Peas and Quiet by Gabrielle Tozer

24 Aug 2018 Leave a comment

by Amy in 3 Stars, The Picture Book Corner Tags: , ,

Published: 19th June 2017Goodreads badge
Publisher: HarperCollins Australia
Illustrator: Sue deGennaro
Pages: 34
Format: Hardcover Picture Book
★   ★   ★  – 3 Stars

Best friends Pip and Pop live in a peapod, but sometimes it can get a little too cosy – especially because they are so different!

Pip loves to sing, while Pop won’t stop snoring. How are they ever going to work out how to live together?

Pip and Pop are very adorable. In an Odd Couple situation Pip likes to sing and Pop likes to snore and while most of the time they get along, sometimes they do not. The rhyming narrative is fun and Tozer explores the relationship Pip and Pop have and how they can have fun but it’s not always the way.

This book explores how everyone is different and sometimes the things that other people do can annoy you. But it also shows you that while these differences can be frustrating, there are ways to remain friends and get along. I was totally caught up in the cuteness of this book and I liked how Tozer takes some drastic action and have not only disagreements, but actual separation. I was surprised but I liked that she also showed that having some time apart is good, but can also make you realise what you’ve been missing.

deGennaro’s illustrations are adorable as well. The little peas in overalls remind me of the beetroots in gumboots and zucchinis in bikinis from the bananas in pyjamas books in the 90s. This is a great book about accepting differences but aside from that it is just a sweet little book that is a fun read.

You can purchase Peas and Quiet via the following

Booktopia | Book Depository

Publisher | Angus & Robertson | Dymocks

Fishpond | QBD | ABC Shop

 

Penguin Problems by Jory John

17 Aug 2018 5 Comments

by Amy in 5 Stars, The Picture Book Corner Tags: , , ,

Published: 27th September 2016Goodreads badge
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Illustrator: Lane Smith
Pages: 32
Format: Hardcover Picture Book
★   ★   ★   ★   ★  – 5 Stars

What?!

Oh, you’re going to read this book? Somehow I seriously doubt that. I bet you won’t even finish reading this flap. 

Don’t worry about it. Why would you want to learn about some penguin’s problems when you have plenty of problems of your own? Just look around. The world’s a mess!

Besides, you probably don’t even like penguins. Heck, I barely like penguins and I am a penguin.

Seriously, I’ll understand if you put the book back on the shelf. Go ahead. It’s for the best. 

I’m sure you’d just get a bunch of paper cuts, anyway. And you’d probably bend the pages. And you’d get your little fingerprints everywhere.

When was the last time you washed those grubby hands of yours? No offense.

Sigh.

Listen: I’m going back to bed. Read, don’t read. Buy, don’t buy. Whatever. 

Just try not to wake me up. 

I’m a light sleeper. 

And I have a lot on my mind.

The first cute thing about this book is the front cover. The second cute thing is the little blurb on the inside of the cover. I was in love with this book before I’d even gotten to the title page to find out what it was even called. The book is in fact called Penguin Problems and it is fantastic! I fell deeper in love with Smith’s beautiful little illustrations, they are simple and yet convey so much at the same time. I felt the hardships of this little penguin and I loved him for that.

The little penguin complains about the cold, about how his beak is cold and it gets dark. He has problems like orca and leopard seals and he doesn’t know who his mum and dad are. I adored this little penguin who complained so much. It is a funny book that make me laugh multiple times. The words are simple but they tell a story and the illustrations make the experience even more fulfilling,

The illustrations are a combination of single images and large full page ones. Smith balances these out wonderfully to match the needs of the story. The single image of a penguin lying on his back on a small mound of snow is the perfect representation for the start of the book.

Another thing I loved about this book is that it doesn’t go where you expect it to. I wasn’t expecting to read about a penguin who hated the cold, and as I read on there were more surprises and by the end even when you think you know where it’s going, you don’t. I loved that in this picture book that has so few words and so few pages that this great little journey could be gone on so successfully and with such wonderful humour and cuteness.

You can purchase Penguin Problems via the following

Booktopia | Book Depository

Amazon | Amazon Aust | Wordery

Angus & Robertson | Dymocks

Fishpond | QBD

Penguin Pete by Marcus Pfiser

10 Aug 2018 2 Comments

by Amy in 3 Stars, The Picture Book Corner Tags: , , ,

Published: 1st September 1994Goodreads badge
Publisher: NorthSouth
Illustrator: Marcus Pfiser
Pages: 32
Format: Hardcover Picture Book
★   ★   ★  – 3 Stars

Pete the penguin has a good time playing on land with his fellow birds and learning how to swim in the sea.

Like Pfiser’s other creation, the Rainbow Fish, Penguin Pete has a range of adventures and friends to meet in other books, but this is our first introduction. Pete is the smallest of his friends and wishes to go swimming in the sea. While he waits he plays with his friends, and meets a new friend who can fly. Steve the bird plays with Pete and they become friends until it is time for him to move on.

It is a nice story but there isn’t much too it, despite it being a tad wordy. There could be a lot more depth, this was written early in Pfiser’s career and long before The Rainbow Fish so maybe he just needed to find his groove, but I felt this lacked a bit in plot. Not much really happens, and it just explains events that don’t really feel connected. Just when you think Pete’s problems might have a moment of growth it fizzles out and we move on to the next thing.

I didn’t need there to be an overarching lesson or plot, but it did feel disjointed, like the events had little to do with one another, especially since you get the sense that Pfiser is building up to something as you read. Knowing the kind of writer Pfiser turns into, it feels wrong to judge something he wrote so early n his career. It was enjoyable, I think maybe I expected more that’s all. Nevertheless it is a cute little story and a good introduction to Penguin Pete.

You can purchase Penguin Pete via the following

Booktopia | Book Depository

Amazon | Amazon Aust

Angus & Robertson | Dymocks | Fishpond

There’s a Bear on My Chair by Ross Collins

03 Aug 2018 Leave a comment

by Amy in 3 Stars, The Picture Book Corner Tags: , ,

Published: 2nd August 2016 Goodreads badge
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Illustrator: Ross Collins
Pages: 40
Format: Hardcover Picture Book
★   ★   ★  – 3 Stars

We do not make a happy pair

a mouse and a bear

with just one chair

Sometimes it is the smallest things that draw me to a picture book, sometimes it is the title, other times it’s the illustration on the cover. This time it was a bit of both, the disgruntled mouse on the cover in his knitted jumper was all it took, coupled with the title and I picked it up.

The story is what it is, there is a bear on the mouse’s chair. In clever rhyme, Collins explains the many ways the mouse has tried to remove the bear from his chair. There is a style of Dahl and a touch of Seuss in the rhymes which are fun and create a great flow as you read, coupled with great visual text to help with emphasis on certain words and highlight the mouse’s frustrations.

One of the joys of reading picture books are the accompanying illustrations. The simplest expression on a character can be the highlight for me and this is no exception. The irritated mouse and the obliviously happy bear make you joyful even before you read any of the words.

The story is fun and the rhyming gives it great rhythm as you read. There was no explanation about why there was a bear on the chair, and it doesn’t really matter it’s an enjoyable read with light humour. The biggest mystery of all though, is why this mouse had a chair that was big enough to fit a bear on it in the first place. If he had done his shopping better he wouldn’t have this problem at all for the bear would not fit on his tiny mouse chair.

You can purchase There’s a Bear on my Chair via the following

Booktopia | Book Depository | Wordery

QBD | Dymocks | Fishpond

Amazon | Amazon Aust | Angus & Robertson

Hug Machine by Scott Campbell

27 Jul 2018 2 Comments

by Amy in 5 Stars, The Picture Book Corner Tags: , ,

Published: 26th August 2014 Goodreads badge
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Illustrator: Scott Campbell
Pages: 40
Format: Hardcover Picture Book
★   ★   ★   ★   ★  – 5 Stars

Who have YOU hugged today? Open your arms to this delightfully tender, goofy, and sweet tale.

Watch out world, here he comes! The Hug Machine!

Whether you are big, or small, or square, or long, or spikey, or soft, no one can resist his unbelievable hugs! HUG ACCOMPLISHED!

This endearing story encourages a warm, caring, and buoyantly affectionate approach to life. Everyone deserves a hug – and this book!

I love this book because it is simplistically sweet, a great story about a boy who just likes giving hugs because it makes him feel good and he thinks people will enjoy them as well. There is humour and heart, and it’s great to see the Hug Machine embrace (pun 100% intended) all manner of people and things in the effort to make them feel good. The Hug Machine takes us through who he hugs, why he hugs, and the ways he keeps his energy up whilst hugging all day long.

Campbell’s story is a delight to read but it is supported wholly by his illustrations as well. The expressions of the Hug Machine make this book because while the people and animals he hug may look confused at times, the serious and loving expression on his face while he hugs adds another great level.

What I love about this is that it is pure. It’s not moralistic or filled with lessons, not that some can’t be learnt from this, but it reads solely as a fun story about a little kid who loves to improve people’s mood and day with a hug.

You can purchase Hug Machine via the following

Booktopia | Book Depository

Wordery | Fishpond

Angus & Robertson | Dymocks

Amazon | Amazon Aust

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