In reminds us of the essential childhood pleasures found in an engaged day of imaginative play and exploration. It is a picture book full of Nikka McClure's wonderful paper manipulations. Incredibly engaging and playful. ( )

Is this the year for black, white, and yellow picture books? I love the text, with its rhythms, opposites, occasional puns, and satisfying circular journey. I could see this as a Geisel honor with its simple, repetitive text, if "marmalade" isn't too difficult. The woodblock prints are bold and dynamic with small details to look for throughout. I would gladly frame and hang a print of "I'll look out from branches." on my wall. I did find the author's note about owls to be bizarre; it makes too much of one detail and is not sufficiently separate from the main text. That gate page, though, is one even a librarian can love. ( )

This is a short book about a young boy who has a big imagination. He decides to stay inside, because outside it's raining. Until he uses up all the inside adventures and decides to go out. Outside, he plays in the rain and in nature until it's time to go back in for bed.

Read on March 26, 2015

I picked this one up because of the contrasting black, white, and yellow cover. However, I found it really annoying to read out loud and wasn't crazy about the illustrations. Did anyone else find the owls at the end to be completely random? I'm pretty sure the author could come up with something that called for the inclusion of owls instead of just saying, "hey, I like owls, let me draw some more for you. ( )

story time - in the house ( )