and from right to left. He circled from top to bottom and from bottom to top. What else was there to do? Until one day Bernadette drops in and shows Paul that there is a whole world out there, right outside his bowl, with so many things to see. A banana-shaped boat! A blue elephant with a spoutlike trunk (be quiet when she’s feeding her babies)! A lovely lunetta butterfly, with tortoise-shell rims! Simple saturated paintings play off this charming ode to an active imagination — and the way that life changes when a bewitching creature opens your eyes. For the longest time, all Paul saw was his bowl. He saw up and down and side to side, and he went around and around, and there was a whole lovely little world that Paul knew very well. But then one day Bernadette is introduced to Paul's bowl, and he's introduced to a whole new way of seeing the world outsi...