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juushikaTitle: Boo Stew
Author: Donna L. Washington
Illustrator: Jeffrey Ebbeler
Published: Peachtree Publishing Company, 2021
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 30
Total Page Count: 540,220
Text Number: 1994
Read Because: more spooky picture books; hardback borrowed from the Timberland Regional Library
Review: Nobody likes this little girl's strange cooking--except maybe the local Scares. There's so much life here! I love the ooky, goopy girl, and her practical gumption is empowering without totally de-scaring the monsters, a balance that most picture books can't manage. The angular art combined with the translucent shadow shapes is vivacious and cartoony, and suits a text that feels like a great read-aloud. Not a life-changing picture book, but a boatload of fun.
Title: Things in the Basement
Author: Ben Hatke
Published: First Second, 2023
Rating: 3.5 of 5
Page Count: 240
Total Page Count: 540,460
Text Number: 1995
Read Because: more! only longer; hardback borrowed from the Timberland Regional Library
Review: A boy tracks a lost sock through the endlessly deep basement under his new house. Middle grade graphic novel, or a really long picture book; either way, I appreciate the niche that this is filling. The basement is full of lost histories and eldritch monsters, and I admire that willingness to go ever deeper, to get weirder and more dangerous. The art is literally very dark, but has a diversity of color tones and biomes within the limited setting. Lots to like, but which isn't doing anything memorable with characters or plot structure.
Title: Prunella
Author: Beth Ferry
Illustrator: Claire Keane
Published: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2024
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 40
Total Page Count: 540,500
Text Number: 1996
Read Because: more!; hardback borrowed from the Timberland Regional Library
Review: Prunella keeps a strange garden, which distances her from her peers until she meets some equally idiosyncratic enthusiasts. This wears its heart on its sleeve: Prunella's confused but supportive parents, idiosyncrasy as socially isolating but also a site for social bonding. It's charming, optimistic, and so idealized that I can't find it compelling or moving; the ending detail of the purple thumbs tips straight into twee. But the art is vibrant, with a fantastic colorway and a legible, cartoony style; most importantly, the plants are lovingly detailed.
Author: Donna L. Washington
Illustrator: Jeffrey Ebbeler
Published: Peachtree Publishing Company, 2021
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 30
Total Page Count: 540,220
Text Number: 1994
Read Because: more spooky picture books; hardback borrowed from the Timberland Regional Library
Review: Nobody likes this little girl's strange cooking--except maybe the local Scares. There's so much life here! I love the ooky, goopy girl, and her practical gumption is empowering without totally de-scaring the monsters, a balance that most picture books can't manage. The angular art combined with the translucent shadow shapes is vivacious and cartoony, and suits a text that feels like a great read-aloud. Not a life-changing picture book, but a boatload of fun.
Title: Things in the Basement
Author: Ben Hatke
Published: First Second, 2023
Rating: 3.5 of 5
Page Count: 240
Total Page Count: 540,460
Text Number: 1995
Read Because: more! only longer; hardback borrowed from the Timberland Regional Library
Review: A boy tracks a lost sock through the endlessly deep basement under his new house. Middle grade graphic novel, or a really long picture book; either way, I appreciate the niche that this is filling. The basement is full of lost histories and eldritch monsters, and I admire that willingness to go ever deeper, to get weirder and more dangerous. The art is literally very dark, but has a diversity of color tones and biomes within the limited setting. Lots to like, but which isn't doing anything memorable with characters or plot structure.
Title: Prunella
Author: Beth Ferry
Illustrator: Claire Keane
Published: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2024
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 40
Total Page Count: 540,500
Text Number: 1996
Read Because: more!; hardback borrowed from the Timberland Regional Library
Review: Prunella keeps a strange garden, which distances her from her peers until she meets some equally idiosyncratic enthusiasts. This wears its heart on its sleeve: Prunella's confused but supportive parents, idiosyncrasy as socially isolating but also a site for social bonding. It's charming, optimistic, and so idealized that I can't find it compelling or moving; the ending detail of the purple thumbs tips straight into twee. But the art is vibrant, with a fantastic colorway and a legible, cartoony style; most importantly, the plants are lovingly detailed.
