Bouquet Of Books A Spring Sampler Of Puddles, Mushrooms, Gardens And Greens
At last it’s truly spring. The weather has finally caught up with the calendar. Fresh possibilities appear: gardening, nature walks, the simple joy of staying outside for hours. Here’s a bouquet of new books to welcome the season.
“The Puddle Pail,” by Elisa Kleven
This is the tale of two crocodile brothers, different as two siblings can be. Big green brother Sol is a left-brained sort. Small blue Ernst is a dreamy, creative crocodile.
One nice day, sunny and shiny from a recent rainshower, the brothers set off with their pails. Sol is searching for items to add to his many collections: feathers, rocks and rubber bands. Ernst is looking for something special to collect in his pail.
“Clouds are interesting … I wish I could collect clouds. Or stars,” he says. “I love to watch stars.”
He spots a puddle that looks like “a little piece of sky on the ground.” He decides to collect puddles. Sol, of course, is skeptical. But Ernst scoops up a green puddle, one full of gumballs, another like a wheel, all reflecting real scenes. The puddles mix in the pail and change. As the hours pass, the pail contains a sunset, and stars. The next day, the water helps Ernst paint some watercolors.
This charming book celebrates the creative spirit, something with which Kleven is clearly blessed. Her fanciful, detailed collages have graced a number of award-winning books, including “Abuela and Isla,” by Arthur Dorros (a Seattle resident).
Don’t miss “The Paper Princess, also written and illustrated by Kleven (not to be confused with “The Paper Bag Princess” by Robert Munsch). (Dutton, ages 4 and up, 32 pgs., $14.95)
“Puddles,” by Jonathan London
Two great books about puddles! What more could a child want?
This one is more straightforward and descriptive, but just as enchanting in its own way. A brother and sister awake after a stormy night to a sparkling, sunny, puddle-wonderful day (to borrow an e.e. cummings phrase).
They pull on boots and set out to explore the morning. London’s descriptive sentences are perfect. “Mud sucks at our boots lup slup slup.
” … Worms squirm and stretch and leave tiny trails in the muck like sloppy writing they’re learning the ABCs of weather, of rain and sun and mud.”
London is the author of many fine children’s books, including the popular “Froggy” series. “Puddles” is illustrated by G. Brian Karas. His watercolor and colored pencil pictures are both childlike and sophisticated, full of unusual perspectives and interesting colors. (Viking, ages 2 and up, 32 pgs., $14.99)
“The Green Truck Garden Giveaway,” by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
The folks who live on Second Street haven’t gotten the message that outdoors is a good place to be. Empty buckets and bottles are strewn everywhere. The birds fly right on by. Everyone has a reason to stay inside.
Things change when Lura and Hastings arrive in a green truck, calling: “We have gardens to give away….and Green Truck Almanacs.” The neighbors emerge and begin to get acquainted as they embark on a new adventure that starts with soil, boards and boxes of seeds given away from the bed of the green truck.
The book unfolds on two levels. First, it’s the story of a bunch of people in houses becoming a neighborhood. Second, insets from the “Green Truck Almanac” provide history, gardening tips, and recipes. Lively illustrations by Alec Gilman nicely tie the two parts together. (Simon and Schuster, ages 4 and up, 32 pgs., $16.)
“Katya’s Book of Mushrooms,” by Katya Arnold (with Sam Swope)
“Mushrooms have been on the earth for more than 40 million years …
There are more than one hundred thousand varieties of mushrooms. They come in wonderfully strange shapes and colors and pop up suddenly from nowhere in unexpected places, a mysterious gift.”
Arnold is testament to the advice found in many writing books: “Write about what you love.” Raised in Russia and a mushroom hunter since age 3, Arnold is clearly fascinated with her subject. The wonderfully descriptive writing and illustrations will make the reader fascinated, too.
The book is full of scientific information and entertaining details. For example, one learns that the mushroom is the “fruit of the fungus.” Lest the reader forget that many mushrooms are poisonous, Arnold issues a firm warning never to eat a mushroom that has not been positively identified by an expert. Even with her expertise, when Arnold finds an unfamiliar mushroom, she identifies it using at least three guidebooks. Then she throws it away. She doesn’t eat one of its kind until she has identified it at least three more times, without the books. (Henry Holt, ages 8 and up, 48 pgs., $16.95.)
“Pearl’s First Prize Plant,” story and illustrations by A. Delaney
A cute little girl grows a cute little plant, with a cute little white flower. This is a thoroughly cute little book that will be enjoyed by the youngest readers.
Pearl, with her pet pig as constant companion, plants a seed. She nurtures it with love and diligence. She is so proud of her plant that she decides to enter it in the county fair. But when she sees there are no other small plants, just showy big ones, she takes her precious flower back home. There she plants it by a big old tree, and bestows it with her own first-prize ribbon.
Richly colored, humorous illustrations, and a short punchy text make this just right for reading aloud. (HarperCollins, ages 3 and up, 32 pgs., $14.95)
“Into the Woods: A Woodland Scrapbook,” by Loretta Krupinski
Non-fiction for children has improved dramatically since we were kids. It has gotten to the point that adults could well use many children’s books for clear, well-written introductions, or refresher courses on hundreds of subjects.
Here, another gifted illustrator has created a scrapbook of flora and fauna found in the woods. She combines nature facts with American Indian folk tales and other nature lore. Subjects include deer, chipmunks, animal tracks, birds eggs, bullfrogs and locating north using the Big Dipper. (HarperCollins, all ages, 32 pgs., $15.95)