Perfect Picture Book Friday – Randy, The Badly Drawn Horse

May 21, 2021May 20, 202126 Comments

Howdy, friends!

It’s time for the weekly Perfect Picture Book round-up!

Today I have a wonderful book that manages to combine a meaningful theme with great humor. I hope you will love it!

Title: Randy, The Badly Drawn Horse

Written & Illustrated By: T. L. McBeth

Publisher: Henry Holt & Co, August 2020, fiction

Suitable For Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: metafiction, unconditional love, humor, expectations

Opening: “‘Mom! Look!
I drew a beautiful horse!’

‘He is beautiful! Great job, dear!’

I am a beautiful horse! Everyone loves me.”

text and illustration copyright T. L. McBeth 2020, Henry Holt

Brief Synopsis: Randy knows he’s a beautiful horse―everyone says so. From his flowing mane to his long, elegant legs, to his perfect smile that lights up the sky! But while on a grand adventure, he catches sight of himself and suddenly he’s not so sure…

Links To Resources: 7 Imagination Activities For Kids; 10 Hands-On Activities To Teach Kids About Love; draw a picture of something you love and make up an adventure

Why I Like This Book: I love the creativity and imagination of the child drawing Randy and then sending him on an adventure, and the humor of Randy’s responses to having to deal with the situations he’s put in (cleaning up the mess when the child makes him a great chef, pulling himself out of the crevasse (which is actually the spine of the book), dragging his thirsty self along when he ends up in the desert. His whole vision of himself is based on the child’s initial description of him as beautiful and the mom’s agreement, so when he sees his reflection he is taken aback, suddenly unsure of himself. But unconditional love wins out and Randy understands that to his child creator (and therefore to himself) he truly is beautiful. This is a delightful book that will have kids laughing out loud, but also empathizing with Randy’s moment of self-doubt. . . because we’ve all been there.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 😊

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific blog links (and any other info you feel like filling out 😊) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! 😊

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Little Boo

October 9, 2020October 8, 202012 Comments

It’s Perfect Picture Book Friday! And now that it’s October, I feel justified in breaking out the Halloween picture books!

How cute is this one? 😊

Title: Little Boo
Written By: Stephen Wunderli
Illustrated By: Tim Zeltner
Henry Holt & Company, August 2014, Fiction

Suitable For Ages: 3-7

Themes/Topics: Holidays (Halloween), Emotion (patience/impatience), Nature (lifecycle of a seed), Common Childhood Experiences (wanting to be bigger/older)

Opening: “The wind blew, the leaves fell, and a tiny seed hid in the garden.
“Boo,” the seed said to a leaf rolling by.
“You’re not scary at all,” the leaf said.

illustration copyright Stephen Wunderli 2014

Brief Synopsis: A little pumpkin seed tries hard to be scary but he just can’t seem to scare anyone – not the leaves or the grubs, not the snowflakes in winter or the bees in spring! “Be patient,” the wind tells him, “you’ll be scary soon enough.” But it’s awfully hard to wait!

Links To Resources: plant a seed and watch it grow – indoors in a container or outdoors in a garden; 40 Things For Kids To Do With Pumpkins; 9 Easy Pumpkin Recipes For Kids

Why I Like This Book: It’s just so cute! Look at that little pumpkin seed face – how can you not love it?! 🙂 The story is simple but so relatable for kids who always seem to want to grow up faster than nature allows. And within the sweet story we also get a nice little glimpse of the life cycle of a seed – so cleverly slipped in there! To top it off, the art is absolutely gorgeous – colorful and warm and so appealing! This is a wonderful one to add to your Halloween book shelf 😊

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 😊

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific links (and any other info you feel like filling out 🙂 ) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!

Enjoy the long Columbus Day weekend, everyone!!! 😊

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Big Friends

April 3, 2020April 2, 202012 Comments

Hooray!

It’s Perfect Picture Book Friday!

And what could be better under these stuck-inside circumstances than a new list of fantastic books with ~~hopefully very time-consuming~~ 😊 fun, entertaining activities to go along with them? (that will hopefully keep the little darlings busy for a loooooong time!) (oh, I’m sorry, did I say that out loud?! 😊)

You know how Christmas and birthdays with babies, toddlers, and young children often make you feel that you could have foregone the gifts…because all they want to do is play with the box?

I figured, what with all of us holed up in our homes (possibly feeling like we’re IN a box! 😊) this would be a good day to have a story about friendship and boxes and activities that are all kinds of things you can do with a cardboard box!

Title: Big Friends

Written By: Linda Sarah

Illustrated By: Benji Davies

Henry Holt & Co, January 2016, Fiction

Suitable For Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: friendship, loneliness, imagination, play

Opening: “Two cardboard boxes, big enough to sit in, hide inside. Birt and Etho take them out each day, climb Sudden Hill, and sit in them.

Sometimes they’re kings, soldiers, astronauts. Sometimes they’re pirates sailing wild seas and skies.”

Brief Synopsis: (From the jacket copy) “Birt and Etho are best friends. Together they play outside in big cardboard boxes. Sometimes they’re kings, soldiers, astronauts. Sometimes they’re pirates sailing wild seas and skies. But always, always they’re Big friends. Then one day a new boy arrives, and he wants to join them. Can two become three?”

Links To Resources: 31 Things To Do With A Cardboard Box (yes it’s a Buzzfeed link, but there are photos and how-to tutorials for all 31 and they’re so much fun!!!); 101 Things To Do With A Cardboard Box (never mind 31! :)); Make Your Own Friendship Bracelets (video tutorial)

Why I Like This Book: This is a lovely book, filled with the friendship and imaginative play of two boys who get along and understand each other… until a third boy shows up and threatens the balance not because he’s difficult or unpleasant – quite the opposite – but because he’s new and changes the dynamic. It’s a story about struggling to incorporate someone new without losing the old. It is not sentimental or sappy in any way, but I promise you will say “Aw!” on the last page 🙂 It’s an important story because integrating new friendships is a skill and a struggle that every child faces at some point. The pull toward someone new and fun that calls to one member of a friendship, the jealously that threatens the other… or sometimes just the fear that things will change, a true friend will be lost, the friendship will not be the same. Don’t miss this one!

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 🙂

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone and stay well!!! 😊🌷🌸😊

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn

September 23, 2016October 2, 201633 Comments

It’s official!

According to the calendar (if not the 86 degree weather forecast) it is autumn!

Time for foliage that makes even rainy days bright, wooly sweaters, apple crisp, and the tang of woodsmoke in the air 🙂

And little piggies on park benches, apparently!

I was lucky enough to have lunch with my dear friend, the delightful Elaine of Kidlit411 fame, yesterday and outside on the bench was this cutie-pie little piggy. Her name is Missy Lou. She is 4 months old and is a teacup pig so she won’t grow much bigger than this. Infinitely pick-up-and-cuddleable and already litter box trained. Who knew???!!! I think I’m a little in love 🙂

There are no little piggies in my Perfect Picture Book for today (more’s the pity 🙂 ) but I knew you guys would want to see her anyway 🙂

Now then, onto today’s Perfect Picture Book which, in spite of its dearth of little piggies, is a lovely book about welcoming autumn!

goodbye-summer

Title: Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn

Written & Illustrated By: Kenard Pak

Henry Holt & Co, August 2016, fiction based on fact

Suitable For Ages: publisher says 4-7, but I think 3-7 would also work.

Themes/Topics: seasons (summer, autumn), nature

Opening: “Hello, late summer morning.”

Brief Synopsis: A child takes a walk greeting the trees, birds, animals, insects, and even weather as he goes, and each one tells him how it is preparing for autumn.

Links To Resources: brainstorm a list of signs of autumn; take a walk outdoors and look for signs of autumn; press leaves; make leaf collages; animal leaf collage (the few words are in Spanish but it’s a video and everything is demonstrated so you can understand no problem and the animals are cute 🙂 ); go apple or pumpkin picking; make delicious things out of apples and pumpkins :); apple recipes

Why I Like This Book: This is a lovely simple book about observing the way summer melts into autumn and how nature prepares. The child talks to the elements of nature – trees and flowers, animals, birds and insects, even the weather – and they answer back.
“Hello, trees.”
“Hello! Now that the cool winds have come,
we love how our branches sway in the sun.”
The art is lovely – the vivid greens of summer turning into the gold, orange, red and brown of fall with each successive page. A simple pretty book to facilitate discussion and understanding of the changing season.

Text and Illustration Copyright Kenard Pak 2016

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 🙂

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 🙂 Go pick some apples and then come back here and share your favorite apple recipes 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Frog Song

June 3, 2016October 2, 201624 Comments

Happy Friday, Everyone!

Just a quick note: this is the second to last week of Perfect Picture Books before the annual summer hiatus! Next week will be our last Perfect Picture Book until September. We all need a little break… and maybe this will be the summer I catch up on updating. You never know… it COULD happen! 🙂

As I’m sure you remember from Wednesday’s S’mores, I’ve got summer on the brain! 🙂

I don’t know about you, but when we were kids, summer was a time for wading in the brook (which was always surprisingly cold even when the weather was scorching!) trying (unsuccessfully!) to catch minnows, darting along the edge of the lawn at twilight trying (slightly less unsuccessfully!) to catch fireflies, and squidging through mud at the edge of ponds trying (mostly unsuccessfully!) to catch frogs!

Today’s Perfect Picture Book is all about frogs, although I confess I don’t think I ever saw any of these beauties near any pond I ever frequented! 🙂

Frog Song

Title: Frog Song

Written By: Brenda Z. Guiberson

Illustrated By: Gennady Spirin

Henry Holt & Co, 2013, Nonfiction

Suitable For Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: nonfiction, nature, frogs, language fun (onomatopoeia), environmental protection

Opening: “Frogs have a song for trees, bogs, burrows, and logs. When frogs have enough moisture to keep gooey eggs, squirmy tadpoles, and hoppity adults from drying out, they can sing almost anywhere. Croak! Ribbit! Bzzzt! Plonk! Brack! Thrum-rum!”

Brief Synopsis: From the jacket: “Since the time of the dinosaurs, frogs have added their ribbits and bellows to the music of the earth. Frogs are astonishing in their variety and are crucial to ecosystems from Chile to Borneo to Australia. This onomatopoeic text, accompanied by stunning illustrations, introduces young readers to these fascinating creatures.”

Links To Resources: the back of the book contains a bibliography of useful resources, a discussion of “frogs in trouble” (endangered frogs and the ecosystems they depend on), a list of online sources for frog facts, and a beautiful pictorial and informational two-page spread about frogs of the world.

Why I Like This Book: Usually I choose picture books for the story or the language. This one I chose first and foremost for the illustrations. They are absolutely beyond description – unbelievably gorgeous! But in addition, the text is poetic and beautiful, filled with fun onomatopoetic words that kids will enjoy chiming in with and repeating, and the book is full of interesting information about all kinds of frogs all over the world. A great choice for the budding herpetologist in your house or for a classroom or library.

Text copyright Brenda Z. Guiberson 2013, Illustration copyright Gennady Spirin 2013

I hope you like it as much as I do 🙂

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Eat Like A Bear

May 20, 2016October 2, 201617 Comments

So there I was, being uber-organized. My post was written and scheduled not just on time, but AHEAD of time! And what should happen?

No idea!

But somehow my entire post disappeared – down to the last comma! – so I had to rewrite the whole thing from scratch this morning after barn chores (which was when I realized wordpress had swallowed it whole and my post had never gone up!) My sincere apologies for the tardiness of this post!

So let’s try again…

It’s May, and on Blueberry Hill, that means the bears are up!

Our bears are black bears – lumbering, relatively peaceful creatures who would just as soon not tangle with people or dogs, but who are more than happy to raid the trash cans in the garage or the bird feeder at every possible opportunity!

We have two regularly-visiting bears in our neck of the woods. One is young, glossy-coated, and healthy-looking – we have watched him saunter across the yard and help himself to ripe apples from our tree in September. The other one is an old curmudgeon, scarred and a little thin and scruffy-looking. His life is much more challenging. He suffered an injury at some point – caught in a trap? 😦 – and as a result is missing a forefoot. He has learned to compensate and gets around all right, but I forgive him for raiding the trash cans if I’m foolish enough to leave the garage door open 🙂 Did you know he loves to lick the chocolate residue from inside the foil chocolate easter egg wrappers? Clearly we are twins separated at birth 🙂

Since I have bears on the brain, today’s Perfect Picture Book is about bears – not black bears, but the threatened brown/grizzly bear that roams the wilds of Alaska and the Rockies and such. I hope you’ll enjoy it!

Eat Like A Bear

Title: Eat Like A Bear

Written By: April Pulley Sayre

Illustrated By: Steve Jenkins

Henry Holt & Co, October 2013, Nonfiction

Suitable For Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: nonfiction, animals (bears – brown/grizzly), nature

Opening: “Can you eat like a bear?
Awake in April. Find food.
But where?

Drink like a bear — from a stream.
Leaping trout? None about.
Bushes? Bare. No berries there.
It’s been four long months since fall,
when you were full.”

Brief Synopsis: From the jacket: “Can you eat like a bear? Be a grizzly bear, waking up in spring. What is there to eat in April? In May? Sniff, listen, and look. Paw, claw, and pull. Catch fish, munch berries, and nibble seed-filled pine cones. But be sure to fill up for the long winter ahead…”

Links To Resources: the back matter in the book is a resource in itself, filled with information on brown/grizzly bears, their habits, habitats, diet, threatened status, and current scientific studies.

Why I Like This Book: the text is interesting, simple and accessible, yet written in engaging language that is fun to read aloud, including little repeated patterns like “paw, claw, pull” that young listeners will learn to anticipate and join in on. The information presented is age-appropriate and not overwhelming. The art is a perfect complement for the text – very appealing, making the potentially-scary grizzly bear fairly warm and friendly-looking. My knowledge of artistic technique is virtually non-existent, but Booklist described it thus: “Jenkins fixes the action in the Rocky Mountains with his trademark cut- and torn-paper collage. Using a variety of materials, including handmade Mexican bark paper for the bears, he achieves a remarkable variety of line and texture, as crisp leaves and flowers contrast with fuzzy fur” which I think gives a pretty good idea of what it looks like 🙂 This is a great title for the nonfiction lover in your life, or for a classroom or library!

I hope you like it as much as I do 🙂

Text copyright April Pulley Sayre 2013, Illustration copyright Steve Jenkins 2013

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific links (and any other info you feel like filling out 🙂 ) to the form below so we can all come see what you chose for this week!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Big Friends

February 7, 2016February 7, 201624 Comments

Good Morning, my friends!

I guess the title of this post should be Perfect Picture Book Sunday since I’m so far behind. I sincerely apologize!

I was waiting on a google form to try out a new way of doing the PPBF links, and then I fell ill… which I REALLY try not to do but occasionally even I can’t avoid it apparently – I thought my magical powers were stronger than that. I must not have had enough chocolate last week 🙂

So anyway, here I am, late, still without the google form, but I’ll add in all the links I know about at the bottom for you, and anyone I’ve missed can try out the linky list for this week. And I thank everyone who so kindly and sweetly emailed or FB messaged me to ask if I was okay. It’s one of the loveliest things about this kidlit community – how genuinely everyone cares! I was really touched ❤

Big Friends

Title: Big Friends

Written By: Linda Sarah

Illustrated By: Benji Davies

Henry Holt & Co, January 2016, Fiction

Suitable For Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: friendship, loneliness, imagination, play

Opening: “Two cardboard boxes, big enough to sit in, hide inside. Birt and Etho take them out each day, climb Sudden Hill, and sit in them.

Sometimes they’re kings, soldiers, astronauts. Sometimes they’re pirates sailing wild seas and skies.”

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

Here are this week’s links that I know about:

PPBF bloggers whose links I didn’t have, please be sure to leave your post-specific link in the list below so we can all come visit you! If you want to see the list, even if you’re not entering a link of your own, you have to use the “Click Here” button below.

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Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…

And, since this post is late, I hope everyone is all ready to go for the Valentiny Contest which opens tomorrow (see HERE for guidelines and HERE for prize list update), and for which I will hopefully get my sample written today!!! I am so excited for this contest. I think it’s going to be tons of fun with all the amazing prizes!

Have a wonderful Sunday, everyone! 🙂

Susanna Leonard Hill

Children's Author

Tag: Henry Holt & Co

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Randy, The Badly Drawn Horse

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Little Boo

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Big Friends

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Frog Song

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Eat Like A Bear

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Big Friends