Title: A New Day
Author: Brad Meltzer
Illustrator: The one and only Dan Santat!
Published By: Dial Books, 2021

Before the review, first a disclaimer:

I know I review a LOT of Dan Santat’s work on here, and maybe I should just rename the whole blog “Jess Reviews a Dan Santat Book,” but I couldn’t very well NOT review his latest picture book, right?

Right.

So I’m going to!

I saw A New Day was out. (I think I read about it on Twitter. )(Slight side note: I follow a whole ton of artists/illustrators/publishers on Twitter, but have fewer than 30 followers myself. BUT within that group, I have several well-known artist/illustrators following me. So that’s nice!) As soon as I know about a Dan Santat creation, I must own it. So I ordered it (and a few other books so it wouldn’t be lonely in transit).

And then it arrived (cue the chorus of angels).

There are several things I really love about this book. But I want to talk at length about the most significant one: it doesn’t follow ANY of the ‘well-known’ picture book writing conventions. Which are:

1. Your manuscript must be no more than 32 pages long or your book will explode. Amazon pegs this one at 48 pages. 48 glorious pages in which to tell a story. (More angels singing).
2. Less is more. Write less, kids will like it more. Now, look, there are TONS of picture books where minimal text works really well. It just always bugs me (as a soon-to-be published author) that you’re expected to tell your story in the tightest way possible. This book does NOT do that, and that’s refreshing.
3. Look and see what other books are on the market that are like your book. And DON’T say yours is unique, because there’s got to be SOMETHING like it out there. Okay, but what if mine IS unique? Like, say, A New Day? I’ve never read anything like this, and I’m not sure what you might compare it to. A LOT of publishers/agents want you to tell them what your book resembles in your cover letter, but what if it REALLY is one-of-a-kind?
4. Don’t have too many characters. Kids can’t keep track of a big cast. This book has seven main characters and a TON of side characters. There are always a LOT of people/animals/personified days of the week on each page.
5. Make sure the vocabulary and concept are young enough for your audience. Well, sure. But also, this book talks about Sanskrit, Elbridge Gerry, and herrings. So…maybe this rule doesn’t really count either.

I think the fact that Brad Meltzer literally broke ALL the rules for this book makes me like it even more. Sometimes (again, as a writer speaking here), I get a little down when it comes to trimming ALL of the flowery language from a manuscript. I get that picture books are more poetry than prose (generally), but sometimes (just sometimes) the cuts feel too deep. It feels like whoever edited this book just let Brad Meltzer WRITE. Yay!

So what’s it about? Okay, here’s a quick overview:

Sunday is tired of being taken for granted, so she quits. Then the days of the week have to replace her by auditioning others to be the new day.

The new days that audition run the gamut from “Fun Day” all the way to “FirepolesSlidingIntoPoolsofCottonCandyDay.” The book builds from simple ideas all the way to a fever pitch of auditions. Then, just when it seems no day will be suitable (though Lily was quite partial to “Caturday”), Sunday gets thanked and returns to work.

Whew. That was a close one.

The writing is funny and silly and the pictures are, well, perfection of course.

Of course, Dan Santat could illustrate a refrigerator repair booklet and I’d review it and love it, so…you know, I’m a bit biased.

If you’re looking for something to entertain your kids, keep them laughing and break up the monotony of this ongoing nightmare of a pandemic, please get this book. You will giggle at the absurdity, laugh at the weirdness and, just for a moment, forget what’s happening in the world outside.

Mama’s review: 5 cotton candy pools/5

Lily’s review: Every day is Caturday!

Title: The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade
Author: Justin Roberts
Illustrator: Christian Robinson
Published By: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2014

You guys, this has been a tough year. When I say ‘year,’ I mean ‘365 days.’ Not 2020, not 2021…a full on 12-month-time-period. We’ve been…well, mainly at home. During the summer, we had a bit of a reprieve, but then September came and things started to go pear-shaped. Karl and I talked about whether or not to send the kids back to school this year, and ultimately decided that homeschooling them was the best idea for our family. I have a background in primary/junior education, so I’m relatively qualified.

Anyway, all that said: when I read The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade, I felt nostalgic. Super nostalgic. Look at all those kids at school! You can see their little faces. They seem so carefree. We’ll get back to that, I know. At some point, I have faith. It’s just…it’s been such a long time since we’ve had that experience.

But heck, you didn’t come here to read about my pining for the pre-COVID-world. You came here for a book review…and review I shall!

You probably know how much I love Christian Robinson and his awesome illustrating skills. You Matter is one of my current favourite picture books (if you haven’t checked it out, you need to do that now). I asked for The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade for Christmas because it was illustrated by Mr. Robinson. I’m collecting his work, book by book.

So, let’s start with the art: it’s great, as per usual. Here’s what I love most:

1. The kids are incredibly diverse. When I was a kid (eighty-five-billion years ago, according to my kids), I went to school in Scarborough (now part of Toronto). My school looked like the school in the book. When I was a child, I realized that picture books in the library didn’t feature kids that looked like my friends. I’m so glad that’s changing.
2. The art is colourful and the colours are vibrant. Most of the backgrounds are white, and that lets the colours pop and stand out.
3. I just adore Christian Robinson’s style. It’s simple and effective and gorgeous.

Now, the text. I honestly had never heard of Julian Roberts before this, although according to the jacket copy, he’s a star in the family-music genre. I’m guessing it’s because of his song-writing skills that he decided to go with a rhyming text. I have mixed feelings about this choice.

On one hand, there are some solid rhymes and clever lines. On the other hand, sometimes I felt the meter was a bit off.

I liked the overall message of the story: one kid can make a big difference. I do have a bit of trouble with Sally seeing situations of bullying and not helping/alerting an adult, but…I also recognize that’s a really big ask of a really small person.

So, overall I’m going to give this one a 4/5. I loved the art and liked the text. It’s a solid book.

Next time: I promise, more cheery and less dreary.

Title: You Matter
Author/Illustrator: Christian Robinson
Published: Atheneum Books for Young Readers

So it’s been a crazy year so far, eh friends? I live in Ontario (Canada) and things have been weird here since March. Recently (June), we’ve started to open things up and do stuff again. But cautiously! People mostly wear masks and sanitize their hands constantly. Aside from my extreme germ-o-phobia (not a new thing, just exacerbated by the pandemic), I find that missing my people is the hardest part of Covid-19. Being away from friends and family, having to keep our social bubbles very limited, having the kids here all day and not being able to really go anywhere or do anything is tough (I’m just not 100% comfortable with the girls venturing into the world yet).

We’ve missed milestones. We’ve missed birthdays and a wonderful baby shower (for a dear friend who just adopted her son after eight LONG years of waiting). We’ve missed coffee dates and play dates and just being near our friends. Skype is okay, but we’ve really missed our people.

I was looking for some books to order that would raise our spirits. That would bring us happiness. And then I stumbled upon You Matter by Christian Robinson.

In case you’re not familiar with his work, Christian Robinson is amazing. He’s an author and illustrator (I reviewed another of his books here: https://jessreviewsabook.com/2019/05/23/schools-first-day-of-school/) and I adore his style (both written and illustrated, but I’m particularly in love with his illustrations). The first book I read of Mr. Robinson’s was the fabulous The Last Stop on Market Street (with Matt de la Peña, review to come). I was blown away. How did I not know about this creator? After that, I made it my business to keep up with his work and buy his books.

Enter You Matter.

The premise is simple: no matter how small, no matter how big, no matter if you’re first or last, you matter. Even if you don’t think you do, you do. This is the type of message kids NEED to hear. Heck, it’s a message adults desperately need to hear as well. The text is minimal, but so effective, like poetry. The illustrations are, of course, gorgeous. Each picture is delightful to look at. (Lily was inspired by the art to do some of her own creating after reading the book.) Lily and I both enjoyed each page, but my personal favourites were the t-rex with a mosquito bite and the astronaut in space. Lily loved the page about being gassy (see: Lily has a goofy sense of humour) and the city page. She smiled throughout the entire story and asked for it again right away. She said “turn the pages slower!” so she could look at them more carefully.

You guys, what else can I say?

This book is what we need right now. I honestly believe that if kids were told, from the time they were small, that they mattered and could use their powers and skills to make the world a better place, we’d have a much nicer world overall.

If you know someone who needs to hear this message, you know what to do. Send them a care package and let them know that they matter. And, in case no one has told you recently, you do, too.

Mama’s rating: Five stars

Lily’s rating: “That book is so beautiful.”

Title: The Princess and the Pony
Author/Illustrator: Kate Beaton
Published: Scholastic, 2015

There are few things that make Lily laugh harder than adorable animals doing silly things, so when she first heard this story, she immediately fell in love with the roly-poly pony with a flatulence problem. Lily absolutely loves this book. And so do I! It’s hilarious (for many reasons, not just the excess pony gas).

First, just in case you need a refresher, Kate Beaton is the brilliant author/illustrator who gave us King Baby. We still adore that little egg-shaped guy. And we adore Princess Pinecone, the star of The Princess and the Pony, just as much.

The premise of the story is this: Princess Pinecone’s birthday is coming up and she’s really, really hoping for a horse. A big, brave horse. Princess Pinecone is a warrior. She needs a horse befitting her status. (Usually, for her birthday, she gets fuzzy knitted sweaters.)  Unfortunately, Pinecone’s parents dropped the ball. Instead of a strong, awesome warrior horse, they got Pinecone a round pony with eyes that appear to be looking in different directions.

Pinecone decides that maybe the pony can be trained anyway. That doesn’t…go well. On the day of the ‘big battle’ (mostly warriors doing non-violent, spitball-related things to each other), Pinecone arrives with her pony. She’s about to dive into the battling, when one of the warriors comes running at her with what appears to be a pool noodle. Otto the Awful is truly terrifying…until he spots the pony and falls in love. In fact, all the fierce brutes seem to think the pony is absolutely adorable. Pinecone remarks that the battles don’t usually end that way, and Otto tells her that sometimes even tough guys need to express their softer side.

It occurs to Princess Pinecone that she has just the thing to help the warriors: heaps and heaps of knitted sweaters.

She brings the sweaters and hands them out. The warriors all look adorable, and vote Princess Pinecone and the pony the most valuable warriors of the day.

The story is wonderful because:

1. It’s unique. I love a story that’s unpredictable and totally different from anything else out there.
2. The art is hilarious. The pony is just perfect. I kind of wish he was real. I’d totally keep a round pony in my backyard.
3. I like the messages: girls can be warriors, sometimes tough guys have a soft side (people are complicated!), and appreciate your birthday gifts. They might not be what you wanted, but sometimes things work out better than you could’ve imagined.

If you’re in the market for a funny book that your kid will want to read repeatedly, this is the one for you. You’ll love Princess Pinecone and her adorably ovoid pony.

Title: Piranhas Don’t Eat Bananas
Author/Illustrator: Aaron Blabey
Published: Scholastic, 2019

Guys, have you ever walked past a book only to have a totally awesome cover page grab you and drag you right back? That’s exactly what happened to me with Piranhas Don’t Eat Bananas. Those hilarious looking fish on the cover just…they spoke to me. With their cute little under-bites and their big, round eyes…I had to give them a closer look.

Very few times have picture books made me laugh hysterically in a bookstore. Notable among them are Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! and this one. Other bookstore patrons looked at me in a way that I can only describe as “askance.” But whatever. They didn’t get the joy of meeting Brian, the vegan piranha. Their loss!

This book has everything. Piranhas! Fruit! People not fully understanding your food preferences! And, the best part (according to Lily): Bums.

And in case you’re still on the fence about whether or not you need your own copy (you do), here’s the plot, in five simple-to-read points:

1. Brian the piranha LOVES fruit.
2. His friends don’t. They prefer to eat…meat.
3. You know, like knees and feet and such.
4. Brian persuades them to try fruit.
5. They think it’s meh. Bums instead of plums!

Sometimes the simplest stories are the best. Especially if they’re told with adorable fish and a ridiculous and hilarious premise.  As soon as I read Piranhas Don’t Eat Bananas, I knew Lily HAD to have a copy. I bought it for a her for Christmas and it almost killed me not to give it to her sooner. I let Vivi read it ahead of time and she said, “Oh, Lily’s going to LOVE this one.”

And she does. I always read this book to Lily with a British accent. (I know Aaron Blabey is Australian….I just can’t do that accent properly. It always ends up sounding vaguely British/southern American after, like, three words.) After several weeks of reading this story multiple times at bedtime, Lily reads along now (in her cute little pretend-British accent) and still cracks up when we reach the ‘bum’ page. Some things will never, ever grow old. This is one of them.

Mama’s Review: Ten fins up!
Lily’s Review: “All the bums!”

Title: Escargot
Author: Dashka Slater
Illustrator: Sydney Hanson
Published: Macmillan Publishing Group, 2017

Happy new year, you guys! Can you believe it’s 2020? I’m having a hard time with it. Wasn’t it just 2010? Wasn’t it just 2000? Wasn’t it just 1990? Wasn’t…well, okay, I can’t go back a lot further than that, because I was a kid in the eighties…and didn’t exist before then.

But still. Life is going by very fast. Very fast indeed. Which is why it’s time to slow right down with a snail-themed book! Meet Escargot, the cutest little snail on the block. I took this book out of the library based on a few reviews I saw online. I read it to Lily one day while we were waiting for Vivi to join us for lunch. (Lily was out of school a LOT in December because of an ongoing cold…which, thankfully, has cleared up. And will probably return next week, as soon as she goes back to school. Sigh.) Lily absolutely, positively, 100% LOVED the book. And so did Vivi! Why? Let me break it down:

1. Escargot is adorable. He has a little ascot! He has a striped shirt and beret! What more do you want in a snail?
2. He has the sweetest little personality. All he wants is to be your favourite animal – and he’s willing to show you how great a choice a snail is. They make shiny little shimmer trails! They are fearless! They’re kinda speedy! OK, so maybe not those last two. But Escargot has a healthy self-image because…
3. Escargot knows that he’s beautiful. In fact, he’s absolutely fine if you’d like to give him a kiss. Or stroke his shell. Or anything, really. He just wants a friend.
4. The whole story takes us on a journey to a salad at the end of the book – and although Escargot isn’t delighted by the carrots in said salad, he’s willing to try one if the reader is game.
5. When you finally reach the end of the book, Escargot eats the salad at record speed and, well, you the reader don’t get any. But that’s okay! And it’s also okay that you might not choose a snail as a favourite animal, because Escargot loves you anyway.

Aw! It’s so rare to find a book this pure-hearted. It’s just lovely from start to finish. Lily is desperate for a copy to add to our library (I think she really wants to pat and/or kiss the pages, and feels like a library book has to be treated a little more carefully than that).  I’m going to pick up a copy for her birthday. She’ll love it! And so will you. Escargot is wonderful (and, honestly, if snails actually had tiny neck-scarves and berets, they would 100% be my favourite animal).

Lily’s review: I wish Escargot was our pet.

Vivi’s review: Hey, yeah! We could have a snail pet. No one is allergic to snails, right?

Mama’s review: 5/5 tiny ascots.

Title: It’s Not All Rainbows
Author/Illustrator: Jessika von Innerebner
Published: Scholastic, 2019

Title: Penguin Problems
Author: Jory John
Illustrator: Lane Smith
Published: Random House, 2016

Today on Jess Reviews a book, we’re going to do what many a high school English assignment was about: comparing and contrasting. The two books? It’s Not All Rainbows and Penguin Problems. On the surface, they might appear different…but the stories are actually about the same thing:  a creature (in one case a unicorn, in the other, a penguin) having a really bad day and having to cope with it. Relatable? Sure! We’ve all been there. And the key thing to getting through a bad day is how you handle it.

Personally, I feel that copious amounts of chocolate is the only solution, but that applies to most things in life.

Anyway, the books.

What I found interesting was how each author handled the bad days.

In It’s Not All Rainbows, we meet Kevin the Unicorn. His life is bright and sparkly until…he wakes up on the floor of his room one morning. That’s never a good way to start your day, and it only goes downhill from there. Kevin tries to stay happy. He looks at his motivational posters. He sets out with every intention to have a good day. But…calamity after calamity befalls him. His car runs out of gas! He gets stuck in the rain! He ends up getting CLAM juice to drink! Everything spirals out of control until…Kevin can stand it no longer. He finally admits that he’s having a really, truly, lousy, crummy day. And…surprisingly, he’s not alone. Four more unicorns admit that things aren’t exactly roses and sunshine in their lives either.  And it is then that they realize: unicorns don’t always have perfect days. And that’s okay.

The art in this book is terrific. The colourful unicorns, the sparkles on the front cover, the excellent expressions on the unicorns’ faces. All super. Lily loves this story and we’ve read it countless times. I love the message: not every day is going to be perfect, but it’s going to be alright. Or, in the words of my favourite 1980’s sitcom, “You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have…the facts of life.”

Ahem.

Onto Penguin Problems! 

First things first: I chose this book at the library because it was adorable. The cover is super-interesting, in that it’s done with a penguin pattern and has the title on the BACK instead of the front. Crazy! I loved the design and I really liked the art in the book. So, A+ for art.

But the story. Oh, the story. It starts out with a penguin complaining about everything. His beak is too cold. There’s too much snow. It’s too bright. NOTHING is making little penguin happy. His day is just going HORRIBLY. Which, as a parent, I totally get. My kids are like this sometimes! Occasionally, there’s literally NOTHING I can do to make their little worlds brighter. So usually I tell them to go read a book and/or draw and chill out by themselves for a bit. It gives them something to do and gives me a break from hearing how unfair life is. (SO UNFAIR, in case you were wondering.)

What I don’t do with my kids is give them a lecture about counting their blessings. When someone is having a bad day/when things aren’t going well, they don’t need a lecture about what they SHOULD be feeling. They need someone to say, “OK, things are tough. Some days are like that. But let’s try to find something for you to do to make you feel a bit better. You can talk to me or write about it or just go chill out for a bit.” And that usually helps.

About 3/4 of the way through the story (after many pages of penguin complaints), an old walrus shows up to drop some hard truths on the little bird. It’s a literal full page of walrus-speech. He basically tells the penguin that yeah, he’s having a bad day, but there’s a lot of good stuff to appreciate and that he (the walrus) wouldn’t trade his life for another and he bets the penguin wouldn’t either. Which, I don’t know, based on the amount of complaining he was doing, I’m fairly certain the penguin would swap places with a Florida flamingo in a heartbeat, but I digress.

This is the problem I have with the story: the walrus kind of kills the momentum (other than the page of dense text, the rest of the story has just a few sentences per page). Also, he shuts the penguin down. Just…shuts him down. There’s no comeback to the walrus. There’s no way to say, “Dude, mind your own beeswax.” It’s an adult saying to a kid “Yeah, you’re unhappy, but you shouldn’t be. You should be grateful for what you have.”

And then, after that lecture, what’s with the penguin’s instant change of heart? Also quite unbelievable. No one responds to “Count your blessings” with “OK! Let me get started RIGHT NOW! I don’t know WHAT I was thinking. You’re clearly right!” The penguin was SO miserable before…I don’t think a lecture from a nosy walrus would immediately turn his day around for the better.

I read this book to Vivi and Lily and they were initially stoked because:

1. They also loved the art.
2. Penguins

It was all fine (as in, they were listening intently) until we hit the walrus page. At that point, they visibly lost interest. They didn’t find the story very satisfying at the end, and they haven’t asked to read it again.

So I read it myself. I’ll often do that if I find the girls don’t really like a book. Sometimes it helps to read it alone, as an adult. And I found that in this case. I get it, from an adult’s point-of-view. As an adult you get caught up in all the “stuff” of life. All the things you’re worried about, your family and friends, your job, your house…the world in general. It helps to be reminded that you’re where you need to be. That things will work out. That’s a message that, as an adult, I can appreciate and understand, because I have many years of experience and I know that bad days don’t go on forever. But kids? They don’t know that yet. So what they need is someone to guide them through their tough days, not shut them down. They need a helping hand, not a lecturing walrus.

The girls gave It’s Not All Rainbows a solid A+.

Penguin Problems got an A for the art, but the story just wasn’t what they needed to hear.

Title: The Great Santa Stakeout
Author: Betsy Bird
Illustrator: Dan Santat
Published: Arthur A. Levine Books, 2019

Alright, alright…I know what you’re going to say. “You’re reviewing ANOTHER Dan Santat book? ANOTHER ONE? Girl, this blog is called ‘Jess Reviews a Book,’ not ‘Jess Just Reviews Dan Santat and Talks Incessantly About How Much Of A GIANT Fan She Is.’ Also, side note, never call it that because the URL would be insane.”

Welp FYI, I didn’t choose this book. This book chose me. Or, more accurately, this book was chosen FOR me FROM the library BY Lily.

It just happened to be illustrated by world’s greatest children’s book illustrator, Mr. Dan Santat. (Applause goes here.)

It’s written by Betsy Bird, author of another book we really like –  Giant Dance Party!

Put them both together, and you’ve got a winning recipe, right? Right?

That has to be right, doesn’t it?

Yes, of course it is.

The book is all about Freddy Melcher, Santa’s number one fan. (I thought that was my best friend’s mom, Barb. Barb’s tagline is “If you don’t believe in Santa, you don’t get any presents.”) He loves Santa in a way only a true fan can: by dressing up like him for birthdays and holidays unrelated to Christmas. And by collecting stuff – LOTS of stuff. Santa figures, Santa posters, Santa EVERYTHING. (This also describes my mother’s approach to Christmas.)

But he’s missing one key collectable: a selfie with Santa.

So, Freddy being a clever young lad, devises a surefire plan to catch Santa in the act and snap his photograph.

Everything seems to be going well. The traps have been set. Christmas Eve has arrived and Freddy has convinced his parents that everything is totally normal, nothing to see here. Freddy fall asleep. Until…a terrible crash from the roof awakens him! He jumps out of bed and sees…something fall off the roof!

Oh, no! Santa’s a goner!

Just kidding, He’s not, obviously. But I don’t want to give away the ending, so let’s just say “You can’t outwit the big elf.”

Let’s talk about what’s good about this book:

1. Great art. Fabulous art. Wonderful art. Just…perfect. Did I mention that my wonderful husband bought me a picture from After the Fall and it hangs above my desk and I love it so? Because he did. And it does. And I do. And, if you’re wondering, it’s the picture where Humpty is shopping for cereal. It’s one of my favourite pictures in a kid’s book EVER.
2. The story is fast-paced and the writing is crisp. One thing I find when reading Giant Dance Party is that it’s a bit on the wordy side. My kiddos love a long story, so they enjoy it a lot…but having worked with kids who haven’t got the attention span for something so long, I appreciate the brevity of The Santa Stakeout.
3. The story is funny. Lily really enjoyed the whole thing, and thought the ending was clever.

Since we received 8000 cm (approximately) of snow yesterday, now feels like a good time to start in on Christmas celebrations.* If you’re living in a winter wonderland too, this is the perfect story to start the season.

Mama’s review: It’s Dan Santat, so obviously 5 million thumbs up.
Lily’s comment: “I really like the story! But…but…really, you’re Santa, right? And…you don’t climb on the roof, right? Because you’d fall off.” (What can I say, the girl knows her mama.)

*Karl has adamantly insisted that we are NOT to put up the Christmas tree until after Vivi’s birthday (right at the end of the month). So the girls and I have decided that probably just applies to the BIG green tree, but no to the smaller, more decorative trees. Or the hot pink one with neon pink lights. That one is going up this weekend.