where the heart is: home by carson ellis

HI there!  Welcome to Booktomato!  Here is a book we have been reading for a while, and it is still one of our faves.  Check it out! 

Home by Carson Ellis is a simply worded but richly illustrated exploration of what home means to people both real and fantasy in vastly different places.  Some of my favorite picture book art work is layered in a way that the reader can explore and find new things every time the book is read.  Even though the story reads quickly with a single sentence on each page, we lingered looking at each illustration and finding tons of fun little details.  If you would like to see more of artist Carson Ellis' amazing work, visit her website at www.carsonellis.com.

This story was a great conversation starter with the kids.  They wanted to know all about different home styles and different ways of doing things around the world.  The fantastical homes got their imaginations primed for thinking up other make-believe places to live.  The moonian home with a window peering out to the lunar landscape was definitely our favorite!  The concept of celebrating differences definitely got our mind gears turning, and all because of this wonderful book!   

WARNING! this book has the ability to turn into a dangerous robot! robosauce by adam rubin

If you loved the book Dragons Love Tacos as much as we did, you will love Adam Rubin's new book Robo-sauce. It's fun to dress up and pretend to be a robot, but what if you had the ability to actually turn yourself into a real one?  For brave taste buds, this book holds a recipe for a sauce that can do just that.  Once the family in the book samples the sauce, they are turned into robots on a path to world-destruction!  This book also holds a secret - the book itself can turn into a robot too!  

All of Rubin's books have such a fun and quirky sense of humor.  The zany antics of his characters are just too funny!  His bio says that he has an interest in improv comedy, and it shows.  If you would like to check out more of his work, his other kids books include Dragons Love Tacos and Those Darn Squirrels.  recommended age: 3+

a tea party with a special guest: tea rex by molly idle

Who wouldn't love to attend a fancy tea party with a toothy, gigantic carnivore?  From Molly Idle, the author of Flora and the Flamingo, we have Tea Rex, the story of a young girl named Cordelia who loves big flowery hats, fancy tiny sandwiches, and perfectly sweet tea cakes. 

The juxtaposition of a proper and prim little girl and her proper and prim tea table with a t-rex crashing about and roaring loudly makes for a funny story.  This one would make a great holiday gift.  Molly Idle's stories have such great humor and tenderness, and her illustrations are always just perfect!  Age recommendation: 3-6

a playful book by our country's children's poet laureate: the seven silly eaters by mary ann hoberman

We received this book as a gift many years ago and read its pages over and over again!  This is one of those that kids instantly fall in love with.  It has playful poetics, funny antics, and delightfully busy illustrations that engage readers of all ages.  This is the story of the Peters family: Mr. Peters, Mrs. Peters, and their seven children.  Unfortunately for Mrs. Peters, all seven of her darling children are very picky eaters.  (I wish I couldn't relate.) Only, with these kiddos, there is a catch.  None of the kids like to eat the same thing.  Each child likes to eat something completely different - one child will only eat freshly baked bread, one only applesauce made from the apples in their front yard tree.  Poor Mrs. Peters is left to scramble around the kitchen making seven individual breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. As the story goes on, Mrs. Peters gets pretty tired, to say the least.  Her children decide to make her a special birthday meal, and their mom is pleasantly surprised.  

The Seven Silly Eaters is written by children's poet laureate, Mary Ann Hoberman.  The illustrations by Marla Freeze just crack me up, and I think any parent that has struggled to get their kids to eat their dinner will get a laugh too.  Mrs. Peter's facial expressions are just so easy to relate to!  I love when picture books are written in poetry lines and rhymes.  Rhyming lines not only engage younger readers but also have shown in studies to aid in early literacy ability.  

book of the day: it's only stanley by jon agee

Author and illustrator Jon Agee has been contributing to the world of children's literature for a long time, and his works like Milo's Hat Trick and The Incredible Painting of Felix Clousseau are loved for the playful story lines and detailed cartoon-style illustrations that bring them to life.  Agee's newest book, It's Only Stanley, definitely keeps with what fans of his work expect.

 The Wimbeldon family live in a big, old house with their dog, Stanley.  One night, the family's sleep is interrupted over and over again by strange noises.  When each noise is investigated, it always ends up being Stanley.  A bump in the night is Stanley fixing a plumbing leak.  A eerie clanking noise is only Stanley cooking in the kitchen.  A mysterious creaking from the living room is only Stanley adjusting the television antennae.  What is up with this industrious pup?  The Wimbeldons find out at the end what Stanley has been up to this whole time, and it will make the reader smile.  recommended age: all ages

I see London. I see France. Vegetables in underpants!

Vegetables in Underwear by Jared Chapman brings the kid giggles big time in its story that reads just as it sounds.  Broccoli in underwear!  Tomatoes in underwear!  Boxers, briefs, tighty whities, you name it.  Kids and kids at heart (not me, I'm definitely too mature for this type of potty humor. clears throat and stifles giggle) will thoroughly enjoy this funny romp through the produce aisle.

 My boys were full on belly laughing the entire story time, and my two year old recent potty training graduate loved the page that pointed out that kids wear underwear and babies wear diapers.  That was a triumphant page for us both.  Woohoo to no more diapers!  Big kids and veggies love their underwear. If you would like to see more of Jared Chapman's awesome art work, head to his website www.jaredchapman.com.  His previously published kids book, Pirate, Viking, Scientist is one that we have not read at our house yet, but I will definitely be picking up a copy.  

Why is it so much fun to put googly eyes on produce?!  Try it some time.  I love these buddies.

illustration alert! the boy who held back the sea by thomas locker

Jan was a mischievous boy who never did what he was told.  Instead of going to school or church, he wandered off to watch boats at the dike's edge or hunt for birds in the forest.  So when he discovers a leak in the dike wall that could break and flood his whole town, he runs to get help, but no one believes the mischief maker.  He becomes a hero when he stays at the dike all night blocking the leak with his finger until the adults come to find he was telling the truth.  

This is a retelling of a classic Dutch folk tale, and the illustrations are created in the style that made Dutch art famous - the Dutch art renaissance of the seventeenth century.  This period is characterized by landscapes taking precedent over people, moody color palettes, and of course, the windmills and clogged feet that make us fall in love with the Netherlands. The pages of this book really take you to another place and time.  age: 6-10  

new in picture books! seen and not heard by katie may green

Seen and Not Heard by Katie May Green is quickly becoming one of my new favorites in picture books!  In a spooky, old mansion, there is a nursery filled with old, dusty toys.  On the walls of this nursery, paintings of children hang in frames.  During the day, these sweet, dear children sit quiet and perfectly still.  BUT, at night, they climb down from their frames and run wild!  They slide down the stairs, raid the kitchen for sweets, paint on the walls, and jump on all of the beds.  When the sun comes up, their fun is finished, and they return to the wall to be well-behaved kids once more.  The illustrations in this are spot on, and the story is so playful and a little dark at the same time.  Both of my kids laughed at the mischievous trouble the kids go into as well as the little bit of suspense at the end when the kids raced to get back into their frames before the sun came up.  This is Katie May Green's first book, and I can't wait to see more from her! 

book of the day: the red balloon by albert lamorisse

The French have a real knack for surrealism and fantastical art.  That French surrealist spirit is celebrated is The Red Balloon by Albert Lamorisse.  The story follows a lonely boy named Pascal.  Pascal finds a red balloon tied to a lamp post that seems to have no owner.  He takes the balloon with him as he goes about his day at school and home.  Then something interesting happens.  Pascal realizes that the red balloon seems to have a mind of its own.  It follows him through the streets of Paris like a puppy would follow its master.  Pascal is no longer lonely because of his new, red companion.  

This book was originally a short film shot in the 1950s. The film was so successful that the director took still shots from it and created the lovely children's book that we see here.  The pictures provide plenty of fun action and some of that chic romance that the French are known for.  The story is engaging and unique, and young readers will connect with a the story of a kid who is misunderstood by the adults in his life but is rescued by a special friend.  

new in graphic novels: the lunch witch by deb lucke

I didn't really connect with the fact that I have always loved witches until my oldest was finally old enough to sit down and watch some of my favorite childhood movies.  My picks were any Harry Potter film, Mary Poppins, The Worst Witch, Teen Witch . . . Seeing a theme here?  Huh, I really like witches, I thought to myself.  I have never liked any entertainment that is truly horrifying.  My active imagination just can't handle an actually scary movie.  Instead, I love the kind of characters that are laughably evil - trying their best to do wrong but with enough humor and kindness to make them lovable instead.  

Grunhilda comes from hundreds of generations of witches, all of them evil and wicked, but in the modern world, a genuine witch is out of luck.  No one seeks out a magical potion to solve their problems.  In the modern times of iphones and science, no one believes in spells and magic at all.  Grunhilda is out of a job.  She gets a job as a lunch lady in an elementary school and tries her best to not reveal her true identity to her coworkers or the kids. This doesn't go so well, and when one little girl discovers who she truly is, things get a little messy.

I loved the tone of this story.  Its humor was just the right balance of dark and witty with the consideration that this is written for kids who want things to be funny and friendly.  The illustrations are wonderful.  Deb Lucke has a real attention to detail that I appreciated.  Things like one of her grandmothers was the witch in German story Hansel and Gretel, and in the picture, she is wearing a traditional Black Forest hat.  There are a lot of little things that made me smile.  

story time in outer space!

This weekend the International Space Station passed over my city, and the whole family, dog included, tromped over to the park with telescope in hand to watch it orbit over our heads.  The sky was dark, and from the horizon line, what looked like a really bright shooting star sped through the sky. Watching it, it was crazy to imagine that people were on that star eating and working and sleeping while they hurdle around the planet.  What an amazing world we live in!  

Our kids asked a lot of questions about the space station after it was over, and we didn't have all of the answers (I love you, Google). In our internet search, we found "story time in space"!  These are videos of astronauts reading children's books while on the International Space Station.  Brilliant!  If you would like to see more, check out their website:  storytimefromspace.com.