Three new books that made me happy

Here are some fabulous picture books I read at Powell's today.

One was "Mr. Peek and the Misunderstanding at the Zoo" by Kevin Waldron. Mr. Peek is having an off day. His jacket feels snug and he's worried that he's put on a lot of weight. He goes around his job at the zoo, putting himself down, fretting over nothing. The animals hear him talking to himself and think that he is insulting them. I love this book, because of the message that we need to be nicer to ourselves. I'm getting so fed up with people hating on themselves for being overweight. They don't realize that they are not only wasting time and energy watching "The Biggest Loser" and counting their calories, but they are hurting others, especially when subjecting others to their blather or when making the assumption that other people share the same obsession. Let's love ourselves, everybody! It's not that hard. The first step toward loving yourself and having a brighter outlook is taking five minutes to read Mr. Peek and the Misunderstanding at the Zoo.

The next book I fell in love with was "Please Take Me For a Walk" by Susan Gal. This book is well written and suitable for very young children. The collage illustrations are incredible. I especially liked how Susan Gal cut up old maps to make bushes. This book is rich in colorful details, sort of like a condensed Richard Scarry book, but without labels naming every single thing. Kids will probably want to spend more time looking at each illustration than it takes the adult to read the text out loud. That is the mark of a successful picture book.

The final book that really impressed me was "The Little Matador" by Julian Hector. This book is a lot like "The Story of Ferdinand," but instead of giving the bull's perspective, Hector gives the perspective of little matador, who would rather draw than fight with bulls. If I were a mother or a teacher, I would read The Little Matador and Ferdinand back to back. Then maybe I would read "The Three Little Pigs" followed by "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs" and encourage the kids to write their own story from another character's perspective. Especially for reluctant writers who are not confident in their creativity, that might be an excellent and valuable writing exercise.

The Enigma of Waldo

Kaline Klatta blah blah whatever.

I am eating spanakopita now, and unlike the book "Kaline Klattermaster's Treehouse," my food actually lives up to its cool name. I hated this book. I cannot tell a lie. I offered it to my 6th grade mentee because, who knows, she might like it, but I made it sound so terrible she wasn't the least bit interested. So I sold it to Powell's.

This book is about a kid coping with his parents' divorce. Instead of being upfront and honest, his dad just goes away and doesn't tell Kaline anything. So Kaline plays in an imaginary treehouse with 100 puppies and two older brothers who protect our feeble protagonist from bullies. I would have hated this book less if it had been written from Kaline's POV. The omniscient narrator sounds like some condescending adult who purposefully mispronounces words and talks baby talk to kids who are probably thinking, "What is wrong with this person?"

I can't understand why the author inserted so many mistakes in this book. I don't even want to repeat the awful George Bushisms I came across, but believe me, they were bad. These weren't just fun made up Dr. Seuss-type words. These were assaults on the English language.

One of my all-time favorite fictional characters, Pippi Longstocking, pronounced "multiplication" like "plutification," but it was cool because she was being rebellious and she was so admirable, it didn't matter how she pronounced words. 

I still love the illustrations in this book, which were done by Peter Brown, author and illustrator of the fabulous picture book, "Flight of the Dodo." It is the writing of "Kaline Klattermaster's Treehouse" that cannot be tolerated.

The Gentleman Bug

This picture book is so sweet. If I had kids, this would be a must-have in our library. I'm actually thinking about making it a must-have in my own library because the watercolor illustrations are so lovely. The story is beautiful and even though it's a fairy tale, a genre that attracts more female readers, The Gentleman Bug is like a Cinderella for boys. The main character's literary lifestyle is flipped upside down when a lady bug arrives and he tries unsuccessfully to get her to notice him. Eventually their mutual love of books brings them together and they live happily ever after.

I don't know anything about Julian Hector's personal life, but nevertheless, I have a theory that some adults just anthropomorphize themselves, simplify, or sometimes exaggerate their problems, and stick on a happy ending to help them cope with their lives. I know I do that! It's like handing your problems to someone else. "Okay, dog, you've got a swelled head and you're selfish. Not my problem anymore! Let's see what you do to solve this problem." Hehehehe. Perhaps Julian Hector was trying to get a bookish girl to like him at the time he worked on this book.

I just found Julian Hector's blog and I am amazed that he is the same age as me and shares the same astrological sign. I hope to be as talented as him when I'm in my fifties! 

I loved The Gentleman Bug. I think this is one of those magical children's books that kids will remember fondly, even when they're not kids anymore. Reading it is like eating a fancy cupcake on your birthday.