I do so LOVE a good grumpy guy in a book, and there's nobody crabbier than Old Man Fookwire! All Fookwire wants to do is paint birds, but something's always preventing that - namely migration.
In "Those Darn Squirrels" OMF is trying to keep the squirrels out of his bird feeders. In the end, they make a sort of truce. In "Those Darn Squirrels and the Cat Next Door" the gang gets a new neighbor who throws off OMF's whole routine. And her cat - whew, what a terror! In the latest installment, everybody decides to follow the birds to find out what's so great about migration, in "Those Darn Squirrels Fly South."
These are books that are meant to be read aloud. There's a wonderful lyric quality to the writing, and the word choice is stupendous. (I walked around a whole day repeating OMF's signature exclamation: Great googley-moogley!)
The art, by Daniel Salmieri, is understated and just the right amount of weird: OMF is long and skinny, stretched and ugly in his angry. The squirrels are cute, and simply rendered. And the birds are exotic and strange, nothing like the ones that appears in my yard.
These are some of my new favorite picture books. They're funny, and subtle; there's a lot to laugh at on the first read-through, but even more to be discovered upon repetition. Additionally, the books are very informative - I'm sure you never understood the secret genius of squirrels, as revealed here!
Showing posts with label picture books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label picture books. Show all posts
Monday, December 17, 2012
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
A Pet for Petunia
by Paul Schmid
Something about the cover of this book drew me in. I had to read it before leaving the library the day it arrived even though I already had my coat on. Within two pages, I found someone who would listen as I transformed into performance mode.
Petunia is a fan of skunks. So much so that her toy skunk is no longer a suitable pet. She has decided that only the real thing will do. Petunia has a very childlike tirade near the middle of the book that sent me into a gale of laughter. Her desire for a cute, cuddly friend cannot be quelled, no matter what she learns about the creatures.
Something about the cover of this book drew me in. I had to read it before leaving the library the day it arrived even though I already had my coat on. Within two pages, I found someone who would listen as I transformed into performance mode.
Petunia is a fan of skunks. So much so that her toy skunk is no longer a suitable pet. She has decided that only the real thing will do. Petunia has a very childlike tirade near the middle of the book that sent me into a gale of laughter. Her desire for a cute, cuddly friend cannot be quelled, no matter what she learns about the creatures.
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