Ages 5-8: Summer 2019
* Summer Reading 2019
Reading List: Ages 5-8 years
“Mister Moon would like a hat.”
~ Stead, Philip C.; illus. Erin E. Stead. Music for Mister Moon.
A Universe of Stories
All selections and annotations by WPL Librarian Anna L. Nielsen
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Picture Books
Gilmore, Sophie. Little Doctor and the Fearless Beast. Toronto & Berkeley: Owlkids Books, 2019. “There once lived a child the crocodiles called Little Doctor. The creatures came from all around to se her.” So begins this intrepid little tale about a girl with a tenacious and caring heart. Her office is a wooden home deep in the jungle, with high windows, and filled with shelves for all her books and plants and medical supplies. She wears a white coat and a stethoscope, and the crocodiles tell her stories of all their adventures for payment. And then, Big Mean lumbers in. He seemed fine, but something was wrong. Big Mean did not like being examined. Little Doctor will persevere. She is a doctor! The line and color illustrations are filled with expression and finely drawn detail. A book to savor. Ages: 5+.
Lanan, Jessica. The Fisherman & the Whale. NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2019. Worldless emotion. The watercolor and gouache illustrations are deep with hues of blue and the natural movement of water. A fisherman takes his son to sea, and they find a whale, trapped in old nets. The pages flip for a vertical spread, and the whale is at the top of the water, despondent and bent over the deepening sea where the ropes that trap him drag. The father is out of time and has to go to shore, but they son holds his should, pleading, look! The father sees. The eye of the whale mirrors the father and the eye of the father mirrors. The whale. A pause. A pondering. The father decides and dives into the ocean, knife in his mouth, for freedom. Whale and man, man and whale. Free. Ages: 3+.
Levis, Caron; illus. LeUyen Pham. Stop That Yawn! NY: Atheneum, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2018. Oh, the exuberance! Little Gabby Wild joins the pantheon of joyously stubborn children who will now, will not they tell us, go to bed. She begs her Granny, she exhorts her Granny, she pleads with her Granny, she shows her Granny what marvelous things they could do instead: “we won’t sing lullabies, we’ll hullabaloo.” She pulls Granny on adventures near and far to visit giraffes and the Midnight Marching Band and the All-Night Opera. But a yawn has escaped! No! So she cajoles, “Grit your teeth, seal your lips, we have to stop that yawn!” But that yawn keeps getting bigger, and spreading across Never Sleeping City. What can Gabby do? The repetition of the text makes for a marvelous read-aloud, and Pham’s croquille and india ink illustrations on Bristol board with digital coloring give Gabby’s adventures a fast and cinematic feel. Glorious bedtime fun. Ages: 5+. For more nighttime adventures try XX.
McKinnon, Heidi. I Just Ate My Friend. NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2019. Seemingly simple illustrations of ink and brush with photoshop illustrations manage to convey massive ranges of mood and emotion. A dismayed monster eats his only friend. What is he to do? His eyes bulge wide and his mouth stretches out in guilty chagrin. Seriously, he needs to know, what is he to do? So he searches about, looking for a new friend, from monsters small and big, timid and fast, to just plain obstinate. He asks and asks, until. Gulp! This book is one to relish and giggle over every time. Ages: 5+.
Stead, Philip C.; illus. Erin E. Stead. Music for Mister Moon. NY: Holiday House, 2019. The Steads. One can never say enough about the Steads. The ink, colored pencil, and graphite illustrations of Erin are as specific as ever – the overlong bangs of the girl a perfect touch for expressing a child who just wants to be left alone to play her cello. Philip’s narrative takes readers on a flight of fancy – the girl closes her eyes and changes her parents into penguins when they inquire if she would like to play in public. And she talks to the moon, and gets him a hat and a boat ride. Imagination is such an integral thing. Ages: 5+.
Fiction
Ruzzier, Sergio. Fox & Chick: The Quiet Boat Ride and Other Stories. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2019. Three stories about two friends, perfect for reading together or alone. Ruzzier sets the stage immediately: “What are you doing, Fox?” “I’m going for a quiet boat ride.” “Can I come too?” “I guess it doesn’t have to be quiet.” Chick is loud, and Fox is resigned. But they are friends, so off they go on their boat ride. Chick babbles and chatters, and Fox listens and answers. They are very different, but they are friends. Ruzzier’s pen, ink, and watercolor illustrations give Fox wry expressions, and invite readers to emphasize and laugh. Ages: 5+.
Stark, 
Ulf; illus. Kitty Crowther; trans. Swedish Julia Marshall. The Runaways. Wellington, NZ: Gecko Press, 2019. Gottfried Junior’s Grandpa is in hospital and hating it. Gottfried Junior’s Dad isn’t doing anything about it – in fact, his Grandpa and his Dad barely seem to be getting along. So it’s up to Gottfried Junior, of course, to stage a hospital break. He has to get his Grandpa out away, home to the house by the sea where the old man lived with his Grandma and was happy. So he hatches a plan, enlists a neighbor, and tells some lies. It works. But Grandpa does really need to be in hospital, so back they go after a night by the sea, and Gottfried Junior is back to just visiting his beloved Grandpa on Saturdays. “You were too different from me,” his Grandpa said to his Dad. “Yes, luckily,” said Dad. “You’re right about that,” said Grandpa. “I’m pleased you’re still the way you are.” Maybe Grandpa and his Dad will be okay. A beautiful and matter-of-fact, uncomplicated ode to family and love shared, made even more resonant by Crowther’s illustrations that add sympathy and spunk without falling in to sentiment. An excellent choice for all generations. Ages: 7+.
Nonfiction
Alexander, Kwame; illus. Kadir Nelson. The Undefeated. Boston & NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019. The poem is by Alexander, a powerful ode to America in general and black America in particular. The illustrations are oil masterpieces by the incomparable Nelson. “This is for the unforgettable,” the poem begins, and Jesse Owen in midstride graces the recto. A page set passes, honoring those who survived, and the next verso is a blank canvas, no oils from Nelson, just white. The recto is a part of the poem: “And the ones who didn’t.” Brilliant construction. Ages: 5+. Read with the eternally important Feelings, Tom. The Middle Passage: White Ships/Black Cargo. NY: Dial Books, 1995. We’re never too young to start learning.
Slade, Suzanne; illus. Alan Marks. Daring Dozen: The Twelve Who Walked on the Moon. Watertwon, MA: Charlesbridge, 2019. In honor of the fiftieth anniversary of Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon, we have a plethora of books about all things moon. This book tells the tales of the first twelve who walked on the moon, in simple text with approachable watercolor ink illustrations. A timeline, further information, source notes, and a selected bibliography included. Ages: 7+. Read with Manley, Curtis; illus. Jessica Lanan. Just Right: Searching for the Goldilocks Planet. NY: Roaring Brook Press, 2019, a wondering book that follows a young girl as she asks, “When you look towards the stars, do you ever wonder if anyone is looking back? Is Earth the only planet with intelligent life? Is it the only planet with life at all?” The illustrations have a feel of a graphic novel to them, and the text follows the young girl through scientific facts and planetariums and museums and the solar system. Wouldn’t it be great, she thinks, is we could tell the story of how we found “a planet much like our own – a Goldilocks planet, a planet that’s just right.” The last picture is her standing in front of a telescope pointed toward the night sky, three people sitting on a bench behind her, everyone looking forward. More information, selected bibliography, and further resources included. Ages: 7+.
Teckentrup, Britta. Fish Everywhere. Somerville, MA: Big Picture Press, Candlewick Press, 2019. Candlewick is clearly having a good time with their Big Picture Press. This book is filled with information about fish, and pictures of fish, and full depth double spreads of the deep blue sea from the top to the bottom, and more fish that look just like what they’re called. The little anglerfish looks a little angry, the electric eel looks positively electric, and the before and after shots of the spotted porcupine fish tell it like it is. Fun and informative. Ages: 5+.
Turk, Evan. You Are Home: An Ode to the National Park. NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2019. A gorgeous tribute to our most precious of resources, our national parks. The pastel on black paper illustration are lush and full, giving a depth to the bison and elk, and canyon and sky, and redwood and ocean. “You are home, “ Turk tells us. Everywhere in our national parks, we are all home. “A sense of belonging, sung by the streams, from valleys to peaks, over thousands of miles, through millions of hearts.” Gorgeous. Ages: 5+.
